Chapter 10: Swordswoman, You Can't Rest Just Yet

"How many minutes has it been?"

"Ninety-six. Did anyone count the strikes?"

"I've been counting from the start. I got to around 1,700 when I saw her sword cut into the seventh ring. I was stunned for a moment and lost count, but I think it's about 2,400 now."

When Sylvia pushed open the training hall door, the scene before her left her in disbelief. The students, usually drenched in sweat as they swung their blades, had all discarded their training swords and gathered in a circle, discussing something she couldn't make out.

She assumed they were clustered around her boyfriend, Felix, and that he must have finally summoned his Wave spirit.

With this thought, she hurried her steps, her mind racing with plans for where to celebrate.

Should it be the Amber Club or the Golden Gulf Bar? But Felix must be exhausted... going back to his place and letting him "properly rest" might be better. We've been together for so long, and he still hasn't taken things to the next level. Guess I'll just have to make the first move.

But when Sylvia reached the circle, she realized she had been mistaken. Her proud, handsome boyfriend was just another onlooker, wearing the same dumbfounded expression as the other students, his gaze fixed ahead.

Sylvia followed their gazes and saw a girl prettier than herself training in the hall. Her hair was tied up in a casual knot, revealing a fair, delicate neck. Beads of sweat slid down her exquisite features, gleaming like pearls.

Sylvia didn’t even need to hear her speak for her instincts to tell her.

The "first-love" look that looks natural, but clearly uses every makeup trick in the book... the dress that appears casual, but shows just the right parts... and even the simple accessories that somehow make her beauty pop perfectly... there's no way anyone could pull off this perfect, every-male's-dream "goddess of dreams" image without planning every damn detail. She's an enemy... but also a fellow huntress.

With that thought, Sylvia immediately narrowed her eyes. Disregarding Felix's sweat, she clung possessively to his arm.

In her view, there was no better prey in the entire training hall, no, in all of Sword and Roses University, than Felix.

Even at Truth University, he would be a top-tier catch. Just gaining the Vlozrada family name would bring Sylvia endless benefits.

She had schemed over Felix for a long time. Despite his playboy ways, she had full confidence in taming the "wild stallion."

If used wisely, his fickle ways weren't a problem. As long as she became his wife, she didn't care if he fooled around.

After all that hard work... I'm so close to getting him. Felix even planned to introduce me as his partner at his birthday banquet. There's no way I'm going to let someone swoop in and steal my prize!

"Felix, what are you all looking at?" Sylvia asked casually. "I didn't know there was such a pretty junior in the swordsmanship department."

It was only then that Felix noticed Sylvia. "Sylvia, you're here."

However, he didn't glance at her even once. It was as if the training girl was all he could see. "She's... she's not from the swordsmanship department. She's a first-year Water Class sorcerer trainee named Sonya Selby."

Sylvia's sense of crisis spiked.

He even knew her name and that she was a freshman...

She wanted to pull Felix away immediately, but also knew the value of playing hard to get. Feigning curiosity, she asked, "Why are you all watching her train? Is it because she's pretty?"

Felix shook his head. "No... not just that. Since you're not a swordsmanship student, I don't know how to explain it to you."

Sylvia huffed. "I tried swordsmanship for a few months in my freshman year before focusing on Water Sorcery[1], which I’m better at. And you’re a genius swordsman, so of course I can follow if you explain."

"All right, I'll make it simple," Felix said. "Just ninety minutes ago, she was a complete novice who couldn’t even hold a sword properly. But now she can cut into the ninth ring on the training dummy."

"She must be faking it, right?"

Sylvia didn't say it out of malice. From her own swordsmanship experience, she understood the significance of what he implied. She had only managed to cut into the second ring after a few months of training, which was already above average for new students.

"That's what I thought, or at least what I kept telling myself. That's why I kept watching, hoping I'd see her hit a bottleneck and stop improving. But after an hour and a half, my petty jealousy had completely turned into admiration."

