I glanced at Midori, hoping this was just another bad joke of hers. But that one look at her face killed my hope fast. The calm, scary focus in her eyes made me tense, and she didn't even bother to warn me. She just attacked.

  “No, wait—” I couldn't even finish before the rock slammed down. I rolled away just in time.

  “W-wait a second—” I yelped while dodging the rock by a hair's breadth.

  But she was already moving it again, lifting the rock and smashing it wherever I ran, like she’d finally caught her lifelong enemy and it was the very revenge time. At that point, I was sure this wasn’t training at all. This was a sadistic monster’s idea of morning fun.

  “I’m not— I’m not ready yet! I said wait!”

  I kept rolling as the rock barely missed my ass, smashing into the ground and carving deep holes where my shadow hadn’t even left yet. One small mistake, and I would be buried right there, death and funeral done at the same time.

  “What did you expect?” Midori said, barely slowing down. “That the thing on the mountain would wait politely while you got ready?”

  I used that tiny pause to jump and bolt for my life. Every step I took was followed by the huge rock slamming down right behind me. I ran in circles around the yard, and each time I passed the old man and the general, their faces dropped even more. The old man, more than anyone, looked ready to apologize to the gods for ever comparing me to the previous lord last night.

  While running in pure panic and dropping what little pride I had left, I released my domain and tried to pull enough mana from the old man and the general.

  “I... still don’t know what’s up there on the mountains,” I gasped as I ran, “but I’m sure it’s nicer than the beast I’m facing right now!”

  I had finally gathered enough mana to fight back. It was time to counterattack. I spun around, ready to burn that rock to ash and show Midori who she was dealing with, full of confidence and heroic courage. But things didn't happen as I expected.

  The second I lit it up, I messed up. Instead of making the rock vanish, I turned it into a screaming ember that chased me even harder. Now a bright red fireball of death was right on my neck, and I ran for my life while my backside learned, very fast, what scorching heat felt like.

  I was out of breath, legs shaking, tired from sprinting too long to even control them anymore. That’s when a genius idea hit me. Yes. If I couldn’t run from the danger, I’d run straight into it.

  I charged toward Midori, dragging the flaming rock with me. The plan was simple. Use the ukemi fall Grandpa drilled into my bones with years of cane hits, slip past her at the last second, and let the rock smash into her face instead.

  Honestly, it was a great plan. Brutal and brilliant. Right up until I stepped on a tiny pebble, slipped, and face planted at her feet, in the most embarrassing way possible.

  

  “I think that’s enough,” the old man said, his voice dripping with pity. “Young lord should at least learn some proper magic to defend himself.”

  “Of course,” Midori said, her tone annoyingly smug. “That was the plan. I just… wanted to make sure he really got it.”

  I slowly lifted my head and stared at her with the most deeply annoyed face I could manage. For a brief, dark moment, I seriously considered grabbing both her legs and pulling. Hard. While I was fighting that thought, Midori bent down and helped me up.

  “You’re fine, right?” she asked, grinning. It was painfully clear she enjoyed every second of my suffering.

  I stood up, dusted myself off, and gave her a single look without saying a word. Then I walked toward the building.

  “I guess, I’ll have something to eat,” I muttered.

  My mood was sour, but not because of her. It was yesterday’s talk, today’s hard fall, and the way everything seemed to mock me. Even the pebble I tripped on felt like it was yelling that I wasn’t ready yet. Not just for fighting the mountain monster, but for anything else.

  I went to my room, sat by the window, and ate while staring outside. Even swallowing felt a challenge. With a restless knot in my chest, I watched the demons below and wondered if they would still kneel once they saw how helpless I really was.

  They named me lord because of a feeling they couldn't resist. That was it. A feeling that said I was the one. It was not a title I had earned, and it felt like that wouldn't change anytime soon.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  I was lost in my thoughts when something hit the table with a dull thud and snapped me back. A second later, Midori slid in next to me and pointed at the books she had placed there.

  “Here,” she said, pointing at the books. “These are all I could find for you. I’m sure they’ll help.” Her voice carried a faint, guilty awkwardness.

  I wasn’t expecting much, and honestly, I wasn’t even sure I could understand the language. I chewed my food half-heartedly, flipped open a book, and tried to look completely uninterested. Then my eyes went wide.

  One shock followed another. First, the language was weirdly clear, like it was my own. Then came the kicker, it was so simple it might as well have been a picture book for elementary kids back in my world.

  “Wait, are these… the magic books of this world?” I asked, shuffling through them randomly to make sure they were all the same.

  “Yes,” Midori said, pausing. “The old man said all the books were lost in the war; these are just what he remembered and had written down.”

  "I get it," I said, then my eyes lit up as I looked at Midori. "I mean, I really get it! These… these are so simple!"

