The lecture Lucius launched into was one Alex had heard a hundred times already.
Back in the Dragon Roar faction, Stan had drilled these same basics into his skull in one-on-one sessions. And not just Stan — even the three siblings had taken turns hammering the foundation into him. Compared to that, Lucius' talk felt light. Almost empty.
Alex wanted to tell him, "Skip the whole thing, old man. I know all this."
But he kept his mouth shut. He wasn't stupid.
Lucius eventually wrapped up his explanation about Paragon warriors. Alex nodded along, pretending to absorb every word.
But one thing stood out.
Lucius barely touched the magic side. His knowledge there was thin. Understandable — he wasn't a mage — but Alex still noticed it.
"To help you access the qi inside and around you faster, the Wyndham family uses this special pond," Lucius said. He gestured toward the water and motioned for Alex to step in.
"Wait… with my clothes on?" Alex asked.
Lucius stayed silent. Classic.
Alex let out a long sigh. He dragged his feet toward the pond, each step heavy. The waterfall above poured hard from the tall rock, crashing straight down like a hammer. But even with all that water, Alex couldn't see any channel feeding it. No river. No pipe. Nothing.
It looked like the whole thing looped endlessly, like a fountain with no beginning and no end.
He stepped into the pond.
Cold water hit his bare feet first — he had been training without shoes — then swallowed his legs as he moved deeper.
The moment both of Alex's feet touched the water, something hit him like a bolt of lightning.
A sharp, chilling shock shot up his legs and spread across his whole body. His muscles locked. His breath stalled. And deep inside his core, he felt a pressure tremble… something trying to break free.
'No… not the suppressed qi,' Alex panicked.
The cold pinned him in place. He couldn't move an inch. His suppressed qi thrashed inside him like a wild beast kicking at its cage, leaking through every crack it found.
'I have to hold it down… I can't let it spill out here,' he thought, forcing every bit of willpower he had into tightening his core.
Outside the pond, Lucius watched with sharp eyes.
'There it is… that huge build-up of qi in the boy,' Lucius thought, a satisfied smirk creeping onto his face.
But just as he sensed the energy rising, swelling, about to explode—
—it suddenly sank.
The pressure dipped. The flare died. Alex pulled it back down.
Lucius' smirk vanished. His brow tightened.
'What's going on?' he thought as he stepped closer to the pond, trying to get a better read.
He didn't make it far.
Alex suddenly burst out of the pond, leaping backward like he'd been shot out of a cannon. He hit the ground hard, rolling once before sprawling flat on his back.
Only his feet had touched the water… yet his whole body was drenched. Not from the pond — from sweat. Thick, heavy sweat rolling down his face and arms like he'd been dragged through a storm.
"What… what kind of water is… that?" Alex gasped, struggling for air. He looked like someone who had just run twenty kilometers uphill with no rest.
He wiped his forehead, but it did nothing — more sweat kept coming.
Lucius stared, stunned. And Alex lay there, breathing like the world had turned upside down.
"This is a special spiritual water… it helps amplify one's energy," Lucius said. He crouched beside the pond, scooped a handful of the water, and held it up, letting a few drops trail down his wrist as he carried it over to Alex.
"Drink it," Lucius ordered.
"What…?" Alex blinked at him. "I just put my foot in that water and you want me to drink it?"
"It's spiritual water. It can't be contaminated," Lucius replied, unfazed. He pushed his hand closer, the water trembling in his palm.
Alex hesitated. Every part of him screamed that this was weird. But refusing Lucius would cause more trouble than the awkwardness. So he leaned forward and drank from the man's palm. The taste was crisp and clean… but the moment itself felt strange as hell.
"You were overwhelmed by the energy you've trapped inside your body for too long," Lucius said. "Drinking the water will calm you. Settle your vessel."
Then his tone hardened. "Now get up. Step into the water again."
Alex wiped his mouth and stood. The water in his stomach warmed, then grew hotter, like a little flame trying to stretch its way up his chest.
A system message blinked in front of him.
[You are under the influence of Spiritual Water. The host's suppressed qi is being strengthened.]
'Wait… can I really push my stage up just by drinking this?' Alex wondered.
He swallowed, drew in a long breath, and walked back toward the pond. His feet touched the surface again—slow this time, steady.
The cold hit him. His qi stirred immediately, rising like it wanted to burst out again.
But Alex was ready.
"Move in deeper into the pond," Lucius instructed.
Alex swallowed hard and obeyed.
He stepped forward, one slow push at a time. The cool water slid up his waist, then climbed his torso. A few more steps and it brushed his chest. Another breath, another step, and it reached his neck.
Every inch he moved, the pressure on his body doubled.
The deeper the water covered him, the harder it became to hold his suppressed qi down. His muscles shook. His jaw clenched. His heartbeat thumped like a drum in his skull.
It wasn't gentle. It wasn't peaceful. It felt like wrestling a wild beast inside his own stomach.
Lucius watched from the bank with a small smirk tugging at his lips.
'The energy… it's at its peak. At this rate he might actually break through into a stage one warrior,' Lucius thought, folding his arms like he was watching a show he already knew the ending of.
As if the world wanted to confirm it, a system message flashed right in front of Alex's face.
[Congratulations. The host is now a Stage 3 Warrior.]
'No… no… no… not now… not now!'
Alex screamed inside as panic shot through him.
But it was pointless.
The suppressed qi burst out of him like an explosion.
Lucius saw the flare. The flash. The violent pulse rolling across the pond.
And Alex?
He didn't even have time to gasp.
His body gave out, and he collapsed backward into the water, unconscious.
Lucius stepped closer to the edge, staring at the boy floating there.
'He actually did it… He broke through into a stage one warrior… in a single day,' Lucius thought, the shock finally cracking through his calm expression.