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I have no gift for gab. I’ve been like this since I was a child.

If I had been an eloquent speaker who could convey my heartfelt sentiments with just a few words, I wouldn’t have been rolling around on the battlefield for twenty years.

In the military, there was no need to persuade anyone. It was either obey the orders or not; there were only those two options.

At this point, I don’t even think heartfelt conversations suit me.

But, I intend to give it a try.

Because I’m not a soldier anymore; I’m an instructor now.

I will convey my true feelings to Gwen and listen to hers as well.

In my own way.

“Get into position.”

I gripped the sword with both hands and took a mid-stance, radiating intent.

A chilling aura pressed down on the entirety of the training grounds like heavy air.

“Or you’ll die.”

This intent is a lie. I have no intention of actually killing Gwen.

However, she must not sense that. She needed to view this as a real battle.

It’s been a while since I wielded a sword. After all, it’s not my main weapon.

But now was a moment I had to use a sword.

“Instructor, that stance…?”

Gwen examined my stance with a look of horror.

Instead of explaining to her, I took a step forward.

In response to my refusal to engage in dialogue, Gwen inhaled sharply and gripped her training sword. Perhaps she thought it would be better to respond and then think.

For a swordsman, that’s a typical reaction.

My footsteps, which seemed extremely ordinary and did not stomp down heavily at all, cracked the floor of the training grounds. It looked as if a heavy boulder was walking.

With each step I took, Gwen’s expression turned even more astonished.

I swung the training sword high and brought it down. It wasn’t particularly fast, and I made a perfectly straight cut without any flourishes, to which Gwen naturally reacted. To block my downward cut, she raised her training sword above her shoulder, and my blade came crashing down onto her defense.

Clang!

“Ugh!?”

With just that one strike, Gwen’s defense shattered, and she sank to her knees.

Still reeling from the impact of her shattered defense, Gwen looked up at me, her hand trembling slightly as she asked in shock.

“Instructor. That was….”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and said.

“It’s the Sword of the Rock.”

The basic mid-stance I first took. The unique footwork that placed weight with every step.

All of it was the technique of the Sword of the Rock.

To an outsider, it might have just looked like a crude, powerful downward strike. But I hadn’t exerted excessive force in that single blow. If I had just crushed her with sheer power, it wouldn’t teach Gwen anything.

What mattered was the nuance of the sword.

By applying the techniques of the Sword of the Rock, I focused all my strength to a single point. That’s precisely why my strike wielded more power than the force I actually exerted against Gwen’s defense.

To put it simply.

Gwen used the Sword of the Rock for defense.

I used the Sword of the Rock solely for attack.

Whether or not this should be called the true Sword of the Rock is uncertain. After all, I hadn’t learned it properly either.

But judging by the shock and astonishment on Gwen’s face, it seemed she perceived it as more than adequate representation of the Sword of the Rock.

“W-How…? Did the Master teach you this? B-But he said it never-”

“You talk too much. Are you just going to stay on your knees like that?”

At my words, Gwen gripped her training sword once more, gritting her teeth as she stood up.

While she still seemed dazed from the impact of my blade, she managed to regain her footing and aimed her sword at me with determined eyes.

“Then it means I should ask with a sword, huh? Understood.”

Gwen positioned her sword at her waist in the basic stance of the Sword of the Rock.

It was the same stance as mine.

I launched the same downward strike I had executed moments before. Knowing there was no way to block it head-on, Gwen angled her sword diagonally down.

Clang! The swords met with a shower of sparks. She deflected my blade. Ideally, the sword should have flowed smoothly without sending sparks flying, but the disparity in our strength made that impossible.

Doing it this way would soon dull her blade. Yet, as she had succeeded in deflecting my strike, she had now set herself up for a counterattack. I saw determination flare in Gwen’s eyes as she thrust her blade at my exposed torso.

Of course, dodging that strike was utterly simple for me. I merely shifted my shoulder, and Gwen’s blade brushed past my side, stabbing into thin air. I wedged the sword between my armpit and stepped forward with my right foot.

Our bodies came close together like dancing partners. In that moment, I pushed Gwen’s chest away with my shoulder.

“Gah!”

Thud! Gwen lost her grip on her sword as she tumbled to the ground.

I tossed the training sword to her as she propped herself up on her hands, gasping for air.

“Again.”

Gwen glared at me with wide eyes and staggered as she stood.

We repeated similar exchanges multiple times after that. As we continued our intense duel, sweat poured down Gwen’s face, and the sound of metal clashing filled the training grounds.

While blocking Gwen’s counterattacks, I observed every movement she made. How she moved her feet, how she gripped the sword, how she breathed.

