Five Years Later: A Third-Rank Warrior

Eric looked at Lucas, who had fallen after him, and said, "You win this time."

Lucas smiled at Eric, then said, "No, in a sense, you won."

Hearing that, Eric snorted coldly and said, "Hmph, don't get cocky. I'll definitely beat you next time."

Lucas had told the truth, only to receive a cold look from Eric. After thinking it over, Lucas understood. This child named Eric had probably been praised constantly by his family, leading him to believe he was the best. So when Lucas beat him but said he had won, it rubbed him the wrong way. Lucas merely smiled and thought nothing more of it.

By then, Benny had recovered from his rest. He came over and said to Lucas, "Don't mind him. He's just a conceited little brat."

Lucas had the soul of an adult, after all, so naturally he did not mind Eric's expression. He said to Benny, "It's fine. No harm done."

While Lucas was speaking, the warriors came over. They said to the children resting on the ground, "Get up. You can't hold out even this long? Get up."

The moment the warriors finished speaking, the children reluctantly stood up amid a chorus of complaints. Lucas also said to Benny, "Come on, hurry back into line."

Benny reluctantly returned to his group, and the training began again.

Time passed quickly! In this little valley at the end of the Hemonxi Mountains, a boy named Lucas and his companions had been training for five years. Two years earlier, thanks to the foundation he had built through passively absorbing earth element, Lucas had become the first among the children his age to advance to First Rank Warrior. One month after Lucas advanced, the child named Eric had also successfully advanced.

Now five years had quickly passed, and Lucas was already a Third-Rank Warrior. Eric was a second-level warrior, as were Benny and that shy little girl. But Lucas knew Eric was probably close to advancing again!

Compared with the pace of his advancement as a warrior, his spiritual power had also increased considerably. Over these five years, his steadily rising warrior rank had allowed his wrist strength to improve rapidly as well. This had helped his carving skills improve quickly, which in turn had positively contributed to the growth of his spiritual power. Coupled with his uninterrupted daily meditation over these years, his spiritual power had reached as much as three hundred times its original level. Lucas estimated that his spiritual power had already reached the level of a Fourth Rank Magus.

Lucas remembered that when magi reached the seventh rank, the mana within their bodies would liquefy, and their spiritual power would increase enormously as well. His current spiritual power was still quite far from that level.

That morning, Lucas was just as he always was. After finishing his morning training, he was getting ready to go home when Eric approached. Looking at Lucas with a serious expression, he asked, "Have you already broken through to Third-Rank Warrior?"

Lucas looked at him and asked, "How could you tell?"

Seeing Lucas admit it, Eric said, "I've been watching you all along. Since last month, I've clearly felt that you're stronger than before."

Over the years, Lucas had come to know that this child named Eric had always measured himself against him. Eric had constantly pursued him as his goal, and Lucas knew how competitive he was. Naturally, he also knew how talented Eric was. Unfortunately, there was no battle aura now, nor were there any academies. Otherwise, with his talent, those academies would surely have fought over him.

Lucas glanced at Benny and the shy little girl, Windsor, who had come closer, then said to Eric, "Aren't you close to breaking through too?"

Eric nodded, glanced at Benny, who was giving him a cold look, and said, "Yes."

Benny had been quite happy to hear that Lucas had broken through to the third rank, but upon hearing that Eric was about to break through to the third rank too, he looked at Eric in astonishment and said, "Lucas is a genius, so it's one thing for him to break through,

but a conceited brat like you is about to break through too? Is there any justice in this world?" Eric glanced at Benny, then said, "Even if I'm not as good as Lucas, I'm still better than you."

Hearing that, Benny immediately said to Eric, "Ah, fight me one-on-one!"

Windsor tugged at Benny, then delivered the final blow to his already wounded heart. In a soft voice, she said, "Benny, you can't beat him."

Hearing that, Benny deflated like a punctured ball. But he soon regained his confidence and said to Eric, "Don't get too cocky. I'll catch up to you soon. Then I'll beat your teeth out!"

Eric gave Benny a mocking look, then said, "I'll be waiting. Who knows who'll be beating whom then?"

Angered by Eric's retort, Benny said, "Hmph, I'll definitely advance to Third-Rank Warrior before you."

After saying that, Eric left. Lucas looked at the still-angry Benny and said, "All right. You have to admit, he really is talented!"

Benny and Windsor both looked at Lucas in bewilderment and asked, "Didn't you reach Third-Rank Warrior before him? Why are you saying he's so talented?"

Lucas smiled and said to the two of them, "You don't understand. Come on, I'll teach you some martial techniques today!"

Benny was delighted to hear that his boss was going to teach him martial techniques. Thinking that perhaps he could use them to defeat Eric, he immediately broke into a sleazy grin.

Watching Benny lose himself in his fantasies, Windsor quietly asked Lucas, "Brother, what's he laughing about? Why does he look so sleazy?"

Lucas explained to her, "He's probably imagining that he's already beaten Eric."

As he spoke, he slapped Benny on the head, then took him to the little courtyard at his home. Lucas had not given up carving over the past few years, and the finished carvings had all been destroyed. The remaining stone fragments had already covered a large area, and Lucas had leveled it fairly well. Whenever he was not carving, he practiced the martial techniques he had trained in during his previous life there!

After entering the courtyard, Benny looked at a stone sculpture of a dragon Lucas had carved recently. He asked him, "What's this?"

Lucas said, "It's a kind of dragon, a type of magical beast."

Benny walked over and touched it, saying, "I'm going to ride this kind of magical beast someday. It looks so impressive."

Lucas thought, You're dreaming. An Eastern dragon like this could probably blow that little body of yours away with a single breath, leaving nothing behind. Even the dragons of this world are eighth- or ninth-rank magical beasts at the very least. Without battle aura, humans can at most reach Seventh Rank Warrior. There's simply no way they could subdue a dragon. But he could hardly discourage Benny.