Kael swung his blade through the thick brush, clearing a path through the overgrown forest trail. The air smelled of damp earth, mingled with the sharp, metallic scent of freshly spilled goblin blood. He exhaled, wiping sweat from his brow.

  He and Rhaize had been at this for hours—hunting down a scattered goblin infestation while also gathering rare herbs for a local apothecary. A two-in-one quest. Simple on paper, but exhausting in practice.

  Rhaize moved ahead of him, effortlessly stepping over roots and fallen branches. Though she had been his companion for only a short time, Kael had already come to understand a few things about her: she didn’t waste words, she fought with ruthless efficiency, and her blindfolded gaze seemed to pierce through him regardless of sight.

  “You’re slowing down,” she remarked flatly, her voice calm even as she flicked goblin blood from her blade.

  Kael let out a short laugh, shaking his head. “You could at least pretend to get tired.”

  “That would be dishonest.”

  Before Kael could reply, a rustle in the underbrush caught his attention. Three goblins leaped from the shadows, their crude daggers gleaming in the dim light. Kael tightened his grip on his sword and stepped forward, ready.

  The first goblin lunged—Kael sidestepped, slashing across its chest. It howled, collapsing instantly. The second swung wildly, but Kael parried and ran it through in a single, practiced motion.

  The third barely had time to react before Rhaize moved. In a single fluid strike, she beheaded the creature, its body crumpling at her feet.

  Kael exhaled, rolling his shoulders. “How many does that make now?”

  “Fourteen,” Rhaize answered. “You’ve killed eight.”

  Kael smirked. “That should push me up to [C] Rank. [Supreme Learner] is insane—I think I picked up a few new skills along the way too.”

  Rhaize gave a small nod, then turned and knelt beside a nearby bush. She pulled a cluster of glowing blue herbs from the ground, inspecting them before placing them in her satchel.

  The other half of their quest—collecting nightshade thistle for an apothecary back in town—was progressing well. The problem was that these plants were often found near goblin nests, which meant constant fighting.

  Kael rubbed his shoulder, feeling the dull ache settling in. “This quest is a grind.”

  “That’s how you grow stronger,” Rhaize said simply, standing up. “We move.”

  Kael sighed but followed.

  By the time they had gathered enough herbs and cleared out the last goblin stragglers, the sun had dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows through the trees. Kael could feel the change inside him—the slight surge of power, the sharpening of his instincts.

  He checked his status. [C] Rank achieved. Finally.

  Before he could celebrate, a strange energy crackled through the air. The space in front of them shimmered, warping like a mirage.

  Ezirah.

  Ezirah materialized before them, surprisingly dressed in casual attire, as if she’d just strolled in from a leisurely afternoon. A smirk played on her lips, amusement dancing in her crimson eyes.

  “Rhaize,” she said smoothly, her voice laced with effortless authority. “Be a dear and fetch me some fruit.”

  Without hesitation, Rhaize turned and vanished into the forest.

  Kael frowned. “Really? You showed up just to send her on an errand?”

  Ezirah chuckled. “It’s a test of obedience. She exists for a reason, after all.”

  Kael didn’t like the way she phrased that, but he held his tongue.

  Ezirah took a step closer, her crimson eyes gleaming. “Now, let’s talk about your next steps. I have…plans for you.”

  Kael folded his arms. “Barely 2 days, and you’re already giving me assignments? Didn’t peg you for the impatient type.”

  Zaroth responded to Ezirah. “This is about the Orcs, isn’t it?”

  Ezirah’s smirk widened. “Sharp as ever. But then again, that’s not exactly a coincidence.”

  She gestured lazily at the surrounding forest. “The Orc clans are strong but disorganized. With Chaos Magic, you can bring them under my control—turn them into something far greater than their current, brutish selves.”

  Kael exhaled. “And where do I fit in?”

  “You will be my eyes. Learn their structure, their weaknesses, their leaders.” Her smirk widened. “And when the time comes, you will help me bend them to my will.”

  Kael’s jaw tightened. “And if they don’t want to be controlled?”

  Ezirah tilted her head, amusement flickering in her eyes. “Then we break them. But that’s a concern for later—at your pace, you’ll hit [B] Rank in a month, maybe less.”

  Before Kael could respond, Rhaize returned, a dark, luminescent fruit in her hands. She offered it to Ezirah, who took a slow, deliberate bite.

  Kael eyed Rhaize, debating whether to ask, then finally said, “Why do you wear that blindfold?”

  For the first time, she hesitated.

