Weeks and months passed, reaching the middle of the year, Silas, Jean, and León had forged a great friendship. By that time, the physiques of all three had changed; León’s remained as imposing as ever, while Silas now sported an athletic build and was the second tallest student, surpassed only by the colossus León Lugal. Jean, aware that his vocation did not lie in strength or musculature, had developed notable endurance and perseverance in his training.

  León, now an inseparable training partner of Silas, often asked him: —How can there be so much strength under that small body? —referring to Silas's size compared to his own.

  Silas always replied: —It must be genetics or something like that.

  León was tired of Silas beating him in strength competitions, but that did not diminish his dedication to training. Although he knew that, beyond genetics, achieving that strength implied "blood, sweat, and tears."

  Silas, for his part, had established a demanding training routine, recovering his body with Ichor. However, since Silas did not have much information about the devotees, he discovered that as he improved, the pain caused by the forced regeneration with Ichor became increasingly intense. At times, he mentally calculated that if he exceeded the intensity in a session, it was preferable to let his body recover by normal methods rather than attempting to accelerate the process and passing out in the isolated training rooms.

  On one of those off-duty weekends, the boys went to León's house to meet his family. León's father, Goryl, although very loving with his son, was quite gruff and dry with the others, especially with Silas for being the son of scholars. He considered Jean a lower-ranking companion for León, but noted that his family came from legionaries.

  That changed due to an unplanned visit; that day, León's uncle, Gacel Lugal, was there. Gacel was a dark-skinned legionary standing over a meter ninety, with a body much leaner than his brother Goryl's, but with a physique built for speed and well-defined shoulders that demonstrated his skill in sword manipulation and changing direction at high velocity. On that occasion, León told Silas that his uncle was an expert in the Invisible Sword, a subject Silas had already researched but about which he hadn't found much information in the academy library.

  —Hello, nephew, long time no see! How have you been? —said Gacel.

  —Good, uncle, I've made friends at the academy; in fact, here they are: this is Jean and Silas —replied León.

  —Hello, boys! —greeted Gacel to Jean, and upon greeting Silas, he added—: Good grip strength, boy! Do you exercise? —he asked.

  —Yes, sir —replied Silas.

  —Tell him the truth, Silas, that you are a gym psychopath —joked Jean.

  León asked his uncle: —Uncle, could you show Silas some moves of the Invisible Sword? I feel like they might suit him well.

  Gacel replied: —Well, I only came to see my brother and my sister-in-law, but a few minutes of exercise never hurt.

  Silas took the opportunity to observe as best as possible, channeling Cognis to record every movement of León's uncle and thus obtain some clue about that style. As Gacel initiated his stance, Silas thought: ?Well, it doesn't look like anything out of this world; in fact, it looks as if he were going to have a conversation with the practice mannequin?.

  Slowly, Uncle Gacel brought his right hand toward the left side where his sword was and then returned his hand to the same right side. As the hand returned, the mannequin was cut in two by a diagonal slash. Silas thought he had seen it wrong: ?But what the hell just happened? I only managed to see his attack stance like an image that shouldn't have been there at that moment, like a flash of the stance to cut the mannequin and then back to his relaxed stance as if chatting with the mannequin?.

  Silas began to channel more Cognis to review what he had seen, and he realized that, after Uncle Gacel touched his sword, the movement of leg separation, shoulder movement, body rotation, and the return to sheathe his sword were almost in a single fluid motion and so fast that it could not be captured by the naked eye. They were movements that did not seem so strange to Silas, as if he already knew them or knew the principles governing that style.

  —What did you think, boys? —said Gacel with a voice full of pride for his polished sword technique.

  As Gacel walked toward the boys, he stared at Silas: ?I hope I haven't made them lose motivation; this style is not for everyone, but... what is that boy doing?? —thought Gacel upon seeing that Silas was moving his body as if rehearsing in trial and error the movements he had just seen—. ?Wow, this boy has good eyesight! That speed is very difficult to perceive?, he added.

  —Little Silas, why don't you do a test with a practice sword? It's easier to do it than to think it —Gacel told Silas.

