Chapter 24: Voidpulse Martial Art.

Huff. Puff.

My lungs burned like hellfire as I ran through a green forest as if my life depended on it.

And technically it did.

Behind me, seven monstrous wolves chased after me. Their mouths were foaming with hunger.

Steel-Biting Wolves.

Yeah. Not even regular ones. These bastards literally ate metal for breakfast. And now they wanted me for dessert.

One of them lunged, its claws slashing through the air, aiming for my spine.

Before I could even flinch, something pulled me sideways just in time to avoid getting shredded.

My cloak.

The damn thing had already saved my ass too many times to count in the last few minutes.

I hit the ground hard, branches slashing past me. One grazed my hand, leaving a deep gash.

“Fuck.” I gritted my teeth in pain.

Still, I didn’t stop.

Not like it was the first wound. My entire body was already riddled with cuts and gashes.

The poor cloak was doing its best, wrapping around my wounds to stop the bleeding wherever it could.

If I wasn’t a few seconds away from becoming wolf food, I might’ve even thanked it. But appreciation’s kinda hard when you’re being hunted.

It had just been a day since I bonded with my new skill and cloak.

So… how the hell did I end up in this mess?

Let’s rewind. About an hour ago… Back when I still had hope, clean clothes and no bite marks.

It all started with me entering my dear old father’s office to collect the martial arts manual he was going to give me.

He didn’t even look up from his papers.

Well, he was still angry with me regarding my decision to go to Noxvalen.

He just tossed me my Martial arts manual with two words. “Don’t die.”

Then that bastard walked in, the one I currently hated more than anyone alive.

Razek.

I didn’t even know his last name.

My father didn’t glance up. “He’s yours now, Razek. Make sure he’s strong enough to survive anything. Do whatever it takes.”

That… was my first red flag. I should have rejected it at that same moment. But back then my stupid brain thought it was a good idea to have a mentor…

And Razek? With his clean uniform, that stupid grin and his too-perfect posture? He looked like a model knight. Someone who took his work seriously.

So, like a dumbass, I followed him without question. He led me all the way to the forest on the edge of the Ashborn Estate.

“Young Master, good luck surviving.”

And with those words, the bastard threw me in without any warning or preparation.

And that’s how everything led to the current situation.

Me, bleeding. My cloak, acting like a battlefield nurse. And seven wolves playing tag with me as the prize.

Just then—

My foot stumbled into a thick tree root and before my cloak could help me balance… I fell face front.

I tried to get up immediately but just as I turned I saw them.

The wolves. All seven of them.

They had surrounded me and were circling me as if they were playing some kind of game.

My lips curled into a grin even in this moment as my flaw kicked in.

“Hey… guys can we negotiate?”

Of course, they didn’t answer. Because they were wolves.

Still, I wasn’t afraid. I mean, this had to be training, right?

Razek would probably show up any second now with a dramatic entrance—

…Right?

But what if he didn’t?

No… no, no. My father wouldn’t just assign anyone to train me without a background check.

My thoughts started spiraling. I knew I was overthinking but how do you not spiral when seven steel-biting wolves are staring you down like you’re their cheat-day snack?

Then—

SLAP!!!

A soft slap echoed through the air.

I blinked.

My cloak’s hem had risen up… and slapped me across the cheek.

Hard enough to sting but gentle enough to not be lethal. As if to say: Pull yourself together, dumbass.

Right. Thinking about useless things won’t have any effects at all.

I took a deep breath and reached into my cloak’s storage, pulling out two daggers.

I didn’t know how to wield them but better than throwing punches without any technique right?

At the same time I activated my Nexus Skill— [Minor Strength Boost]. A surge of power coursed through me, spreading from my core to my limbs.

My muscles tightened and my grip steadied.

Yeah.

I wasn’t going down without a fight.

The wolves meanwhile still didn’t attack. They just glared at me, still circling around. Like they were toying with their food.

I wanted to use [Card Throw] but I wasn’t sure about my speed. It needed me at least two or three seconds to form a card and then another second to fire it.

But those few seconds were enough for other wolves to tear me apart.

Just then—

One of the wolves lunged. I slashed upward with my dagger, aiming straight for its throat.

