In the Sinclair Estate…
Maximus Sinclair had just finished his physical training. Sweat clung to his body as he walked through the inner corridors of the estate, his breathing steady and controlled.
Despite the intense routine, he showed no signs of fatigue. Years of harsh training had shaped his body well beyond that of his peers.
Servants lowered their heads as he passed. None spoke or dared to slow him down.
As he turned toward the path leading to his quarters, someone stepped into his way.
Maximus stopped as he looked at the person in front of him.
The boy standing before him was taller, broader, and older by several years. His posture was relaxed, his hands loosely at his sides, but the confidence on his face bordered on arrogance.
Edward Sinclair.
"What do you want, Edward?" Maximus asked in a cold tone.
Edward was the son of the first wife of Lord Sinclair, the Duchess of the Sinclair household. Because of her, Edward had been declared the next lord of the house.
meanwhile Maximus was the son of the fifth wife of Lord Sinclair who was a commoner from background. Due to his roots he was constantly bullied by his siblings especially Edward, the next lord of the house.
"I heard you've been fucking a commoner girl lately," Edward said casually, his lips curling in disgust.
"Did Mother's warnings mean nothing to you? Do you not understand that even a partially pure Sinclair must not associate with filthy commoners?"
Maximus felt his chest tighten. His fists clenched instinctively.
"This has nothing to do with you," he replied in a sharp tone.
Edward laughed softly. "It does now."
Maximus's eyes narrowed.
"Mother already took care of it," Edward added, his smile widening
Maximus felt his heart skip a beat as he heard Edward.
"What did the Duchess do?" he asked, forcing the words out. Edward said nothing. He turned and walked away, laughing as if amused.
"I ASKED YOU!" Maximus shouted, his voice echoing through the hall. "WHAT DID SHE DO!"
Edward didn't turn back.
Maximus stood frozen, his thoughts spiraling. He knew exactly how cruel the Duchess could be. She had already taken his mother once. Exiled her, silenced her and erased her existence from this world, and now she was after Lia.
Fear surged through him.
Without thinking further, Maximus turned and sprinted toward the main door of the mansion.
unfortunately, he didn't make it.
A sudden force slammed into his back and pain exploded through his body.
His vision went dark as a shadow caught him before he hit the ground and dragged his unconscious body away.
---------
Outer District - Midnight
Rain poured heavily across the outer district. Water flooded the streets, washing dirt and blood into the gutters. Thunder echoed overhead, but it was drowned out by heavy footsteps moving through the alleys.
"Where did she go?" a masked man growled, scanning the street.
Beside him, another man clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Tch. Useless. You couldn't even catch a little girl."
The first man clenched his teeth. "I wanted to have some fun before killing her. Now I'll just slit her throat."
The bald man's head was covered in dark tattoos. His aura pressed down heavily on the surroundings, causing weaker passersby to instinctively avoid the area.
They moved forward again before they spotted a bloody trail.
A thin line leading away through the rain.
The trail led to a small corner shop. "Infinity Choco House,"
one of them muttered. "What the hell is choco?"
The bald man shot him a look. "Are you seriously asking that now?"
"Tch. Fine. Let's go and grab her."
They stepped towards the shop door as one of them reached out for the knob. These two men had nothing to fear as they were both C ranked and associated with the Sinclair house.
Just as one of them reached out, both men froze.
They felt something behind them.
A presence lingered before a boy appeared.
"Um… hi," a voice spoke casually behind them. "I'd like you both to sweep my floor."
The two men turned sharply.
The boy stood there, soaked from the rain, holding a white sword that gleamed faintly. His expression was relaxed, almost innocent, as if he were greeting guests instead of killers.
Will.
The bald man was about to open his mouth to give a bullshit speech before killing him, but before he could do anything..
"First form" Will said quietly. "Whispering Breeze."
With that he moved forward,
The sword in his hand flowed forward in a smooth arc. There was no buildup, no wasted motion, no hesitation. His body moved as if it had done this a million times already.
At the perfection stage, a technique no longer required effort. The body became the medium. The move executed itself.
The damp air trembled before it got cleaved through. A violent pressure crushed outward as a silver arc of sword force burst forward.
The two C-rank men didn't even have time to react.
Their bodies were cleaved apart cleanly. Blood sprayed into the rain, their expressions frozen in shock.
But the attack didn't stop there.
The sword arc continued forward, tearing through the wooden structure of the shop.
The front wall split apart.
Glass shattered violently.
The roof cracked.
but the arc did not stop, it tore apart another shop then another, tearing through the buildings and the street beyond.
Will stood frozen as destruction unfolded in front of him.
"…Oh shit" he muttered.
The shop he had built over two years collapsed into ruin.
"I forgot the first form of this art was at perfection rank."
His legs trembled. His breathing turned ragged.
He had practiced basic mana control since awakening. He knew his mana pool was only F-rank. He should not have been able to execute that technique fully.
Yet he had.
His gaze flickered to the system panel.
[ding]
[Excessive mana consumption detected.]
[Lawless Adaptation activated.]
[Mana capacity increased]
Pain erupted from his mana core.
It felt like something inside him was cracking open, being forced wider by brute force.
Will groaned and quickly stored the sword into his inventory before collapsing to one knee, instead of exhaustion it seemed the cause was an influx of mana beyond the capacity of his core.
The result was a fracture in the mana core.
Will clenched his chest as he felt his consciousness slip away.
[don't worry, you won't die]
the system's voice was the last reassurance he needed before letting his consciousness slip away.