The day he came back after beating his rod into those nobles, Arthur knew this power was making him crazy, and he had to control himself so Arthur’s training started.
He didn’t approach it like a hobby or a mildly interesting puzzle. He trained as though his life depended on it.
Because it did.
The hidden, subterranean lake behind the manor became his proving ground. The dense, ancient forest surrounding the water gave him enough space to experiment without destroying the estate, while the lake itself provided a convenient, freezing shock to his system whenever his internal mana ran too hot.
Elena watched him from beneath the sprawling shade of a luminous silver tree.
Kaelera sat several meters away, her knees pulled tight to her chest.
Neither of them had been told exactly why Arthur had brought them down here in the early morning light. They simply watched as Arthur stood in the center of a wide clearing, rolling his broad shoulders and stretching his arms.
"Today," Arthur announced to the quiet forest, "I’m going to figure out what this body can actually do."
Elena folded her arms, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "You could have started with something slightly less dangerous than punching ancient trees."
Arthur smiled. "Probably."
He closed his eyes and focused inward.
The emerald light, pure and warm, immediately spread outward from his chest. The physical sensation was instantaneous and intoxicating. Raw strength flooded his muscle fibers. A crackling speed thrummed in his veins. His hearing sharpened, catching the rustle of leaves a hundred yards away. His vision zoomed in, tracking the microscopic path of an insect crawling across a rock.
His massive frame suddenly felt incredibly light, almost weightless.
Arthur took one step forward.
Then, he vanished.
*BOOM!*
A heavy, moss-covered tree thirty yards away shook violently as Arthur’s fist buried itself into the thick trunk. He landed smoothly in the dirt as the heavy bark splintered and cracked around his knuckles.
Arthur pulled his hand back, staring at his fist in complete awe. "Interesting."
Kaelera’s dark, animal-like ears twitched rapidly at the deafening sound. "Too strong?" she whispered.
Arthur shook his hand out, sending a cloud of wood dust into the air. "Not exactly." He looked at the deep crater left in the damaged tree. "I’m still wasting a massive amount of energy on the impact."
He backed up and tried again.
This time, he didn’t flood his entire body. He focused the emerald mana exclusively into his legs.
His body launched forward like a fired cannonball. He crossed the clearing in a literal fraction of a second. Just before impact, he mentally redirected the rushing mana from his legs directly into his right arm.
His fist stopped precisely two centimeters from the surface of another tree.
The sheer concussive force of the compressed air exploded outward. The tree didn’t splinter—it bowed backward, shedding hundreds of leaves in a violent gust of wind.
Arthur smiled, dropping his arm. "Much better."
Elena watched the display carefully, her eyes tracking the faint green afterglow fading from the air. "You’re learning very quickly."
Arthur looked back over his shoulder. "I have a very good teacher."
Elena blinked, confused. "Who?"
"My mistakes."
For some unexplainable reason, the deadpan answer caught her off guard. The faintest trace of a smile touched the corners of her mouth. It was small. Guarded. But Arthur definitely noticed it.
The first several hours of the morning passed without serious incident.
Arthur methodically tested his strength. Then his explosive speed. Then the absolute limits of his heightened senses. He discovered that the Concentrated Mana Xetra had gifted him wasn’t simply a blunt-force strength enhancement. It was a fluid tool. It could be shaped, focused, compressed, and spread like water.
He could strengthen his legs for blinding speed, his arms for devastating power, his eyes for microscopic perception, and his skin for iron-clad defense.
But every application had a steep cost. The more mana he aggressively compressed into one specific area, the more difficult it became to maintain fine control over the rest of his body.
Arthur learned that lesson the hard way.
His body surged forward. Far too quickly. The conflicting energy currents destabilized his center of gravity.
*CRASH!*
He clipped the side of a boulder, hit the dirt hard, and rolled violently through the tall grass for several meters before coming to a stop in a tangle of limbs.
Elena covered her mouth in shock. Kaelera’s ears shot straight upward, her eyes going wide.
Arthur remained entirely face-down in the dirt.
Silence hung over the clearing.
Then, Elena laughed.
It wasn’t a guarded smirk this time. It was a genuine, clear laugh that broke the heavy tension of the morning. It was the first time Arthur had heard her make a sound that wasn’t saturated in grief or fear.
Arthur slowly lifted his head, spitting a blade of grass out of his mouth. "You find this funny?"
