Chapter 21: Rayan
Aiden stood a short distance from Rayan, his chest rising and falling fast as he panted hard. His whole body trembled a little. Sweat trickled down his forehead.
He had used every bit of his strength and focus just to block that sudden attack, and his arms still felt completely numb. A sharp, burning ache spread through his wrists and elbows, reminding him how huge the force behind that single kick had been.
He looked down at his hands. The skin was red. His fingers were stiff. Even though he had managed to defend himself, the hit had almost broken his guard.
It was only because he had used mana to make himself stronger at the last second that he had not been thrown to the ground. The attack had been so fast—so sudden—that his mind still replayed it in pieces. One blink, and the man had already reached him.
Aiden slowly raised his head. His gaze fell on the man standing in front of him—Rayan—the blue-haired, gray-eyed stranger who had appeared in his garden moments ago and introduced himself with a blow faster than anything Aiden had ever seen. It was even faster than sound itself.
Rayan stood there calmly, his body relaxed, his hands still in his pockets as if nothing had happened. His face showed no anger, but there was a cold sharpness to his aura—like a wild, destructive storm held inside his flesh and blood. The faint hum of lightning energy seemed to crackle around him, bending the air near him.
Just as Aiden was about to speak, still catching his breath, a sudden, angry voice cut through the tension like a whip.
"Rayan! What the hell are you doing?!"
The tone was fierce, full of fury and disbelief. Aiden immediately turned his head toward the voice. He saw Sara, his mother, standing at the edge of the garden. Her long hair swayed in the wind. Her eyes were sharp as daggers. Her face showed pure motherly rage.
"How can you just suddenly attack Aiden without even telling him?! Do you want to hurt him?!" she shouted, taking a few steps forward. Her voice echoed across the lawn.
The air grew heavy. Even Rayan, who moments ago seemed as solid as a mountain, stiffened a little at her tone. His previously calm, distant expression wavered for the first time. He turned his head toward her, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Sara… when did you get here?" he asked, his voice stiff, almost careful.
Sara narrowed her eyes. "You are trying to change the subject, huh?" Her words were cold and direct. "Answer me—why did you suddenly attack Aiden?!"
Rayan's mouth twitched a little. The stern look on his face cracked before he gave a faint, helpless chuckle. "It was just a joke," he said, his tone trying to sound casual, though it held clear tension. "I did not mean to harm him. Since he is my first student, how could I even think of hurting him before teaching him anything?"
Sara's glare only deepened. "You better not think you can do something like this again! Or did you forget how I used to beat you up when you were a little kid? You would always cry and run away every time I scolded you!"
Rayan froze completely. His expression turned from awkward to outright embarrassed. The color drained a little from his face, as if someone had hit him with an invisible blow. He coughed lightly, trying to hide his discomfort.
"Okay, okay! Let's end this talk here, alright?" he said quickly, raising both hands in fake surrender as a nervous smile crossed his lips.
Aiden could not help but blink in confusion. *Wait… Mom used to beat him when he was a kid?* The thought was strangely funny and surprising at the same time.
Rayan quickly turned back toward Aiden, clearing his throat. His face returned to its usual composed, serious look.
"From today onward, I am your new teacher. I will be the one who teaches you about Wind and Lightning mana," he said in a firm tone. "And do not think that I will go easy on you during training or duels as your parents did. In a real fight, no one will show you mercy. If you expect mercy from your enemies, you will probably die young."
Sara's eyebrows furrowed again. She opened her mouth, ready to reply—but before she could, Jonathan, who had been watching quietly from the side, gently put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.
She looked at him, frowning a little, but seeing the calm understanding in Jonathan's eyes, she sighed and stopped. Jonathan knew that Rayan was speaking the truth.
It was exactly why he had chosen Rayan to teach Aiden Wind and Lightning Mana. The man's teaching ways were harsh—but they worked. Rayan was the kind of teacher who taught survival through reality, not comfort.
Rayan let out a slow breath, then clapped his hands once to get his student's attention. "Let us introduce ourselves properly first," he said. "My name is Rayan. I am an orphan and a wanderer. I was once a student at the Magic Academy of Elfis in the capital—and I was your parents' junior back then."
Aiden's eyes widened a little at that news. *So he is my parents' junior… and also an orphan?* For a moment, Aiden felt a strange sense of connection.
Like himself in his past life on Earth, this man, too, had grown up without a family—wandering, fighting, surviving. Maybe that explained the sharpness in his tone, the wildness in his aura.
