I woke the next morning to pale sunlight streaming through my window and the distinct absence of pain. The ankle that had been sprained yesterday was completely healed, not even a hint of stiffness remaining. The bruises and scrapes had vanished overnight. My body felt refreshed, energized, ready for whatever came next.
The Primordial Chaos Physique's regeneration was becoming more effective with each passing day.
I sat up and immediately felt the. The Razorback's core. Jack had confirmed the kill, recorded my success, and returned it to me yesterday with the suggestion that I use it wisely.
Now, in the quiet of early morning before training began, I had time to make that decision.
I retrieved the core, the massive crystallized sphere filling my palm. The amber glow pulsed with contained power, warm to the touch, radiating mana so dense I could feel it even without actively trying.
The Einsworth Family Saber responded immediately through our soul bond. Hunger surged through the connection, stronger and more insistent than ever before. The weapon could sense the quality of this core, could recognize that consuming it would provide significant advancement.
I looked at the legendary blade where it rested against the wall, still in its sheath. Made my decision.
'Jack said to use it wisely. And the saber has proven it can extract abilities and accelerate awakening when it consumes cores. An Apprentice-tier core should provide substantial benefits.'
I drew the saber and held it in one hand, the Razorback's core in the other. The black gem set into the crossguard began to glow even before I brought them close together, anticipating what was about to happen with something approaching eagerness.
I pressed the core against the gem.
The system screen appeared instantly.
[Soul-bound weapon has detected consumable material: Apprentice Beast Core (Razorback Boar)]
[Warning: This is a significantly more powerful core than previously consumed. Absorption will take extended time and produce substantial effects.]
[Feed this core to the Einsworth Family Saber?]
[Yes / No]
'Yes.'
The gem's light exploded outward with even greater intensity than when I'd fed it the Crimson Alpha's core. Black radiance filled my room, absolute darkness that somehow allowed perfect vision within its bounds. The morning sunlight didn't just dim—it was consumed, swallowed by the saber's hunger made manifest.
The core in my hand began to dissolve, but the process was dramatically slower than before. The Apprentice-tier crystallized mana was denser, more refined, requiring the saber to work harder to break it down and absorb it. The amber energy flowed into the gem like thick honey, viscous and rich, carrying with it all the accumulated power of an apex predator that had dominated its territory for years.
The sensation through our soul bond was intense, almost overwhelming. I could feel the saber drinking in the energy with something approaching rapture, processing it, integrating it into its own structure in ways I couldn't fully comprehend. The weapon hummed with satisfaction, a sound I heard not with my ears but directly in my consciousness.
Thirty seconds passed. One minute. Two minutes. The core continued dissolving, being absorbed bit by bit, the process methodical and thorough.
Finally, after nearly four minutes that felt like an eternity, the last traces of the core disappeared into the gem. The black radiance receded gradually, returning my room to normal morning light that now seemed almost inadequate by comparison.
I blinked, adjusting to the change, and looked down at the saber. The blade seemed physically unchanged, but I could feel through our bond that something fundamental had shifted. The weapon felt more awake, more present, as though it had taken another step toward whatever it was meant to become.
The system screen updated, text scrolling across it rapidly.
[The Einsworth Family Saber has consumed: Apprentice Beast Core (Razorback Boar)]
[Analyzing core properties...]
[Multiple high-quality abilities detected. Processing...]
[Ability extracted: Ironhide Defense (Passive)]
[You have gained: Ironhide Defense (Passive) - Your skin has been enhanced with traces of the Razorback's legendary durability. Physical damage reduction increased by 15%. Resistance to cutting and piercing attacks increased by 10%.]
[Ability extracted: Devastating Charge (Active)]
[You have gained: Devastating Charge (Active) - Channel mana into your legs and lower body to execute a powerful charging attack. For 5 seconds, movement speed increases by 40% and your next melee attack deals 50% additional damage. Any enemy struck during the charge is knocked back. Cost: 12 Mana. Cooldown: 3 minutes.]
[Special resonance detected: Apprentice-tier core contains substantially more energy than Novice-tier cores.]
