The Silverstaff Institute Arc
Episode 9: Training Begins, Part 2
The wind struck Ren Sato's face hard enough to make every breath feel sharpened.
The mountains of Buranda were not kind to visitors.
Temperature dropped with every rise in elevation. The air thinned until even Ren's demonic lungs had to work harder, while the pressure surrounding the mountain paths became increasingly unstable.
Buranda's average peaks climbed beyond two thousand feet, with many reaching much higher.
Headmaster Mei had naturally marked a location near the top.
Ren climbed with one hand pressed against the rocky wall beside him.
His white hair whipped around his face, while his crimson eyes narrowed against the wind.
"Maybe Headmaster Mei actually hates me."
His legs felt heavier with each step.
It was almost insulting.
Ren possessed enough destructive power to reduce enormous structures into loose fragments, yet a mountain had transformed him into a panting mess with sore knees.
"Perhaps I'm not as capable as I thought."
He finally reached what appeared to be seventy percent of the route and stopped beside a narrow ledge.
Ren pulled out the scroll Mei had given him.
The map disappeared from its surface.
New writing slowly materialized.
Ren Sato.
You are the third to arrive at your designated training area.
I assumed training without understanding your weaknesses would be inefficient, so I prepared an assessment for each participant.
Ren nodded slowly.
"Maybe she doesn't completely hate me."
More words appeared.
In short, you're slow.
Ren stared at the scroll.
"Never mind."
The message continued.
Your destructive power is exceptional. So exceptional that I seriously considered refusing your admission to Silverstaff Institute.
Your body constantly condenses excess energy. As time passes, that energy becomes increasingly difficult to contain.
However, you have shown the discipline required to suppress it for years. The benefits of allowing you into Silverstaff outweighed the risks.
Unfortunately, your reaction speed, movement, and close-combat training do not support your destructive ability.
If an opponent catches you unprepared, you may lose before using any of your power.
Silverstaff trains warriors. At present, you resemble a carefully restrained bomb.
Someone should arrive shortly to improve your reactions, speed, and martial skill.
Good luck.
Ren slowly rolled the scroll closed.
"A bomb."
He considered the description.
"A restrained bomb."
The comparison was cruel.
It was also accurate.
A shadow moved farther along the trail.
Ren immediately looked up.
A tall man approached while carrying a bucket filled with catfish.
He possessed very pale skin, short white hair, and bright green eyes with narrow, vertical pupils. His gaze resembled that of a cat watching something it had not yet decided to hunt.
Ren quietly swallowed.
"Scary."
The stranger stopped.
"Appearances can be deceiving, young man."
His tone was calm.
He lifted one eyebrow.
"Why are you standing near my home?"
Ren straightened.
"My apologies."
He held up the scroll.
"My name is Ren Sato. I attend Silverstaff Institute."
The man's expression shifted slightly.
"Headmaster Mei sent me here for specialized training."
"Silverstaff?"
"Yes."
"My wife teaches its second-year students."
Ren blinked.
"She and the headmaster mentioned that a student would come."
The man approached.
"You require martial instruction?"
"Martial arts and improved reactions."
Ren looked toward the steep trail behind him.
"Apparently I'm slow."
The stranger glanced toward the scroll.
"That is an honest assessment."
"I was hoping you'd disagree."
"I do not know you well enough to lie."
Ren appreciated that more than he expected.
He examined the man's posture.
No wasted movement.
Perfect balance despite the uneven path.
Even the bucket of fish remained completely still in his grasp.
"Who are you?"
The stranger's eyes widened slightly.
"My apologies."
He placed one hand against his chest.
"Kyle Cooper."
He shifted the fish to his other hand.
"I teach Mystic Martial Arts."
Ren looked him over again.
Mei had sent him across Buranda to learn from this man.
That alone made Kyle dangerous.
Kyle noticed the scroll.
"May I read it?"
Ren hesitated.
"It's somewhat embarrassing."
"Then it is probably important."
Ren handed it over.
Kyle unrolled the message and read silently.
