If Sena’s Blade Dance was a wild and brutal gladiatorial duel where every heavy strike left no room for retreat—like a torrential autumn rain sweeping down to wash everything clean—then Lynn’s movements before her eyes were so slow and childish that they were laughable.
Slow!
Too slow!
Even though their blades clashed fiercely again and again, Sena couldn't feel even a shred of force coming from Lynn.
How could there be such a soft, yielding sword style?
It was weaker than a three-year-old toddler swinging a tree branch.
But why?
She bit her lip in confusion.
Why was such a soft sword style able to parry her ferocious 【Blade Dance】 time after time?
Every heavy, powerful slash felt like hitting soft, formless water.
Every ounce of force was completely neutralized and redirected.
An uncomfortable sensation of sluggishness crawled up her arms.
Frustrated by her inability to break through his defense, Sena couldn't help but increase her strength, but the result didn't change at all.
She stared with wide, disbelieving eyes.
One had to realize that her current output was equivalent to the full strength of a Tier 3 Warrior, yet Lynn was parrying it completely unharmed.
And the Young Master's physical fitness had only just crossed the threshold of Tier 2.
No! I can't let him dictate the rhythm anymore.
Her battle-hardened experience allowed her to make a swift, decisive judgment.
Sena retreated repeatedly, trying to pull her silver sword out of the clash.
But that natural, logical movement yielded no results.
“...?!”
Their swords clashed fiercely once again.
She couldn't break free...? Why?
My sword... is caught?
Since the beginning of their clash, Lynn’s soft sword style finally revealed its fangs.
Though the force on his blade was incredibly weak, there was something so heavy about it that it made her chest feel tight.
It was a suffocating sensation, like a python constricting its prey.
The unease in her heart grew larger by the second. Her warrior's instinct was screaming in red alert.
With every clash, something was slowly accumulating.
What on earth was it?
In an instant, Sena saw through the essence of Lynn’s 【Blade Dance】.
It was— “Momentum!”
In those seemingly weak strikes, the momentum stored within his blade was accumulating at an incredible speed.
Her surrounding mana surged wildly. For the first time in a long while, Sena felt a trace of thirst.
In her youth, she had met a swordmaster who had traveled from a neighboring eastern country.
That swordmaster never drew his sword all day, spending his time solely nurturing its edge.
It was called 【Iaido】, a technique that pursued the ultimate, fastest strike the very instant the blade was unsheathed.
And Lynn’s sword style shared a similar, brilliant concept!
Under that accumulated momentum lay a thunderous strike waiting to be unleashed.
It was coming!
Their clashing blades came to a tacit halt.
...
Lynn felt as if he had turned into a pool of water.
Every single muscle in his body relaxed.
Magic? Plot? Plans?
From the moment this second round began, he had pushed everything else out of his mind.
After copying the 【Blade Dancer】 trait, the massive, sea-like amount of moves and sword styles from Sena's decade-plus career as a swordfighter began to brutally pour into his mind.
It was an overwhelming deluge of knowledge, enough to make an ordinary person faint.
But to Lynn, who possessed the gold-tier talent trait 【Favor of the Sinfire Witch】, it was the ultimate nourishment.
An astonishing level of focus, combined with a terrifyingly high comprehension.
On top of that, he had a perfect "whetstone" right in front of him as an opponent.
This allowed Lynn to not only thoroughly master the 【Blade Dance】 style in a mere few minutes but to even refine and develop it further.
Techniques he had heard of in his past life, small clever tricks... he crushed and blended them all in.
In a corner he wasn't paying attention to, the 【Blade Dancer】 trait quietly faded.
Its purple hue slowly dissolved.
Eventually, it stopped at a half-purple, half-gold state.
In its place was a brand-new name—
【Azure Rondo: Born from the chaotic swordplay of the Sword Fiend, its continuous offensive is enough to parry attacks from multiple opponents.】
【Through consecutive strikes, momentum can be continuously accumulated until it is released in a single, ultimate strike.】
【This dance of the blade shall never cease.】
And when the rondo reached its end, what followed was a sudden swoosh!
