The sabertooth tiger lunged at him, its fangs gleaming like polished ivory as its roar ripped through the air.
A Grade-1 mid-tier beast, roughly equal to a level four to six Martial Warrior. The kind of creature that made even same-level martial warriors hesitate.
Alex only felt a quiet thrill rise in his chest.
His obsidian sword flashed once in a controlled arc.
There was no second impact.
The tiger's head tumbled across the grass while its body ran a few more steps on pure momentum before collapsing. A thin jet of blood rose behind it like a crimson ribbon.
"Fifteen points," Alex murmured, glancing at the counter on his wrist.
He continued forward without slowing.
Ten minutes later, he stepped into the abandoned outer district.
Ruined towers leaned over cracked streets. Vines clung to rusted steel. Silence hung thick between the shattered buildings.
A Crimson-Maned Lion stood atop a half-collapsed structure, its mane flickering with dim red flames.
When it roared and leapt down like a falling star, the air trembled.
One swipe of those massive claws could smash boulders.
In the monitoring hall, several Alliance higher-ups straightened in their seats.
It was a Grade-1 high-tier beast.
Alex met the lion head-on.
Clang.
Sparks exploded into the air.
The lion's enormous paw slammed into the flat of Alex's sword with a force that would have shattered another person's bones. Alex slid back only half a step. His boots carved two shallow trenches into the ground, yet his stance remained perfectly steady.
"Too slow."
His blade curved in a dark crescent.
The lion's roar died halfway.
Its body split cleanly from shoulder to hip, as if made of soft cloth. Organs spilled out in a bright, horrifying cascade.
Twenty points.
After killing it, Alex immediately searched for his next prey.
The third beast came on its own.
Another Grade-1 high-tier.
A Shadow Panther melted out of the darkness between the ruined buildings. Its fur devoured light, leaving only faintly glowing amber eyes.
This beast was infamous for killing Martial Warriors before they even sensed its presence.
It vanished.
Alex closed his eyes.
His mind expanded outward in a fifty-meter radius.
He felt a faint ripple in the air. A tiny shift of dust where no wind should have been.
His sword moved first.
A sharp cry tore through the silence as the Shadow Panther reappeared ten meters away, one of its front legs severed cleanly at the shoulder. Dark blood sprayed across the street.
It tried to fade back into the shadows.
Alex was already there.
His blade pierced its skull calmly and cleanly.
Twenty points again.
He had killed two Grade-1 high-tier beasts and one Grade-1 mid-tier beast.
Total points: fifty-five.
In Alliance headquarters, a Martial Monarch slammed his hand onto the table, rattling cups and data screens.
"Who is this boy? Why have we never heard of him?"
"Sir," a lower-ranked officer replied, "he is from the Saint Aurelion family. His background is extremely prominent. He is the former heir of the Moriarty family and the son of Noah Moriarty."
Understanding spread instantly among the elders.
"No wonder he is so fierce," one murmured. "The son of the Sword Prince, carrying an emperor bloodline."
Another sighed softly.
"It is a shame he can no longer live with them."
Back at the hotel, Elizabeth watched the battle with rapt attention when her wristband lit up.
A call from Leonard Morse, one of the Alliance council members.
"Lady Elizabeth," the old man's voice crackled with rare excitement, "your son is a calamity in human form. Two Grade-1 high-tier kills and one mid-tier in under twenty minutes. His speed is still increasing. Congratulations."
Pride swelled in her chest.
"Thank you, Mr. Leonard."
That first day, Alex never stopped.
He ignored weaker beasts entirely, pushing deeper into the wilderness as the ruined city faded behind him.
By sunset, fifty-nine beasts had fallen under his blade.
Twenty-three mid-tier.
Thirty-six high-tier.
Total points: one thousand sixty-five.
Second place, Kael Moriarty, had eighty seven points.
Kael's face twisted in disbelief.
"He's cheating," Kael snapped. "There's no other explanation. No one earns ten times my points on the first day. Either the system is broken or he bribed someone."
