Lia wasn't crying—perhaps she had no more tears left. Her eyes were red, her face filled with melancholy and longing, her gaze lost in the distance. All I could do was sit beside her and listen to everything she had to say.
"He wasn't the most loving parent. Rarely did I get more than a word from him—always buried in work. But he truly cared. Whenever I needed help, my mother would come first, but if she wasn't there, he would be. When I was younger and still had those asphyxiation attacks, I remember waking up once to find him by my bedside. No matter how late he got home, he would always check in on me to see if I was asleep."
A small, fleeting smile appeared on her lips.
"I even made a habit of pretending to be asleep, just to confirm that he had come. In winter, when I got home from school, he…"
She continued sharing her memories, her voice weaving story after story into the silence of the night. And I… I could do nothing but listen. I couldn't change anything. I couldn't save anyone. But I could understand. And the more I listened, the more I saw myself in her.
The past had never been kind to me. The only pleasant memories I had brought nothing but pain—reminders of someone I would never see again.
A sudden gust of cold wind passed through, and Lia instinctively pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she curled up slightly.
"Lately, he had been deeply involved in the peace initiative. So, in a way, I knew something could happen. That's why I'm here at the academy… and why he sent my mother back to her homeland."
The softness in her voice vanished, replaced by grit and a simmering hatred—one that felt all too familiar.
"He knew exactly how strong the clans' desire was to maintain a state of war. He knew how deep their fear and hatred of other races ran. And yet, he still supported their enemies. And all of this… was because of me!"
That's when I understood. The anger she felt wasn't directed at her father. It wasn't aimed at any organization. It was aimed at herself.
That self-loathing, that endless cycle of hatred and despair… I knew it too well.
I won't let you drown in it, Lia.
"This isn't your fault!" I said firmly. "He was an intelligent man. He knew exactly what he was doing."
She turned to me, opening her mouth as if to say something.
"Kail, I…"
Kail
Kail?
"Kail!"
"What?"
"Are you okay?"
October 4, 3108
Liam and I were in the training area, waiting for Mr. Michael. I sat on the ground, my back against a tree, while Liam sat in front of me, legs crossed.
"Yeah. Probably."
"You seem even more withdrawn than usual today. Did something happen?"
"It's okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. What do you think we'll do today?"
Liam lay down completely on the ground.
"Most likely the same as yesterday. Our last attempt was so bad it can't even be called horrible—it was nonexistent."
Clearly, he was disappointed with our previous performance. Suddenly, he sat up, leaning toward me with newfound excitement.
"Maybe we should try to attack him unexpectedly this time!"
I glanced at his eager expression, only to shatter his enthusiasm instantly.
"No."
Liam immediately deflated, his face falling into disappointment.
"Why not? Last time, it almost worked!"
"Incorrect. Last time, we used the terrain to our advantage, we had weapons, and he didn't know I was nearby. Even with all that, we still failed. Now, we're in an open clearing, unarmed, and he already knows I am here. And you think trying the same thing will work?"
"You're too boring."
"Sure."
Liam crossed his arms over his chest, sulking, before flopping back down onto the ground in defeat.
A few minutes later, Mr. Michael finally arrived. In his hand, he carried a rabbit—a gray-furred creature with black eyes, about 70-80 centimeters long. Its fur had dark green patterns woven through it.
"Let's start so we don't waste time," he said.
Liam immediately took notice of the unexpected guest.
"What is that?"
"This is your prey today."
Liam blinked.
"This? I can barely feel its mana. Will it even manage to move five meters away from me?"
"Are you willing to bet that you won't even be able to touch it?" Mr. Michael challenged.
Liam paused, considering it, but ultimately shrugged.
"Easy. If I catch it, you'll tell Mom that you're the one who broke her collection of dishes from the Elves continent."
"You little demon… Fine. But if you lose, you'll work as my assistant for a month."
They shook hands to seal the bet. Liam and I activated our armor, ready to catch the rabbit.
But as soon as Mr. Michael opened the cage, the rabbit shot forward at an enormous speed, forcing us to follow. The wind seemed to bend around it, giving it an effortless escape route. Within seconds, we had left the clearing and entered the dense forest. Even though the terrain provided more surfaces for me to utilize my movement techniques, it did nothing to slow the animal down.
Liam took the initiative, relentlessly pursuing the rabbit, but it didn't seem to need a break. Every time we tried to close the distance, it easily avoided our attacks.
Liam had already reached his maximum speed, yet the gap between him and the rabbit was still widening. Meanwhile, I was starting to fall behind.
Let's try something else.
"Liam, direct it back to the clearing. I'll try to trap it."
"Got it!"
I veered off to the right while Liam began pushing the rabbit into a curved path, forcing it toward my position. Once I confirmed their trajectory, I concealed my presence as much as possible and waited.
Within seconds, I could hear the rustling of leaves, stirred by the wind currents in Liam's wake. I began channeling aether into my armor, my territory already fully extended. Positioned on a tree branch 12 to 15 meters above the ground, my territory barely reached the earth below—missing it by just a few centimeters.
Liam and the rabbit appeared in the distance, closing in fast. I kept my presence hidden, muscles tense, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Movement Technique: Wind Kingdom (4☆)
1st Stage: Territory Formation – Max Range
In an instant, I vanished from the branch, propelling myself toward my target, which was moving exactly where I needed it to be.
