Training with the five musketeers.

While Galilei thrusted his wooden sword, he announced loudly:

"Among the five musketeers, I could be considered the strongest due to one thing.. my sword can reach anything and pierce through it."

"Using my mastery over the sword, I have slain countless strong foes and monsters that dared oppose the Godfather."

"Please observe this one's sword skills, young master. I will impart to you everything I know about the sword."

Hearing that, Elias' expression drastically changed as he leaped back. However, the wooden sword suddenly arrived before him.

He leaped back once more, but the plain wooden sword always caught up to him, as though its length was infinite.

At that moment, the plain wooden sword thrusted forward and stabbed him in the stomach!

Gahk—!

Elias audibly gasped as his eyes slightly rolled upwards. However, the sword immediately moved once more, but this time…

Woosh!

Elias immediately adjusted his body and raised his plain wooden sword and enforced it with mana, deflecting the attack.

Tak!

Seeing that, Galilei smiled widely and lowered his sword. His smile was calming and terrifying at the same time.

***

The second day.

….

Elias breathed deeply. At that moment, two large fists suddenly came crashing down on him in different directions.

'Oh no!'

Before he could dodge, the fists already arrived in front of him and struck his body, making him tremble and gasp in pain.

Bam!

Elias widened his eyes suddenly, feeling like a speeding truck hit him!

Bam!

"Graaghka…!!"

At that moment, Elias choked loudly as he clutched his stomach in pain, his body trembling from the attack brought by the raw physical strength of the fist.

Looking down at him, Taurus prepared his fists once more before speaking calmly:

"Among the five musketeers, I am the strongest physically. I am more known for my hand-to-hand combat and immense durability."

"Do you know the secret of my strength, young master? It's to suffer and endure. To endure until everything that made you scream in pain becomes nothing but an ant bite in the end."

"If you wish to learn hand-to-hand combat and have an indestructible body… the only way is through experiencing it yourself. Prepare, young master. I won't hold back."

"That strike was merely a tenth of my strength hitting you directly. If you wish to give up, feel free to say so."

Hearing his words, Elias took a deep breath before he raised his head and scoffed with a slight smirk. His eyes flashed an arrogant and derisive glint.

"...Is that all you have?"

***

On the third day.

…

In the infinite darkness, Elias stood quietly with his eyes constantly moving in alert all over his surroundings.

The vast forest and darkness made his eyesight considerably lower and his reactions much slower, he wasn't used to fighting in the dark after all.

After a while, the wind suddenly shifted as a cold breeze hit him, making him slightly shiver.

At this moment, a shadow arrived behind him and suddenly launched an attack!

Elias' pupils rapidly shrunk as he tried to dodge. However, he was too late as a sharp blade suddenly grazed his cheek.

Woosh!

Without slowing down, he immediately retreated and touched the wound on his cheek. He looked at the trailing blood in his fingers, his expression turning grim.

At this moment, Alexus' voice echoed in the darkness.

"Young master, you must be faster. Faster than anything, until you can react to anything in the world."

"The darkness, the light, the wind, and nature… make it your tool. You must feel the wind, become one with darkness, and sense nature. Then, everything fast becomes slow to you."

"Among the five musketeers, I am the weakest in destructive power. But no one can compare my speed and stealth. If I want someone dead silently, then It only takes me a second to bring their decapitated head."

Hearing those words, Elias' face was expressionless as he retreated deeper into the forest.

***

On the fourth day.

…

Sitting on the ground in a meditative position, Elias closed his eyes and concentrated with all of his mind.

Beside him, Junior also sat in a meditative position with a stoic expression. Watching his young master, he commented lightly:

"Among the five musketeers, I could be considered the one with the strongest destructive powers. I am a fire sorcerer, with a focus on three aspects; buffs, debuffs, and destructive attacks."

"But that is not my lesson for today. First, I will teach you the fundamental essence of sorcery: the control of mana."

"Every Ranker can use mana, but only a rare few can use them so well that it could bring forth magic. Mana has two aspects: mana sense and mana reserves."

"Mana sense is your control of mana, while mana reserves are the capacity of your mana. In the path of a Sorcerer, both aspects are incredibly important."

While he was talking, Elias' eyes suddenly twitched as sweat dripped on his face.

Below him, his hands were trembling as he manipulated his mana with all of his concentration, creating something out of nothing.

Above his hands, a formless orb slowly manifested… before suddenly breaking apart and vanishing.

Crack! Woosh!

Elias' eyes opened as he sighed.

"I failed again…"

"Try again. Failure is nothing. It matters not how many times you fail, but only how you react to it that matters."

Junior calmly said. While saying so, he manipulated his mana and created a stable formless orb below him.

"After thinking for days, I made this exercise myself. It challenges your control and stability of mind while teaching you the importance of mana sense and mana reserve."

"To accomplish this exercise. You must control mana precisely and you must use the right amount, not too much nor too less."

"Even geniuses and talented people will have a hard time in this exercise. Only the accomplished sorcerers could do this.

"Remember this well, young master. Conquer yourself, then you shall conquer the world."

Hearing his words, Elias took a deep breath before closing his eyes and attempting the exercise once more.

***

On the fifth day.

…

In the vast forest, Elias was silently sitting on the tree. His eyes moved through the trees and wild bushes, gazing at a red antelope.

While he was staring at the monster, his hands were holding a bow and arrow, with one of them slowly pulling the string of the bow.

At this moment, the red antelope seemed to notice his gaze and turned to him.

Woosh!

Before the antelope could react, he immediately released the string, letting an arrow fly through the forest and hit the antelope precisely.

"Wah…!"

The red antelope cried out in pain before another arrow suddenly launched once more, hitting its eyes.

A few moments later, the red antelope died.

Seeing that, Elias sighed in relief.

In another tree, Donato looked at him and clapped with a gentle smile.

"Nice job, young master."

"Among the five musketeers, I can be considered the weakest. However, I am also the most versatile and resourceful compared to the rest. Thus, I cannot teach you anything other than to survive… and to kill."

"Surviving and killing is my specialty. Even among the others, my kill count is the highest. I will teach you the ways of survival in this world and the ways of killing people."

***

And just like that, a month and a half quickly passed.

The day of farewells came.