“First, I’ll show you what you missed one more time. I’ll do it slowly,” Davey told Illyna. Then, he picked up an extra wooden sword and swung forcefully toward the ground without hesitation. It was a strike that had amazing strength and precision.

Boom!! The weighted swing disappeared after crushing the ground. It was the basic slash of [Longsword], the destruction-oriented sword technique of the Sword Lord that Illyna was using.

Then, Davey swung his sword one more time. The move was more fluid and light than the one before, which had been heavily focused on destruction. The difference in destructive power was apparent even from the flow of the air. Of course, Davey wouldn’t have gone out of his way to show Illyna examples if this was just it…

The moment the swift sword swing reached a certain position, an extreme amount of weight was instantly put on the sword tip as Davey’s wrist trembled slightly. Booom!!! Like before, an enormous crater was left on the ground as a powerful shock accompanied a huge explosion. The first and second slashes both showed the same level of destruction.

“See the difference between the two slashes?” Davey asked. He and Illyna were now speaking informally, since they no longer cared about formalities. He was also sincerely giving her advice.

Illyna was completely shocked. She asked, “How…could the destructive force be the same?” The [Longsword] she knew was a weight-oriented sword technique that emphasized destructive power and range, like the light [Landing Technique of a Thousand Weights], [Horizontal Slash], [Upward Slash], etcetera.

“No way! Even if the technique of the Sword Lord was lost, I know that [Longsword] is a technique that increases the destructive power by putting an immense weight on the sword! It’s impossible for the path of the sword to be that fluid!” Just as Illyna said, the [Longsword] of the Sword Lord was structured in a way that made it impossible for it to be as fluid as the technique Davey had just shown. She then added, “Isn’t the [Longsword] a technique that excludes any artistry and focuses solely on destructive power?! But for a technique that slow and fluid to have the same level of power…!”

This level of power couldn’t normally be used, since it was a destructive force that could only be brought out by abandoning all artistry. Since it was a power that required a sacrifice, it would be greedy for a sword technique with artistry to expect the same level of power as the [Longsword].

“Hm, should I call it ‘zero-to-one hundred’? It’s the time it takes for the speed to get to the fastest speed possible.”

“Zero…to one hundred?”

“Simply put, it’s the time it takes for a carriage to reach its fastest speed. Do you at least have an idea of what that means?”

“…” Illyna nodded like she had realized something from what Davey had said.

‘Zero-to-one hundred’ usually referred to the time it took for a car to reach a speed of one hundred kilometers per hour from zero, although Davey referred to it as the speed of a carriage since cars didn’t exist here.

“You probably know that a weight-based impact requires you to swing a sword for a certain distance, right?” Davey asked Illyna.

“That’s how the [Longsword] works.”

It brought out an incredible strength by exerting an overwhelming amount of weight on a simple slash.

“Then, have you tried altering the speed at which the weight reaches its highest limit?”

“What does…”

“The weight that is used in [Longsword] is similar to gravity, but it is actually just extremely concentrated mana imitating it. It’s not gravity.”

Labeling it as mana was just for imagination purposes. The weight that brought the destructive power to [Longsword] wasn’t gravity, but a temporary strength made of mana; the ‘zero-to-one hundred’ delay that it had was completely unrelated to the laws of physics, meaning that the speed of ‘zero-to-one hundred’ could change at any time depending on the mastery level.

Illyna’s eyes opened wide as Davey spoke; she had understood what he was saying like the clever girl she was.

Without hesitation, Davey threw the wooden sword he was holding on the ground. “The advantage to [Longsword] is its destructive and annihilative power, but it definitely has its disadvantages like that it becomes an extremely unstable sword that is only focused on destruction if one hasn’t mastered it completely. Now, I’ll give you a hint.”

Illyna looked at Davey in surprise. Davey then went on to say, “Setting Sword Lord Ares aside since he was dumb enough to change directions while exerting an extreme amount of gravity, why do you think this technique had just disappeared and become lost?”

‘Of course. It would’ve gone to the next generation without them understanding the full mechanism of it since they would’ve been just merely imitating it.’

It would’ve been passed on as the greatest sword technique since its destructive power was the best out of any other.

It seemed like Illyna, who was sitting while staring into space, hadn’t fully understood what Davey was saying. She would probably be able to overcome the barrier of Master if she were to understand it and be enlightened by even just a part of it.

“The groundwork… I think I got it. Thank you…” With her head down and tears in her eyes, Illyna slowly spoke like she had organized some of her thoughts. Although it was just one piece of advice, it seemed like she had instinctively felt how huge the help was.

-You are thoughtful in unexpected ways.

‘Eh… I didn’t do anything.’

Illyna slowly turned her gaze to Davey, who stayed silent. Then, she faintly smiled as she gripped onto Caldeiras.

