The journey back took longer than the approach had. My depleted mana pool meant I couldn't use techniques to cover ground quickly or avoid threats. My injured ankle forced me to move carefully, choosing easier paths even when they added distance. But gradually, the rocky highlands gave way to forest, and the forest began to thin toward the entrance.
I encountered two more Crimson Maws on the return trip. Both times I managed to avoid detection by using terrain and shadows, moving silently despite my injury, relying on my enhanced senses to detect them before they detected me. Fighting with only four or five points of mana would have been suicide, and the cores I'd already harvested were sufficient proof of my capabilities.
My passive regeneration continued working throughout the return journey. By the time the forest began to properly thin, I'd recovered eight points. Still far from full capacity, but meaningfully better than the zero I'd ended the fight with.
When I finally emerged from the Saber Garden, the sun was descending toward the horizon but still well above it. Maybe two hours of daylight remaining. I'd completed the hunt in good time, despite the brutal nature of the encounter.
The carriage driver's eyes widened when he saw me emerge. I was covered in blood, dust, and stone fragments. My coat was torn in multiple places. I limped noticeably. But I was alive, walking on my own power, and carrying proof of success.
"Young Master Kaine," he said, his voice carrying genuine surprise mixed with something that might have been respect. "You actually... another successful hunt."
"Take me home," I said, climbing into the carriage with movements made careful by exhaustion and injury.
The driver didn't need to be told twice. He urged the horses forward immediately, and we began the journey back to the estate at a pace that suggested he was eager to deliver me before something unlikely happened and I died after all.
I sat in the carriage and pulled out the Razorback's core, studying it in the fading afternoon light. The amber glow was mesmerizing, swirls of concentrated mana moving within the crystalline structure like trapped lightning, patterns forming and dissolving in endless variation.
The Einsworth Family Saber stirred at the sight of it through our soul bond. Hunger pulsed through the connection, stronger than ever before. The weapon could sense the quality and potency, could recognize that this core represented a significant leap in power.
'Should I feed it to the saber now? Or wait?'
The practical part of my mind said wait. This core represented a major achievement, and I needed Jack to see it first. Needed official confirmation that the hunt had been successful, needed that validation for the records.
But another part of me, the part that had spent nearly a month training brutally, that had just survived a fight against an opponent that outmatched me in every physical category, that part wanted to consume the core immediately and see what power it would grant.
I decided to wait. Discipline over impulse. The core would still be valuable in an hour.
The two remaining Crimson Maw cores I'd collected were secondary resources now, but they'd still be useful. Either for the saber eventually, or for crafting, or even for emergency mana recovery if I found myself in another desperate situation. Resources accumulated, and I was learning that power in this world came not just from personal strength but from leveraging every advantage.
My mana pool continued its slow regeneration as the carriage rolled through farmland and past small villages. Eleven points. Thirteen. Fifteen. The passive absorption was steady if slow, a constant trickle that meant I was never truly helpless.
The carriage rolled through the estate gates as the sun touched the horizon, painting the sky in shades of orange and gold that made the manor's stone walls glow. We pulled into the main courtyard, and I saw Jack immediately.
He stood in the center of the courtyard, arms crossed, his expression neutral and professional. But as I climbed down from the carriage, favoring my injured ankle slightly, I saw his eyes sharpen. Evaluation. Assessment. Recognition of details most would miss.
I walked toward him, closing the distance until I stood directly in front of the man who'd trained me for nearly four weeks. Reached into my coat's interior pocket and pulled out the Razorback's core, holding it up so the amber light caught the sunset and blazed like a captive star.
"The Razorback Boar is dead," I said simply, my voice steady despite the exhaustion weighing on every word. "The hunt was successful."
Jack took the core, his expression remaining unchanged as he examined it with the careful attention of an expert evaluator. Turned it over in his large hands, feeling the weight and density, studying the perfect crystalline structure. His fingers traced over the smooth surface, and I saw his grip tighten slightly, saw the way his eyes widened fractionally before his control reasserted itself.