"Destructive power. Energy condensation. Poor reaction speed."
Ren looked away.
"It sounds worse when spoken aloud."
Kyle returned the scroll.
"We'll focus on your movement, reactions, and the fighting style best suited to your abilities."
He turned toward the higher path.
"Follow me."
Ren's eyes brightened.
Kyle continued walking.
Ren followed closely.
Kyle Cooper's Cabin
The cabin rested farther up the mountain, surrounded by tall trees and snow-covered stone.
It was modest but comfortable.
Two sets of boots waited beside the entrance. Several decorations suggested Kyle lived there with someone else.
His wife, most likely.
Kyle placed the bucket beside the doorway.
Then he walked toward an empty section of the floor.
Ren watched curiously.
Kyle removed several wooden boards, revealing a circular platform covered in glowing blue symbols.
Ren leaned over it.
"You have a teleporter?"
"Yes."
"How many locations can it reach?"
"One."
Ren's excitement weakened.
"Only one?"
"The dojo is too far away for conventional travel."
Kyle stepped onto the platform.
"It saves time."
"Wouldn't walking improve your conditioning?"
"My wife occasionally drags me across the distance."
Ren looked at him.
"For training?"
"For arguments."
Blue light surrounded Kyle.
He vanished.
Ren stared at the empty space.
Then stepped onto the platform.
The symbols flashed.
Reality folded around him.
The Mystic Dojo
Ren appeared inside a wide wooden hall.
Polished floors stretched beneath him. Weapon racks lined the walls, holding blades, staffs, spears, chains, and unfamiliar tools.
Several doors led deeper into the structure.
Kyle waited near the center.
Ren looked around.
"This is smaller than expected."
"This is only the sparring hall."
Kyle opened a set of large doors.
Bright natural light flooded inside.
Ren followed him onto a balcony.
The dojo rested upon the side of a mountain overlooking an enormous realm.
Floating cliffs drifted through the sky.
Waterfalls descended from them into dense forests below.
Mist covered deep valleys.
Strange creatures moved between distant trees, while unfamiliar energy filled the air.
Ren rested both hands against the railing.
"This is peaceful."
Kyle joined him.
"No crowds."
"No whispers."
"No one staring at you because you're a demon."
Ren glanced toward him.
Kyle continued looking ahead.
"Your posture became less tense the moment you arrived."
Ren returned his attention to the scenery.
"All of this would be perfect for resting."
"Rest is part of training."
"Sadly, that isn't why I'm here."
Kyle's voice became firmer.
"When the body reaches its limit, continuing does not create greater strength."
He looked directly at Ren.
"It creates permanent damage."
Ren listened.
"The body and mind must improve together. One cannot carry the other forever."
Kyle walked toward a staircase leading down from the dojo.
"This realm also possesses different laws."
Ren followed.
"What kind of laws?"
"Time moves differently here."
Ren slowed.
"How differently?"
"One day in the Material World equals approximately one year in this realm."
Ren nearly missed a step.
"One day?"
Kyle nodded.
"I could train for ten years in a little over a week?"
"In theory."
Kyle continued down.
"In practice, you would still experience all ten years."
Ren's excitement became more restrained.
"That would be difficult."
"That is why we have living quarters."
Ren glanced toward the floating landscape.
"How was this realm created?"
"No one knows."
"Not even you?"
"I know how it was discovered."
Kyle reached the bottom of the stairs.
"But no one knows what created it."
"The gods?"
"Perhaps."
"Something older?"
"Also possible."
Ren stared toward the sky.
The realm felt ancient.
Older than the structures built within it.
Kyle moved toward a wide field surrounded by waterfalls.
"Come."
The First Lesson
Steam drifted across the training field.
The nearby waterfalls created thick mist, limiting visibility.
The air was warm and dense.
Ren narrowed his eyes.
"It's difficult to see."
Kyle turned toward him.
"You are treating the environment as something separate from the battle."
"Isn't it?"
"No."
Kyle crossed his arms.
"It is part of it."
Ren looked around.