“Anyways, you look like you have urgent business,” Davey pointed out.

“Oh…”

“From what I see, you look like you’re being chased by something.”

“Th—There’s nothing like that!”

“Well, it’s not like everything is going to be ruined because I heard it. I think it’s wise to speak up when you have the chance.”

Illyna’s gaze shook in confusion. However, she carefully opened her mouth like she had come to a decision. “You…are a very kind person…”

“It’s not like my ears only have a certain number of things I can listen to. All I am doing is listening.”

“Then… Could you become my partner by chance?”

It was a comment that could bring about a very big misunderstanding, depending on how it was understood by the other party.

* * *

“I need your help.” Illyna approached Davey while quietly speaking.

“It doesn’t make sense that the princess of the strongest empire in the continent needs help. Aren’t there a few Swordmasters that will move with just one word of yours?”

“I can’t borrow their power… It would be against the rules, since only people under the age of twenty can participate.” After, Illyna slowly began telling Davey the secret she had been hiding.

Illyna, the princess of the Pallan Empire, was preparing for a test of a certain organization. In the test, several teams of two would try to reach a goal while competing. The problem was that two people including her had to take the test together, but her partner had gone missing for some unknown reason.

“So, you need someone to help you because your test partner is missing?” Davey asked Illyna.

“I searched for them desperately, but they vanished. It’s like they evaporated into thin air. I need someone who could help me if I can’t get stronger.”

“Hm… Get help from the others taking the test… Ah, no. I can see them conspire all the way from here.”

“I don’t know the details, but I definitely need a partner to take the test.”

Davey thought hard about what Illyna said. She had hidden the organization she was a part of; it was definitely an organization that the royalty of an ordinary kingdom or even the royalty of an empire wouldn’t know, but he could analyze what kind of organization it was with ‘Check Information’.

The Last Wisp: the final piece. It had several names, but the name that showed up on the status window was familiar to him as well. The name might’ve stuck with him for longer because he had heard it from Bow Lord Apollo who usually never told stories about his past.

It was when Daphne had called Davey over to have drinks because she had gotten her hands on some good liquor. Apollo had came to see Daphne, and the latter was passed out like usual, so he happened to tell the story after becoming needlessly sentimental.

[What? Stories about the past? Well, alright. It’s nice to tell them once in a while. Let me ask you one thing: who do you think protects the people?]

‘The militia? Royal guard? Or knights…’

[That’s right, since intelligent beings naturally form a group, and a country is inevitably created. That’s the same for any being, whether it be humans or elves or dwarves. Then, who do you think protects the continent from unknown threats?]

Davey thought that it was nonsense when he first heard it; however, he was able to quickly understand it. Catastrophes or threats that would bring chaos to the world just with its existence would have had to be dealt with secretly.

[That’s when the Last Wisp was founded. They are an alliance of knights called the Final Piece. Well, there aren’t many that use swords although they are a knight order.]

At that time, Davey had listened to him, forgetting about his usual aversion toward him as Apollo told the story more calmly than expected.

[They all have different names, but they’ve connected amongst each other in the great bond of the Last Wisp and have secretly taken care of the things that were a threat to the continent. You know that the continent was oddly peaceful after that Sword Lord slashed the Demon Lord, right? They’re the reason why.]

‘What are you talking about?’

[Simply put… What should I say? I guess it could be said that they are heroes that foster the talented, or a knight order that cultivates warriors.]

Davey wasn’t confused for long since the answer to his question was revealed as the pieces of the story gradually began fitting together.

The strong beings who had some recognition couldn’t recklessly become involved with them, and their main targets were the young generation that would be responsible for the future. Illyna was learning and growing her power as a member of the secret knight order. There was no way of knowing why she was part of an organization that was dangerous and had no prestige, but it was true that it was quite intriguing.

“It’s funny, right? You can forget about what I said today. I learned something huge today because of you.” A little timidly, Illyna got up and brushed off her short skirt. “Let’s go back inside. I won’t forget your help.”

“Wait.”

To be honest, Illyna’s request wasn’t worth considering since the work of the secret knight order would still be dangerous even though one wasn’t officially a member. Of course, Davey could help if she was someone he was very fond of, but he had only gotten to know her for a few days. It seemed like she had just put it out there because she also knew that. However, he felt like there was a different possibility other than the ordinary thoughts that popped into his head.

-If the organization is really like you said, they will definitely go against unknown dangers. The level of danger would increase drastically. This is unbelievab…

‘Wait… Wow, this is nice.’

Perserque’s eyes opened wide as she heard Davey.

-D—Davey?

“Let’s do it.”

“What?”

“That test. I’ll do it. I’ll give you all the help you need.”

It was actually Illyna who was surprised by Davey’s breezy answer. She stared at him in confusion and looked like she couldn’t understand him.