Aryan sat in his room, took a deep breath, and carefully—very carefully—squeezed his Core. Just a trickle of energy. Just enough to test.
Golden Lightning essence flowed into his blood vessels.
The effect was immediate and overwhelming.
His vision sharpened so suddenly it made him gasp. He could see individual dust motes floating in the sunbeam coming through his window, could count the threads in his curtains from across the room. His hearing amplified—he caught conversations from neighboring houses, heard his mother moving around downstairs, picked up the sound of wind rustling through trees outside.
His muscles felt coiled, powerful, like they'd been compressed into springs ready to explode.
Aryan stood carefully, marveling at how light he felt. His body thrummed with energy, every nerve singing with heightened awareness. He took a step, and it felt effortless, like walking on air.
He swung his arm experimentally.
CRACK!
His hand clipped the edge of his desk—barely touched it, really, just a casual motion—and the thick wooden surface splintered. A crack ran through the wood from edge to center.
Aryan froze, staring at the damage. He'd barely put any force into that movement. Just a casual swing while Lightning flowed through his body, and he'd nearly destroyed his desk.
"Damn..," he muttered, quickly cutting off the energy flow. The heightened senses faded, leaving him feeling strangely dull and heavy. "I definitely can't test this inside the house."
He headed downstairs. His mother had mentioned going into the bazaar to buy supplies. But he was so preoccupied that he forgot about it. Maybe Carl was free. His friend would love to see what Lightning could do. Plus, having someone there in case something went wrong seemed smart.
Halfway through, Aryan remembered, unlike him, Carl had to attend regular classes in the Redian Academy. So, he won't be available either.
Disappointed, Aryan could only head toward the regular training spot.
"The path of the strong truly is a lonely one," Aryan muttered with mock solemnity.
He looked toward the mountain in the distance—his usual training ground, isolated and far from anything he could accidentally destroy. Perfect. And if he went now, he'd have the whole afternoon to experiment.
The mountain was quiet when Aryan arrived, just wind through trees and distant bird calls. He found his favorite clearing, a flat area covered in soft grass with plenty of space and training equipment he used for training the Vajrasana body.
Time to see what he could really do.
Aryan stood still in a martial stance, properly centered himself, and squeezed the Core, the source of his elemental energy. Not a trickle this time. Not a careful test. He flooded his body with as much energy as he could handle.
Golden Lightning exploded through his blood vessels.
The sensation was indescribable. Pure, liquid power rushing through every part of him. His heart pounded like a war drum. His muscles sang with strength. His senses expanded so far it felt like he could perceive the entire mountain.
But more than the physical changes—more than the speed, the strength, the sharpened awareness—was the feeling.
The absolute, intoxicating rush of power.
Adrenaline flooded his brain in a wave so intense it was almost painful. Every fear, every doubt, every careful consideration he'd held for four months evaporated like morning mist. He felt invincible. Unstoppable. Like he could fight the world and win.
His lips pulled back in a wild grin.
This. This was what he'd been missing. This was what being a Lightning Elementalist meant.
Aryan shot to his feet and ran.
The world blurred. He covered fifty meters in seconds, trees whipping past, wind screaming in his ears. He laughed, drunk on speed, pushing harder. The ground disappeared beneath him in a golden streak.
When he finally skidded to a stop, breathing hard but feeling like he could run forever, he turned to a thick tree and threw a punch without thinking.
Bam!
The impact echoed through the clearing like thunder. Bark exploded as the wood cracked deep. The entire tree shuddered from the force, leaves raining down from its branches.
Aryan stared at his fist, then at the crater he'd left in the trunk. One punch. One casual punch and he'd nearly split the tree.
He kicked next. Same result—explosive impact, devastating force. Lightning made everything violent, made every movement hit like a detonation.
Combined with the Vajrasana Body's compressed muscle density, he was like a living weapon. A humanoid manifestation of physical force.
Golden electricity crackled across his skin, jumping from his shoulders to his hands, dancing across his chest in wild arcs. He looked down at himself, at the cage of golden lightning surrounding his body, and the sight sent another rush of adrenaline through him.
