"Dad, can this mark be removed?" Aeolos, after recounting his miserable experience, looked at his father with hopeful eyes. He had never endured such hardship in his life.
Although schoolwork had been tough, once he adapted, it wasn't too bad. But the experience brought by this mark was awful. Every time he was dragged into that mental space, the gray-robed swordsman would kill him with one strike. The feeling of being executed on schedule every day was unbearable.
"This mark is... quite unique." Muria, pretending not to know, grabbed his son's wrist. A transparent yet solidified mental force emerged from Muria's forehead and flowed into the mark on Aeolos' wrist.
Boom—!
A familiar feeling of his consciousness being forcibly pulled occurred, and Aeolos' expression tightened. The barren world where he had been killed seven times reappeared. However, this time, the blinding sword light didn't immediately engulf his vision.
"Father!" Aeolos was stunned as he saw his father standing beside him. His father's refined and elegant demeanor, even the crystal glasses on his nose, were exactly the same as in the outside world, except for the fact that the book his father had been holding was now a sword.
"So, this is the mental world you were talking about? Not bad," Muria said as he examined the surroundings. He had already experienced this sword mark before giving it to his son.
"Watch out!" Aeolos shouted in alarm. The gray-robed swordsman who had haunted his nightmares had appeared and was now swinging his sword at his father.
"This thing killed you seven times?" Muria smiled at his son's warning. Without even turning his head, he casually thrust his sword forward.
From the point where Muria's sword made contact, a wave of sword energy expanded outward, rapidly growing into a storm of sword energy that completely swallowed the gray-robed swordsman.
"It's just a mental imprint left by a swordsman. If your swordsmanship surpasses his, you can easily destroy him. The fact that you've been instantly killed every time without a chance to resist means the gap between your sword skills is far too large."
After easily obliterating the gray-robed swordsman, Muria chuckled at the stunned expression on Aeolos' face. As he spoke, another swordsman, dressed in luxurious robes, materialized out of thin air.
"It seems that this mark contains more than one swordsman's mental imprint," Muria said with a smile, swinging his sword again to dispatch the newly appeared opponent.
…
In the desolate world, Aeolos watched in awe as his father cut down a tall, giant swordsman wielding a greatsword in just three strikes.
"That's number 316," Aeolos silently counted. This was the number of sword spirits his father had slain since entering the world of the mark.
At first, Muria had defeated them all with a single stroke. But now, it was taking three strikes to defeat the opponents, making Aeolos realize that the sword spirits were becoming stronger.
From the first swordsman alone, who had nearly killed him with ease, Aeolos understood that his father possessed exceptional skills, far beyond ordinary fighters.
…
"Father, you're amazing!" Aeolos said excitedly, opening his eyes for the first time after not being killed in the mental space. He watched his father destroy the 372nd swordsman's imprint with nine strikes, causing the entire desolate world to collapse. The display of overwhelming power left Aeolos full of admiration.
"Of course, I'm your father. How could I not be amazing?" Muria responded with pride, glancing at Mikaela, who shook her head in exasperation.
"But… why hasn't the mark disappeared yet?" Aeolos' expression suddenly froze when he realized the sword-shaped mark on his wrist was still there, only slightly dimmer.
"This mark belongs to you. If you want it to disappear, you'll have to break it yourself. If I break it, it won't count," Muria said, smiling as Aeolos' face turned pale.
"Then, Dad, if it won't disappear on its own, can you help me remove it?" Aeolos looked at his father with hope. Given how powerful his father was, surely he could solve this problem!
"Why would you want to remove it? This is a rare opportunity to hone your swordsmanship. Many swordsmen dream of having something like this. You stumbled upon it in the labyrinth, so you should cherish it," Muria scolded, looking at his son in disbelief.
"Oh…" Aeolos responded gloomily. Watching his father tear through the entire world of the mark had been exhilarating, but when it came to his own abilities, how long would it take for him to reach his father's level?
