After spending nearly a month in the dungeon, Freya returned to the territory and, eager to sense her own growth, swung her sword.
Though she had already noticed so changes while fighting monsters in the dungeon, it wasn’t until she returned to the territory and thoroughly examined her progress that she was left stunned.
In less than a month of hunting monsters, her physical abilities had increased noticeably.
But that wasn’t all Freya felt.
Every ti she swung her sword, she saw sword paths that were previously invisible to her. A better way of wielding the sword appeared in her vision.
So, after returning to the territory, Freya, lost in her thoughts, swung her sword relentlessly, lost in the joy of her growth.
If her younger sibling hadn’t urged her to head to the Academy, Freya might still be swinging her sword even now.
When she first arrived at the Academy, she had been grumbling about her younger sibling, but as soon as she caught sight of Lucy’s face, her thoughts changed.
"Lucy, you ca early?"
Good timing. I’ve been wanting to show Lucy my growth!
What would Lucy say if she saw swinging my sword now?
She would probably praise , right? She might even pat my head!
Lucy’s smile, as honest as ever, made Freya feel enchanted the mont their eyes t, and she imdiately set off to find Lucy, leaving her sibling behind.
At first, Lucy showed her annoyance at Freya’s sudden visit, but she didn’t refuse the challenge. Clearly, Lucy was itching for a fight too!
Freya realized this and smiled brightly, heading with Lucy to the training grounds.
A week before the Academy officially started, the training grounds were fairly empty.
Even the few people there were the regulars who lived in the training grounds.
When they saw Lucy and Freya step in, they stopped what they were doing.
The fact that only the two of them showed up ant they were going to duel.
How much had they grown during the vacation, the two people with the greatest talents of this generation?
How much could they learn from this duel, seeing their remarkable progress?
The onlookers were fascinated, but Lucy and Freya remained unfazed.
To them, the attention of others was just part of their daily life.
“Lucy. Today’s going to be different.”
“You always say that, but the only thing that changes is the number of tis you lose.”
“Not today.”
“I really hope so. It’s honestly tiring to be disappointed every ti.”
Hearing Lucy’s teasing laugh, Freya gripped the hilt of her sword with both hands.
She hadn’t fully integrated the growth she’d gained in the dungeon yet. Even her father said there was still plenty of room for improvent.
But there was no problem. If she wasn’t perfect, she’d just have to find perfection in battle.
“What, aren’t you going to attack? You were so confident, and now you’re scared?”
Freya, who had repeatedly sparred with Lucy, realized that Lucy was deliberately provoking her.
She was trying to get Freya to fall into her own pace.
Despite this, Freya smiled and poured her magic into her sword, charging forward.
If she delayed too long, she would inevitably fall for Lucy’s provocations.
So, it was better to charge before her emotions could waver.
At least that way, she would have the initial advantage.
Clang! When Freya’s dull sword clashed with Lucy’s shield, a shockwave rippled through the training ground, filling the air with a sharp noise.
“You’ve gotten a little stronger? Now, I think you can at least pat my head.”
“Thanks for the complint.”
Freya, grinning at Lucy’s annoying smile, grit her teeth and struck Lucy’s shield with her sword.
With her sword perfectly attuned to her aura, Freya’s strikes were as threatening as the punches of a giant.
“Nope. I take it back. With this weak sword, I don’t think you could even cut through a hair.”
But Lucy’s shield didn’t budge.
Lucy’s extraordinary shield technique, her overwhelming physical abilities, and the divine power backing her, perfectly absorbed Freya’s attack.
Given the disparity between them, it wasn’t strange for Freya to feel despair. But instead, she continued her assault, watching Lucy’s every move, absorbing it into her eyes.
And then she wondered.
This was strange. The Lucy before her wasn’t the sa as the one she knew.
The Lucy she had fought before never moved like this.
There were too many movents she would never have made before.
As Freya compared the Lucy she had fought before with the Lucy now before her, she realized what the difference was.
The Lucy I fought in the past looked like a finished knight.
Her playful deanor, yet controlled, efficient movents, revealed the kind of fight Lucy sought to engage in.
But this wasn’t the sa.
The Lucy before her now wasn’t efficient.
Each of her movents was filled with waste.
At a glance, it almost looked like she was retreating.
But there was one thing. One thing that had improved.
The movents Lucy was making now were much more beautiful and natural than before.
Even I, facing her threat, couldn’t help but be drawn to it.
“Stop staring! Is ‘different’ just another way of saying you’ve gone from fool to pervert?!”
Freya stepped back and barely avoided Lucy’s shield, and with that new insight, she found a way to victory.
She didn’t know why Lucy had abandoned her previous style.
But one thing was for sure. Lucy was less competent than before.