Sylvia could hardly imagine Felix speaking with such humble, sincere words. He always maintained his aloof and indifferent tone even when talking about his father, the Starforger Duke, or his brother Damian. Yet now, with a girl he barely knew, he showed admiration and curiosity.

This is dangerous... curiosity leads to infatuation. And he's already been watching her for a whole hour and a half... Wait... an hour and a half? So this fellow huntress, Sonya, has been training the entire time!?

It was only then that Sylvia truly focused on Sonia's training.

Gliding steps, sword swings aimed at the face. Steady as a boulder, fast as lightning... every move perfectly followed the Swordsmanship Manual. No shortcuts, no relying on brute force. She put everything into every strike.

Normal students needed breaks every few minutes. Felix could last at most three hours, and even then, he rested for an hour. And yet... this girl has been training nonstop for over an hour without a single pause!?

No wonder they are all watching. Forget simply admiring a beauty. These buff swordsmanship students are likely more curious about how anyone could sustain such terrifying stamina.

After a while, unable to tear her eyes away from Sonya's form, Sylvia also joined the crowd.

Each move embodied the aesthetics of swordsmanship, of strength, and of grace. Scarier still, she seemed to improve with every passing second. Each swing grew sharper, more precise, and more skillful than the last.

At that moment, Sylvia admitted total defeat.

This is artistry... pure artistry of swordsmanship. If this Sonya girl really wants Felix, I don't stand a chance.

She knew Felix's obsession with swordsmanship. If her own appeal as an intelligent, beautiful senior scored an 80 with him, then Sonya's sword prodigy beauty type was a solid 150.

Clang!

When Sonya's wooden sword cut into the tenth ring of the training dummy, everyone gasped at once. The air in the training hall practically froze.

A miracle... we have all practically witnessed a miracle! A complete novice, after two hours of uninterrupted training, cut into the tenth ring!

Even if she did nothing else from now on, the moment she resonated with the Virtual World's knowledge, she would summon a Sword Class spirit, step into the Virtual World, and become a Winged Sorceress! It could take her as little as a few seconds or at most a few months.

It was well known that graduation rates at Sword and Roses University hovered around fifty percent, and not everyone got to become a sorcerer. Every graduating Winged Sorcerer had a bright future, which meant that, as of this moment, Sonya could be certain of a secure livelihood for the rest of her life.

While everyone was lost in thought, Sonya had put away her wooden sword.

Seeing this, the tension in everyone's hearts eased.

The monster in a beauty's skin is finally tired.

If Sonya had trained further, they would have truly suspected girls' clothing provided stamina boosts. Even now, it struck them as simply outrageous that she had trained for a full two hours, averaged thirty strikes per minute, and totaled three thousand six hundred swings. The swordsmanship students could feel their scalps tingling just from calculating the number.

At this time, Angelica hurried over with a towel and some water, ready to help Sonya back to the dorm. By the time Sonya had swung a thousand times, she had already won Angelica over. For the first time, Angelica found herself considering getting closer to Sonya.

How bad could a fellow swordsmanship trainee possibly be?

"Sonya, you must be tired too. Let's head back together?"

Angelica's way of getting close was essentially going back together, going to the bathroom together, and eating together.

Sonya, feeling as though she had melted into the floor, gave Angelica a grateful look. She then accepted the towel and took a sip of water. Just as she was about to agree to head back, a surge of energy coursed through her limbs, reinvigorating her.

Her expression froze as her eyes locked on Felix in the crowd. It was the gaze of a hunter sizing up its prey.

The other swordsmanship students sighed quietly. Sylvia gritted her teeth in resentment, while Felix lifted his chin slightly and offered Sonya a confident smile.

There was a heart-warming reason behind Sonya's reaction. She saw the Watcher standing right behind Felix.

Dang Watcher!

The Watcher waved his finger and said, "Swordswoman, you can't rest just yet."

He pointed at Felix. "Next, you must defeat him."

1. Water Sorcery is the short form of Water Class Sorcery. Since it would be awkward for students to say “Water Class Sorcery” all the time in conversation, the short form makes everyday references more natural and convenient. ☜