Ren moved forward.

His body no longer responded the way it should. Every muscle burned as if it were being torn apart from the inside, and his breathing came like explosions. Even so, he took another step forward.

And then another.

The ground of the training area was scarred with grooves and cracks. The fight had already lasted long enough to turn the terrain into a broken, uneven field of dirt and dust.

In front of him, Myrddin remained still.

The old man did not even look tired.

His gray eyes watched Ren with astonishing calm.

Ren clenched his teeth.

“I’m not done yet.”

Myrddin did not answer immediately.

He simply raised his right hand slightly.

The air around them seemed to change.

He did not utter a single word.
Not a single gesture.

The magic simply happened.

A blast of wind exploded toward Ren.

The impact was brutal.

The boy’s body was thrown several meters backward, rolling across the ground before finally stopping. Dust rose around him.

Ren tried to stand immediately.

His legs failed on the first attempt.

He placed a hand on the ground, took a deep breath, and forced his body to obey.

He stood up.

Even while staggering.

Myrddin watched everything in silence.

“That’s right!” the old man exclaimed.

“Always stand back up. Even if your bones are broken, even if you have no strength left at all. Your enemy will not wait for you to recover in the middle of battle.”

Ren spat a little blood onto the ground.

“I already know that.”

He charged again.

Myrddin moved two fingers.

The ground in front of Ren exploded.

Pillars of stone burst violently from the earth, trying to trap him between them.

Ren barely dodged the first one, rolling to the side. A second column of earth erupted behind him, forcing him to leap forward.

The third attack came from below.

Ren was struck in the side by a block of rock that surged from the ground.

The impact knocked the air from his lungs.

He dropped to his knees.

For a few seconds, everything was spinning.

Myrddin slowly lowered his hand.

“Never lower your guard, Ren. Mages who use earth magic can be the most unpredictable.”

Ren raised his eyes.

“So what?”

“One who controls the earth controls the battlefield.”

Ren placed his hands on the ground and stood up again.

His body trembled.

But he was still standing.

“Then I’ll just break everyone down with my fists.”

He ran forward.

This time, Myrddin sighed softly.

A small movement of his hand.

The air changed again.

This time, it was fire.

A line of flames appeared in front of Ren, advancing like a living wave.

The heat hit his face even before the fire arrived.

Ren threw himself to the side.

The flames passed right beside him, consuming the air with a violent roar.

The heat was suffocating.

Ren stood up again.

The skin on his arm was red from how close the attack had been.

He took a deep breath.

Then advanced again.

Myrddin raised an eyebrow.

“Still?”

Ren answered with a low growl.

“I already told you I’m not giving up.”

Water appeared in the air.

Literally.

A mass of liquid formed above Ren and crashed down on him with the force of a waterfall compressed into a single point.

The impact slammed him into the ground.

The pressure of the water crushed him for a moment before spreading across the soil.

Ren tried to breathe.

Air.

He needed air.

He coughed.

Water and dust ran down his face together.

For a few seconds, he remained motionless.

Myrddin watched.

Silence hung over the training ground.

Then Ren moved his hand.

Slowly.

He pushed himself upward.

First one knee.

Then the other.

When he finally stood, his body looked like it was about to collapse.

But he insisted on remaining upright.

Myrddin sighed again.

“Fire. Water. Earth. Wind.”

He took a small step forward.

“And yet you keep coming.”

Ren stopped a few meters in front of him.

His body was visibly shaking now.

But his eyes remained focused.

“I told you I’m not done.”

For a brief moment, Myrddin’s gaze changed.

It was not disapproval. Nor irritation.

It was something difficult to define.

Perhaps respect.

Perhaps concern.

The old man slowly raised his hand.

“Then let’s finish this.”

Ren frowned.

The air changed again.

But this time, it was different.

Very different.

A strange pressure began to form in the air.

As if space itself were being compressed.

Ren felt it immediately.

His body reacted before his mind understood.

His muscles tensed.

His instincts screamed.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Myrddin spoke calmly.

“I haven’t used light yet.”

Ren’s heart pounded.

He knew.

Even without fully understanding magic, he knew.

Light magic was different.

It was considered one of the rarest and most powerful elements. Very few could manipulate it.

And Myrddin…

Myrddin was exceptional in that element.

The old man slowly raised his hand.

Small points of light began to appear in the air.

