Warrior-Mage

Blaze carried the unconscious Leus into the house and put him on his bed.

Noticing them, Viorica followed Blaze to check what was happening.

Leus has already told her that he's expecting another evolution soon and the same thing as last time is very likely to happen. But despite knowing that, Viorica was very worried

She started by checking his breathing and heartbeat, then she sat beside him and spoke to Blaze

"When will he wake up?"

"I don't know .. Maybe like last time?"

Her tone became worried

"Could it take longer?"

Blaze shrugged

"I don't know"

"Will he be okay?"

Blaze replied in a serious tone

"Yeah, he's very strong. He will exceed me"

When Viorica heard that, she smiled and ruffled Leus' purple hair

"Yes! He'll be very strong"

Blaze held Viorica's hand

"We should leave him to rest"

She kissed Leus' cheek

"Okay"

Then the two left the room ...

In the beginning, only Viorica was worried; she would check both his heartbeat and breath every now and then, and Blaze would always assure her that

"Everything will be fine, no need to worry."

However, after the third day passed, even Blaze started getting a little worried ...

'Three days are a bit long ...'

But he maintained a neutral expression, not letting the worry show on his face

'No point in making Viorica even more worried'

As always, Viorica asked him

"Blaze, are you sure that he'll be okay?"

Blaze replied evenly

"Yeah, I'm sure. Just look at him ... I swear he became taller"

Viorica inspected Leus' body and confirmed in an excited tone

"Yes, that's right!"

"Anyway, there's nothing we can do about it. Even when Remedy came last time she told you to leave him until he gets up, right?"

" ... Yeah" She said helplessly

Blaze assured her

"I'm sure he'll get up soon anyway"

Then he took her out of the room ...

The fourth day passed heavily on Blaze and Viorica; their worry increased, and the day felt agonizingly slow ...

But luckily, at the dawn of the fifth day, Leus got up ...

His eyes slowly opened and he started yawning

"Huummmmm"

He blinked a couple of times to be able to see clearly, and immediately, he saw two red eyes intently staring at him ...

He flinched

"Woah, Dad! You scared me"

Blaze smiled

"Sorry, you took so long"

"Really? How long?"

"5 nights"

Leus' eyes widened in surprise

"Five nights?!!!! It doesn't feel like that at all! I barely feel like I slept for a couple of hours"

Blaze ignored that, there were more important things to worry about for now, so he asked in a solemn tone

"Can you stand up?"

Leus wondered

'Did he not sleep a single night?!'

But he didn't ask

'Now isn't the time to worry about such things'

He got up from the bed and stood in front of Blaze, and Blaze inspected his body

"You indeed became taller" Blaze murmured

Leus' height settled at around 142 centimeters, the colors of his eyes slightly brightened, and his body showed some signs of strength ...

While Blaze was busy inspecting all the outer appearance changes, Leus' mind was somewhere else

'Something is different'

He felt that something fundamental had changed, but he wasn't able to put his hand on exactly what it was

'It's not just that my senses got better; it's as if I was viewing everything through a dusty window, and suddenly it's cleaned, making everything clearer and sharper.'

' ... If that makes any sense.'

Trying to understand what was happening, Leus closed his eyes and focused on his body ...

At first, he didn't notice any changes, but as soon as Blaze took a step forward, the realization dawned on him

'It's The Mana!'

'I can clearly feel the Mana much better than before, even my own mana ..'

He moved his limbs around

'Stronger and faster limbs too'

He already expected as much, but he knew that there were more changes

'I want to test it all!'

He looked at Blaze but hesitated

'Dad doesn't seem like he had had any sleep in the last few nights ... '

So he reformed his question

"Dad, how about you sleep, and when you get up we see what changed?"

Blaze shook his head

"No, I stayed up for long already, a couple more hours won't make any difference"

Leus just nodded

"Go outside, I'll tell your mother that you have awakened"

"Alright"

A couple of minutes later, Blaze came outside and Viorica came hurriedly to Leus

"Leus! You got up"

"Ah yes Mom, I'm fine"

Viorica looked Leus up and down and said

"You've become very big"

"Did I? ....."

He looked at himself

" ... Maybe"

Blaze came beside Viorica and asked her

"I want to see what changed, can you go inside for now? It might get dangerous here"

Viorica repeated in a worried tone

"Dangerous?"

"Yeah ... he's not used to his new powers yet, he might lose control"

Leus downplayed the situation

"Don't worry Mom, it'll all be fine"

Viorica reluctantly agreed and went inside, however, she decided to watch them through the window ...

