“Let’s see how strong you’ve become.” Adrian said, turning to look at Edward. He held a practice spear in one hand and another one in the other. That is to be said, they looked oversized for the eleven year old.

It was idiotic how Edward took an entire year to even learn the basics of the martial art. It was called Thunder Hedgehog Style, and focused more on defending and dodging while countering the opponent down with superior range more than anything else. What he learned during this time was that he couldn’t help but admire the intricacy of the fighting style and that every movement had to be precise to avoid death on a daily basis, executing the moves in any environment. Dario hadn’t stuck to the rule in their mock battle.

However, Dario hadn’t even learned the basic level, so there was that. Dario had treasured his single practice spear like his life, always striking the air instead of dummies that Edward was fond of.

“The winner learns Ki imbuement, good luck.” Adrian said, taking a seat on the ground like the many times he did before. It was only about a month ago that Edward realized he was actually sitting on air by using his leg muscles, which would be a hard exercise when sitting that low.

“Edward, you’ll definitely lose today!” Dario shouted, thrusting his spear at him. Edward ducked to the side, hitting his ribs with the staff end of the spear. Dario moved backwards, sending several thrusts at Edward’s head, stomach and right leg.

However, the recipient moved the spear with his right hand one and thrust his other one at the boy’s chest, hitting it straight. However, the power was greatly dulled with Dario’s strong hold on the spear, dealing no serious damage.

He instantly abandoned his extra spear and clung on to the other. Weapons were nothing but tools, disposed of when wanted and used when needed. Keeping his distance was the best way to do things, especially for a mage.

Water fell on Dario’s face, making him close eyes out of habit. That was when a strong impact on his chest sent him backwards. It was terrifying how durable these humans were. Their breastbones should be cracked, but nearly every trained warrior stands up without a hitch. That also meant the battles would last longer and it wasn’t just a decisive moment that decided the victor. It was overall battle prowess.

The stunned boy tried to stand up, but a spear was placed upon his throat and Dario spit to the side. “I give up.” If anything, the hate in his eyes only amplified.

“Why must you steal everything from me?” Dario mumbled as he walked away, tears falling from his eyes unseen by the others, his words evading their ears.

“Well, well. You truly ended up getting stronger. I had no idea you could learn the basics in a year. That’s really good.” Adrian complemented. “Follow me, we should learn your Ki type.”

“There are types?” Edward asked, following Adrian into below one of the trees.

“Indeed. There are five. Aether of creation. Entropy of destruction. Prana of life. Wither of death. Soul of Will.” Adrian explained, grabbing a leaf from the tree.

He closed his eyes and pinched the leaf as it slowly started burning, into nothing but ash.

“Mine is Entropy, and the others will change the leaf in different ways. What you must do is try to inject your life energy into the leaf. It won’t affect your lifespan in any way, so don’t worry.” He continued.

Edward picked up a leaf from the ground and held it, closing his eyes. He willed his energy to enter the leaf and opened his eyes. It had gotten a metallic exterior, hard to the touch.

“That was mana. Try again.” Adrian said, giving him another leaf.

Willing the energy into the weapon didn’t work, but he wanted to inject the life force. That would mean it is inside everything, and could be controlled by common folk even if they weren’t a mage.

He held the leaf, closing his eyes and letting what would be wasted move to a single spot, to the leaf. Edward had noticed his mana leaving his body before, but the volume never changed. That gave him an idea that another energy source existed, and could be tapped into with certain methods. The theory happened to be true.

Edward opened his eyes, staring at nothing but a black piece of charred leaf.

“That was Wither, the element of death. The users are extremely dangerous where even a single hit from them can greatly weaken the opponent. Let me show you what Ki is capable of.” Adrian said, slamming his spear to the tree. It nearly budged, but nothing else. As Edward tried to open his mouth, Adrian hit the tree again. This time a loud thud sounded out and the tree greatly moved to the side.

“That was a skill called Impact, a staple Entropy skill everyone is capable of learning. This is another one.” Adrian’s spear tip lit up a violent blue as he swung, the light getting brighter. Then he swung his blade, a lightning strike hitting the aimed spot and charring the grass. “That was Discharge.”

“Interesting.” Edward tapped his chin. They were truly powerful. Maybe even more so than his bullets. That could mean only one thing. The power scaling raised the mages to ridiculousness in the latter stages, raising their status.

“Father said you were a grandmaster. Can you tell me more about the rankings?” Edward asked, his thirst for knowledge taking over.

“Ah, you wouldn’t know since it isn’t really formal. There are seven stages to knights, from weakest to strongest: Trainee, Fighter, Warrior, Master, Grandmaster, Ancestor and Divine. Mages have five rankings: Acolyte, Adept, Magus, Arch-Magus and Divine.” Adrian explained. “A Magus is as strong as an Ancestor, while a Divine knight is stronger than a Divine mage. The bottleneck is really troublesome to walk through and would make the user a true divine if you could believe the words of strangers.”

“Where does that place me on the food chain?” Edward asked.