What!?
Sena’s eyes widened.
A flashing silver sword light had already leapt before her eyes, slicing toward the wrist where her hair tie was wrapped.
The ear-splitting sonic boom only caught up afterward.
Fast!
Too fast!
Sena could say with absolute certainty: with her current strength suppressed to Tier 3, she stood absolutely no chance of blocking this strike.
Was this a move a Tier 2 Warrior could actually pull off?!
At this critical moment, her suppressed power instantly unlocked, and her muscle memory drove her to block horizontally.
Her wild mana ignited. Amidst a screeching roar, Lynn was sent flying like a kite caught in a gale, tumbling and crashing far away.
Sena slid back three or four meters before stopping, her leather boots plowing deep furrows into the granite floor.
...Is it over?
She let out a sigh, just about to relax her mind.
“Explosion...!”
A brief chant accompanied a sharp, feminine shout. A fully charged Tier 3 fire spell blasted from her unguarded back.
The attack came from none other than Lilian, who had exited the battle early.
So her early exit was just to accumulate mana? Such a massive amount of mana is far too ridiculous for a Tier 3 Mage, Sena marveled in her heart.
“Impressive! But at this distance, I can still react!”
Just as she was about to turn around, her movements suddenly froze.
A wild wind swept out of nowhere, locking her in place for a brief, fleeting moment.
The Tier 2 wind spell, Wind Bind?
Out of the corner of her eye, she looked at Lynn, who was slumped on the ground in the distance, pulling a face at her.
Oh my, those two.
She stopped resisting and let the massive fireball engulf her.
The hair tie on her wrist was burned to ashes.
【Emotion Points +500】
As thick, billowing smoke filled the air, Lilian poked her head out from the bushes in the corner. “Eh...? Did we win?”
“That gorilla maid...” Lynn grumbled as he scrambled up from the ground.
“She really is a gorilla.” Rubbing her stomach where she had taken a painful elbow strike earlier, Lilian nodded in deep agreement.
“You two, who are you calling a gorilla?”
Sena walked out of the smoke with her back straight and her head held high.
The Explosion had charred and torn her dress, exposing patches of her fair, delicate skin. Yet, she paid absolutely no mind to the sudden exposure, walking over casually to rub both of their heads.
“Wow, this woman shows absolutely no shame in losing.”
“Yeah, yeah!”
Sena snorted and grinned, looking like a victorious rooster.
“Although I’d love to nitpick a bit to save some face, any excuses from the loser are just excuses.”
“You two, perfect score!”
What enviable talent.
Lilian had excellent combat instincts. Although her physical fitness was a major weakness, she possessed an incredible talent for fire spells. With a little cultivation, she could easily become an outstanding vanguard mage.
The Young Master really had a good eye.
And Lynn... was an even more ridiculous monster.
Not only did he have a genius talent for magic, but even in swordsmanship... Sena's face darkened slightly when she realized that her prized, signature Blade Dance had been so easily copied by Lynn.
With such astonishing talent, he should train in both magic and swordsmanship, aiming to become a rare magic swordsman.
While she was still mapping out his future training direction in her mind, the little monster she was just marveling at walked right up to her, stretched out a hand, and waved it in front of her face.
Seeing her look over, he even glared at her quite rudely.
“What are you staring at? Where's the reward we agreed on?”
Beside him, Lilian copied his gesture, holding out her fair, delicate hand. “Reward~ Reward!”
Oh right, she had completely forgotten about that!
They actually won!
Sena's face froze.
“Hey, Head Maid gorilla, you didn't actually forget to prepare anything, did you?”
“Ahaha~ How could I~”
She was just about to slip away when Lynn clamped a hand onto her shoulder.
With a stiff smile on her face, she met Lynn's gaze as he gritted his teeth.
“Don't. Even. Think. About. Running!”
His face was dark as he enunciated each word.
And just like that, their three-month special training began.
Rate on N.U.
