Kyle looked toward the enormous training field before him.
Then back at Elias.
"...Fifty laps?"
Elias nodded once.
"Yes."
Kyle swallowed.
"...Can I negotiate?"
"No."
"...Can I complain?"
"You already are."
Kyle sighed dramatically.
"...Worth asking."
Taking a deep breath, he pushed his exhausted legs forward.
The iron vest immediately reminded him of its existence.
Each step felt as though someone had tied boulders to his body.
By the fifth lap...
Sweat soaked his clothes.
By the tenth...
His breathing had become ragged.
By the fifteenth...
His legs trembled violently.
"I..."
"...can't..."
Elias stood beneath the shade of a tree, calmly sipping tea.
"You've only finished fifteen."
Kyle nearly cried.
"Only?"
"Yes."
"The other thirty-five are waiting."
Kyle gritted his teeth.
"...You're enjoying this."
"A little."
"...Sadist."
"I heard that."
"...I wanted you to."
Elias chuckled.
"Less talking."
"More running."
Kyle groaned but forced himself forward.
Every muscle in his body burned.
His lungs screamed.
His heart pounded like a drum.
Yet...
He refused to stop.
His mother's smiling face flashed across his mind.
His fists tightened.
"I..."
"...won't..."
"...stop."
One lap.
Another.
Then another.
Finally...
After what felt like an eternity...
Kyle stumbled across the finish line before collapsing onto the ground.
He lay there motionless.
His chest rose and fell violently.
"...Water..."
Elias tossed a bottle toward him.
Kyle caught it weakly before emptying the entire thing in seconds.
"...I'm alive..."
"Barely."
Elias nodded.
"Good."
Kyle blinked.
"...Good?"
"If you still have enough strength to complain..."
"...you still have enough strength to train."
Kyle's expression froze.
"...Wait..."
"What?"
Elias picked up a massive stone nearly as tall as Kyle's waist.
"Carry it."
Kyle stared.
"...You're joking."
The stone landed before him with a loud THUD!
"I'm not."
Kyle looked at the stone.
Then at Elias.
Then back at the stone.
"...Master."
"Yes?"
"...I think you secretly hate me."
Elias smiled.
"If I hated you..."
"...I'd have added another fifty laps."
Kyle immediately wrapped both arms around the stone.
"...On second thought..."
"...I love this stone."
"Good."
"Now carry it."
Kyle somehow lifted it onto his shoulder.
His knees bent under the tremendous weight.
Every step became torture.
He had barely taken ten steps...
When Elias' wooden sword suddenly struck toward his back.
WHACK!
Kyle instinctively raised his left arm.
A translucent shield flashed into existence.
Bang!
The wooden sword bounced away.
Elias nodded slightly.
"Again."
Another strike came from Kyle's blind spot.
The mana shield appeared once more.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Soon...
Elias attacked from every direction without warning.
Kyle no longer had time to think.
His body simply reacted.
Every successful defense made the mana shield appear faster.
More stable.
More solid.
What Kyle didn't notice...
Was that his control over Mana Guard was steadily improving with every strike.
The first day ended with Kyle collapsing face-first onto the training ground.
The second day...
Was worse.
By the third day, his muscles had become accustomed to the crushing weight of the iron vest.
Not because it had become lighter.
But because his body had begun adapting.
...
Days passed.
Every morning began before sunrise.
Run.
Carry boulders.
Climb cliffs.
Sprint with chains tied around his legs.
Lift logs.
Punch ironwood pillars until his fists became numb.
Every afternoon...
Elias would pick up his wooden sword.
"Spar."
Kyle groaned.
"I hate that word."
"You'll hate dying more."
Kyle sighed before raising his own wooden sword.
The moment he did...
Elias vanished.
Kyle's eyes widened.
"Too slow."
Bang!
His Mana Guard instinctively appeared.
The wooden sword slammed against the translucent shield, forcing Kyle back three steps.
Before he could recover...
Another strike came from behind.
Bang!
The shield appeared again.
Left.
Right.
Above.
Below.
The attacks never stopped.
Kyle couldn't even think.
His body simply reacted.
Every successful block consumed mana.
Every failed block earned him another bruise.
...
On the seventh day...
Kyle was finally able to block ten consecutive attacks.
Elias nodded.
"Better."
Kyle smiled proudly.
"Really?"
"Now let's make it harder."
Kyle's smile froze.
"...I spoke too soon."
Elias attacked.
Faster than ever before.
Kyle barely managed to react.
His Mana Guard flickered repeatedly.
The transparent barrier became noticeably smoother.
Its edges, once unstable, were now perfectly rounded.
Its surface no longer rippled violently whenever it received an impact.
Instead...
It dispersed the force across the entire shield.
Elias noticed immediately.
His eyes flashed with approval.
"His control..."
"It's becoming frightening."
Another strike.
Another block.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Hours later...
Kyle collapsed onto one knee.
His mana reserves were almost empty.
Sweat dripped continuously onto the ground.
He could barely lift his sword.
Elias walked toward him.
Without warning...
He swung.
Kyle instinctively raised his hand.
The mana shield formed almost instantly.
This time...
It didn't merely block the attack.
It redirected part of the force.
The wooden sword slid harmlessly away.
Silence filled the training ground.
Kyle blinked.
"...Did I just..."
Elias slowly lowered his sword.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Congratulations."
Kyle looked confused.
"For what?"
"You've reached..."
"...the Second Level of Mana Guard."
Kyle's eyes widened.
"I did?"
"You did."
Kyle couldn't help but grin.
"So I finally caught up to my sword art."
Elias shook his head.
"No."
"You surpassed it."
Kyle blinked.
"My Mana Guard is stronger than my Foundation Sword Art?"
"It is."
Kyle scratched his head.
"I thought offensive techniques were easier to improve."
"For ordinary cultivators..."
"They are."
Kyle frowned.
"What about me?"
Elias looked directly into his eyes.
"You've spent the last week doing one thing."
"Surviving."
"A person desperately trying not to die..."
"...learns defense much faster than offense."
Kyle laughed awkwardly.
"When you put it like that..."
"It sounds terrible."
"It is."
"But it's effective."
Kyle stood up again.
His legs still trembled.
His body still ached.
Yet...
Compared to ten days ago...
He felt lighter.
Stronger.
More balanced.
He clenched his fist.
Power surged through every muscle.
Even the iron vest didn't feel as unbearable as before.
Elias nodded in satisfaction.
"Good."
"Tomorrow..."
"...we increase the intensity."
Kyle's face immediately fell.
"...There's more?"
The old man smiled.
"Oh..."
"We're only getting started."