"You cannot select every battlefield," Kyle continued. "You cannot always prepare for every opponent."
He stepped closer.
"You adjust."
Ren's crimson eyes moved through the fog.
"You will learn to fight using hearing, touch, scent, air pressure, energy flow, and instinct."
Kyle placed one hand upon Ren's shoulder.
"We will also design a martial style that supports your destructive power without forcing you to betray your beliefs."
Ren's expression became serious.
"I do not use my abilities directly on people."
"I know."
"There is always another method."
"Usually," Kyle corrected.
Ren pointed one finger toward his chest.
"Everything you teach me will be used in pursuit of a balanced civilization."
Kyle stared at the finger.
Then Ren's face.
"You speak like a philosopher who accidentally became sixteen."
Ren lowered his hand.
"That isn't an insult."
"It wasn't meant as one."
Kyle stepped around him.
"We begin with your energy."
Ren's posture tightened.
"You constantly compress destructive power within your body."
"Yes."
"That compression affects your movement."
Kyle touched Ren's back.
"Your body maintains stability to contain it. You become heavier, less flexible, and slower to react."
Ren looked toward his hands.
"So the same thing keeping everyone safe is restricting me."
"Correct."
"Can that change?"
Kyle stopped in front of him.
"I manipulate the essence of matter and energy."
Ren's eyebrows rose.
"I can convert a portion of your condensed destruction into a neutral form."
"Neutral?"
"Energy without a predetermined purpose."
Ren considered the danger.
"Can you do that regardless of how much I have stored?"
Kyle did not answer.
He placed one hand against Ren's stomach.
Clear blue energy surrounded his palm.
Ren felt it immediately.
The sensation moved past his flesh.
Past his muscles.
Into the mass of destructive energy his body had condensed over years.
Kyle's power wrapped around it.
The pressure began changing.
The heavy force inside Ren loosened.
For the first time in years, the burden within his body felt lighter.
Kyle removed his hand.
"Channel it."
Ren closed his eyes.
Normally, releasing even a portion of his accumulated power risked destroying everything nearby.
This time, energy formed around his hands without damaging the ground.
It had no violent shape.
No destructive property.
Only potential.
Ren slowly opened his eyes.
"It isn't trying to break anything."
Kyle smiled.
"It wants nothing."
The clear energy moved around Ren's fingers.
"You choose what it becomes."
Ren looked toward his own hands.
For once, his power did not feel like a prison requiring constant attention.
Kyle turned toward the dojo.
"We'll begin your physical training after eating."
Ren followed.
"How do you get food inside an isolated realm?"
Kyle raised the bucket.
"I fish."
Ren nodded.
"I should have known."
Kyle glanced back at him.
The boy reminded him of his daughters.
Determined.
Burdened.
Trying too hard to carry everything alone.
He can become more than his power.
Kyle continued toward the dojo.
If he succeeds, Silverstaff will receive a martial artist instead of a weapon.
The Molten Expanse
Far from Buranda, Wander Nozu stood before an ocean of lava.
Molten rivers cut across black stone while volcanoes erupted beneath a dark red sky.
Firestorms moved across the horizon.
The air itself appeared distorted by heat.
Any ordinary traveler would have died within minutes.
Wander felt strangely comfortable.
Almost welcomed.
The heat pressed against his body like something familiar trying to remember him.
Wander unfolded Mei's map.
A temple had been marked somewhere beyond the volcanic region.
He examined the surrounding mountains.
"If I had to guess…"
He pointed toward the tallest range.
"The temple is that way."
He began walking across the hardened ground.
Each step left glowing prints behind.
His thoughts remained fixed upon the church.
The priest knew his name before Wander introduced himself.
He called him an Alloyed Devil.
He claimed Wander's people had been exterminated.
The memory caused his orange markings to flicker.
"How did he know what I am?"
Wander looked down at his hands.
He did not even know what he was.
Not completely.
He shook his head.
"Focus."
The temple came first.
The identity crisis could wait in line with his other problems.