[Significant awakening progress achieved: 0.55%]
[Current total awakening progress: 0.81%]
[Critical threshold reached: 0.75% awakening]
[New effect unlocked: The Einsworth Family Saber's bond with your Primordial Chaos Physique has deepened. Your physique and weapon are beginning to resonate on a fundamental level.]
[Additional effect unlocked: Flash God Technique mana costs reduced by an additional 5% (Total reduction: 15%)]
[Special Event Triggered: Soul-Weapon Resonance with Chaos Physique]
[Your Primordial Chaos Physique has detected compatible energy within the consumed core. Analyzing...]
I stared at that last message, confusion mixing with anticipation. Compatible energy? What did that mean?
The screen continued updating.
[Your Primordial Chaos Physique recognizes this as the seed of elemental awakening.]
[Chaos Element talent activation detected...]
[Selecting random element for awakening...]
[Element selected: Ice]
[Beginning elemental awakening process...]
A sensation unlike anything I'd experienced before flooded through my body. It started in my chest, right where my mana core sat, a coldness that had nothing to do with temperature and everything to do with fundamental change.
The cold spread outward like frost forming on glass. Through my torso, down my arms, into my legs, reaching every extremity. But it wasn't painful. It was... clarifying. Like my body was being rewritten at a level deeper than flesh and bone.
I gasped, my breath misting in the air despite the warm morning. The cold continued spreading, and I could feel something changing in my mana pathways, new channels forming, new connections being established. My Intermediate-level Mana Circulation skill was adapting automatically, restructuring itself to accommodate this new element.
The sensation intensified for a moment, reaching a peak that made my entire body shiver involuntarily. Then, like ice cracking, something settled into place with an almost audible click in my consciousness.
The cold receded, but it didn't disappear. Instead, it became part of me, woven into my very essence. I could feel it now, a new dimension to my awareness, a reservoir of frozen potential waiting to be shaped and directed.
The system screen updated again.
[Elemental awakening complete.]
[Ice Element unlocked: 1/9 Basic Elements]
[You can now manipulate ice mana and execute ice-based techniques. Proficiency will develop through practice and usage.]
[New Skill Acquired: Ice Manipulation (Basic)]
[Skill: Ice Manipulation]
[Proficiency: Basic (0%)]
[Cost: Variable]
[Description: You can now sense, gather, and shape ice-element mana. This is the foundation of all ice-based techniques. At Basic proficiency, you can create small ice constructs, lower the temperature of objects you touch, and infuse weapons with freezing energy.]
[Current Capabilities:]
[- Freeze small amounts of water instantly]
[- Create ice constructs up to 1 foot in size]
[- Lower temperature within 3 feet of your body by up to 20 degrees]
[- Coat your weapon in ice to add freezing damage to attacks]
[- Sense ice and water-element mana within 50 feet]
[Note: As your proficiency increases, you will be able to create larger and more complex ice constructs, lower temperatures more dramatically, and develop unique ice-based combat techniques.]
[Chaos Element Progress: 1/9 Basic Elements Awakened]
[Note: When all nine basic elements are awakened and harmonized, your Chaos Element talent will reach its first complete stage, unlocking true chaos manipulation.]
I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the messages, trying to process what had just happened. I'd awakened an element. Ice. One of the nine basic elements I needed to eventually harmonize to unlock true chaos manipulation.
And it had happened through feeding a core to my soul-bound weapon. The resonance between the Primordial Chaos Physique and the Einsworth Family Saber had triggered something the system described as an elemental awakening process.
'This is what the Chaos Element talent means. Not that I automatically have all elements, but that I have the potential to awaken all of them. And the saber is somehow facilitating that process.'
I held up my right hand and focused on the new sensation within me, that reservoir of cold that now existed alongside my normal mana. Reached for it mentally, trying to channel it the way I'd learned to channel regular mana.
The air above my palm shimmered, and frost began to form. Small ice crystals appeared, growing and connecting, building themselves into a rough sphere about the size of an apple. The construct was crude, unstable, but it was real. Frozen water pulled from the ambient moisture and shaped by my will.
The sphere held for maybe five seconds before it lost cohesion and shattered into fragments that melted as they hit the floor.
