……

An hour later, in a battered forest, Hulim Heyerar collapsed to the ground, completely drained of her Mana.

【Congratulations on defeating all enemies! Battle experience increased~!】

Hulim stared blankly, then reached out her right hand and swatted away the glowing text box floating in front of her without a hint of mercy.

“Aww~, and here I thought this little game was kind of fun.”

Semiris muttered in annoyance at Hulim’s dismissive gesture.

“……”

Hulim didn’t even have the energy to lecture the girl on her twisted sense of humor. Just a moment ago, after she’d finally taken down three Slimes by using the terrain to her advantage, Semiris had immediately spawned four more. Then five after that, then six……

Are you a devil? Where did you even get this many Slimes?

Come to think of it, Semiris had been running off to all sorts of faraway places lately. Hulim had assumed she was just playing around—but it turned out she was out hunting Slimes?!

“C’mon, don’t be mad~.” Semiris cooed, “Look how much faster you’re growing! Compared to when you started, you took down those last Slimes in half the time, didn’t you?”

“……”

As much as she wanted to argue, the truth was impossible to deny.

Gone was the caution she’d started with; by the end, she hadn’t even needed to erect a Barrier to block the Slimes’ corrosive fluid. Instead, she’d relied solely on her speed—amplified by reinforcement magic—to dodge every attack.

A shower of green light poured over Hulim’s body, her spent stamina rapidly returning.

Semiris lowered her hands, and Hulim pushed herself back to her feet. She stretched her limbs, the sore muscles from all the intense exercise now completely gone. Semiris’s magic really was convenient—though it did nothing to restore her depleted Mana.

“Alright, we’ll call it a day for now. Starting tomorrow, there’ll be new monsters waiting for you~!”

“There’s more……”

……

……

“Chirp~! Chirp~!”

The morning sun had just peeked over the horizon, and birds perched on the treetops were singing their first songs of the day.

“Heya! Hah!”

A sudden shout shattered the peace, scaring the birds into fluttering away in a panic.

In the courtyard of the Heyerar estate, Hulim was wielding a practice wooden sword, repeating the movements of her family’s heirloom swordsmanship over and over again. Even though the chill of night still lingered in the air, beads of sweat dotted her forehead.

“Hulim, you’re up bright and early.”

Hulim paused her training, turning to see Armen stepping into the courtyard, stretching lazily as he walked.

“Good morning, Brother Armen.”

After exchanging greetings, Hulim returned to her sword practice, her movements growing more precise with each swing.

On the sidelines, Armen finished his stretches—but instead of starting his usual morning routine, he stood watching Hulim’s every move.

“Whoa~, Hulim, your form is already pretty polished.”

“Mhm. I’ve been practicing hard.” Hulim replied, swinging her sword with a sharp “Heya!”

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“Nice!”

Armen’s eyes lit up with interest. He grabbed a spare practice wooden sword leaning against the wall, twirling it casually in his hand.

“Hulim, let’s spar a little. I wanna see how far you’ve come.”

“Really? Can we?”

Hulim froze mid-swing, her eyes widening as she looked at Armen.

“Absolutely. Come at me with everything you’ve got!”

As he spoke, Armen shifted into a combat stance, his posture relaxed but alert.

The air turned tense. Hulim tightened her grip on her sword, her muscles tensing in preparation.

“Here I come! Hah——!”

WHOOSH!

A sharp whistle cut through the air as Hulim’s sword sliced through it. One moment she was three meters away; the next, she’d closed the distance in the blink of an eye, her wooden blade aimed straight for Armen’s exposed neck.

CLANG!

Armen blocked the strike with a single hand, angling his sword in a tricky deflection that redirected Hulim’s full-force blow off course. The momentum threw her off balance, leaving her wide open.

Seizing the opportunity, Armen drew his sword back and thrust it forward in a lightning-fast stab.

But Hulim had anticipated the counterattack the moment her blade was blocked. As she stumbled, she hooked the tip of her right foot around the ground, throwing her body into a dramatic backward flip that narrowly avoided Armen’s stab. She used the momentum of the flip to land several meters away, putting a safe distance between them.

“Hulim, you weren’t holding back at all, huh?” Armen chuckled, though his stance remained flawless. “Thought you were gonna snap my sword in half there.”

Hulim didn’t respond. Her eyes locked onto Armen, her gaze shifting into the same sharp, predatory focus she’d developed during Semiris’s brutal training sessions—or rather, her killing mode……

A chill ran down Armen’s spine for no reason at all.

What the heck? Why is Hulim’s gaze making me feel so threatened? It’s almost like the vibe Big Brother Zieg had after he came back from his last mission.

No, no, that’s just my imagination. There’s no way Hulim could have that same sharp, battle-hardened aura from all those fights……

While Armen’s mind wandered, Hulim seized the split second when his focus wavered—and launched another attack.

“Ah, crap.”

Armen’s heart skipped a beat as Hulim vanished from his line of sight. A split second later, a dangerous whoosh sounded from his right side.

He spun around, but all he saw was a flash of steel heading straight for him.

CLANG!

Armen blocked the strike with lightning speed, his sword clashing against Hulim’s. He took a quick step back, trying to create the space he needed to fight comfortably.

But Hulim didn’t hesitate. Before Armen could regain his footing, she unleashed a flurry of rapid strikes, her sword moving so fast it blurred.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG……

The sound of wooden swords colliding echoed through the courtyard. Trapped in Hulim’s relentless assault, Armen was forced to fight defensively, struggling to keep up with her pace.

“……Phew, Hulim, color me impressed.” Armen panted, still parrying her attacks with ease. “You’ve actually mastered Flashback already.”

Hulim remained silent, her sword swinging faster and faster as she pressed the attack.

“Whoa~! Nice! You’re still speeding up! Looks like you’re almost there with Prey Sight, the second form!”

Armen rambled on, seemingly oblivious to Hulim’s intense focus.

“But your moves are still——”

“Too green!”

WHOOSH! WHOOSH……

The air howled like a gale as Armen’s sword moved with incredible speed.

CLANG——!

A crisp crack rang out. Hulim felt her sword snap in her hands.

The sound of clashing steel fell silent instantly. The broken halves of her wooden sword went flying, landing in the dirt far away.

Armen stood surrounded by a swirling vortex of sword energy—Stormguard, the third form of the Heyerar Sword Style.

The outcome was beyond doubt.

The swordsmanship Armen and Hulim had been using was no ordinary technique. It was the Heyerar Sword Style, a renowned family heirloom famous throughout the entire empire, passed down from their ancestor Olubert. It consisted of five forms in total, ascending from basic to master level:

Flashback, Prey Sight, Stormguard, Starflash, and Thunderbolt.

Thanks to this formidable swordsmanship, even as the Heyerar family’s influence had dwindled over the years—at one point even teetering on the brink of ruin—no one in the empire had ever dared to covet their noble title.

“I lost……”

Hulim stared at her empty hands, her expression blank with shock.

“Uh…… Hulim, don’t look so down!” Armen quickly sheathed his sword, flustered as he tried to comfort her. “C’mon, I’ve been training for years longer than you! Beating you is totally normal, okay? And hey—you held your own against me for this long! You even had me on the ropes there for a second! You’re practically a sword prodigy!”

“Really?”

Hulim looked up, her eyes glistening with hope.

“Absolutely! I guarantee it!”

A warm voice cut in from the sidelines—and there stood Rezelian, smiling gently at them.

“Dad?! When did you get here?!” Armen yelped in surprise.

“Father.” Hulim greeted him respectfully, bowing her head slightly.

Rezelian walked over, his steps slow and steady.

“I’ve been here since shortly after you two started your spar.”

He turned to Hulim, his gaze soft with pride.

“Hulim, just as Armen said—you’ve fully mastered Flashback, the first form of our Heyerar Sword Style, in only a year. You’ve even touched the threshold of Prey Sight, the second form. That’s truly remarkable~!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep