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Time flows, and the day fades, already dusk.

The sound of boots stepping on the darkened pier echoed.

The boots, soaked with seawater, made a squelching sound as they hit the pier. Sophia, the owner of the boots, paid no mind to their wetness and hurried to toss the boy and girl on her shoulders into the dormitory.

As she walked, the sound of her boots changed in real-time. With each step, the water soaked into the boots flew away, and by the second step, the remaining salt left a white dust. By the third step, the squelching sound was gone, replaced by the usual clacking of boots.

Normally, Sophia would have reached the Great Church’s dormitory in a single step. But today, for some reason, she wasn’t in a hurry and walked at a normal pace across the sidewalk.

“These kids, I told them to stabilize their realm, but they’re already preparing for the next step. They’ve already reached a level where they’re preparing for the next stage.”

Feeling the weight of her two disciples slumped over her shoulders like wet seaweed, Sophia chuckled. Teaching talented kids was fun because they grew beyond what the master could anticipate.

Lost in thought, Sophia suddenly stopped when she sensed a familiar presence.

“Don’t just stand there watching. Come out.”

Sophia didn’t just stop walking; she called out to the owner of the presence she sensed.

“Huh, as expected, I can’t escape Sister Sophia’s notice.”

The one who awkwardly revealed himself was Karl Hector Meyer, a knight who had been busy with recent duties. He had just finished training volunteers for the Aarhus search, and his clothes were covered in dust.

“What brings you here? You’ve seemed busy lately.”

“Thanks to someone, I’ve been busier than I’d like. I haven’t had a proper training session in a while. It’s killing me.”

“Oh… I didn’t realize I hadn’t been considerate.”

Karl’s gaze was clearly fixed on the two slumped figures on Sophia’s shoulders. Sophia soon realized that the emotion in his eyes was none other than envy.

A bitter smile appeared on Sophia’s lips. It was true that she had prioritized her disciples over Karl and Brantley.

But what else could she have done?

Experienced military personnel were rarer than one might think. Those who could lead a formal military organization were inevitably traditional feudal nobles, and those who could provide systematic military education were few and far between.

Military knowledge and experience were the most valuable assets held by those in power. Such individuals would never willingly share their expertise or allow the talent they nurtured to be carelessly leaked to outsiders.

Given that, there was no one else to entrust with the task.

Of course, Sophia hadn’t left all the work to just Karl and Brantley. Although it wasn’t her original intention, Sophia had been elected as the leader of this group. Naturally, as the leader, she had her own responsibilities to fulfill.

Even if that meant using a technique derived from the Mind-In-Action principle, the “Externalized Body” technique.

‘But in the end, it’s still me, so it’s not much different.’

Even when handling tasks through the Externalized Body, it was still Sophia herself. Just moments ago, while supervising her disciples’ training, she had also been managing tasks through her Externalized Body. So, she couldn’t really complain…

‘I do feel a bit sorry, though.’

Sophia couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for having brought them here only to burden them with work. Still, she was grateful that they had taken on the tasks without complaint.

Suddenly, Sophia thought she should give them something as a token of her gratitude.

‘But what would be good?’

As she thought about gifts, nothing particularly suitable came to mind. Sophia paused for a moment, speeding up her thoughts as she pondered.

She found a clue when her gaze fell on Karl, who was standing quietly.

‘Huh, this man’s talent is certainly not ordinary.’

Sophia’s eyes focused on Karl—more precisely, on the sword aura surrounding him. The sword aura, shaped like a dome, had no fixed form.

The sword aura fluctuated in real-time, a stark contrast to the uniform, precise hemisphere she had seen at the port earlier.

‘If that’s the case…’

Suddenly, a good idea came to Sophia, and she spoke to Karl.

“If it’s alright, may I take a look at your sword?”

If her assumption was correct, this man, Karl, was just half a step away from reaching the next level as a swordsman. That thought flashed through Sophia’s mind.

+++++

Karl Hector Meyer was filled with envy.

That was the entirety of the emotion he felt toward Conra and Maria, the young boy and girl.

Their master, Sister Sophia Shazel, was an extraordinary person. Regardless of her abilities as an exorcist or a mage—Karl wasn’t particularly interested in those—she was a senior who had reached an unfathomable level as a pure martial artist. That was one aspect of Sophia Shazel as Karl saw her.

For those who fundamentally trained in martial arts, phenomena like spells and the myriad of supernatural mysteries in the world were something they could never hope to surpass.

While one could increase physical abilities beyond what spells could achieve through techniques like the Reverse Muscle Technique, pure martial arts could never rival the mysteries of spells. That was a kind of common sense shared between those who wielded swords and those who cast spells.

If a mere swordsman, unskilled in spells, wished to overcome the mysteries of spells, they would have to rely on corresponding blessings or spell tools.

