SAI SHINU
Immediately, I felt a presence behind me. Instinct kicked in—I spun around and raised my dagger, barely blocking Yosuke's strike.
"So… you've got good reflexes," he said with a grin.
Before I could even breathe, his form blurred. He vanished again.
"Down!" Jiro shouted, shoving my head low just as Yosuke's attack sliced through the air where I'd been standing. He was hitting us from blind spots, moving like a ghost.
We knew we didn't stand a chance, but that didn't matter. We kept swinging, dodging, pushing ourselves past exhaustion just to keep up with him. My lungs burned, my arms ached, but I refused to quit. Jiro felt the same—we both fought with everything we had.
Eventually, our bodies gave out. We dropped to the ground, bruised, panting, completely drained.
"Do you surrender?" Yosuke asked, calm as ever.
"Yes," we both wheezed in unison.
He chuckled. "Both of you put up a good fight."
I glared at him through heavy breaths. "Good fight? You were holding back. You call that good?"
"Yes," he said bluntly. "I held back. If I hadn't, you both would've been finished in a single blow."
I had no response. Just silence. I laid back and stared at the sky, letting the cool air ease the fire in my chest. For a moment, I almost drifted into sleep, but the sunrise pulled me back.
By then, I felt like death itself from the exhaustion. Still, Jiro and I both knew the day was starting—so we pushed ourselves up.
"Thank you for the training," I told Yosuke, and left for my room.
When I collapsed onto my bed, my mind replayed every move. Especially that one. The way he vanished—it was like teleportation. Instant. Unreachable. I wanted to learn it. No… I needed to learn it.
That was when I noticed something strange. My heart was racing, my body buzzing with a sensation I had never felt before. For the first time in my life… I wanted to learn something. Not because someone else forced me. Because I wanted it.
A knock pulled me from my thoughts. I opened the door to see Jiro.
"Come with me," he said immediately.
I didn't ask questions. I followed him down the hall until we stopped at a door. He knocked, but no answer came.
"Who's inside?" I asked, curiosity rising. This wasn't one of our rooms.
The door creaked open. Taro stood there.
"Both of you. Come in," he said.
We stepped inside. The room was dim, almost too quiet. I frowned. "Why are we here?"
"You'll see," Taro replied. His serious tone put me on edge.
He began to speak. "Yosuke told me about your practice. About how he explained this world's power system. But your abilities… they're unusual. They don't align with the way our powers normally work."
"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously.
Taro folded his arms. "This world is divided into three generations of power. Each one is different."
Jiro leaned forward, curious. "What are they?"
"The first generation can control the basic four elements—but they cannot create them. For example, if a first-generation warrior controls water, they must be near a river or lake to use it."
He paused, then continued. "The second generation is the opposite. They can produce the four elements, but they can't fully control them. If they generate fire, they might wield it for a moment—but never with complete precision."
"And finally… the third generation. The enchanters. They cannot control or produce any element. Instead, they empower others, amplifying their abilities beyond their limits."
A silence lingered. My thoughts spun—three generations, each with strengths and weaknesses.
I narrowed my eyes. "Which generation are you?"
Taro's lips tightened. He didn't answer.
The silence was louder than any reply.