Myths Reawakened

“Master, this doesn’t seem appropriate,” Wayne said stiffly. Although it was just a test, his punches were no joke. If he accidentally broke her, wouldn’t he become a bastard who repaid kindness with violence?

So what if she was a Dragonblood? That wouldn’t help!

He glanced toward the side, where Veronica stood in the corner with schadenfreude, looking forward to seeing him getting beaten up. Beside her stood the expressionless Megan. Generally, as the Lando family’s chief butler, Megan was rarely seen away from Auston, following him around most of the time. Her sudden appearance on the training ground meant that she had a mission.

Wayne looked at Silvia, dressed in her light training clothes, then at his own fist. No, he couldn’t throw a punch. He demanded a change of sparring partner. The older one wouldn’t do. Let Veronica do it

“Don’t worry. It’s just a test. I know your life essence is too powerful for ordinary Silver-rank mages to be your match, which is why I’m testing you personally.” Silvia stretched her limbs.

Master, that’s not what I’m worried about. I’m worried that all the cement barrels in the market will be bought overnight.

He said with a stiff expression like he was constipated, “Even so, you’re an elegant lady. How about letting Veronica test me?”

What’s that supposed to mean? I’m not elegant? Veronica snorted. If you’re itching for a beating, just say it. No need to beat around the bush.

Silvia came to a realization. Right, her student was still a pure-hearted young man. Faced with a beautiful big sister like herself, he would naturally feel hesitant. She had Megan bring over two pairs of boxing gloves, putting on a pair and handing the other pair to Wayne.

The gloves covered the palms and the back of the hands, but not the five fingers. The thick foam padding protected the knuckles and increased contact area, serving as a cushion for impacts.

Wayne put on the gloves and clenched his fists to test them. They felt the same as regular gloves. For someone with as much strength as he did, the only function the gloves served would be preventing awkwardness during physical contact.

In that case, there was nothing for him to worry about.

“I’m coming, Master!”

“Come at—”

Before Silvia could finish, Wayne accelerated toward her, throwing a feint with his left hand to draw her attention before his cranked-up right fist shot toward her face.

“Practical trick.”

Silvia raised her hands to catch the punch, her five fingers gripping Wayne’s fist as she sidestepped and threw him with an over-the-shoulder toss. Wayne flipped mid-air and landed gracefully.

Instead of following up with more attacks, Silvia said, “I’m not a traditional mage. My bloodline grants me great physical strength and an absolute advantage in close combat. Don’t hold back. Come at me with everything you’ve got. Sister isn’t as fragile as you think.”

Wayne nodded and took a deep breath, his gaze sharpening in an instant. He rose slightly on his toes, his shoulders swaying for three to five seconds before he launched himself off the ground with the tips of his feet, clawing toward Silvia’s chest.

She stood in place with no intention of dodging. When Wayne approached, she suddenly raised her hand to grab his wrist while saying disapprovingly, “If you don’t use more force, I won’t go easy—”

Wayne suddenly extended his arm further so that her grip slipped to his elbow, while he went straight for her throat, his fingers wrapping around her neck to push her forward. His explosive power surprised her greatly. She stomped on the ground hard to anchor herself while reaching out to grab Wayne’s throat in return, giving as good as she got.

The master and student grappled with terrifying power surging from their bodies. Unable to gauge each other’s limits, neither dared to use full force, gradually increasing their use of strength instead.

The solid concrete floor cracked with a sharp splitting sound.

The two spectators held their breath. Veronica watched the sparring without blinking. As time passed, her breathing quickened slightly. Influenced by her bloodline, she felt compelled to join the fight.

This morning, Silvia had told Veronica that Wayne had completed his hexagram and officially become a mage, with a powerful life essence. Veronica didn’t believe it. How could it happen so fast?

She knew Wayne was talented, having earned recognition from both Kristen and Mother, but great talent often meant a longer time to lay down the foundation. For him to complete his hexagram so quickly, his life essence couldn’t be that strong.

Now, it seemed...

Having only just completed his hexagram, his life essence was already this great. What would happen when he reached Silver or Gold rank?!

A drop of cold sweat fell from Veronica’s forehead as she imagined it: one day, she would throw a punch, and Wayne wouldn’t even flinch. Instead, his responding punch would send her flying.

No, absolutely unacceptable!

In the ring, Wayne and Silvia’s grapple gradually escalated. They both had one hand on the other’s neck and one hand on the other’s shoulder. After their eyes met, they suddenly exerted power.

Bang!

The ground shattered and collapsed, unable to withstand their explosive force, cracking into spreading spiderwebs around their sunken feet.

