Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

“Ugh!”

As their swords clashed, the impact reverberated through both of them.

However, it was Riley who staggered back, coughing harshly, and he stood there in disbelief, staring at Aira who was charging at him once again with determination.

‘What on earth is this girl…?’

The shock from the collision was equally felt by them both, yet the internal injuries were determined by the variance in mana capacity and purity.

At that moment, it was undeniably clear to anyone that the one suffering from internal injuries was Riley himself.

‘What is this mana!’

Mana varies slightly depending on the region.

For example, those born and raised near the sea had mana as cold as the ocean, while those from dry deserts had mana that was hot and arid.

However, the mana he faced from Aira at that moment, infiltrated his body like a wave, was like… ‘It’s hot. And, it’s tingling…’

The heat and tingling sensation from the mana were unlike anything he had encountered before.

Moreover, the region where the Worden County resided was abundant with mountains and forests, naturally boasting mana like the wind.

Thus, Riley was puzzled by the unexpected quality of mana emanating from Aira, who had been raised in such an area and had mastered the Worden County’s wind-like mana.

‘Damned.’

Regardless, Riley summoned his own mana to expel Aira’s invading mana from his body. But before he could act, Aira had already closed the distance between them again.

Whoosh—!

The chilling sound of Aira’s sword slicing through the air made Riley’s hair stand on end.

Her meticulously controlled sword showed no hesitation as it aimed precisely for Riley’s chest.

Was it a mistake or an intentional strike?

Regardless, in a practice duel, such an attack was against the unwritten rules, but Aira showed not the slightest hint of hesitation.

She only had the determination to firmly subdue her opponent.

Riley gritted his teeth and swung his sword again to meet Aira’s, confronting her head-on.

It was a testament to his will, perhaps even a matter of pride.

He had chosen the path of a knight after recognizing his lack of aptitude as a merchant, distinguishing himself from the merchant family background.

This was the only path for him to prove himself to his father and grandfather.

Bang—!

Riley’s wave, like a blazing fire, contained unrefined, pure mana, and the same was true for Aira. The difference lay in their distinctly manifested and concealed mana.

Clang—Clang! Bang—!

The metallic clang of swords and the thud of mana waves filled the air, exposing both to the brunt of the impact.

“Tsk!”

“Gh!”

As if withdrawing would mean defeat, the two exchanged swords, both emitting brief groans.

It was a power struggle of mana waves mutually inflicted, with Riley starting to counter Aira’s attacks to prevent her mana from entering his body any longer.

A thin barrier of mana surrounded his body, preemptively blocking any further intrusion.

However, Aira, who neither used nor even intended to use such mana barriers, was still exposed to the waves but seemed unconcerned.

“You brute…!”

“It’s okay; there’s an even bigger brute here!”

“…?”

Whether she interpreted his insults as compliments or ignored them on purpose, Aira bared her teeth in a grin.

But Riley had no plans to react to such provocations. He took a deep breath, firmly grasping his practice sword with both hands.

Simultaneously, he adjusted his stance, altering even the flow of activated mana.

“Huh?”

Aira frowned, as it reminded her unsettlingly of Christian’s unpleasant drills during her training.

Displeased, she also adjusted her mana pattern as learned during her harsh training sessions.

‘Wave Application…’

While Riley focused on body activation, he tightly held his sword and charged at Aira first, swinging his sword.

Predictably, Wave Transformation could not be used in a friendly duel, even if agreed upon.

Therefore, he seemed intent on using his strongest technique to finish Aira in one strike.

“Dance of Swords.”

Pure wave composed entirely by mana, Riley began to dominate the space around him, applying immense pressure in all directions with his wave application technique.

The more skilled one was at body activation, the more numerous the wave-formed sword paths would be.

Thus, Riley’s ability to produce fifteen sword paths to pressure Aira demonstrated his deep mana wave and body activation proficiency.

With nothing but retreat left to her, Aira was still pursued relentlessly by the sword dance aimed directly at her.

