Elia was naturally good with her eyes.
She realized this on the first day she began training under Zenre.
She had simply followed what she saw, but when Zenre told her that it was not something an ordinary person could do, Elia finally realized that her eyesight was exceptional.
If she simply wanted to see something, most things were visible to her.
How to position herself, where her opponent would apply force and where they would attack, and even things that shimmered and shone from the bodies of adults.
All of those things were clearly visible in Elia’s sight.
However, just seeing something once didn’t mean she could immediately replicate it.
To replicate it, she had to see it at least ten times to do it perfectly.
With difficult stances, like Kael’s swordsmanship, the number of repetitions increased to dozens or even hundreds.
Of course, when Kael praised her, saying it was already a genius-level talent, Elia was incredibly happy.
Anyway, Elia, who was born with an exceptional eye, had mostly seen the sparring sessions between Kael and Zenre.
Although it was faint, it was a sparring session so fast that even Elia, with her exceptional eyesight, could not keep up with the speed.
And if not that, under Zenre’s guidance, she had only ever seen the high-level sword fighting of famous gladiators at the level of Golden Rank mercenaries.
“Completely slow.”
Because of this, Elia couldn’t help but think while watching the sparring of a Golden Rank mercenary and a newcomer below.
For Elia, sparring meant the sessions between Kael and Zenre as a basic premise.
At least, the sparring between Golden Rank mercenaries was interesting enough for Elia to watch.
Each movement had its own unique technique, and the attacks each had their meaning and formed a harmony.
Through that, each person learned from the other.
Isn’t that the essence of sparring?
“But this person… they can’t even swing a sword properly.”
However, in Elia’s eyes, the newcomer challenging the Golden Rank mercenary was a beginner who didn’t even know how to swing a sword properly.
Although somewhat stylized, there were too many unnecessary movements and pointless actions mixed in.
If the Golden Rank mercenary were to push even a little harder, the newcomer would probably fall without a doubt.
If the newcomer had heard this thought, they would have been quite frustrated.
After all, in a village where people learned swordsmanship at the swordsmanship halls, even someone with their level of skill would be considered a prodigy.
Having learned swordsmanship under Kael, who was considered a legend among swordsmen, and having watched Kael and the captain of the knights spar every day, plus being born with exceptional eyes, it would be frustrating for them to hear such a remark from Elia.
And even more so, Elia, who was only eight years old, saying such things would make them feel a sense of shame and anger.
“Not fun.”
However, what was more important to Elia at that moment, rather than the future prospects, was the fact that she didn’t find the sparring fun at all.
While her parents, Ruina, and Kael were out looking for a house, Elia had come to take the test to relieve her boredom, yet the test wasn’t fun.
At this point, the story told by the man, Martin, who had been sitting next to her earlier, was more interesting.
So, unable to hold back, Elia blurted out.
“It’s too weak, so it’s not fun.”
At the same time, Martin and Zenre’s gazes fell on Elia.
Zenre had a look that seemed to say she expected this, while Martin was grinning with an expression as if intrigued.
“Ha! I didn’t expect to hear that. What part wasn’t fun, little lady?”
“There are too many unnecessary movements when swinging the sword. Those movements are too distracting, so it’s not fun to watch.”
“Wow… Is it because you’re the disciple of the Master? Your eye for detail is spot on.”
Martin, slightly surprised by Elia’s response as if he didn’t expect her to point it out, gave a small chuckle.
“You’ve watched my sparring with the Master every day, haven’t you? And I often show you high-level duels. Since you have great eyesight, I always make sure you watch only the popular duels to avoid getting strange habits from seeing mediocre duels.”
“Whoa… Your eyes are that sensitive? I’m looking forward to your future.”
Eyes are, after all, the most important innate talent in combat.
Martin added those words as he closely examined Elia’s eyes.
Martin, with his scruffy face, leaned in close and made eye contact with Elia.
When Elia subtly avoided his gaze, Martin realized he had gotten too close and awkwardly pulled back with a sheepish smile.
“Oh, sorry, little lady. I got too curious. By the way, that newcomer could be considered a rough diamond. But if you’re already calling him weak, you must have quite a bit of confidence in your skills, huh?”
As if asking whether she could win in a fight, Martin asked, and Elia looked at the newcomer still in the middle of sparring.
Since her physical strength was still underdeveloped at her age, Elia wasn’t confident in defeating him in a direct fight, but she thought it would be possible to avoid his attacks and counter them.
The more she focused on his sword, the clearer the path of his attacks became visible.
At the same time, time around her seemed to slow down infinitely.
From the man’s body, something sparkling and shining spread from his solar plexus, radiating throughout his body.
Elia, who still didn’t know what that thing was called, at least knew that the places where it appeared were where power was being exerted.