But just before I left my territory, the rabbit suddenly increased its already insane speed. I extended my hand, trying to compensate for the shift—only for it to kick a stone straight into my forehead, knocking me off balance.
I barely missed grabbing it by millimeters—just in time for Liam to crash into me at full speed.
We both fell to the ground, completely knocked down. When I opened my eyes, the rabbit was standing to the side, seemingly laughing at us before casually returning to its route.
"Ahhh, fucking rabbit," Liam groaned, getting up while holding his ribs.
"Did you break anything?" I asked, rubbing my back, which was still aching from the impact.
"Doesn't seem like it, but it hurts like hell anyway."
"Let's head back. I don't think we're catching it today anyway."
So, like two old men—one clutching his ribs and the other nursing his back—we slowly made our way back to Mr. Michael.
When we arrived, we were met with a truly frustrating sight: the damn rabbit was sitting there, casually munching on a carrot from Mr. Michael's hand.
"Why the hell is it here?!" Liam shouted.
"Where else would he be?" Mr. Michael asked, unfazed.
"Anywhere—just so someone can kill him or let him starve!"
At Liam's words, the rabbit took the carrot from Michael's hand and held it between its teeth like a cigarette, giving us a look that practically screamed:
"These two bags of bones have no right to insult someone as great as me."
Liam couldn't resist the provocation and rolled up his jacket sleeves.
"Come on, I'm sure I'll make a splendid rabbit stew from you."
"Enough, Liam. Just admit you were never even close to catching him. And you Moco stop mocking kids who are several times younger than you."
It took us a few seconds to process what Mr. Michael had just said.
"Wait… he's an elemental creature?" I asked.
"Yes, he's a Wind Rabbit."
"But I thought elemental creatures on our continent were wiped out even before the last war with the elves?"
"That's true. All wild ones were exterminated—only those under direct supervision of the leadership remain."
"Then what the hell is this demon doing here?" Liam interjected, his voice filled with pure contempt.
"He was assigned to me for my achievements, and I brought him here for your training."
"If he's a Wind Rabbit, then we never stood a chance! Not only to catch him—but even to see him the moment you opened that cage!"
"Of course. If he had used his full abilities, you'd have better chances of reaching the bottom of the ocean than catching him. But I instructed him to use just enough speed to stay five meters ahead of you."
"Then what was the point? Was this some kind of joke just to get free labor out of me?" Liam huffed.
"If you weren't such an idiot, throwing out ridiculous bets without asking for details first, you would have learned that Moco is here to help you develop control over Killing Intent. As a Wind Rabbit, Moco was at the bottom of the food chain for other elemental creatures, making him an expert at detecting it."
Mr. Michael turned toward me.
"Kail, you had the right idea when you tried to set a trap. But just like before, your Killing Intent gives you away, alerting your enemy before the attack even reaches them."
After Mr. Michael finished his explanation, Liam and I felt like two complete idiots—like wild animals blindly throwing ourselves at the first piece of meat in front of us without stopping to consider its actual significance.
Meanwhile, Moco had already returned to his cage, and Mr. Michael closed it.
"That's all for today. We'll meet again in four days."
As soon as Mr. Michael disappeared, Liam let out a groan.
"I feel deceived and manipulated."
"You're not the only one," I replied, sharing his frustration.
Just as I was processing everything, I instinctively greeted someone before even realizing they were there.
"Hello, Mr. Karlos."
I always hated how he had the habit of appearing behind me completely unnoticed.
"Hello, Kail."
He was already sitting in his usual chair and I still only noticed him after he responded.
My archery training followed the same pattern as before: shooting down colored spheres. But today, I wanted to push beyond my previous limits.
Before in the final five seconds, after successfully eliminating most of the spheres and only about ten remained. They stopped midair and shot upwards to a height I couldn't reach. I managed to take down one or two, but the rest were completely out of range signifying the end of my training.
The exercise proceeded as usual—Mr. Karlos called out the color I needed to hit while I avoided the others flying toward me. They flew at different speeds in different directions and constantly the ones whose color was not my target were trying to confuse me. But for me, these were no longer a surprise and even though I was running out of stamina pretty quickly, I managed to destroy them at a steady pace.
However, once only eleven spheres remained, I decided to change my approach.
I quickly pulled two arrows from my quiver. With the first, I immediately shot down one of the spheres. The second, however, I held in place, channeling aether into it.
As soon as the remaining spheres all turned white and ascended rapidly, I pushed myself further.
Five seconds… six blades…
Four seconds… eight blades…
Three seconds… nine blades…
Two seconds… still nine blades…
"Come on… form, you fuck!"
One second… ten blades!
Archery Technique: Tornado Archery (4 ☆)
1st Stage: Guided Arrow + 2nd Stage: Wind Slash – 10 Blades
"Wind Ripper"
The arrow shot toward the spheres, reaching them in an instant. As soon as it made contact, a dance of blades unfolded—ten razor-sharp wind slashes detached from the arrow, slicing through every sphere with precision.
By the time the last sphere shattered, I had collapsed to the ground, completely drenched in sweat, my breath coming in rapid gasps. My armor had already dissipated into thin air, leaving me drained.
Then, I heard Mr. Karlos's voice.
"Good job."