After several minutes, Wander noticed he was completely alone.
A grin spread across his face.
He crouched and plunged his fingers into the blackened earth.
With one pull, he ripped an enormous slab of volcanic rock free.
Wander began spinning.
"HIYAH!"
He hurled it into the sky.
Then sprinted after it.
Wander jumped and landed on top of the flying stone.
Wind rushed through his hair as the slab carried him over the molten terrain.
"Hehe!"
He placed both hands on his hips.
"Best travel method ever!"
A thin line appeared across his body.
It stretched from the top of his head to his feet.
Wander's smile vanished.
Every instinct inside him screamed.
"OH SHI—"
He rolled from the stone.
The line glowed dark blue.
Then it detonated.
The entire slab vanished along with a section of the space surrounding it.
Wander fell toward the ground.
More lines appeared around him.
Each formed faster than the last.
His pupils narrowed.
"Not good."
He struck the ground and immediately slammed one fist into it.
A volcanic wall erupted.
The lines detonated against the barrier.
Smoke swallowed the battlefield.
Wander crouched behind the molten stone.
When the air finally cleared, a figure walked through the haze.
A young woman.
She appeared around seventeen.
Her skin was lightly tanned, and long muted-pink hair flowed down her back, several strands resting over her tired violet-pink eyes.
Golden hoop earrings hung beneath her hair.
She wore a dark combat jacket over a fitted gray top, reinforced trousers, gloves, and practical equipment designed for travel and battle.
A purple crystal hung around her neck.
In one hand, she held a long black sword emitting a cold blue glow.
Her expression remained calm.
Almost bored.
"Still alive?"
She lifted the blade slightly.
"I suppose this assignment will require more effort than expected."
Wander rose into a defensive position.
His orange markings began glowing.
"Who are you?"
The woman paused.
She allowed him to examine her properly.
Her eyes looked exhausted rather than cruel, but her stance revealed complete readiness.
She had not moved within Wander's reach.
Not once.
"You will not enter the temple."
Wander narrowed his eyes.
"Why?"
"You learned too much in the church."
"I learned one insult."
"One word was already more than you were permitted to hear."
The glowing sword rested against her shoulder.
"The priest responsible will never repeat his mistake."
Wander's expression hardened.
"What's inside the temple?"
"Your history."
The words struck harder than an attack.
Wander's markings brightened.
The woman continued.
"History that cannot be allowed to return."
The temperature dropped.
Frost spread across the volcanic ground.
Plasma gathered within the air while the surrounding heat disappeared.
Wander released a quiet laugh.
Magma covered his fists.
"You're doing a terrible job convincing me to leave."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Imprudent savage."
The volcanic expanse reached absolute zero.
Steam poured from Wander's body as his natural heat fought against the impossible cold.
Hundreds of dark-blue lines appeared around him.
Wander lowered his stance.
"Bring it."
He charged.
White particles formed in the air before the woman, blocking his advance.
The plasma lines detonated.
Wander jumped away but several caught him from the side.
He flipped through the air, landed, and immediately threw a punch.
A sphere of lava launched toward her.
She wants distance.
Wander watched carefully.
Let's see what happens when I close it.
The woman raised one hand.
The air surrounding the magma froze.
Temperature dropped below every natural limit.
The sphere slowed.
It did not stop.
Her expression shifted.
"Hm."
She stepped ten meters to the left.
The lava passed through the space where she had stood.
Wander grinned.
He drew both arms back.
"If dodging won't get me close…"
Magma hardened over his knuckles.
Metal Knight Art: Ravu Agatoringu!
Wander unleashed a barrage of punches.
Each strike launched a fist-shaped mass of lava.
The woman moved her sword.
Plasma poles appeared in the air.
They pierced the incoming projectiles and drove them into the ground before exploding.
Smoke flooded the terrain.
The woman slammed one boot downward.
A glowing grid spread across the ground.
Blue plasma lines divided the earth.
They detonated.
Walls rose.
Trenches opened.
The flat terrain transformed into a maze of broken stone.
