My body was already ready for training, the fresh morning air brushed against my face as I waited for Sol and Arisa outside my house. Even though Sol had been to my training room once, I wasn't sure if she remembered, so it was better for the three of us to go together.

About ten minutes later, I saw them coming out. Their training clothes highlighted their curves and silhouettes more—both were clearly entering a stage of maturity. Why do they look like they're eighteen when they're almost fifteen? Though, looking at myself, I can understand it a little. I also look older than I really am. In this world where death can come so early, people mature faster.

"Good morning, I've been waiting for you." I greeted them with a warm smile, and they both returned the gesture. We set off toward the training room. My grandmother was probably already waiting for us.

Sure enough, when we arrived, my grandmother had some documents in her hands. Upon seeing us, she stored them in her dimensional bracelet and greeted us. "Warm up a bit before we begin. We've got no more than an hour to train." Without wasting time, we all began with some warm-up exercises.

"Arisa, Sol." My grandmother called the girls. They both turned to look at her, and I also turned in her direction. "You two are talented and have had good training as nobles. However, Maki is on another level. Today, you're going to fight the two of you against Maki. He has to hold back—take advantage of this opportunity because it's not easy to fight someone like him. Go in with the intent to kill."

They looked hesitant, but after I gave them the green light, they decided to put on the training collars. I wore nothing. They already knew about my healing ability, just not how much I could actually heal.

"Don't hold back, or this will be over very quickly." I wasn't going to go 100%, just repel their attacks with equal effort. This would be a control training for my own strength—and a good chance to spar with real Emerald-rank fighters.

Rita's point of view:

Arisa grabbed her spear and charged toward Maki without hesitation. She had great faith in the speed granted by her affinity. Wind is very versatile and useful in any combat situation, making her a well-rounded fighter.

Her magic control was mid-level for her rank and allowed her to cast several spells while fighting or retreating. I couldn't forget her Imra—it surpassed that of many Emerald ranks I'd known. Lastly, her spear mastery was rarely seen in kids her age.

Sol had become a textbook mage. Her hand-to-hand combat ability was lacking, but she made up for it with mana control, focusing heavily on explosive offensive spells.

Her Imra control was average at best—she used it mainly to boost her skills and gain raw power. From what I'd heard, she had greatly improved her spell restructuring and maximized each one. Defensive constructs became offensive, and vice versa.

As Sol approached Maki and launched a horizontal slash at his chest, he formed an ice sword and blocked her advance. Immediately, eight massive fire arrows shot toward him from multiple angles. He created another ice sword and struck Arisa back, then used his movement ability to dodge all the arrows.

The arrows halted before hitting the ground and redirected themselves. That was one of Sol's strengths: not just massive power, but exquisite control. Arisa took advantage of Maki's evasive moment to launch a series of stabbing attempts. Maki could sense every incoming strike and moved precisely to dodge at the last second. His battlefield control was terrifying—it takes years to reach that level.

In the midst of it all, Maki tried slicing through some arrows but found he couldn't break them, only deflect them. I saw the surprise on his face and a mischievous smile. In that moment, I felt his Imra flow into his construct—he was summoning those characteristic spheres and sent them flying toward Sol.

The youngest daughter of the Solar house formed strange hexagonal constructs, both earth-type imbued with Imra. With these three shields, she blocked all three spheres effortlessly. Arisa launched two wind blades, which Maki dodged by crouching, only to be met by a horizontal slash aimed at his neck. His sword vanished and became a solid construct on his arm to block the attack, and he immediately jumped aside to avoid the incoming arrows.

Maki created another sword and resumed defending against Arisa's strikes. She kept using her superior reach to try and land a hit, while Maki focused on dodging and parrying. Meanwhile, Sol gathered four arrows and, with immense concentration, fired a powerful shot. I could see her sweating from the effort.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

The four small arrows coordinated with Arisa's attacks to drive Maki toward his right—right into the path of the massive, condensed arrow. He reinforced the construct on his arm and took the risk of receiving the blow with only his hand. He managed to stop the attack, but his arm was pushed back. Arisa took advantage of the imbalance to launch wind blades at his head and body, and propelled her spear toward Maki's leg.

The wind blades were stopped by electric-charged ice spheres, and a smile appeared on his face. He closed in, and the left spear grazed his thigh, drawing blood. That seemed part of his plan, as he was now at a range disadvantageous for Arisa. With a few slashes, he pushed her back and landed a solid hit to her stomach, sending the Count's daughter flying.