At first, only a few.

Then dozens.

Then hundreds.

It was as if tiny stars were being born around him.

Ren felt a chill run down his spine.

The pressure was increasing.

He could feel the air vibrating.

Even so, he did not step back.

“Last attack!” Myrddin said.

Ren took a deep breath.

His body was almost destroyed.

Every fiber of his being screamed for him to stop.

But he did not move.

He did not take a single step back.

At that moment, outside the house, a door slowly opened.

Sawe had arrived.

He was walking down the hallway when he noticed something strange.

A vibration in the air.

An unusual magical pressure.

His gaze immediately turned toward the door of the training area.

It was closed.

But a small crack allowed him to see inside.

Sawe approached.

And looked.

His heart almost stopped.

Inside the room, Myrddin was surrounded by a growing mass of luminous energy.

The amount of mana being manipulated was absurd.

Sawe’s eyes widened.

“Master…?”

He barely managed to whisper.

The energy kept increasing.

The light began to concentrate in Myrddin’s hand.

Condensing.

Spinning.

Compressing.

Like a small star being created.

Sawe felt his stomach turn cold.

That was not a normal attack.

That was high-level magic.

He looked at Ren.

The boy was standing in front of the old man.

Barely able to remain upright.

His body covered in wounds and dust.

And yet…

He did not step back.

Sawe’s mind panicked.

“What is Master doing…?”

“That attack could kill him…”

Inside the room, the pressure increased once again.

Ren felt as if tons of weight were pressing down on his shoulders.

His body trembled.

His legs failed.

He fell to his knees.

The impact echoed across the ground.

Myrddin’s eyes widened slightly.

For a brief moment.

But he did not stop.

The light kept growing.

Now it was an intense mass of white energy.

Pulsing.

Vibrating.

Ren breathed with difficulty.

His vision was beginning to blur.

Even so…

He did not collapse completely.

He was still on his knees.

Still there.

Sawe clenched his fist outside the door.

“Master… stop…”

But the door remained closed.

Inside the room, Myrddin finally spoke:

“Let’s see…”

The light exploded.

The mass of energy shot toward Ren like a white meteor.

Sawe closed his eyes.

The brightness was too intense.

For a moment, it felt as if the sun itself had been born inside the room.

Then came the impact.

The sound was deafening.

An explosion of light, air, and energy tore through the entire training area.

The shockwave made everything tremble.

Dust and fragments of earth were thrown into the air.

Everything disappeared inside a thick cloud.

Silence.

For a few seconds.

Only dust and smoke filled the room.

Myrddin remained still.

Then he slowly raised his hand.

A gust of wind appeared.

The dust began to disperse slowly.

Until the view became clear again.

And then…

Myrddin froze.

Ren was still there.

On his knees.

In the same place.

With his eyes closed.

The old man blinked.

Once.

Twice.

That made no sense.

He looked around.

The ground was destroyed.

Cracks spread across the floor.

But Ren…

Ren had not been hit.

Not even a single scratch.

Myrddin frowned.

“I… missed?”

That was impossible.

He did not miss.

Never.

At that moment, the door opened.

Sawe ran inside.

“REN!”

He crossed the room quickly and knelt beside his friend.

Ren immediately collapsed into his arms.

Unconscious.

Sawe let out a breath of relief.

“He’s still alive…”

Then he raised his eyes toward Myrddin.

His gaze was filled with tension.

“Master… you almost killed him!”

Myrddin remained silent.

Sawe continued:

“If you hadn’t missed…”

He took a deep breath.

“Ren would be dead now.”

Myrddin did not answer.

His gaze was fixed on the place where Ren had been kneeling.

Thoughtful.

Very thoughtful.

[I did not miss.]

He was certain of it.

His magic had not failed.

It never had.

Then…

What happened?

For a brief moment, a memory crossed his mind.

At the exact moment he released the attack.

A detail.

Something that seemed impossible.

A shadow.

Very subtle.

Almost imperceptible.

Near Ren.

Myrddin frowned.

That made no sense.

Light magic at that level produced absolute brilliance.

It was impossible for any shadow to exist inside the field of the attack.

And yet…

He had the impression he had seen one.

The old man remained silent.

Watching Ren.

Something in that moment…

Was not right.

And for the first time in a very long time…

Myrddin did not have an answer.

©JAE-HOON