The sky was clear, but Kael’s mind… not so much. He walked calmly along a dirt trail, with Lys beside him, carrying her improvised spear on her back and a focused look that made even birds change direction.

  Tann, Syra, and old Velan followed behind, lugging backpacks, quietly complaining, and pretending to be at peace with life.

  Kael yawned loudly, stretching his arms.

  “So, what did we learn today?”

  “That meditating with a bucket on your head doesn’t boost Vital Energy,” Tann muttered.

  “And yelling at a tree doesn’t fix emotional blockages,” added Syra.

  “And that a cane is perfectly good for hitting whining students,” finished Velan with a mildly evil smirk.

  Kael smiled.

  “Great. That’s progress.”

  Later that afternoon, they camped near a lake. Kael rested under the shade of a tree, with the grimório floating beside him and the ghost lazily spinning in the air.

  Lys sat nearby, staring at her reflection in the water.

  “Master...”

  Kael raised an eyebrow.

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  She rarely started conversations like this.

  “I want to get stronger. Truly strong.”

  “I’ve noticed. You train like the world’s ending tomorrow.”

  She took a deep breath.

  “My whole family was killed by higher beings. They said mortals were weak. My father tried to prove otherwise… he fought to show we had value. He was crushed in front of everyone.”

  Silence.

  Kael looked at her more intently.

  “I’m the only one left. And I... I want to finish what he started.”

  “And how do you plan to do that?”

  She clenched her fists.

  “There’s a competition. A tournament among superior races. A spectacle to humiliate the weak while they show off. I want in. I want to win.”

  Kael closed his eyes.

  The grimório glowed on its own.

  > New Directive: Strengthen Disciple for Interdimensional Competition.

  “They don’t know your potential yet, do they?”

  Lys shook her head.

  “And it’s better that way.”

  Kael gave a sideways smirk, finally speaking with that calm, mysterious tone of his:

  “Then let’s keep it hidden. Until the time is right.”

  ---

  **The next day...**

  Kael gathered the three apprentices.

  “Tann. Syra. Velan. You all have potential… kind of.”

  (pause)

  “But for now, you’re not ready.”

  Tann slouched. Syra huffed. Velan smiled, like he already knew.

  “You’ll stay here, training under Lys’s guidance. Whoever stands out… may return.”

  Lys widened her eyes.

  “Me?!”

  “Yes. Teaching is learning too. You’ll lead now.”

  She smiled.

  “Then they’ll bleed.”

  Tann died inside a little.

  Kael walked off, now with only Lys by his side. The road ahead looked ordinary, but the path they were taking… was anything but.

  The ghost floated into view.

  “You’re really going to train her for that crazy god tournament?”

  Kael stopped, turned his face slowly, and replied in a calm, firm voice:

  “I’m going to train her until those superior beings shit blood just from hearing her name.”

  The ghost hovered in silence.

  “…Okay, now I’m scared too.”