TALENT

Deep in a certain forest, two hideous demons were currently in negotiation.

"MEPHISTO!! YOU BASTARD! This is unreasonable!"

"Hmph!! Youma, you should know that you've already dwelled in this land for more than 200 years, and not a single progress in conquering mankind was made. Yes, there was a time when you reached a golden age and almost conquered the humans, but that was 100 years ago!"

"Plus, that was when human development and society were far lacking, yet you still failed. Right now, with those modern weapons, do you think you stand a chance against them?"

Hearing the rebuttal from the foreign demon Mephisto, Youma gritted his teeth and held his anger, knowing the bastard in front of him was right. However, he refused to let his pride down and retorted,

"Tha...that's because the damn omyouji in this country interfere every time. Those pests who don't know when to quit keep pestering us and hindering our job."

"Omyouji? Oh, you mean the exorcists, huh? What weaklings."

Youma looked in confusion toward the demon in front of him.

"Oh, I'm talking about you. Not only can you not defeat those low-born exorcists, but you also can't even create a scheme against them!"

"YOU!!"

Ignoring Youma, Mephisto casually continued, "Anyway, you only have three choices: leave this place, become my subordinate, or... DIE!"

With a vicious eye, Mephisto arrogantly stared down at Youma. As a demon on par with a tier 9 mage, the pressure from Mephisto was enough to kill a human with a stare.

Demons are creatures naturally created from mana, so they rely on magic the same as mages and have the same power level ranking system. However, as beings blessed by mana, their aptitude for magic is far more powerful. A tier 1 demon can handle a tier 2 mage normally, and when dealing with a tier 1 mage, they usually don't have to go all out.

"So... Youma, what's your choice? I believe you won't make any foolish mistakes, right?"

Gulp "Fi...fine, I'll become your subordinate."

"Oh my, a splendid choice. Here's some reward."

toss "!!!! Mmm....hmmm." After that, Mephisto tossed a woman in front of Youma before continuing.

"I remember it's been a while since you last ate human, right? Oh, that won't do. As my subordinate, you need to keep yourself well-nourished."

Hearing the demon's words, the woman's eyes became teary. Her body couldn't help but tremble greatly as she prayed this was but a nightmare. However, fate was cruel, and that night, only bones were left after the event.

..............

Inside the Sayaka mansion, Fangzhi and Danial were taking a supplemental class on how to deal with yin entities and paranormal beings.

"Woah, slow down, slow down, please. My head feels like it's gonna explode," Danial groaned.

Seeing the kids struggling to understand the lecture, the teacher paused for a bit, giving them a 30-minute break before continuing. Finally, the lecture ended in the evening.

"Urgh, my brain feels so heavy. Why are they asking us to cram all this information in just a day?" Fangzhi complained.

Even for someone like Fangzhi, who leaned toward scholarly pursuits, cramming all the necessary processes and information was hard.

"Well, you're not alone on that. However, the troublesome thing is that each part of the topic is very important, so you can't skip the details. I think that's why it's harder to learn," Danial replied.

For normal people, cramming all that information would be enough to make their brains ache in pain. However, it should be noted that Danial and Fangzhi are both mages. Mages' brains mature faster as they need to incorporate spell circuits into their brains to use instant magic.

A normal magic formula consists of 10-20 words and needs to be spelled in order with the right rhythm. If mages had the same brain development as normal people, it would be very hard for them to cast a spell, much less use high-level instant spell techniques.

"Sigh But brother, you are still lucky since you are also a cultivator. I heard martial arts not only strengthen the outer parts of the body but also inner parts like the kidney, heart, veins, and even the brain," Fangzhi remarked.

Hearing Fangzhi's words, Danial paused his step and looked at Fangzhi quizzically.

"By the way, Fangzhi, why are you affiliated with magic instead of cultivation?" Danial asked.

"Eh!?" Surprised by his question, Fangzhi rubbed the back of his chubby head. "Hehehe, well, it seems like you investigated my family a little bit, right, brother? Well, I'll confess. I am a trash!"

