ALL NOVEL Chapter 5: Progress
Rio woke up groggy, his mind still foggy from exhaustion. The first thing he did was test his newfound ability. Concentrating, he willed mana into his hands. A flicker of warmth ignited, and a small fireball appeared in his palm.
"Yes! Holy fuck!" he exclaimed, the firelight reflecting in his excited eyes. "I can still do it!"
He sat up in bed, marveling at the flames, before noticing something peculiar. His legs, which had been injured, felt perfectly fine. Slowly, he stood up.
"Wait… I can walk? Normally?" Rio muttered, staring at his legs in disbelief.
At that moment, Surtr entered the room, wiping sweat from her forehead. Her expression was as unreadable as ever.
"You're awake? Took you long enough," she said. "I was just working out."
Rio ignored her nonchalant tone. "My leg it's completely healed. How? And how long was I out?"
"Just a few hours," Surtr replied, glancing at him. "As for your leg, I don't know. But my handprint on your back is gone too. I think awakening your mana must have triggered some kind of rune on you. Those markings on your body they're old magic, older than anything I've seen. Whoever did this wasn't just powerful they were dangerous."
"Runes? Like those ancient spell carvings?" Rio asked, intrigued.
"Exactly, genius," Surtr said, rolling her eyes. "Runes are some of the hardest magic to master. Even someone as talented as you would need years to read them, let alone use them."
"Didn't Odin hang himself from the world tree to learn runes?" Rio asked, half-serious.
Surtr groaned in irritation. "That idiot Odin was a god. You're not. If you tried that, you'd just die. No shortcuts, kid. Whoever put those runes on you was a master, probably someone in your family."
"My family…" Rio trailed off. "They've always been full of secrets."
"Figures. You're probably the weak link in an otherwise competent bloodline," Surtr teased.
"Shut up," Rio shot back, but their banter was cut short when Surtr's demeanor shifted.
"Get down," she hissed, her tone deadly serious.
A silhouette appeared outside the window a man holding a blade, scanning the house. Rio's heart raced as Surtr silently prepared for a fight, despite being unarmed.
The man approached the door cautiously, signaling three others to follow. As soon as he stepped inside, Surtr moved like lightning. She grabbed his wrist, twisted it until he dropped his weapon, and drove him to the floor with a brutal efficiency that left Rio stunned.
The other three rushed forward, Surtr noticed that one was armed with a bow. Surtr raised her hand, creating a wall of fire that separated her from two of the men. She lunged at the archer, slicing off his hand with the fallen blade. The wound cauterized instantly, the smell of burnt flesh filling the air.
"Please! No more!" the archer screamed, clutching his stump.
The other two men hesitated but quickly recovered. Surtr smirked, ready to finish them, when Rio's voice cut through the chaos.
"Stop!"
Surtr froze, noticing the man she had initially taken down now holding a knife to Rio's throat.
"Let them go, or I'll slit his throat!" the man barked.
Surtr's eyes narrowed, her flames simmering down. She raised her hands, begrudgingly stepping back.
"Smart move," the man sneered. "Now, here's the deal: we'll take some food, some water, and the kid. You don't come after us, and we'll leave you alive."
"Take the kid, and I'll burn you so thoroughly that they will need magic just to find your ashes," Surtr growled.
"Bold words for someone who's outnumbered," one of the men jeered, licking his lips.
Surtr spat in his face literally. The saliva sizzled on his skin, making him howl in pain.
"AHH! It's boiling! What the hell!?"
Enraged, the man kicked Surtr, but she barely flinched.
The man holding Rio tightened his grip. "Enough! Food, water, and the kid. That's final."
Rio's eyes darted around, looking for an opening. As the man's grip slackened slightly, Rio channeled a fireball directly into his face. The man screamed, releasing Rio, who rolled away.
Surtr seized the moment. Flames erupted from her hands, surging along the ground and igniting the feet of the remaining men. She moved swiftly, she held the archer's head and ripped his head off using her bare hands.
