Ethan was at the sink, splashing cold water onto his face. Droplets ran down his skin as he gripped the edge of the basin, breathing out slowly. His reflection stared back at him — sharp eyes, a steady gaze, and a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
A sudden knock sounded at the door.
"Enter," Ethan called, straightening up.
The door creaked open and a uniford ssenger stepped in, bowing with a fist over his chest. "Young master Ethan. Your father, Lord Gareth Drakethorne, seeks your presence. He awaits you at the training grounds."
Ethan’s eyes flashed. He grabbed a towel and wiped his face once, tossing it aside. Without hesitation, he turned and strode for the door.
His pace was swift, his mind already shifting into battle readiness. By the ti he stepped onto the grounds, he found himself pausing — brows drawing together in faint surprise. He hadn’t expected this sight.
His father stood tall, wearing his signature crimson cape, the fabric darkened at the edges from countless battles, and slung across his back was the colossal greatsword that had cleaved through monsters and n alike.
The calm breeze swept through the training grounds, causing Gareth’s cape to flutter slightly, but the weight of his presence made the air feel heavier instead of lighter. His armor, a matte black reinforced with silver etchings of ancient Labyrinth sigils, glead faintly under the morning sun. Scars from past battles marred his gauntlets and shoulder plates, each mark a silent testant to his conquests.
His gaze was firm and resolute when it landed on Ethan, and in the next mont, a suffocating wave of killing intent surged forth. Ethan shuddered violently, his knees almost buckling.
’This is the killing intent of Gareth, the Labyrinth Overlord... I can’t even move!’
From where he stood, Gareth’s voice cut through the air like a blade, cold and absolute:
"As of now, I’m your enemy. I’ve limited my strength to sothing manageable for soone as weak as you. I’ll attack with the intent to kill. This is your first and last chance to convince —fail, and you’ll be dragged back into my Guild and stay with your family!"
His eyes narrowed sharply.
"As your enemy, I won’t underestimate you. Rember this—when you’re out in Nexa, never underestimate your opponent. Unlike this brute strength I’m using now, enemies out there have countless unique and unknown ways to kill you. The mont you drop your guard—"
His killing intent surged again, doubling in intensity.
"—you die!"
Ethan felt his lungs squeeze tight, choking under the invisible pressure. His vision blurred at the edges, black spots dancing as his body refused to respond.
"Hmph! Too weak. Don’t think you can convince with this pathetic display!" Gareth snorted coldly, and in the next instant, his figure blurred into motion.
A sonic crack echoed as his feet launched off the ground—he beca a sprinting shadow, rapidly closing the distance. Ethan’s pupils shrank to pinholes.
’So fast!’
Gritting his teeth until his jaw ached, Ethan forcibly yanked at the sluggish mana inside him. It felt like trying to force a river upstream, but his will—strong, firm, and unyielding—kept pushing. He forced the mana to circulate, sending it blazing through every mana circuit in his body despite the crushing weight of Gareth’s intent.
┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓
•──────────────────•
[Mana Sensing lvl 3 Leveled Up —> Level 4]
[You can now sense ambient mana in the surroundings and track the flow within other living beings up to the range of 50 ters.]
[Your ability to gauge strength and detect hidden presences has increased.]
[Mana Manipulation lvl 2 Leveled Up —> Level 3]
[You can now manipulate ambient mana in the enemy.]
[Your attack power has been boosted and your control range has been expanded up to 50 ters.]
•──────────────────•
┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛
But Ethan had no ti to celebrate.
’Fuck!’ he cursed as Gareth’s shadow lood over him, the ground cracking beneath each of his father’s heavy steps. In the blink of an eye, the gap had vanished — Gareth’s greatsword was already raised high, the blade howling as it carved through the wind, descending like a guillotine.
By now, the mana Ethan circulated had completed a full revolution in his body. Energy flooded through his limbs like wildfire, dulling the crushing pressure. It was still there — oppressive, suffocating — but now, just barely, he could move.
And that was enough.
With a roar, he summoned his rank 2 sword from his ring, the blade flashing into existence. His body scread in protest, but he leapt sideways, every muscle straining, barely dodging the lethal arc of Gareth’s overhead strike. Even so, he knew — dodging it completely was impossible. The killing intent still slowed him like chains wrapped around his limbs.
So he raised his sword mid-leap, channeling every shred of strength into deflecting the descending strike.
Gareth’s eyes glead with sharp amusent.
’Hmph.’ He snorted inwardly at Ethan’s desperate counter.
Even though he restricted his strength, his fighting instincts — honed from years in the deepest Labyrinths — remained razor-sharp. This strike was a feint, a lure.
With rich battle experience like his, how could his attack be so simple?
If it were, then Gareth Valen would not be worthy of the title Labyrinth Overlord!
In mid-swing, just as his blade was about to clash with Ethan’s, Gareth twisted his wrists slightly, altering the angle — turning a full-force overhead smash into a sudden horizontal sweep!
At the last mont, Ethan — expecting the overhead strike to land and be deflected — was stunned as the greatsword twisted mid-swing. The blade’s edge shifted, and instead, the flat side ca crashing down with the sa terrifying force.
BOOM!
The impact was like a thunderclap. Ethan’s guard shattered instantly.
"Gah—!"
He was smacked sideways like a puppet with broken strings. His body twisted unnaturally mid-air as blood burst from his mouth, painting red streaks across the wind. He could feel it — his ribs creaked and groaned under the brutal force, a sharp pain stabbing through his chest. Bones were cracking.
—So strong! I can’t... even block it...!
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