Chapter 8(edited)
The wind rustled through the dense forest canopy as Julien Reinhart stood silently on a branch, eyes tracking the fading blur of Arthur Valerian leaping from tree to tree. In mere seconds, the boy vanished into the wilderness.
Julien didn't move.
He didn't speak.
He simply watched, lost in thought.
"So that's Arthur Valerian…" he muttered under his breath.
A strange feeling stirred in his chest. Not fear. Not envy.
Something colder. Something deeper. A quiet fire.
⸻
Years Ago — Reinhart Estate
A brutal training ground.
Crimson-stained floors.
Screams buried under the weight of expectation.
Count Evan Reinhart—the Spear of Flame—didn't raise children.
He forged weapons.
Julien had watched his own elder brother, born with Mana Blockage Disease, be cast out of the Reinhart bloodline like a broken tool. That day, he understood the cost of weakness.
All hopes fell upon Julien.
He responded.
First mana circuit at age four.
By eleven, he had reached the 9th.
He had nearly formed his mana core months ago.
Nearly.
But then… he found it.
An ancient artifact buried in the Reinhart family's vault.
A ring. One that whispered.
A voice from the Upper Realm spoke through it.
And it showed him something impossible—something forbidden.
⸻
"Do you seek more than what this world can offer?" the soul had asked.
"There is no known method to awaken the 10th circuit," Julien had replied.
"No one has done it in a thousand years."
"That's because no one remembered how," the voice said.
"But I do."
And so, Julien stopped.
He delayed his core formation.
Not out of fear.
Out of ambition.
Because his path didn't end at nine circuits.
His story would begin with ten.
Back in the forest, Julien's fists tightened.
"Arthur… you opened your first circuit at age two. And now, by ten, you've caught up to me."
"Seven years… you climbed to my level in seven years."
The speed was unnatural.
Freakish.
Terrifying.
Most people took 15–20 years to open nine circuits.
Even geniuses took 10.
Julien didn't know whether to call it talent or fate.
But one thing was clear.
Arthur was not ordinary.
His master had already commented on the boy.
"He's fast… dangerously so. But the faster one rises, the greater the fall."
"Be patient, Julien. Your 10th circuit will change everything."
Julien nodded to himself.
"Let him shine now. But soon, I'll surpass him."
He turned toward the sound of battle—Arthur's path of destruction echoing through the trees.
"He might be the storm… but I'll be the sky above it."
With a sharp breath, Julien vanished into the forest.
———————————————
Meanwhile…
Arthur was fighting for his life.
Five hours had passed since the goblin village slaughter.
He had torn through waves of beasts—razor wolves, forest ogres. Each kill earned him points.
A gang of stealth vipers 320 points.
A rampaging Stonehorn Boar 180 points.
Twin-eyed ogres guarding a ruined temple 400 points.
And one goblin chieftain that had somehow survived his earlier assault another 150.
Bit by bit, his score climbed past 2,000 points.
After doing all this for five hours he decided to rest a bit.
And that's when he felt it.
A presence. A monstrous pressure that bent the wind.
His eyes locked on a clearing up ahead, where the trees seemed afraid to grow. There, resting atop a cracked boulder, was a beast cloaked in dark flames.
Jet-black fur that shimmered like obsidian.
Eyes glowing red, completely devoid of pupils.
Its mane writhed like living fire.
[Appraisal Activated]
[Black Flame Lion]
[Level: Peak Rank 1]
[Status: Resting]
Arthur's breath caught.
A mutated beast.
Far stronger than anything he'd faced so far. Stronger even than the goblin captain.
He instinctively stepped back, careful not to make noise.
He had no intention of disturbing this monster.
But the lion stirred.
Its eyes snapped open, locking onto him.
And then—it vanished.
"Damn—!" Arthur barely raised his sword before a massive paw slammed into him.
The force shattered a tree behind him and sent him crashing into the ground.
The lion roared and lunged, flames forming in its mouth.
A fireball, condensed and blazing with black heat.
Arthur rolled to the side as it exploded behind him, turning stone to molten glass. He winced, blood dripping from his side.
"That's not a regular flame," he muttered.
"That's hellfire."
He stood up, brushing the blood off his lip.
At first, he wanted to retreat.
But now…
He grinned.
"This… this is what I was looking for."
He activated [Sword Aura]—his blade humming with raw energy—and stepped forward.
No more running.
The lion roared again, and Arthur roared back, charging in with terrifying speed.
Fire met steel. Beast met boy.