After Kai had fully rested, he walked to the center. Looking ahead, he saw Enrico warming up—finally, after months, he would have his rematch. Even if Enrico was stronger now, he wouldn't back down. Taking his stance, he pointed his sword and signaled to Enrico, who returned the gesture.
Stretching out his other arm, Enrico took a strange fighting stance unfamiliar to them. Thanks to the system, which had been observing while he was unconscious, he managed to learn that form.
'It's not perfect yet, but I'll get used to it with time.'
He had asked the system as soon as he woke up, and after working so hard for that stingy system to explain the pose and techniques, he had learned a little. He couldn't lie—he really liked how his body, even unconscious, was working so hard, and thanks to that effort, he had reached a new level.
[It was surprising. The constellations got really excited about it.]
'I'm excited too.'
Even though he was eager to use that technique soon, the main goal here was to awaken Kai's magic. Giulio raised his hand in prayer for Kai, while Camila lowered hers to signal the start of the match, as Kai had requested.
"You may begin."
Kai immediately appeared beside Enrico, gripping his sword tightly and focusing completely.
"Third Lunar Technique: Dawn Slash."
A double slash in a wide arc, like a moon about to become full. Kai aimed at two points simultaneously—one offensive and one as a distraction. The distraction was a feint, while the real attack came from the other side.
A fist struck Kai's sword, launching it upward. He was slightly shocked—he wasn't the type to drop his sword even under pressure. Enrico appeared in front of him and landed a punch that sent him flying, breaking all the stored wooden swords.
"Well, that ended quickly."
"Seriously? Is the gap that big?"
While Giulio and Camila commented, Liam just stared at where Kai had been thrown. He couldn't have gone down like that—he knew Kai too well. After all, he had trained with him all these months and fought alongside him in battles that could've killed them.
Kai quickly stood up, surprising the two, grabbed his sword, and charged at Enrico—exactly what Liam had expected, and what Enrico hoped for.
'Perfect.'
Kai used a crescent slash and launched an attack at Enrico, who dodged with a sidestep. Running toward Kai, Enrico delivered an upward kick straight at Kai's face.
"Half-Moon Guard."
Using the second technique, Kai deflected and redirected the kick to the right. Taking another stance, Kai prepared the ultimate move he had completed from the Luna technique.
"Fourth Technique: Silent Slash."
A subtle and fast strike, almost imperceptible, aimed at vital points or weak structures. It wasn't a destructive attack, but when it hit, the result was deadly. Ideal for duels or assassinations, though Kai knew it wouldn't kill Enrico, so he used it.
The slash passed through as Enrico ducked. The speed of that attack was above all of Kai's previous techniques—yet still not enough. Enrico's fist burst into flames, and four punch marks appeared on Kai's body, visible through the burned spots in his clothing.
Just as Kai was about to be thrown backward, Enrico grabbed his leg and slammed him into the ground, destroying it. Without pause, he raised his hand and began firing multiple fireballs down at Kai.
"Enrico, wha—"
"Don't interrupt."
Hearing Enrico's serious voice, Giulio and Camila stopped. Liam was nervous about what was happening but chose to trust and gripped his spear just in case things went too far. Enrico stopped casting magic and looked at Kai, who was nearly unconscious.
"Come on, is that all you've got?"
Kai tried to stand but was met with a fiery kick that slammed him into the wall.
"Kai, you still haven't awakened your compatible magic, have you?"
Using charged momentum, Enrico launched himself into the air and came down with an axe-kick onto Kai. When it hit, large cracks spread across the ground.
[Don't you think you're going too far?]
'No. This is necessary to unlock his first magic.'
The first magic was quite unique and even blocked other magics from forming. To unlock it, Kai's body needed to be pushed to the limit, at least when he was at 80% of Circle 1. It was difficult—unless you knew what his magic was.
"Kai, focus your mana into your mana heart. Instead of just trying to draw magic from it, try to sink it with all your mana. Fill it up and observe how your magic flows within."
Kai's eyes lit up upon hearing Enrico. Now he understood why Enrico had been so harsh—this made him both happy and sad.
'If this is what he wants, I can't disappoint him.'
He stood up and grabbed his sword again. While concentrating mana into his heart, he continued attacking Enrico. Dodging every strike, Enrico began to notice the sword glowing—it meant it was getting stronger.
"Crescent Slash!"
Dodging downward, Enrico saw that the magic slash was larger and that Kai's circle had reached 90%.
'As always, these crazy protagonists...'
Launching fire magic, Kai tried cutting through it with his sword's magic-cutting ability. He managed to cut the ones in front, but when one split, it hit him.
'I'm starting to understand.'
He was starting to get it—his mana heart was filling, and he felt like it was becoming soaked.
"Is my magic water?"
Trying to use this feeling, he felt calmer—but also sensed it wasn't just that. Enrico appeared behind him and slammed him into the ground again. Kai was getting tired of being thrown around.
"Wrong. It's not water magic—and don't even think it could be ice."
Rolling to the side to dodge a descending kick, Kai tried to think of something.
"Kai, you're right about one thing—the base is water. But your magic encompasses everything that can exist in a certain place."
Kai was surprised—how did Enrico know so much about him? But now he thought carefully—if his magic was a place, then maybe... a strange kind of river?
'No, from what he said... it's much more than that.'
His eyes seemed to take on a new form. With incredible speed for someone of his circle, he appeared behind Enrico, shocking the three onlookers. His sword gained more sharpness as it became surrounded by water—but it wasn't just that. With an explosion, smoke filled the area, and after a second, when it cleared, Enrico was holding the sword with both hands.
"Oceans. Your magic isn't just water. It's massive and encompasses everything like an ocean."
Kai's eyes had the color of the deep ocean itself. That's right—the name of his magic, so unique and far beyond simple water magic, was Ocean Magic.