Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

The audience roared with excitement at Liber’s fierce push, despite allowing more attacks and taking more injuries.

It was understandable. Riley was already considered a promising talent within the academy and was known as a sword prodigy born into the Miles Viscounty in the capital.

On the other hand, Liber was the heir of the Cotra Viscounty from the largely unknown region of Langar. The sight of an obscure young man pushing a promising genius thrilled the audience.

“Elder brother Liber is vicious, isn’t he?”

“Indeed.”

“What? Aren’t you surprised?”

Even Aira was wide-eyed with surprise, not expecting Liber to perform so well.

Yet, Christian’s reaction beside her seemed somewhat displeased.

“What’s there to be surprised about in a kids’ fight?”

“…”

She no longer needed to retort with “You’re also a kid.”

Aira realized it was a time to let things pass.

“Did you give Elder brother Liber any advice?”

“Why would I do that?”

“You didn’t?”

“Of course not. Well, I did teach him a few simple wave techniques, though.”

“Really? So he’s purely pushing through with his own skill?”

Aira knew well enough about Liber’s skills through numerous sparring sessions.

Liber certainly possessed talent; moreover, his combat style was practical, often catching Aira off guard, allowing her to fully grasp his level.

“But it wasn’t enough to overwhelm that annoying guy.”

Aira, having faced off against Riley, was even more surprised, as Liber’s level was far from that of Riley.

“Did you teach him any wave techniques effective against Riley?”

“No, I haven’t offered any advice or techniques that would help in this duel.”

Riley was a knight who combined orthodox methods with effort, continuously advancing.

His mana reservoir was robust, his sensitivity to mana was excellent, and he possessed more mana than Liber.

The duration and output of his body activation and the power of his wave all surpassed Liber’s.

When comparing the two, aira had noted only Riley’s personality might have been a flaw.

In contrast, Liber deviated slightly from the orthodox; he could be said to possess orthodox mana with unorthodox swordsmanship.

While unexpectedness was Liber’s greatest strength, this wasn’t the place to fully exert it at one hundred percent.

Moreover, since Liber had only recently awakened his wave and was at a disadvantage in terms of mana, it was natural for him to be pushed back by Riley.

“What on earth is going on? Is he having a stomachache or something?”

“That’s a typical thought of yours, but don’t just focus on elder brother Liber’s movements. Carefully observe Riley’s.”

“Why didn’t you just say that from the start instead of adding unnecessary remarks?”

Aira’s face turned red with embarrassment at Christian’s criticism. Yet, urged by his serious demeanor, she attentively studied Riley’s movements.

“Can you see it now?”

“What?”

“That kid isn’t at full power.”

Aira tilted her head at Christian’s words.

‘Not at full power?’

Yet to Aira’s eyes, the mana and wave Riley emitted didn’t seem much different from when he had faced her.

Additionally, the sword techniques Riley favored—in conjunction with sword aura and other application techniques he hadn’t used in their previous duel—were being employed without restraint.

So why wasn’t it full power?

“What? You can’t see it? Elder brother Liber is using all his cards, but that kid is still holding back.”

“… What exactly are you talking about? I can’t see any difference at all.”

Aira felt deeply frustrated. How many people could discern whether someone was holding back just by observing like that?

It wasn’t as if he could read minds.

“In battles, you should always keep a trump card hidden and conceal 30% of your power.”

Revealing everything to an opponent weaker than oneself was foolish.

Only when the opponent is stronger should one show their full power, and even for a formidable adversary, one must keep their trump card hidden until the very last moment.

It’s the only way a weaker individual can beat a stronger opponent.

“Moreover, it’s not the finals, and with another opponent ahead, showing your full power is akin to revealing how to strategize against you.”

“So ultimately, revealing your full power to a lesser opponent is foolish, huh?”

“Exactly. Just like you did earlier.”

“…”

Aira bristled at the needless remark but came to understand Christian’s words.

“Where did you learn that sort of thing? From Lady Laura?”

“…”

At Aira’s question, Christian merely nodded slightly.

‘Lady Laura is a far more excellent master than I thought.’

Perhaps it wouldn’t be necessary to advise her father to dismiss Laura, who often disguised torture as training.

“Then, does Elder brother Liber have a chance to win…?”

“Well, that’s hard to say.”

“Huh? Why? Didn’t you say Riley is still holding back?”