"Huh!!?"

"Ehem, it's not like I hate cultivation at all, but at the age of 7, when the elder of the clan tested my aptitude, they found out that my meridian or core was somehow very abnormal. Every time I tried to cultivate internal energy, it would somehow dissipate. In the end, the elder gave up on me, and I gave up on martial arts."

'Why do I feel like this guy's backstory is somehow the same as those Chinese light novels I read in my past life?' Danial thought.

"Sigh After that, you should know roughly what happened to me. I was treated like air, but even so, I didn't want to give up, so I tried to do some business and get into the magic society, hoping to have a chance to become a mage. Somehow, thanks to recent events where the mana percentage of this world abnormally rose, I was able to sense mana."

'What the heck, even the setting somehow matches the main protagonist's backstory. Are you the protagonist? Hey, you definitely are, right? Hey!!' Danial's thoughts raced.

In the end, Danial offered his condolences before parting ways from the fatty. Today, he had a schedule to train with the sword.

......................

Gripping the wooden sword provided by the servant, Danial reminisced about his past training with his grandfather.

"Brat, sorry to say, but you are untalented!"

"Wha...!?" Danial's young voice echoed with shock.

"Brat, give up on using dagger-type weapons for now!"

"But Gramps..." Danial protested, his eyes filled with determination.

"BRAT! Listen here. I know you want to use a dagger because you want to imitate your father when he wielded the lightning kris, right? I know because I was the one who taught him and bestowed that artifact. In our family, we have practiced silat as our base martial art for generations, and by cultivating from those martial arts, we managed to cultivate internal energy.

Because of that, our family is actually a bit famous in the martial world, and the symbolic thing that people always refer to us with is the kris."

"Then isn't it more important for me to handle the weapon?!" Danial shouted.

"Calm down, brat. Listen here, a symbolic thing in the end is just a reference people use to recognize our act. It doesn't necessarily associate with who you are. People may remember you as a silat cultivator when you use the kris, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll remember you as Danial, the martial art cultivator!"

Danial's grip on the wooden sword tightened as he recalled his grandfather's words. The memory of his grandfather's stern yet caring voice resonated with him, bringing a sense of clarity.

"In silat, the weapon is an extension of the body. You must first master your body before you can master the weapon. That's why I want you to focus on training your body and mind. Only then will you be ready to wield the kris," his grandfather had continued.

The wisdom in those words struck a chord with Danial. He understood now why his grandfather had pushed him so hard. It wasn't about the weapon; it was about becoming a true martial artist, mastering himself before anything else.

Taking a deep breath, Danial adjusted his stance and began his practice with renewed determination. Each swing of the wooden sword was precise, each movement controlled. He felt the flow of his internal energy aligning with his physical actions, the lessons of his grandfather guiding him even now.

"Thank you, Gramps," Danial whispered to himself, a small smile forming on his lips as he continued his training, fully embracing the path laid out for him.

........

remember the word that etched deep inside his heart Danial began to swing his sword, the motivation to choose sword is also because his grandfather advice.

"use sword!"

"why sword?"

"a sword is a primal weapon for all weapon, as it is the first and the most basic among other cold weapon."

while earnestly swinging his sword miss Miori was currently having conversation with an elder while waking along the hallways.

the elder then turned around for a bit when he see a young man drenched in sweat yet strongly swinging the sword despite the lethargic look on his face showing the exhaustion.

" Miori who's that?"

"oh he's the new person that I mention before, another student that will be under us for now!"

"oh ahaha the one who looks at your underwear right?"

"Granpa!! please stop teasing me mou."

"ahaha very well, but still what an interesting young man"

"eh!!" in her life never once she hear a clear praise from his grandpa, so Miori was vey curious why the old elder said that

"well you see, that brat over there from his expression he clearly already experienced life and death moment and more than once, not just that from his grip and technique everything was done flawlessly yet somehow there is this uncertainties in his heart that makes the technique look imperfect."

