Magus Supremacy

"Argh! Wh… what happened?" Grey muttered, his hand instinctively creeping up to his head, which was throbbing as if he had just survived the worst hangover of his life.

"Wh… where am I?" he wondered aloud, his voice hoarse as his blurry vision slowly began to sharpen. A ceiling stretched high above him, carved with strange patterns he couldn't quite place.

Gradually, memories seeped back into his mind like water filling cracks in stone. The assessment… his tumble off the cliff… the dark, damp cave exploration… the sudden teleportation into a strange castle.

Then came the fierce battle with the gargoyles, and finally, the fight with their leader that had nearly ended his life. The memory of that searing pain made him wince the way his bones had cracked, shifted, and reshaped themselves before everything went black.

"I must have passed out from the pain. But what was that? My bones… they were breaking and reforming. What happened to me?" Grey asked, still staring at the ceiling in confusion.

"What you just experienced is what other Yun warriors like you go through," a voice answered from the shadows of the room.

Grey yelped in surprise and scrambled to his feet, turning sharply toward the source. There, seated at the foot of a towering throne, was Thalos.

His massive sword was plunged deep into the floor, one stone arm resting casually on its hilt. His golden eyes glowed faintly as they studied Grey.

Seeing the general, Grey instantly tensed, his hands rising into a defensive stance but then he froze. His eyes flicked down, widening in disbelief.

'Wait! That's impossible… My hands… I remember them being sliced off during the fight. How are they back?'

"I know you must be wondering about your hands," Thalos said, a faint smile pulling at his lips as he leaned back slightly. "I used one of the rewards my former master left behind to regrow your limbs."

"Oh yeah? Did you do that so we could have a rematch?" Grey asked, one eyebrow raised as he let Ki gather in his palms. But then he stopped again, his focus shifting back to his own body.

Hold on.

Closing his eyes, he slipped into meditation. Immediately, he could feel the abundant Ki swirling inside him, denser and more vibrant than before.

When he opened his hands and clenched them again, his strength felt… different. More refined. Testing further, he swung his arm through the air and his hand blurred, moving nearly twice as fast as it once had.

'What… is this? I feel stronger. Faster. What happened to me?'

"You went through an evolution," Thalos replied calmly, as though reading Grey's thoughts. Rising from his seat, he left his sword behind and strode toward Grey with deliberate steps.

Grey's instincts flared. He immediately raised his guard again, unwilling to underestimate the creature that had nearly killed him. Thalos halted about two metres away, his posture relaxed but his presence still heavy.

"Your body couldn't handle the brutal beating it took. You pushed yourself past your limits, through hurdle after hurdle. The weights you carried didn't just slow you down they refined your body. Every blow, every strain, shaped you further."

And finally, experiencing a life-or-death situation forced your body through an evolution," Thalos explained.

"Evolution? What does that mean? What do you mean by that?" Grey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean congratulations — you are now a Stage 2 Yun Warrior. And as you might have noticed, you are now stronger and faster than before." Thalos grinned as he stared at Grey.

"That much is clear. But I don't understand one thing. Why haven't you killed me yet? You woke up before me and could have practically finished me off, but you didn't. Why is that?" Grey asked, still keeping his eyebrow arched.

"Many years ago, the gargoyles were our own distinct race. We lived on the Vayun Continent, deep in a mountainous region. We had our own leaders, our own rulers. We lived together, raised families, and had offspring of our own.

Although we lived in peace, our ruler was always afraid of something. So, he decided to create his own army with me and four others as generals. The generals were the strongest gargoyles to have ever lived.

Even stronger than our ruler. And so, we took it upon ourselves to safeguard our home. Life remained good until the day they struck, and everything changed." Thalos sighed, his gaze turning distant as he looked at Grey, a hint of melancholy flickering in his eyes.

"Struck? Who struck?" Grey pressed, his curiosity growing.

"They called themselves the Otherworlders, or something like that," Thalos replied, and Grey's brows knitted together in confusion.

'Otherworlders? Why does it feel like I've heard that name before? Where did I hear it? Who are they?' Grey thought, still staring at Thalos.

"We were at a loss. They were stronger than us, far stronger, and they planned to wipe us out completely. But they couldn't. That was because he descended the creator of the Aetherian Faction, the founder of the Aetherian Academy.

He descended when we were on the brink of annihilation. Our ruler, our people, and the other four generals were already gone, and the rest of us were moments away from sharing the same fate. But then he arrived, and the tide turned. He drove the invaders away."

'The creator of the Aetherian Academy? Who is he? Just how powerful is he? Damn it! I need more answers,' Grey thought, keeping his gaze fixed on Thalos.

"Since we were lost and vulnerable, I pledged my allegiance and loyalty to him. From that day on, I became his general, guarding and protecting the Aetherian Faction.

But one day, he suddenly came to me. He was injured, weak, and battered, muttering strange words. Then, without warning, he teleported us to this place and gave me an order an instruction I was meant to follow without question.

He said he would return for us. But he never did. My guess is he died not long after, leaving me here… alone, without a master. I felt lost, stranded. I had strength and power, but I could not help my savior when he needed me most.

I felt useless. Every day, I longed for a new master, someone I could pledge my loyalty to. Someone to whom I could lend my strength, so that together we could vanquish all our foes."

"Wait a moment! I only asked a simple question, and you decided to give me a history lesson? Why? Now I have even more unanswered questions," Grey groaned, rubbing his face in exasperation.

"I told you all this because I have a request to make," Thalos said, raising his hand into the air. His greatsword rattled for a moment before shooting out of the ground and landing firmly in his grasp.

Grey tensed, watching the gargoyle warily, ready for anything but what Thalos did next caught him completely off guard.

With his sword raised, Thalos suddenly dropped to one knee. He placed the blade across his arm, his gaze fixed firmly on Grey, and a small smile tugged at his lips.

"What are you doing?" Grey asked, his eyes wide.

"Please… allow me to serve you. I wish to pledge my allegiance and loyalty to yo...wait, what's your name?" Thalos asked, pausing mid-sentence.

"Grey," he replied instinctively.

"Good! Then I hereby pledge my allegiance and loyalty to Grey, the Warrior Mage, and promise to follow each and every one of his commands to the letter." Thalos' voice carried fierce determination, the air around him almost vibrating with sincerity.

"Wait… what?!" Grey shouted in shock.