Irene captured every movement in her eyes, one by one.
"I see, the technique passed down through generations from our ancestors... It came from an elf."
"Hehe, I don’t know what you’re talking about-"
Siena stopped and gently poked Irene's chest.
"I think I'm too kind, don’t you think? Hehe. I never thought I'd hold back, except with Theo."
"...I admit defeat, Siena."
Irene knelt down.
In that moment, there was no trace of despair or a sense of defeat.
She simply felt joy in meeting the origins of her family.
The duel between Siena and Irene ended.
The winner was Siena.
Irene kneeled before Siena, gracefully accepting her defeat.
Aisha, who was standing next to me, spoke.
"Do you hear what they're saying, Theo? I can't hear from here. They were just fighting as if they wanted to kill each other, now why are they whispering like this, huh?"
But Aisha's words didn't reach me.
───「Trait Change Alert」───
Your existing trait, [Sword Beginner], has evolved into a higher trait [Sword User].
Additional effects will be applied when using sword-type weapons.
─────────────────
[Sword Beginner] had evolved into [Sword User].
It has been less than a month since I acquired [Sword Beginner], and it has already strengthened into [Sword User].
This is an unexpected harvest.
‘Is it because last week I saw Maximin's swordsmanship, and this time I witnessed the Swordmaster of the Great Forest’s swordsmanship?’
Of course, to be precise, it is the swordsmanship of the Swordmaster of the Great Forest shown through Siena’s hand, but that doesn’t matter.
What matters now is that the trait was enhanced naturally, without investing in shop currency.
"Theo, Theo! Where are you going?"
Without answering Aisha, I walked straight to the training ground.
With a touched expression, I patted Irene and Siena on the shoulders.
"Hmm, Theo?"
"Hehe, Theo. Did you enjoy watching?"
"I watched a splendid duel. As expected, both of you are people who inspire me."
"...But I was completely defeated, Theo. I couldn't even land a proper hit on Siena."
"That's not what's important. What’s important is the unyielding spirit, right, Irene?"
As I patted Irene’s shoulder again, she lowered her head, her cheeks flushing a deep red.
"T-That, is that so?"
"Yes, Irene. Your endless fighting spirit once again, humbles me."
Thanks to Irene's endless struggle, Siena revealed the hidden techniques of the swordmaster of the Great Forest.
It was a great gain.
"I hope you continue to show that attitude in the future. You have become an important mentor to me."
"Oh, I will. Siena also said to keep watching over Theo from the side."
Irene still didn’t lift her head.
Siena gave a bright smile.
"Hehe, it's been a while since I held a sword. I didn't expect Theo to be so pleased. I should use it more often, shouldn't I?"
"I couldn't ask for more if you do. Perhaps the blood of a warrior flows within me. Just watching made my heart race."
"Hehe, is that so? But it's strange. It's my first time seeing Theo this excited."
Siena came closer, chuckling mischievously, and whispered in my ear.
"...There seems to be another reason, don't you think?"
"!"
Ah, that startled me.
Siena, she's perceptive in strange ways.
Is it because she's a spirit mage?
"...I simply enjoyed watching the pure struggle of swords. That's all."
However, Siena doesn't know that I am a 'being that utilizes the system.'
When I gave a suitable answer, Siena agreed.
"Hehe, I understand. I also enjoyed seeing Theo in action. Kyaa~ Theo, give me a hug. Irene tried to attack me and it was so scary~!"
Siena hugged me, raising her voice in a high-pitched tone.
Irene, shocked by that action, lifted her head again.
"No, Siena. Please do not hug Theo like that. I am his fiancée."
"Nope, nope~! If you're upset, you should have won~! Ah~ Theo, you smell so good!"
Siena, sniffing, dodged Irene's hands as she hugged me from various angles.
Before I knew it, both of them had returned to their original selves.
"...Let go, Siena."
Swept up in the atmosphere, I too had returned to my original self.
"Hehe, Theo. So, see you tomorrow?"
"Theo, the competition you’re participating in tomorrow starts at 10 AM, so please come to the classroom on time!"
After a while, Siena and Aisha left.
Hoo-woong, hooong─!
I swung my sword in the training ground.
"......"
Irene, having gained some realization from her duel with Siena, was sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed.
Already for an hour. Irene remained like this without saying a word.
I kept swinging my sword a distance away from her.
'Hmm, the sword feels more familiar in my hand now.'
I was quite satisfied.
Although a single trait cannot fully represent a person's strength, the difference in traits was significant.
