Ogram didn't leave immediately after the training session ended.
He stood still in the emptying hall, his gaze fixed on the cracked section of the floor where Rio had lost control. The mark wasn't deep, but it wasn't shallow either. It carried something behind it—something wrong.
"…Tch."
That wasn't normal.
Not even close.
Without another word, he turned and walked out.
By the time he reached the upper level, Elara was already there, standing near the railing, her gaze directed toward the training grounds below. The city lights beyond reflected faintly in her blue eyes.
"You noticed it."
Her voice was calm, as if she had been expecting him.
Ogram stopped a few steps behind her.
"That wasn't just instability," he said, his tone more serious than usual. "There were multiple forces in that swing. Not layered. Colliding."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"…What exactly is that kid?"
There was a brief silence.
Elara didn't answer immediately.
"He possesses multiple affinities."
Ogram frowned.
"…How many?"
A short pause followed.
"Seven."
For a moment, Ogram said nothing.
Then his grip tightened slightly around the hilt of his sword.
"…You're serious."
"Fire. Water. Ice. Lightning. Light. Darkness."
Her voice remained steady.
"And space."
That made him go still.
"…Space?"
Even for someone like him, that wasn't something to brush off. That wasn't rare.
That was something that barely existed.
"…And his core?"
This time, Elara's response was slower.
"…I'm not certain."
Ogram frowned deeper.
"What do you mean you're not certain?"
Her gaze remained forward.
"It doesn't align with any standard classification."
That alone was enough to raise concern.
Then she added,
"There is a possibility… that it may be above SS."
Ogram froze.
Not subtly.
Not slightly.
Completely.
For the first time since the conversation began, his expression visibly changed.
"…Above SS?"
He let out a quiet breath, almost like a short laugh—but there was no humor in it.
"That's not something you just 'might be' wrong about."
Elara didn't respond to that.
Because she wasn't guessing blindly.
She had seen it.
Felt it.
And that was exactly why she hadn't given it a name.
Ogram looked back toward the training hall below.
"…So that's what that was."
Now it made sense.
The instability.
The pressure.
The way even the air reacted to a simple swing.
He exhaled slowly.
"He can't control it."
"He will," Elara replied.
But Ogram shook his head.
"Not like this."
He turned slightly toward her.
"If you let him keep going with the others, he'll either destroy himself… or take someone down with him."
A brief silence followed.
Then—
"What are you suggesting?"
Ogram didn't hesitate.
"I'll train him."
Elara's eyes shifted slightly.
"Personally."
Another pause.
"…For how long?"
Ogram didn't even need to think.
"Six months."
It wasn't a request.
It was a decision.
"He doesn't need strength right now," Ogram continued. "He needs control. And none of them can handle that."
A faint smirk touched his lips.
"…But I can."
Elara studied him for a moment.
Then gave a small nod.
"…Very well."
That was all the confirmation he needed.
"Don't kill him," she added calmly.
Ogram snorted.
"No promises."
And with that—
The training truly began.
The first week nearly broke him.
Rio stood in the center of the hall, his grip tight around the wooden sword, his arms already trembling.
"I told you," Ogram's voice rang out, "no mana."
Rio's jaw tightened.
"I'm not—"
"Don't lie."
Ogram stepped forward, his presence pressing down instantly.
"I can feel it leaking."
Rio froze.
That faint pull inside him—
Even when he wasn't trying—
It was there.
Constant.
Watching.
Waiting.
"Again."
Days passed.
Then weeks.
The training changed.
At first, it was repetition.
Thousands of swings.
No variation.
No breaks beyond necessity.
Then—
It became control.
"Sit."
Rio sat.
"Feel your core."
He closed his eyes.
And immediately—
Everything hit at once.
It wasn't calm.
It wasn't stable.
It was chaos.
Seven forces collided within him.
Fire burned violently.
Lightning tore through everything.
Darkness coiled like something alive.
Light flared unpredictably.
Water surged.
Ice spread cold and sharp.
And beneath it all—
Space.
Silent.
Endless.
Watching.
"Control it."
Ogram's voice cut through.
"Or it will control you."
The first attempt—
Failed.
The energy surged outward violently.
The ground cracked.
The air twisted unnaturally.
Ogram's blade struck the ground.
Everything stopped.
"Pathetic."
The second week was worse.
Ogram stopped stopping him.
"Let it out."
Rio hesitated.
"What?"
"If you can't control it inside," Ogram said, "you control it outside."
That was when the real training began.
"Release it."
Rio did.
It exploded.
Lightning tore across the ground.
Ice spread uncontrollably.
Heat flared and vanished.
The air distorted under the pressure.
Ogram didn't move.
"Again."
And again.
And again.
Until Rio collapsed.
Time blurred.
Failures stacked.
Pain settled in.
But slowly—
Something changed.
The chaos didn't disappear.
But it began to separate.
Not everything.
Never everything.
But two—
Responded.
Ice.
And lightning.
They stabilized first.
The first to stop resisting.
The first to listen.
"Focus on those two," Ogram instructed.
"Forget the rest."
Rio obeyed.
By the third month, he could feel them clearly.
By the fourth, he could use them without backlash.
By the fifth, he stopped fearing them.
By the sixth—
He controlled them.
Six months later, the training hall stood quiet once more.
Rio stood at the center, a steel blade in his hand.
Ogram watched from a short distance.
"…Show me."
Rio exhaled.
His stance adjusted naturally.
His grip steady.
A faint crackle formed along the blade.
Lightning.
Controlled.
Frost followed.
Thin.
Precise.
No clash.
No instability.
Just control.
He stepped forward.
And swung.
A clean cut.
Fast.
Sharp.
The ground split slightly—
But held.
Silence followed.
Ogram watched the mark for a moment.
Then gave a small nod.
"…Not bad."
Rio lowered the blade, his breathing steady.
"…Only two."
Ogram snorted.
"You say that like it's small."
Rio didn't reply.
Because he knew—
It wasn't enough.
The others still remained.
Unstable.
Untouched.
And space—
Still watching.
Ogram turned slightly.
"This is where real training begins."
Rio let out a quiet breath.
"…Great."
But even so—
His grip tightened.
Because now, for the first time—
That power felt like his.
---