THE NEXT DAY
Ena stood unmoving in the garden while looking at the giant stone.
Her face was full of sweat and horror.
She was scared to go through the pain and suffering of her training.
Akumu, who was sitting right beside her, knew exactly what she was thinking.
Akumu: "Why are you doing this? What Arakan makes you do is horrible. You have the choice to stop. Why are you still doing this?"
Said Akumu with guilt in her heart.
Ena: "I...
Ena told her everything about her reason for training.
Akumu grabbed her hand.
Akumu: "WHAT IS THIS BULLSH!T? ARE YOU CRAZY? WHY ARE YOU GOING SO FAR FOR A SON OF A B!TCH LIKE HIM?"
Said the furious Akumu.
Ena found reason in her words but remembered something Arakan told her earlier.
QUICK FLASHBACK
Arakan: "You are very young, and still, you want to go through the path of the grown-ups."
Said the handsome man in black GI.
Arakan: "If you want to be an adult, know that the only one who will decide your fate is you. People like Akumu and your parents think that you are a waste. They think that you are an idiot who can't handle your own life."
Said the handsome man while looking at the scared girl with an annoyed expression.
Arakan: "You will do whatever you want. A stupid b!tch like Akumu won't decide your fate."
END OF FLASHBACK
Ena pulled her hand and got into a fighting position in front of the massive stone.
Akumu became even more terrified.
Akumu was born and raised with the intention of marrying a rich and powerful person. She never had to struggle for a person who was important to her.
She couldn't understand why she was going so far for a boy like Torao.
But she knew that she couldn't do anything that went against the order of Arakan.
The day went just like the previous days, with Chikara going to bed hungry.
Akumu: "Ena... how are you feeling?"
Asked the scared Akumu.
Ena gritted her teeth and made a fake smile.
Ena: "Good, it's becoming less hurtful, and I can sense that my strength is improving. With enough time, I will become powerful."
Akumu: "That's good... Now, you should go and sleep."
Akumu understood that Ena won't hear whatever she said. Ena had to be the one to decide the end of the training.
Ena walked toward her room.
She entered her room and locked it afterwards. She leaned on the door with her back and smiled.
Ena: "Ha... hahaha... ahhhh, I ain't built for this sh!t."
Ena jumped face-first into her bed.
Ena started to cry while still smiling.
Ena: "I am sorry Torao... I can't... I am not like this monster."
After a few minutes of crying, she lay on her back and slept for the rest of the night.
THE NEXT DAY
Ena woke up feeling like sh!it.
She made her way towards her wardrobe, which was full of expensive princess-like cloaths.
She packed everything in a suitcase and opened the door.
It was still dark outside. She specifically waited for when everyone was sleeping.
Ena: "Hehe, I don't even have the guts to tell them I won't return. My brothers were right. I won't even endure one week of training..."
She made her way towards the exit of the dojo, but she heard a sound coming from the garden.
Interested, she followed the sound and made her way towards the garden.
Just as she opened the door, she saw something that would make even the most psychopathic man cry.
She saw a little boy around her age with black hair and red eyes.
The boy was chewing something at the corner of the gigantic stone.
It was Chiraka who woke up for a late-night snack.
Chikara: "*chew**chew* Its so gooooood *chew**chew*"
Said Chicara while eating the stone.
What shocked Ena was not the fact that this dumb-looking child was eating rocks. It was the dent as big as her head on the stone.
Chikara has eaten a part of the stone that she could only cover in her own blood.
Ena: "He... is not even using mana..."
This is the moment that Ena understood that the idiotic boy, who looked and behaved like a mentally disabled patient, was actually stronger than her, even without mana.
Ena quickly became enraged. She bit her lips so hard that it started to bleed.
Ena: "This... THIS IS BULLSH*T."
Veins popped from her neck.
Ena screamed so loud that it woke up everyone.
Ena put her gauntlets on her hands and stared, bashing her fist on the gigantic stone.
Chikara: "Uhhhh. Ena nee-san, is there a problem?"
Said Chikara while holding his hands together like a little girl.
Ena: "I will kill you!!!"
Said Ena with a cold tone while looking like a thug.
Chikara: "AHHHH what did I do?"
Just as Chikara was speaking, a laugh from a man could be heard from a distance.
Arakan: "Hahaha, no one is better at teaching than me."
FROM ENA'S POV:
After that catastrophic day, I never stopped punching the stone in the cold, blood, and pain. It didn't matter.
I could live with the fact that I could not be the strongest or that I would never surpass Torao. But there was something I could never live with.
Chikara: "Hello Ena nee-san how are you."
Said Chikara while holding his hand in the air and waving at me.
Ena: 'DIE LOSER.'
No matter how much I struggled, I still broke through further.
Until finally.
