Enopy pushed his wandering thoughts aside as he turned his attention to the freshly cooked wolf in front of him.
"On Earth, this would've fed a family for three to five days—this thing's at least two meters long," he muttered, eyes shifting toward the mountain of four-meter wolves behind Kaito and Erie.
Then something struck him.
"Weird… why does Kaito respect Erie so much?" Enopy wondered, watching them split the meat evenly and interact like equals.
"Whatever," he sighed, letting the question slip from his mind.
He steadied his breathing, calmed his arm, and restrained his aura. Then, with deliberate focus, he touched the tip of his new blade to the wolf's flank.
Whoosh.
In an instant, the wolf was sliced into equal pieces—so cleanly that the dry-mud plate beneath it remained untouched.
He allowed himself a small smile. Precision without waste. Perfect.
"Like it?" Kaito asked, tearing off a chunk of meat with his aura.
"Yeah, th—"
"Maybe you should say 'thank you' or 'thanks,' or better yet—'Thank you, Sir Kaito, for your generosity—'"
"Thanks," Enopy cut him off with a deadpan tone, feigning indifference.
Turning to Layen, Enopy said, "Once I've had time to test out my sword, I want to spar. That cool with you?"
Layen grinned. "Sure. My dad used to do that with me. Sounds fun."
Then—
"Oh, you're all here. Good." Zow appeared suddenly, walking straight up to Enopy. She snatched the piece of meat from his hand and plopped down in his lap. Without warning, she kissed him—uncaring of the half-chewed meat still in his mouth.
She pulled back, licking her lips. "He's mine."
Enopy didn't mind the kiss. But the meat? That mattered. Its nutrients were too valuable to waste.
He grabbed Zow by the back of her neck, locking eyes with her.
"No. You're mine," he said, his voice low, feral, predatory.
Zow shivered under his gaze. "Y-Yea," she stammered, clearly shaken but compliant.
"Good."
Enopy used his aura to levitate the rest of the meat and took a bite. "Can I get more, Kaito?"
"Sure." Kaito casually tossed him a three-meter wolf carcass.
"Thanks."
Enopy caught it with his aura, forming a bowl-like shape beneath it. It was tricky—his control wavered for a moment—but he powered through it.
"Follow me," he told Zow as he made his way back to his caravan.
One hour later…
He devoured the wolf's meat quickly, wasting no time. And with energy to spare, he turned to Zow for a different kind of workout.
Like a wolf, he pounced.
Another hour later…
"Huuh…" Enopy exhaled deeply, stepping away from the bed. "I need to test my sword. Leave."
"Okay," Zow murmured, her voice weak and trembling.
Meanwhile, back at the fire—
"I'm gonna head out," Layen said, grabbing some leftover meat before darting into the forest.
"Interesting kid," Erie commented.
"Yeah, more like a reckless idiot," Kaito muttered.
"Not him. I meant Enopy," Erie clarified.
"Hah." Kaito scoffed. "Even more reckless. But... what he did earlier? Not bad."
"Yeah. If only he were my student."
"Calm down, Erie. You claim you're in your twenties, but you and I both know the truth. If you got your hands on him, you'd probably use your weird cultivation methods on him like you did with me."
Erie's face darkened, silenced.
"But you're right—he has talent," Kaito admitted. "Still, he's not even a magic knight yet."
"If he gets accepted into the training facility, I'll personally train him," Erie said.
"That's years off," Kaito replied thoughtfully.
"Yeah, and he would've died if you hadn't played dead in front of that old man," Erie said bitterly.
"But the old man liked him. He could be someone important," Kaito replied. "Besides, you didn't help either. So don't point fingers."
"I felt him watching me. If I moved, it would've been suicide. It's only human to want to live."
The fire crackled in silence.
Enopy's caravan
"System, scan this item."
[Scan complete.]
"The sword is an inscribed item crafted from aura steel. Aura steel adapts to the user by merging with their aura," the system reported.
"Just like Kaito said…" Enopy muttered. "Well, I want to see what this sword really is. But first—I need to train."
He stepped outside, glancing around. "Where's Layen?"
"He ran that way," Kaito pointed left, toward the woods.
"Thanks."
Forest
Enopy jogged through the trees, searching for Layen. After a while, he frowned.
"Maybe he's dead," he thought half-seriously.
Suddenly—BOOM.
An aura exploded, engulfing the area. It wasn't hostile, but it was intense—and familiar.
Layen.
"This is how my father trained me," Layen's voice echoed, surrounding Enopy.
A tremendous pressure descended, pinning him in place.
Enopy grinned. "You're stronger than I thought. This should be fun."
He tried to counter the pressure by pushing his aura outward—but that only made it worse. His intelligence kicked in. Instead, he turned and sprinted toward the origin of the voice.
The pressure increased again.
He paused. Then took another step. The pressure eased.
A game of direction.
Then—WHAM—the full weight returned.
"Over here!" Layen's voice echoed again.
Enopy turned. Ran. Again and again—each time, chasing the voice, bearing the pressure until sunrise.
"That's enough for today," Layen finally said, withdrawing his aura.
Enopy was drenched in sweat, but his eyes burned with energy.
"That's it?" he asked, disappointed.
"Yup."
"Fine. I'm heading to the Slow Lake for a bath," Enopy said, snapping back to reality.
Slow Lake
The water was crystal blue. Enopy floated on his back, deep in thought.
His sword. His power. His purpose.
He swam to shore, picked up his weapon, and focused.
"Alright," he whispered.
He imagined his arm as a vein, directing aura into the sword. It resisted—at first—but he concentrated, closing his eyes and visualizing the weapon.
Then—
A flash of light pierced his eyelids.
He snapped back to consciousness.
"What's this?"
Let me know if you'd like Chapter 13 or further edits/expansions!