Parasites, Magic And Revenge

While they were heading to the training grounds, they passed by the blacksmith, who still seemed to be working on the same dagger. After passing the blacksmith, they arrived at the training grounds, and Raven drew his sword, while Miles pulled out his advanced-level staff. They both turned their backs to each other and began walking towards different corners to work on the dummies. As Miles walked, he stopped and said, 'We’ve never fought, have we?' Raven stopped walking as well and turned around with a slight smile on his face. 'No, but it’s a good idea,' he said. Miles laughed and replied, 'Why don’t we go all out right now? We can see if you’re strong enough to protect yourself at school.'

Raven assumed his stance and gripped his sword tightly. Miles tossed his staff into the air and fixed his hair. After stretching his neck and arms, the staff fell into his hand. The moment he grabbed it, he pointed it forward and launched a fireball at an incredible speed, thinking it would be impossible for Raven to dodge. Raven leapt to the side, avoiding the blast. The fireball hit the aetherium wall, and after absorbing the magic, it disappeared into the wall.

Without hesitation, Raven dashed forward as Miles began constructing stone walls with his staff. Raven broke the first one with a kick. This would have been impossible for the old Raven, but he was no longer as weak as before. Another wall appeared in front of him, which he sliced through with his sword. After the wall fell to the ground, it dissolved to prevent wasting Miles’ mana. After breaking through two walls, Raven saw a dome ahead of him. Miles had created a dome of compressed rock and mud for defense, completely enclosing himself.

Raven tried to kick it, but the dome was much denser and harder due to the extra mana poured into it. Raven yelled inside, 'Do you think this is fun?' Miles replied, 'No whining!' Annoyed, Raven jumped high, planning to smash the large earth dome with a powerful aerial kick. He had easily jumped about 7 meters, which showed how much his body had developed. Just before he could land his kick, the dome opened, and Miles was holding his staff up, forming a large water ball in the air.

At that point, Raven had no chance to escape. Based on Miles’ power, the speed of the water ball would send Raven crashing into the 30-meter ceiling and knock him out from the shock alone. Miles was sure he would win. He could see Raven’s blurred figure behind the massive water ball. Just as he was about to launch it, the blurry image of Raven disappeared. Miles couldn’t believe his eyes. Dodging the water ball's range while in the air required inhuman reflexes, speed, and agility beyond any normal person.

With the water ball still in front of him, Miles began looking around. Seeing nothing, he decided to release the water ball, but then he felt a powerful kick to his face. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he was sent sliding across the ground. Even for a warrior, it would have been a deadly kick, but Miles was a mage. He slid across the floor until he crashed into one of the dummies and coughed up blood. He tried to stand but was so dizzy that even while sitting, he felt like he was about to vomit. He started losing his grip on reality, mixing up what was real and what was not. Just before he passed out, he saw Raven approaching.

Raven extended his hand, pulled Miles up, and slung him over his shoulder, walking towards the infirmary. As Miles regained some of his senses, a question so pressing came to his mind that it made him forget all his pain. After coughing, Miles spoke, 'How did you manage to disappear from my sight and then attack me from above?'

Raven laughed and replied, 'I was still in the air. I just moved left and right so fast that the blurry image you saw behind the water ball scattered and eventually disappeared. Sometimes, you can’t trust your eyes.'

Miles started laughing too, and the two of them burst into laughter together. Raven stopped laughing and said, 'If you hadn’t made such a stupid mistake, it would’ve been impossible for me to beat you.'

Miles also stopped laughing and replied, 'If I made such a dumb mistake, that means you’re better than me in a real fight. The worth of a warrior isn’t measured by how strong they are, but by how strong they are with what they have. And you, you’re the best warrior out there. No, no, you’re a beast on the battlefield.'

Raven realized the seriousness of Miles’ words and grew serious himself. They decided not to tell Doctor Oswald about the fight. Instead, they would say Miles had injured himself while practicing a magic simulation. Raven left Miles in the infirmary, quietly closed the door, and when he turned around, a massive man with white hair and a beard, standing nearly 2 meters tall, was there. Raven, barely reaching his chest, instantly recognized him—it was Edward Hunter himself.