Just one trade was enough. Regret made Angelo’s eyes narrow; from now on, he would be taking in every subtle move, every measured breath. His target wasn’t just a boy—he was something else entirely. Older in skill, sharper in mind. Strong, agile, and calm like a predator that had already survived a hundred fights.

  A flicker of respect stirred beneath Angelo’s hardened exterior, but there was no room for hesitation.

  If he were to hunt this boy, to honor his mark and his purpose, he would have to summon everything—every ounce of skill, every shred of patience and fury.

  Though his elemental root was at a disadvantage, that did not mean he could not win. It only meant there was no margin for error—no second chances.

  At his side, he already carried a counter for every possible root the boy might possess.

  If it was Fire, his {Ignition} could disrupt the spell before it ever took form.

  If it was Wind, his weapon would absorb the flow and return it as a violent whipsh.

  If it was Earth, he would fight by superheating whatever mass the boy conjured.

  And if it was water, he would rely on saturation attacks, never allowing the boy to establish his flow.

  He untwisted his favorite weapon at his waist, ready to draw. The boy’s weapon was something like his. A weapon made out of a powerful monster, a monster that could use magic.

  ‘Then I have to probe first!’ He thought.

  This time, Angelo rushed for another exchange. If he could nd or graze his knife on the boy, he knew that it would be an instant win. “CLANG!” “CLANG!” “CLANG!” “CLANG!” But the agility and dexterity of the boy against the maneuverability of his knife were on par.

  ‘{Ignition}!’ But Angelo was close enough to cast his short-range magic. A fire ignited near the face of the boy. The boy was a bit te to react, so only half of his face was charred by the instant fire magic. ‘He dodged that?’ Angelo gred in knowing that his setup inflicted minimal damage. ‘Come on, boy! Use magic!’

  But instead, the boy created a distance between the two of them by turning and running ‘It is not the face of a retreat!’ He thought as he saw what kind of face the boy was making.

  Whatever the boy was pnning, Angelo wouldn’t let it be. He pulled the Fme Tongue from his waist and whipped it. Activating the magic in the weapon, he created a fiery whipsh, hitting the boy’s leg.

  “Aargh!” the boy grunted in pain as he rolled onto the ground, but still got up and faced Angelo again.

  ‘What’s with that look?’ After inflicting damage on the boy, the boy released a powerful bloodlust that even Angelo felt in his bones.

  “That hurts!” the boy compined. The leg hit by the burning whipsh was bleeding and burned. Still, the boy stood his ground. Angelo was baffled by the boy’s actions. But whatever the boy was pnning failed, he was sure of it.

  Simon was in for a world of hurt. He understood that the shadow could combat him at any range. The searing pain in his leg made him gulp. It's been a long time since he felt pain at that level. He wanted to know the range of the chant-less fire spell the Shadow used, but instead, he got hit by another type of attack.

  ‘Damn, I got hit again! If the old man saw this, he'd kill me for sure!’ Simon thought as he suppressed the pain in his mind. The old man ingrained in him that he must not get hit by anything. Resolved to fulfill the old man’s mantra, he focused.

  ‘The knife is poisoned,’ it was the strange smell from the shadow that informed him. ‘A magic that comes out of nowhere,’ it was the instant fire magic that almost hit his whole face. ‘And that rope-like weapon,’ the chained knife that burned his leg. ‘He is good.’

  The fight coiled around him like a tightening knot—one wrong move, and it would snap shut, cutting his life short. Most would falter against the crushing weight of such danger, but he was different. Simon’s breath stayed steady, his gaze unwavering.

  He had been in this situation before. It was nothing new. In fact, he thrived in moments like this—he had to. If he didn’t, he would’ve been dead long ago.

  Memories of past battles didn’t haunt him; they honed him. The shadow’s killing intent struck like a spark, igniting every muscle, sharpening every nerve. He was ready.

  But then again, he had already made a mistake. ‘I should have brought the Eagle Knives,’ then he would have other methods of attack, but it’s too te now.

  He didn’t feel any fear; he just thought of the next step, the next attack or counter he could do. Simon understood that he needed space to swing and could fight in mid-range, but his enemy right now was better than him at mid-range.

  Facing him in a melee combat was much better than running away from the range of his magic ‘I will try to use water magic if I have the opportunity!’ and without fear, he rushed again; he must at least do a payback for the pain in his leg.

  This time, he was fully committed, letting all of his instincts out. He dodged a chained knife attack, rode the momentum, and swung his Fin Bde.

  The Shadow blocked it with his knife, but was overpowered.

  The knife broke in two. ‘Yeah!’ Simon smiled.

  The Shadow spun as he absorbed the blow. He took out another knife and tried to attack Simon, who was still in the momentum of his attack. But the boy was prepared; following his momentum, he ducked as low as possible. He dodged the knife and bought time to recover his center of gravity.

  But he was still within range of the chained knife. The Shadow whipped it out—and Simon rolled beneath the swing. Without breaking momentum, he pushed off the ground with his free hand.A flicker of surprise crossed the Shadow’s eyes as he formed a follow-up {Ignition}, only to find Simon already beyond his reach.

  ‘Think first from the beginning of your movement and into its end, then move without hesitation!’ Simon smiled; he was happy with his near-perfect execution. Recovering his stance, he rushed again to repeat the same moves.

  The boy did it again—another successful trade. Angelo had seen it coming, yet still failed to adjust in time the second round.

  “Argh!”

  Unlike before, even though the movements were the same, the boy nded a hit as he shattered Angelo’s second knife. ‘This fucking kid!’

  But he wasn’t annoyed. If anything, he was amazed.

  Rather than relying on magic, the boy fought with sword and wit—nothing like what the books or his training had promised. ‘Banals use magic like it’s nothing, my ass.’

  Another assumption crept into his mind. ‘Or maybe he just doesn’t have the capacity to keep firing water attacks?’ Whatever he was thinking, it was cut off.

  As soon as the boy recovered his stance, he rushed in again. Angelo knew how to break the spamming. Instead of standing his ground, he leapt back and slipped past the first strike.

  ‘{Ignition}!’

  He rapid-fired his fire magic, but the boy moved as if guided by a sixth sense, evading every bst. ‘How can he do that?’

  It would have made sense if the boy were wind- or fire-rooted. Wind could sense magic stirring in the air; fire could feel sudden shifts in temperature. ‘But water-rooted shouldn’t be able to detect it.’ He had been certain of that.As the csh dragged on, Angelo reached a grim conclusion—the boy’s root might be void-type.And that meant trouble.