One shichen later, in the messy forest, Shulim collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, the mana in her body completely depleted.
【Congratulations on defeating all enemies! Battle experience has increased~!】
Expressionless, Shulim reached out her right hand and mercilessly brushed away the glowing subtitles that appeared in front of her.
“Aw~ and here I thought this style was quite interesting.”
Semilis muttered in dissatisfaction at Shulim's reaction.
“...”
Right now, Shulim had absolutely no strength left to call out the fairy's twisted sense of humor. Just now, after she had finally managed to defeat three slimes by using the terrain to her advantage, Semilis had immediately released four more. After those four were defeated, she released five, and then six...
Are you a demon? Where on earth did you catch so many slimes?
Come to think of it, Semilis had been running off to distant places quite often lately. Shulim had assumed she was just going out to play, but it turned out she was catching slimes?!
“Now, now, don't be mad~ See, isn't your growth rate much faster now? Compared to the beginning, you were way faster at dealing with the slimes by the end, weren't you?”
“...”
Although she wanted to argue, that did indeed seem to be the case.
Compared to her initial caution, by the end, she didn't even need a barrier to block the corrosive fluid. She had relied almost entirely on the speed boost from Reinforce to dodge.
A shower of green light washed over Shulim, and her lost stamina rapidly returned.
As Semilis lowered her hands, Shulim stood up again and stretched. The muscle soreness from the intense exercise had vanished. Semilis's magic was incredibly convenient, though it couldn't restore her depleted mana.
“Alright, that's enough for today. Starting tomorrow, there will be new monsters waiting for you~!”
“There are more...?”
...
...
“Chirp! Chirp!”
The morning sun had just risen, and the birds on the treetops were stretching their voices for the new day.
“Heh! Ha!”
The sudden shout startled the birds, sending them flying.
In the courtyard of the Hayeral estate, Shulim was holding a wooden training sword, continuously practicing the Hayeral Swordsmanship. Although the chill of the night still lingered in the courtyard, beads of sweat had already formed on her forehead.
“Shulim, you're up early.”
Shulim paused her practice and glanced at Yamen, who had just entered the courtyard and was stretching.
“Good morning, Brother Yamen.”
After greeting him, Shulim dove back into her sword practice.
Nearby, after finishing his stretches, Yamen didn't immediately begin his usual sword training.
Instead, he watched Shulim's movements.
“Oh~ Shulim, your movements are looking pretty fluent already.”
“Yes, because I've been practicing hard. Ha!”
Shulim replied as she continued her exercises.
“Great!”
Yamen's interest was piqued. He casually picked up a wooden sword resting on the side.
“Shulim, spar with me. Let's see how much you've improved.”
“Is that okay?”
Shulim stopped her swing and looked at Yamen.
“Of course! Bring it on with everything you've got!”
As he spoke, Yamen settled into a stance.
Sensing the sudden shift in the atmosphere, Shulim's grip on her wooden sword tightened.
“Then here I come! Haaah!”
Whoosh!
With a sharp whistle as the wooden sword sliced through the air, Shulim, who had been two or three meters away, closed the distance in the blink of an eye. Her blade thrust straight toward Yamen's exposed neck.
Clang!
Holding his sword in one hand, Yamen parried Shulim's full-force blow at an awkward angle. Redirecting her momentum, he swept her wooden sword aside, leaving her off-balance and completely open.
Yamen seized the opening, pulling back his sword before launching a rapid thrust.
The moment her sword was deflected, Shulim sensed trouble. As she lost her balance, she dug the toe of her right foot into the ground, leaning back sharply to dodge Yamen's thrust. Using that backward momentum, she executed a clean backflip, successfully widening the gap between them.
“You're really going all out, Shulim. I almost thought the sword was going to snap.”
Though Yamen grumbled with a relaxed expression, his stance remained completely flawless.
Shulim didn't reply. She observed him intently, her eyes unconsciously shifting into Semilis's training mode—or rather, a life-and-death combat mode...
A sudden chill ran down Yamen's spine for no apparent reason.
What's going on? Shulim's gaze actually feels dangerous, almost like Brother Sieg's when he came back on his last vacation.
No, no, it must be an illusion. There's no way Shulim could possess that kind of aura honed from countless life-and-death battles...
While Yamen was distracted by his thoughts, Shulim sharply seized the opening and launched a decisive attack.
“Ah, shoot.”
Realizing Shulim had vanished from his field of vision, Yamen felt a jolt of alarm just as a dangerous whoosh of wind cut toward him from the right.
As he turned his head, a flash of wood cut into his sight.
Clang!
Yamen parried the strike at blinding speed, swiftly stepping back to open up enough space for a counter-attack.
Undeterred by her failed strike, Shulim didn't hesitate. Seizing on his momentary lack of stable footing, she unleashed a flurry of high-speed attacks.
Clang, clang, clang...
The rapid clattering of wooden swords echoed through the courtyard. With Shulim pressing him relentlessly, Yamen was forced to defend from a disadvantageous position.
“...Ha, Shulim, I'm seriously impressed. You've actually mastered Gleaming Light.”
Yamen spoke in the middle of their intense close-quarters sword fight.
Yet Shulim remained unfazed. Silent, she kept swinging her wooden sword, her speed seemingly increasing with every strike.
“Oh~! Amazing, amazing! You can still go faster?! It looks like you're not far from the Second Stance, Hunter's Sight!”
As if ignoring Shulim's silence, Yamen continued talking.
“But your technique is still—”
“too green!”
Whoosh, whoosh...
A sound like a howling gale erupted.
Crack!
Along with a crisp snapping sound, the feeling of her wooden sword breaking transmitted up her arm.
The sounds of battle ground to a sudden halt. The broken half of Shulim's wooden sword flew high into the air, landing on the ground far away.
Yamen, surrounded by a whirlwind of sword shadows, made no further move.
Hayeral Swordsmanship, Third Stance: Tempest Ward.
The victor was clear.
The styles they used in this duel weren't ordinary swordsmanship; it was the Hayeral Swordsmanship, which enjoyed immense fame throughout the Empire. It was their ancestral martial art, passed down from their forebear, Orubet, and consisted of five stances ranked from lowest to highest.
They were: Gleaming Light, Hunter's Sight, Tempest Ward, Star Flash, and Thunderstrike.
It was precisely because of this swordsmanship that, despite the continuous decline of the Hayeral family's influence—which at one point had left them completely destitute—no one in the Empire had ever dared to covet the Hayeral title.
“I lost...”
Shulim stared blankly at her empty hands.
“Uh... Hey, Shulim, don't take it to heart. Your big bro has been practicing for several years more than you, so it's only natural that I'd win, right? And look, you fought me for so long and almost put me in a tight spot! You're already incredibly strong. Maybe you're a swordsmanship genius?”
Yamen put away his wooden sword and hurriedly tried to comfort her.
“Really?”
Shulim looked up and asked.
“Absolutely. Father can guarantee it!”
At that moment, Rezerian's voice echoed from the side.
“Dad, when did you get here?!”
“Father.”
Rezerian walked over with a smile.
“I arrived not long after your duel started.”
Turning to Shulim, he added, “Shulim, it's just as Yamen said. Mastering the First Stance of our Hayeral Swordsmanship, Gleaming Light, in only a year, and even touching the threshold of the Second Stance, Hunter's Sight, is truly remarkable~!”
Rate on N.U.