Wayne felt an overwhelming force ripping from his shoulders throughout his entire body. Even his tough physique couldn’t endure the force for long. The enormous pressure crashed through him, making his joints pop like exploding beans.

So this is the power of dragon blood? Isn’t it cheating?

He raised his head and smashed it against Silvia’s forehead, feeling like he’d hit a piece of steel. He didn’t know if she felt any pain, but it certainly hurt plenty to him.

So hard. Can the old pervert really handle her?

He let go of Silvia’s neck and landed a hook on her abdomen. Her dragon blood gave her great power and physical defense. Each punch felt like hitting steel—no, even if he were punching steel, he was certain he would leave a mark. Acquiring dragon blood had to involve some form of life modification!

Silvia smiled and tilted her head slightly. “How about it? Should Sister use only one hand?”

Wayne no longer held back. Releasing his restraints on his body, he quickly recovered the feeling he’d had when beating up Sigma. He lifted his head again to slam it hard against her forehead.

Clang!

Silvia grunted and stepped back in pain. Wayne seized the moment to break free from her grip. While pressing down her head, he stepped on her knee with his left foot and slammed his knee toward her delicate, striking face.

You brat, trying to disfigure me?!

Silvia raised her hand to shield her face. As someone who rose to power as a member of the surgical strike unit, she used to always be on the front lines, giving her incredible experience in close combat that was far superior to Wayne’s. The moment she blocked the attack, she used the counterforce to withdraw.

In comparison, Wayne’s attacks were straightforward with clear intentions. He only ever threw punches at her face.

Bam!

Terrifying power triggered an explosion of air currents, compressing the air and forming ripples that spread outward. The violent currents surged toward Silvia. Instead of dodging, she clenched her fist to meet the attack head-on.

Both retreated several steps, their feet leaving deep impressions.

Wayne marveled at the power of dragon blood. It was more ridiculous than his cheat. However, Silvia was even more shocked. Hexagram, Silver Cross Star, and then Golden Triangle—she had undergone three life essence evolutions for her to tap into her dragon blood’s full power, while Wayne had only undergone one evolution.

Moreover, as the battle escalated, she could sense that Wayne still had untapped potential within him. Just what exactly was his bloodline?

She felt it necessary to conduct a physical examination of her student, at least to determine his bloodline. That would guide his future training to make it more effective.

“Take this!”

Wayne rushed to Silvia, unleashing a terrifying barrage of attacks like a violent storm that enveloped her completely. She raised both hands in front of her, pushed back by the savage force. Her feet embedded into the ground, creating dense cracks that spread audibly.

On the sides, Megan remained expressionless, but her eyes grew wider and wider. Meanwhile, Veronica gaped slightly, unable to help but worry for her mother.

Why was she only taking hits? Fight back!

Silvia didn’t intend to fight back. Her main goal was to test the limits of Wayne’s life essence. Since her student still had room for improvement, she voluntarily served as a punching bag for now.

Realizing her intention, Wayne silently thanked her and put even more force into his punches, forcing himself to the limits.

He threw punch after punch tirelessly for a full thirty seconds without slowing down, pushing Silvia all the way to the wall, his attacks raining down on her raised arms. Silvia’s eyes twitched. Her arms felt heavy, beginning to go numb as if filled with lead.

To maintain her dignity as the master, she secretly buffed herself, activating her dragon blood to cover her arms with barely perceptible white scales.

Wayne noticed.

He had been worried about whether his master would be alright, whether he should continue to attack, and whether she would feel humiliated and lose her temper. Seeing his master holding up, he let loose and picked up the pace.

His hexagram blazed with light, pushing his peaking life essence to a greater height. He could get stronger still. There was still potential to be tapped!

Silvia groaned inwardly, the scales on her arms becoming increasingly visible. Two minutes later, she suddenly reached up to catch his fist, then, under his puzzled gaze, delivered a heavy headbutt.

It didn’t hit. Wayne had leaned back.

(乛‸乛)(一´一;)

Their eyes met, and the atmosphere grew awkward. Three seconds later, Silvia made another headbutt, and Wayne took it without dodging, flying off his feet.

Once he landed, he held his head and rolled around on the ground.

What terrible acting! x2

The two spectators silently commented while strongly condemning the master for her petty reaction. Since they couldn’t afford to offend her, they kept their criticism to themselves.

Silvia wiped the fine beads of sweat from her forehead and gave her rough evaluation of Wayne’s life essence. “Great explosive power, endurance impossible to assess, strength, speed, and reaction time all have room for improvement. Master has other official business to attend to today. We’ll continue at the same time tomorrow.”

