Return of the Legendary Runesmith - Chapter 463

Chapter 463: Chapter 462- Anger
The crackling sound resonated through the garden.

Mana flared around Adrian’s body in sharp pulses, thin layers reinforcing muscle and bone as he lunged forward without hesitation. His footwork was tight, precise, each step measured despite the crushing gravity still gnawing at his limbs. He moved fast—far faster than he had any right to after the previous training session—but it still wasn’t enough.

Valor shifted.

Barely.

Adrian’s fist cut through the air where Valor’s jaw had been a heartbeat ago, the displacement so small it was almost insulting. A tilt of the head. A half-step back. The punch missed by the width of a finger.

Adrian didn’t stop.

He twisted his waist, chaining the motion into a knee strike, mana surging to reinforce the joint as he drove it upward with intent to shatter ribs. Valor exhaled calmly and slid aside, the knee brushing past his shirt, close enough to stir the fabric but never close enough to land.

Too close. Again.

Adrian gritted his teeth and pressed harder.

His movements were clean now, stripped of wasted force. Each strike flowed into the next—elbow, palm, backfist—his body screaming under the strain while mana patched over the cracks just fast enough to keep him standing. The ground beneath his feet fractured slightly as he pushed off, raw speed forcing his body beyond its natural limits.

Valor retreated once more, not hurried, not strained. His dodges were minimal, efficient. A shift of the shoulder. A turn of the wrist guides a strike past him. Adrian’s attacks passed within inches of skin, close enough that even an observer would swear Valor should have been hit.

But he wasn’t.

Adrian’s breathing grew heavier.

Each inhale burned. Each exhale rattled in his chest.

Without mana reinforcement, his legs would have given out long ago. The earlier training had drained him to the edge, and now he was fighting on borrowed strength, forcing his body to obey through sheer will.

Still, he chased that single hit.

One graze. One touch.

He surged forward again, faster than before, mana spiking violently as he poured everything into one decisive strike. His arm blurred, cutting straight for Valor’s centerline.

Valor leaned back.

Just enough.

The strike missed by a breath.

Adrian staggered past him, boots scraping against stone as his momentum finally betrayed him. He caught himself, shoulders heaving, mana flickering unevenly around his frame.

Valor stood behind him, untouched, posture relaxed.

But this time, his eyes were sharp.

“You’re close,” Valor said calmly.

Adrian didn’t respond. He straightened slowly, fists trembling, lungs screaming for air.

Close wasn’t enough.

He spun abruptly, his elbow aimed at Valor’s face—but the defender caught it easily.

Adrian thought Valor would push him away, but, rather, Valor pulled him closer, his lips near Adrian’s ear as he whispered,

“When I reached I saw Nytharos clutching Ariana’s neck with enough strength to make her flail like a dying fish. Just another moment and he would have snapped her neck like a cucumber.”

Adrian’s breath hitched.

The world narrowed to a single point as something inside him snapped.

Mana didn’t just surge—it spilled.

The air around him warped, rippling as if struck by invisible lashes. The ground beneath his feet cracked with a sharp report, grass instantly blackening where his aura brushed it. What had once been controlled reinforcement turned violent, raw, leaking outward with every pulse of his heart.

Valor released his elbow and stepped back.

Adrian vanished.

Not truly, but the displacement of air was so violent it looked as though space itself had folded. A thunderous crack split the garden as Adrian reappeared in front of Valor, his fist already moving.

Valor raised one arm.

The impact detonated.

Mana exploded outward in a circular shockwave, scorching the grass into ash and flattening the surrounding hedges. Valor slid back half a step, boots carving shallow lines into stone, his coat snapping violently behind him.

Adrian didn’t give him time to reset.

He came again.

His movements were no longer smooth—they were feral, each strike snapping like a whip through the air. Elbows, fists, knees, each one carried enough force to shatter bone, mana compressing around his limbs until they screamed under the pressure.

Valor defended with a single arm.

Block. Redirect. Deflect.

His free hand never moved, but even then, the strain was visible. Each impact forced his shoulder back a fraction, the air screaming as Adrian’s attacks passed within a breath of his face.