After all, the very first swordsman had already been strong enough to instantly kill him. And there were 372 swordsmen's imprints in total. To defeat them all seemed impossibly difficult. If he couldn't defeat them, he'd be killed. The thought made Aeolos feel like his future was bleak.
…
Time quietly passed, and Aeolos grew from an elementary school student into a middle schooler. His life hadn't changed much. The workload in middle school was slightly heavier than in elementary, but Aeolos could still maintain perfect scores in all subjects.
However, each time he scored perfectly, there were always a few other students tied for first place, making Aeolos feel like he was just an ordinary kid.
The only thing that made him feel a little different was that every night, he would be killed once. In fact, Aeolos had grown used to it. After all, this death was just a mental illusion, not real death.
What Aeolos didn't realize was that through his nightly "deaths," his mental resilience had been tempered to an almost unbreakable level. Mind control and charm spells had little to no effect on him.
At the same time, Aeolos felt that his combat experience was richer than his classmates'. Every week, the sword in his possession, which he couldn't get rid of, would transport him to the labyrinth for a night. Then, by dawn, he would be brought back.
His weekly labyrinth trips had made Aeolos incredibly familiar with the place. He had gone from barely surviving to being able to hunt weaker monsters inside the labyrinth.
…
"Mom, Dad!" A tall, upright young Aeolos returned home, greeting his parents. His attention quickly shifted to his mother—or more specifically, to her swollen belly.
"It's been three years now. How much longer until my sister is born?" Aeolos looked at his mother's belly with a mix of disappointment and anticipation.
He remembered his father telling him he'd have a little sister when he started middle school. Now, he was about to graduate, and his sister still hadn't been born. Aeolos felt both sad and eager for her arrival.
Soon, he'd be leaving Holy Flame City to attend high school in another city. That meant he might not see his sister when she was born.
"Not long now. Your sister will be born soon. Why are you in such a hurry?" Muria, sitting on the sofa, glanced at his son.
"I'm about to go to high school!"
"Well, your sister will probably be born right around the time you leave for high school."
"What!" Aeolos' face showed undisguised disappointment. He regretted that he wouldn't be able to see his sister as soon as she was born.
"What are you so worked up about? You'll have breaks in high school. You can come back and see her then."
"Oh, okay."
…
"Mom, Dad, I'm leaving!" Aeolos stood at the door, all his personal belongings packed, and said goodbye to his parents, who sat calmly in the living room.
"Alright, go ahead. I'll deposit your monthly allowance into your magic crystal card," Muria replied, waving dismissively without turning around, already preparing to focus on his next role as a stay-at-home dad.
"Okay!" Aeolos, still disappointed that he hadn't seen his sister born, left home. He boarded a magic-powered carriage heading for the floating ship port, where he would take a ship to another city.
"This kid has finally grown to the point where he can live independently!" Muria exclaimed with relief, tossing aside his newspaper as Aeolos closed the door.
"I've noticed that ever since I got pregnant, you've been paying less and less attention to Aeolos," Mikaela remarked as her belly, which had been swollen, suddenly returned to normal. Even when pregnant with three children, her body never changed like an ordinary person's.
"He's old enough. There's no need to keep fussing over him. He's not a little kid anymore. Come on, Mikaela, let's head back to Sylops to rest. We can leave a couple of avatars here to handle things," Muria said.
"Aeolos is still just a hatchling by dragon standards!" Mikaela retorted.
"A hatchling is still a dragon!" Muria responded.
"By the way, how do you plan to raise our daughters once they're born? The same way as Aeolos?"
"No way!" Muria's face immediately shifted. "There's no way I'll let my daughters go through that. Once they're born, I'll announce to the world that I have three beautiful daughters! I'll host the grandest banquet for their birth. They'll be the most honored princesses in the world!"
"You're so biased!" Mikaela shook her head, feeling bad for their eldest son. Their daughters hadn't even been born yet, but Muria was already favoring them. Once they arrived, would Aeolos be completely sidelined?
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