"What’s going on here?"
A sharp female voice suddenly rang out from behind Servos, causing him to instinctively glance over his shoulder.
Standing at the entrance of the Sword Training Grounds was a middle-aged Maqaue woman dressed in an elegant green silk robe embroidered with silver leaves. Her long dark hair was tied neatly behind her back, a jade hairpin resting above one ear.
Although she didn’t carry a weapon, the pressure radiating from her body alone caused several nearby disciples to instinctively lower their heads.
Her expression had already darkened before she fully took in the scene before her.
Broken stone littered the courtyard. More than a dozen disciples were scattered across the training grounds nursing cuts and bruises, while others circled a lone human swordsman with expressions of equal parts anger and caution.
The orderly training session she expected to find had somehow transformed into complete chaos.
She had only learned of Servos’ miraculous return less than half an hour earlier.
For two whole years, the clan had accepted his death. Ceremonies had been held, his belongings preserved, his position inherited, and life had continued moving forward because it had to.
By the time the messenger reached the Weapons Pavilion informing her that Servos had somehow returned alive, she hadn’t believed it.
Only after confirming it personally had she hurried toward the training grounds. She expected an emotional reunion, but instead, she found this.
"Took you long enough."
Servos smiled without the slightest hint of guilt, a rather sly expression spreading across his weathered face.
The woman narrowed her eyes. This was Gainet, Master of the Weapons Pavilion.
Officially, she ranked above Servos within the Maqaue Clan’s hierarchy, and every instructor managing one of the five training grounds ultimately answered to her. Her authority extended over every weapon, instructor, and martial curriculum within the clan.
Unlike Servos, she had already reached Tier Five, one entire realm above him.
Yet despite their official positions, there existed another relationship between them—she was also his wife.
Gainet folded both arms. "So. You return after disappearing for two years... and the first thing you do is turn my training grounds into a battlefield?"
Servos shrugged. "I’ve always believed practical experience beats lectures."
"That isn’t practical experience." She pointed toward Ethan. "That’s attempted murder."
Servos looked toward the center of the courtyard.
At some point the battle had escalated far beyond a simple spar. It had begun as a one-on-one duel, soon another disciple entered, then three more, and now over a dozen Maqaue swordsmen surrounded Ethan from every direction, attacking continuously without pause.
Steel clashed relentlessly as the sound echoed across the entire training ground.
Despite facing overwhelming numbers, Ethan continued moving calmly through every opening, his black katana dancing between incoming attacks with astonishing precision.
Every few exchanges, another disciple stumbled backward clutching a fresh wound.
None of the injuries appeared serious—most consisted of shallow cuts across the shoulder, forearm, or thigh, enough to draw blood but never enough to cripple.
Yet, the cumulative effect became increasingly obvious.
Several disciples had already begun breathing heavily, others found their arms strangely sluggish, and some couldn’t even explain why fear slowly crept into their hearts whenever Ethan’s blade pointed in their direction.
Gainet immediately noticed it. "This has gone far enough."
Her tone became considerably more serious. "You need to stop this before someone gets seriously hurt."
She wasn’t worried only for the disciples. If several promising members of the Sword Training Grounds suffered lasting injuries, responsibility wouldn’t fall solely upon Servos.
As Weapons Pavilion Master, she would also answer before the clan elders. The entire situation had already grown dangerously close to crossing that line.
Servos remained silent for several moments, then a bitter laugh escaped him. "Why should I?"
Gainet frowned.
Servos slowly stood. "Maybe... I’m simply a crazy old man. One who spent two years believing he’d never see home again."
He turned fully toward her. "Maybe I finally returned only to discover everyone had already moved on."
His voice remained calm—far too calm.
"Maybe..." He smiled. "I lost my mind somewhere along the way."
The disciples gradually stopped fighting as even Ethan glanced toward the old man.
Servos looked directly into Gainet’s eyes. "Or perhaps... I came back just to destroy everything I built. Out of spite."
The words landed heavily. For the first time, Gainet’s expression softened as she understood what lay beneath his sarcasm.
Two years—he hadn’t simply disappeared, everyone believed he had died.
Yet she had never found his body, never truly confirmed his death herself, and there had always remained a tiny sliver of hope that she had eventually buried beneath responsibility.
Servos quietly shook his head. "Or maybe not."
A faint smile returned to his face as he slowly raised one hand, and the ongoing battle instantly stopped.
Before any disciple could react, Ethan disappeared.
Almost like a phantom, one moment he stood surrounded by more than a dozen swordsmen, and the next he appeared beside Servos without anyone seeing how he moved.
Several disciples instinctively swallowed as they realized his speed had increased again.
Servos glanced sideways toward Ethan before looking back at Gainet. "Unlike some people... I actually want these children to become stronger."
There was still obvious resentment in his voice—not enough to start another argument, but enough that Gainet simply sighed instead of replying.
Servos turned around, and without another glance behind him, he slowly walked toward the dojo with his hands resting comfortably behind his back.
Ethan quietly followed, leaving behind a training ground filled with exhausted disciples.
The younger Maqaue swordsmen watched his departing figure with complicated expressions.
Some glared openly, others clenched their fists, and several burned with frustration after suffering defeat at the hands of a human.
Yet beneath every emotion, something else had quietly taken root—fear.
Not overwhelming terror or panic, but rather a lingering instinct buried deep within their bloodlines. Every one of them now understood that if today’s battle hadn’t been training, many of them would already be dead.
That realization proved impossible to ignore.
None of that, however, occupied Ethan’s thoughts.
The moment he sat beneath the wooden veranda outside the dojo, he crossed his legs and entered a lotus position. His breathing gradually slowed as the sounds of the training grounds faded into the background.
Then, a familiar translucent screen suddenly appeared before him, and his eyes immediately focused.
[You have absorbed Cosmic Energy.]
[You have menaced over one hundred individuals belonging to the same bloodline.]
Ethan’s pupils narrowed slightly. Cosmic Energy... so the meteorite stones really had changed something.
Before he could think further, another notification appeared.
[A Class Advancement Mission has been generated.]
His heartbeat quickened as another screen unfolded beneath it.
[In battle, kill one hundred members of the Human Clan.]
[Kill one hundred members of the Serpent Clan.]
[Kill one hundred members of the Wolf Clan.]
The list continued—Human, Wolf, Tiger, Bear, Lizard, Bird—as bloodlines from every major race gradually filled the screen.
Some Ethan recognized immediately, while others he had never even heard of before. The requirements continued scrolling through dozens, perhaps hundreds of different clans.
Only after several long moments did the final line finally appear.
[Reward: S-Rank Class.]
Silence. Ethan stared at the glowing words without blinking.
An... S-Rank Class?
His breathing unconsciously slowed.
Within the Human Kingdoms, only one class had ever been universally acknowledged as S-Rank: Summoner. It represented humanity’s greatest advantage against every other race, and entire kingdoms had been built upon that single class.
Yet now, the system calmly informed him that another S-Rank Class existed. Or perhaps... could be created.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Ethan realized he had only been seeing a tiny fraction of the larger picture.
And whatever lay beyond it was far bigger than he had ever imagined.
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