“I don’t bully rookies.”
Julius grinned, “With those clumsy skills of yours, I could take you down without even using a weapon.”
“Who are you looking down on?”
Helos let out a soft huff, her eyes narrowing slightly as a mischievous smirk tugged at the corners of her lips. “Your swordsmanship is certainly stronger than mine, but if—I’m saying if—I were to secretly slip some laxatives into your food before the match?”
“Are you really that wicked?”
Julius almost burst out laughing, raising a hand and wagging his index finger. “Dirty tricks don’t count!”
“You two, have you had enough?”
A calm and majestic voice suddenly rang out from behind them, like a bucket of cold water being poured over their heads.
Helos gave a start, and she almost lost her grip on the rapier in her hand.
She stiffly turned her head, only to see Cedric standing not far away with his arms crossed, his gaze so sharp it seemed as if it would pin them both to the spot.
Julius’s face, which still held a hint of a smile, immediately froze. He suddenly straightened his spine, looking like a student caught slacking off. He cleared his throat and lowered his eyes, feigning composure. “Teacher, we were just… uh, having an exchange.”
“An exchange?”
Cedric raised an eyebrow and let out a cold snort. “Today’s training isn’t over yet, and you’re already thinking about slacking off? Don’t make excuses!”
Helos shrunk her neck back, obediently holding her sword in front of her as she muttered in a small voice:
“Does this even count as slacking off…”
“What?”
Cedric’s gaze bore down on her.
“No—nothing!”
Helos immediately straightened up like a taut violin string.
Julius found it amusing and couldn’t help but steal a glance at her.
But a second later, Cedric’s piercing gaze swept over him, and he immediately pulled back his expression, acting all serious.
The air in the training ground suddenly tightened, as if even the sound of the wind had gone silent.
“Since you still have the energy to talk back,” Cedric’s tone became much more serious. “Then do another round, and don’t stop!”
“And you! Julius! Add another hour to today’s training time!”
“Eh?!”
Helos’s eyes widened, while Julius gave a bitter laugh, already resignedly drawing his wooden sword:
“I’ve really been done in by you… Sorry.”
***
Day after day on the training ground, shadows of swords and holy light intertwined.
Under the scorching sun, Helos’s forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, and her silver-white hair clung to her cheeks from the dampness.
She gripped the rapier in her hand tightly; the tip of the blade trembled slightly, but her gaze remained firm.
“Hah—!”
Her small figure suddenly took a step forward, the tip of her blade thrusting straight toward Julius’s chest.
The boy let out a light huff, and with a swift flick of his wooden sword, he parried the strike.
But in the instant the blades ground against each other with a harsh sound, he clearly felt that Helos’s technique had grown significantly compared to ten days ago.
Immediately following that, Helos suddenly withdrew her rapier and, using the remaining momentum, slashed out diagonally. Though the movement was clumsy, it already held a hint of sharpness.
Julius was actually forced back two steps, an expression of surprise surfacing on his face.
“You can actually pull off two consecutive moves without messing up? Not bad.”
“Hmph, of course!”
Helos raised her chin proudly, her purple eyes sparkling. “I’ve been working very hard!”
As soon as she finished speaking, her breathing became somewhat ragged, and the rapier drooped slightly.
The disadvantage of her physical constitution quickly showed itself. Even with a rapier lighter than a wooden sword, her arm soon felt sore:
“Sigh, it seems the medicine’s effect has worn off…”
That’s right, it was only after drinking a vitality potion that she barely had the strength to exchange a few moves with Julius.
Julius shook his head and rested his sword on his shoulder:
“But don’t get too ahead of yourself; you still have a long way to go. If I really used my full strength, you wouldn’t even last three moves.”
“Eh~ what kind of talk is that! Regardless, I can already block you to some extent now!”
Helos pouted; though she was out of breath, her face was full of satisfaction.
Looking at her like this, Julius felt a trace of inexplicable happiness in his heart.
At least, this way, she was no longer someone who could only hide behind—
Uh, well, maybe sometimes it would be better if she stood in the front.
While Helos’s swordsmanship had climbed a small step, Julius’s own magic cultivation had also entered a new stage.
Holy light flowed in his palm, condensing into a stable sphere of light—that was the basic offensive magic 【Holy Light Bullet】.
And in his other hand, a faint golden glow slowly gathered into the shape of a shield.
“【Holy Protection】, hm, looks like I’ve learned that too.”
The boy murmured softly, a hint of pride flashing in his eyes.
But in the next second, as Helos approached, the shield made of holy light suddenly vanished.
“You’re practically the natural enemy of mages.”
Julius glanced at Helos as she walked up beside him and couldn’t help but say it.
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Helos took out another pre-prepared vitality potion from her bag and gulped it down without a word. “Want to continue?”
“Bring it on.”
Just as the two were about to continue their spar, a steady voice suddenly came from outside the training ground.
“You two, come to my room for a moment.”
It was Cedric.
The Holy Knight Commander was looking at them with a satisfied gaze, while waving to the two of them, signaling them to follow him.
The two exchanged a glance, immediately sheathed their swords, and followed that burly figure through the corridor.
The Holy Knight Commander’s room was not luxurious. Several old swords that had weathered the years hung on the walls, and a parchment map was spread out on the desk. Cedric stood with his hands behind his back, his expression serious.
“Teacher, you were looking for us?”
Julius spoke first.
Cedric slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping over the two of them, and said in a deep voice:
“Over twenty days of special training, you have indeed made considerable progress.”
His words made Helos’s eyes light up, and she subconsciously straightened her back.
“However, merely relying on matches on the training ground will always be nothing more than theoretical talk.”
Cedric’s tone suddenly grew a bit heavier as he reached out and pressed a hand onto the map on the desk. “A true knight must be tempered in actual combat.”
Helos was stunned for a moment, her purple pupils widening slightly:
“Eh, do I count as a knight too?”
“Of course you don’t—I have no desire to face Duke Eisende’s wrath.”
Cedric shook his head. “But since you have studied swordsmanship under me, I naturally acknowledge you in my heart.”
Hearing this, Helos couldn’t help but let a smile spread across her face.
Oh?
I didn’t expect the day would come when I’d be acknowledged by someone~
“Cough, but as I said, what you’ve learned can only be tested through actual combat.”
Cedric cleared his throat and stared at the two of them. “Therefore, I have a special mission I want to entrust to you.”
“A mission? For the two of us?”
Julius blinked, seemingly in disbelief. “What kind of mission could the two of us possibly carry out?”
“Don’t worry, if I’m letting you and Helos do it, it naturally isn’t a difficult mission.”
As he said this, Cedric deliberately emphasized the name “Helos”:
“Your mission is very simple, and that is—”
Ooh. A mission.