"hmm in simple term, it's like a baby bird that ready to take a flight. the baby bird already have everything yet what it need is just one last push however it never able to surpass it."

Listening to his grandfather word Miori clutch his head showing that she don't understand one bit.

the elder just shake his head before move toward Danial

"Shounen, how about a spar with me?"

startled Danial turn around only to see and elderly figure was smiling calmly at him

"umm you are?"

"oh.... ahahaha how could I forget to introduce myself, my name is Sayaka Tora, you can just call me Tora-san"

"Tora-san?"

[tora=TIGER]

"So would you do it? If you win you can ask me to teach you anything and if you lose I'll ask you nothing in back, ah please don't misunderstand just consider it as curiosity from an alder."

'hmm anything, while it sound fishy..... no its definitely fishy but this is Sayaka estate and clearly this elder is part of the Sayaka so his word should be true plus I don't lose anything.'

"very well!"

"WAIT A MINUTE! Granpa what are you thinking about!"

"huh granpa? Miori is this person your grandfather?"

looking at Danial and his smiling granpa Miori sigh

"haih that's right. AND granpa!! why you always do something like this?"

"ahahaha well let just say I always curious about talented youngling."

'talented huh? well I am not though.....'

"hmm what's wrong shounen?" feeling the change in mood in Danial Tora-san asked him

"oh no, nothing lets continue"

".....hmm I see, so that was it. very well let's do this"

stepping back taking a distance from each other Danial and the elder ready their stance when Miori give the signal Danial rapidly rush with his wooden sword rapidly.

making a horizontal swing, he put all of his strength into the sword yet Tora-san blocked it easily with a smile.

feeling danger he took a step back.

"what's wrong shounen?"

"kuh then how about this"

'first style TIGER ROAR'

"ROAARRR!!" Miori who was bystander stun hearing the ferocious roar

"oh a roar, how nostalgic however it intent at might is far from enough"

knowing it useless Danial continued forward and slash

"oh my it still useless.....this a mirage!!"

*pak* a wood clash sound can be hear

"seriously to make an opponent think the enemy use physical attack before at the last moment using magic to surprise attack, an interesting choice however your magic execution is still slow to trick my eyes!"

'what the hell is this old man?'

"kuh SECRET ART: GREAT THUNDERING PULSE"

"OH!"

a flash of red lightning swept Tora yet as it was nothing he evade the lightning strike easily

"hmm improvising at last second, creative in using magic and martial art and finally that decisiveness in striking. I don't understand shounen you already possesses everything that is needed why is that you still look unsatisfy"

"I... kuh SECRET ART:GREAT THUNDERING PULSE"

red lightning clad the wooden sword, looking at the situation Tora know the boy decide to go all out already.

"very well, however let me teach you a little bit spell. when you think you on the verge give up think of this charm, I can do it"

"uh..?"

"here I come" without any notice Tora move as fast as lightning as strike preemptively each of his strike was heavy making Danial berthing become rougher

"pant*pant* seven style: Tsunami Bash"

*kpak* yet another block

as time continue Danial become more tired.

'damn it what the hell is this monster magic don't work, physical attack don't work and even trick don't work, darn it what should I do'

at that moment he remember what the elder said earlier 'I CAN DO IT? huh easier said than done, can i even really do it??'

another slash come, Danial managed to block it but his arm already tingling showing sign that it already near the limit

'can I do it? Can I do it? can I even hit it? what should I do if I fail can I really do it'

'huh'

however on his last leg, knowing that he will still loose the fight, Danial decide to give everything in his strike, at that crucial time something amazing happen without Danial knowledge. As he concentrated all of his energy on one thing the mana inside him surge like a tsunami while the internal energy flow much more fiercer as it merge with the mana giving birth to a very domineering presence and aura.

"hoh, look at him, who expect someone young like him will be able to exert such a pressure on me?" gazing intently on the young child in front of him Tora ready his stance before shouting "COME ON KIDS"

"ARRGGGGH!!!" 

Kaboom!!!!