Chapter 11: The Power Of Not Giving Up
The private training grounds were a monument to wasted effort.
Caelus walked through the entrance, his footsteps echoing against stone walls that had witnessed fifteen years of obsession.
The place was a graveyard of ambition.
Deep sword scars covered the stone pillars. Some were fresh, while others were so old they had been worn smooth by time. Practice pillars had been split apart, leaving their wooden cores exposed like broken bones.
Destroyed weapons were stacked in corners, their blades chipped and handles cracked from overuse.
Training dummies stood in rows. Each one had been repaired countless times. Patches of new material covered old wounds. Some had been replaced entirely, and the newer ones looked almost pristine.
That wouldn’t last.
He walked past them all. His fingers traced a scar in the stone. Deep and angry. He remembered making that one. He’d swung his sword with everything he had.
The stone had lost.
Fifteen years.
Fifteen years of this.
And what do I have to show for it?
He stopped walking and stared at the training grounds.
She really agreed...
She agreed to the engagement. To being thrown away for access to a library.
He shook his head.
Future Caelus can solve that problem.
He walked toward the combat golem.
---
The construct stood in the center of the training grounds. It was advanced, one of the few things Aldric had ever invested in for him.
It was a mannequin constructed from reinforced materials, designed to simulate human anatomy with unsettling accuracy.
It had joints, eyes, and organs. Everything necessary to register fatal damage.
It existed to evaluate real combat ability.
Caelus approached it. His fingers brushed its surface. It was cold, smooth and unfeeling.
Just like the rest of this family.
He adjusted its strength to D Rank.
Then he opened his Status.
---
Name: Caelus Vespera
Rank: D
Potential: D
Affinity: Water
Attributes:
· Strength: E+
· Speed: D
· Stamina: D+
· Agility: D+
· Intelligence: D+
· Mana: D+
Skills:
· Intermediate Swordsmanship [D - 89%]
· Twilight Circuit [D - 53%]
---
He stared at the screen.
Fifteen years. Intermediate Swordsmanship.
Eighty-nine percent.
Almost competent.
Inspirational.
He dismissed the screen, then called it back, stared at Twilight Circuit.
Fifty-three percent.
And it won’t improve.
Because my body physically cannot handle higher output.
D-Rank Potential means D-Rank restrictions.
No amount of training changes that.
This is the ceiling.
He dismissed the screen again. This time, he didn’t call it back.
---
He willed his mana.
It stirred sluggishly through unfamiliar pathways, a coarse feeling, like sand moving through his veins. He focused and pushed for more.
A small sphere of water appeared above his palm. It was barely larger than a clenched fist.
He tried to freeze it.
Nothing happened.
He tried to vaporize it.
Nothing.
He tried to shape it, compress it, expand it, twist it into different forms.
Still nothing.
He stared at the ball of water. Completely deadpan.
"...At least you’re drinkable."
He dismissed it and the water splashed onto the stone floor.
Water Affinity. The hardest possible Affinity to master.
D-Rank Potential. The slowest possible growth.
This is what I’ve always had to work with.
This is why he was abandoned.
This is why he died.
Spoiler alert: I’m still him. Still failing. Still—
He stopped.
Focus.
He picked up two swords, one for him, and one for the golem.
He equipped the golem. Sliding the blade into its grip. The construct’s fingers closed around the hilt, mechanical and precise.
"Initiate." Caelus uttered.
The golem immediately stood at attention.
---
Caelus didn’t wait.
He lunged forward. Years of experience flowed through his movements. He entered the golem’s guard before it could react, slipping into close quarters where the longer blade became awkward.
His sword darted toward the eye. The air whistled.
The golem dodged, tilting its head aside. His blade carved through empty air.
Then the golem’s knee blurred upward, aiming directly at his stomach.
He was already moving. Water splashed beneath his feet as he eased the force of the collision. He still slid backward from the force despite reducing the impact.
Water for blocking.
It has potential. But it’s too ineffective right now.
I need more control.
More output.
More—
He lunged again.
His sword clashed against steel. He parried, his blade sliding against the golem’s. He coated the edge with water, just enough to make the contact slick The golem’s blade skidded off course.
He pressed the advantage.
Water splashed into the golem’s eyes. Only for a moment, but long enough to blind it.
He struck.
The golem blocked.
He moved again. Water beneath his feet. Slick footing. The golem hesitated. He was faster now, more fluid, and his movements flowed like the water he summoned.
Water doesn’t need to cut.
It only needs to decide where everything else cuts.
He smiled a genuine smile.
He moved again, faster this time. The golem couldn’t keep up.
Water splashed. Blade slid in a screech. Footing shifted awkwardly.
The golem stumbled forward.
His sword shot to its eye and found purchase.
It stopped moving.
---
Caelus stood over the defeated construct.
His breathing was heavy. His arms shook. His heart pounded against his ribs.
But he’d won.
The golem’s eye was cracked. Its joints were frozen mid-motion. Its blade lay on the ground, dropped when he’d struck.
He stared at it.
Against another D-Rank...
Nah, I’d win.
Against someone with an Affinity...
Much harder.
Against a C-Rank...
I’d become a corpse with excellent fundamentals.
The realization stung.
He leaned against a pillar, his legs weak and his vision swimming at the edges.
Water’s true strength isn’t destruction. It’s control.
With enough control, I could cut with it.
Shapeshift it.
Use it to—
But I don’t have enough.
Not with D-Rank Potential.
Training can refine skill. Training can improve execution.
Training cannot change Potential.
That’s reality. The truth I’ve been avoiding.
He slid down the pillar. Sat on the cold stone floor.
I can train for another fifteen years.
I can become the most skilled D-Rank potential holder in existence.
And I’ll still be D-Rank potential.
Still limited.
Still—
He stopped.
He laughed. A small, broken sound.
Fifteen years.
All that time, effort and all that blood.
And this is it.
He stared at the ceiling.
If effort cannot bridge the gap...
Then I’ll have to cheat.
Something capable of raising my combat ability beyond what his Potential allows.
And I know exactly where to find such things.
He smiled, a tired smile.
Time to stop training and to start exploiting.
He pushed himself to his feet. His legs still shook and his arms still trembled.
But his mind was clear.
---
He left the training grounds behind.
The walk to the mana chamber was short. It lay beneath the training grounds, accessible through a hidden staircase concealed behind one of the practice pillars.
The runes on the walls glowed faintly as he descended, illuminating the narrow spiral staircase.
More runes. More ancient magic. More things I wrote and now have to live with.
I really did this to myself.
The door at the bottom was heavy. Reinforced iron. It required his personal seal to open.
He pressed his palm against the surface.
The runes flickered.
The door groaned open.