But Aryan wasn't done yet. He had confirmed the conjuring and buffing aspect of lightning. Then, he needed to verify what means the most for an Elementalist- Elemental Attacks.
He raised his palm and pushed energy outward, trying to project it. Lightning exploded across his entire hand in uncontrolled arcs, sparks flying everywhere, completely wild. He tried shaping it into something coherent—a spear, a bolt, anything—but it just scattered.
When he thrust his hand toward a boulder, nothing happened. The Lightning wouldn't travel. He stepped closer, and at about three meters, sparks suddenly leaped from his hand to the stone, crackling across its surface.
"Close range only," Aryan noted distantly, but the disappointment couldn't be masked. How can one be a serious lightning elementalist without long ranged Lightning attacks like Divine Judgement.
But this mood was short-lived as Aryan cheered himself up, "Can't throw it. Doesn't matter. Who needs range when you're this fast?"
He could close any distance in seconds. Could overwhelm opponents before they had time to react. Speed and power—that's more than enough he needed.
The careful, methodical approach he'd planned—testing each ability, learning control, understanding his limits—all of that seemed pointless now. Boring. Wasteful.
He needed to fight. Needed to test this power against something that would fight back. Theory was useless. He needed combat. Real combat. Now.
His gaze turned toward the deeper forest, where he knew two colonies of Origin Beasts made their home.
Perfect.
Stone Rabbits and Wood Rabbits—three feet long, with powerful legs, sensitive ears and unnecessarily cute. He'd tried hunting them before awakening his element, back when he just had enhanced muscles and determination. Only to be rescued by Carl, every single time.
Not anymore. Now, he also had the power that once bullied him.
Aryan didn't bother with stealth. Didn't hide in bushes or wait patiently. The adrenaline wouldn't let him. He strode directly into their territory, golden electricity crackling around his body like a challenge.
A Wood Rabbit spotted him immediately. Its ears shot up. It froze, nose twitching, clearly sensing the dangerous energy radiating from this familiar funny looking guy. A feeling, only the predators gave it.
Aryan grinned and placed himself in a sprinting position. Then he channeled all the lightning energy in his calves, as if charging themselves to the max. And then,
Dhup!
Like an arrow released from the bow, Aryan exploded forward, covering six meters before the rabbit could even turn to run. The sudden acceleration was so overwhelming that even Aryan was caught offguard. He could only do an uncontrolled full body slam on the poor rabbit with catastrophic force.
BANG!
"Aghh!"
"Peww!"
Two cries of pain exploded in the air. Aryan felt a pang of pain on his ribs, a consequence of that violent body slam. As for the poor rabit-
It flew. Literally, it flew through the air, tumbling end over end before crashing into a tree. It slumped to the ground, twitched once, and went still.
The cries also alerted all the inhabitants.
The underbrush exploded with movement.
Rabbits poured out from every direction—brown Stone Rabbits with armored hides, green Wood Rabbits glowing with vitality. Twenty of them at least, responding to their fallen member's distress call.
As they saw it was a familiar face, they didn't run. Neither did they charge blindly. They spread out, forming a wide circle around him. Stone Rabbits positioned at the front, Wood Rabbits hanging back. Coordinating.
Discovering his situation, instead of panic- Aryan's adrenaline kicked in, his grin widened. "Yes. Come on. Show me what you've got."
The challenge was accepted. Three Stone Rabbits lunged simultaneously from different angles.
Aryan spun, his Lightning-enhanced speed making their attacks look slow. He caught the first with a backhand that sent it rolling. Dodged the second. His foot shot out and caught the third in mid-leap, launching it backward.
But while he was occupied, a Wood Rabbit at the rear began to glow with green light. Vines erupted from the ground beneath Aryan's feet, wrapping around his ankles with surprising strength.
Aryan looked down, more surprised than concerned. "Oh. You can do that?"
The vines tightened, trying to root him in place. More Stone Rabbits charged while he was immobilized, using their armored heads as battering rams.
Aryan flooded more Lightning into his legs. His muscles contracted violently, and he tore through the vines like they were made of paper. But the momentary delay had cost him—a Stone Rabbit's reinforced skull slammed into his ribs.
The impact actually hurt. That rabbit's head felt like hitting solid rock. Aryan stumbled back half a step, and two more rabbits rammed him from the sides.
