Ch.182Chapter 182: Daily Life (3)

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The schedule I had to follow after returning home was simple.

I was preparing for the Trial of the Sword and Spear, a rite of passage that everyone in Ranos must undergo at some point.

Since there was no reason for my family to dictate my actions,

I spent my time doing as I pleased.

I didn’t cross any lines or do anything inappropriate.

Since my priority was resting my body, exhausted from the rigorous academic schedule at the Cradle and the intense activities at Night Haven,

I mostly spent my time relaxing.

Naturally, Shizu was always with me during these moments of rest.

We visited places where we had built memories together in our childhood after a long time,

And reminisced about the memories we shared there.

On one particularly rainy day,

At the very spot where I had once found Shizu hiding under a tree shade, sobbing,

And carried her home on my back with a sigh of relief.

We enjoyed ourselves, losing track of time.

Even when we talked endlessly, our topics never ran dry; instead, one story led to another like links in a chain.

And after we had talked enough, at Shizu’s suggestion, we went to the training ground to converse through our swords.

A dialogue between blades.

With the Trial of the Sword and Spear approaching,

While rest was important, I also needed to sharpen my senses, so I followed her suggestion without hesitation.

For the sake of fairness(?), we sparred without infusing our swords with qi, which I considered the best opportunity to objectively gauge my current skill level.

As I made my way to the training ground, I calmly prepared by running through various scenarios in my head.

Despite these efforts, all ten of our matches ended in my defeat.

It made our previous draw at Night Haven’s training ground, where we had fought until our weapons broke, seem like a distant memory.

Even with my improved skills from a few days ago, when I had swung a sword without qi and left clear marks on the training ground floor, I was still no match for her.

Well, I had expected this, so while I felt some regret, I wasn’t upset.

Shizu’s growth at this point was so steep that calling it “rapid” would be an understatement.

Besides, even though she had lost during the Subjugation Festival, she had clearly faced powerful opponents like Adorator, confronted her limits, and taken several steps forward.

In that sense, my defeat was a natural outcome.

The sparring sessions were quite one-sided.

When I swung my sword downward, Shizu would deflect it effortlessly,

And when I thrust, she would evade with minimal movement.

In short, no matter how intricate my sword techniques were as I pressured Shizu,

She would smoothly deflect my attacks without breaking a sweat.

There’s a term called “Hwakyung” (化勁).

It originates from the martial arts teachings of the Golden Moon Empire in the Eastern Continent, which stands shoulder to shoulder with the flourishing Empire of the Central Continent, and has developed independently from our Empire.

It’s the secret art of the Golden Moon Empire’s martial studies, where regardless of how one makes contact with an opponent, one neutralizes their force while simultaneously creating a posture to launch a one-sided offensive.

The reason I bring this up out of nowhere is because

Shizu’s movements, as she effortlessly deflected my sword strikes imbued with my recently increased physical strength, resembled the teachings of Hwakyung.

Once I realized this, the outcome of our sparring became predictable.

Clearly, if I didn’t give up and continued swinging my sword in a trance-like state, Shizu would spot an opening,

And subdue me with a single movement.

Clang—!!

…Just like that.

The trajectory drawn by the practice sword in Shizu’s hand instantly exploited my opening and sent my sword flying to the training ground floor.

When a weapon is disarmed, it’s an immediate victory for the one who disarmed it.

Having lost in this manner ten times already, my body was growing tired.

I bent over slightly, supporting my knees with both hands to catch my breath after the intense sparring.

“Huff… huff.”

Even with a body hardened through rigorous training, sweat beaded on my forehead and my breathing became rough.

When I slightly raised my head to look at Shizu across from me, she was standing calmly, without even a drop of sweat, let alone heavy breathing.

In the past, when I was buried in feelings of inferiority, I would have seen this and charged at her with fire in my eyes.

But that foolish person had long since departed.

“Haha, I can’t keep up.”

I cleanly admitted defeat by raising my right hand, which had been supporting my knee, and waving it from side to side, ending the sparring session.

Thud

I sat down right there to rest my tired body as quickly as possible.

The smooth marble floor, now rough with sword marks, wasn’t the most comfortable place to rest as I could feel the texture through my palms.

“Good work.”

But with Shizu sitting right next to me with a bright expression, the condition of the floor didn’t matter much.

Just seeing your smiling face is enough to wash away my fatigue.

“As expected of you, Shizu. I came prepared today, but I couldn’t win even once.”

I responded to her encouragement by praising her skills.

“I couldn’t go easy on you…”

I could hear Shizu’s words as she spoke with a slightly embarrassed expression, avoiding my gaze.

She couldn’t go easy on me…

“…Really?”

“…Yes.”

Even when I asked again just to be sure, Shizu’s answer remained the same.

Given Shizu’s character of never lying to me, there seemed to be no falsehood in her words.