  —Okay, but don't laugh if I get it wrong —said Silas to his friends.

  Silas, with the wooden practice sword, closed his eyes, channeled Cognis to remember the movement and imagine himself performing it. ?Well, let's see what comes out so I can correct a thing or two... What the hell did he just do?!!!? —thought Gacel.

  Silas had done almost the exact same movement and with an extremely fast speed for someone who did not channel Ether. ?What did this brat do? It is impossible for him to have done it perfectly?, thought Gacel.

  That event triggered his fighting instinct and, when Silas opened his eyes, Uncle Gacel looked at Silas with a terrifying gaze, like a predator looking at its prey. Silas, who felt Uncle Gacel's gaze, prepared for the worst without understanding what was happening and why León's uncle had that killing intent directed at him.

  Gacel was at least ten meters away from Silas, but in a blink, he materialized in front of Silas. At that moment, Silas remembered Professor Richard's phrase: ?In a fight of speedsters, the fastest one wins?.

  Almost unconsciously, Silas channeled Ichor-Ether explosively into his shoulders and hips to deliver a diagonal cut in front of him, where Uncle Gacel was, but at the moment of making the cut, Uncle Gacel was ten meters away, in the same initial spot. Silas's body controlled and tolerated the Ichor-Ether process better and better, but this time, it was more instinctive than controlled, which brought him a slight pain after the blow. For Jean and León, this event only lasted a few seconds between seeing Silas make a quick first strike and then a second even faster strike, without managing to appreciate Uncle Gacel appearing in front of Silas and then returning to his place.

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  —What happened? I felt something strange —said Jean—. This sensation is similar to what I felt with Professor Lucia in that strange class —thought Jean.

  —Wonderful, Silas! —shouted Gacel—. Sorry if I scared you, but I am one of those who believe it is better to learn by doing —Gacel told Silas—. You have a lot of talent as a speedster. If you ever want to train, talk to León to let me know; in fact, I will send you a basic book on the Invisible Sword with him.

  Silas, who was still processing what had happened, replied almost by inertia: —Yes, sir, thank you very much.

  ?What just happened? I felt as if my body moved on its own, but it felt very comfortable. I think a large part of this is because of Professor Richard; one day I will thank him?, thought Silas.

  This initial scare had awakened certain muscle memory in Silas's body, which was already accustomed to a technique similar to the Invisible Sword, based on explosions of Ether that manage to create a tremendously fast movement. On the one hand, it was a more economical style in terms of Ether because it was not necessary to be channeling Ether to the muscles all the time.

  All this had been seen from afar by Goryl. ?My younger brother always doing stupid things; I hope he isn't going to hurt any of the boys?, thought Goryl. But upon seeing those last two cuts by Silas, his assessment of him changed drastically: ?What is wrong with that boy? It is not possible to have that kind of speed at that age; his muscles and tendons must have torn, but he looks perfectly normal after performing that tremendous cut. If it weren't Gacel, it is possible he would have landed a good blow with that wooden sword?.

  Goryl approached the group: —Hello, brother! I hope you aren't causing a ruckus with the little ones —Goryl told his brother.

  Goryl went to Silas and touched his shoulder: —Silas, are you okay? Does any muscle hurt, a contraction or any tear?

  —No, nothing, sir, all good, just that Mr. Gacel caught me off guard —said Silas.

  Goryl, upon touching Silas's shoulder, felt as if the boy were wearing armor, given that his musculature had such a degree of hardness of a First Corporal legionary channeling Ether, but this boy was not doing it; it was just physical strength. —I see you have the makings of a legionary —said Goryl to Silas.

  After that visit, Silas obtained some documents on the Invisible Sword, which was a style used by speedsters to kill their targets as efficiently as possible.

  In the present, the Winter Rookie Tournament was being celebrated, a tournament held mid-year before the holidays, which featured physical tests (sprints, weightlifting, and weighted endurance) and combat. Silas, upon reviewing the records of each event, noticed that in the vast majority, Andros's name appeared in first place: 100-meter dash, long jump, squat, deadlift, etc. The prize for winning any of these events was to choose a 3-star category weapon created by the city's Molders. With a pinch of mischief, Silas decided to sign up for all the events where Andros held the first place.

