The wind rustled through the trees, leaves swaying under the quiet pressure of Kael Vernier's movements. Three months had passed since he first stepped into the forest and now, he moved like a shadow.
His long white hair, now reaching down to his back, swayed with every precise, flowing strike of his sword. A faint black aura pulsed from the blade, wrapping it in swirling shadow as he danced through the air, each movement fluid, calculated, deadly.
The Shadow Arts had become a part of him.
He breathed deeply, lowered his stance, and sheathed his sword in one clean motion.
"That's enough for today," he muttered to himself.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Kael sat on a flat rock near his campfire and called out in his mind.
System.
The translucent window opened.
---
Name: Kael Vernier
Age: 16
Level: 3
Sword Art: Shadow Arts
Core: Unawakened
Class: Swordsman
Title: The Anomaly
HP: 200/200
Stamina: 67/150
Exp: 192/300
Strength: D+
Agility: C+
Endurance: D
Intelligence: C
Perception: D+
Willpower: D+
Mana: ??? (Locked)
---
Skills↓
Story↓
---
Mission:
> Daily Quest
• 50 push-ups ✓
• 50 sit-ups ✓
• 50 squats ✓
• 1km run ✓
(Completed)
---
Kael leaned back against a tree trunk, satisfaction settling in his chest. He had grown significantly. His strength, speed, and awareness had all climbed steadily. Even the shadow aura surrounding his sword had become more stable, denser.
Still… he was far from finished.
He looked at the forest path in front of him.
"One more challenge."
Kael remembered from the story a peculiar cave nestled deep within this forest. Forgotten by most, but hiding secrets that once changed a villain into a force feared across continents.
But unlike that villain, Kael had different plans.
"I'll only spend two months deeper inside," he whispered to himself, "The last month… I want to spend it back home."
Rest. Reconnect. Prepare.
He packed his things and hiked deeper into the woods, the trees becoming darker, denser. The mana in the air grew thicker, swirling around him like mist. He kept moving until the sky above could barely be seen through the canopy, and silence reigned.
Hours passed.
Finally, he saw it.
A jagged stone entrance, covered in moss and nearly invisible if not for the faint shimmer of residual mana surrounding it. The peculiar cave.
He exhaled, cautiously stepping forward.
Found it.
But just as he raised his foot toward the entrance.
Rustle.
His body froze.
Behind him just off the path something moved.
Something watching.
Kael didn't turn yet. His hand slowly reached toward the hilt at his side, his crimson eyes narrowing.
I guess training isn't over after all.