Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

The second match of the main competition showcased a noticeable contrast.

While Aira swiftly recovered as Christian had predicted, the young knight moved awkwardly and in a disjointed manner after their clash.

Despite consuming potions and receiving treatment from the Priest sent by the Aries Order, the exhaustion accumulated from the waves of energy did not dissipate easily for him.

However, this did not mean that Aira could easily triumph over him.

“Ahh…!”

As Aira took a deep breath and thrust her sword, the opponent, realizing he couldn’t evade, swung his sword with equal force.

Ka-ang—!

Paaang—!

The clear metallic sound of clashing swords was followed by the resonant clash of their mana waves echoing through the arena amid the eruption of blue mana light.

The loud cheers from the many onlookers seemed not to reach the two competitors, who focused all their concentration on defeating the opponent before them.

Ka-kang— Ka-ang!

Puh-pung! Puuung—!

‘Though not as sharp as Christian, he is quite formidable,’ Aira thought as she relentlessly pushed with her sword.

However, despite gaining the upper hand, aira could not finish him because her opponent had the experience coupled with enough mana to match her own.

Even with her recent improvements in skill and mana, aira struggled.

The previous rounds, the 32nd and 16th, had been against opponents wielding a wave transformation type.

‘Here it comes again!’

Aira grew tense at the thought of her opponent, Yulan Morad, and the wave transformation attack attached to his sword.

As expected, Yulan Morad swung his sword broadly, prompting Aira to swiftly dodge in the opposite direction.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

And then…

“Ugh!”

Yulan Morad’s sword, stubbornly pursuing Aira, showed no signs of waning.

However, she couldn’t dodge forever.

Aira attempted to block the wave transformation or counterattack but almost lost her grip with the unexpected recoil that met her hand.

As the sword clashes grew in frequency, Yulan Morad’s mana began to accumulate in Aira’s body, causing fatigue and pain. Continuously, aira used her mana reservoir to expel the accumulated mana.

‘Ugh, it’s just a basic Sword Aura!’

The basic Wave Application Sword Aura required a brief pause between a swing and the following continuous actions to recharge and unleash the attached wave energy in one motion.

But the wave transformation that Yulan Morad used, named ‘continuous swing’, allowed for continuous attacks without that recharging time, making it a popular and powerful technique among knights, compensating for Sword Aura’s inherent shortcoming.

‘Why am I losing in power?’

Aira’s natural strength had made even Christian gasp, if not admire. Yet, she felt at a loss for how to counter someone overpowering her now.

‘What did he do during times like these?’

Aira recalled how Christian, instead of confronting directly, would deftly dodge or disrupt the rhythm of incoming attacks or intervene in the opponent’s flow seamlessly.

Other than that, there were underhanded and dirty tactics; for example, throwing sand in someone’s face or pretending to spit and then swiftly attacking vulnerable areas.

‘I kind of want to do that too.’

Yet, she knew doing such things on an official stage would surely bring disrepute to her and her family, given her newfound debut, so she set those thoughts aside for now.

‘Then…’

Aira quietly took a deep breath, targeting the continuous continuous swing of Yulan Morad.

His actions seemed uninterrupted, with no discernible breaks in between.

Except…

Ka-aang—!

“What?!”

Yulan Morad, relentlessly pressing with an apparent advantage, found himself bewildered when his sword was suddenly blocked.

‘The charging time may have vanished, but the connecting points haven’t.’

While it seemed the charging time was gone, that was a misperception caused by the continuity of action.

The process of mana concentration still existed; the only difference was the position of that breath.

‘Swinging the sword broadly was just to mask the recharge breath between successive attacks!’

Yulan Morad, having tried desperately to restore his sword stance, found it unraveled with Aira’s strike.

Breathless from the excessive movement, his chest lay exposed, allowing Aira to ram her shoulder into him with full force.

Thud—!

“Kech?!”

Crash! Thump—!

Yulan Morad, caught defenseless by Aira’s body slam, was hurled away while his body tensed with pain.

It wasn’t just a simple tackle but a forceful one, his body strengthened with mana akin to reinforced steel, inducing more shock than anticipated, especially when blindsided, leaving him sprawling onto the arena floor and coughing up blood.