"Your projectiles were unexpected," she said through the smoke.
"But they still need to travel."
Wander looked through the new battlefield.
"My attacks do not."
Lines formed upon the walls, ground, and empty air around him.
"They appear wherever I choose."
Before either could attack again, the plasma vanished.
Not blocked.
Not destroyed.
Gone.
Wander froze.
The woman's sword lowered.
Soft footsteps crossed the battlefield.
The atmosphere changed.
Heat became irrelevant.
Cold became irrelevant.
Every instinct inside both fighters fell silent beneath something worse.
Death.
Not the threat of it.
Not killing intent.
Death itself had entered the volcanic land.
A small girl walked between the broken walls.
She stood around Yin's height.
Her short white hair rested around a pale face, while vivid crimson eyes watched both fighters with quiet emptiness.
A thin red halo floated behind her head.
Black armor covered parts of her body, blending into torn white fabric.
Massive wings of exposed red-black bone extended from her back, shaped like the remains of something divine that had been killed and forced to keep moving.
Chains circled her body and trailed behind her.
An enormous black greatsword rested against one shoulder.
Its blade glowed with deep crimson heat.
The mana surrounding her was not merely large.
It felt final.
Wander's body understood before his mind could process it.
He could not defeat her.
The pink-haired woman remained completely still.
The white-haired girl stopped between them.
"Why are you fighting here?"
Her voice was soft.
It carried across the entire volcanic region.
Neither Wander nor the woman answered.
The Roya Kingdom
Far within the Southern Hemisphere, Yin Pendragon's eyes snapped open.
Sweat rolled down his face.
He stood near a window inside the Roya castle, still recovering from his battle with Cyprus.
Three distant presences entered his awareness.
One belonged to Wander.
The second felt cold and precise.
The third made Yin's stomach twist.
A deep red aura surrounded it.
Not fire.
Not ordinary hostility.
Something far worse.
Malice that did not feel emotional.
It felt natural.
As though violence, death, and ruin were simply facts surrounding the being.
Wander's aura was almost invisible beside it.
Yin stood immediately.
Amani looked toward him.
"What happened?"
"I need to go."
"Where?"
"Training."
The answer came far too quickly.
Amani narrowed her eyes.
"You're lying."
"I forgot something."
"You're still lying."
Yin grabbed his coat.
"I'll explain later."
He moved toward the exit.
Wander was in danger.
Whatever had approached him felt far beyond anyone Yin had encountered.
It did not threaten death.
It made death feel inevitable.
An Unwanted Alliance
The pink-haired swordswoman stared at the white-haired girl.
Her employer had warned her about someone matching this description.
A being who could not be fought.
A being who could not be escaped.
Survival depended entirely upon whether she allowed it.
The woman leaned slightly toward Wander.
Her voice became a whisper.
"You can sense it, correct?"
Wander nodded.
"Our combined power is insignificant compared to hers."
"I noticed."
"Running is not possible."
"What about talking?"
"Do not attempt to reason with her."
The white-haired girl's red eyes moved toward them.
The woman continued.
"If she attacks, I will move first."
Wander kept his fists prepared.
For the moment, the person trying to kill him had become the closest thing he had to an ally.
"What should I call you?"
The woman did not look away from the danger ahead.
"Astraea."
"Wander."
"I know."
"That remains unsettling."
"Focus."
Astraea's long pink hair moved through the frozen air.
She tightened her grip upon the blue-lit sword.
The white-haired girl tilted her head.
Her skeletal wings shifted.
Chains scraped across the dead ground.
Lava stopped flowing.
Distant eruptions became silent.
Even the volcanic fire appeared afraid to move around her.
The girl took one small step.
Stone beneath her feet turned gray.
"Answer me."
Her crimson eyes sharpened.
"Why are you fighting near my grave?"
Wander slowly looked toward Astraea.
Astraea looked back.
Neither had known the temple was built over a grave.
Wander swallowed.
"Wonderful."
He forced a grin.
"This trip just became much worse."
To Be Continued ➡️