Chapter 19: Duel
Fourteen months had passed since Aiden began learning Healing and Puppeteer Mana.
Day after day, he had trained under his mother's watchful eyes. Every mistake was corrected. Every moment of doubt was sharpened into clear action. The changing seasons watched him grow: the cold of winter, the flowers of spring, and the heat of summer all mirrored the steps of his progress.
And now, under a golden morning sun, he stood in the center of the garden once more.
The grass under his feet swayed softly in a gentle breeze. The faint, clean smell of morning dew hung in the air. Across from him stood his mother, Sara.
Her face was calm, giving no hint of her plans. She wore a light battle dress that shimmered faintly with mana threads sewn into the cloth—the sign of a skilled cultivator ready for a real fight.
Aiden's gaze was steady. His breathing was calm. This was his final test—a true duel against his mother to see if he had really mastered both Healing and Puppeteer Mana.
Sara's eyes met his. A small, confident smile touched her lips. Her voice carried through the still air, soft but full of command.
"We will both have a few seconds before the duel starts," she said. "So begin your preparations—and try to use everything around you as best as you can. You have twenty seconds. Begin now."
Aiden's face grew serious. He replied firmly, "Okay."
The moment he spoke, he closed his eyes for half a second. He focused his mind, feeling the mana moving inside his veins. Then, with smooth precision, he began to spread his mana strings across the entire garden.
This time, however, the strings were invisible.
Aiden had learned this from his mother herself—how to hide the threads of his control from an enemy's eyes. The invisible strings moved silently through the air. They wrapped around stones, twigs, and the scattered training dolls lying near the edges of the field.
Jonathan stood at the far end of the garden, his arms folded. He watched quietly. His eyes showed both pride and a tense waiting. He knew this was not just practice. It was a rite of passage for his son.
As the last second of preparation ticked away, Jonathan's calm, powerful voice cut through the silence.
"Begin!"
The instant the word was spoken, Aiden moved.
He dashed forward. His movements were sharp and smooth. He closed the distance between himself and his mother in seconds. The wind brushed past his face, carrying the scent of grass and dust as he ran.
As soon as he was close enough to attack, he made a **Fire Blade** in his right hand and a water whip in his left—both appearing almost at the same time. The fiery light from the blade flickered against the water's shiny surface, creating a strange, balanced glow between destruction and calm.
He slashed the Fire Blade toward Sara with perfect aim while swinging the water whip from the other side, creating a deadly cross attack.
Sara did not move—not even one step.
Her calmness in that moment was unsettling.
Then, just as Aiden's double attack was about to hit her, a wooden doll suddenly jumped in the way—moving faster than he expected. The doll took the full force of the strike. The Fire Blade tore through its body, and the water whip split its arm off. The puppet shattered into pieces, scattering wood and ash across the ground.
But it had completely stopped Aiden's attack.
Aiden's eyes narrowed slightly. Without waiting, he let both weapons fade. He breathed out once and immediately made a **Fireball** in one hand and a water stream in the other. He threw them at Sara with practiced skill—the fire roared forward, and the water twisted violently behind it.
However, once again, his attacks never touched her.
Sara's stone and wooden puppets blocked everything. The Fireball exploded against a stone puppet's shield. The water stream splashed harmlessly as two wooden dolls took the hit.
None of his strikes reached his mother.
But Aiden had already expected this.
He breathed out calmly, his eyes shining with intelligence. Then, with a small wave of his hand, he joined a Water Wall and a **Wall of Fire** together. He used the mix of elements to create a thick screen of steam that covered Sara's entire field of vision.
The garden was instantly filled with swirling white mist. The air became hot, wet, and impossible to see through.
Using the cover, Aiden moved fast. His invisible mana strings snapped to life. He made a **Cage of Flame** around Sara, sealing her inside a blazing circle. The flames rose high, swirling around her in a perfect ring.
Then, with sharp focus, he took control of the dolls, stones, and even broken pieces from earlier. He made them move like puppets. Each one charged toward the fiery cage, attacking from different directions.
The air was filled with sharp cracks, loud bangs, and the sizzling roar of flames.
Inside the fiery circle, Sara stood completely still. She did not flinch. She did not dodge.