  Ezirah smirked. “That’s a secret.”

  Kael let out a tired sigh, shaking his head.

  Ezirah watched him with an amused expression, then tilted her head slightly. “Tell me, have you even started using magic yet?”

  Kael glanced internally at Zaroth, then back at her. “Not really. Zaroth wanted me to focus on weapons first. He said an anti-magic field was used against him before, and if the same happens to us, I’d be useless without proper combat skills.”

  Ezirah rolled her eyes. “Typical. He always was too cautious.” She crossed her arms, studying Kael for a moment before smirking. “Well, that just means I’ll have to teach you myself. I was planning to show you Chaos Magic anyway, but you should at least understand the basics before we get to the fun stuff.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Kael raised a brow. “You’re going to teach me? I thought you were all about being selfish and arrogant?”

  “Of course. Unlike Zaroth, I don’t believe in holding back potential. You should be wielding both magic and steel.” She snapped her fingers, and a small ripple of energy pulsed around her. “We’ll start simple—elemental magic. Water, Fire, Earth, Wind. You’ll need to grasp those before we move on to anything more advanced.”

  Kael rolled his shoulders, still sore from the day’s battles, but he nodded. “Alright. Where do we start?”

  Ezirah smirked and extended her hand. “With the easiest—Water.”

  A sphere of water materialized above her palm, swirling as if alive. “Water flows. It moves with grace but can strike with force when necessary. Close your eyes and feel it.”

  Kael didn’t hesitate. He instinctively focused on the energy around him, and immediately, he felt it—the cool, fluid essence of water, as though it had always been there, waiting for him to command. His palm tingled, and without further thought, a swirling sphere of water appeared above his hand, mirroring Ezirah’s. He opened his eyes just in time to see it hover and shimmer before gently splashing back down.

  Ezirah’s eyes widened slightly, but the smirk never left her face. “Well, that was…impressive.”

  Kael didn’t respond, his mind already moving forward.

  “Next,” Ezirah said, a glint of intrigue in her eyes. She snapped her fingers, and a flame flickered to life above her hand. “Fire. This one requires a bit more passion.”

  Kael flexed his fingers. The air around him seemed to crackle with energy, and without missing a beat, he extended his hand. Flames danced above his palm, vibrant and eager. They swirled with an intensity that surprised even him, crackling to life as though they were drawn from his very soul.

  “Not bad,” Ezirah muttered, her smirk faltering for a split second. “You’re good at this.”

  Kael barely glanced at her, already moving to the next challenge.

  “Earth,” he said simply, and with a thought, the ground beneath him rumbled. A large chunk of stone rose from the dirt, compacting into a jagged rock floating just above his palm. It hovered in place, solid and unyielding.

  Ezirah’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t even have to explain that one to you…”

  Kael’s lips curled into a smirk. “I’m starting to get the hang of this. Guess being a Sage has its perks.”

  “Wind then,” she said, clearly intrigued. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for his response.

  Kael closed his eyes for a moment, reaching for the invisible current that swirled around him. The wind wrapped around his fingers, lifting into a visible gust, swirling around his palm in a soft vortex. He opened his eyes, and the wind responded, picking up in speed and force before gently settling.

  Ezirah stared at him, completely speechless for a moment. “Well, I’ll be damned. That was…effortless.”

  “Kael,” Zaroth’s voice echoed in his mind. “Check your status.”

  Kael smiled as he said “status”, as the familiar glow of his status screen flickered to life before him. He saw the [C] Rank listed there, a new achievement that felt both like a victory and a reminder that the path ahead was just beginning. Kael looked at the skill section of his status screen to see if he gained any new skills.

  Status

  Name: Kael

  Race: [Restricted]

  Class: Sage (??? )

  Rank: [C] (Evolution!)

  Title: Goblin Slayer (New!)

  Affiliation: [Restricted, The Celestial Order]

  Attributes:

  ? Health (HP): [C]

  ? Mana (MP): [B]

  ? Stamina (STA): [C] (Evolution!)

  ? Luck (LCK): [C+]

  Skills:

  ? Ancient Tongue [SS+]

  ? Supreme Learner [S+]

  ? Dimensional Storage [C]

  ? Chaos Magic [???]

  ? Tentacle Magic [D]

  ? Blade Weapon Mastery [C] (Evolution!)

  ? Elemental Magic Mastery [D] (Evolution!)

  Kael scanned his status, his eyes catching on the changes.

  Blade Weapon Mastery [C] (Evolution!).

