Blade Dancer

“So you actually remember my name, Young Master? I almost thought my name was just Head Maid.”

Her cold tone carried a hint of resentment.

Even though Lynn was holding her hands, Sena maintained her usual coldness.

Though the slight flush on the tips of her ears betrayed her.

“While your desire to grow stronger is commendable, Young Master, aren't you being a bit too hasty?”

“From the moment you started flipping through these magic books, only a week has passed, all things considered.”

She subtly advised him, implying her concern, “Wouldn't it be better to have a bit more patience?”

Lynn responded with a smug laugh.

“Hehehe~ Don't worry, Sena. I've already learned them all.”

“All of them?”

Her beautiful, dark eyebrows knitted slightly.

“You shouldn't boast so—” Her sharp sarcasm was abruptly choked back into her throat.

Dazzling, blazing flames erupted from beneath Lynn's feet, instantly forming a spinning circle that shielded him.

The rising flames flickered, illuminating his handsome face.

“A Tier 3 spell... Circle of Blazing Fire...?!”

This was the first time Lynn had heard such a massive fluctuation in Sena's tone since he regained his memories.

“How is it?”

This was the biggest hurdle Lynn had tackled over the past three days.

Condensing magic power into a fire circle to shield oneself was a powerful spell that served both offense and defense.

It had been passed down since the first year of the Sacred Dragon Calendar, refined by time. It was even listed among the ten most outstanding spells for a Tier 3 Mage.

Corresponding to its powerful effects was its ridiculously high difficulty level.

It was no exaggeration to say that as long as one mastered this single spell, they could smoothly graduate from a magic academy and become a highly sought-after retainer for local lords. It wouldn't be far-fetched to call it a meal ticket for the rest of one's life.

The light in front of him suddenly dimmed.

“(-_-) Stare—”

Sena blinked her beautiful eyes, sizing Lynn up as if looking at a rare animal.

“Poke—”

She even reached out in confusion and poked the dazzling fire circle.

“Ah, hot,” she read aloud in a completely deadpan, emotionless voice.

“In just three days...?”

“Yeah. And compared to me, Lilian's progress is even faster~”

“I apologize for my previous rude doubts,” Sena said solemnly.

“I accept your request for instruction, Young Master.”

After her decisive agreement, she returned to being the swift and resolute Head Maid.

Lynn was suddenly taken aback.

Because Sena, who was right in front of him, suddenly smiled.

It was completely different from her usual indifference—it was a wild, highly aggressive smile.

It was like encountering a napping lion on the vast savannah—

Lazy yet brutal.

“Then, without further ado, let us begin right now.”

“...Now?”

A pair of hands like iron pincers grabbed Lynn's shoulders. His entire body froze as an ominous premonition welled up from the depths of his heart.

Amidst a piercing sonic boom, Sena and his figure blurred, moving at high speed.

“Wait a minute—!”

Leaving only his helpless cry echoing in the air.

...

A strong sense of weightlessness and nausea hit him.

It felt like being stuffed into a washing machine and spun frantically for half an hour.

Lynn dizzily scrambled up from the training ground floor.

Then, he watched with his own eyes as Sena brutally dragged in her second victim.

“Uwah—”

Lilian, who was also thrown dizzily into the training ground, saw stars.

Having just been jolted awake from her sleep, she yawned and mumbled to Lynn, “Young Master... good morning...”

“It's already noon!”

Sena, now changed into casual clothes, walked briskly into the training ground.

Having shed her maid uniform, she seemed to have liberated her true nature, her tone significantly lighter.

She barked out:

“For the next three months, until you enter the academy, Young Master, I will conduct a hellish training regimen in my own style.”

“If you want to back out, there is still time!”

Lilian weakly raised her small hand.

“Hmm?”

Sena's sharp gaze snapped toward her, making her instantly shiver in fright.

Still not fully grasping the situation, she weakly pointed at herself.

“Do I have to train too?”

“Of course!”

“Lilian, have you forgotten what I told you that day? Do you want to disappoint the Young Master?”

“O-Of course not!”

“Very well! Then just like him, pick up your weapon! Face me!”

From the dazzling array of weapons in the rack, Lynn drew a longsword. Lilian, avoiding the swords and blades that frightened her, selected a lightweight staff.

In contrast, Sena casually shouldered a wooden sword and grinned.

“I've always been a pragmatist. Give it everything you've got and let me see what you're made of!”

“As for the passing criteria... let's do this.”

She untied the hair tie from her head and wrapped it around her left wrist.

“If you can damage this hair tie or make it fall off my wrist, you win.”

“There will be a secret reward~” She winked suggestively.

“I will suppress my output to that of a Tier 3 Warrior, so feel free to go all out.” She wiped the corner of her mouth. “Now, here I come!”

Dead silence.

A deathly quiet fell over the area.

The clamor of the training ground ground to a sudden halt. The air became so thick it felt as if it would clog their lungs.

The storm was brewing.

Lynn tensed his muscles, staring intently at Sena's every move.

How would she attack?

A dash? A ranged throw? Or...