Maki rushed toward Sol, launching multiple dual-element spheres. Some were blocked by shields that broke, others were dodged using her movement ability. Maki closed the distance while dodging more arrows, aiming a slash at her leg—but was stopped by a tough sand construct backed by Imra. Sol was struggling—these constructs were difficult, and her face showed the effort.

Maki didn't relent and attempted another strike, only to dodge something like compressed air bullets. Arisa used her movement ability to appear near him, giving Sol time to reposition. They fought like this for several minutes—Sol and Arisa were clearly exhausted. Though they had mana reserves to keep going, their bodies and minds were overexerted from trying to keep up with Maki, who looked remarkably relaxed.

"My grandson is getting serious." Maki reinforced his swords with Imra. He hadn't used his Laws or best attacks the entire fight—until now. He built several swords spinning with electricity for speed. They looked dense inside from all the mana and Imra.

He used those swords to block arrows while focusing on close combat against Arisa. Within seconds, she was cornered. Her collar was a few hits from activating. Her movements grew sloppy—she wouldn't be harmed, but would still feel pain where she was struck or cut.

Maki destroyed the arrows simultaneously and threw the swords at Sol. She couldn't block them with her shields and desperately tried to escape the constructed swords—but couldn't. They were unavoidable. Her collar was one strike from activating. Sol fired her final arrows with all she had, hoping to land at least one hit before losing.

One arrow pierced Maki's arm, getting through his defenses slightly but losing most of its power in the process. At the same time, I watched my grandson land the final strike on Arisa's chest and a hidden sphere strike Sol's sword, knocking her out too.

Maki's point of view:

"That was a good fight. You both were amazing." Arisa lay flat on her back, breathing hard. Sol sat with her arms behind her, staring at the ceiling. They had fought well—I was impressed.

"We lost miserably. We only landed two hits." Arisa complained while trying to stand. My grandmother helped Sol up and they walked over to us.

She formed a comfy mana cushion and sat on the floor. It looked so comfortable I felt envious. So, this kind of construct is possible—I never tried it. Still think it's more practical to keep cushions in my storage bracelet.

"Yes, you held back the entire time and we still lost when you shifted gears. By the way, how are your wounds?" Sol looked at my arm and Arisa tried to see my thigh. My grandmother laughed.

"What wounds?" I showed both spots, completely healed. I had healed them when their collars activated—I didn't want them to feel bad seeing me bleeding. I joked by pointing where they should've hit me.

They both frowned when they saw no mark. "You should be happy to see me healthy." I rolled my eyes playfully and saw a bit of embarrassment on their faces. Both looked cute in their own way.

"Don't worry, those cuts were nothing. My ability can heal that easily." I waved my hand in front of my face to keep them from worrying.

"Maki, what do you think of them? Would they stand a chance against an ogre?" My grandmother interrupted. Her question made me think deeply. I recalled past fights, visualizing a simulation in my head until I had an answer.

"I'm not sure—maybe 50/50." Seeing their disappointed faces, I added, "I think they could beat one together and win, but they'd end up badly hurt. Still, defeating a monster above your rank is an achievement." I didn't mention that those ogres were the lowest tier of Rank 3—it would only hurt their pride.

My grandmother and I gave them some advice based on what we observed—areas to improve or skills they could enhance to become more explosive.

"My brother isn't even close to you. He might be nearing Sapphire now that he got a pseudo Law of fire recently, but he still can't fight the two of us together—we always beat him." Sol's comment surprised me. So Cris had a pseudo Law now—I'd love to see him soon and talk. Same for Ritmo and Sers.

"You can't compare them. Maki spent years locked up fighting monsters—his skills leveled up constantly, even if they hit a bottleneck." Arisa's remark almost made me pull a face. I held it back and just smiled innocently. Maybe not the best choice—they both looked at me with suspicion.

"Maki's always been gifted for battle—his swordsmanship, magic, and Imra are on another level. He could be compared to geniuses across the continent. I hope you two are there to keep him grounded when his ego grows." My grandmother cut in at just the right time. The girls made some jokes about me that hurt my pride a little. I've never been boastful—and I never will be.

Days passed quickly. It became routine to train twice a day, and the rest of the time we just spent together—walking, talking, eating, building great memories. I didn't get to practice as much as I'd like, but I won't complain about these days. And just like that, the last day of the year arrived. Funny how they also have twelve months and the same number of days—the only difference being 26 hours per day.

It's time for my first New Year's celebration in a long time!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.