"Apprentice-rank core," he confirmed quietly, his voice carrying an undertone I couldn't quite identify. "Peak quality. Pristine harvesting."
He looked up from the core to meet my eyes directly, and I saw something shift in his expression. The professional mask cracked, revealing approval beneath.
"Describe the encounter."
I gave him a concise but complete summary. The approach through Crimson Maw territory. The five kills executed with First Light on the way to the highlands. The confrontation with the Razorback and its devastating initial charge. The exchange of attacks where I learned my techniques weren't powerful enough to kill it efficiently. The desperate decision to crush Crimson Maw cores for emergency mana recovery. The final Heaven Splitter execution that had destroyed the beast's head completely.
Jack listened without interruption, his attention absolute. When I finished, he was silent for a long moment, still holding the amber core, the light from it casting golden shadows across his face.
Then, for the first time since I'd known him, Jack smiled. Not a small smile or a subtle curve of lips. A genuine, full smile that transformed his entire face, making him look years younger and revealing the warrior he must have been before responsibility and rank turned him serious.
"Exceptional work, Young Master Kaine," he said, and his voice carried unmistakable pride that resonated in his chest. "You've exceeded every expectation I had when this training began. Defeating an Apprentice-rank opponent while still Novice rank is a significant achievement, one that many warriors never accomplish in their entire careers."
He handed the core back to me with careful reverence.
"But more than the victory itself, I'm impressed by your tactical adaptation. You recognized when your primary strategy wasn't sufficient. You made the difficult decision to sacrifice valuable resources for immediate survival. You executed the optimal technique under extreme pressure. These are the qualities that separate adequate warriors from truly exceptional ones."
Jack's smile widened slightly, becoming almost predatory.
"Your brother was talented, Young Master. Blessed by fate with exceptional gifts and a hero candidate's destiny. But talent alone doesn't forge a warrior's spirit. You've shown something Abel never needed to develop because everything came so easily to him. You've demonstrated the ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable disadvantages through skill, tactical thinking, and sheer determination. That quality will serve you far better in the long run than any amount of natural talent."
He gestured toward the manor, the motion carrying authority.
"Get your ankle treated in the medical wing and rest tonight. Tomorrow we have three days before your final test, and I intend to use every hour. We'll refine your techniques to the absolute limit of what you can currently achieve. And then..."
Jack's expression became challenging, his smile turning into something that promised pain and growth in equal measure.
"Then we'll see if you can land a single strike on me in unarmed combat. If you succeed, you pass completely and depart for the Continental Academy with my full recommendation and the certainty that you're ready for whatever challenges await. If you fail, we continue training until you can meet that standard."
"I won't fail," I said with quiet confidence that came from surviving something that should have killed me.
"Good," Jack replied, his tone carrying satisfaction. "I didn't think you would. Not anymore. Dismissed, Young Master. You've more than earned your rest."
I turned and began walking toward the manor, limping slightly but refusing to let the injury dominate my movement. Behind me, I heard Jack speak quietly, the words meant more for himself than for me but carrying clearly in the evening air.
"Twenty-six days. From disgrace to warrior in twenty-six days. From someone who couldn't complete a basic warm-up to someone who can kill Apprentice-rank beasts through tactical excellence. The Continental Academy has no idea what's coming."
I smiled as I entered the manor, the Razorback's core warm against my chest and Jack's pride echoing in my ears like a benediction.
Three more days. One final test. Then the Continental Academy, where the heirs of every major noble family from all five kingdoms gathered to compete and forge the alliances that would shape the future.
'Let them come. Let them bring their talents and their techniques and their expectations. I'll show them what someone who's earned every scrap of power through blood and sweat can do.'
The thought carried me through the manor's corridors, past servants who stared with wide eyes at my condition, up the stairs to the medical wing where my injuries would be treated and my body given time to recover.
Tonight, I'd taken another step toward becoming someone truly worthy of the legendary blade that hung at my hip and the name I carried.
The Einsworth Family Saber pulsed contentedly through our bond, as though approving of my thoughts, as though acknowledging that we were becoming something greater together.