Chapter 4 – Crimson Duel and Awakening Heart
A year had passed since I came to this world.
In that time, I trained relentlessly with Rei Yuma—my third fiancée and a warrior whose strength was matched only by her pride. Every morning, we met in the castle's secret courtyard before sunrise, blades clashing under the golden light.
> "If you can't hold your stance under pressure, you're dead," Rei barked one morning.
> "Then teach me how to live," I said, sweat dripping from my brow.
She never went easy on me. And I never asked her to.
Swordsmanship. Tactical warfare. Mana control. Every technique she knew, she poured into me. My body bruised. My spirit hardened. My resolve sharpened.
Even in exhaustion, I calculated her attack patterns. Diagonal feints, spin-cuts, overcommitment on step-thrusts... predictable if emotionally driven.
Each morning, I studied the way her muscles flexed just before a lunge. The slight twitch in her eye when she went for a fake. It was never about reacting—it was about controlling the pace.
When the sun rose higher and the courtyard shimmered with sweat and mana, we rested on the stone benches.
> "You don't complain," Rei once said. "Even when you bleed."
> "There's no time to waste on pain," I replied, wrapping my wrist with cloth.
She stared at me a long while, then nodded.
> "Good."
---
Outside of training, I spent evenings with Rin and Meria.
Rin taught me the structure of the kingdom—politics, noble factions, economic plans, and court alliances. She tested me with mock debates and riddles used by royal advisors.
> "What would you do if a duke refused to send grain during a famine?" she asked one evening.
> "Expose his greed publicly, then offer trade incentives to neighboring lords to undermine his hold," I answered.
She smirked. "You're learning."
Meria, on the other hand, taught me about the world's cultures, myths, and magical geography. Her lessons were half knowledge, half adventure.
> "This continent once had floating cities," she said, laying on the grass beside me. "Skyborne, powered by crystal cores."
> "What happened to them?"
> "They fell. One of them created the Blood Canyons. Boom!" she gestured dramatically.
And then there was Riem.
She didn't teach me anything grand—but she brought me peace.
She joined me on walks, silent strolls beneath moonlight where words weren't needed. Sometimes, she brought tea or snacks. Other times, she'd just sit nearby as I read or trained.
> "I don't want to distract you," she whispered one night.
> "You don't," I replied. "You remind me to breathe."
She blushed and nodded, folding her hands in her lap.
---
But I needed more.
So I left.
I told everyone I was going to train in the wild mountains of Cartivat—a harsh, ancient place where mana storms devoured the careless.
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The Cartivat Wilds
The journey to the wild mountains of Cartivat was not a path — it was a trial written in stone, storm, and silence.
No map guided me. Only ancient winds whispered through the craggy peaks. Trees towered like gods, their blackened bark etched with forgotten runes. The forest below the mountains wasn't green — it was alive with mana-choked mist, glowing in veins of blue and crimson.
Lightning cracked the sky without warning, carving rifts through the heavens. Time moved strangely here. One day felt like a week. Or maybe it was just the silence — endless, oppressive, watching.
Every night, the howls of spirit beasts echoed from the cliffs, vibrating through the rock like a heartbeat. They didn't fear man. They feasted on magic, drawn to me like moths to flame.
Yet I stood my ground.
I made camp beside a mana spring — the water burned with energy so raw it turned normal men mad. I drank it anyway.
I meditated under waterfalls that struck with the weight of boulders, forging my inner flow.
Each morning, I climbed bare-handed across wind-blasted cliffs, my aura resisting the cold.
Each evening, I trained beneath falling stars.
When storms struck, I stood shirtless, eyes open, letting the lightning kiss my blade.
> "Strength isn't gifted," I whispered. "It's bled for."
And Cartivat bled me every day — until I became something more than human.
---
I found an abandoned sanctuary built by a forgotten order of warriors. There, I cultivated my magic, body, and mind. I mastered my breathing. I trained with spirit beasts. I meditated through the storms.
Each day, I faced a new trial. The beasts came in waves—feral, enchanted, irrational. But I was calm. Every slash I made served a function.
I crafted my own training regimen—combining everything Rei taught me with what I learned from ancient scrolls. I fought illusions created by wild ambient magic, survived bone-freezing winters, and formed my own magical blade forged from raw elemental essence.
