The air was cold, and the morning mist was rising from the surface of the palace courtyard. Reinh was standing at the center of the courtyard, holding his wooden sword, looking coldly at August, who was standing across from him.
August was also holding his wooden sword tightly and moving slowly, ready to begin.
No words were exchanged. A heavy silence ruled between them, with only the sound of the wind passing through the trees of the courtyard.
Several weeks had passed since the assassination incident, and this was their final training match. After this fight, they would soon leave the Tyrant Palace, and Reinh would be able to return to the Garden of Crowns.
Because of the condition of Reinh's and August's injuries, they had not had any training battles during the past few weeks. Reinh had spent all his time training alone, and now he wanted to see how much he had improved during this time.
The first move came from Reinh. He suddenly jumped forward toward August, delivering an attack whose speed and precision were completely unexpected.
The wooden sword came in at an angled strike toward August's defense, and August dodged easily. However, something in Reinh's movements had changed. Every movement was heavier, more precise, and smoother than in their last battle.
August paused for a moment, clearly confused.
How was this possible? In such a short time, how had his young master become this much stronger?
His gaze fell on Reinh's body, and he examined him carefully with his eyes. He could not feel any mana from him. That meant Reinh had not absorbed the core. Of course, such a thing would be unlikely and extremely foolish.
But then how? No mana had been transferred to him, so how had he gained such speed and strength?
Could it be that he had tempered his body with that amount of mana? But that would be pure madness. If his body had been placed under such brutal pressure, it would have exploded. So what had happened?
The battle continued. Reinh dodged attacks with incredible precision while also attacking himself. His strikes were solid, fast, and had almost no unnecessary movement.
August was forced to defend, yet every time he thought he had the advantage, Reinh made a sudden move that caught him off guard.
This was extremely strange to him. He knew that in sword skill, this young boy was truly superior to him. These were skills that could only be obtained through endless, repeated battles.
He did not know how his young master had gained such skill, and he could only attribute it to an incomprehensible talent. Still, only a few weeks had passed, and now he could no longer compete with this twelve-year-old child without using mana.
Did this even make sense?
The wooden swords clashed again and again. The sound of their strikes echoed through the courtyard and bounced off the walls of the palace.
At one moment, Reinh launched a spinning attack. His sword came in from an angle that August had not expected at all.
August barely managed to dodge, but the power and speed of Reinh's movement shocked him even more. He did not know what had happened to his young master, but he was certain of one thing now.
He could no longer underestimate this boy.
Now August attacked with greater care. Blows were exchanged one after another, and there was no clear winner. Unlike before, the old man held himself back.
"Young master, you truly are a monster."
During one of his dodges, his mana was released unconsciously.
The flow of mana rushed toward Reinh like a powerful wave and threw him backward with terrifying force.
The ground beneath Reinh cracked, and dust rose as he hit the ground. August immediately realized what he had done and looked over in shock.
But Reinh stayed on the ground for only a single moment. Then he stood up with the same calm and cold expression.
He was completely unharmed. His breathing was steady, and his body looked perfectly fine. August froze. His eyes widened, and his heart felt like it stopped for a moment.
He could not believe it. He had released his mana. Even though it was only at the level of a person with three mana rings, how had this boy not taken even a scratch?
Were his eyes seeing things?
Unfortunately, this was not the time for such thoughts.
August's eyes filled with shame. He rushed toward Reinh and dropped to his knees, his hands hitting the ground as his voice filled with apology.
"My young master, I'm sorry! I deserve punishment!"
"It's fine," Reinh replied calmly and coldly, without the slightest change in his expression.
There was no anger in his voice, no irritation, only a merciless calm that affected August even more.
He sighed inwardly. This boy would soon return to the Garden of Crowns, and he could already imagine the chaos his return would cause.
'And I will be forced to make a choice.' Until now, he had remained neutral in the matter of supporting one of the Patriarch's children for the right of succession.
However, he knew that sooner or later he would have to choose someone. At first, his thoughts were on the eldest son or the eldest daughter, but now he had found an option better than both of them.
"That's enough. You can go," he then said quietly, placing the wooden sword back in its resting position.
"I understand, young master. Regarding the departure time, I think it would be better to leave tomorrow instead of two days later," August said respectfully.
"That's fine. Make the preparations. We will return to the Garden of Crowns tomorrow," Reinh paused briefly, then agreed.
August then left to make the necessary preparations for the next day, though not much preparation was actually needed.
After the old man left, a miniature dragon suddenly appeared above Reinh's head.
"Your progress is greater than I expected, kid," it said, its tone filled with satisfaction and even pride.
"Thankfully, I didn't endure all that pain for nothing," Reinh replied, nodding slightly. Unlike what he had expected, obtaining a dragon's physical structure had not been easy.
Almost all the bones in his body had turned to ash, and new bones had formed in their place.
And he had experienced that entire process while fully conscious.
What can be said? No pain, no gain, right?