"Okay," Aryan said, and the wild grin never left his face. "You're actually organized. Good. This'll be fun."
The battle escalated.
Wood Rabbits kept growing vines, trying to trap him. Stone Rabbits used their armored bodies as living weapons, coordinating their charges. Every time Aryan focused on one threat, another exploited the opening.
A Stone Rabbit dove at his legs while a Wood Rabbit sent vines at his arms simultaneously—forcing him to choose which to counter.
He chose violence.
Golden Lightning flooded his entire body until he was more electricity than flesh. He moved so fast the rabbits couldn't track him. Kicked one Stone Rabbit so hard it rolled across the clearing. Punched another into a tree with enough force to crack bark. Grabbed a third by its long ears and slammed it into the ground.
More vines erupted, trying to web him down. Aryan just ran through them, his momentum and strength tearing them apart like cobwebs. Wood Rabbits sent pulses of green healing light to wounded Stone Rabbits—actual support abilities, coordinated tactics.
A Stone Rabbit planted itself directly in front of him. Its hide suddenly turned completely grey as it flooded its body with Earth element, hardening beyond normal limits. When Aryan's lightning-wreathed punch hit it, the rabbit barely moved. His fist felt like it had struck solid stone.
Before he could recover, vines shot up and wrapped around that same fist, binding it to the armored rabbit. Another Wood Rabbit sent roots toward his other hand while two Stone Rabbits charged his exposed sides.
Trap. Bind. Assault. Actual tactical coordination using elemental combos.
"Clever!" Aryan laughed, not bothered in the slightest. "But not enough!"
He stopped trying to be precise. Stopped trying to conserve energy. Just flooded his body with everything his Core could produce.
Golden Lightning exploded outward in all directions—wild, uncontrolled, devastating. The vines binding him charred and disintegrated instantly. Rabbits too close were thrown back by the electrical discharge, their fur smoking.
Then Aryan charged.
No tactics. No technique. Just overwhelming force and speed.
He was faster than them. Stronger than them. His Lightning-enhanced body could overpower their coordinated defenses through sheer physical dominance.
A Stone Rabbit tried to ram him—he caught it mid-air and threw it into three others like a furry boulder. Wood Rabbits grew a wall of thorny vines—he smashed through without slowing down. They tried to surround him again—he moved too fast, always keeping them in front.
His fists rose and fell like pistons powered by lightning. Kick, punch, elbow, knee. Every strike was explosive. The Vajrasana Body combined with Lightning's enhancement made him an engine of battle.
One by one, the rabbits fell. Some fled. Others lay unconscious.
Finally, the last survivors scattered into the underbrush, their coordinated defense shattered by raw power.
Aryan stood in the center of the clearing, chest heaving, surrounded by defeated rabbits. Golden electricity still crackled across his skin. His clothes were torn where vines had caught him. Bruises darkened his ribs where Stone Rabbit skulls had connected. But he was standing. Victorious.
The adrenaline was still pumping, still demanding more. Part of him wanted to chase the fleeing rabbits, and wanted to keep fighting until nothing was left standing.
But gradually, slowly, rationality began creeping back in.
He looked at his hands. Golden Lightning danced across them in wild, undirected arcs. Crude. Uncontrolled. He couldn't shape it properly, couldn't project it beyond a few meters. All he'd done was enhance his body and discharge energy in every direction.
And the rabbits—despite being weaker—had used actual tactics. Stone Rabbits as defenders, Wood Rabbits for control and support. They'd combined their abilities intelligently, creating situations where their individual weaknesses didn't matter.
He'd beaten them by hitting harder and moving faster. By overwhelming their strategy with raw physical superiority.
It worked. But was that really how a Lightning Elementalist should fight?
Aryan pondered. His property completely cut off the road of traditional long ranged attacks of elementalists, making him confused. The various ways of manipulating lightning he learned from the Origin art of Sparks proved to be useless.
He'd won this fight easily because of the massive power difference. But against trained Elementalists? Against people who knew how to use their elements with precision and technique?
Brute force wouldn't be enough.
The realization sobered Aryan up as he began to calculate his future moves.