> [Skill Acquired: Eclipse Arsenal – Celestial Edge]
[Skill Acquired: Sky Sever – Wind Element Blade Wave]
[Skill Acquired: Gravity Veil – Localized Gravitational Field]
I practiced spells in silence. I cultivated alone in darkness. I learned to resonate with the mana flow of this world.
I didn't just grow stronger through battle—I evolved because of the way I trained.
While others advanced in ranks over decades, I forged a path outside their system. My power, Eclipse Arsenal, responded not to age or lineage, but to purpose, pressure, and clarity of mind.
In two years, I broke barriers men had spent a lifetime chasing. Not because I was chosen. Because I chose it.
I no longer reacted to the world. I shaped it.
I came back different.
---
When I returned to the Kingdom of Alic, the air shifted. I could feel it in the way the wind bent around me. I wasn't the same man Rei had trained.
Rei challenged me immediately.
The duel was held in the royal courtyard—sealed and enchanted, flames flickering through the glyphs on its border. The Yuma sisters sat on high balconies, their eyes locked on us.
> "Don't hold back," Rei said, unsheathing both of her blades. "You trained for two years. Show me what you've learned."
> "I haven't come to fight you seriously," I replied. "But I won't disrespect your challenge."
We charged.
Steel met steel. Her dual swords spun with fury, slashing with elegance and rage. I blocked with precision, footwork light, mind steady.
To the untrained eye, we were blurs of motion. But every step, every clash, every shift of aura was measured.
---
Aetherforce Class System
Mortal Class – Basic mana users
Knight Class – Trained warriors, elite soldiers
Champion Class – Can destroy buildings, bend wind, visible aura
Mythic Class – Ground fractures, floating rocks, elemental surges
Eclipse Class – Gravity distortion, sky tearing, magical storms (Yuu's true class)
Aetherion Class – Treated like gods, destroy entire kingdoms, distort time-space
---
Rei activated her Crimson Pulse. Red aura burst around her, the air igniting with heat. Ground cracked beneath her feet. Her silver hair flowed as if underwater.
I stepped calmly.
> "Eclipse Arsenal: Celestial Edge."
The blade formed in my hand—sleek, crackling with blue lightning. Stones around me lifted into the air. The sky darkened. Magic pressure flooded the battlefield.
Each time we clashed, the shockwaves shattered pillars, blew dust into the air, and sent debris flying. The audience watched in awe as the barrier began to crack.
> Step 1 – Disrupt her stance.
Step 2 – Draw her into overcommitment.
Step 3 – Counter with Sky Sever.
With a flick of my sword, I unleashed Sky Sever. The energy wave cut through the earth, shattered the glowing glyphs, and sent Rei flying back. The crowd gasped as part of the barrier exploded.
She roared back, crimson aura spiking. Her blades danced like fire. But I matched her speed. Our movements bent gravity itself.
Eventually, her Crimson Pulse waned. She dropped to one knee, panting. Ground cracked in a five-meter radius around us.
> "That's enough," I said, sheathing my blade.
> "You… weren't even using your full power," she said.
> "No. Only thirty percent."
She chuckled.
> "Idiot... always holding back."
I offered my hand. She took it. I pulled her up.
Then, I turned to the balconies, where all five sisters stood watching.
I walked forward and stood before them all.
One by one, I gently kissed each of them—Rin, Mi, Rei, Meria, and Riem—in front of the entire court. Not with lust, but with sincerity.
Then I wrapped my arms around them all in one embrace.
> "I will protect all of you," I said. "With everything I have. I love you."
There were no words from them—just smiles, tears, and warmth.
And in that moment, the world seemed to pause.
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✨ Author's Note – From the Desk of Luckey
> This chapter marks a major turning point in the journey of Yuu Yuhin—not just in strength, but in heart.
The duel with Rei Yuma wasn't about defeating an opponent—it was about mutual growth, trust, and unspoken emotions that can only be revealed through the clash of blades. Yuu remains composed and logical—calm like Light Yagami—but now his resolve is shaped by something deeper: love.
All five Yuma sisters—Rin, Mi, Rei, Meria, and Riem—are more than just fiancées. Each brings a unique power, personality, and emotional bond to Yuu's journey. They are his light, his challenge, and his reason to rise in this new world.
With his oath to protect them—and their vow to stand beside him—Yuu's path toward becoming the strongest man in the world has truly begun.
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