“Not enough,” Valor said calmly, parrying a hook that scorched past his cheek. “You won’t be able to protect them like this.”

Adrian roared and drove forward, foot slamming into the ground hard enough to crater it. He twisted mid-step, momentum bending unnaturally as mana forced his body to obey, and unleashed a spinning strike that tore the air apart.

Valor crossed his forearm just in time.

The collision sounded like metal snapping.

Grass ignited in streaks around them, scorched black in jagged lines where Adrian’s mana lashed out uncontrolled. Leaves disintegrated midair. Stones lifted and shattered under the pressure.

“You know,” Valor continued, voice steady even as he absorbed another blow, “she couldn’t even scream properly. Her body was already losing strength.”

Adrian’s vision went red.

His next movement was almost invisible.

The garden erupted as he blurred from one side of Valor to the other, strikes raining down from impossible angles. The air cracked repeatedly, each movement leaving behind distorted afterimages, his body moving less like flesh and more like a force of nature tearing forward.

Valor was forced back now.

Not retreating—adjusting.

His arm burned as he blocked again and again, each impact heavier than the last. The ground behind him shattered with every step he took to maintain balance.

“That anger,” Valor said, finally exhaling a sharp breath as he caught another strike inches from his throat, “is exactly why you survived.”

Adrian swung again, faster, harder, mana screaming as it bled into the surroundings. The garden was no longer green—only scorched earth and drifting embers remained.

His movement became pure intent.

A whipping storm of violence.

….

“Haah…haaah…haaa…haaaa…” Adrian’s irises shrank to tiny orbs as he panted with his mouth agape.

He couldn’t see, feel, or sense anything around him at the moment.

Right now, even a child could slit his throat and he wouldn’t be able to protest.

His body was screaming in agony, his mana nodes overworked, and his mind falling to register anything.

Valor sat there, ready to carry Adrian to the medics if things grew more severe.

It took Adrian more than ten minutes before his breathing grew a little calmer and he could see properly.

Turning towards Valor, the first thing Adrian asked was, “Why did you do that?”

Valor knew exactly what he meant so he answered honestly, “Because, unlike us armament users, independent magic users become stronger with their growing emotions. I am sure you know that.”

Yes, he did. And a part of Adrian knew it at that time, too, when Valor was saying those cruel words.

But with words, an image began to be constructed before his eyes, forcing him to think about what must have happened back then.

Think about everything Ariana and Annabelle went through. And Adrian completely lost it.

“You did great, actually. And you definitely are above average with those techniques.” Valor complimented, “You just need to understand and learn how to harness your emotions to your benefit.”

Pointing to the garden which had dozens of charred marks and burnt grass patches, Valor added, “Or you would only end up wasting your energy in doing no visible damage to your opponent.”

Adrian silently listened to him until the end before he finally asked, “What should I do next?” He still had about two hours left before he would be forced to return.

That’s why, Adrian was thinking of utilising the time he had left—but,

“Just stay here and relax. Try cooling down your mana nodes and enjoy the breeze.” Valor responded with a smile.

Adrian blinked in surprise, “Huh? But we would be wasting time.”

Valor hummed before asking, “If that’s so, why don’t you try getting up, and then we decide how we can utilise the time?”

Adrian actually tried but from Valor’s perspective, he didn’t move an inch from his spot.

They both could see that Adrian’s body was well beyond the point of doing any physical movement. The only reason he hadn’t lost consciousness was his sheer will and reinforcement of mana.

Adrian exhaled a sigh and lifted his hands from the grass, allowing his body to hit the ground.

Before him spread the wide sky with countless stars twinkling. The breeze was nice, and after such a fatiguing session, he needed no bed to relax.

“Since I won’t be doing any more training, it’s better I leave early and save you from taking care of me.”

Valor hummed, “Are you sure? I don’t have many things to do, I can accompany you.”

Adrian barely shook his head and said, “No, it’s fine. Ariana and Annabelle must be getting worried.” He slowly tilted his head to look at Valor before saying,

“Thank you, my friend.”

Valor sweetly smiled and said, “Anytime.”