Aira sprinted towards him, appearing intent on severing Yulan Morad in half as the spectators anticipated referees rushing to intervene.

Her sword halted promptly above his head.

“Haah, haah. Do you surrender?” she asked.

“Cough, kuh…”

Yulan Morad, struggling and pained, finally steadied his breathing and responded as Aira’s sword brushed his hair.

“I yield.”

The loss to a young girl could’ve bruised his pride, but Yulan Morad only laughed bitterly, showing more resignation than anger.

“Phew…”

Finally, aira exhaled a deep sigh of relief.

‘Indeed, none of the final participants are easy.’

Aira understood well the reason for her struggle against a less-than-optimal Yulan Morad.

She resolutely clenched her fist, realizing what most contributed to her narrow victory.

‘I must ask to be taught the wave transformation technique too.’

Though Christian emphasized the basics, the fact that he could use advanced wave transformations himself made her feel wronged that she was only mastering basic applications until now.

Besides, facing opponents using wave transformations was more challenging than expected.

‘How should I ask for it?’

Despite wanting to perfect her existing techniques, the desire to learn something impressive and flashy was undeniably greater.

***

“Oh, what kind of struggle was that?”

Christian clucked his tongue at Aira and Yulan Morad’s match.

The continuous swing, known for eliminating the Sword Aura’s weaknesses, effectively masked the in-between breathing pauses, greatly enhancing its benefits.

However, it didn’t eradicate the weakness, merely concealed it.

The connection of mana binding one Sword Aura to the next was weak, and severing that link rendered it no different from a standard Wave Application Sword Aura.

If anything, exploiting this connection only increased the gap it presented.

More importantly…

“She noticed way too late. After I drilled it into her, why isn’t she using her brain?”

Christian said with frustration.

Aira wasn’t only all about raw strength; she had the speed to put that strength into effect.

Simply utilizing those two attributes effectively could easily counter any average wave transformation technique.

However, having an opponent engage in a show of strength led to back-and-forth sword clashes, pushing her to a corner.

The continuous swing might be powerful and heavy, but it’s also slow, a detail forgotten in her inner tirade against the perceived challenge to her power.

Not retaining the mindset to counter or evade swiftly, Christian almost ran into the arena multiple times himself.

“Uh, Christian?”

“Tsk. Either trap them using Adhesion, or disrupt their stance by triggering a wave beneath them. What’s this trouble against some third-rate opponent?”

Had she failed against such an inferior technique, aira would’ve faced unlimited sparring with magically enhanced opponents—at least, that was the unilateral plan of Christian.

“Christian? Christian!”

“Huh?”

Someone nudged his shoulder repeatedly, finally pulling Christian out of his thoughts.

Beside him was Liber, who appeared troubled and glanced around cautiously.

Liber, gripping Christian’s shoulder, gestured for him to lower his voice, indicating the listening crowd.

“Lower your voice a little. Everyone can hear you,”

Liber pointed out.

“Uh…?”

Having left the waiting room, they seated themselves in the spectator’s section for players, surrounded by competitors awaiting their matches and those here to support Yulan Morad.

Christian didn’t much care, while Liber, well aware of the ominous stares from Yulan Morad’s acquaintances, wasn’t as thick-skinned.

For the sake of Liber’s condition, who had a match soon, Christian begrudgingly ceased his criticisms of Aira’s fight.

“It’s almost time for your preparation.”

After a short interlude, Liber’s match would commence.

“Don’t worry too much. With your skills, your confidence shouldn’t waver,”

Christian reassured.

“Right. I wouldn’t want to ruin it through unnecessary anxiety.”

Unlike his earlier comparable opponent in the round of 32, today’s adversary was a formidable challenge, even for Liber fighting with all his strength.

“This time, I won’t lose.”

Seeing the usually laid-back Liber now exuding a sharp, honed aura puzzled Christian.

‘What happened between him and that Riley fellow?’

Liber’s demeanor toward Riley Miles exuded an edge that surpassed ordinary rivalry.