My Magic Has No Upper Limit

「Swordsmanship Training Ground.」

"CLACK CLACK CLACK CLACK...!"

Like a torrential rain hammering on the eaves, the rapid, crisp clashes of wooden swords were relentless.

Gray had long since lost his usual nonchalant air. He was completely focused, his eyes fixed intently on the figure before him.

Despite the cool autumn air, his gray tunic was soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to his body.

Maki’s offensive was bold and sweeping, each swing of his sword powerful and heavy.

Gray’s speed and technique, his pride and joy, were completely overwhelmed by sheer Power, rendered utterly useless.

He could only rely on his combat instincts to desperately parry the blows.

’Left shoulder... he’s going for the left shoulder again!’

’No, that’s a feint!’

’He’s dropping his center of gravity!’

’Lower left... lower right... He’s aiming for my legs!’

Gray’s mind sharpened, and he made his decision in an instant.

He brought his wooden sword into the proper defensive position.

But even though Gray had correctly guessed Maki’s line of attack, it was still no use.

Maki’s wooden sword slammed down, the immense force of the blow crashing onto Gray’s blade!

’Crap!’

Gray’s guard was wide open, and Maki seized the opportunity, following up with a kick.

His body traced a rather ungraceful arc through the air before crashing heavily into a sand pile, sending up a cloud of dust.

"Holy crap... Gray didn’t just get kicked to death, did he...?"

From the shadows at the edge of the training ground, Zelir watched with a worried expression.

"Don’t worry, Gray’s as tough as they come."

Valles, beside him, waved a dismissive hand. "A kick like that is just an appetizer for him."

"ACK... COUGH, COUGH!"

Gray’s voice came from the sand pile, where he was curled up like a shrimp.

Gray lay there for a good while before he finally recovered his breath.

He used his wooden sword to prop himself up, his face a mask of fury.

"Maki, do you even know how to teach?!"

"Isn’t this me teaching you?" Maki’s expression was quite leisurely.

"Taught me what? Have you done anything this entire time besides beat me up with a wooden sword?"

Gray wiped the sand from his face.

"I’m starting to suspect you had a secret crush on Lisha back in the day and are just using this as an excuse to take it out on me."

"You should be grateful it’s me. If it were one of those other two, they’d really beat you half to death," Maki said with a smile.

For the past several days, Gray had been cooped up in the training ground with Maki.

Whenever he was free, Zelir would occasionally come to watch.

But just as Gray had described, every scene Zelir witnessed was of Gray getting a sound thrashing, looking utterly miserable.

"Can Gray really learn anything this way?" Zelir asked Valles.

"Who knows?"

Valles shrugged. "Everyone follows a different path. Anyway, when I advanced, I figured it out on my own. I didn’t need to get beaten up like he does."

"Seriously, can’t you just teach me properly for once?" Gray complained, rubbing his aching chest and grimacing in pain.

"I’ve told you before, this *is* me teaching you."

Maki rested the wooden sword on his shoulder.

"Getting a little too used to the soft life, are we? You think there’s some shortcut to breaking through? Defeating me. That’s the only way."

"But there’s no way I can do that."

"That’s right. On your own, you certainly can’t."

Maki slowly clenched his fist, and an aura of Fighting Qi so dense it was almost tangible rose from his body like steam.

"A Middle Level Warrior can fuse Fighting Qi into their very bones and blood. It’s not just an enhancement to their physical body; it also provides a Gain to the weapons they wield."

"The resulting increase in combat power is all-encompassing."

"That’s why I’m making you go through this constant grind, to find that feeling, to merge your Fighting Qi with your body. You get it?"

"I still don’t really get it..." Gray murmured, his brow furrowed slightly.

"Doesn’t matter if you don’t get it. You’ll understand after you’ve taken enough hits."

As he spoke, Maki cracked a grin, picked up his wooden sword, and got ready to go at it again.

"Whoa... wait, wait, wait!"

Gray hurriedly held up a hand to stop him.

He was still hesitant. "Then... go a little easier on me."

"Cut the crap. You training or not?"

"I’m training!"

Watching the two of them get back into their stances, Zelir leaned against a stone pillar with his arms crossed.

"If a Middle Level Warrior fuses Fighting Qi into themselves and can begin to manifest it externally, then what about an Upper Level Warrior?" Zelir asked curiously.

"I don’t know. I haven’t reached that level yet."

Marcus, sitting to one side, shook his head.

He looked at his forearm, and with a slight mental command, a faint white barrier materialized, completely enveloping it.

"Looks like you’ve improved quite a bit, huh?"

Zelir had seen the Fighting Energy Barrier that Marcus materialized.

Compared to how it looked when he had first broken through, the color was a little deeper now.

"Yeah, I can feel the progress myself."

Marcus dissipated the Fighting Energy Barrier.

"It’s still not enough, though. I’m guessing I’ll only be touching the threshold of an Upper Level Warrior once the Fighting Energy Barrier I create becomes a deep, milky white."

"What about you, Valles?" Zelir asked, looking in the other direction.

"I’ve improved too, of course."

Valles casually drew an Arrow from his Quiver.

After he infused it with Fighting Qi, dazzling blue arcs of electricity leaped across its surface with a "BZZT" sound, causing even the fletching on its tail to tremble slightly.

Valles had been the first among them to break through, and it was plain to see that the intensity of his Fighting Qi was the highest as well.

He slid the Arrow back into his Quiver.

"Thanks to these past few months of high-intensity combat, my progress has been rapid as well."

Ever since meeting Zelir, the intensity of Valles’s adventures had skyrocketed.

First, he had encountered a juvenile Fog Demon, followed by a whole series of Difficult Level Demons.

In that time, he had advanced to Middle Level Ranger, taken a job escorting a Monster Hunting party, and fought his way through it all.

Finally, he’d even helped take down a ferocious Demon like the One-Eyed Giant.

Now, he was regularly hunting [Challenge] rated Demons.

Before all this, Valles wouldn’t have dared to imagine he could improve so quickly.

"So... all of you are able to improve yourselves through combat?" Zelir said.

"Yeah."

Marcus nodded. "Every battle allows the Fighting Qi to fuse more completely with the body, and its intensity rises a little bit as well."

"As that builds up over time, you naturally get stronger."

"Ah..." Zelir sighed, shaking his head.

’If I were just a normal Mage, I’d be pretty envious of the Warrior class. They can all get stronger just by fighting, to a certain extent.’

’Other Mages can only bury their heads in painstaking Meditation, which is a little dull.’

Back in the arena, the two had once again taken their stances.

Maki’s words just now seemed to have given Gray some sort of revelation.

’Fuse the Fighting Qi into my bones and blood... Fuse the Fighting Qi into my bones and blood...’

Gray turned the phrase over and over in his mind.

His stance began to change as well.

Gray’s feet sank slightly, planting themselves firmly in the sand. For the first time, he exuded an aura of "steadfastness."

When he opened his eyes again, the playful, cynical look in them had vanished, replaced by earnest focus.