Chapter 65: Taking the First Step

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: Taking the First Step

His grip tightened around the spear.

"So this is your answer."

"You became my weapon."

Warm emotions answered him immediately.

Freya sounded incredibly proud.

Damon shook his head in amazement.

"You really surprised me."

His first thought wasn’t battle.

It was relief.

"Can you still return?"

The spear immediately dissolved into countless sparks.

A moment later...

Freya appeared again in her fox form.

Without hesitation, she leaped into his arms.

Damon caught her with a laugh.

"There you are."

He rubbed her soft fur while she happily buried her face against his chest.

"I was worried I’d lose my fluffy fox forever."

Freya puffed her cheeks before lightly bumping his chin.

Sylphie flew over immediately, chirping excitedly around her.

"Crii! Crii!"

Freya proudly lifted her head.

The praise clearly pleased her.

"You’ve done well."

"Really well."

Damon scratched behind her ears.

"I’m proud of you."

Freya’s tails swayed happily.

Naturally...

She expected a reward.

Damon laughed the moment she looked at him.

"I knew it."

"I’ve been waiting for that look."

He emptied another bag of snacks in front of her.

"There."

"You earned every one of them."

Freya immediately forgot everything else.

Sylphie joined her a second later.

Watching the two happily eat together...

Damon couldn’t help smiling.

His thoughts slowly returned to the spear.

This evolution had changed everything.

Before today...

He relied almost entirely on close combat.

His knife had simply been a medium for his lightning and wind.

It wasn’t built to carry their full power.

That was why it shattered during the fight against the Stormreign Wyvern.

But Freya...

She was different.

She wasn’t just a weapon.

She was an extension of him.

A weapon born through their contract.

One that could fully handle his elements.

One that could even grow stronger alongside him.

More importantly...

She had opened an entirely new path.

A weapon path.

Fortunately, Damon wasn’t unfamiliar with it.

Back on Earth, he had played with plenty of weapons.

The spear had always been one of his favorites.

The basics weren’t the problem.

What he lacked now...

Were true Weapon Arts.

He looked toward Freya.

She answered with quiet confidence through their connection.

She could help.

Together...

They would figure it out.

Damon smiled.

"Looks like I’ve got even more to learn."

His eyes slowly drifted toward the mysterious passage beyond the battlefield.

He had spent enough time preparing. But he still had some more preparations.

Damon let Freya rest after her evolution.

She had earned it.

Meanwhile, he sat quietly thinking about the spear and what he could achieve with it, unable to take his minds off it.

Even now...

It still felt unreal.

He smiled to himself.

"So... this is really happening."

He had no intention of charging into the mysterious passage just yet.

He had waited this long to grow stronger. There was no point rushing now.

Besides...

He finally had a real weapon.

If he couldn’t even wield it properly, then all this growth would be wasted.

The Weapon Arts could come later.

For now, he only wanted to brush up on the basics.

That alone would make a huge difference.

He looked toward Freya, who was lazily enjoying the last of her snacks.

"You’ve rested enough."

She immediately looked away.

Pretending she hadn’t heard him.

Damon laughed.

"Don’t act like that."

"I only want to train."

She huffed.

He smiled helplessly.

"I’ll give you more snacks afterwards."

One ear twitched.

"...And we’ll explore the passage after."

The second ear stood up.

Damon almost laughed.

"You really are easy to negotiate with."

Freya finally nodded.

A flash of lightning wrapped around her body before she transformed once more.

The Mystic Lightning Spear quietly floated before him.

Even though he had already seen it once...

He still paused.

It looked just as breathtaking.

Silver lightning flowed softly across its surface, while the nine lightning ribbons behind the spearhead drifted gently without any wind.

It carried a quiet dignity.

Like it had existed long before him.

This time...

Damon reached out without hesitation.

His fingers wrapped around the shaft.

The familiar warmth greeted him immediately.

The spear almost seemed happy to be held.

He couldn’t help smiling.

"I still can’t get used to this."

Through their connection...

Freya answered with cheerful emotions.

She was ready.

More than ready.

She sounded excited.

Damon slowly took his stance.

"Then let’s begin."

He didn’t rush.

Instead, he emptied his mind.

Old memories slowly surfaced.

Cedric Calloway.

The strict instructor who had drilled weapon training into every young noble.

At the time...

Damon had honestly wondered if he’d ever need it.

Now...

He silently thanked the old man.

He remembered every correction.

Every lecture.

Every bruise from getting the basics wrong.

"The spear’s greatest strength is distance."

Cedric’s familiar voice echoed inside his mind.

"If you lose your distance..."

"You lose your advantage."

Damon slowly placed his left foot forward.

His right foot stayed behind, giving him balance.

His knees bent slightly.

His shoulders relaxed.

He adjusted the spear until it pointed straight ahead.

Not stiff.

Not loose.

Just right.

He stepped forward.

Thrust.

The spear shot out cleanly.

The instant it reached full extension...

He pulled it back without wasting a movement.

Shuffle.

Another thrust.

Recover.

Again.

And again.

His feet never crossed.

Each step was short and controlled.

Maintaining distance.

Maintaining balance.

Cedric had repeated those words so many times they had become instinct.

"Your feet move first."

"Then your weapon."

"The spear follows your body."

"It never drags it."

At first...

Everything felt a little unfamiliar.

But after several repetitions...

His muscles slowly remembered.

The movements became smoother.

The stiffness disappeared.

Soon...

The spear moved naturally.

Sylphie sat nearby watching everything with sparkling eyes.

This training looked completely different from Damon’s usual routine.

There were no explosive punches.

No lightning bursts.

Every movement was calm.

Precise.

Serious.

"Crii..."

She tilted her head curiously.

Damon smiled without stopping.

"It looks boring?"

She shook her head quickly.

Then chirped excitedly.

Almost like she thought it looked cool.

Damon laughed.

"I’ll take that as encouragement."