�If I break this, please grant me a wish.�

�A wish?�

Vincent was anxious.

�What if he says that he wants to study? What if he asks me to send him to an academy like the nobles?�

�Take me to the city with you this time.�

To be honest, his request frightened Vincent out of his wits. However, he didn�t reveal it in his expression and laughed back.

�If it�s just that, then that�s not too hard! I�ll grant this wish of yours!�

Shirone smiled while holding up his axe.

Then, after a while, the smile disappeared from his lips. Vincent felt a little appalled.

The sight of Shirone staring at the tree was eerie. It seemed as if he was looking at something only he could see.

The axe swung.

This time, although he aimed exactly where the previous dent was located, there was a slight alteration that normal humans would not be able to discern.

Craacck!

Vincent�s eyes widened as a sound resembling thunder rang out.

�That�s�?�

Fissures appeared in the place the axe was struck. The tree, unable to handle the weight, fell.

�Yay! I did it!�

Vincent couldn�t believe it.

What Shirone succeeded in doing was called a �Thunder Strike�, which was considered a legend among lumberjacks.

�It�s a skill that even I succeed in performing only once in a blue moon or so, and by luck, that is.�

There must have been a weak or a vital spot.

A very small probability, one that existed with variables such as shape, weight, or formation deficiency.

Most lumberjacks experienced it once, but to do it consciously would be like a dream come true.

It�s not like you had to cut down a tree that way, but if you swing your axe with that thought in mind, expecting and hoping for something, you�d only get tired and give up.

It was different from the world of swordsmen, where they focused on the importance of swinging technique.�

Vincent didn�t know the details, but it was a phenomenon that had already been studied amongst them. Even so, beginners among those swordmasters could not even think of attempting something like this.

�I did it! I did it!�

Shirone was more delighted to be able to enter the city than about what he�d done.

�Dad! You have to keep your promise, okay?�

Vincent�s mind, while staring blankly at his son jumping up and down, became conflicted. JrNovels.com