She immediately tried to suppress it, pressing a hand over her mouth, though her eyes were shining. "A little."
Arthur stood up, groaning as he brushed the dirt from his dark clothes. "Fine." He pointed a finger directly at her. "Your turn."
Her smile instantly vanished. "What?"
"You’re going to train, too."
Elena shook her head, taking a step back. "No."
"Why?"
"Because I don’t know how to fight."
"Neither did I, about two hours ago," Arthur said easily, extending his hand. "That’s exactly why we’re learning."
Elena hesitated, looking nervously at his outstretched hand. But eventually, with a reluctant sigh, she stepped forward.
Kaelera watched them from the shade of the tree.
She hadn’t spoken more than three words since arriving at the manor. But Arthur had noticed a distinct pattern. She watched absolutely everything. Every subtle movement. Every conversation. Every shadow. She was perpetually observing, assessing threats and escape routes.
Arthur eventually left Elena practicing basic mana circulation and walked slowly over to the beast-woman.
He stopped a few feet away. "Your turn."
Kaelera’s ears flattened instantly against her head. She shook her head violently. "No."
Arthur crouched down so he wasn’t towering over her, keeping his posture entirely non-threatening. "You don’t have to fight."
She looked at him, deeply confused. "Then why?"
"Because I want you to learn how to protect yourself."
Her golden eyes lowered to the grass. "Can’t."
Arthur frowned softly. "Why not?"
Her trembling fingers moved up, lightly touching the dark, heavy iron collar secured around her neck. "Because..." She stopped, unable to finish the thought.
Arthur understood immediately. The collar. The magical contract. The deeply ingrained fear that if she showed any strength, she would be punished for it.
He didn’t push her.
"Then we’ll start with something very simple," Arthur said. He held his open hand out, palm up.
Kaelera stared at his hand as if it were a trap. After several agonizingly long seconds, she slowly, carefully reached out. Her calloused fingers lightly touched his palm.
Arthur didn’t grab her hand. He simply concentrated a tiny, gentle amount of mana.
Kaelera’s breath hitched, her eyes going incredibly wide. "Mana."
"Yes."
Her expression changed. The paralyzing fear retreated just a fraction, and for the first time since he had pulled her off that auction stage, Arthur saw a spark of genuine curiosity in her eyes.
"Can you feel it?" Arthur asked quietly.
She nodded, mesmerized by the warm light.
Arthur smiled. "Good."
By noon, all three of them were completely exhausted.
They sat in comfortable silence beside the edge of the lake. Arthur drank deeply from a leather water skin, staring out across the glassy surface. Elena sat on a smooth rock, dipping her bare feet into the cool water. Kaelera sat beneath a nearby tree, and for the first time, her ears were relaxed, no longer twitching at every passing breeze.
The scene felt incredibly, strangely peaceful.
For a few hours, Arthur had almost managed to forget about the terrifying curse buried inside him.
*Almost.*
Then, he noticed the angle of the sunlight filtering through the cavern ceiling. The sun was steadily moving toward the western horizon. Evening was approaching.
Arthur’s relaxed smile vanished instantly.
He remembered yesterday. The exact moment the sun had begun setting. The crushing, building pressure in his chest. The surge of violet energy. The aggressive, warping thoughts. The sheer, overwhelming hunger for control.
His hand tightened involuntarily around the water skin, nearly bursting the leather.
Elena noticed the sudden shift in his posture. "What is it?"
"Nothing," Arthur said quickly.
She looked at him, her eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion. "You keep saying that."
Arthur glanced nervously toward the horizon line again. "I just... I need to go back up to the manor."
"Why?"
"I forgot something."
Elena frowned. "Right now?"
"Yes." Arthur stood up abruptly, brushing the dirt from his trousers. "I’ll be back."
Kaelera’s ears lifted, catching the sudden anxiety in his voice. "Where?"
Arthur hesitated, looking down at them. "The manor."
It was a complete lie. He had absolutely no intention of going back to the estate. He intended to go somewhere else entirely. Somewhere deep in the forest, far enough away that neither of them would be caught in the crossfire when the sun finally went down.
He turned away. "I’ll meet you both back there later."
Elena stood up quickly. "Arthur."
He paused, looking back over his shoulder.
She looked deeply concerned, her previous guardedness completely gone. "You don’t have to handle everything alone."
Arthur offered a sad, grateful smile. "I know."
Then, he left.