v1c2 part3 (1/2)

“Five…even this doesn’t work…”

He moved around lightly to test the effects, but his body couldn’t keep up with the increased strength. He seemed to have hurt his muscles so he lied on the ground and spread his arms and legs. He groaned.

“I have more magic power, but my body can’t handle it. Even if it’s little by little, I have to get my body accustomed to handling more power.”

Loss of muscle was a major blow, as he was unable to swing the sword as he pictured in his head.

Muscle, technique, and magic. Everything was out of balance.

But with more magic power, there was more room for improvement.

If he trained hard enough, he would be much stronger than he ever was (which was three days ago).

“Stronger than that time, eh…”

The year following the great invasion was a year of desperation for Kyle.

He had to fight. To stay alive, he had to win. He did anything he could possibly do to stay alive and win the battles. And before he knew it, he had become the strongest magic swordsman.

All of this did come with a price. He had to resort to forbidden strength enhancing spells, secret medicine, and as a result of the repeated use of such methods, his body was tattered. Regardless of how much he rests, he most likely would have died within ten years.

“I’m going to get strong while staying healthy…and have an awesome life after retirement!”

Kyle decided his last goal in life.

“I don’t know if that’s a modest goal or an unreasonable one,” said someone from nearby. Kyle was startled and jumped up.

A healthy, tan, and large woman who was about 30 years old had suddenly approached Kyle. She was suited up in a battered armor and was armed with a two-handed sword.

Her face was well refined, but beautiful at the same time.

She’s in the same generation as Kyle’s mother Seraiya, but in a different sense, she was very young.

“s.h.i.+…s.h.i.+shō!? Since when were you…”

s.h.i.+shō (師匠) is a j.a.panese t.i.tle used to refer to or address teachers or masters of traditional j.a.panese arts including, but not limited to, martial arts. The word is combination of the kanji s.h.i.+ (師), meaning ”teacher”, and shō (匠), meaning ”craftsman”.

Her name was Leila. She was Kyle’s sword mentor and former gladiator herself. She was also Seran’s foster mother.

Gladiators are those who fight against other humans or demons or anything that can cause harm to humans. They are the ones who fight in arenas for glory.

It’s a dangerous profession, but comes with tons of fame and glory.

While other gladiators either quit because of an injury or were killed, Leila has been undefeated for five years in the continent’s largest Arena located in Ruos, the capital of the Garugan Empire.

After retiring 10 years ago, she had complicated relations.h.i.+ps and decided to come to Rimaze and depended on Seraiya, and old friend.

Kyle was told that she adopted her benefactor’s orphan, who turned out to be Seran.

She has a habit of wandering around, and anyone you knew it, she’d be gone. Her clothes were dirty, so you could tell she just came back from a ‘wandering journey.’

“S…since when were you watching?”

“You were killed at least six times. I counted. What kind of crazy demon have you been battling? If this was a real battle, you’d be dead in 5 seconds.”

“….I tried to last at least 10 seconds.”

Seraiya had been watching Kyle fight in the dim light.

“It’s good practice to challenge a foe that is stronger than you, but when the difference in ability is too great…its no use….but anyways, where did you meet this opponent? You seem to have put together quite a realistic illusion.”

“…It’s just my imagination. I just tried to think of the strongest enemy I could come up with. By the way, I wanted to ask, if you were to fight this enemy, how would you defeat it?”

“You mean me? Well…I’ll take a risk and step forward, maybe lose an arm or a leg, and get up in between the s.p.a.ces. Then I’ll give one big blow. If that doesn’t kill him, then I’d lose.”

“I see…That’s what I thought you’d do.”

In fact, it was the exact method in which Kyle defeated the demon king. After realizing that his methods mimicked that of his mentor, he let out a small laugh.

“Anyways, I’m proud of you. You’re practicing even when I’m not around. I had a feeling you’re the only one that had something special and was worth teaching.”

Leila was one of the top swordsmen in the world, and in her eyes, Kyle was one of the few “chosen” ones who had an extraordinary ability.

In fact, since being mentored by Leila, Kyle’s skills grew even further.

But Kyle at that time was not that motivated, so he was sometimes criticized for it.

“You still teach Seran though.”

“That’s because he’s technically my son. I have no choice, so I teach him even if I know it’s of no use. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t teach that stupid kid anything.”

Leila often said: Kyle’s a failing student, and Seran was the worst student.

“Either way, I’m impressed at how much you’ve grown, Kyle.”

The physical attributes haven’t changed much since Leila left for her “trip,” but his techniques were as if he had been building up on one experience after another.

The most noticeable change was his mental preparation.

He used to be like some dog who just sunbathed in the fields, but now, he’s a lion ready to fight.

“Even your magic has become better, and most of all…you’re more organized…what happened to you?”

Kyle decided that it was not a wise idea to try and fool an intelligent warrior like her.

So he decided to hide some of the truth: “I just had a slight change of feeling. I decided that I’m going to seriously train my sword and magic skills.”

No matter what happens, the stronger he gets, the more things he can do.

“…You….You changed so much, you’re making me sick.”

She really did look sick.

“With all due respect, it’d be great if you can honestly accept and appreciate your student’s growth.”

“People often say to shed a layer of skin. But you seem like you’ve shed four or five layers…Anyways, are you sure it’s just a change of heart? I sense there’s something more to it than just a little change in feeling.”

“There’s nothing….I just really want to be strong,” said a determined Kyle, gripping his sword tight.

“…Did you eat any spoiled food? Are you sure you’re okay?”

“It kinda hurts that you’re actually worried about that…”

“I wonder what that guy is up to.”

“I know. It’s so unusual of him.”

A little into the distance, Seran and Lize were in the bushes watching the two.

Lize was curious about Kyle when he left the house and followed him, and picked up Seran who was also just wandering around. She decided not to talk to Kyle, who was swinging his sword around and decided to just peek.

“Even my mom knows that something’s up with Kyle. I still don’t know how he got so much more skillful all of a sudden.”

It’s been a while since Seran actually watched Kyle practice his sword techniques, but he couldn’t believe that Kyle had gotten that much more skilled.

“Is it possible to become like that in such a short period of time?....But if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that Kyle isn’t possessed or anything. This is the real Kyle.”

He’s sure of this because he’s known Kyle for such a long time, but at the same time, he sensed that something was off.

“Yeah, in principle, nothing much has changed. It’s as if I haven’t met him in several years.”