Eastern Forest.
Panda sat on the ground, clutching a massive bone several times longer than his own body, gnawing away with immense satisfaction. Beside him rested a small jar filled with bright red dragon blood.
Every so often, after chewing on the dragon bone for a while, he would dip a little paw into the jar, like scooping honey, and lick the blood off with relish.
Living the high life.
In front of him, Ur stood with a bamboo stick in hand, practicing swordsmanship.
What made it unusual was that a strip of black cloth covered his eyes.
[Passive Skill: Mind's Eye.]
(TN: This passive is a system-granted passive that activates under specific conditions.)
[When the Host is in darkness, hand-to-hand combat training speed is increased.]
Swish, swish, swish!
In Ur's grip, the bamboo rod seemed to transform into a real blade. Though he had only ever learned the most basic sword techniques, in his hands, those fundamentals displayed extraordinary power.
As he practiced the same set of basic movements over and over, something about them began to change, growing subtly profound, almost mysterious.
Crack!
The bamboo rod sliced through a slender stalk of bamboo. It split cleanly in two. Even more astonishing, the cut surface was perfectly smooth, as if severed by a sharpened steel blade.
Ur lowered his weapon and removed the blindfold. One glance at the cut and he couldn't help muttering in admiration.
"Impressive."
Over the past few months, Ur had sold off the remaining gems from the treasure trove, earning the equivalent of more than six hundred gold coins.
After paying off the guild's compensation fees, he used what remained to strengthen his Basic Swordsmanship.
As for the Kuga Combat Technique, he hadn't touched it. He still hadn't fully mastered the technique yet. Basic Swordsmanship was different from his other skills. Only after enhancing it to +8 did a special effect finally appear.
[Basic Swordsmanship +8 (Special Effect: Sword Intent +1).]
The change didn't look dramatic on the surface, but the increase in power was undeniable.
As for Sword Intent, that was another matter entirely. Since enhancing the skill, Ur had been trying to grasp the essence of this Sword Intent. Yet even after all this time, he had only barely brushed the threshold. Fully mastering it still felt far away. Perhaps if he had more money to continue strengthening the skill, his comprehension might accelerate.
Unfortunately, he was broke again.
After compensation payments and upgrades, he had just over a hundred gold coins left in reserve.
In a matter of months, he had returned to square one.
Invincible Passive System
Host: Wei Yi (Ur)
Passive Abilities:Dimensional Hunger, Transcendent Equilibrium, Life Body, Sword Spirit, Insight, Godslayer's Might
Talents:Lava Beast Armor, Child of the Wind
Enhancements:
Meditation Method: Mist Meditation +7 (Special Effects: Mental Training +6, Magic Control +3, Magic Cultivation +2, Illusion Immunity +1)
Skills: Basic Swordsmanship +8 (Special Effect: Sword Intent +1)
Magic: Explosive Flame +5 (Special Effects: High Temperature +4, Burn +4, Destruction +2, Magic Amplification +1, Magic Break +1); Lava Giant Claw +4 (Special Effects: Restrain +3, Harden +3, Magic Amplification +1, Fusion +1); Earth Spear +6 (Special Effects: Haste +5, Impact +4, Sharpness +4, Penetration +3, Casting Speed +2)
In nearly three months of training, Ur had made significant progress in physical combat and swordsmanship.
Ironically, his magic and spiritual power had lagged. Increasing spiritual power was painfully difficult. Even with Mist Meditation enhanced to +7, his spiritual power had risen by only fifteen points over three months.
For most people, that would have been astonishing.
For someone with a cheat system?
It was embarrassing.
As for advanced-tier magic, its difficulty far exceeded ordinary spells. Even as the Child of the Wind, three months of training had only allowed him to barely grasp the basics of the Storm spell and learn the flight magic, Tempest Wings.
Sometimes Ur genuinely wondered whether he was still a mage. This wasn't just a slight stylistic drift anymore.
He was veering off-course entirely.
During his training period, guild members seemed to vanish. On many days, he barely saw anyone at all.
Aside from Levy, who continued visiting him as usual, only Erza had come by once, to ask for some dragon bones. She apparently intended to forge new armor from them.
Ur hadn't thought much of it at the time.
That was, until Cana showed up.
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"So you're asking me to be your partner in the S-Class exam?" Ur looked at Cana, whose expression was unusually serious.
"Yes. Please. No matter what, I have to become an S-Class mage," she said earnestly.
Ur studied her.
Her eyes were filled with tangled emotions: conflict, hesitation, anxiety, hope.
Yet her resolve was firm.
He knew her true goal perfectly well.
For Cana, becoming an S-Class mage wasn't just about status. It was about earning recognition from Gildarts and acknowledging him as her father.
Ur couldn't quite understand why something as simple as a father and daughter reuniting had to be this complicated.
Still, he agreed.
For one thing, he himself wouldn't qualify for the S-Class exam this year. Eligibility required seniority, mission count, strength, and loyalty to the guild—he was still lacking in several areas.
Since he couldn't participate as a candidate, tagging along as someone's partner sounded like an interesting experience.
More importantly, Ur was a handsome, good-hearted guy. Helping others was practically his duty.
And besides, if Cana and Gildarts didn't reconcile soon, all the scandalous stories Ur had painstakingly gathered about Gildarts' romantic history would go unappreciated.
After receiving Ur's agreement, Cana left quickly.
She still had missions to complete. Earning an S-Class qualification was no easy task.
Watching her departing figure, Ur sighed softly. "Hard to believe… It's already been a year."
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Next Chapter: A New Weapon
Next Next Chapter: Mystogan
Next Next Next Chapter: The Exam Begins