His pupils suddenly dilated.

Sena calmly raised her left foot, then stepped down lightly.

What?

Arriving a step ahead of his confusion was his instinct, screaming in red alert.

Every cell in his body was warning him in sheer terror.

Lynn stomped on the ground, attempting to dodge, but his foot met empty air.

What was happening?!

He snapped his head down, only to see the ground wailing as it split open in a hideous fissure.

The deafening roar finally caught up.

Billowing dust blanketed everything in sight.

“The ground... split open?”

Lynn muttered to himself, his expression grim.

“This is not the kind of difficulty level a story is supposed to start with, hey.”

...

Fortunately, his experience as a hardcore gamer allowed Lynn to quickly find a countermeasure.

“Tier 2 Wind Spell: Levitation.”

Quickly casting his familiar wind spell, he stabilized his falling body.

An explosion sounded not far away, accompanied by a muffled groan as someone was sent flying.

“One down!” Sena's sharp shout rang out.

Looking in that direction, he saw Lilian flying head-first into the corner of the training ground.

Lilian was taken out? Then the next one—

“It's your turn, Young Master!”

The wooden sword blade rapidly enlarged before his eyes.

In a flash, Lynn hurriedly raised his sword to block.

A ferocious force traveled up the blade, and he could even see tiny cracks spreading across it.

What followed was a tempestuous flurry of consecutive strikes.

It wasn't just the wooden sword.

Knees, elbows, fists... interspersed within the clashing blades were every imaginable form of attack.

Primitive and wild, yet strangely coordinated.

Sena darted swiftly through the exchange of blows. Even when the sharp tip of a sword brushed past her cheek, it failed to make her look the slightest bit disheveled.

She was like a small boat in a raging sea; every time she seemed on the verge of capsizing, she would miraculously steady herself again.

This was a dance on the edge of a blade.

Elegant, composed, this was an intense tango!

As if standing in a magnificent golden hall, she wore a proper evening gown. With no partner, she trod the passionate dance steps alone, holding onto empty air, yet her posture was incredibly graceful.

This was the unique style of the Tier 7 Great Warrior once known in the North as the Sword Fiend—Sena Reinhardt's [Blade Dance].

Amidst the passionate drumbeats, the ball reached its climax.

The iron sword in Lynn's hand groaned and snapped in two.

“It's over!” Sena shouted sharply. Seizing that brief opening, she thrust out her final strike.

Through this brief sparring match, she had completely read Lynn's swordplay.

Wild, chaotic, and completely lacking in form. Yet, relying on his excellent physical fitness and sharp combat instincts, he always managed to barely keep up before each attack landed.

Though he had strong adaptability and decent talent, compared to his shocking magical aptitude, his martial skill seemed exceptionally ordinary.

How could anyone have monster-like talent in every single aspect? She secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Next, she would comfort these two youngsters, and then...

“...?!”

The speech she had prepared in her mind came to an abrupt halt.

The surefire strike was firmly parried in place.

Holding the broken iron sword, Lynn blocked the strike in a bizarre stance.

His gold and deep blue eyes locked with hers at this moment.

He smiled radiantly. “Since you're finished, Sena...”

He took a deep breath and assumed a strange starting stance.

“Next, it's my turn!”

...

For the current Lynn, his most severe shortcoming was undoubtedly his "immediate combat capability" regarding his physique.

Although the copied Gold traits were powerful, they were all developmental traits with future potential.

If only there were an ultimate trait I could use right out of the box, with insane damage, and ideally super cool for me to copy! he had lamented at the time.

And now...

【Blade Dancer (Purple): The ultimate martial art forged through countless trials by a swordsman known as the Sword Fiend. It abandons all defense to master and integrate ten thousand offensive techniques.】

【This dance of the blade shall never cease.】

【Attack without defense; cease only in death.】

Could there be a more perfect trait than this?

Besides, swordsmanship—

was a man's romance!

Thus, at the instant their fists and feet clashed, Lynn copied it without hesitation.

【Blade Dancer copied.】

...

Feeling the force transmitted from the tip of the sword, Sena's eyes widened.

She took two stumbling steps back and looked at Lynn, who stood calmly in place.

His aura was completely different.

It was no longer a house-playing sort of training. The moment their eyes met, Sena clearly felt a sharp, bone-chilling coldness.

It was no longer an elder guiding a junior, but—

a life-and-death battle between two battle-hardened swordmasters.

Lynn took a deep breath, gripping the half-broken longsword in one hand, while directly grabbing the severed blade with his other.

Crimson blood flowed down his palm, but he was completely oblivious to it.

He simply bent his knees, awkwardly assuming a starting stance.

His movements were raw, clumsy, and disjointed at first, but they became visibly smoother by the second, as if he were embracing an instinct he was born with.

This guy!

“How truly delightful...”

Sena could no longer suppress the excitement in her heart. She tossed the toy-like wooden sword aside and slowly drew her trusty silver sword from her waist.

Her smile was wild and unbridled.

Just like Lynn's opposite her.

Those movements were clearly—

my [Blade Dance]!