She certainly possessed remarkable talent. I had previously suggested that she wouldn’t become proficient in the Sword of the Rock, but the truth is, even with just this much, she had already achieved considerable skill.

Her strength was equally impressive. The trajectory of her sword was fast and powerful, something that seemed unbelievable for her slender frame.

Any average man might be able to defeat her by sheer strength. It’s not hard to imagine the effort she put in to develop that much raw power from a woman’s body.

But Gwen is the inheritor of the Rock and also a disciple of the Sword Saint. She wouldn’t be satisfied with mediocre strength, yet it was clear that the Sword of the Rock she utilized had its limitations.

If Gwen couldn’t break free from her current mold, she would not be able to grow stronger than a certain level.

“Huff, huff…!”

Even though she was utterly exhausted, she kept rising again and again.

She could easily harbor resentment after getting knocked down so many times, yet curiously enough, Gwen’s expression grew more composed and serious rather than frustrated. Perhaps she was gaining something from our duel.

She no longer seemed to harbor any ill feelings towards me. Instead, what shined in her eyes was the gaze of a swordsman, filled with the intent to learn something more from me.

However, Gwen’s body was reaching its limits. She had likely been swinging her sword for hours before I arrived. Continuing this duel any longer could become genuinely dangerous.

I sheathed my training sword and said.

“Enough.”

“I’m not done yet!”

“I said enough. Your body has reached its limit.”

As expected, with the signal to end, Gwen’s physical state gave way before her will. Her body staggered uncontrollably for a moment before she slumped helplessly to the ground, a look of surprise crossing her face.

Gwen remained there, trying to regulate her breathing while lost in thought for a while.

Then, after a moment of deep contemplation, she finally spoke.

“I had no idea. That the Sword of the Rock could be used like that… Why didn’t the Master tell me?”

“The Sword Saint probably couldn’t share it. That’s not the authentic Sword of the Rock.”

In other words, I have cherry-picked from the Sword of the Rock.

Ignoring hundreds of years of tradition and spirit, I took just the parts I found useful for myself, so while it might be efficient for me, it would likely exasperate the Sword Saint. You could say, “Have you ever seen such an outrageous guy?”

“But the Sword Saint still recognized this as the Sword of the Rock.”

“Is that what you’re saying, Master?”

“Exactly. Despite its different form, its roots are the same. Of course, this is my own version of the Sword of the Rock, so I can’t teach it to you. It would be meaningless to try.”

“Then why today…?”

Looking down at Gwen, who was still sitting on the ground, I said.

“I can help you establish your own Sword of the Rock. Of course, it’s not mandatory. If you don’t want to, we can end this discussion here.”

“My own Sword of the Rock…?”

Gwen thought about it for some time before gazing up at me with a confused expression.

“Why? You just told me to abandon the Sword of the Rock during the day… So why are you going this far for me?”

“I’m just thinking about efficiency.”

“Efficiency?”

“I figured that even if it’s a roundabout way, a tailored education could be more effective.”

Gwen’s expression turned dazed as she opened her mouth, then a foolish laugh escaped her lips.

“I think I understand a bit now. What kind of person Instructor Ion is… Why you said that back then.”

With that statement, it seemed Gwen had shed all her negative feelings towards me.

She attempted to push herself up, using her training sword like a staff, but fatigue had set in throughout her body, and she couldn’t rise properly. She looked like a newborn lamb.

“Can’t you get up?”

“A-Ah, no! I can manage on my own… Ugh!”

“You can’t get up, can you? I’ll carry you to your room.”

“Eek!”

I lifted Gwen by her shoulders and legs. In an instant, she was cradled in my arms, letting out a bird-like scream as her face turned bright red.

Gwen, held tightly, weakly flailed her arms and legs.

“In-Instructor Ion! What on earth!? P-Put me down!”

“Stay still.”

If she wriggled around, it would be troublesome to hold her.

To emphasize my point, I pulled her closer instead.

“Ah…!”

I felt Gwen’s breath quivering within my arms.

At such a close distance that our breaths almost mingled, our gazes locked. Gwen’s dark eyes were fixed on me without wavering.

Even as she looked at me, her expression turned nostalgic, as if she were remembering someone else.

“Ah-”

It was more of a sound of awe than a simple exclamation, as if she had started to say something but then stopped.

Gwen settled down, as if her earlier fuss had been a lie.

She merely buried her face, trying not to show it, and nestled her head against my shoulder.

For whatever reason, if she found it acceptable to remain still, that was good enough.

With Gwen in my arms, I slowly made my way to the dormitory.

 

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