Inside the mansion, Sei had dinner with only his mother. His father couldn't join them — he'd been pulled into urgent work.
A maid came in carrying a bowl of soup and set it down on the table. But whether from nerves or a careless hand, the bowl tipped, spilling soup across the table right in front of Sei.
Sei shot up from his chair, his face twisted with anger.
"What do you think you're doing?! Useless maid!"
The maid froze, startled. Hands trembling, she scrambled to wipe up the mess.
"I'm so sorry, Young Master Sei. I'll clean it up right away."
"Can't you do anything right?!" Sei snapped again.
The maid could only bow her head, her voice barely above a whisper as she apologized once more.
"I'm sorry, truly."
Without waiting another second, Sei turned and stormed out of the dining room, slamming the door hard enough that the sound echoed through the whole house.
His mother flinched at the noise. Her eyes lingered on the closed door before shifting to the maid, who was still wiping down the table. A flicker of sadness crossed her face as she watched her son's behavior replay in her mind.
She rose and walked over to the maid.
"I'm sorry about Sei."
The maid looked up, a little surprised.
"My lady? Oh — it's fine, really. It was my mistake."
Sei's mother let out a quiet sigh. Deep down, she knew one thing for certain — Sei shouldn't be acting like this.
And from that moment on, she began to think seriously about what she could do to change her son.
The next morning, Sei left for a dungeon alone.
When he reached the entrance, a guard from the Adventurers' Guild stepped into his path, arms crossed firmly over his chest.
"Hey, kid. You can't go in there," he said flatly.
"Move," Sei shot back.
The guard raised an eyebrow.
"What did you say, kid?"
"I said move." With his face contorted in anger, Sei attacked without warning.
"Water Magic — Water Bullets!"
A volley of water bullets streaked toward the guard. Calmly, the man raised a protective barrier.
"Barrier!"
Every bullet bounced harmlessly off it.
"Kids these days, so damn stubborn," the guard muttered. "Fine. I'll humor you."
"You won't win against me," Sei said.
"Water Magic — Water Cannon!"
A massive jet of water surged forward with tremendous force. The impact sent up a wall of steam from the sheer friction of clashing magic.
When the mist cleared, the guard was still standing — untouched, the barrier holding firm.
"Impressive spell, kid. But not enough to break through my Barrier."
He began chanting.
"Oh Lord, Creator of all things. By my power, turn water into a blade sharp enough to cut.
Water Magic — Water Sword!"
Five blades of water materialized, circling the guard before shooting toward Sei in an instant.
Sei bolted, dodging with everything he had. But the swords kept coming, and three managed to graze him — two cuts along his arm, one across his cheek.
Breathing hard, Sei wiped the blood trickling from his wounds. His eyes locked back onto the guard.
"How's it feel now?" the guard said. "Starting to understand the gap between us?"
Six more water swords hovered at the ready, aimed straight at him.
"I still don't get it," Sei replied coldly.
"Water Magic — Water Knife!"
Dozens of water blades formed in front of him, all pointed at the guard.
The guard blinked in surprise, then smiled.
"Alright then — let's see who's left standing."
He summoned even more swords. In an instant, blades and knives collided in midair, the clash of magic ringing out like steel striking steel.
Then, without warning —
The guard was suddenly right in front of Sei, blade poised to strike.
Sei was caught off guard but reacted fast.
"You think a surprise attack like that is going to beat me?
Water Magic — Water Shield!"
A high-pressure vortex of water wrapped around him, catching the thrust of the water sword just in time.
"Damn it... he's casting without incantations. I didn't even notice," the guard muttered, still pressing the attack.
In that same instant, Sei redirected every one of his water knives.
"What?!" The guard jolted in alarm. "He changed their trajectory?!"
Too late.
The knives tore into the guard's back. He crumpled to the ground right in front of Sei.
"Finally over," Sei said, a mocking smile on his lips.
Without so much as a glance back, he walked past the fallen guard and into the dungeon alone.
Inside, he cut down every monster in his path without breaking a sweat — goblins, high goblins, boars, high boars, wolves, high wolves. Nothing so much as slowed him down.
The adventurers working the dungeon began to notice something strange. Monster numbers were dropping fast, as if some invisible force had swept the place clean.
Days passed. Sei trained and fought inside that dungeon without rest. By the time he turned six, he'd taken down both the Goblin King and the Boar King on his own.
Word of his feats reached the Adventurers' Guild. Since he'd never once lost a fight inside a dungeon, Sei earned a new title —
The Unquestioned.
Hearing it filled him with deep satisfaction. His arrogance only grew stronger.
News of Sei, The Unquestioned, spread quickly through the city. People stepped aside whenever he passed — some out of respect, others out of fear.
One day, while Sei was at home, he saw his father entertaining a guest. This man was an old friend of his father's, a diplomat — though this time, not from abroad. He was local.
The diplomat had brought his son along, a boy named Kurosaki Yuta.
Sei's father spotted his son crossing the room and called out to him.
"Sei, come here for a moment."
Sei glanced over, his expression cold, thick with irritation.
"I have no business with weak people."
His father froze, clearly caught off guard by how harsh his son's words were. But he said nothing — not yet.
Without a shred of guilt, Sei kept walking toward his room.
Watching this unfold, his father turned back to his guest.
"Forgive my son. He's usually not like this."
The friend only smiled faintly.