  "What?" Midori said. "They seemed kind of complicated to me…"

  “No,” I said, flipping through the pages fast, moving from one book to another. “These are basically elementary school level.”

  "Elementary… what is that?"

  "Uh, that’s a term from my world. I mean really simple.”

  “Fine,” Midori said, still not really getting it. “I’m glad you understand then.”

  She suddenly gave my back a light smack. “The faster you learn, the faster I can beat you up,” she added.

  I was so excited and focused that I ignored her sadistic excitement. “According to this…” I said, rereading the line to be sure. “There are three main ways to cast magic, right? Create, control, and destroy.”

  “Yes, but,” She said, pointing at a passage in one of the books, “it says here that for creating and controlling, you’re limited to your own element.”

  “What about destroying then?”

  “That part is messy. I didn’t really get it either…”

  I read the next passage, and unlike Midori, I got it right away. The book was stupidly simple, like a kid’s fairy tale.

  “Oh, I get it,” I said. “Destroying stuff is just about the power of your element. So that's why I couldn’t burn your rock, it wasn’t enough.”

  Things were starting to make sense, and my earlier gloom was gone. I shoved the last bites of food into my mouth at once, eating was a waste of time. With cheeks full like a squirrel, I finished one book and grabbed the next.

  “Wait, we can even shape it?” I asked, excited.

  “Yes,” Midori said. “If you hadn’t given up so fast, I would have shown you mine.”

  “Yours what?”

  “It’s a surprise. Finish reading first, then we’ll continue from where we left off,” Midori said, practically shaking with excitement. “I’m sure you’ll like it!”

  “Okay,” I said. I was curious, sure, but the kid books in front of me were way more interesting.

  I finished one book, moved to the next, then went back to reread parts I missed. I kept doing that until everything stuck. Half an hour passed. Or a few hours. I had no idea, and I didn’t care either. I had already learned a lot, and I was just as eager as Midori to try things out.

  Soon, we were back in the backyard. The same four of us: me, Midori, the old man, and the general, serving as my personal mana batteries. Midori and I faced each other like two trigger-happy cowboys, ready to pick up the duel that my morning disaster had cut short.

  “Ready?” Midori asked. Her fingers twitched. I could already tell she was itching to throw a few hundred rocks at me.

  “Wait. One second…”

  I released my domain and made sure I had enough mana for the idea in my head. Then I stretched out my left hand, letting fire flow from it. I fed it more mana and imagined it taking the shape of the katana my Grandpa used to wield.

  Just like the books said, imagining was enough to cast magic in this world. The smug look on my face at that moment was beyond words. Everyone stared at me. I even caught the old man looking impressed.

  

  And just like that, my amazing flaming katana vanished, leaving nothing but a pathetic puff of smoke behind.

  “W-wait,” I said. “I think I didn’t feed it enough mana...”

  Midori crossed her arms and tapped her foot, clearly annoyed, while I gathered more mana and rebuilt the sword. That’s when I realized: creating it once was easy, but keeping it alive needed a steady flow of mana. So I started drawing a small, constant stream from the old man and the general.

  “All right, let’s go!” I shouted, the flame on my katana flared up with my excitement.

  “Oh, I like that face,” Midori said. Without missing a beat, she grabbed the huge rock she’d thrown at me earlier, lifted it high, and flung it straight at me again.

  As the rock hurtled at my face, I swung my flaming katana like a legendary hero. The rock split in midair, scattering chunks everywhere. I turned to Midori, chest puffed out, glaring with all the pride of someone who’d survived Grandpa’s endless beatings… and still couldn’t believe how all that torture had actually trained me for a moment like this.

  “Looks like I’m facing a sword master…” Midori said, clearly admired. “Then let me respond as well.”

  Suddenly, a tree branch appeared in her hand. It twisted, stretched, and became a perfect wooden bow. With her other hand, she made a wooden arrow, nocked it, and aimed right at me, grinning like she’d just spotted a rabbit.

  “But a sword master has no chance at long range.”

  Before I could even blink, the arrow shot toward me at a terrifying speed. I twisted my head at the last second, feeling it slice the air and shave past my hair.

  “Hey, that was dangerous—”

  “Then don't fall asleep!” she said, grinning.

  Another arrow zoomed straight for my chest. I blocked it midair with my sword, burning it to ashes. Then another, and another. She seemed to have an endless supply of arrows, producing them so fast it was like archery was her family trade.

  The moment I blocked one arrow with my sword, another came flying. My body twisted left and right, up and down, dodging some and barely escaping others. I swung my sword like crazy, trying to block the ones I couldn't dodge.

  I started to run around, jumping and twisting to mess up her aim, but the arrows just kept falling. Alright, I thought. I’d been saving this move for last, but now there was no going back. I was going to show her what my imagination could create.