Chapter 10: Earth Elemental

Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Earth Elemental

Saying that, she went toward a large boulder placed nearby.

​The moment Aurora’s rapier touched the surface of the boulder, it went through it like butter.

​Literally no physical pressure was necessary at all.

​The boulder, which would take two or three people to lift, was sliced into two pieces.

"See, Krono? Your teacher isn’t an Platinum-ranked hunter for nothing."

​Returning her rapier to its scabbard, she picked up a standard wooden training sword from the grass and tossed a smaller one to him.

​"Now, watch closely. This is a basic Earth-elemental Dragon Slaying Art: [ Rock Smashing Strike ]. It focuses all your mana into the blade’s edge to crush through hardened scales."

​She swung her wooden sword downward. Since she didn’t have Earth affinity, nothing actually happened to strike, but the instructions were clear.

​"Now, you try Krono. Copy my posture and channel your mana exactly like I just did."

​Krono nodded. He stepped forward, gripping the wooden hilt with both hands.

Swash!

On his first attempt, his swing was a bit sloppy. The brown mana glowed faintly over the wood, but quickly dispersed before the sword even completed its arc.

​He paused and closee his eyes. Then carefully je recalled the exact flow of energy and the muscle movements from her demonstration.

"I just need to mimic her mana pathway," he thought, making a few micro-adjustments to his stance.

​Taking a deep breath, he swung a second time.

​Whoosh!

​This time a perfectly condensed brown aura wrapped seamlessly around his wooden blade.

​

Aurora took a sudden step back, clearly taken aback by his rapid progress.

​Normally, it took a talented recruit one or two full days just to grasp the basics of a new art. But Krono had completely nailed it in just two attempts.

​His level of comprehension was simply mind-blowing.

​"Excellently done, Krono. You picked that up incredibly fast. But don’t get cocky just yet. Simply learning the form isn’t enough. You need to master it so deeply that it becomes muscle memory, ensuring you never fail to deliver your absolute best when your life is on the line."

​"I understand, Teacher. Let me practice it a few more times, then," Krono replied, respectfully resetting his stance and executing the art once more.

​Just as he swung his wooden blade, a figure dashed onto the lawn like a sudden gust of wind.

​"Leadeeeeer!"

​The newcomer cheered with a long happy cry, practically vibrating with excitement at the sight of Aurora.

​It was a young woman with long vibrant green hair and a cute innocent face.

​Aurora lowered her weapon and turned to greet her.

​"Wendy! You’re here early today. What’s the matter?"

​"Of course there is a reason, Leader. We have spotted a Fire Dragon in Hebe County. It is threatening the safety of thousands of people. Word is a dozen people have already ended up in its belly."

​Hearing this, Aurora’s expression became serious.

​"A Fire Dragon is wildly volatile and destructive. If it goes on a rampage, it could turn the entire county to ash in minutes. We must put a stop to it immediately. Where are the others?"

​Wendy gave a crisp salute. "They’re already geared up and waiting, Leader! They will join us on the road to the target."

"Then let us head out there as well. And..." Aurora paused, her gaze turning toward Krono.

"Krono, you stay here. While I’m away, don’t wander too far, alright?"

"Got it, Teacher. I’ll be careful."

Krono understood the situation. As much as he wanted to witness the battle with his own eyes, he knew that getting caught in the crossfire could cost him his life.

Only then did Wendy finally notice the third person standing beside them. She had completely overlooked the boy’s presence until now.

Taking a closer look, she found him rather cute. But more importantly, she wondered what he was doing here.

"Leader, who is this? Did I just hear him call you ’Teacher’?"

Aurora smiled behind her mask,

"You heard correctly, Wendy. His name is Krono, and he’s my very first student. I’m planning to raise him into a Dragon Hunter. In fact, I just finished giving him his first lesson, and his performance was exceptional."

"Oh? Krono, huh?"

Wendy turned toward the boy, sizing him up with a playful smile.

"Tell me, little boy. Are you more talented than me?"

Krono shrugged without hesitation.

"I don’t know anything about you. So how am I supposed to tell?"

Wendy froze.

"What?!"

She immediately turned toward Aurora with an exaggerated look of betrayal.

"Leadeeeer! You haven’t told your precious student about the great Tempest Queen? How could you?!"

At her exaggerated whining, Aurora gave her a sharp knock on the head.

"Shut your mouth, drama queen. Don’t forget we need to group up as soon as possible."

​Afterward, Wendy gave Krono a playful wink before disappearing into the clouds along with her captain, Aurora.

​She alone was carrying them using her wind powers.

​Krono was quietly amazed. Wind Magic was truly awesome.

​He wondered if he could someday fly in the sky like that.

​Until now, he had only found his affinities with Darkness and Earth. It didn’t look like he had wind or any other affinities. If there had been any others, the affinity measuring sphere would have revealed them by now.

​Suffice it to say, for now, the Earth element was the only power he could show before others.

For now, he focused on mastering [ Rock Smashing Strike ].

​Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

​His innate trait [ Photographic Comprehension ] allowed him to copy Aurora’s movements with pinpoint detail.

​He wasn’t just limited to that, though. He actively began trying out newer applications to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the art.

​He succeeded in some. And to be honest, he himself was surprised by the results.

​Clang!

​He struck one of the sliced rock boulders and made a visible cut on the surface.

​

He wasn’t anywhere near Aurora’s level of effortlessly cutting stone like butter, but this was undeniable proof that he was rapidly improving.

And he liked that feeling.

​Still, swinging at unmoving rock wasn’t enough. If he wanted to master this art, he needed to put it into practical use against living targets.

​Moreover, his system needed fresh prey to Devour so he could continue accumulating stats.

​Lowering his training sword, Krono turned his gaze toward the sparkling blue water of the west bank.

Out there in the vast sea, an endless number of marine creatures were just waiting to be Devoured.