5. Preparing for a duel – 03

that evening.

At the gymnasium dedicated to Class A, Altina was swinging her sword like crazy.

He hit the scarecrow as hard as he could while holding the sword with excessive force than usual.

Of course, she’s not using an aura, but her body, which has already reached the level of a master, is something distinctly different from that of a normal human, so with each blow, the scarecrow stumbles as if it would break at any moment.

“hahahaha-“

However, no matter how much Altina beat the scarecrow, she could not calm herself down at all. No, rather, the more he wielded the sword, the more it felt like something was boiling inside his chest.

– At your level? If you challenged Erekaya with just that much skill, you would definitely lose, right?

– You seem to be very arrogant about getting over the wall a bit recently, but with that kind of skill, it’s impossible to beat me, let alone Erekaya. Did you know what changed just because you realized that you were at least awake?

“You bastard!”

Kwajijik!

In an instant, Altina, unable to hold back her anger, beat the scarecrow with all her might, and eventually the scarecrow, unable to overcome the strength of the Aura user, was split in half and died a heroic death.

However, for the current Altina, it was not so important that the scarecrow split in half and died.

“What? just that much? Long story short? You bastard, with what mind am I swinging my sword right now!”

Altina herself knew it well. With her current skills, she couldn’t possibly reach Erekaya.

According to Erekaya herself, she awakened her aura two years ago. In contrast, Altina was able to awaken her aura only a few days ago.

They are on the same level as the Masters, and even if they can use Auras, the difference in skill between the two is embarrassing to compare.

Those who have been honing their abilities since awakening their Aurors two years ago, and those who have just awakened their Auras and have not properly grasped the extent of their abilities.

If a duel were to take place between the two, Altina would not be victorious over Erekaya even in ten thousand.

Yes, you know. I know that everything the man said is right. but-

“No matter what, if you listen to me, where is the point? Is it sticky! You son of a bitch!”

That day, after being saved by his hand, Altina was very concerned about that man. Several times a day, it was difficult for me to restrain myself from thinking about the man in my head.

That’s why I thought my heart would tremble and die just by visiting the hospital. And when I saw him and Claire together in the hospital room, all sorts of strange thoughts came to my mind.

You make my heart so fresh, and I end up thinking all sorts of strange thoughts while looking at you. When I’m in front of you, I sometimes get a strange feeling that I’m not a woman.

But do you think you can’t even do the easy thing of taking my side? Was it really that difficult to stand on my side in front of me and encourage me by saying that I might win, even with empty words?

This… Isn’t that too unfair? Why is it that only I care about you one-sidedly and I have to feel dirty like this? What the hell are you so good at!

Kwajijik!

In the end, he couldn’t overcome Altina’s power and the training sword itself was broken. Altina tossed the two-part training sword to one side without hesitation and sat down in place.

“Bad baby… .”

It was frustrating. After awakening her aura, Altina came to the training ground whenever she had free time and swung her sword, but she did not feel any progress with her own sword.

If she were to duel with Erekaya in this state, she would lose unconditionally. And that fact made Altina feel so repulsive.

I was able to pull the aura itself up from the spirit vein and put it on the sword without difficulty, but after that, I had no idea how to train and how to use the aura.

No matter how genius a woman named Altina von Rudel Serias may be, walking straight on a path that someone has already given the ‘correct answer’ and pioneering a path that no one has traveled alone are different in terms of difficulty.

Since Altina’s unique fighting technique of Count Serias, ‘Song of the Sky’, which Altina had learned, was not a martial art designed with the assumption that a person who reached the master’s level would train, the frustration she felt at the moment inevitably doubled.

‘Shall I ask my father a favor?’

Theodore von Rudel Serias, the current head of Count Serias, is also a warrior who realized that he wanted to rise to the level of Master, just like Altina.

Perhaps if she revealed to her father that she had risen to the level of a Master, he would unconditionally try to help him because he cares about his daughter.

but.

‘I can’t… .’

Her father, Theodore von Rudel Serias, is a very busy man. Of course, as the head of Count Serias, he has to take care of all sorts of matters, as well as overseeing the big and small affairs of the territory.

The reason why Altina entered Nineveh in the first place is to grow into a person who can help her father as soon as possible.

However, to make his busy father come all the way to Nineveh just to be at ease with himself would be a misunderstanding.

However, she needed the help of someone who had reached the level of a master.

It’s been a long time since she reached the level of a master, so she needed help from someone who could give her a detailed plan of what path she should take in the future.

but… Where is such a person in Nineveh? As far as Altina knows, there are only two Aura users in Nineveh, Erekaya and the board chairperson.

Even so, asking for help from Erekaya himself in order to surpass Erekaya is really ridiculous.