“Elder brother Liber probably knows he’s being pushed back. Even so, the fact that he’s not giving up and swinging his sword suggests he might have a hidden ace.”

Christian’s gaze briefly lingered on Liber before becoming fixed on Riley.

“However…”

Christian did not dislike those who put in effort.

Regardless of the past or future, the current Liber was someone who worked hard and knew when to swallow his pride for the sake of becoming stronger.

“A weakling’s hidden ace isn’t always a guaranteed victory card. It merely increases the odds of winning by a smidge.”

Nevertheless, Christian’s nature was to provide objective assessments, analyze strengths with cold calculation, and reach conclusions based on them.

Liber was indeed weaker than Riley. Still.

“You damn brat!”

As Riley spat out a curse, red blood splattered. The wave gathered on his swinging sword surged directly toward Liber’s shoulder.

Splash—

Though the sword wasn’t sharpened, the keen wave grazed Liber’s shoulder as it passed.

‘Again?’

Riley ground his teeth at the realization that he had narrowly missed cutting the spot he’d aimed for.

Furthermore…

“Ugh!”

Even as Liber sustained an attack on his shoulder, he aimed his sword toward Riley’s thigh, forcing Riley to narrowly dodge it.

Yet he couldn’t avoid it completely. The wave perched at the tip of Liber’s sword was glaringly evident, causing any observer to misjudge the range.

Liber’s reckless actions, utterly dismissing any notion of defense, were nerve-racking for onlookers.

However, his relentless behavior wasn’t what truly irked Riley.

What troubled Riley most was…

“Take this!”

Swoosh—

Boom—

Liber’s sword swung forcefully, and even without contact, waves exploded near Riley’s head.

The bright burst of the wave momentarily disrupted his vision and hearing, causing a brief sensory malfunction.

Clang— Clank—

Seizing that brief window, Liber drove his sword sharply, leaving Riley scrambling to block.

Remarkably, Riley’s recovery was swift, and his counterattacks found effect against Liber.

Yet he couldn’t gain a solid advantage.

‘Does he just ignore injuries and pain?’

No fatal blow had been conceded, yet his body was covered in wounds.

Despite this, Liber charged at him more fiercely than ever. Watching this, Riley could only grind his teeth.

‘Right, that’s how this guy is.’

He had briefly forgotten.

Suddenly, he recalled what kind of person this classmate of his, Liber, had been during their academy days.

“This is how our Cotra family does it. Do you like it?”

Liber, grinning with blood-exposed teeth, painted a sinister scene.

And as Riley looked at him, his genuine feeling was pure disdain.

“You lunatic.”

Yes, that brat was crazy.

Even back in their academy days, he was insane enough to disregard his own body just to win.

… There was no forgetting that.

‘If you want to play it that way, I have no choice.’

Riley’s gaze instinctively drifted toward the Worden siblings, who were watching—especially Aira.

He seemed to make up his mind, and the wave of mana surging from his sword began to shift.

Riley pushed his body activation to its limits, swiftly processing the mana stored in his mana reservoir and channeling it into his sword.

The rapid transformation soon altered the form of the wave.

Sword Dance, the wave technique he was most confident in.

Or rather…

‘Swift (速)’

The Wave Transformation Technique, Swift Sword Dance (速).

Slice, slice, slice—a flurry of nine sword strikes rained down on Liber from above, below, left, right, diagonally, and centrally.

Yet the sharpness and speed were incomparable to those he showed against Aira.

The basic wave application of Sword Dance was just wave movement with no sharpness, strength, or rapid speed. Essentially, it was merely an introductory application technique.

Combining this application technique with the ‘Swift (速)’ transformation, the wave technique now held a ferocious momentum and speed, ready to slice the opponent instantly.

The duel with Aira had merely utilized basic wave applications with constraints, but now there were no limitations at all.

‘Let’s end this swiftly.’

Just as Liber was filled with the resolve and personal animosity to inevitably secure victory, so too, Riley possessed a determination to win.

However, his target was not Liber. Riley’s focus was solely on one thing: avenging his defeat by Aira.

Thus, Liber was simply an obstacle, not someone who could get in his way.

Consequently, there was no hesitation in Riley’s sword dance. He firmly believed this intricate sword dance would decide the outcome.

‘Is he smiling?’

As Liber stepped forward, seemingly expectant, Riley suddenly realized that he had been maneuvered into carrying out Liber’s plan all along.