Chapter 32: Isis – Round Two

“Luckily, I have the teacher’s help.”

Although Isis hoped to go another round, the training wooden swords used by both sides were damaged after the recent exchange.

Left with no other choice, they had to pause while waiting for Rosalyn’s servant to fetch new ones.

“Lifa’s reaction speed is also quite fast.”

Ron observed his disciple’s performance closely. Aside from offering praise, he also pointed out her flaws.

“However, the lack of experience in dueling others is a concrete problem. Just like the second move from Miss Ash earlier…”

Reviewing the brief, few-minute skirmish with Lifa, Ron realized this type of sparring had immense benefits for her. After all, outside of the unpolished sparring they did in the village, Isis was the first legitimate swordsman Lifa had ever faced.

Even though she had fought countless demonic beasts, Lifa still needed to gain experience against human swordsmen or different professions from scratch.

“Yes, Mr. Ron is absolutely right. If this were a real battle, Lifa, if you hadn’t dodged in time after being hit in the leg just now…”

Isis gave Lifa space to reflect. At the same time, as the other person who had listened to Ron’s entire review, she expressed her own stance while feeling curiosity about him.

“I apologize for the contempt I held for you in my heart earlier. At first, I was skeptical that Lifa’s swordsmanship originated from you.”

“But looking at it now, your understanding in this area is more thorough than many seasoned swordsmen.”

As a Child of Destiny, Lifa’s potential and performance did not surprise Isis particularly.

But the various things Ron displayed, compared to his physical body that was consistent with an ordinary person, truly made Isis curious.

The so-called family inheritance did not seem sufficient to allow an ordinary person to have such an understanding of swordsmanship…

“Hehehe, Sister Ash is also very amazing, but Teacher was previously a seventh-order—”

“Ahem!!!”

Ron grabbed Lifa’s hand and pulled her toward him. This child’s biggest flaw was her inability to keep her mouth shut.

“My mentor was a hermit, and also a seventh-order swordsman.”

Ron knew how to hide the fact that Isis was suspicious and probing his situation, so naturally, he had to provide an explanation.

Just then, the servant arrived with a bucket of brand-new training swords. He took the opportunity to draw one and performed a basic parrying stance.

“Simply from the perspective of martial theory and the foundations of swordsmanship, I suppose I have been influenced by what I have seen and heard.”

“I see, that explains it.”

The explanation sounded somewhat far-fetched to Isis, but it did make logical sense.

Her blood-red eyes stared at Ron for a few seconds of silence. She then took a wooden sword and turned to issue a challenge for a rematch to Lifa.

“Lifa, that last round counts as a draw.”

“And this time, I will give it my all.”

“Mhm, Teacher also taught Lifa how to deal with that second move from before!”

Lifa was quite excited and high-spirited.

She found this kind of contest very interesting, and with her teacher’s explanation on the side, it was much more effective for improvement than dull, solo practice or hunting demonic beasts.

“Mr. Ron, this is for you.”

The three of them walked toward their respective positions. However, before Isis took her place, she reached into her hooded robe and took out an emerald green potion, handing it to Ron.

“A focus potion. It will make it more convenient for you to assist Lifa.”

“Just drink it. Or are you having second thoughts?”

Facing Isis’s counter-question, Ron silently accepted the potion.

“I don’t mean to doubt you, Miss Ash, it’s just that such a precious item, I was thinking of saving it for Lifa.”

Just like the elven wine Rosalyn had treated them to, this bottle of potion that Isis had casually gifted was an extremely rare commodity.

Beyond significantly increasing the user’s mental power and focused reaction speed for a short time, this type of potion could also permanently increase the incredibly rare [Wisdom] attribute in the game.

“I like Lifa very much. I will prepare another one for her separately.”

Isis shook her head. After speaking, she walked straight toward her original standing position. Ron did not hesitate long before drinking the potion.

Mhm, it’s sweet.

The boost to his mental state brought about a level of clarity in his thinking and awareness that he had never experienced before.

After marveling at the taste of the potion, Ron used the enhancement provided by the drug to think about how to interact with Isis moving forward.

Undoubtedly, Isis, who could casually take out such a bottle—or perhaps more—of rare potions, was a treasure right before Ron and Lifa’s eyes at this stage.

“Draw your sword.”

“Draw your sword.”

Defeat.

Ron could not forget the terrible situation of his last save file. Furthermore, he no longer had the chance to load a save.

While Ron was thinking, both people on the arena initiated their attacks.

Lifa was giving it her all, while Isis controlled her attribute output to a range comparable to Lifa’s.

However, the result was as Ron had envisioned; Lifa lacked experience in sparring with people and responding to various attacks.

Faced with Isis’s ever-changing attack forms, Lifa was completely trapped in a defensive state without a chance to catch her breath.

“T-Teacher… what should I do… next?”

Lifa struggled, parrying and dodging time and again, and was left with no choice but to actively seek Ron’s help.

“Focus your attention first!”

Ron blinked, temporarily pouring all his attention into the battle before his eyes.

Although Isis had said she would give it her all, there was still a fair amount of restraint in her attacks. Otherwise, in Ron’s opinion, Lifa would have been defeated long ago.

Then, Isis, what are you trying to do?

Under the mental enhancement of the potion, Ron caught the gaze Isis sent his way from time to time.

On the stage, Lifa, as the one experiencing it, was already becoming flustered.

Even though every attack of Isis’s was a distinct slash or basic sword technique that Lifa could handle defensively, she was merely holding on, with absolutely no room for counterattacks or other maneuvers.

“Lifa, listen to what I say and do it next!”

Ron clenched his hands at his sides.

The most dangerous actions often lead to the safest results. Since Isis was interested in him, he might as well show her something.

[If I lose, I am willing to agree to anything within my ability that you might ask.]

“Upper slash, then follow with a thrust.”

Ron stared at every move Isis made, and finally, he identified a breakthrough point and gave the instruction.

Lifa, not disappointing his expectations, immediately grabbed her sword and followed his command without hesitation.

“!”

Isis could hear Ron’s instruction as well, but while surprised, she continued her previous attacking move: a slash aimed from the side toward Lifa’s slender neck.

An upper slash was the optimal solution to parry the previous swing, while the thrust would force Isis to raise the arc of her side-slash to dodge.

This was a complete gamble that Lifa would execute the move perfectly; otherwise, before the strike was broken, Isis’s sword would have hurt Lifa first.

Clang

“You actually… managed to do it.”

With only a few millimeters of distance, Isis knew her attack had failed. Unless she lifted her restrictions, she had no choice but to retreat.

Does she really have such tacit understanding and trust with him?

This situation was even more unexpected for Isis than Ron’s insights into swordsmanship.

In her memory, there was almost no one else who could accomplish this.

No.

There was someone…

[Isis, that Flame Demon Lord’s domain attack is very tricky.]

[You must follow my instructions to approach it.]

[Yes, Master!]