William easily avoided all of Rebo’s attacks. No matter what the boy tried, he couldn’t land a single hit.

And that was with William fighting with just one arm.

Imagine if he had both.

Undir stood watching, his shock growing with every passing moment.

“I thought you were a mage. You know… the kind that stays back and throws pretty spells,” Undir said, unable to hide his surprise.

He wasn’t entirely wrong. William could cast long-range spells. But that wasn’t where his true strength lay.

“You could say I can do both,” William replied, a small grin on his face. “But my sword fighting is better. Though… it’s not as great these days, considering I lost an arm.”

“You still look incredible. My son’s good—really good—but you’re leagues above him. What would you say about teaching him something in the future? That’s if you’re planning on staying here a while.”

William hesitated.

He wanted to leave. Explore this kingdom. Learn more about where he’d ended up. But he also knew… everything in its time.

“Does your son plan on staying here? Or is he hoping to try his luck elsewhere?” William asked, his gaze shifting between Undir and Rebo.

It was clear to him that Undir was pushing Rebo harder than most fathers might. There was a reason behind it.

Rebo was already better than any of the other warriors in the village, and he was much younger.

That kind of training didn’t happen by accident.

“You’re right,” Undir admitted. “My son’s much more talented than I ever was. I want him to be strong—to make money, to protect himself… but, more importantly, to look for the rest of our family.”

William had noticed something was off.

Rebo’s mother wasn’t around. There were no aunts, uncles, grandparents… nothing.

In a village like this, families usually lived together—at least part of them did.

“May I ask what happened to your family?” William said, knowing it was a personal question, but feeling it needed to be asked.

Undir didn’t seem to mind.

“My wife left one day. Took Rebo’s grandparents with her. No note. No message. Just gone. They never came back.”

“Strange…” William muttered. “Usually people at least leave a letter.”

Who would leave like that, without a word? Especially leaving behind a husband and a child?

William could see the pain in Undir’s eyes. The mystery of it still burned in him.

And for Rebo—especially now that he was older—it had become something more than just a mystery.

It was a calling.

“And when do you plan on leaving?” William asked. “I mean, are you going straight for the answers, or will you get stronger first?”

Because, honestly, for someone’s wife to leave like that, without a word, something had to be off.

If Rebo wanted real answers, he’d have to go through a lot. And a weak man wouldn’t survive that kind of journey.

“That’s something I wanted to talk to you about… now that I’ve seen how powerful you are,” Undir said.

“What do you say to helping my son grow stronger—and going with him to search for his mother? Would you do that?”

Undir was basically begging him.

William wasn’t someone who went around helping others out of sheer goodwill. That wasn’t who he was.

But there was no denying one thing.

Undir and Rebo had saved his life.

If they hadn’t found him, if they hadn’t brought him into their home, cared for him—especially while his healing was weakened—he would’ve died.

So he owed them.

“You saved my life,” William said. “So that’s the least I can do for you.”

“Thank you. Thank you!”

Undir finally looked more at ease. Just knowing his son wouldn’t be alone gave him peace.

“If I could, I’d go with him myself,” Undir added, “but the village needs me. I can’t just leave them.”

He wasn’t wrong. He was one of the few capable warriors in the area. Without him, they’d struggle. He didn’t want to risk that.

“Alright,” William said, turning toward Rebo with a serious look. “Now show me what you can do. I mean—do you know any spells?”

“A few… but that’s my weakest point. My father said I should join a formal training center to learn more spells. It’s not like we have access to many spell tomes in this village. The ones I learned are the ones my father gave me.”

Their family owned a few manuals with basic spells, and that was it. Since they had never left the village to visit a larger city and look for new tomes, they were stuck with what they had.

Not that going to a city was impossible—it was the cost of the spell tomes that made it difficult. They simply didn’t have the money for it. Which made sense.

“It’s okay. Just show me what you’ve got,” William said.

Rebo nodded and began showcasing his abilities. He had a single spell that enhanced his attributes, but what caught William’s attention was how it worked—it boosted all of his attributes.

It wasn’t like the usual focused buffs that only increased strength or agility. No. This one did everything—even intelligence.

William could feel it in his aura.

“This is an interesting spell,” William thought. “What if I can learn it too? Maybe even strengthen it? Does it have other versions or manuals for higher levels?”

This kingdom was different. The magic here wasn’t like the one he was used to. And clearly, they had some good stuff. That alone sparked something in William—a growing urge to roam free, explore, see what else this land had to offer.

Maybe helping Rebo out really wasn’t a bad idea.

“Good job,” he said. “It looks like your attributes went up. How long can you keep the spell active?”

The boost wasn’t massive. It wasn’t game-changing. But for a beginner, and for a multi-attribute buff, it was impressive.

Then Rebo said something that made it even more interesting.

“This spell has a long duration. I can keep it running for forty minutes, but my father can keep it going for two hours. I’ve heard of people who can make it last way longer, though I ain’t sure.”

“Really?”

William was even more interested in that spell after hearing that. It looked promising, to say the least.

“Come on, show me how you fight with the spell active—and show me any other spells you know too.”

Rebo dashed toward William again, wooden sword in hand. He was clearly faster than before, but still moved in slow motion from William’s perspective.

William easily blocked every strike with his own wooden sword, then tapped Rebo lightly in a few key spots—his leg, shoulder, hip. Each light strike broke Rebo’s balance, forcing him to reposition.

Just like that, his stance was ruined.

Undir stood nearby, quietly watching. But his eyes weren’t focused on Rebo anymore—they were fixed on William.

“This man is a master!”

The way William fought wasn’t something ordinary people could replicate. It wasn’t just about training or combat experience. It required true power.

“How strong is he, really?” Undir thought.

Rebo didn’t give up. He kept trying, sweat dripping down his face, his breathing heavy. He swung his sword, adjusted his stance, tried to be unpredictable.

Nothing worked.

William blocked every move, even the trickier ones.

At one point, Rebo threw a handful of dirt into William’s face, hoping to finally land a hit.

It actually worked. The dirt struck William’s eyes, blinding him for a few seconds.

But even then—even blinded—he avoided every single strike. He blocked, moved, and dodged with nothing but his hearing.

Rebo stood back, stunned.

William simply smirked.

At that point, Rebo decided to give up. He showed one lightning spell he knew—a long-ranged one he could use in emergencies—and two more body-enhancing ones. But those were linked to his senses and a kind of radar.

Useful stuff, for sure, but not useful enough to make a difference in a fight against William.

Rebo sat on the grass, catching his breath.

“How are you so strong? This is bullshit. You don’t even have one arm and look like an old man, yet you move so swiftly.”

“You need to learn a lot before you reach a level where you can fight me,” William said. “But you’re decent enough for your age. You also don’t have that many supplies here or many spell tomes to train with, so just the fact you’re this strong with this little means a lot.”

“Thank you, I guess.”

Rebo looked happier when he heard that. He was doing his best with what he had. He didn’t have the supplies or the time to practice all day!

There were things in the village that required his help, so he wasn’t like the rich people who could just train and have access to everything.

“Alright, we can train every day from now on, and then when you’re ready, I think we should go to a city to get some spell tomes for you. You can’t keep going with this little amount of spells.”

“Understood… master William.”

William smiled. He liked being called like that. It made him feel wise.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep