EP.19

Late at night, even after Jin had left the training grounds, Altina continued her training.

In truth, it mattered little to her whether Jin was in the training grounds or not. Rather, she was relieved by his absence. Since her enrollment, she had always used the training grounds alone.

Though she was not the only swordswoman in Class A, this place had always been hers to dominate.

Yes, it was hers alone.

‘…Kaya.’

Altina bit her lip as the face of a certain woman appeared in her mind.

Erekaya del Pendragon, the sole successor of the House of Pendragon, and widely regarded as having the greatest talent in history—a prodigy.

From a very young age, Altina had been compared to Erekaya.

The House of Count Seryas was one of the branches that split from the House of Pendragon in the distant past.

Over the ages, Count Seryas established a reputation that could rival that of the Pendragons, yet, even to this day, Count Seryas remained painfully aware of the Pendragons’ existence.

From the moment she was born, Altina was compared to Erekaya. Everything from talent to grades, and even looks—there was no aspect of her life that had escaped comparison.

…Well, to be honest, she believed that she shouldn’t be compared in terms of looks. Objectively, she felt she was more attractive.

However, Altina didn’t truly dislike Erekaya.

Even though Erekaya possessed superior talent and always outperformed her in grades at Nineveh, Altina didn’t mind being a step behind her.

But there was one thing she couldn’t overlook; while she could overlook virtually everything else, she simply could not brush aside anything related to swords.

Erekaya del Pendragon was a genius. The praise that she possessed the greatest talent in the history of the House of Pendragon seemed, in comparison, almost humble as it was undeniably true.

While attending Nineveh, Altina had sparred countless times with Erekaya. And she had never managed to win a single match against her.

On the surface, their skills appeared to be evenly matched. It wouldn’t seem strange for either to win, yet Altina consistently lost by the smallest of margins.

But Altina, being the participant, understood well. In reality, the difference in their abilities was not just a hair’s breadth; Erekaya was looking down on her from a much higher place.

…And actually, it wasn’t just that the difference was not minuscule; it was that Erekaya could have easily beaten her by overwhelming superiority but had simply chosen to go easy on her.

This infuriated her. What frustrated her was that the skills she had tirelessly honed were so shallow that they could not reveal Erekaya’s true capabilities.

The more frustrated she became, the more desperately Altina swung her sword. She saved time from breaks and sleep just to practice.

Yet, her skills did not improve easily. If anything, she was merely treading water. The more anxious she grew, the more time she poured into training, but her efforts yielded no results.

And when had it been? Erekaya had stopped showing up at the training grounds.

The reason was unclear. Was it arrogance from thinking she no longer needed to train, or was it confidence in knowing that simply wielding a sword in the training grounds would not lead to growth?
Altina despised the emptiness of the training grounds.

However, she loathed even more the sight of a certain lunatic roaming around in that very place.

“Are you saying my stance is wrong?”

It was nothing short of absurd nonsense. Who on earth was this frail individual, with a physique that clearly seemed to have never engaged in any physical activity, to lecture her?

Logically speaking, what had just been uttered was nothing more than nonsensical drivel. It held no value to be heard or heeded—a mere distraction.

Yet.

“Still, you never know.”

At that moment, Altina was desperate. The wall standing in her way was tall and formidable, and the heaviness of her feelings mirrored it.

How much longer would she need to wield her sword to overcome this wall? How much effort would it take to grow stronger?

…Just how strong must she become to stand on equal ground with Erekaya del Pendragon?

She felt as if she were clutching at straws. Therefore, for some reason, even the nonsensical advice that she would have ordinarily brushed aside piqued her interest.

Well, it wasn’t exactly profound advice, just a suggestion to shift her stance slightly. What harm could come from that?

If by any chance, that nonsense could become a clue to break through the barrier before her, or if not, she could simply dismiss the day as a mistake and forget about it…

“Ha, what on earth am I doing?”

She felt a wave of self-hatred wash over her for being so tempted by the words of a lunatic.

Following Jin’s advice, Altina made a minuscule adjustment to her stance while supporting the sword. Then she focused intently on her form as she began to execute her family’s sword techniques, careful not to let her stance falter.

And then.

“…Huh?”

Something was different. Something felt off.

This was a style she had performed countless times before—a technique she was so familiar with that she could execute it with her eyes closed.

Yet, the swordplay unfolding in her hands felt… different.

It was light. The sword felt incredibly light. And her body, wielding the sword, also felt exceptionally light.

Had the sword ever felt this light before?

Something had changed. Although she didn’t know what, she could instinctively sense that something within her had shifted.

It flowed. The swordplay that had previously felt obstructed now moved with an exquisite fluidity.

Everything felt wondrous and surreal. The person she was just moments ago felt utterly different from the one standing there now.

In a moment of ecstasy, as if she had been reborn, Altina stopped swinging her sword.

As she glanced out the window, she noted that the morning sun had already risen. Did that mean she had swung her sword throughout the night?

But such concerns were trivial at that moment. Because she had just crossed over a colossal wall that had long obstructed her path.

Altina suddenly turned her gaze to the sword in her hand.

The sword she held was sharp and straight. Yet, that was not all.

There was, albeit faintly, an intangible aura surrounding the sword that conveyed a sense of clarity and purity.
Though still weak, a destructive power capable of shattering the world was condensed within her aura.

“…What is this?”

Could it be?

“Alright, today’s theory class ends here. In the afternoon, everyone knows we have practical training against magical beasts, right? Although the teachers are watching, it’s still a dangerous drill where accidents can happen, so don’t let your guard down…”

The painfully dull class came to an end, and it was time for lunch. As was customary in schools everywhere, students clustered in groups of two or three, happily engaging in conversation.

However, regrettably, Jin was alone. Unsurprisingly, no one dared approach him, considering the chaotic scene he had caused on the very first day of school.

If he had known he would end up leading such a friendless, nerdy student life, perhaps he should have toned it down a bit.

No, he decided against such weak thoughts. In reality, Jin was not particularly bothered by the fact that he had no friends. What did it matter if he ate alone?

Hyenas had to stick together because they were weak, but a tiger could reign over the vast Taebaek Mountains alone.

– Is he really deluding himself, eating alone and now trying to find solace in that?

“Shut up. I’m comfortable alone.”

As Jin contemplated whether he should just lay his head down on the desk and sleep instead of going to the cafeteria, he suddenly felt someone poking him gently on the back.

“Hm?”

Turning his head, he found a familiar face standing behind him. It was Altina.

“What is it?”

“Come outside for a moment. I need to talk to you.”

“What’s the matter? Can’t you just say it here?”

“Just shut up and follow me.”

Altina firmly grabbed Jin’s arm and dragged him out of the classroom. The sight of this odd pairing caused some bewildered looks from their classmates.

The spot Altina brought Jin to was the A-Class training grounds, where they had accumulated quite an uncomfortable amount of memories the previous day.

“What’s going on?” Jin asked.

“What the hell are you? Are you really a student like me?”

It was an utterly ridiculous question that seemed to have no basis. How was he supposed to interpret that?

“Could you please explain it in a way a person can understand?”

Sighing softly, Altina picked up a training sword that was resting against the side of the training grounds.

Voom—

In the next instant, a hazy light enveloped the training sword Altina was holding, and an intangible aura began to flow down the blade.

“…Huh?”

And that light was something Jin knew all too well.

“Is that… Aura?”

Indeed. Just within a single night, Altina had reached the level of mastery.