The morning air on the hilltop was biting, but Ethan didn't feel the cold as much as he used to. His small body had grown lean and hard over the last year. He stood in the center of the grassy plateau, the wind tugging at his black hair, while Havi watched him with that single, unreadable blue eye.
"Show me what you have learned," Havi commanded. "The basics. Do not overthink it. Just move."
Ethan took a deep breath. He closed his eyes for a split second, reaching for the buzzing energy under his skin. With a sharp mental snap, he engaged his Reinforcement. He felt his muscles tighten and his senses sharpen. He began his drills, moving through the stances Havi had drilled into him for months.
Step. Thrust. Pivot. Cut.
His movements were fluid. Even though he was only seven, he moved with the grim economy of someone who had practiced the same motion ten thousand times. Havi noticed the way the mana rippled just beneath Ethan's skin, "it is stable, dense, and far more controlled than it had been a few months ago. The boy was on the very edge of breaking into Level 2.'"
Ethan finished with a sharp downward strike and exhaled, letting the magic fade. He looked at Havi, waiting for a critique.
"It is acceptable," Havi said, though his voice held a hint of something that might have been approval. "You have mastered the basics of reinforcing your own flesh. But your body has limits, Ethan. To survive in Oros, you must learn to extend your will beyond your own skin."
Havi reached behind him and tossed a heavy object toward Ethan. Instinctively, Ethan caught it. His eyes widened.
It wasn't a piece of Iron-Oak. It was a real longsword. "did the old man go senile i'm just 7 for gad sake" Ethan thought while looking at the sword
The weight was the first thing he noticed. It was heavy, but perfectly balanced. The crossguard was simple steel, and the grip was wrapped in dark, worn leather. Ethan drew the blade slowly. The sound of steel sliding against a scabbard was a high, singing note that made the hair on his arms stand up. The metal was polished to a mirror finish, reflecting his green eyes.
"damn this totally awesome.My first real sword", Ethan thought. In his past life, he had only seen weapons like this in movies or anime . Now, the cold weight of it was solid in his hands. It felt dangerous. It felt real.
"From today, you stop swinging wood," Havi said. "You will learn with the real thing, now how to hold a sword and move with at least you wont cut yourself with it ".
Ethan gripped the handle with both hands, feeling the bite of the leather. "Havi? You mentioned levels before. What level am I? And how do I get to the next one?"
Havi leaned on his staff, looking out over the valley. "Right now, you are at Level 1. In this world, Level 1 is where everyone starts. It is the stage where you learn to use reinforcement on yourself, your muscles, your bones, your skin. It makes you faster and stronger, but you are still just a man of flesh."
He pointed a long, calloused finger at the sword in Ethan's hand. "Level 2 is different. Level 2 is where you project your magic into an external object. You must learn to treat that steel as if it were a part of your own body. When you can reinforce that sword, making its edge sharper than any whetstone and its metal harder than diamond, then you will have reached the second tier."
Ethan looked at the blade. It felt so separate from him. "How long do I have to learn it?"
"Six months," Havi said. "For the next six months, that is your only objective. If you cannot reinforce the steel by then, you will never survive what comes next. Now, begin. I want to see you swing until your arms forget they are tired."
Havi's POV
Late that night, far from the eyes of the orphans and the silver tree, Havi did not go to bed. Instead, he walked deep into the woods, following a path that didn't exist for anyone but him.
He reached the ruins of an ancient, abandoned castle. The stone walls were covered in moss and crumbling into the earth, but the great hall still held a sense of haunting power. In the center of the hall stood a high, empty stone throne. Havi sat upon it, his shadow stretching across the cracked floor like a giant's ghost.
Two ravens suddenly swooped through a hole in the roof. Mid-flight, their black feathers blurred and expanded. In a swirl of dark mist, they hit the ground and transformed into two identical men.
Mr. Memoir and Mr. Hugo knelt in unison before the throne.
"My Lord," they said together, their voices echoing in the ruins.
"Huginn, Muninn," Havi greeted them, using names that sounded older than the mountains. "Report. Have you stirred the beasts in the Enchanted Forest?"
Huginn—the twin known as Me hugo, looked up, his red eyes glowing faintly. "Yes, my Lord. The lower-tier creatures are becoming restless. We have pushed a pack of Mana-Hares and a few Shadow-Cats toward the eastern edge. They will be ready."
Havi turned his gaze to Muninn—Memoir . "And the new identity? Are the records prepared?"
"The process is nearly complete, my Lord," Hugo replied. "By the time the boy is ready to leave this place, the world will have a history for him that hides the truth. He will be a ghost with a name."
Huginn shifted his weight, looking concerned. "My Lord... is it necessary to put the boy in such danger so soon? He is only seven. The Enchanted Forest is a death trap for a commoner child."
Havi sat back on the cold stone throne, his single blue eye staring into the dark. "Practice can only take a soul so far, Huginn. Ethan is disciplined, but he lacks the instinct that only comes when death is staring you in the face."
He looked at his hands, thinking of the green-eyed boy. "I have given him six months to reach Level 2. I have watched him; he has a hunger for strength that borders on desperation. He will succeed. And when he does, he will need a real trial to prove he can use that strength under pressure."
Havi stood up, his presence filling the ruined hall. "The Emperor is fading. His childrens are is not strong enough and The Fourteen Houses are sharpening their knives. The boy does not have the luxury of a slow childhood. If he is to be the wolf among the hounds, he must learn to bleed."
"As you wish, my Lord," the twins said, bowing their heads.
With a flick of Havi's wrist, the twins dissolved back into black mist and took the form of ravens once more, flying out into the night. Havi remained on the throne, listening to the wind.
"Six months, Ethan" , Havi thought. "The world is waiting to see if you are a hero or just another corpse in the dirt. Do not disappoint me".