The next second, her own puppets appeared beside her, blocking every attack. Every stone, every wooden doll Aiden sent was stopped. Her movements were tiny—carefully calculated, perfectly precise.
She did not even seem to be sweating.
One by one, Aiden's puppets broke apart. Their bodies burned and crumbled until nothing was left but dust.
Then, for the first time in the duel, Sara moved.
Her body gave off a faint golden glow as Healing Mana surrounded her. The soft, warm light rippled over her skin—she had just activated **Self Healing**, a Stage One spell, making her stronger and faster to recover.
She walked calmly toward the wall of fire.
Each step she took was steady and composed. And when she reached the flames, she simply walked straight through them.
The fire parted around her, as if refusing to touch her, and she came out unharmed. Not a single scratch. Not even a burn.
Aiden's eyes widened a little at the sight.
Sara raised her hand. Her own puppets rushed forward like a well-trained army. They surrounded her, moving with deadly grace as she used them to attack without even moving her own body.
Aiden's focus sharpened instantly. His mana flared as he activated **Burst**, pushing his body up into the air. The wind rushed against his face as he rose, quickly closing the gap between him and his mother.
He could feel the surge of excitement, the battle instinct rising inside him.
When he was close enough, he took control of a nearby rock, turning it into a temporary puppet. With perfect aim, he sent it hurling toward Sara's legs, trying to break her stance.
But Sara, always watching, instantly used a wooden doll to block the strike. The rock hit the puppet, and both shattered into pieces.
At that same moment, Aiden was already within striking distance.
He raised his hands, ready to make another Fire Blade or water whip, but before he could, Sara suddenly moved—faster than his eyes could follow.
With one swift motion, she caught his wrist. She twisted his arm behind his back in one smooth move. The next instant, he was pinned to the ground.
Her grip was firm but careful—she did not want to hurt him.
Sara smiled softly. The warmth of a proud teacher and a loving mother was in her voice. "I win ag—"
But before she could finish, she saw something moving from the corner of her eye.
A wooden doll was rushing toward her fast from the side—its arms raised, ready to strike.
For a moment, she was genuinely surprised.
Aiden had used himself as bait. He let her think she had won so that his puppet could land a hit.
Sara's eyes gleamed with admiration even as she reacted. She swiftly turned her body, still holding Aiden's arm. The puppet's strike missed her by inches. The next moment, a rock puppet smashed into the doll, breaking it into pieces.
The dust settled.
Sara let out a small laugh and looked down at her son, who was still pinned under her. "I win again, dear," she said with a playful smile.
Aiden grinned a little, even in defeat. "Yes, Mom. But if I were one second faster, I would have hit you."
Sara chuckled softly. "Yes, you are right. If you were just one second faster, the attack would have landed. That was a brilliant plan—using yourself as bait, doing the opposite of what every puppeteer would do. It was truly clever, because you knew that I would never hurt you."
Aiden smirked, his voice full of a child's confidence. "Yes. I know you will never hurt me."
Sara smiled warmly at his words.
The duel was over, but in her heart, she was proud—not just of his strength, but of his intelligence, his creativity, and his strong will.
After a short pause, Sara stood up straight and said, "Congratulations on mastering Healing and Puppeteer Mana. For the next few days, you will train only these four elements. You will train until your father finds a good teacher for you—and an artifact that can make you look older, so no one will discover your secret."
Her voice softened at the end, but her eyes still held a trace of worry.
Aiden nodded obediently. "Okay."
As the morning sun reached its highest point, casting a golden glow over the garden, the family's training for the day came to an end.
Aiden walked back toward the house. His steps were a little slow, but filled with a quiet satisfaction. When he entered his room, the familiar comfort welcomed him. He lay down on his bed, feeling the tiredness from the duel fade into a peaceful drowsiness.
Within minutes, his eyes closed, and he fell asleep—his breathing calm and steady.
Outside, the faint sound of the wind brushed through the trees. For the first time in weeks, the house was filled with a deep, serene silence.
Author's Note: Aiden has passed another test, proving he can fight with strategy, not just power. But his parents are now searching for an artifact to change his appearance… and a new teacher. What powerful stranger will enter his life next? And what will they think of a boy who has already mastered four elements by age eight? If you want to meet Aiden's mysterious new mentor, make sure to add this to your Collections!