Unlike my pathetic [Sword Beginner] days, this body has now become a respectable [Sword User]!
'Still, it’s a stretch to fully embody Maximin’s swordsmanship.'
So, I was using a swordsmanship that appropriately mixed Siena’s swordsmanship and Maximin’s swordsmanship.
I complemented what needed to be complemented, boldly subtracted what needed to be subtracted but... there’s still a long way to go.
That was to be expected, since both Maximin and the Great Forest Swordmaster have [Weapon Master] and [Sword Master] traits, ranking them amongst the best swordsmen on the continent.
Moreover, the Great Forest Swordmaster is one of the strongest beings in this world.
The Great Forest Swordmaster casually uses Sword Aura and Sword Force, an outlier amongst the powerful.
In this game, Sword Aura and Sword Force almost never appear, like martial arts novels.
In other words, anyone who can use Sword Qi and Sword Force is extremely strong.
'I don't expect to turn into Maximin or the Great Forest Swordmaster.'
My goal is just to graduate from the Hero Department with excellent grades.
So, I kept swinging my sword endlessly.
"Theo, are you also participating in the martial arts competition*?"
How much time had passed?
Irene, having finished her meditation and opened her eyes, spoke to me.
"Yeah, I'm participating. Irene, are you participating too?"
"Yes, of course I am. Since Julia is participating, I plan to have a match with her this time."
Irene's calm blue eyes sparkled.
Julia is the second-place student in the Knight Department but is considered by many to be superior to Irene.
I did beat Julia once before, but it was a result combined with amplified Overload and luck.
It would be difficult to win against her again.
"Hmm, I see. Julia is a strong opponent."
"But this time, I met an unexpected opportunity. There's still quite some time until Thursday, so I'm going to polish my skills and make them my own."
"I see. Keep it up, Irene. I'll be cheering for you."
"Cheering? You and I are competitors, you know?"
"Hmm. Actually, I don't need to cheer you on Irene, you need to cheer me on instead."
At my reply, Irene giggled and smiled mischievously.
‘Who is he trying to fool?’
Once again, the story has diverged from the game.
In the game, Irene never got to see the swordsmanship of the Swordmaster of the Great Forest.
She struggled for a long time, almost reaching the origins of her swordsmanship.
The key point here is that she 'almost' reached it.
Ultimately, she did not.
However, now, having seen the swordsmanship of Siena, she has obtained a massive hint regarding the origin.
Irene, while not on Neike or Piel's level, possesses outstanding talent.
With today’s demonstration, she will surely become much stronger.
But to someone like me, who wishes to win in every competition I participate in, a red flag has been raised.
‘This is completely unfair...’
I have to rely on luck in the match-ups.
I should pray that Julia meets Irene in the semifinals.
Julia will likely exhaust a lot of Irene's stamina.
‘But before that, I need to find out how much stronger Irene has become.’
After organizing my thoughts, I spoke to Irene.
“It's truly a matter for celebration, Irene, that you've reached this level. Well then, shall we have a match?”
“Of course, Theo. I'll let you make the first move.”
Irene immediately grabbed a practice longsword and gestured toward me, ready.
“...Then, let’s go.”
With those words, I charged at Irene.
I held my ground fairly well, but Irene was indeed strong.
She was a different person than the one who had been insulted by Siena.
Although I skillfully incorporated amplified Overload into my attacks at perfect timings, her solid defense was hard to break through.
She had already started to grasp the origins of her swordsmanship.
My sword only managed to graze her clothes twice.
Irene wiped her sweat and spoke.
"Whoo, Theo your observation skills are incredible. I could see glimpses of Siena's movements in your own."
"Well, Irene, isn’t it the same for you?"
"Theo, you and I are a bit different. Hmm, how should I put it... Siena's swordsmanship is very similar to the swordsmanship of our Aslan family. The way we were trained and what we grew up watching is different."
"I see."
"Yes. I’m already looking forward to the martial arts competition."
Irene smiled softly.
"...I will get better so I don't disappoint."
Afterwards, I returned to the dormitory and fell asleep, and the next day, I went to find Aisha.
"What kind of bizarre competition is this, Aisha?"
I frowned at the competition Aisha recommended to me.
*i originally called this combat arts competition since to me, martial arts is a term for 'bare-handed fighting systems.' Uh maybe due to the books i've read/media I've consumed. Though in reality it encompasses even archery!
So just a nooby ignorant moment from me that could've been fixed with a little google search in the beginning.
Sorry! Reverted it back to martial arts!
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