The blade connected and my dagger snapped clean in half.

Crack!

“What the—?!” I barely had time to curse before another wolf tackled me to the ground.

My cloak tried to intervene as it separated itself from my back and wrapped around the wolf’s neck but it was useless.

As another wolf jumped on me. Its jaws opened wide.

I struggled. I kicked. I even tried to headbutt it.

Nothing worked.

Is this how I die?

Not even in a cool battle. Not even during some noble sacrifice. Just day one of training, eaten alive by some weakest ranking wolves.

I closed my eyes.

But instead of fangs tearing into my face…

Lick.

My eyes snapped open.

The wolf was… licking me like an overexcited puppy greeting its long-lost owner.

“What the actual fu—”

Before I could finish, another wolf joined in. They were… wagging their tails?

“…This has to be a joke.”

My cloak slowly flew back around me like it was also confused.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

The sound of applause echoed through the trees.

I turned my head, still lying on the forest floor to see a man emerging from the shadows. Green hair and brown eyes.

Razek.

“You did well, Young Master.”

The wolves immediately backed off, tails down like well-trained pets.

I got up from the ground, still covered in saliva.

“You son of a b—”

Before I could finish my heartfelt greeting, that bastard vanished, only to appear right in front of me the next second.

I didn’t even see him move.

I gulped and swallowed my words for now.

Okay… maybe I shouldn’t provoke this guy. At least not until I’m healed and preferably miles away.

“Let me heal your wounds first. We can talk later.” Razek just smiled.

__

True to his word, Razek dragged me back, healed me up using his skill and left after giving a heads up about similar training tomorrow.

Now I was back in my room, slumped on the bed.

On the way here, Razek actually explained the point of all that insanity.

Apparently, it was my dear father—the Duke himself—who suggested that particular training.

According to Razek, the goal was simple:

“

Let him get a feel for how dangerous the [Forest of Unmasked] really is.”

Translation?

If I stepped into that forest unprepared, I would leave it in pieces. Or not at all.

This wasn’t training. It was a warning.

Still…

I had no time to waste.

I sat up on my bed and pulled out the VoidPulse Martial Art manual my father gave me this morning.

He’d given me a choice between weapon arts and martial arts. I picked the latter for one simple reason:

Rather than learning some half-assed weapons, I’ll make my body a weapon.

Because let’s be honest, I could have tried to learn some sword or spear in a month, sure. But even with my uncanny genius prodigy mind, I doubt I could manage anything beyond waving it like a stick.

And once I lose the weapon?

Boom. Sitting duck.

I even got a firsthand taste of that earlier, when my dagger snapped in half mid-fight.

Besides, at my current rank, it was way easier to learn how to enhance my own body with mana than to figure out how to channel it through some external object.

And I had what? One month.

If I could at least strengthen my body, then worst case, I could run like hell when everything inevitably went to shit.

Now, this wouldn’t have been such a pain if the previous Rael—my predecessor—had learned literally anything useful.

Noble kids in this world grow up with Swordsmanship and Combat Arts drilled into them from childhood.

So when they Awaken Mana, they’re already halfway to being killing machines. They just need to learn how to channel it.

But this dumb fucker?

He barely studied. He just spent his time simping over Seles or doing god-knows-what.

Like… learning piano. And dancing.

Dancing.

What was he? A Gorilla Ballerina?

Was he planning to dodge attacks with twirls or something?

If only he had learned something useful… even the basics of some weapon… I could have used it to make something useful out of it.

But nope… he had to be useless.

I slapped my cheeks. “Focus, damn it.”

I didn’t have time to care about the past. I needed to learn at least the basics of this martial art within a month or… I am as good as dead.

But before I could dive deeper into it, someone knocked onto the door to my room.

I didn’t even need to guess. Stella.

Why did she always have to show up whenever I was trying to do something important?

I sighed. “Come in.”

She entered with her usual grace and bowed.

“Young Miss Seles has requested to meet you, Young Master,”

…Oh. Right.

She was probably here to collect the annulment letter.

Before I could respond, Stella continued, a bit hesitant this time. “Chief Elder Samuel Valenthrone is here with her.”

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