She picked up her t-shirt and put it over her tank top, telling Veronica to spar with Wayne. Before leaving, she gave Veronica a meaningful look.

Veronica didn’t understand. She naively thought that her mother had found her a good sparring partner, so she nodded and cheerfully indicated that she understood.

What do you think I’m telling you? Silvia shook her head and left. After exiting the training ground, she rubbed her arms and winced. “He really went hard. What has Veryl been teaching him? He’s not gentlemanly at all.”

She felt a headache brewing. Her student’s life essence was stronger than she had imagined. While it was good news, it increased the difficulty of creating a specialized training for him. All her preparations had been in vain.

“And his bloodline... I have to test it.”

***

Basement training ground.

Veronica stood opposite Wayne, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. “How about it? Do you still have strength left, or do you need to rest?”

“Boxing gloves,” Wayne reminded her.

“I’m not using gloves when I hit you.” Veronica clenched her fists, making her grudges against him obvious.

Wayne shrugged and pulled off his gloves, tossing them aside. He had no ulterior motive. He was only fighting fairly out of respect for his opponent.

Veronica had been barely suppressing herself on the side earlier, eager to spar with him. Her bloodline had recently been purified, and her life essence improved further. She wasn’t satisfied with simple tests. It had been frustrating to hold back until now.

She was going to beat this annoying face up today!

Wayne sized up his opponent. Like his master, she wore a white tank top with her long hair put up. Her slender appearance concealed a violent bloodline with tremendous destructive power. She was around the same height as her mother, but noticeably flatter.

Young lady, you’ve got great potential! Wayne curled his finger at her. Stop wasting time and come on!

Before Veronica could react, he closed the distance between them in one stride, his left hand sweeping to the side to distract her while his right hand reached toward her chest with his fingers curled up like a claw.

Sneak attack!

Having watched his fight with her mother, Veronica was prepared for the move. Since it was the first exchange, Wayne didn’t put as much force into the attack, so she easily caught his wrist.

He would be grabbing her throat next!

When she thought that, however, Wayne suddenly pushed forward with his right hand and pressed his palm against her chest.

She blinked, her expression blank. This wasn’t what she had expected.

On the side, Megan nodded in realization. Yes, he was exactly like a certain someone.

“Bastard, where are you touching?!” Veronica flew into a rage, taking two steps back and covering her chest, her face flushed with anger.

Wayne frowned and said sternly, “Stop speaking nonsense. In the ring, there’s no distinction between men and women. If you can’t let that go, get lost and don’t waste my time.”

His tone was three percent righteous indignation, three percent matter-of-fact, two percent arrogance, and ninety-two percent disdain. Veronica couldn’t believe how shameless he was. Megan wasn’t surprised; he was just like her master after all.

“Besides...” Wayne looked at his palm. “I didn’t complain about your bones digging into my hands. What are you getting so worked up about?”

Oh, now you’ve done it!

That fueled Veronica’s rage further. Red light danced in her eyes as her pale fists stirred up an incredible gale. She suddenly appeared before him with irresistible violence.

So fast!

Wayne hid his surprise. He ducked down to avoid the punch before suddenly jumping and ramming his shoulders into her arm, knocking her off balance. She stomped on the ground to regain her footing, breaking the floor. Using the momentum, she threw a punch, her knuckles glinting with layers of fine white scales.

Air scattered as if a bomb had exploded mid-air, sending shockwaves toward Wayne’s face. He avoided the brunt of the attack, crouching to sweep her legs and break her balance. Then he threw himself toward her to grapple with her.

After several exchanges, the two ended up wrestling on the ground. For a moment, it was unclear whether Wayne had her in a hold or she had him locked up.

(눈_눈)

Regardless, this is indecent!

Seeing the two holding each other on the ground in a struggle, the fight playing out completely differently than earlier, Megan cleared her throat with a hand held to her mouth, reminding the pair to control themselves.

It didn’t work. Veronica was furious and determined to teach Wayne a lesson, so she tightened her grip and refused to let go. Since she was so strong, he had to respond in kind. He tightened his hold to match her power.

“Hmph!”

“Hah!”

...Fine, I’ll report this accurately.

***

September eleventh, night.

Great Cemetery, Western District.

Julia, the undead warhorse, leaped out of the portal, carrying her master to a spot among the tombstones. Cold moonlight shone down on the mist-shrouded cemetery, creating a gloomy, desolate atmosphere with occasional flickering will-o’-the-wisps.

Rustling sounds came from all directions as countless millipedes gathered, forming a human shape in the shadows.

“Death Knight...”

“No, the new Death Knight!”