“A Trainee is the lowest, but considering you are an Apostle, you could fight a Warrior or an Adept toe to toe.” Adrian answered. “Well, it seems I can’t teach you anymore. Wither isn’t my specialty.”

“What about the Thunder Hedgehog style?” Edward asked.

“Hmm? You still want to learn it? Beyond the basic level? That is a first.” Adrian commented. “Everyone is swayed by Ki control.”

“That can come later. I won’t stop until I’m as good as you.” Edward said, placing a smirk on Adrian’s face.

“Hahaha. Then your new sparring partner will be me, since I know of no other way to make you an Intermediate.” Adrian said.

“I don’t care.” Edward said. He had to get used to fighting a stronger opponent.

Adrian produced a wooden spear from thin air, greatly surprising Edward. These were padded, however. Adrian instantly shot a thrust, bounds and leaps above Dario. If he wanted to win, he needed to use magic. Edward didn’t shy from playing all the cards in his hand.

He shot the spear with a water bullet, enough to divert its course, countering with a thrust of his own. Adrian sidestepped, swinging the spear at his head. Edward slipped, shooting a lesser condensed Zauberei Pfeil mid-fall. The fast projectile took its rightful place on Adrian’s left knee.

Adrian tried to strike his fallen opponent, but Edward rolled to the side. A grin appeared on Edward’s face, answered by another one on Adrian. As he got up and swung the spear, the impact sent Edward away, breaking his spear.

The juggernaut known as Adrian never stopped his charge, threatening to hit his student. Edward entered a trance, running to the training field absentmindedly as he quickly recharged four stronger bullets and supercharged another two.

The fact that the previous one didn’t affect him made Edward even more troubled. He snapped out of his trance as he reached the training ground, picking up another spear. The abnormally fast thrusts forced Edward to take a step back from each of them. The violent blue light from before sparked up on Adrian’s spear blade as he sent several thrusts at Edward, every one of them forcing Edward to take a step back, all the while the lightning started flaring a pure white.

“[Zauberei Pfeil X2]” Edward shouted, shooting it from the tip of his spear. It caught Adrian with his guard down, letting it tear off a part of his clothes at his right shoulder, the bullet bouncing off of him.

“That’s crazy.” Edward stated, thrusting the blade at Adrian’s solar plexus. The recipient easily grabbed the spear, throwing it away along with Edward. The cat-like reflexes came into view as the boy fell on his feet. There was no way for him to defeat such a monster. No. There was. But Adrian wanted to teach him something.

‘Thunder Hedgehog style. Dodging and parrying, sending one decisive strike after another.’ He thought. Tightly clenching his spear, he injected his Ki into it. He thrust the blade at Adrian, not hitting the man. Surprisingly, a black trail of smoke was left where his spear had been, giving Edward an idea.

He haphazardly swung the blade everywhere. Adrian grunted as he spun his spear, finding it unmovable. The smoke blocked his sight, not even letting him see beyond a meter. That was enough. But the effect of Miasma wasn’t great for him, as it would chip away at his stamina with great speed if he stood here. So he run ahead, exiting the miasma.

“[Zauberei Pfeil X5]” Edward shouted, scaring Adrian into the smoke as a bullet flew straight past his head. That was bad news if it hit the head. His shoulder still ached from the blunt force.

Edward stared at the smokescreen he made with respect for himself, filling the cylinder with supercharged bullets.

The silhouette of Adrian couldn’t be seen from the oily black smoky substance, the same true for Adrian who feared the bullet and stayed inside.

“[Clock of Bullets]” Edward shouted, jumping head into the smoke. Adrian heard the boy, but the Miasma had an effect on ears too and would confuse the ones inside. He regretted ever giving the brat a chance. It was really tricky staying inside the smoke and not get tired and not get ambushed on the way out. Not to mention this thing was incorporeal.

A strong force hit his right arm, instantly shattering his elbow. The piercing power was nothing, but the blunt force was simply ridiculous. It wasn’t something Apostles should be playing with.

Edward had found the man as his finger gun had brushed past him at some point in time, thrusting his spear at where he assumed his chest was. It was his first time, but there was a first to everything. He created a bullet outside of his mindscape, or rather, a shielding or a spearhead.

“[Zauberei Mantel]!” It hit the man, sending him flying out of the smoke.

Adrian laughed as Edward walked out of the smoke. He had fallen on the ground.

“Haha, now you’re an intermediate.” Adrian said, breathing heavily.

“How?” Edward asked.

“Since you learned how to correctly use the style.” Adrian said, holding his hands up. Edward assisted in him getting up. “But it’s ridiculous. How did you learn imbuing your weapon with Ki mid-fight?”

“I just tried what I did with the leaf.” Edward explained. “Just moving what would have been lost to power my weapon.”

“Huh? So you’re saying you found such a great method from my explanation? Honestly, you’re a goddamn prodigy.” Adrian said, scratching the back of his head. “It should take at least four years to get to the basic level.”

"Prodigy, huh? Might be." Edward mumbled.