As Rio was teleported away, the office door suddenly burst open with a bang. Lia stormed in without a second thought. Normally, anyone barging in like that would have been stopped immediately, but she was special to James,after all, he had never even slapped his own daughter.
Looking around and realizing Rio was gone, Lia's eyes narrowed. She glared at James.
"You… Did you… kill him? You didn't leave his body?"
James laughed bitterly. This girl had really changed. She had never cared much about anyone before, but now she worried about someone.
"No. I just gave him what was meant to be his," James said calmly.
"Don't change the topic! Tell me,where did you send him?"
Sighing, James thought to himself that her short temper clearly ran in the family.
"Hey! Why are you nodding your head like you're proud of something? Could it be… you're proud of killing a weak student?" Lia snapped.
After about half an hour of back-and-forth, Lia finally accepted that Rio had been teleported somewhere he was meant to go. Whether he returned alive or not was up to him.
"At most, it should take three days for him to come back. After that, it depends on him,whether he can make it back or not," James explained.
"But one thing is certain: he will improve his strength. Speaking of strength, it seems you haven't been training regularly," James added.
"Yeah… I've hit a bottleneck. I'm stuck at the peak of D-rank," Lia admitted.
"Alright, I'll help you today since I'm free. Let's go to the training grounds," James said.
"Y-yeah…"
"Don't worry about that kid; he'll be fine. Come on, let's go," James said casually.
"Wha-what! Who's worrying about him? I-I don't care!" Lia stammered.
James chuckled. This idiot daughter of his had even managed to make a boyfriend. With her attitude, he wondered why any kid would be interested in her.
Rio's POV
After the teleportation light faded, Rio found himself standing in midair, high above the ground. A fall from this height would be instantly fatal. Snowflakes drifted down, and the chill was enough to freeze bones.
He could withstand the cold with a small amount of mana, but that wasn't the problem. His perception, enhanced by the stone from Arte Tower, told him something was very wrong. The current calm felt like the calm before a storm.
Observing carefully, he noticed the snow-covered ground below radiated danger. If he stayed in the air, he would eventually run out of mana, but the ground wasn't safe either.
Before he could act, the platform beneath him vanished, sending him plummeting. The snow below emanated a deadly aura,he could not land there.
A plan formed in his mind. He drew the same wooden stick he had used to defeat the ogre and infused it with mana.
Elemental Sword Art: Serpent Wind!
His falling body twisted and spiraled like a coiled serpent. At the last moment, he slid in a different direction, landing safely on a patch of snow farther away from the deadly trap.
Looking at his landing spot, he realized he was safe for now. A thought occurred, and he collected some snow, forming a small snowball. He reinforced it with mana and tossed it onto the spot where he was supposed to fall.
The snowball collapsed the area within a five-meter radius, revealing sharp, enormous spears coated in a pale green poison from tip to base. Anyone touching them would face serious danger.
Rio's mind raced. Was this place really created by his father,or did James send him somewhere else?
Lia's POV
At the Silver family training grounds, Lia felt a wave of nostalgia. She had trained here since childhood, though it had been months since her last session due to the academy.
She remembered the days when her father was absent and never paid attention to her progress. It had been lonely and frustrating, a time when even her own family ignored her existence. She longed for his attention but had been met with silence.
James noticed her frown. "Hmm, why the face like your boyfriend cheated on you? That kid really looked suspicious to me. Maybe he did cheat, sigh~"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Lia snapped.
"I'm not talking nonsense~" James replied with a laugh. She pouted like her mother used to when angry, forcing James to eat burnt food.
"Alright, show me your sword skills. Attack me with everything you've got. If you land even a single blow, I'll buy you chocolate," James said.
"I'm not a child! Eat the chocolate yourself!" Lia shot back.
"Okay, you can attack now," James said.
Half an hour later, Lia panted heavily.
"You're tired already? Come on, attack with all your strength!" James encouraged.
She had not landed a single blow in that time. Focusing all her mana into one decisive attack, she unleashed:
Silver Wolf Sword Art: Horizontal Claw!
Her sword glowed silver as she struck three times in rapid succession. James was impressed by her skill but dodged effortlessly. Lia collapsed from exhaustion.
James could sense her breakthrough. Her strength would now increase over the coming days. He summoned Lia's maid to bring her to her room. The maid bowed and followed orders promptly.