'Blaze would never let anything hit the house anyway, so it's safe'

Outside, Blaze was standing in front of Leus

"Basileus"

Leus' gaze turned serious

"Yes?"

"Come at me with everything you got" Blaze said solemnly

A smile appeared on Leus' face

"YES."

He took a deep breath and unsheathed his sword ...

When Leus unsheathed his sword, Blaze's lips curled upwards

'Amazing'

He was able to perceive a change in the surroundings ...

'His aura finally started to influence the atmosphere'

'There's a tiny bit of an oppressive aura emanating out of him'

But before Blaze could dwell on that for long, Leus, quite literally, exploded forward

'Everything I got he said'

With a single thought, he activated Boost, surging forward with high speed.

In the same instant, he summoned a storm of daggers, five scorching fireballs, and Hydraulics whipping fiercely behind each one.

The air crackled with mana as Leus’ silent casting weaved power into the very atmosphere around him.

As he was silently casting his magic, he noticed another difference

'Controlling mana is easier, and not only that, the spells consume less mana now'

There was also another change that Leus didn't immediately notice, but Blaze did

'His mana has gone through a qualitative change' Blaze thought

His eyes narrowed as he tracked Leus' barrage.

'Each dagger is sharper, the fireballs hotter, and the Hydraulics faster'

'Everything is terrifyingly precise ...'

‘It’s not just about speed or the amount of Mana anymore. No… everything is fundamentally stronger.’

Blaze braced himself, preparing to intercept the oncoming onslaught ...

With a savage grin, Leus unleashed the full might of his spells at Blaze, waves of raw power crashing forward in a dazzling display.

'Since it's impossible for me even to graze him with the sword, there's no reason to hold back on my magic attacks'

Inside the house, Viorica stood frozen, her mouth agape, unable to comprehend the spectacle unfolding before her ...

'That's .... that's'

To her, Blaze’s movements were nothing more than a blur, too fast for her eyes to follow.

'And Leus…'

Her gaze darted to him, bombarding the air with relentless attacks.

Fire, rocks, and something even faster—gleaming under the light aimed at Blaze, though she couldn’t quite identify what it was.

'Everything is just so ... violent!'

Leus had a simple strategy

'Use the sword to keep Blaze's hands busy, and release as many magic attacks as possible'

The number of attacks was staggering, impossible to count—Tens? Hundreds? Neither knew, neither cared.

Minutes passed like that ...

The air was filled with sparks and dust as magic clashed with steel.

The ground trembled under the relentless assault, but neither fighter showed signs of stopping.

Then, gradually, the intensity began to fade, signaling the approaching end.

Eventually, Leus collapsed to his knees out of breath

"I can't continue" He said, gasping for air

Blaze barely blinked, only saying a single word

"Two"

Leus looked up, confused

"What?"

"Two. You managed to land two hits"

Blaze pointed first at his left ear

"A water bullet grazed here"

Then he pointed at his right side

"And a dagger nicked me here"

Leus didn't notice it at first, but Blaze's clothes had many burns and cuts, yet he wasn't injured at all

'Where are these cuts?'

Leus intently stared at the spots Blaze pointed at, but he couldn't see anything ...

"I don't see any cuts" He muttered ...

Blaze replied nonchalantly

"That's natural; my body regenerates such cuts in a matter of seconds.

However, it is still an injury, and it consumes my life force to heal"

It was the first time Leus heard that ...

He blinked in shock

"You can ... regenerate?"

Blaze just looked at Leus as if he asked about the most obvious thing in the world

"Of course. After reaching Elite, one can regenerate everything.

The difference is in the time needed and the amount of Mana or Life Force consumed, my regeneration, in particular, is pretty fast."

It took Leus a few seconds to fully process what Blaze had said, and everything that had happened ...

But when it sank in, his eyes widened, and he weakly raised a fist in the air.

'I actually hit him, I cut him! Finally!'

But he was too tired to do anything more ...

Blaze looked at him and said

"You do realize that this is not a practical way to fight, right?"

"Yeah ... but I just wanted to land a hit"

"I see ..."

Blaze slowly clapped his hands

"Well then, congrats."

He added with a smile

"Basileus, you're now strong enough to fight better than most Knights"

Leus could hardly believe it, his chest swelling with a mix of pride and exhaustion.

But just as he thought the moment was over, Blaze’s expression shifted, and his tone turned serious ...

"You are not a Knight, and you don't fight like Magicians ..."

Blaze took a step closer, his gaze intense ...

"Basileus, you are a Warrior-Mage"

This was no mere compliment—it was a declaration. One that marked a turning point in Leus' path ...