Flawless Victory (Introduction Arc End)

"Haaaaa!" Taurus shouted before pushing his axe forward, blocking his grandfather's attack before countering it.

The old man kicked the ground, pushing himself back and avoiding Taurus' counter before sending a stab toward's Taurus handle.

"Got you!" The old man muttered quietly as Taurus adjusted himself in time, causing his attack to miss.

"Sorry!" Taurus spoke the moment he noticed the old man's sour expression, and then he held his axe in a defensive stance once again.

"Try again, old bones!" Taurus spoke, his tone altered in an attempt to replicate Mammot's voice.

"You dare!" His grandfather shouted, his face revealing a playful smile before charging at Taurus.

He raised his axe once again, prepared for an overhead as his grandson adjusted himself as well.

He swung his axe as Taurus pushed his axe to defend himself only to cancel his attack and swing it to the side, catching Taurus off guard.

The feint succeeded, managing to hit the blue axe's handle.

However, the strength didn't seem enough, failing the old man and surprising him greatly.

"This is unfair! " Taurus shouted, acting annoyed and surprised by his grandfather's trick since it wasn't something he showed him.

He rushed toward his grandfather, sending a quick overhead and baiting the old man to counterattack.

"Haaaaa!" Taurus shouted as their axes clashed, chasing after the old man as he disengaged and distanced himself.

Taurus held his axe with a hand before raising it on his shoulder and sending the other hand toward his grandfather's axe.

He pushed with all of his strength, sending the old man staggering back.

He swung his axe once again prompting the old man to take a quick action by swinging his axe.

'Got you!' Taurus thought the moment the axe connected, he thrusted his free hand once again latching on the Golden Mane before violently pulling it.

"Aaaah!" The old man screamed, letting go of the axe to avoid falling headfirst on his face.

"I won, I won, I won!" Taurus shouted excitedly, jumping repeatedly while celebrating his victory with both axes in his hands. 

"My aaaaaxe! Give me back my axe, brat!" The old man cried a few moments after stabilizing himself, displeased by the fact Taurus' parents were celebrating their son's victory.

"Sure," Taurus muttered before sending the Golden Mane flying toward the old man who swiftly took it into his hand.

"But I won't give it back the second time!" Taurus continued, pointing index finger provokingly at his grandfather.

"Meh, try retaking it then!" The old man stood frozen, beckoning Taurus to attack him.

"Why not!" Taurus shouted before bending his knees and then bursting high into the sky, surprising everyone present.

He used his weight to spin the moment he felt himself falling, turning into a vortex as the old man's eyes widened.

'This is bad!' The old man thought, knowing the momentum would boost Taurus' attack, making it far more dangerous.

He tiled himself, adjusting his posture before activating his aura to protect his body.

He knew he was breaking the rule, however, he chose their safety over anything else.

He took a defensive stance and waited patiently, knowing countering Taurus would probably fail or cause a much bigger issue.

Finally, Taurus' attack arrived, colliding with the Golden Mane, sending cracks spreading through it and sending a tremor through the old man's body as his feet drowned into the ground below him.

The ground rumbled from the impact, causing a short and weak earthquake, scaring his parents for a few seconds.

The old man spat a mouthful of blood before collapsing as Taurus distanced himself.

"Granpa, noooo!" Taurus shouted before rushing toward his grandfather before his parents were able to notice.

He touched the old man's shoulder with the axe, silently activating his Reject skill as the old man's wounds faded before his eyes.

Unlike Taurus' axe, the Golden Mane healed itself without any help returning to its normal condition.

"Granpa, are you okay?!" Taurus nudged the old man, acting ignorant while his grandfather felt confused.

"What did you do now, you brat?!" The old man asked, ignoring Taurus and trying his best to recover from the sensation he couldn't understand.

Noticing his condition, Taurus guessed it was something caused by the time being rewound.

Still, he had no option but to feign ignorance.

"Did what, granpa?! I don't understand." Taurus spoke while secretly requesting Mammot's assistance to get out of the situation he put himself into.