Confident, Freya imdiately poured all her magic into her sword, pushing her physical abilities to their limits.
She couldn’t afford to give Lucy a chance to analyze her weaknesses.
If Lucy figured out what was wrong, she would adjust her movents.
Freya needed to strike before the problem could be recognized.
She would defeat Lucy!
Boom!
Freya, like a magical bullet, aid for Lucy’s side and swung her sword.
The seasoned warrior, Lucy, recognized that Freya was just trying to intimidate her, but her response was clumsy compared to usual.
Seeing the opening, Freya imdiately focused her strike, putting all her essence into it.
With the power of her aura, her strike cut through the air toward Lucy.
Boom!
Despite her awkwardness, Lucy was still Lucy. She managed to respond to Freya’s attack, albeit too late.
But she couldn’t hide the twist that ca from her hasty movent.
“Ugh!”
Lucy’s face showed confusion as she blocked Freya’s relentless attack.
Seeing this, Freya suppressed her excitent, forcing herself to stay calm.
If she missed this chance, she might never get another shot.
Maybe this was her only opportunity.
Coldly. Calmly. Without emotions.
She had to focus on defeating Lucy.
By continuing her relentless strikes, she would drain Lucy’s montum.
She aid for Lucy’s right leg and then imdiately struck down from above to throw off her balance.
With one final, full-powered strike, the fight would be over.
“Tch♡”
The mont Lucy clicked her tongue, her aura shifted.
The awkwardness and beauty disappeared, replaced by cold efficiency.
The real Lucy—the complete knight—was back.
Just before Freya’s raised sword ca down, Lucy thrust her shield forward.
With that, Freya’s full-powered strike lost more than half of its strength and was easily blocked by Lucy’s shield.
“You brat♡ Foolish knight♡”
Freya, eting Lucy’s fierce gaze, instinctively realized she had missed her chance. But instead of feeling deflated, she grinned and t Lucy’s fierceness with her own.
"Yeah. I almost lost to Freya."
That was a real close call.
If I had been just a bit slower, I would’ve been hit by Freya’s strike and ended up rolling on the floor.
Seriously, Freya is such an overpowered character.
Right now, the heavy techniques my grandfather and I are researching are still in the early stages, but I never thought Freya would try to overturn the specs gap between us with sheer technique.
No matter how strong Freya is, she probably hasn’t reached the level cap with her training yet. So, it's for sure that she’ll only get stronger from here.
As expected, a genius is a genius.
“Lucy. That’s cheating.”
Freya, sprawled on the ground, only lifted her head and puffed her cheeks as she complained.
“I could have let you win just once.”
“I want to let you win, idiot knight, but you’re too weak. What am I supposed to do? It’s not my fault you’re weak, right?”
“You almost lost though.”
“Didn’t you think I let you have so fun? Honestly, you’re so dumb.”
“Ughhh.”
Freya, clearly irritated, flailed her arms, but didn’t get up. She was half-exhausted from giving her all in the duel.
I was equally tired.
In the middle of the duel, I had been testing new heavy techniques, trying to find improvents, so it had been exhausting.
Should I take a little break? Freya will probably need so ti to get up anyway, so I might as well catch my breath until then.
Leaning on my shield, I let out a long breath and turned my head toward Freya, who was staring into the air.
“Idiot knight. Why did you co to the Academy so early? Were you lonely back in the territory?”
“I missed you, Lucy.”
I was montarily taken aback by Freya’s honesty, but I quickly turned my head, not wanting to be caught off guard. But Freya didn’t care about that and continued speaking.
“But that’s not the reason. It’s because my little brother made a fuss.”
“...Your little brother?”
“Yeah. Parna. He just got enrolled.”
“Really?”
I wasn’t sure if I should be surprised, but Parna didn’t exactly seem like the smartest kid. How did he even pass the entrance exam?
“He got in the sa way I did.”
Oh, so he got in through martial arts specialization. Well, he is from the Kent family, after all. Even though he might not be as talented as Freya, his raw talent must be overwhelming.
...Wait a second. If he’s here, does that an I’ll have to deal with Parna’s chaos throughout the whole Academy year?
It won’t be so bad for a day or two, but if this happens all the ti, I’ll be drained. I need to avoid that as much as possible.
“By the way, Lucy. I…”
“Lucy, you’re here! You left all alone... Waah! Lucy!”
I heard an overly positive voice coming from behind and turned my head to see Parna running toward with a huge grin on his face.
Looking at his smile, I could already see my future. There was no way I could avoid all that positive energy.
...Wait, didn’t I recognize the face of the person Parna was dragging behind him?
They looked pretty and cute.
Oh, I rember now.
That’s the son of the Newman family—the one I saved before.
Why is he looking all disheveled and being dragged around by Parna?
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