But I'd done it. I'd used ice magic. Created something from nothing through elemental manipulation.
'This changes everything. I'm not just a saber user anymore. I have access to magic now. Actual elemental magic.'
I pulled up my full status screen, wanting to see how all the new additions had integrated.
[Status]
[Name: Kaine Einsworth]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 16]
[Titles: Cursed and Unfortunate | Blade Born | Saber Garden's Chosen | Rank Breaker]
[Rank: Novice (Low-tier)]
[Attributes:]
[Strength: 31 (29 + 2)]
[Agility: 35 (33 + 2)]
[Endurance: 24 (22 + 2)]
[Intelligence: 22 (20 + 2)]
[Wisdom: 19 (17 + 2)]
[Mana: 65/65 (55 + 10)]
[Mana Regeneration: 2.5 points per hour (2 + 0.5)]
[Luck: -5]
[Talent: Chaos Element (Mythical) - 1/9 Basic Elements Awakened (Ice)]
[Physique: Primordial Chaos Physique (Mythical)]
[Skills:]
[Combat Skills:]
[- Saber Arts (Basic) - Level 2]
[- First Light (Basic) - 19%: Flash God Technique First Art, mana cost reduced by 15%]
[- Phantom Step (Basic) - 11%: Flash God Technique Second Art, mana cost reduced by 15%]
[- Heaven Splitter (Basic) - 14%: Flash God Technique Third Art, mana cost reduced by 15%]
[- Savage Slash (Basic): Enhanced cutting attack, 5 mana]
[- Devastating Charge (Active): Charging attack with knockback, 12 mana, 3-minute cooldown]
[Elemental Skills:]
[- Ice Manipulation (Basic) - 0%: Create and control ice constructs]
[Passive Skills:]
[- Mana Circulation (Intermediate) - Level 1]
[- Blade Sense (Basic) - 12%]
[- Poison Resistance (Basic): 15% reduction]
[- Alpha's Dominance (Passive): Intimidation bonus vs beasts]
[- Ironhide Defense (Passive): 15% physical damage reduction, 10% piercing/cutting resistance]
[Active Skills:]
[- Crimson Fury (Active): 30% damage boost, 10 mana, 5-minute cooldown]
[Equipment:]
[- Einsworth Family Saber (Legendary, Soul-Bound): Awakening Progress 0.81%]
[Special Effects: Flash God Technique costs reduced by 15%, Soul-Weapon Resonance with Chaos Physique]
I read through the entire status multiple times, cataloging the improvements. The attribute increases from the Tier Breaker achievement had pushed my physical capabilities even higher. My mana pool had jumped from fifty-five to sixty-five points, a substantial increase that would allow more technique usage. My mana regeneration had increased from two points per hour to two and a half, meaning faster recovery between fights.
But the real game-changers were the new abilities. Ironhide Defense would reduce physical damage, making me more durable. Devastating Charge gave me a gap-closer and burst damage option. And Ice Manipulation opened an entirely new dimension of combat capability.
'I'm not the same person who entered the Saber Garden yesterday. Not even close.'
A knock at my door interrupted my analysis. Jack's familiar heavy knock, the sound that had woken me every morning for nearly a month.
"Young Master," his voice called through the door. "Training begins in thirty minutes. Report to the courtyard."
"Understood," I called back.
I heard his footsteps retreat down the hallway. Thirty minutes to prepare myself for whatever Jack had planned for the day.
I stood and moved to the washbasin, cleaning myself and changing into fresh training clothes. The torn and bloodstained outfit from yesterday went into a pile for disposal or repair, whichever was more practical.
As I dressed, I experimented with the ice manipulation, trying to get a feel for how it worked. Held my hand over the water in the basin and focused, channeling ice-element mana through the new pathways that had formed.
The water began to freeze, ice crystals spreading from a central point like a spiderweb. Within five seconds, the entire basin's surface was frozen solid.
'The mana cost was minimal. Maybe one or two points. And it was easier than I expected, like the knowledge of how to do it was already there, built into the skill itself.'
