The Forsaken Heir's Ascension
Chapter 88: Earth Dragon vs Black Thunder

Chapter 88: Earth Dragon vs Black Thunder

Alex nodded instantly.

Darian laughed. "That’s the spirit! You’ll need to train hard, then."

"When is the first match?" Alex asked.

Darian’s tone turned serious. "In five days. It’s the elimination round. Think carefully—if you’re not ready, just say so."

Then he added, "Do you know the rules of WW?"

Alex nodded slightly. "Some. Attacker and defenders. Each team has different roles. One captain."

Darian gave a satisfied nod. "You got it. The match lasts thirty minutes. Now, if you’re a defender, you only have two jobs." He raised two fingers.

"One, land a hit on the attacker while staying inside your column. Two, keep the attacker occupied for the full 30 minutes."

He grinned. "Simple, right?"

Alex nodded again. "What about the attacker?"

Darian’s expression turned grim. "As the attacker, you have one job and one job only—cross all ten columns as fast as possible."

Alex’s eyes widened. "That’s it?"

Darian chuckled. "That’s not everything, but that’s the gist."

Suddenly, a heavy voice interrupted.

"That’s the goal, not the gist."

Tina Drakthorn stepped forward, arms crossed, her presence like a wall of stone.

"This is a team effort," she said, her voice steady but commanding. "As a defender, you can’t let the attacker pass your column. As an attacker, your job isn’t just to run—it’s also to support your teammates. Help them cross, break through together."

Darian laughed and said, "Don’t scare the newbie away, Vice-Captain."

Then he turned to Alex. "Let’s do the test first. I’ll be the defender in the column—you play the attacker. What do you say?"

Alex smiled, intrigued. "Okay, let’s try."

Darian picked up his heavy shield with a loud rumble. Painted on it was a brown dragon coiled around a shiny silver emblem.

He stepped into the narrow lane marked by two parallel white lines—just wide enough for one person to run through.

Standing tall, Darian grinned. "Now, try to cross the column. For your information, I’m the best front defender at the academy."

Alex asked with a thoughtful voice, "Will you attack me from behind if I cross the column?"

Darian shook his head, suddenly serious. "That’s against the rules. Only the captain is allowed to run through the center column and defend vertically. Everyone else must stay in their position."

Alex drew his shadow daggers and bent his knees, crouching low as black lightning circled around him.

"I’m ready," he said.

Boom!

Darian slammed a fist against his shield and crouched behind it, hiding his boulder-like frame as earth elemental aura surged around him.

Around them, the team stopped what they were doing and gathered, watching with amused curiosity.

Whispers broke out:

"Newbie’s going against the captain?"

"No, it’s just a test. He can’t beat the captain."

"Yeah, Captain Darian is the top defender in the entire academy."

Alex stared at the stone wall of a man in front of him.

I still can’t control my lightning... but this feels good. He smiled.

Then—boom—he dashed forward, lightning trailing behind him.

Darian braced himself, cloaked in dense earth energy.

Crash!

Alex collided with the shield and rebounded violently, crashing to the floor.

"Arghh..." he groaned, slowly standing as green healing energy from the wood element mended his body.

The whispers turned into a storm:

"What was that?!"

"Did you see him crash?"

"No—I blinked, and he was already on the floor!"

Darian’s eyes widened. A crazed grin spread across his face.

Boom!

He slammed his shield on the ground and roared, "Attack again!"

Alex stood, smiling. "Here I come."

Crack, crack!

Black lightning sparked around him. This time, he tried to dash past Darian’s side.

But as he neared—

Boom!

The shield struck from the side, slamming Alex into the wall

Groaning, he pulled himself free, golden-green energy wrapping around his body.

A stunned silence fell over the hall. Every step Alex took echoed, breaking the stillness like thunder.

Darian laughed. "You’re quite good, kid! But you need more training with that speed. You’re not in control yet, right?"

Alex smiled, unfazed. "Yeah... but it’s fun. I want to try again."

Darian laughed louder. "That’s the spirit. Come!"

Alex crouched again, preparing to sprint. This time, he summoned his shadow daggers—without using the Red Snake poison.

Let’s focus on control this time.

Black lightning swirled wildly, cracking the air.

Boom!

A shockwave exploded as he launched forward.

In a flash, a dagger appeared, aimed at Darian’s head. The brown aura blocked it—then the shield came up to knock it away.

