That’s some improvement (5)

Third Person POV

"Then let the spar… BEGIN!"

The guard's voice boomed across the grounds, instantly drowned out by the roar of the gathered crowd. Cheers erupted, filling the air with excitement as Valen and Caelum locked eyes, both standing still—waiting.

A silent standoff.

But only for a moment.

Caelum was the first to move. He bounced lightly on his toes, testing the ground beneath him. One, two—then, in a single explosive burst, he lunged.

He shot toward Valen's right. Valen barely had time to react before a sharp sound echoed across the field.

The force of Caelum's spinning kick slammed into his ribs.

But Valen wasn't helpless.

He had caught most of the blow with his forearm, mitigating the full impact. Even so, his boots dragged across the ground, leaving deep scuff marks in the dirt. The pain registered, but his stance remained firm—unshaken.

Valen's eyes sharpened. His fist clenched.

Before Caelum could fully recover, Valen drove a punch toward his abdomen—fast, powerful, but just a fraction too slow.

Caelum saw it.

A swift sidestep. The knuckles barely grazed his side as he pivoted fluidly behind Valen.

Another kick.

This time, aimed at his back.

***

"How..."

Novius turned his head slightly, glancing at his son. "How what?"

"How are they moving so fast?" Alaric asked, his brows furrowed in disbelief. "I don't think I could even react to that if I were in Valen's place."

Novius chuckled, watching the two butlers exchange rapid blows. "They're at a much higher cultivation stage than you. You also don't have any real combat experience yet, so it's no surprise you can't keep up."

Alaric nodded, but his eyes darted to the surrounding guards. Most of them looked just as shocked as he was, their eyes following the fight with intense focus. "But look at the guards," he pointed out. "Aren't they all supposed to be stronger than Valen and Caelum? Why do they look so impressed?"

Novius leaned back slightly, observing the fight with an amused smile. "They are stronger, no doubt. But those two are growing rapidly. If things continue at this pace, they'll surpass these guards in the near future… Especially Valen."

Alaric's gaze followed the battle, his focus shifting between the two fighters. "Really? I mean, Caelum seems to be winning right now."

"Caelum can't win."

The casual certainty in Novius's voice made Alaric blink. He turned to his father, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What? How? He's so fast. I don't think even Valen can track his movements before getting hit."

Novius gave Alaric a knowing look. "He is fast, but only because he's using mana to enhance his body in one of the worst possible ways in the worst possible situation. And that's exactly why he's going to lose."

Alaric frowned. "Enhancing…?" He repeated the words slowly, rolling them over in his mind.

Both father and son blinked at each other in silence.

A realization dawned on Novius.

"You don't know… do you?"

Alaric shook his head.

Novius sighed, rubbing his temple. "I keep forgetting books don't teach anything practical."

Leaning forward, he began to explain. "Alright, listen closely. The core stages are divided into two groups—Black to Dark Green are impure cores, and everything above that is considered a pure core."

Alaric nodded enthusiastically, fully engaged.

"When someone reaches the Green stage, their mana control improves drastically. This control allows them to enhance their body with mana, making them faster, stronger, and more durable."

Alaric's eyes lit up with excitement. He leaned closer, nearly bouncing in place. "How does that work?!"

Novius smirked, amused by his son's eagerness. "The impurities in your core actually stop its development. Every human body has pores that absorb mana from the environment. That's why, after using up your mana, it gradually refills on its own. Humans can't directly control external mana, so we have to rely on the mana stored in our cores. In the impure stages, this process of using and refilling mana is inefficient. But when a cultivator reaches the pure stages, their core actually grows and forms connections to those mana-absorbing pores, making it much easier."

"Connections?"

"Yeah. They're called mana pathways. They are like veins, but instead of carrying blood, they carry mana throughout the body. These pathways make it much easier to control mana and use it for enhancement."

Alaric made a weird face. "That sounds weird. I don't want to imagine things growing inside my body."

"A few men would disagree."

"What do you mean?"

"The number of pathways a person can have is fixed, and they form gradually as the core develops and reaches higher stages until it is all around your body. In the Green stage, people can usually only enhance their arms or legs." Novius spoke, ignoring Alaric.

Alaric processed the information for a moment before glancing back at the fight. "So Valen and Caelum are only enhancing their arms and legs?"

"Most likely. You can enhance whatever body part you want as long as your mana reserves can handle it and that place has mana pathways. But the more areas you enhance at once, the weaker the effect, so lower stages usually focus on specific limbs."

Alaric's eyes sparkled as he turned back toward the spar. He had just learned something incredibly useful, but by this time, the spar was almost about to end, and he could tell his father was right.

 ***

Caelum panted, his chest rising and falling in uneven breaths as he stared at Valen. Despite the countless strikes he had landed, Valen still stood as if he was unscathed—untouched.

A flicker of movement.

Valen's arm drew back, his fist clenched tight. Caelum's sharp instincts kicked in, his body reacting just in time. He ducked, pivoting to the side, narrowly avoiding the powerful punch. Without hesitation, he tried to lunge away, desperate to create distance—

But he couldn't move.

A vice-like grip clamped around his wrist.

Before Caelum could even register what was happening, his world flipped.

The ground rushed up to meet him. His back slammed against the dirt with a sickening thud, the impact rattling his bones. A sharp gasp escaped him, pain exploding across his spine. But before he could process it, before his body could even think of resisting—

Another strike.

A fist crashed into his abdomen, forcing the air from his lungs in a silent, agonized exhale.

A sharp, sickening crack echoed through the grounds.

Caelum's vision blurred. His limbs went limp. And before he even realized it—

Darkness took him.

The spar was over.

***

"Oooohh," Alaric winced, his face scrunching as if he had been the one slammed into the ground. "That sounded brutal."

"Mhm." Novius nodded, staring at the training ground much like his son—both of them wearing identical grimaces. He let out a long sigh before stretching his arms. "Alright, Al. I'll wrap things up here and meet you in the dining hall."

Alaric perked up instantly.

"And tomorrow morning," Novius added, giving him a knowing look, "I'll teach you how to cultivate."

Alaric's eyes lit up, excitement replacing the secondhand pain he'd been feeling just moments ago, and he ran away with a smile on his face.