There’s no such thing as a decent person who has risen to such a high level that he can teach Altina, and even if he does, his pride won’t hurt that much, and if she asks for help, he’ll gladly teach her—

“… what?”

Come to think of it, there was only one. Such a good person who met all the conditions she had in mind.

But there’s only one problem, it’s that it’s a bit like bowing your head now after telling that son of a bitch a while ago…

“Umm… .”

Is it pride, or is it a real benefit?

After weighing things between the two for a long time, Altina made a decision.

****

At lunchtime the next day, Altina moved to a restaurant inside Nineveh.

It is a restaurant that any student from Nineveh can use for free. Students from aristocratic background rarely go in because they don’t like the so-called ‘taste’, but students from commoners often use it.

In fact, it is a restaurant exclusively for the common people, which cannot be found even after washing the eyes of the nobility.

When Altina von Rudel Serias sets foot in such a place, a moment of silence flows through the restaurant. Some students who were stuffing food into their mouths spewed out the food in their mouths.

“… Lady Serias?”

“What is a person like that doing in a place like this?”

“I bet you didn’t come here to eat… .”

Not paying attention to the attention pouring in from all sides, the place Altina headed was none other than Jin, who was eating alone in a corner of the restaurant.

“You, look at me for a second.”

“What?”

Altina didn’t even listen to Jin’s answer and grabbed his sleeve and pulled him.

“I have something to say. There are too many people here, so let’s go somewhere quiet and talk.”

“Hey, hey! am i still sick? And can’t you see I’m eating?”

“You can eat something like rice later!”

Saying that, Altina dragged Jin and left the restaurant. In the process, it was a kind of bonus that all the students in the cafeteria watched them blankly.

The place where Altina grabbed Jin’s arm was none other than the gymnasium dedicated to Class A.

Certainly, it would be hard to find a better place to talk alone than here. Because, except for Jin and Altina, other class A students don’t even show up here.

After entering the gymnasium, as soon as she confirmed that there was no one around, Altina brought up the main topic.

“You said this to me yesterday. With my current skills, I can’t beat you, let alone Erekaya.”

“… Did you bring a well-fed man here just to say that?”

“Answer me.”

When Altina said that in a pouty tone for some reason, Jin let out a sigh.

It was because he thought that Altina could not understand what she had said yesterday and still had regrets.

Well, is it unavoidable? At this point, Altina is still just a child, so she may not be able to easily understand that she is weaker than others.

“Yes, you can never defeat Erekaya. If you had eyes, you would have realized already, right? Erekaya is also a master like you. That’s not a novice like you, but a skilled person who has been on the level of a master for quite some time.”

“… I know. The fact that Kaya had already reached the level of a master before.”

“I don’t know, but unlike you, Erekaya must have trained her aura over a long time. But to think of defeating a skilled player with an aura learned only by cramming, isn’t it too disrespectful to think about it?”

I spoke in the strongest possible tone with the intention of deliberately breaking his heart. He spoke in the most sarcastic tone, without showing any concern for her to be able to grasp her subject.

but.

“… Yes, that’s right.”

Altina didn’t look particularly hurt. No, far from being hurt, he looks at Jin with his eyes shining more vividly than before.

“Then just one more thing. The remaining time until the duel evaluation was about a month and a half. In the meantime, if I learn from someone stronger than me, is there any chance I can defeat Erekaya?”

“Who is stronger than you?”

Jin looked at her with a puzzled look on his face. A person who came from Nineveh and was stronger than the user, Altina, is he going to visit the chairman and cling to her crotch?

“Well, in that case, it’s not very likely. It’s true that Erekaya is stronger than you, but in the first place, she’s still a student and nothing more than a rookie. If I build up basic skills for a month and a half and focus on Erekaya’s weaknesses, I think I can do anything.”

“yes? That one is enough.”

“what?”

“The fact that the possibility is not very unlikely. The fact that if I try and get your help, I might be able to defeat Erekaya.”

Altina smiled brightly and said that.

But wait. It seems like there was something I just couldn’t let go of.

“… what did you say now? Who is helping whom?”

“oh? Couldn’t you hear?”

Altina smiled bashfully and looked straight at Jin. If you think that her face is somehow cute, have you really lost your mind?

“You say you help me. You are stronger than me and the only one who is qualified to teach me. is not it?”

What nonsense is this? who is stronger than anyone? Doonjae, who hasn’t realized Aura for over a hundred years, teaches a genius who learned Aura in just a few days?

Jin looked at Altina with an absurd look, but unfortunately, Altina herself seemed very serious.

“Jin, you have to act as my mentor for a while so that I can surpass Erekaya.”

“…what?”