In the following days, their lives fell into a never-ending cycle.
Every morning, Blake arrived at the villa like clockwork. After finishing his errands, he would immediately throw himself into high-intensity sparring with Rosal. Aila also appeared punctually for breakfast almost every day, only taking her leave leisurely after dinner.
Starting from the second day, Midir instructed Blake to purchase a moderate amount of meat from magical beasts whenever he went out for groceries.
While the violent energy surging within magical beast meat was practically no different from poison to ordinary people, it was the ultimate supplement for the two who were training daily.
Aila’s professional guidance provided immense help to both of them. Not only was Rosal’s progress remarkable, but even Blake, acting as her opponent, showed signs of an imminent breakthrough.
During this period, Blake grew more familiar with the group. Though he remained a bit stiff around Aila, he was nonetheless deeply grateful to her.
The two maintained a routine of working themselves to the point of exhaustion every day, only to be revived by the exquisite magical beast and vegetable feasts Midir prepared, before plunging back into the endless cycle of sparring. It was a state of painful bliss.
As time passed, Aila found herself needing to speak less and less as an instructor. Eventually, with nothing left to do, she spent her time sitting beside Midir, listening to the Magic Intelligence Book recount the stories from Carlos's Great Journey.
Around the fifteenth day, the weapon blueprints Aila had commissioned from a friend were finally perfected. Under everyone's watchful eyes, she used mithril and thunder steel to generate a brand-new weapon for Rosal from the Arms Crafter.
The weapon was still a clever combination of four individual blades. The rapier that served as the core frame would become Rosal’s primary sword.
The pair of symmetrical single-edged long blades would transform into the edges of a two-handed greatsword when the weapon was assembled. The short sword that formed the tip was designed in the shape of a broad dagger; once disassembled, it was not only easy to carry but also highly concealable.
All four components used mithril—which possessed excellent elasticity and superior adaptability to the flow of Battle Qi and magic—as the main body of the blades. The edges were reinforced with high-strength thunder steel in a double-layered structure.
This achieved a perfect balance between durability and sharpness. The ingenious mechanisms Aila designed allowed the weapon to be assembled and disassembled with effortless ease, showcasing unparalleled versatility.
As soon as Rosal received the new weapon, she couldn't wait to test its prowess in actual combat. She gave it a melodic name—“Thunderwing.”
The patterns on the mithril blade were shaped like beautiful feathers, and when the pieces were joined together, the designs resembled a pair of spreading wings.
“Thank you, Sister Aila! I’ll definitely treasure Thunderwing. Also... it must have been very expensive, right? I’ll definitely pay you back once I earn enough money.”
“There’s no need to pay me back. I told you I’d give you a weapon, and besides, it didn't cost me any of my own money. If you want to thank someone, thank Blake~”
Aila glanced at Blake, who was currently staring at the new weapon in Rosal’s hands with eyes full of envy.
“Huh? Why thank me?” Blake asked, scratching his head in confusion.
“Didn't you compensate me with a thousand gold coins? I spent five gold coins on a new dress, and the rest went toward the design fees and materials~ Since the weapon was generated using this device, there were no labor costs involved. Those thousand gold coins were just about enough.”
Aila patted the small pouch at her waist as she spoke.
“Is that so?”
“That’s right!”
...
Once Rosal became accustomed to Thunderwing’s combat style, Blake, who was still wearing his weights, discovered to his horror that he was actually starting to lose to her under his restricted conditions.
Thunderwing, crafted from premium materials, was more than just simple sharpness. It retained the mobility of a light weapon while being able to transform into a devastating two-handed sword in an instant. Its versatile combat style gradually forced Blake from the offensive into a defensive stance.
Before long, the refined steel sword in Blake’s hand let out a crisp snap under Thunderwing’s relentless assault, breaking into two pieces.
Blake had no choice but to swallow his pride and ask Aila to forge him a new longsword using the leftover scraps from Thunderwing’s production. Only after he decided to remove his weights did he finally begin to regain his footing.
During the days of their sparring, a small interlude occurred.
Before Rosal faced her monthly swordsman qualification exam again, Aila made a point to check the properties of her Battle Qi. The results revealed that Rosal’s Battle Qi was not purely Earth-type, but rather the extremely rare Metal-type, a branch of the Earth element.
The piercing power of the Metal-type could immediately raise a user’s destructive capability by one or two levels when channeled into a weapon. Although it was a branch of the Earth element, the cultivation directions for the two were diametrically opposed.
What made everyone laugh in spite of themselves was that Rosal, having lacked a teacher for so long, had relied entirely on hearsay. For years, she had been practicing using the steady and balanced cultivation methods meant for standard Earth-type Battle Qi.
“So you’re saying your progress has been this slow all this time because of that? My... Good heavens!”
Aila shook her head helplessly, her words filled with surprise and disbelief.
Upon hearing the news, Blake could only offer a bitter smile, stating that under equal conditions, he would never be able to defeat Rosal.
As for Midir, he merely offered a faint word of congratulations before walking back to the side to continue listening to his book.
In the subsequent swordsman qualification exam, Rosal achieved an unparalleled score, easily conquering the trial she had failed to overcome alone for several years. She was even granted the rank of Intermediate Swordsman by exception.
When Rosal accepted the qualification badge, tears glistened in her large red eyes. Looking at the small metal disc in her palm, she marveled at how the past month felt like a dream compared to her old life.
As her mentor, Aila gently patted her shoulder to encourage her, telling her that now that she had found the right path, her future was bright.
At that moment, Midir, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.
“Aila, I see you’re quite free every day. These past few days, while watching those two practice, I’ve been pondering some close-combat methods. How about you spar with me for a bit?”
His proposal caused everyone present to look on with expressions of disbelief. Just as Rosal hesitated to say something, Aila voiced her confusion bluntly.
“Aren't you a mage? Are you sure you want to spar with me in close combat?”
“Yes. Although I don't quite understand the principles of using Battle Qi, I think I can try to fuse magic and swordsmanship. However, those two are too weak; there’s no challenge in sparring with them.”
Blake opened his mouth to speak, but the memory of being easily subdued by Midir’s raw strength that day flashed through his mind, and he swallowed his words.
“True combat isn't something you can win with raw strength alone! But if you really want to spar, I suppose it’s not impossible. Just don't cry if you lose! And~ if you lose, you have to treat me to another month of meals! And no repeats!”
Aila blinked her beautiful eyes, followed by a mischievous smile.
“No problem. You say that as if you’ve been the one cooking this past month anyway. Since there’s a bet, what happens if you lose?”
“How could I possibly lose to you? If I lose... you can make any one request of me. As long as it’s reasonable, I’ll agree to it. How’s that?” Aila said, puffing out her chest and tilting her head up defiantly.
“I have no objection. Then it’s settled.”
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