"It's fine. Kids will be kids."
But then Yuta stepped forward, his face tight with anger.
"I want to fight him."
Sei's father looked at him, confused.
"You mean... you want to duel Sei?"
"Yes," Yuta said firmly. "How dare he call me weak."
Sei's father hesitated, weighing the request.
His friend chuckled.
"Why the silence? Afraid your boy might get hurt?"
"No," Sei's father finally said. "Alright. I'll let him know."
After the guests left, he went straight to his son's room and pushed the door open, a little harder than necessary.
"What's gotten into you, Sei?" he asked, his voice cold.
"Why are you asking me that?" Sei replied, not bothering to turn around.
"You've changed," his father said. "You're not the boy you used to be."
Sei let out a short, mocking laugh.
"So you noticed. I'm the strongest, greatest mage in this country now."
His father sighed quietly. He could feel the arrogance radiating off his son.
"I see... By the way, my friend's son has challenged you to a duel. It'll be held tomorrow, at noon."
Without waiting for a response, he turned and left, closing the door behind him.
The moment the door shut, Sei swept his arm across the desk, sending everything on it crashing to the floor.
"Damn it..." he growled, his face twisted with fury.
"He actually looked down on me."
The next day, right at noon, Kurosaki Yuta stood waiting in the wide meadow near Sei's family estate. A gentle breeze rolled through, rippling the green grass that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Before long, Sei arrived, walking with an easy, unhurried stride. A faint smile played on his lips — the smile of someone already certain of victory.
"Pretty confident, aren't you, Sei?" Yuta said, his tone laced with mockery.
Sei stopped a few paces away, eyeing him with contempt.
"Why would I need to worry about someone like you?" he shot back, just as sharp.
Yuta's expression hardened, anger flashing clearly in his eyes.
The two faced off. Yuta slowly drew his sword, the blade catching the sunlight. Sei raised both hands, fingers spread slightly, mana beginning to ripple around him.
"I'll be the referee, then," Sei's father called out from a distance.
But before any signal was given —
Yuta lunged first, body low, sword swinging straight for Sei.
Sei's hand shot up reflexively, palm open.
"Water Magic — Water Shield!"
A high-pressure whirl of water formed in front of him, spinning like a liquid wall. Yuta's blade struck it and bounced back, the impact knocking him slightly off balance.
The water spread wider, wrapping fully around Sei, sealing off every angle of attack.
"Damn it!" Yuta snarled.
He came at him again — this time with fire licking along his blade. The heat was noticeable even from several meters away.
His flaming sword slammed into Sei's water shield. Thick steam billowed up from the collision of fire and water. Yuta kept pressing, the flames growing hotter, fiercer.
The water in the shield began to shudder, boiling —
Hisss...
The shield evaporated and finally gave way.
Sei's eyes went wide. He planted his feet and leapt back to dodge.
"Now I know your weakness, Sei!" Yuta shouted, grinning.
Heat radiated off him in waves. Even without touching the ground, the grass beneath his feet began to blacken and scorch.
Yuta charged again, his blade coming down with full force.
Sei twisted and flipped backward to avoid it, but the heat still caught his arm, searing the skin.
"Why are you running, Sei?!" Yuta taunted.
In an instant, he closed the distance faster than before. The next swing came almost too fast to see.
Sei clenched his jaw. He raised both arms to his right side, fists crossed in front of him.
A dense sphere of water wrapped around both his arms.
"Water Magic — Water Guard!"
Yuta's flaming blade crashed against it.
Sei managed to hold — but the heat was too much. The water flashed into steam. Burns spread across both his arms, and his clothes caught fire at the edges.
He was flung sideways, hitting the ground hard.
He looked down at his right arm. Beyond the burns, a deep slash wound was visible, blood beginning to seep out.
His breathing grew heavier.
I need to think... Sei told himself.
Through the pain, his mind raced. One possibility surfaced — risky, but it might be the only way.
"Come on, Sei!" Yuta called out, smug. "Show me that arrogance of yours again!"
Sei raised both hands. His fingers moved fast, as if kneading the air itself.
Several baseball-sized orbs of water formed around him.
With a sweeping motion, he released them all toward Yuta.
But the moment they got close, the extreme heat vaporized them instantly.
Yuta gave him no time to recover. He surged forward, swinging straight for Sei's chest.
Sei crossed both arms in front of him, palms facing each other.
"Water Magic — Water Guard!"
The impact was brutal.
Sei still took the burn. The front of his shirt tore and scorched. He was thrown back five meters, slamming into the ground.
Gasping for breath, he forced himself back up. He swung his right hand forward, twisting his wrist.
The water stretched and coiled into two serpents, writhing viciously as they lunged at Yuta.
Yuta smirked and cut through both with a single swing. The water serpents split apart and evaporated instantly.
He settled into a stance, sword drawn to his left side, fire spiraling wildly around him.
"This ends now," he muttered.
With one full swing of his blade, flames erupted into the shape of a massive phoenix, wings spreading wide as it tore through the air toward Sei, carrying nothing but destruction.
Sei threw his arms open as wide as he could, fingers tensing as if pulling every drop of water around him into his grasp.
Layer after layer of water wrapped around his body, forming a thick shield.
The phoenix struck —
BOOOOM!!
A massive explosion rocked the meadow. Thick steam and smoke billowed upward, swallowing the entire dueling ground whole.