I touched the ice with one finger and pushed more mana into it, trying to shape it. The frozen surface rose slightly, forming a rough spike about three inches tall before my control wavered and it stopped responding.
'Control is limited at Basic proficiency. But it's there. With practice, I could create weapons, barriers, traps. The tactical applications are extensive.'
I dismissed the ice with a thought, letting the mana disperse, and the frozen water immediately began melting back to liquid.
Twenty-five minutes later, I made my way to the training courtyard. Jack was already there, as always, standing in the center with his arms crossed. But today he wasn't alone.
Several training dummies had been arranged in a circle around him. Not the reinforced wooden ones I'd been practicing against, but something different. These were humanoid, roughly man-sized, with articulated joints that allowed them to be positioned in various combat stances.
Jack's eyes tracked me as I approached, his expression revealing nothing. But I saw him take in my condition, noting the complete absence of injury, the confident way I moved.
"You've healed completely," he observed. "Good. That physique of yours continues to prove advantageous."
"I'm ready for training," I said simply.
"Are you?" Jack's expression shifted slightly, something predatory entering his eyes. "Today we begin something different. You've proven yourself capable with the saber, capable of executing the Flash God Technique arts under combat pressure. You've earned the right to carry the Einsworth name into the Continental Academy."
He gestured to the humanoid training dummies arranged around him.
"But the Einsworth family is not merely a collection of saber users, Young Master. We are warriors. And warriors must be capable in all forms of combat, armed and unarmed. What happens when you lose your weapon? When it's knocked from your grip or broken in battle? Do you simply die?"
Jack's smile grew wider, taking on a quality that made my survival instincts wake up and pay attention.
"The Einsworth family has an unarmed combat art. It's less famous than the Flash God Technique, rarely taught outside the main family line, but it's no less deadly. And you, as someone who's proven themselves stronger than the average ground soldier in our army, someone who's earned their place through merit rather than birthright, you've earned the right to learn it."
He moved to one of the training dummies and positioned it in a specific stance. Then demonstrated a technique so fast I barely tracked it. A palm strike that seemed simple but carried devastating force, striking the dummy's chest and sending it flying backward to crash into the courtyard wall fifteen feet away.
"The art is called the Iron Body Method," Jack continued, returning to his original position. "It emphasizes using the entire body as a weapon. Every part of you—hands, elbows, knees, feet, head—becomes a tool for dealing damage. But more importantly, it teaches you to enhance your body through mana circulation to the point where you become a weapon that doesn't require external tools."
He looked at me directly, his expression serious.
"You have three days to learn the basic forms. Three days to develop enough proficiency that you can attempt to strike me in our final test. This will be significantly harder than learning the Flash God Technique. Unarmed combat requires different instincts, different timing, different mana usage patterns."
Jack's smile returned, but this time it was absolutely brutal. A promise of pain and growth delivered in equal measure.
"We'll train from dawn until dusk for the next three days. By the time we're done, you'll either be capable of landing a hit on me, or you'll be unconscious from trying. Either way, you'll have learned something valuable."
He settled into a ready stance that looked deceptively relaxed.
"Now. Let's begin with the absolute fundamentals. Stance, breathing, basic strikes. And Young Master?"
Jack's smile widened even further.
"This is going to hurt significantly more than saber training did. The Iron Body Method is learned through impact, through conditioning your body to give and receive damage. You're going to hit things until your hands break and heal and break again. You're going to be hit until you learn to reinforce yourself properly. That's the only way."
I looked at Jack's brutal smile, at the training dummies positioned around the courtyard, at the promise of three days of intensive pain and growth.
And realized with sudden clarity that going back into the Saber Garden to face more beasts wasn't actually the worse option here.
'He's going to break me down and rebuild me. Again. Just when I thought I'd reached a level of capability.'
But I also recognized the opportunity for what it was. Unarmed combat skills, taught by one of the best warriors in the kingdom. The chance to become more than just a saber user, to develop into a complete fighter.
I settled into a ready stance and met Jack's eyes.
"I'm ready. Let's begin."
Jack's brutal grin widened impossibly further.
"Good answer, Young Master. Now, let's see how many times I can make you regret it."