Chapter 171: Controlled Chaos
Arthur lifted one hand and a small flame appeared above his palm.
Then it stretched.
Twisted.
Formed into a sharp glowing shape.
Another appeared beside it.
Then another.
Several small fire constructs floated in the air around him.
Arthur smiled.
"Let’s try this."
He flicked his fingers.
The flames shot forward.
WHOOSH
They flew toward the moving teammates.
Nox yelped.
"Hey wait!"
Selene ducked under one.
Althea immediately shifted her focus.
Their coordination broke instantly.
Commander Lyra watched the chaos unfold.
And her smile returned.
Arthur had understood exactly what she wanted.
The drill went on for a while as Commander Lyra simply watched.
Arthur had only been in the drill for a short time, yet the difference was obvious.
The fire constructs in the air did not behave like wild spells. They moved with direction, with timing, with purpose. Each one appeared, floated for a second as if waiting for a signal, then shot forward toward one of the moving targets.
Lyra’s eyes narrowed slightly.
His control improved again.
The last time she saw him use fire, it had been good. Strong and sharp, but still rough around the edges.
Now it was different.
Arthur stood near the edge of the field with his hands relaxed at his sides, and yet flames kept appearing around him as if answering a quiet call.
The source was simple.
Intent.
Arthur pulled the fire from the air the same way he had practiced the previous day. His mind shaped the flame first, then his skill guided it. After that his vector sovereignty pushed it where he wanted.
One flame became two.
Two became five.
Soon several glowing constructs floated around him.
Some looked like thin spears.
Some like spinning discs.
Others were small darts made of flickering heat.
Arthur exhaled slowly.
"Alright... let’s see how far I can push this."
His fingers moved slightly.
The first spear shot forward.
It flew straight toward Nox.
"AH!"
She ducked while dragging both sacks on her shoulder.
The spear shot past her head and struck a pillar behind.
Before she could complain, two more flames curved from the side.
Selene jumped over one while rolling away from another.
"Seriously?"
Althea was forced to cancel a spell halfway because a spinning disc rushed past her shoulder.
She glared at Arthur from across the field.
"You’re enjoying this way too much."
Arthur grinned.
"Training is supposed to be fun."
"This isn’t!" she retorted while moving.
Meanwhile Nox was still running the route while dragging both heavy sacks.
"Why is he allowed to join this!"
Another flame curved from above.
She barely slid under a crate before it passed.
Selene clicked her tongue.
"Focus!"
But even she felt the difference now.
Arthur’s attacks did not come randomly.
Sometimes they came slow enough to force movement.
Sometimes they came fast enough to punish hesitation.
Sometimes they curved strangely and forced the team to change direction completely.
The difficulty of the drill had easily tripled.
Ryn folded his arms while watching from the side.
"...Yeah. He’s broken."
Torren nodded slowly.
"No argument there."
It had only been a day.
Yet Arthur had already shown skills none of them had seen in the first drill.
And the scary part was that he didnt seem like still hadn’t used everything.
Even Selene knew that.
She muttered under her breath while dodging another flame.
"He didn’t even use half of this in the earlier drill."
Nox jumped over a beam.
"Can he not get even stronger!"
But even while complaining they couldn’t deny it.
Arthur was strong.
Not just strong.
Dangerous.
Meanwhile the commander continued watching.
Ideas were already forming in her head.
She stepped closer to Arthur.
"Can you further increase the intensity?"
Arthur glanced at her.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"Of course."
That was all the answer she needed.
Lyra turned toward the others standing aside.
"Torren."
The large tanker straightened.
"Yes commander."
"You will protect Nox."
Torren blinked.
"While she runs?"
"Yes."
Lyra’s eyes sharpened.
"That is why I asked Arthur if he could make it harder."
She looked at Arthur briefly.
"If he says he can increase the pressure, then I trust him."
Torren stepped forward immediately.
He moved beside Nox who was still dragging the sacks across the course.
Nox almost cried when she saw him.
"Finally someone helping me!"
Torren raised his shield.
"Stay behind me when you can."
Lyra turned again.
"Ryn."
Ryn pushed himself off the pillar.
"Yeah?"
"You will disrupt Arthur."
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
Lyra nodded.
"You are not allowed to use intent step."
Arthur sighed dramatically.
"You’re killing my style."
But he didn’t argue.
Lyra continued.
"You may still attack Ryn if needed."
Ryn grinned immediately.
"Perfect."
Lyra’s voice remained calm.
"This will also force you to strengthen your defense."
Arthur shrugged.
"Fair."
Lyra stepped back.
"Begin."
The field exploded into motion again.
Arthur moved first.
More flames appeared around him.
This time there were more of them.
Not just spears or darts.
Small spinning blades of fire floated near his shoulders.
Thin streaks hovered above him like waiting arrows.
Arthur breathed out slowly and then released them.
The attacks came fast.
A flame dart rushed toward Nox but suddenly curved at the last moment.
Torren slammed his shield forward.
THUD
The fire burst against the metal.
Before he could relax, another one came from the side.
Torren turned again.
Nox groaned.
"You’re not helping!"
"I’m trying!"
Meanwhile Selene had to dodge two flames while keeping her bow ready.
She fired an arrow while sliding across the ground.
The arrow clipped one of Arthur’s fire constructs mid air.
Arthur chuckled.
"Nice shot."
But three more replaced it instantly.
Ryn dashed forward at the same time.
Arthur noticed him immediately.
"Oh here we go."
Ryn swung his blade.
Arthur lifted his hand and released a small wave of force.
The suppression wave pushed Ryn back slightly.
"Not so fast," Arthur said.
Ryn grinned.
"Commander banned your intent step, let’s see you defend yourself."
"Don’t need it." Arthur replied smugly.