'For how long will I be cleaning after your mess?!' Mammot responded nonchalantly with an annoyed tone.

'Until I'm an adult?! Please!' Taurus begged, his tone not very serious knowing Mammot would help him either way.

"He is not aware," Mammot spoke, his words bringing the old man's attention and lowering the pressure on Taurus.

"And I believe it's something he can't control, doing such a thing willingly is no joke!" Mammot continued his explanation, easing the atmosphere a moment later as his parents released sighs of relief.

"Damn, I almost got excited for a moment!" The old man spoke, wishing Taurus had full control over such a thing.

None understood why and no matter how many times they asked why, the response was always something along the lines of 'Never mind, nothing important, I will tell you later!'.

"Then let's talk about something more important, old man. Hand the axe to your grandson!" Mammot finally spoke, bringing the topic back on track.

"Damn it!" The old man gritted his teeth, thinking about an excuse for a few moments.

He knew his actions were against the rules and such, it was his responsibility to handle the outcome.

He eventually shook his head, giving up and making up his mind to surrender the axe.

"Fine, I admit my loss!" The old man spoke before pushing the axe to Taurus, clearly owning up and accepting his loss caused by using aura.

"You can keep the axe, for now, granpa. I have my own now!" Taurus spoke, empathizing with his grandfather due to the sadness and unwillingness he could see on his face.

"Aw, no." The old man spoke, patting Taurus on his shoulder for a few moments before explaining why.

"This is not different from a normal weapon now that the spirit is rejecting me, having it any longer will be a waste of time." The old man spoke and Taurus agreed to a certain extent.

'Yes, you can't use Aura now... However, a weapon that can heal itself is still special!' Taurus thought the moment he heard the old man's words, being more knowing than him.

"Fine, granpa!" Taurus spoke, accepting the outcome although it was not something Taurus expected.

Once done, his grandfather handed him the Golden Mane right into his hands.

The axe gleamed brightly the moment Taurus' victory was acknowledged.

On the other hand, Taurus acted like a child, jumping repeatedly from happiness.

His parents congratulated him and his father requested him not to do such an attack ever again, knowing it could effortlessly send some to death right away.

"We will be going back now, Father." Finally, Edmund spoke a few minutes later, announcing his intentions.

"Taurus will be enrolled in the primary school next week and we will still have to ensure he knows some important stuff." Edmund continued and the old man nodded vigorously guessing what was on his son's mind.

With the old man's approval granted, Edmund and Alexandra returned home alongside Taurus.

"My little pumpkin, you are strong enough to protect yourself but we can still have someone company you, so what do you think?" Alexandra spoke with Taurus sitting on her lap.

"No, I can protect myself!" Taurus refused right away, causing his father to laugh heartily.

"Fine, but listen carefully!" His father spoke, followed by his mother, both giving him some bits of advice for his safety.

Mostly basic things like avoiding strangers and the common kidnapping tactics he was very familiar with.

In the end, they all agreed on having someone escort him back to the school instead of having someone accompany him all of the time.

They revealed to him how were content with the battle's outcome and as a result, they refrained from hiring an escort knight.

They also believed he needed no such protection.

On the other hand, they had concerns for anyone unfortunate enough to mess with their son.

"I understand!" A few minutes later, Taurus shouted, nodding his head after they were done with their long and boring advice.

With the day coming to an end, everything his parents had in mind had to be delayed to the next day as everyone went to their beds.

They took their time over the week teaching him some crucial information and common knowledge regarding Tyran and its nobles, assuming he would interact with many in the primary school.

Aside from that, they assigned a few days to improve his manners as a noble.

He came from two noble lineages and they agreed such a thing was important it, couldn't be ignored any longer.

Eventually, the time he spent came to an end and although it wasn't the brightest week, he followed his parent's instructions diligently.

The excitement was his main drive and knowing he was going to meet some of his lover again strengthened his resolve and pushed him forward through the boredom.