  The prizes ranged from daggers with Thunder Mana to spears made of a material that reacted to high speed and ignited. However, the weapon that interested Silas the most was a sword that, apparently, no one had claimed as a prize for years, perhaps decades. It was a single-edged sword, long, thin, and of a dark green color called "Dark Judgment." According to the specifications he had read, it increased speed without modifying the surrounding air and also hardness with Ether, being a perfect sword to use with Uncle Gacel's fighting style. Silas also found it intriguing; it was similar to Damocles in the sense that it also seemed to be a weapon for a single mortal blow, but it was like the other side of the coin. This sword generated no noise or air currents, had no spectacular result, but possessed an advantage: no beast would realize that a sword had cut its body.

  Silas, in his eagerness to surpass Andros, quickly signed up for the physical tests and, without realizing it, also for the combat ones. All physical tests had to be performed without channeling Ether; to prevent this, the room where the tests were held had a mechanism that consumed the primordial energy of the room, thus decreasing the possibility of channeling Ether; even channeling a minimal amount was punished with disqualification. Silas was encouraged, eager to evaluate the results of his gym sessions with Ichor channeling. Beyond his physique and muscles, worked to the maximum without being disproportionate, they exhibited perfect symmetry and synergy; it was necessary to check how useful they were.

  The weightlifting exercises were divided into three: squat, deadlift, and bench press. He reviewed Andros's record marks: 300 kg in squat, 350 kg in deadlift, and 220 kg in bench press, impressive values that Silas still could not reach in his own gym sessions, but it wasn't bad to test himself.

  All competitors were assigned a number. The championship was divided into basic cycle cadets and specialization cycle cadets.

  —Cadet number 147, present yourself for the squat test —the voice resonated.

  Silas arrived at a room with few spectators, a sergeant as judge, and the corporal in charge of recording the weights. Silas asked for 100 kg, thinking it was just to warm up. He did a few warm-up repetitions, while the legionary in charge of taking the weights looked at him with an expression of not understanding what was happening. Silas understood that, apparently, one could not warm up. He apologized and asked them to put on 200 kg, a weight he could already handle near his maximum. He performed one repetition and the legionary told him: —Enough, cadet, you may withdraw.

  Silas, thinking that perhaps it hadn't gone so well, decided that in the following tests he would try with his maximums from the first attempt.

  They called Silas again, this time for the bench press test. He asked for 170 kg. The sergeant now positioned himself near Silas, in case an accident occurred. The corporal shouted for Silas to start, and with a grunt, Silas managed to move that load, finishing with a happy face for having done a good lift. Finally, for the deadlift, he asked for 250 kg.

  —Now! —shouted the sergeant.

  Silas, using every gram of muscle in his body, began to lift the bar with that weight until he reached the top. The sergeant shouted at him: —Good, that is all.

  Before he finished, the sergeant patted Silas on the back. —Very good job, recruit.

  Upon leaving, the corporal stood at attention and saluted him very formally. Silas was surprised, but did not want to correct the corporal and left. Upon exiting, the corporal spoke to the sergeant: —My sergeant, that boy has quite a lot of potential.

  The sergeant replied: —I had my doubts, that's why I touched his back to see if he was cheating by channeling Ether, but no, it was just brute force, without a pinch of Ether.

  —What a shame that he is so short for his age —commented the corporal, still confused.

  Given the magnitude of the weights lifted, he had assumed that the young man would be between fifteen and sixteen years old, the age of students in their last year of the basic cycle of the academy, and he seemed somewhat short for that age. In the academy, two cycles existed: the first, a period of basic legionary training from 12 to 15 years old, similar to what is taught in general legionary schools; and the second cycle, the specialization proper as a legionary. The annual competitions did not have weight categories, but were divided by cycle. Normally, the records were always obtained by students in their last year of each cycle. The records Silas had seen of Andros were from when he was fifteen years old.

  The sergeant took the board where the test results were recorded and commented to the corporal: —There must be an error with number 147, because it says he is 12 years old, ha, ha, ha! Can you imagine something like that?