The direction in which it flowed, where it gathered, and where the attack was being swung, all of these things were clearly visible to Elia’s eyes, moving slowly and clearly.
This was the world Elia saw.
In the end, combat wasn’t just about the strongest person winning. This was an obvious truth everyone knew.
If she could read all those paths, avoid them, and counterattack, wouldn’t she win?
Though it was just an image, she could clearly picture it in her mind.
If she tried, she felt like she could really do it.
“To be honest, yeah. If I do well, I think I could win.”
As Elia subtly agreed with Martin’s words, Martin burst into hearty laughter again.
“Kahahahat!! So full of confidence! Yes, that’s how a warrior should be! And above all, if you’re the daughter of Master and Lady Ruina, you should have at least this much confidence!”
Martin looked at Elia with a satisfied gaze, his hearty laughter showing his approval.
Soon after, he frowned slightly as he gazed down at the testing grounds, seemingly contemplating something.
“Now, let’s see… who would be a good match?”
“What? Wait a minute, Martin. You’re not seriously thinking of putting the young lady against those recruits, are you?”
“Huh? Of course, I am. Don’t worry, though. We won’t be using real swords. Since they’ll be using training weapons, there’s little chance of anyone getting seriously hurt. Besides, warriors learn how to fight through real combat.”
“You crazy bastard…! Do you actually want to get beaten to death by Master? On top of that, the young lady is only eight years old! Even a wooden sword could seriously injure her if she gets hit the wrong way!”
Realizing Martin was serious about setting up a duel between Elia and the recruits, Zenre hurriedly shouted in protest.
After all, Elia had only been learning proper swordsmanship for three days.
As her teacher, Zenre’s first instinct was, above all else, concern.
“Hey, I’m telling you it’ll be fine. Are you saying your student can’t win?”
“That’s…”
The implication that she didn’t trust her student.
At those words, Zenre glanced at Elia before pausing briefly, then shook her head in denial.
“……
Of course, she could win if she tried, but there’s always the ‘what if.’
Master sent me here to look after the young lady, but if she gets hurt, neither you nor I will walk away unscathed.”
“If it comes down to it, you or I can step in to stop the duel. Besides, more than anything, that little miss over there looks like she’s itching for a match.”
Martin pointed at Elia, whose eyes were practically sparkling with anticipation, as if to drive his point home.
And indeed, Elia was extremely excited at Martin’s suggestion.
In the past two days since she started learning swordsmanship, both Kael and Zenre had sparred with her once each.
But since they had been holding back significantly, it always felt like they were going easy on her.
Of course, both of them were so strong that even their restrained sparring was intense and enjoyable.
Still, the idea of facing an opponent who would fight her seriously—unlike Kael and Zenre, who had been going easy—was thrilling.
If she could fight an opponent where victory seemed possible, wouldn’t it be even more fun than sparring with Kael and Zenre?
That was Elia’s thought, and that was why she was looking forward to it.
Zenre sighed as she watched the anticipation in Elia’s glowing eyes.
“Haa… How far do you intend to trouble me, young lady?”
“A-Am I not allowed, teacher…?”
“…No, if you truly want to, it’s not a bad idea. Based on what I’ve seen from our training sessions, I believe you have a good chance of winning.
However, if I see even the slightest sign of danger, I will step in, so you must do your best.”
“Yes, teacher!”
Since she had come here to have fun, her enjoyment naturally took priority.
Despite looking troubled, Zenre gave her permission, prompting Elia to beam and hug her tightly.
She usually didn’t act this affectionate, but she knew that the best way to express gratitude to adults was through a bit of charm, so she didn’t hesitate.
And as expected, when she smiled and hugged Zenre tightly, for a brief moment, Zenre’s expression softened into a pleased smile.
Maybe that happiness was obvious, because Martin, standing beside them, briefly cast a look of envy.
But it was only for a moment—clearing his throat, Martin turned his attention back to the recruits, who were moving on to the next test.
“Alright then, let’s first watch the rest of the exam and decide who would be the best match for the little miss. Sound good?”
“Yes, that sounds great.”
Without hesitation, Elia nodded and pressed herself against the terrace railing again, eager to observe.
And so, the second round of the recruit mercenary test began with the examiners’ signal.
“Begin the test!”
“Come at me, recruit.”
“Here I go! Haaah!!”
With a loud battle cry and tensed muscles, a recruit wielding a greatsword charged toward the Gold Badge mercenary.
At the same time, something else was about to unfold near the mercenary guild.
Two days ago, Martin had issued a warning in the form of a mission.
That warning had shaken the underworld’s strategists.
And now, they were preparing their response to Martin.
To be more precise—
An unavoidable clash between underworld factions was about to erupt, leading to an attack on the guild building.