He thought for a moment before replying seriously, "My name is Aiden Syctes. I am thirteen years old, and I am a tri-elemental Stage One mana cultivator."
The moment those words left Aiden's mouth, Rayan's eyes widened dramatically. His calm and composed expression broke completely, replaced by real shock.
"What?! A tri-elemental mana cultivator?" he repeated, his voice filled with disbelief. For a long second, he just stared at Aiden as though he had misheard him. Then his lips curled into a grin, half in astonishment and half in admiration.
Then he asked, "Which element do you have other than Lightning and Wind?"
Aiden replied seriously, "Healing."
Rayan heard this and said, "Healing, so you have an elemental trait from your mother. That makes it even more useful for you during combat. A Lightning Mana Cultivator always fights head-on and has a higher chance of being hurt than other mages."
He let out a small laugh. "So you are a tri-elemental cultivator, huh? Then this is going to be really fun, teaching a genius like you."
Aiden stood silently, his calm eyes watching his new teacher, while Rayan continued to smile—his earlier shock turning into clear excitement. There were very few tri-elemental cultivators in the world.
In the Magic School of Elfis, out of thousands of students, only one or two appeared every few years. Those rare people were called prodigies among prodigies.
Rayan, who was a Stage Four dual-elemental mana cultivator, had only seen one person in his whole life who was a tri-elemental mana cultivator. That person was a student at Elfis Academy. After that, he never saw anyone with three elements again.
The fact that this boy standing before him—barely thirteen—was already at Stage One and had mastery over three elements was almost crazy.
Rayan took a deep breath. His tone changed to one of instruction. "Let us begin with the basics of Lightning mana. Remember this—Lightning is the strongest element when it comes to attacking. It has the highest destructive power of all elements."
His gray eyes grew intense, like storm clouds gathering power. "It is an element meant purely for combat. To use Lightning mana well, you must think about destroying your opponent or the object you want to hit. You must have the will not to stop until your target is totally gone. Do you understand?"
Aiden listened closely. His gaze did not waver. His focus was absolute.
"Yes," he replied firmly.
Rayan nodded in approval. "Good. Now, give it a try. And if you fail, do it again and again until you can create Lightning mana. Do not stop until you can make it."
Aiden nodded once more, his determination burning brighter than ever. He turned toward the wooden training doll standing several meters ahead. Its surface was cracked from earlier training, but it still stood firm—a perfect target.
He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he gathered mana inside his body. His heart began to beat faster, matching the rhythm of the power swirling inside him. He focused on one single thought—*destruction*.
He imagined wiping the doll off the earth completely, leaving nothing behind. Not a splinter, not even dust. His eyes narrowed as he stretched his right hand forward.
Then, with a deep breath, he pushed.
The mana rushed through his body like a tidal wave. It raced through his veins, meeting at his palm. The instant it left his hand, the air crackled violently—a blinding flash burst out.
*Zzzzt!*
Lightning exploded outward in a sharp, bright arc. The sound was deafening—a mix of thunder and raw energy. It struck the wooden doll right in the chest.
Then came the sound of an explosion—*boom!*
The doll did not break. It did not shatter. It *disintegrated*. It was completely vaporized, turned into ashes and tiny particles that scattered with the wind.
Aiden stood there in stunned silence, his hand trembling a little as faint traces of lightning danced around his fingertips. His heartbeat echoed in his ears. This… this was the most powerful attack he had ever let loose. The pure destructive force was beyond anything he had imagined.
Rayan, who had been watching from the side with his arms crossed, blinked once, then let out a low whistle. His lips curved into a grin.
"You learn really fast, huh?" he said in an amused tone, clearly impressed. "It is going to be a lot easier—and much more interesting—teaching you."
Aiden looked down at his hand again, still feeling the faint buzz of electricity dancing under his skin. For the first time, he truly understood the power of Lightning mana—wild, violent, unstoppable.
The day had only just started, but Aiden could already feel it—this was the beginning of something bigger, something fiercer. His training under Rayan would not be easy, but it would be the turning point that would push and shape his strength beyond all limits.
Author's Note: Aiden's first Lightning spell obliterated its target, showing a terrifying new level of power. But Rayan warned that real combat has no mercy. With such destructive force now in his hands, what will happen when Aiden loses control, or when an enemy forces him to use it? And what dangerous secrets about his own power might this violent training uncover? To see the explosive consequences, make sure to add this to your Collections!