  That was new. It took him a second to realize what had happened—his old Dagger Proficiency had evolved into a broader Blade Weapon Mastery skill. It made sense. Ever since he received his sword from Guildmaster Sera, he had practically abandoned his daggers. His body had adjusted. His mind had adapted. Now, he wasn’t just good at daggers—he was good at blades.

  His stamina had also increased to [C] Rank, a direct result of an entire day spent fighting, dodging, and hacking through goblins without rest. He exhaled, rolling his shoulders. The dull ache was still there, but compared to earlier, he felt lighter, faster, stronger.

  Then, there was the Goblin Slayer title. It seemed ridiculous at first—he hadn’t even killed that many goblins compared to true extermination squads. But then he remembered Supreme Learner. The skill wasn’t just about learning quickly; it adjusted the system’s perception of his capabilities. In simpler terms, the system thought he was good at killing goblins now.

  “I could probably do the same with bigger prey…”

  His eyes then fell on the next major change—Elemental Magic Mastery [D] (Evolution!).

  That confirmed something interesting: when a collection of similar skills reached a certain level, they could merge into something stronger. Instead of managing Fire Affinity, Water Control, Earth Manipulation, and Wind Channelingseparately, his mastery over all four had compressed into a singular, more efficient skill. It made his casting smoother, his control sharper.

  “This class is ridiculous.”

  Ezirah watched him, amusement lingering in her crimson eyes. “I take it the system finally caught up to your talent?”

  Kael smirked. “Something like that.”

  He flexed his fingers, summoning a tiny flame above his palm. It flickered, alive and hungry, yet completely under his control. He turned his hand, and the fire shifted into a ball of water, then a swirling gust of wind, then a hovering chunk of solid stone.

  Ezirah gave a slow nod, her smirk widening. “You are an interesting one, Kael. No incantations, no unnecessary gestures. Most mages need at least a chant for proper spell formation.”

  Kael clenched his fist, and the floating elements collapsed into nothingness. “That’s the power of a Sage, I suppose.”

  Before Ezirah could respond, a deep, guttural growl echoed from the tree line.

  Kael immediately tensed, his grip tightening around his sword. The air around them shifted, the natural sounds of the forest muffling, as if something unnatural had just entered their space.

  Then he saw them.

  Ravonix.

  A pack of six prowled forward, their bodies barely making a sound as they approached.

  Ezirah smirked. “Well then, let’s see if your combat magic is worth anything.”

  Kael didn’t hesitate.

  He moved.

  The first Ravonix lunged. Kael sidestepped, already forming a spell in his hand. A flick of his fingers and a blade of wind ripped through the air, bisecting the creature before it even landed.

  The rest of the pack reacted instantly, spreading out to flank him. Kael exhaled, letting his instincts take over.

  One to the left. Two behind. Three circling wide.

  He slammed his palm into the ground—Earth Magic surged beneath him, sending a jagged wall of stone bursting upward, blocking the two behind him from closing in.

  Another Ravonix charged from the right—Kael turned, sweeping his sword low, the steel coated in a thin layer of wind magic. The enhanced speed let him cleave through its legs before it even reacted. The creature collapsed, letting out a strangled whimper before he finished it with a downward strike.

  The last three attacked together.

  Kael raised a hand, summoning fire—not just a flame, but a true fireball, burning and unstable. Normally, a spell like this required an incantation, something to reinforce its structure. But Kael?

  He didn’t need one. He just willed it forward.

  The fireball exploded, catching one Ravonix head-on. The other two dodged at the last second—but Kael was already on them.

  The first snapped at his leg. He twisted, using wind magic to propel himself sideways, narrowly avoiding the bite. He landed, immediately slamming his palm down—a spike of earth shot up, impaling the beast through the stomach.

  The last one—Kael met its glowing red eyes as it lunged.

  He raised his free hand.

  Water surged from the air, twisting into a razor-thin shape.

  With a single slash of his fingers, the water hardened into an edge—a perfect wind-cutting blade.

  The Ravonix’s head separated from its body mid-air, hitting the ground a second before the rest of it did.

  Silence.

  Kael exhaled, rolling his shoulders, his heart still hammering. His sword hummed in his grip, the faint traces of elemental energy still lingering on the blade.

  Ezirah gave a slow clap. “Now that was impressive.”

  Kael smirked, flicking Ravonix blood from his blade.

  “Yeah,” he muttered, glancing at his status. “Time to cash in at the Guild—see what our haul’s worth. Maybe even pick up something new while we’re at it.”

  Additional Title Added: Combat Mage (New!)