4. Practice Training – 03

Late at night, even after Jin left the gymnasium, Altina’s training continued.

In fact, it didn’t matter to her whether Jin was in the gymnasium or not. No, rather, when he disappeared, Altina felt relieved. This is because she had been using this gymnasium by herself ever since she entered school.

Even though she wasn’t the only sword-wielding person in class A, this gymnasium had always been occupied by her.

yes, only her

‘… Kaya.’

Altina bit her lips as she recalled the face of a woman that came to her mind.

Erekaya del Pendragon, the only heir to the Pendragon dukedom, and at the same time a giraffe who is said to have been born with the greatest talent ever.

Ever since she was very young, Altina had been compared to Erekaya.

The Count Serias family is one of the branched off from the Pendragon Dukes in the distant past.

Since then, as the years have passed, Count Serias has been able to establish a status comparable to that of Duke Pendragon, but Count Serias still has the Pendragon family in mind and is endlessly conscious of them.

From the moment Altina was born, she had been compared to Erekaya. To the extent that there is no part that has not been compared, starting with talent, grades, and at least appearance.

… Well, to be honest, I don’t think it’s a part that can’t be compared to her. Objectively, I think I look better.

But Altina didn’t hate Erekaya that much.

Even though she possessed talents superior to hers and had always been one step ahead of her at Nineveh, she did not mind being one step behind Erekaya.

However, even if one thing and everything else could be overlooked, the part related to the ‘sword’ could not be passed lightly.

Erekaya Del Pendragon was a genius. He was such a genius that making a fuss about being born with the greatest talent in the history of the Pendragon family seemed like humility.

While traveling together in Nineveh, Altina sparred countless times with Erekaya. And she never defeated Erekaya.

On the face of it, the skills of the two were evenly matched. It wouldn’t be strange if anyone won, but unfortunately Altina seemed to have lost by a single margin.

However, Altina, the party involved, was well aware of it. In fact, the difference in skill between her and Erekaya wasn’t even a single point. The fact that Erekaya was already looking down at her from a high place.

… And, in fact, I was able to beat her with an overwhelming difference in skill, not just a single point difference, but everything, even the fact that it was just for taking care of Altina.

I was upset. What he was angry about was the fact that the skill he had been honing for so long was so shallow that he couldn’t reveal Erekaya’s true intentions.

The more resentful she was, the more Altina swung her sword madly. He swung his sword while sparing no time to rest or sleep.

However, her sword did not increase easily. No, rather, he was just repeating his steps. The more nervous she became, the more time she practiced, but the results of her efforts were in vain.

And since when? Erekaya did not show up at the gymnasium.

The reason was unknown. Is it the arrogance that he doesn’t need training anymore, or is it the confidence that there is no way to grow by swinging a sword in the gymnasium?

Altina hated the empty and empty gymnasium.

But I hated it even more to see a crazy bastard set up and running around the gymnasium.

‘My stride is wrong?’

It couldn’t have been more laughable nonsense. Who is this guy with a weak body who seems to have no history of exercise, let alone practiced sword training, giving discipline to someone?

When you think about it with common sense, what you just said is nothing but nonsense bullshit. It’s nothing more than rubbish that’s not worth listening to or caring about.

but.

‘But, still, it’s just in case you don’t know.’

The current Altina was desperate. The wall blocking her was high and thick, and the feeling she felt was just as oppressive.

How much more do I have to swing my sword to get over this wall? How much more do you have to work to become stronger?

… How strong did he have to be to stand on an equal footing with Erekaya del Pendragon?

It literally made me want to grab a straw. That’s why I felt somehow attracted to the nonsense I would normally have heard in one ear and let it out in the other.

That’s right, it’s not really great advice anyway, it’s just telling you to take your stride to the side. What’s the big deal?

By any chance, that nonsense could be a clue to breaking the wall blocking her, and if it wasn’t, I’d just pretend I’ve stepped on shit and forget about today…

“hahahaha, what am I really doing?”

I really hated myself for being seduced by the words of such a psychopath and thinking in case.

Following Jin’s advice, Altina finely adjusted the length of her stride while holding the sword. And after that, I started to unfold the family’s sword ceremony, paying as much attention as possible so that my stride would not slant again.

And.

“… uh?”

It was different. Something was different.

It is a swordsmanship that has been unfolded countless times. It is a swordsmanship so familiar to Altina that she can open the sword even with her eyes closed.

However, the swordsmanship she is currently using in her hands… Something was different.

light. The sword feels so light. And his own body wielding the sword also felt very light.

Has the sword ever felt so light?

It has changed. I didn’t know what had changed, but I could intuit that something had changed inside her.

soft. The swordsmanship, which had previously felt like something was blocking it, now unfolded so smoothly.

Everything feels mysterious and unfamiliar. The self you were before and the self you are now feel so different.

In the ecstasy of being reborn, Altina stopped swinging her sword.

Looking out the window, the morning sun had already risen. Then, did he mean that he had swung his sword nonstop all night long?

But there was nothing to worry about. Because Altina was just about to cross the huge wall that had been blocking her for a long time.

Altina suddenly looked at the sword she was holding.

The sword she was holding was sharp and straight. But that wasn’t all.

The sword she was holding was still hazy, but there was an intangible aura that gave off a clear and clear feeling.

Although still weak, an aura with condensed destructive power capable of destroying everything in the world.

“… This.”

no way.

****

“Now, today’s theory class ends here. Everyone knows that there is practice training against demons in the afternoon, right? Even though the teachers are watching, it’s a dangerous training that could lead to an accident, so don’t be vigilant… ”

After a boring class, it was time for lunch. As is usually the case with all schools in the world, during break time, the students were talking happily in groups of twos and threes.

Unfortunately, Jin was alone. Of course, from the first day of admission, there was no one who tried to get closer to Jin as a reward for being a bitch.

If I had known that I would be living a friendless school life like this, I should have done it a little more moderately.

No, let’s not have such weak thoughts. In fact, Jin wasn’t too uncomfortable with the fact that he had no friends. What if you don’t have friends and what if you eat alone?

Originally, hyenas are weak, so they have no choice but to run in packs, but a single tiger could dominate the vast Taebaek Mountains.

-Are you going to win over the jjinta topic that you are going to eat alone after a while?

“Noisy. I am comfortable being alone.”

Just as Jin is contemplating whether he should just fall asleep on his desk rather than go to a restaurant and eat alone, he feels someone tap him on the back.

“Well?”

Turning his head, he saw an all-too-familiar face standing behind him. It was Altina.

“why.”

“Look at me for a second. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it? Can’t we just do it here?”

“Shut up and just follow me.”

Altina grabbed Jin’s arm and dragged him out of the classroom. It was a kind of bonus that the other people in the classroom stared blankly at the two completely unsuitable combinations.

The place where Altina arrived with Jin was the gymnasium dedicated to Class A, where they had accumulated not-so-pleasant memories yesterday.

“What is it?”

“You, what the hell is your identity? Are you really a student like me?”

It was an absurd word that had no bottom and no end. If you say it like that, how the hell are you supposed to understand it?

“Can you please explain it in a way that is easy for people to understand?”

At Jin’s words, Altina sighed softly and picked up the training sword that was placed on one side of the gymnasium.

ugh-

The next moment, the training sword Altina was holding was engulfed in a hazy flash, and within a moment, formless energy flowed down the blade.

“… uh?”

And that flash was something Jin knew all too well.

“Come?”

It was. Overnight at best, Altina rose to the level of Master.