Maito stretched his arms, rolling his shoulders casually as we stood in the training ground. His calm, confident posture made it seem like this was nothing more than a simple warm-up.

  “I won’t use my mana,” he said, his voice polite but firm. “But you can use yours freely. I heard your element is wind—so come at me like a storm, Hiroshi.”

  His words weren’t mocking. They were encouraging.

  I clenched my fists, feeling a mixture of determination and nervousness. Maito was an elite soldier. Even without mana, his skill was undoubtedly on another level. But this was my chance to prove myself.

  Kaito stood at the side, bouncing with excitement. “Hiroshi, give it your best shot!”

  I took a deep breath and focused, feeling the wind gathering around me.

  Then I moved.

  I dashed forward, enhancing my speed with wind mana, aiming a punch straight at Maito’s chest.

  But he wasn’t there.

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  In the blink of an eye, he sidestepped, completely avoiding my attack.

  “Not bad,” he commented. “But predictable.”

  I gritted my teeth and spun around, sending a blast of wind toward him. The gust howled as it rushed toward him, kicking up dust and leaves—

  But Maito simply walked through it.

  Not dodging. Walking.

  Like my attack wasn’t even worth the effort of avoiding.

  I widened my stance and tried something else. If wind alone wasn’t enough, I had to use speed.

  I pushed off the ground with a burst of wind, launching myself behind him and throwing a kick—

  But Maito’s hand shot out and caught my leg effortlessly.

  “Too slow.”

  With a simple push, he sent me stumbling backward.

  This is insane! I thought, regaining my footing. He’s not even using mana, and he’s still too fast!

  Before I could react, a sudden burst of fire erupted from the training ground’s edge. One of the trees was engulfed in flames.

  Maito turned his head and shouted, “Kaito! Don’t go destroying the village, okay?!”

  Kaito scratched his head, looking sheepish. “S-Sorry! I was just practicing…”

  Maito sighed and turned back to me. “Aren’t you going to attack while I’m distracted?”

  I froze.

  He was giving me an opening.

  Without hesitating, I dashed forward, wind swirling around me. This was my chance!

  I threw everything I had at him. A rapid flurry of wind-powered punches and kicks. My strikes were faster than before, sharper, more precise—

  But Maito dodged every single one.

  He wasn’t even breaking a sweat.

  I tried a feint, pretending to go left before striking from the right—

  But Maito caught my wrist.

  In a single motion, he flipped me over and pinned me to the ground.

  It was over.

  I gasped for breath, my body aching from the struggle. I had lost.

  Maito released me and stood up, smiling. “Not bad. You’ve got potential.”

  I groaned, rubbing my sore back. “That felt more like a beating than a lesson.”

  Maito laughed. “That was a lesson.”

  I sat up, catching my breath.

  Even though I lost, one thing was clear—I was still weak.

  But I wouldn’t stay that way forever.