Chapter 20

"Well, it's your turn, Roya," Roxy said with a smile, looking at the boy standing before her, a head shorter than she was.

After a moment of silence, Roya spoke, "If I said I couldn't do it, would you stay?"

Mastering this technique meant Roxy would leave.

In this world, Roya didn't know many people. Her departure left him with a tinge of melancholy.

Sure, the girl was restless in her sleep. Sure, she loved to boast about herself. Sure, she wasn't flawless.

But Roya liked her hair, her scent, the softness of her hands.

If she really left, he'd feel a pang of reluctance.

Roxy paused, a faint curve forming at the corner of her mouth as a gentle smile spread across her face.

Her smile was beautiful, like a spring breeze in April brushing against the boy's cheeks.

She lightly tapped Roya's head and said slowly, "Of course not. Traveling is about growing stronger. You should know that, Roya. In this world, strength is the only guarantee of survival. I'm not a genius like you—I'm just an ordinary person. I have to find my own way to get stronger. I can't keep relying on you forever, can I?"

With a sigh, Roya said nothing more.

Rudeus blinked, glancing at Roxy's delicate face. The smile on his master's face was one he'd never seen before.

In Rudeus's eyes, Roxy wasn't as expressionless as Roya, but she rarely smiled.

A tender smile like this? Rudeus had never witnessed it.

Listening to their exchange, Rudeus fell silent.

No need to guess—there was definitely a story between these two.

After a moment of thought, Rudeus sighed quietly. He wasn't the type to pry into others' private affairs.

But Roya was his big brother. Caring about family wasn't too much, right?

Once Roxy left, Roya would surely be heartbroken for a while.

During that time, he could lend his sturdy shoulder for Roya to lean on.

To be clear, he had no ulterior motives, no desire for petty revenge, and certainly no intention of digging up Roya's dark past. He just thought, as family, it was only right to offer comfort when someone was hurting.

Roya had no idea of Rudeus's wandering thoughts. He took out the staff Roxy had given the three of them as a meeting gift. Every master gave their apprentices a staff—a beginner's tool for casting. It wasn't anything expensive. The staff was small, about a foot and a half long, made of common materials, with a red magic stone embedded at the top.

He exhaled a heavy breath.

The boy's expression turned solemn and focused. A surge of immense magical power began to emanate from him, coursing through his veins to every part of his body.

Dark mana swirled around him, wild and unrestrained, gathering with increasing intensity. Roya gripped the staff in his right hand, channeling the ferocious energy into it.

["Great Spirit of Water."]

His voice was soft, yet it carried an inexplicable power. The moment he spoke, the scattered clouds above began to gather rapidly, the sky darkening completely.

Rudeus, watching from a distance, couldn't help but click his tongue at the ominous shift in the weather.

Even Roxy was slightly stunned, her expression tinged with bitterness as she gazed at the boy who stood like a king in the distance.

Winds howled around Roya, his golden hair dancing in the gusts. His crimson-gold eyes were devoid of emotion.

The roaring wind became his most loyal guard. With each wave of his staff, it grew stronger, the wind elements in the air rushing toward him in a frenzy.

Roya's young voice echoed across the open plain. Despite the deafening howl of the wind, his words reached every corner of the vast expanse.

Majestic. Solemn.

Those two words flashed through Roxy's mind as she watched him.

["O Son of the Thunder Emperor, rising into the sky."]

["Grant my wish."]

["Bring forth your ferocious blessing."]

The red magic stone flared with intense light. As Roya waved the staff again, its glow grew even more brilliant, crimson rays spilling outward. The air roared unstably, whipped into chaos by the violent winds.

["Display your mighty power to these insignificant beings."]

["Let the hammer of the gods strike the anvil, revealing your terror."]

["May floods drown the earth."]

["O torrential rain."]

As he chanted these words, the sky turned pitch-black. The winds roared with fury, snapping distant trees in half. The gales battered Roya's face, but he felt only an unprecedented thrill. In that moment, he was a god.

Vast, overwhelming mana poured out of him, surging recklessly into the staff. The magic stone began to show faint cracks, strained by the sheer volume of power it couldn't fully contain.

The heavens and earth lost their color, the sun and moon dimmed. Here, now, in this place, Roya was the god of this domain.

Rain began to fall—small drops at first, pattering against the ground. Soon, it grew into a downpour, the wind carrying the rain across the grasslands. The world was reduced to the sounds of wind and water.

["Sweep away and purge all in your path."]

["Cumulonimbus!"]

The magic stone glowed blood-red, radiant as a star, its light flooding the forest.

A shattering sound rang out as the stone in Roya's hand broke apart, its fragments falling to the ground as crystals.

The spell was complete. But could this still be called a mere Water Saint-level spell?

The mountains wailed, the winds roared, and the rain scoured the earth. Thunder gathered, thick bolts of lightning crackling in the sky, weaving through the clouds.

In an instant, torrential rain poured down. Winds twisted into a tornado, tearing through the forest. Mud and stone erupted, the rain washing away everything in sight, while the lightning obliterated all that remained.

It was like the end of the world.

The storm raged on, thunder flashing and booming, massive bolts striking the earth. The world was filled with nothing but the sound of rain and thunder.

When the winds finally ceased their howling, a light rain continued to fall. The dark clouds began to dissipate. Everything in Roya's field of vision had vanished—pockmarked ground, uprooted trees, pulverized stone. It was all gone, flattened into nothingness.

The trees were reduced to charred husks, the rocks ground to dust, the soil swept away—only to vanish entirely when the lightning struck.

"This kind of power… it must rival the legendary Water King level," Roxy murmured to herself.

She no longer knew how to describe what Roya had just done.