AFTER A FEW MONTHS
I punched the stone with all my might, not caring about my fist.
*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM*
I made an explosion just like the first time I ever punched the stone.
But this time was different.
I made a small dent in the middle of the stone, and only the front part of my knuckles explored, revealing the bones of my hand.
Araka: "Haha, do you now see the results of your training?"
Said Arakan.
"This is... incredible..."
Said one of the elders.
I looked at them.
Ena: 'They are... Praising me?'
I blushed a little and smiled with my heart.
Ena: 'That's right... I am strong.'
I said with an arrogant smirk.
The days became weeks, the weeks became months, the months became years, and I finally mastered mana.
The stone became softer and softer. Its weight became lighter and lighter.
After I was 13 years old.
I still remember that day. My whole body was glowing, and white smoke was coming from my body.
Arakan: "It looks like you can finally generate mana by yourself."
Said Arakan, who was behind me.
Ena: "This is my mana?"
I said while looking at the white smoke.
Arakan: "Why don't you make a test drive?"
Said Arakan while smiling.
I looked at the gigantic stone that was already halved with Chikara eating the leftovers. This ugly bastard looked like he was going to throw up.
The mana in my body was going mad.
My eyes glowed, and I focused all of my mana on my hand.
I leaped towards the stone and hit it with all my might.
*BOOOOOOOM*
This time, my fist generated an even bigger explosion.
The force of the wind that followed my fist was gigantic. It was as if a tornado was terrorizing the garden.
But my fist was completely fine
Thousands of rocks were crashing at the dojo.
Chikara: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
Said Chikara holding his butt with his right hand. He knew his fate.
After the smoke cleared out, it revealed the stone, which was completely destroyed, leaving only the rocks this bastard had to eat.
Everyone widened their eyes at the sight of the destroyed stone. But I could no longer sense the mana in me.
Ena: "This?... I used all of my mana."
Arakan: "That's right, you used all of your mana in your attack."
Ena: 'That's right, the restriction...'
Ena: "Does that mean that I can only make one single explosion?"
I said with a worried face.
Arakan: "When you use an attack with mana as a source, most sorcerers gather mana and release it in the air after they are done with the attack. You convert the mana into an attack of destruction, and the mana is gone as if fire loses oxygen."
Arakan got serious.
Arakan: "But thanks to my genius, I developed a technique that can transform the already converted mana and reuse it as if it's pure mana. This way, you can make infinite attacks no matter how much the technique's output is... Do you... want to learn it?"
Ena: 'He will teach me a technique exclusive to his family?'
I almost cried from happiness.
Ena: "I WILL DO ANYYHING."
Arakan put his hand on his ears
Arakan: "Not so fast barbarian. You first need to learn something else."
I looked at him dumbfounded.
Arakan: "Look at your hand?"
I looked at my hand with scars and hardened skin on my knuckles.
Arakan: "We have to do the same thing but in all of your body."
Said Arakan while smiling.
Ena: "huh?"
I said quietly with a dumb expression. I needed time to process this information.
Ena: "HUH?"
I said with a horrified expression.
Arakan saw my reaction and reassured me.
Arakan: "Oh no, no, you silly child, it's not what you think it is. We are just going to keep destroying your body until it becomes as hard as your fist."
Said Arakan with his man-child voice.
Ena: "THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT."
.
.
.
AFTER TWO YEARS
This technique was the hardest I ever accomplished.
Arakan taught me how to use my mana to damage my body and use mana to cover my body while in the process of recovery.
This way, I could strengthen my body just as I did with my fist.
It hurt like hell, but with enough effort, I finally succeeded in mastering the technique.
]Unamed Passive Technique: Elemental Exoskeleton[
My body became stronger. My skin became clear as if I had been using skin care products my whole life. My golden hair became whiter, and my power? Unimaginable.
Arakan was behind me and made his way towards me.
Araka: "Good morning, child. Congratulations, how are you feeling?"
I made a smirk.
Ena: "Stronger than Torao."
Arakan pulled out his phone and took a photo of my arrogant face.
Arakan: "Yes, you changed quite a bit."
Laughed Arakan with a smile.
Arakan: "Maybe it really did come the time for you to awaken?"
I looked at him, wondering if he was making a joke.
Ena: "What do you mean awaken?... I can already use mana."
Arakan lifted his eyebrow.
Arakan: "Huh? Did you think that you are an awaked if you can use mana?
I widened my eyes in shock.
Arakan: "With your cardboard personality, it is impossible. We need to forcibly awaken you."
Ena: "What do you-"
I Said before Arakan placed his hand on my shoulder.
*BAMF*
As if I was somehow teleported, I found myself in a pitch-black room.
There was no light in the room, but I could see my body as if it was in the middle of the day. Yes, me and the giant burning ball covered by massive brown roots.