The waves from all around were alike, relentlessly trapping her.

Wave Application Dance was a high-level technique that required considerable skill to master, akin to Wave Transformation.

Aira watched the waves created by Riley’s sword dance pouring down on her, adjusted her grip and quietly murmured.

“Single-Point Thrust.”

Rushing head-on into the enclosing sword dance, Aira aimed for one of the incoming waves.

If Extreme Thrust could pierce everything like a drill, Wave Transformation’s attribute allowed the single-point thrust to focus purely on penetration.

‘Break through the mana.’

Designed specifically to pierce through mana barriers and all magical defenses of mages and knights, Aira watched Riley’s waves keenly.

Crack—!

With a sound like shattering glass, one of the waves of the sword dance broke apart.

Crack-crack—!

As the core of the sword dance shattered, the surrounding waves also broke and vanished.

It was a clear testament to the disparity between Riley and Aira’s mana.

Grasping this fact, Riley’s expression through the remnants of the shattered wave was completely altered from what it had been.

Overwhelmed by Aira’s shocking talent and overpowering mana, he couldn’t help his astonishment.

Twing—.

Aira’s single-point thrust reached Riley’s halted sword. The mana wave dissipated harmlessly without even a spark against Riley’s blade.

It was due to the nature of Aira’s mana pattern, which lacked physical exertion.

Of course, the practice blade could still wield significant physical force, but Aira’s sword went no further.

“Do you want to continue?”

“….”

With her sword lowered, Aira asked softly. Riley, frozen on the spot, could only gaze blankly at her.

He moved his lips, attempting to speak, but the words would not come. Regaining some composure, he gritted his teeth and grasped his sword once more.

“Ugh! Cough, cough….”

Riley collapsed onto the spot, hacking painfully.

The backlash from Aira’s single-point thrust, which broke the sword dance wave completely, twisted the mana within his body.

The internal damage, more so than visible injuries, could lead to severe complications if the golden time for treatment was missed.

“Damn it…!”

“That’s enough, let’s stop here!”

Aira interjected.

Knowing the potential severity of internal injuries, Aira hoped the duel would end here.

Though Riley wasn’t her favorite person, he was, after all, her cousin and related through her mother’s family.

Yet Riley showed no intention of yielding, using his sword to help himself stand. Despite his pale complexion and sweat-drenched body, his eyes retained a determined gleam.

For Aira, the significance of this duel was incomprehensible.

“It’s not over yet….”

“No, it is over.”

However, McDowell suddenly approached, blocking Riley’s path, thus announcing the end of the duel. Riley’s expression hardened as he protested,

“It’s not over yet, Sir McDowell!”

“It’s too much now, young master.”

“It’s not too much. I….”

But anyone could see Riley was not well. McDowell could no longer stand by passively, acting decisively,

“The winner of this duel is Aira of the Worden family. Well done, both of you.”

It was a unilateral declaration. Seemingly reaching his mental limit, Riley slumped to the ground.

“Damn it.”

He knew it. Despite knowing, there was a part of him that felt this could not be the end.

“Uh, excuse me….”

And Aira hesitantly approached the fallen Riley.

“What? Just go away if you’ve won.”

Riley’s cold retort momentarily ignited anger in Aira, but she calmed herself and spoke softly.

“Your skills weren’t that bad. It was interesting and pretty good.”

“…”

Dueling with Christian always involved one-sided violence. However, today’s duel had been different, allowing her to experience the enjoyment of swordplay.

“A bit more effort, and it’ll be better. However, that sword dance… it was lacking. Dividing the wave into many paths diluted their power, making it easier to break.”

With joyous intent, Aira offered Riley the advice that Christian usually gave post-duel.

Simply….

“…”

Riley couldn’t utter a word, only glancing at Aira with wide eyes, his mouth opening and closing silently.

Eventually, reaching his mental limit, Riley fell backward onto the training ground floor.

Aira had claimed total victory, both in body and spirit.