In a clearing deep within the forest, trees had been felled to create a natural training ground. This was where Wood and Paul trained in swordsmanship daily.
As Wood's skills grew, the yard at home had become too small to accommodate their training. After accidentally damaging the plants Zenith had carefully cultivated several times, Paul and Wood were ordered to find a new training ground.
In the open field, Rudy was off to the side practicing his sword swings alone. After over a year of training, though he still couldn't channel battle aura, he had at least reached the level of a beginner swordsman.
On the other side of the field, two figures—a large one and a small one—moved at an incredible speed. Their sword clashes sent shockwaves through the air, kicking up dust and turning the entire training ground into a cloud of dirt.
When Zenith arrived with Roxy, Wood and Paul's sparring session had already reached a fever pitch.
Paul, his body surrounded by battle aura, swung his wooden sword with such force that it left a deep groove in the ground.
His skill clearly demonstrated that he had reached the level of an advanced swordsman, and not just an ordinary one.
Roxy watched in disbelief. Even she, at this distance, knew that if she were facing such an opponent, she would only be able to surrender.
As Paul's sword neared Wood, Roxy couldn't help but show a worried expression. She glanced at Zenith, confused as to why parents would be so harsh on their own child.
Zenith, noticing Roxy's concerned look, smiled slightly and said, "Do you think Paul's too harsh for using that level of strength against a child? Then keep watching closely, and you'll understand why we insist on Wood becoming a swordsman."
Paul's wooden sword, enhanced by battle aura, had far greater destructive power than Wood's.
Even though Wood deflected much of the force using the "Water God Style" technique, his arm was still pushed back, and his feet sank deep into the ground.
Realizing he was at a disadvantage in terms of raw strength, Wood shifted tactics. As Paul pressed down on him, Wood twisted his body, using the momentum to spin.
Just as Paul thought he had unbalanced Wood and prepared to strike, Wood suddenly planted his hand on the ground and delivered a swift kick aimed directly at Paul's chin.
The chin is one of the body's weak points. While a hit there wouldn't be fatal, it would certainly cause momentary disorientation.
Caught off guard by Wood's sudden counterattack, Paul had no choice but to abandon his offensive stance, raising his sword horizontally to block Wood's kick.
At the same time, Wood, gripping his wooden sword tightly, unleashed a sharp upward slash.
As the sword cut through the air, the surrounding airflow was drawn in by the blade's trajectory, forming a powerful vacuum slash!
Though Wood, like Rudy, couldn't channel battle aura, the force of his sword strike rivaled the power of an aura-infused attack.
The blow sent Paul flying several meters back, leaving a deep trench in the ground from the force of the slash.
"Is this… a sword technique?" Roxy gasped, her expression frozen in shock. She had initially felt indignant that Paul and Zenith would be so strict with their child.
But now, watching a six-year-old boy holding his own against an advanced swordsman like Paul—and even gaining the upper hand—Roxy's worldview began to crumble.
"Now you see, don't you?" Zenith said with pride. "This is why we want Wood to become a swordsman rather than a mage.
And just so you know, neither the counter-kick nor that sword technique was something Paul taught him.
Paul only taught Wood the Sword God, Water God, and North God styles. Everything else, Wood developed on his own during their sparring sessions."
Zenith's face radiated pride as she continued, "At first, it was Paul who was teaching Wood. But for the past six months, it's more accurate to say that Paul has been learning from Wood's combat techniques during their matches. Of course, Paul would never admit it, since he's too proud."
Roxy, still in shock, couldn't believe what she was hearing. A child just six and a half years old, able to hold his ground against an experienced advanced swordsman…
Her confidence as a "genius mage" felt like a joke in comparison.
"And it's not just that Wood can hold his own," Zenith added, her smile widening. "Wood's actually stronger! Don't forget, while his magic isn't as good as his swordsmanship, he's still at the intermediate level.
If he had used magic during that fight, Paul wouldn't have stood a chance."
What Zenith didn't realize was that Wood's magic wasn't weak at all. Though his magic power was slightly less than Rudy's, it was still immense.
The only thing keeping Wood from becoming a "Saint-level" mage was his lack of access to Saint-level spells and techniques. If he had that knowledge, he would easily surpass the intermediate level.
Having witnessed Wood's extraordinary swordsmanship, Roxy abandoned the idea of persuading him to focus on magic instead of swordsmanship.
All she could think about now was how humbled she felt since coming to the Greyrat household.
The confident, proud mage she once was had learned the art of humility after meeting Wood and Rudy.
Unchanting magic, sword strikes that could rival aura-infused attacks—everything she had seen today had shattered her previous understanding of the world.
These were the kinds of abilities one would expect from the legendary "Seven Great Powers" or other god-like figures, not from two young children.
At dinner that night, Paul and Wood mentioned that Ghislaine, the Beastkin warrior, was currently out hunting with her master and wouldn't arrive to take Wood to the Boreas family for a while.
In the meantime, Wood would continue training at home and take occasional lessons from Roxy in magic.
Wood, of course, was more than happy with this arrangement. While his skills as a swordsman, honed through countless experiences, allowed him to continue improving on his own, having a knowledgeable teacher like Roxy to guide him in magic would be invaluable.
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P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 380+ at p@treon.com/Betek and change @ to a