An endless struggle to grow strohat was what this journey had bee.

  Ats pushed forward, each step feeling heavier as he fought against the raging storm. The wind howled like a beast, savage and unfiving, tearing at his body with fury. But it wasn’t just the wind anymore. The storm had fully e alive—a torrent of rain mixed with blinding fshes of lightning, each strike crashing into the ground with devastating power.

  “Hell, please.” He gritted his teeth, trying to push through the chaos.

  “I have a high affinity with Water. And I'm used to Lightning. This should be easy for me!”

  But fate didn’t seem to care.

  A blinding bolt of lightning struck the ground beside him. The sheer force of it sent him flying through the air, smming his body into a cluster of jagged rocks. His back hit the stone hard, but he grit his teeth through the pain, f himself back to his feet.

  Ats steadied himself, his hands gripping the earth beh him as he found his footing again. His gaze locked oing around him—this was his ce. The perfect opportunity to push himself beyond his limits, to accelerate his progress and plete the quest.

  No bag down. No sed-guessing!

  He’d faced worse.

  He’d endured relentless waves, storms of energy, brutal bat training.

  This wasn’t o him!

  Ats spun his spear. The crag energy in the air began to respond, elemental particles weaving into his body, ing him in a thin current of golden lightning.

  “Run,” he told himself, gripping his spear tighter. “Just run!”

  He pushed forward, his pace quiie the storm’s brutal ford the occasional o steady himself when a lightning strike crashed dangerously close.

  But then—a familiar presence emerged at his side.

  It was Kurogasa.

  “I will apany you, My Lord,” he said with a respectful bow.

  Ats grinned. “Let’s go!”

  The two of them ran side by side, charging through the heart of the storm. Even so, Ats couldn’t help but notice that Kurogasa was holding back, carefully matg his pace.

  This was no ordinary ru wasn’t as brutal as his volic terrain training. Back then, he’d stumbled blindly through molten rocks, stripped of all his senses, relying on pure instinct to survive. Here, it was different. Here, he could use his awareness—his focus—to navigate the chaos.

  The challenge wasn’t blindness.

  It was the storm itself.

  The relentless rain that battered his body, the violent wind that howled from every dire, and the crashing lightning that struck without warning. It wasn’t just physical endura demanded bance, sharp instincts, and adaptability.

  And Ats?

  He was thriving.

  With each step, he could feel it—the growth. His senses sharpened, his instincts heightehe storm wasn’t a barrier to overe. It was a gift.

  It forced him to stay grounded while chaed all around him. It pushed him to adapt, to read the wind’s movement, to predict its sudden shifts, and to adjust his path accly. Every strike of lightning, every gust of wind—each was aest, another push toward mastery.

  Ats wasn’t just surviving the storm.

  He was mastering it.

  Who knows what kind of terrain he would fa the future? What kind of enemies would stand in his way?

  This was the perfect ce to prepare. To test himself in the harshest ditions. To bee the kind of warrior who could survive anything.

  Ats wasn’t just running to finish the training.

  He was chasing perfe.

  He inteo seize every challenge ahead—and master it!

  As the days passed, Ats grew more fident with each step. His strides became steadier, his movements more fluid. He wasn’t just running through the storm anymore—he was being oh it. He had learo move with the wind, to anticipate the sudden gusts, to dodge the relentless strikes of lightning that crashed into the ground around him.

  And then there was the bird.

  The same monster bird that had attacked him before. It swooped down from the swirling skies, its enormous wings slig through the storm as it circled above him.

  Ats gnced up and grinned. Here we go again.

  The bird dived sharply toward him, talons stretched, but he dodged with ease, skidding to the side as lightning illumihe sky.

  The iion, strangely enough, felt… fun.

  Was the bird toying with him? Testing him? Or perhaps, just maybe, it ying with him.

  The bird twisted mid-air and unched atack, this time from an ued as spun his spear and deflected the strike with a precise parry, sending the creature spiraling off course.

  It stumbled for a moment, battered by the raging winds, but quickly righted itself and soared bato the stormy skies.

  Tough bird.

  He smirked, wiping the rain from his face.