The Moriarty elders remained silent.
Their expressions spoke louder than words.
Anna stared at her own score.
Fifth place.
Thirty-nine points.
She had always believed she was gifted,but she wasn't even placed in the top 3, yet the boy she despised got the 1st position.
Her fists clenched until her palms burned.
Only Elizabeth sat quietly in the corner in her room.
A soft smile curved her lips as tears slid down her cheeks.
That night, after Alex removed his helmet and devoured three plates of spirit beast steak, Elizabeth took him to the private training room atop the hotel.
"Show me," she said.
Alex lifted the obsidian sword.
Moonlight slid across the blade like liquid silver.
He executed the first six forms of the Basic Sword Art.
He had perfected them in a single day of constant combat.
Elizabeth studied him for several long moments, then exhaled slowly.
"You've already fused the forms into real combat. Good."
She stepped forward and summoned her own blade.
"Watch carefully. This is the seventh form. Mastery of subtle movements that mislead the opponent. Focus on disguising intent and breaking defenses."
She manifested a monster.
Deceived it several times.
Then killed it cleanly.
Alex practiced for five hours before sleeping.
On the second day, he killed one hundred Grade-1 beasts.
Total points: three thousand two hundred thirteen.
The gap widened into a chasm.
That night, Elizabeth taught him the eighth form.
Automatic adjustment to unpredictable attacks. Multiple enemy angles. Broken rhythm.
Instinctive reaction.
Improvisation.
On the third day, Alex reached two hundred kills.
The entire Alliance was already shaking.
Not because of his power.
But because of his potential.
Every screen now showed only one figure.
All others faded into background noise.
That night, Elizabeth taught him the final level.
Complete integration of sword and body.
The sword was no longer a weapon.
It was part of him.
"Some people only grasp sword intent after becoming martial artists," she said softly. "If you want to reach that realm, you must practice every day."
On the fourth day, Alex hunted only Grade-1 high-tier beasts.
On the final day, his points stood at nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine.
He had left the safe zone already.
Alex stood on a cracked highway leading into the true wilderness.
Wind tugged at his hair.
His sword rested on his shoulder.
Before him crouched a Steel-Horned Dragon Rhino.
A Grade-2 low-tier monster.
Ten meters long.
A beast whose hide shrugged off siege cannons and whose horn could shatter city walls.
In the monitoring hall, every elder rose to their feet.
"Order him to retreat. Now."
"It's too late. He's already charging."
The rhino thundered forward, each step splitting the earth. Dust exploded behind it.
Alex did not dodge. A great pressure fell on his shoulder.
The monster was at least 2 times stronger than him.
But he was still clear headed. He took a single calm step and lifted his sword in a steady two-handed grip.
The air thickened.
Pressure descended like the weight of the sky.
The rhino faltered as it's instinct screamed that death had already arrived.
Alex's mind fell into perfect stillness.
In that silence, he saw everything.
The gaps between the plates.
The rhythm of its energy.
Weak points no ordinary eye could perceive.
This was not mental energy.
It was something else.
Alex brought the blade down.
For one heartbeat, there was no sound.
Then the world cracked.
A thin black line split the rhino from horn to tail.
The beast ran two more steps.
Then slid apart.
Both halves crashed down in a storm of blood, dust, and shattered stone.
Alex stood at the center of the ruin.
Sword raised toward the sky.
The entire Alliance stood as one.
"Sword Intent."
"Before entering the Tower. Before awakening as a martial artist."
"History has been created."
Far away on the hotel roof, Elizabeth watched the private projection.
Tears streamed freely.
Her son had not let her down.
Alex stood alone on the dead highway.
Sword dripping red.
The upper echelon of the world watched in silence.
He smiled, satisfied.
Sword intent had amplified his power.
By how much, he did not yet know.
He would find out after going out.
The wristband trophy was already his.
Now, all that remained was to wait.
Until the day his fifteenth birthday arrived.