Meanwhile, Rio grabbed a dagger from his father's weapons cache. Without hesitation, he drove it into the skull of the man who had held him hostage.
As the last man fell, Rio stood, breathing heavily. He stared at the dagger in his hand, surprised by how easy it was to kill.
"Well, congratulations, little mage," Surtr said, smirking. "You're not so little anymore."
She casually tossed one of the bodies out the door, as if it were garbage.
Rio looked up, his eyes hardening with determination. "Will you train me?"
Surtr's devilish grin widened. "Oh, you're going to regret asking that. Sure."
For the next two weeks, Rio endured what could only be described as hell. Surtr's training pushed him to his limits and beyond. He averaged three hours of sleep a night, his muscles constantly aching.
Surtr's focus was on mana conditioning and manipulation, ensuring Rio's body adapted to the strain. By the end of it, he was unrecognizable. His once-scrawny frame had bulked up significantly, and he had grown nearly six inches taller, now standing at an imposing 6'3".
Sword training was another ordeal. While Surtr favored her massive buster sword, she reluctantly agreed to teach Rio how to wield a katana after he insisted. He'd always been excited to use a katana because of anime and by the elegance of the weapon.
Rio attempted flashy moves he'd seen in anime, much to Surtr's amusement. His attempt to replicate Sasaki Kojiro's noble phantasm ended in utter failure, leaving him sore and humiliated.
"You're such a nerd," Surtr teased, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.
"Shut up," Rio muttered, rubbing his bruised shoulder.
The last training Surtr prepared for Rio was a spar against her while she uses fire to throw his balance off, enhancing his senses and eye and hand coordination.
Later, during training, Rio hesitated when swinging his sword, the image of the man's lifeless body flashing in his mind. This hesitation prompt Surtr to push him harder, saying something, "You're alive because he's not. Get used to it."
"The only way to wield fire is to feel its pain. Let it burn you until you understand it's your ally, not your enemy." Surtr said as she saw Rio struggling
At the end of their training, Rio and Surtr stood outside the house. He glanced at the bodies of the men they had killed, a grim reminder of what he was leaving behind.
While scavenging their corpses earlier, he had discovered the system's inventory feature and looted 23 omni-dollars.
"We wasted enough time here," Rio said, adjusting the katana at his side. "Let's go find my grandma."
Surtr raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're ready, little mage?"
Rio smirked. "I'm not little anymore."
Surtr chuckled, hefting her buster sword onto her shoulder. "Fair enough. Let's see if you can survive the real world."
With that, they set off, leaving behind a house full of memories—both painful and transformative.
As they walked, Rio's system pinged.
>System Alert: potential unlocked– leveling conditions engaged.
He hesitated, staring at the words on the screen.
"What now?" Surtr asked, noticing his expression.
Rio tightened his grip on his katana, a determined gleam in his eyes. "Nothing. Just the beginning."
Surtr smirked. "Then let's get moving, mage."
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>Rio ( level: 2)
>STR: 10 I > SEN: 12
>STA: 10 I > CHA: 10
>MGC: 10 I > WIS: 12
>INT: 12 I > LUK: -5
>Potential: S-rank
>Skills: Summoning (Skill level: Ultimate), Level: 13/30 Swordsmanship (E- rank), level: 10/20 flame manipulation (F-rank)
>Passive skills: Rune of regeneration (B-rank) ↓
Skill description: The Rune of Regeneration is a sophisticated and ancient magical inscription designed to enhance the body's natural healing capabilities.
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>Surtr (F-rank)
>STR: 20| > SEN: 25
>STA:20 | > CHA: 50
>MGC: 30 | > WIS: 20
>INT: 12 | > LUK: 15
>Potential: SSS-Rank
>Skills: Level 29/30: Swordsmanship (E-rank ), Level: 15/30 Flame manipulation (E-rank), Level: 8/20 Brawling (F-rank)
>Passive skills: Heat resistance (A-rank), Flame resistance (A-rank), Heated body (B-rank)