I was prepared to accept it if she had said she went easy on me, but…

“Kal, you’ve gotten stronger. Even more than when we crossed swords at Night Haven’s training ground.”

When she gave such a specific example to let me know my skills had improved,

“To the point where I’d drop my sword if I let my guard down.”

I was simply delighted.

“Thank you.”

My expression of gratitude following her praise was quite brief, but…

“…Hehe.”

How can your faint smile and slight nod in response to my words be so adorable?

And so, the conversation between Shizu and me, seated there, continued.

As if our dialogue through swords had provided even more topics to discuss,

The conversation that had begun at midday only concluded as the sun was setting.

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After spending one day like this, then two, then four or five, and approaching the sixth day,

Something unexpected happened.

It was when the two of us, having spent time chatting, crossed swords again at the training ground.

Unlike other days, instead of taking an offensive stance, I stayed in place to slowly analyze Shizu’s movements.

In response, Shizu took the offensive for the first time in a while.

“Is it okay if I come at you?”

When she cautiously asked if she could take the initiative, and I nodded readily,

The tip of Shizu’s sword, which had been pointing toward the floor, turned toward me.

From her sword, without a trace of qi, I felt a surge of power so immense it seemed capable of cutting through everything in the world.

To use a metaphor, it evoked the image of a massive wave.

Even though she was merely in a preparatory stance and hadn’t yet begun her offensive, she was emitting such an aura.

This confirmed that Shizu’s earlier statement about not being able to go easy on me during our first sparring here was no lie.

If we had clashed with qi-infused swords, she might have held back, but

Since this was a sparring session to test our pure sword skills without qi, this scene unfolded.

‘Wow…’

As I watched Shizu’s sword path approaching like a tidal wave, I inwardly expressed half-fearful admiration.

‘If I don’t dodge, I’m done for.’

Since my situation wasn’t good enough to directly face Shizu’s sword, which was clearly intended to end the match in one go,

“Haaaa…!!”

The moment Shizu’s body, having finished her preparation and letting out a battle cry, blurred and disappeared,

I too moved quickly.

It wasn’t a random movement.

My improved sense detected where Shizu, moving too fast for the eye to follow, was aiming to strike.

This allowed me to naturally move to the spot where she was trying to end the match in one go.

Though I say “move,” it wasn’t anything grand.

I simply shifted my feet lightly and turned my body to the left.

Had I remained in place, I would surely have lost my sword to Shizu’s overwhelming presence, but by reclaiming my spacing,

Shizu’s blurred form became clear, and…

“The flank…!!”

She had clearly intended to attack my flank, but finding herself face-to-face with me instead, Shizu’s eyes widened slightly, unable to finish her sentence.

She had confidently moved to exploit what she thought was my opening, only to find herself facing me head-on. What must she have been thinking?

I don’t know for sure, but

Judging by the fact that she hadn’t swung her sword at a point when she should have already delivered a sharp strike,

She was clearly quite surprised.

As if all time around us had stopped, and only I could perceive and move within this frozen moment,

Shizu, unable to find an opening and caught off guard, showed no movement after her initial surprise.

In any case, her hesitation meant a golden opportunity for me that wouldn’t come twice.

As the tip of Shizu’s sword, which had been about to execute a clean horizontal slash from left to right, paused, my sword moved to disarm hers.

The trajectory was from bottom to top.

It wasn’t the overhead stance I usually stubbornly maintained,

But whether from top to bottom or bottom to top, there was no difference in the vertical slashing motion of the sword.

So I lightly turned my body to the left, gathered strength to swing my sword, and did so without hesitation.

My sword, swung in such a clean arc that not even the sound of cutting wind could be heard,

Successfully disrupted the Hwakyung (化勁) at the tip of Shizu’s sword,

And sent her practice sword flying to the training ground floor.

Clang!

The dull metallic sound of the sword hitting the hard marble floor rang in my ears.

“…!!”

Shizu, caught mid-stance, lost her balance and fell to the floor.

It was a familiar sight, but

The difference was that this time, it wasn’t me but Shizu who experienced it.

“…Ah.”

As I saw Shizu’s surprised expression upon realizing her sword had been sent flying,

On the sixth day of our daily sparring sessions, which had previously ended in my defeat ten times each day, I finally achieved my first victory.

“I lost.”

After confirming that her sword had been sent flying, Shizu raised both hands, cleanly accepting her defeat.

Though slightly surprised, there was no shadow in her expression, and I could tell she was genuinely happy that I had won.

I had no intention of staring blankly at her behavior, which made me feel good despite her loss.

So I put down my practice sword on the training ground floor,

And extended my hand to Shizu, who had fallen to the floor.

It was an expression of my desire to always hold hands with her, even though we had only crossed swords during our sparring.

“I learned a lot.”

I didn’t forget to express my sincere gratitude.

As I prepared in this way, the once vague Trial of the Sword and Spear began to feel lighter in a corner of my heart.