Path of the Unmentioned: The Missing Piece-Chapter 69: Zalrielle [3]

Kyle lay sprawled across the cold stone floor of the training grounds.

His chest heaving like he’d just run a marathon.

His fingers twitched where they had been clenched around his sword hilt for hours.

The joints stiff and aching.

The training dummy across from him was little more than splinters now.

He lifted Zalrielle above his face.

Watching the way the dim lights reflected off its unnatural black steel.

The blade seemed to drink in the light rather than shine. Its surface so dark it looked like a slit in reality itself.

As he watched, a faint blue current crackled along the edge before dissipating into the air.

The sword pulsed in his grip.

Not metaphorically.

An actual, physical pulse.

Like a second heartbeat synced with his own.

Kyle exhaled through his nose.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. We did good."

Another pulse, stronger this time.

Almost... smug.

He snorted.

"Don’t get cocky."

Rolling onto his side with a groan. Kyle pushed himself up to sitting.

Every muscle in his body screamed in protest. He was covered in sweat.

The clock on the far wall told him he had been at this for nearly six hours straight. No wonder he felt like death warmed over.

"Status," he muttered.

The blue screen that appeared was becoming more familiar by the day:

=====[MASTERIES]=====

Swordsmanship (Tachi) : Adept - 26% → 28%

Lightning Magic: Adept - 100%

Wind Magic: Adept - 78%

Ice Magic: Adept - 64%

Water Magic: Adept - 22%

=====================

Kyle’s eyebrows shot up.

"Two whole percent in one session?"

That didn’t sound like much on paper, but in practice?

The difference was night and day.

Where before his sword forms had been technically correct but stiff. Now they flowed like water.

The footwork drills Aurelia had beaten into him suddenly made sense in a way they hadn’t yesterday.

It was like his muscles had finally internalized the movements after weeks of repetition.

He flexed his fingers, watching the calluses that had formed over the past month.

The Ethan from Earth would have been appalled at the state of his hands.

The Kyle from now?

He was proud of his blisters.

His eyes drifted back to the mastery screen.

Lightning was maxed out at Adept rank, and had been for weeks.

No matter how many hours he poured into training, that 100% wouldn’t budge.

Maybe he needed some kind of breakthrough.

Wind was coming along nicely thanks to Aurelia’s teaching him wind spells and helping him with the magic whenever she got time.

Ice was progressing steadily. Though he hadn’t had much chance to practice it openly.

Water lagged behind, it was useful, sure, but between lightning and wind. He hadn’t found much use for it in combat yet.

A sudden realization hit him like a punch to the gut.

He was holding himself back.

Badly.

For weeks now, he had been limiting himself to just lightning in public.

Keeping three-quarters of his abilities secret out of fear.

Back during the entrance exam, that had made sense.

A nobody commoner suddenly being a deviant would have drawn too much attention.

But now?

Now he was Kyle Valemont, little brother to the famous Gale Witch.

The expectations were already sky-high.

Showing one more element wouldn’t raise nearly as many eyebrows as he had feared.

"Maybe... I should show one more," he murmured to the empty training hall.

Not all four.

That would be begging for trouble.

But one additional element? That was manageable.

The question was - which one?

Wind would have been the obvious choice.

It is one of the most versatile element, and with Aurelia as his sister, no one would question where he got it from.

But Aurelia is already helping him with his wind magic.

Ice, though...

Ice was perfect.

He needed something with defensive capabilities—and ice offered both offense and defense.

His stomach chose that moment to growl loud enough to echo off the walls.

"Right. Food"

He hadn’t eaten since that sandwich earlier.

His body demanded calories after that training.

With a groan that would make an old man proud.

Kyle pushed himself to his feet.

His legs wobbled alarmingly for a second before steadying.

Sheathing Zalrielle at his hip.

He reached for the storage ring on his left hand out of habit.

The moment he tried to send the sword into dimensional storage.

Zalrielle vibrated violently in its sheath.

Kyle froze. "Huh-?"

He drew the blade again, holding it up to eye level.

"You okay in there?"

The sword pulsed once. A clear negative.

"You... don’t want to go in the storage?"

Another pulse. Stronger this time.

The vibration traveled up his arm, making his teeth rattle.

Kyle blinked. "Are you... sulking?"

The blade went still.

Then, after a beat, gave the tiniest of shivers that somehow managed to convey utter indignation.

Kyle couldn’t help but laugh.

"Fine, fine. No storage. Ring form it is."

Focusing, he willed the transformation.

The sword shimmered, reshaping into a simple black band around his finger.

The metal warmed against his skin, radiating satisfaction.

"You are worse than a cat," Kyle muttered, but there was no real annoyance in it.

If anything, he was weirdly touched.

The sword had preferences.

Opinions.

It was becoming less of a weapon and more of a... partner.

The thought should have unnerved him.

Instead, it just felt right.

Shaking his head at his own sentimentality.

Kyle grabbed his towel from the bench and mopped the worst of the sweat from his face.

His reflection in the training room’s mirror was a mess, hair sticking up in every direction, dark circles under his eyes.

But his eyes—

His eyes were clearer than before.

No longer that hollow stare. No longer that glassy dissociation.

Just... Kyle

Exhausted.

Sore.

But present.

He turned away before the thoughts could spiral further.

***

The evening air was cool against Kyle’s skin as he stepped out of the training room, the sun dipping low on the horizon.

His stomach growled again, louder this time, and he absently rubbed at it as he walked.

’Would Aurelia still be mad at me for disappearing without a word?’

The thought made his chest tighten, but not with the same clawing dread as before.

Yesterday’s breakdown had left him raw, but also... lighter, in a way.

Like he had finally let go of something he had been carrying too long.

Still, he owed her an apology.

And maybe an explanation.

His feet carried him toward the market district almost on autopilot.

The stalls were beginning to close for the night, but a few vendors remained, packing up their wares under the glow of floating mana-lights.

Kyle stopped at a familiar fishmonger’s stall.

"Dragonfish still available?"

The old man behind the counter grinned, revealing a few missing teeth.

"For you? Always."

He wrapped the fish in parchment, the scent of salt and sea lingering in the air.

"Thanks."

The walk back to the teacher’s quarters was quiet.

The academy grounds were mostly empty at this hour, the occasional student hurrying to evening lectures or late training sessions.

Kyle’s fingers drummed against the wrapped dragonfish as he climbed the stairs.

His pulse picking up with each step.

He paused outside the door, taking a deep breath.

Then turned the knob.

The sight that greeted him froze him in place.

Aurelia sat on the sofa, her sharp blue eyes locking onto him the second he stepped inside.

And beside her—

’Instructor Seraphina’

Aurelia set her cup down with deliberate precision.

"Kyle."

Her voice was calm.

He swallowed hard.

"Uh. I brought dragonfish?"

The silence that followed was deafening.

***