But before it could, another dagger came from below.

Darian, reacting with unnatural speed, parried the first and blocked the second with his shield.

Before Alex could react, Darian spun and slammed the shield into his face.

Boom!

Alex skidded across the floor.

Gasps echoed through the crowd.

Darian stood firm, watching him. "You’re good. You’ll make a great dasher—but you have to control that speed."

Then, shouts from the crowd:

"What?!"

"That speed’s unreal!"

A commanding voice cut through the noise.

"Quiet down."

Tina stepped forward. She extended a muscular hand. Alex took it and stood.

"You’ve got potential," she said, nodding. "If you had better control, you might’ve passed that musclehead."

Darian huffed, mock-offended. "Hey, I’m your captain! Show some respect!"

Tina waved him off like swatting a fly.

Turning back to Alex, she said, "Come here daily. I’ll train you as a proper dasher. And maybe... we’ll decide your defender position too."

Alex nodded, a smile on his face.

A little while before Alex entered the Rebel Club Hall...

Rina was training under the watchful eye of Tina Drakthorn. Her crimson eyes followed Rina’s every move with razor-sharp focus.

Rina practiced relentlessly—drawing her katana, running, striking—but her movements still lacked the sharpness Tina demanded.

"You’re still too slow," Tina said bluntly. "You’ll never be a proper dasher like this. Put more effort into it. Your draw needs to flash like lightning. Watch me."

Tina crouched, her sword sheathed at her waist. She pressed into the ground with explosive force and shot forward. Wind whooshed past the wooden practice logs arranged in columns. She moved like a blur—crossing one log, then another, switching columns fluidly.

Then, she stopped.

Clatter!

Every single practice log fell at once.

A heartbeat later, they reassembled with a mechanical hum.

Tina walked back, not even breaking a sweat. Her voice calm, yet firm: "Did you understand?"

Rina nodded silently, her expression serious.

Just then, she heard Darian’s booming voice welcoming Alex.

Her eyes widened. Her hand clenched around her katana’s hilt.

She turned toward the door, frozen.

She remained that way—still as a statue—until Alex left the club after his test.

Tina returned, noticing Rina hadn’t moved.

With her usual stern tone, she said, "You’ll have to face him eventually. Just get it over with. I won’t allow either of you to cause problems for our club.

As Alex left the club, Hati quietly followed him.

He made his way into the forest, lost in thought.

I need to control my speed. Running fast feels good, but without control, it’s useless. I also need mind-space attacks... and a way to defend against them. That new element—I can’t let anyone know about it. I’ll say it’s part of my Dark Element. I have to hide Hati’s powers too. If anyone finds out, they might try to take him away or hurt him.

He stopped and turned to look at the wolf beside him.

Kneeling, Alex gently caressed Hati’s fur and whispered, "Hati, don’t use your power in front of anyone, okay? Do you understand?"

"Woof."

Hati nodded, his eyes serious.

Suddenly, Hati growled lowly, staring over Alex’s shoulder.

Alex immediately stood and turned around.

Serene Seraph stood there, her presence as striking as ever—tight jeans hugging her legs, a fitted emerald-green shirt bringing out her sharp, seductive charm. Her emerald eyes shimmered with—concern.

Her snake-like voice slithered out, soft but cold.

"How are you?"

Alex stared at his aunt, a deep frown creasing his face. His eyes were cautious, calculating.

He said nothing.

Serene sighed and stepped closer. Uncomfortably close.

She leaned in, her lips nearly brushing his cheek as she whispered into his ear:

"The monsters trying to revive the Thunder God... they were planning to use you guys as sacrifice."

Alex’s eyes widened in shock.

But before he could speak—before even a single word could escape his lips—she was gone.

As Alex looked back, she was already gone—like the wind.

He sighed and looked up at the sky.

"Let’s train, Hati."

They walked to their usual spot: a large boulder scarred by countless staff strikes. Hati yawned, settled beneath a tree, and closed his eyes.

Alex shook his head with a smirk. "This guy..."

"Let’s start with control of the black lightning power."

He paused, then nodded to himself.

"Yes, that’s a good name for it."

Then, stroking his chin, he reconsidered.

"No, no—Black Thunder sounds better."

His eyes lit up. "Black Thunder... yeah, that sounds cooler."

"Woof," came a bark of agreement from the still-sleeping wolf.