To be honest, no one had ever questioned this. Perhaps someone had, but considering that no one who had done so had left their name in history, it was safe to assume that no one had found a viable alternative.

It was a given. No one would blame a swordsman for not being able to quell a plague with a sword. Droughts and floods were even more out of the question.

Who in the world could cut down a ghost with a sword, or reverse time and leap across spatial coordinates? Common sense dictated that no one could complain about a person’s inability to do such things without special abilities like spells.

‘But Sister Sophia was different.’

When Karl reunited with Sophia Shazel, the sight of her cutting down countless undead and monsters simultaneously with a single sword shattered the common sense he had held until then.

‘Was it called the Heart Sword?’

At first, Karl thought it was a phenomenon caused by a spell. When he realized it wasn’t, he thought it was a special ability unique to the superhuman Sophia Shazel.

The worldview Karl Hector Meyer had held as a swordsman was completely shattered by a single move performed by her disciple.

‘That was clearly a realm that existed in reality.’

However, the difference between a superhuman’s unique “superpower” and a “realm” that could be taught and reached by others held a completely different meaning for Karl. Because…

‘If someone has already reached it, then I can too.’

Whether it’s something unattainable or something that could be reached with effort, the difference in motivation it gives a person is undeniable.

From that day on, a fire began to burn in Karl Hector Meyer’s heart. The desire to transcend the inherent limits of a swordsman and reach for the mysteries of transcendence became the fuel and spark that drove him forward relentlessly.

But…

“Damn it, how do I take the next step?”

He had refined his swordsmanship to the point where there was no room for further technical precision. Thinking it might be a matter of mindset and concentration, he cultivated his discipline through meditation and near-ascetic training. Worried that his physical and spiritual state might hinder his progress, he also took care to manage his body.

But he wasn’t solely focused on training his mind, energy, and body. By the standards of ordinary swordsmen, Karl was undeniably a first-class master. He knew better than to let his mind, energy, and body fall out of sync.

At this point, having meticulously honed his mind, energy, and body to their limits, Karl Hector Meyer still couldn’t reach the realm he longed for.

The more he struggled, the more he couldn’t help but be aware of Sophia’s disciples, Conra and Maria. When they first met, Conra was a promising genius, but clearly inferior to Karl. Yet now, Conra had already stepped into a realm Karl had yet to reach.

There was no jealousy. Honestly, Karl didn’t think Conra’s talent was superior to his own. His dedication to martial arts was no less than Conra’s.

The only difference was that Conra knew such a realm existed, while Karl hadn’t. That was all.

Despite his dedication, the realm just one step ahead remained elusive.

As days passed, Karl grew more doubtful. He began to question whether the realm he longed for was truly just one step away.

It was in the midst of this that…

“If it’s alright, may I take a look at your sword?”

While his gaze was drawn to the sight of the boy and girl receiving instruction from his idol, the offer came from his idol herself.

+++++

Changing locations to the training grounds of Aarhus Cathedral, Sophia led the hesitant Karl there after dropping off the completely exhausted Conra and Maria in the dormitory.

“Now, the rules are simple. Whether it’s sword aura or an actual sword, if you can reach me, you win.”

Karl held the sword Sophia tossed to him upright in front of his chest. In that moment, the sword aura emanating from the sword filled the surroundings, and the countless possibilities of its forms intertwined to create a barrier, a sword domain.

Sophia’s eyes deepened as she carefully observed this.

‘As I thought… my assumption was correct.’

As a swordsman hones their skills, their sword domain becomes infinitely precise and meticulous. This is because they constantly ponder how to respond to countless situations with a single sword.

But once a certain level is reached, the sword domain no longer seeks precision and instead loosens to the point of appearing somewhat slack.

This was a natural phenomenon. It meant that the swordsmanship, which had been based on strict, mathematical logic, had shed a layer and now embraced momentary intuition and insight.

Whether it was the Reverse Muscle Technique or Energy Manipulation, the more one trained, the more their latent physical potential awakened. Among these awakened potentials were, of course, sensory perception and reaction speed.

When this phenomenon coincided with the process of mastering swordsmanship, it didn’t stop at mere physical development.

The mastery of swordsmanship, alongside physical development, engraved a unique insight into the principles of swordsmanship within the swordsman’s mind. Once this reached a certain level, it allowed the swordsman to perceive the causal relationships of sword techniques unfolding in unseen realms…

At this point, an overly precise sword domain would hinder the execution of higher-level techniques, so the sword domain naturally loosened.

‘Tsk tsk, the obsession with the next step is blocking the path.’

Sophia clicked her tongue inwardly as she watched Karl’s sword domain, which had been loosely spread, tighten to its utmost precision the moment he held the sword.

What Karl needed now was not more strength, but the ability to dissipate it—the art of Dispelling Force.

‘Shall I give him a little nudge?’

Sophia lightly extended her longsword toward Karl’s tightly formed sword domain.

 

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