  This one doesn’t give up easily.

  Every day, the bird returned. And every day, it seemed t friends. Other monster birds joined in, swooping and diving as they took turns attag him. Yet, the more they came, the more he grew to enjoy the challenge.

  It was like a game.

  And he loved it.

  He ughed out loud as he dodged atack, his voice carried away by the wind. The storm, the birds, the lightning—it all felt like a chaotice. A dance he was gettier at with each passing day.

  The monster bird screeched in frustration after missing atack.

  Ats twirled his spear, still grinning.

  “You’ll have to do better than that!” he shouted through the storm.

  Eventually, after one final csh, Ats nded a solid blow on the bird’s side. The creature screeched, fpping its massive wings to gain altitude, retreating into the sky.

  “e baorrow, yeah?”

  Until finally, oenth day, the notification he had been longing for appeared at st!

  [gratutions, Ats!]

  [You have successfully pleted the sed quest: "The Eye of the Storm."]

  [You navigated the fierce winds and lightning hazards of the storm-filled path, demonstrating your ability to adapt and ehrough elemental challenges.]

  [You have further developed your synergy with lightning, enhang your mobility and flow in battle. Your mastery over stormy ditions has improved stamina recovery and movement speed during prolonged es.]

  [You have received 50,000 EXP awarded.]

  [New Skill Unlocked: Epic - Lightning Step (Active Skill)]

  [Description: Dashes forward using lightning energy, leaving a crag trail that damages and slows enemies.]

  [Effect:

  Deals 80% damage to enemies ih.

  Slows enemies by 20% for 3 seds]

  [New Skill Unlocked: Epic - Tidecaller’s Flow (Passive Skill)]

  [Description: Water and lightning abilities flow naturally, improving stamina recovery and movement speed when fighting in stormy or wet ditions.

  [Effect:

  Stamina Recovery: Increases stamina regeion by 15% in stormy or water-filled enviros.

  Movement Speed: Increases movement speed by 10% when using water htning abilities.]

  [You have received the quest.]

  [Third Quest: "Stormbinding Challenge"]

  Ats stood with bored breaths, his chest rising and falling heavily. The sted around him, but all he could focus on was the glowing notification before his eyes.

  Finally, he had earhe rewards for his grueling training.

  Two Epic-grade skills. At once.

  His lips curled into a grin as he lifted his gaze toward Kurogasa, who stood patiently nearby.

  Without wasting another sed, Ats spun his spear, the familiar weight f in his hands. Time to activate one of them.

  “Lightning Step,” he anded.

  Immediately, a surge of energy flooded his body. His heart pounded faster, his blood felt electrified, and his muscles practically hummed with power. In an instant, his entire body felt lighter—faster—stronger.

  Ats stomped his foot against the rocky ground, and his body became a blur of motion, ed in crag lightning. He shot forward like a streak of golden light, c several meters in the blink of ahe wind howled in his ears, uo keep up with his speed.

  When he finally came to a stop, he gnced behind him, notig the faint trail of crag lightni in his wake. It shimmered and sparked, fading slowly into the air.

  He chuckled softly, his excitement barely tained.

  The sed skill assive—ohat would activate on its own uhe right ditions. He didn’t er it manually.

  “gratutions, my Lord,” Kurogasa said, stepping closer with a respectful bow.

  Ats nodded, spinning his spear again, a spark of lightning crag along its shaft.

  “Let’s head bap. Let’s see how far the others have e.”

  Kurogasa bowed again.

  Ats, uo tain his excitement, activated Lightning Step once more. The sheer burst of speed filled him with exhiration. He felt unstoppable.

  This wasn’t just a mobility skill. It was a on.

  With it, he could maneuver faster than most could react—the perfect tool for a cle fighter like him. Positioning, closing gaps, dodging strikes—he could already imagine how it would ge his bat style.

  His arsenal was more plete now.

  But he wasn’t done, yet.

  There was still one more quest waiting for him. One more challehat would push him even further. And if he pleted it? He was certain he’d unloething even more extraordinary.

  But even beyond that…

  The Dominion Skirmish loomed ahead.