‘An ordinary noble.’
That had been Larissa’s first impression of Ian.
Just another ordinary noble from the North.
He looked fairly well trained for someone his age, but that was all.
But after watching him talk with her younger brother, her opinion changed slightly.
‘My brother’s friend?’
They were around the same age, and their levels did not seem very different.
So she thought of him as someone similar to her younger brother.
THUD—!
But what he presented was the head of a Frost Giant.
That was when she began to take a slight interest in him.
In the current North, where she had no rival among those her age, he at least seemed promising enough to be worth watching.
“Ian is...... different.”
And now.
As she watched Ian Rashid approach with his sword in hand, she thought that he had already surpassed the level of a mere promising talent.
Of course, he was still no match for Larissa Bahen.
But considering that people had only begun hearing his name during this Subjugation Festival, that changed the meaning entirely.
“How long have you been learning the sword?”
“Only a few months.”
“Really?”
Pure curiosity.
Just how skilled was he?
Only a few months.
That was absolutely not something she could dismiss with a laugh.
And the moment Larissa looked at Ian with that thought—
“I’m coming.”
Ian stepped forward.
At the same time, cold energy surged around him.
The magical power increased by the Ice Crystal.
The energy given tangible form through Extreme Cold Art.
And Frost Fang, strengthened by Frost Benediction.
With all three combined, an oppressive presence incomparably greater than before naturally poured from him.
‘He feels different every time I look at him.’
Tarian, who was watching, could not help but marvel.
The moments when Ian had surprised him, trained without pause, and continued growing flashed past his mind like a panorama.
It was explosive progress.
But even compared to all the growth Ian had shown until now, his current state was on another level.
‘I already knew he was at the level of a Knight Cadet.’
But at this point, he would have no rival even among Knight Cadets.
He looked like someone on the verge of becoming a true knight.
As Tarian stared with his mouth slightly open—
“Interesting.”
The corners of Larissa Bahen’s mouth rose.
She already knew Ian had learned Extreme Cold Art.
Whether her father had taught him, or he had learned it by watching Johannes, she did not care in the slightest.
The North respected strength above all else, and the Bahen Grand Ducal House stood at the very peak of that principle.
Someone else learning Extreme Cold Art would never erase what she herself had built.
Even so, she had not expected him to use it this skillfully.
Her expressionless face broke into a smile.
Even Johannes, her own younger brother, looked startled.
CRASH—!
Their swords, both infused with magical power, collided.
‘Two moves ahead? No, even more than that.’
At that instant, Ian immediately understood the gap between them.
Even with Extreme Cold Art pushed to maximum output, it remained.
The only reason he could contend with her at all was because of the stats he had painstakingly raised.
‘If this turns into a long fight, I have no chance.’
Their attributes were similar enough that he could hold out for a while.
But in the end, there was still a difference in sheer weight class.
Ian had no choice but to aim for a short, decisive battle.
And that was something he was quite confident in.
“Hiss......”
As he drew in a breath, he began circulating magical power throughout his entire body.
Aura leaked outward and took on a shape almost like a wolf.
Even after wrapping around Ian’s whole body, enough mana remained to gather around Frost Fang, taking on a form almost like sword aura.
‘It isn’t enough.’
Ian knew that better than anyone.
This was not the refined sword aura formed by those who had gained enlightenment and become Sword Experts.
It was merely a mass of mana.
But its size was overwhelming.
The mana gained from the Ice Crystal.
The improved efficiency and affinity provided by Frost Benediction and Extreme Cold Art.
All of it had been amplified.
‘After only a few months of holding a sword......’
Larissa watched him for a moment.
Even someone as stingy with praise as she was had to admit it was impressive.
It was not sword aura.
But dense cold was gathering from every direction.
“As expected, this is interesting.”
The smile on her lips deepened because she understood exactly what Ian was trying to do.
It was the first time in nearly five years that she had faced someone head-on at anything close to this level.
“Come at me with everything you have, Ian.”
The moment she tightened her grip on her sword—
The cold raging around them stopped for an instant.
Then a storm far greater than before erupted.
Swallowing everything around it, a massive moon revealed itself.
‘Now.’
Ian did not retreat even as he watched it appear.
The moment he reached the limit of the mana he could control, he leapt forward.
CLANG—!
A single sword strike came down as though a massive moon itself were falling toward him.
Ian swung with everything he had to block it.
CRACKLE—
The Bahen Grand Ducal House’s state-of-the-art training ground froze over.
The aftermath forced Tarian to hurriedly protect Johannes.
“......”
Larissa stood perfectly fine even after being swallowed by the cold.
Ian, meanwhile, was barely standing, utterly exhausted.
The outcome was obvious.
“As expected of you, Sister......!”
“No.”
CRACK—
At that moment, a fracture appeared on Larissa’s sword.
A tiny crack.
But that alone was enough to shock everyone.
“......”
Larissa simply stared blankly at her sword.
She could have blamed the difference between their weapons.
But Larissa Bahen had no intention of making such a soft excuse.
When the difference in skill was so obvious, allowing her sword to be damaged was no different from defeat.
At least to her.
“Again.”
“Pardon?”
“One more time.”
At her stubborn voice, Ian, now lying on the floor, let out a hollow laugh.
‘Was this how Tarian felt?’
That thought crossed his mind.
The previous strike had used every last bit of magical power gained from the Ice Crystal.
There was not even a handful of mana left inside his body.
“All right.”
Even so, he did not want to refuse.
The desire to keep striving and prove the results of that effort.
Ian understood that feeling better than anyone.
***
The spar that followed ended in Larissa Bahen’s victory.
But she was not satisfied at all.
“Next time, when you’ve grown more, let’s do it again.”
“Is that a promise?”
“Yes. A promise.”
From Ian’s perspective, that was more than welcome.
Battles against strong opponents had always driven him toward growth.
“And the bet......”
“I liked what I saw.”
Her voice sounded frustrated, but she acknowledged it cleanly.
The moment Ian saw that, the corners of his mouth rose.
“Then you’ll help me?”
“Yes. You want me to help establish the alliance, right?”
“No.”
Larissa’s expression filled with confusion at the unexpected answer.
She was certain he had said something like that before.
While she stood there caught off guard—
“I want the North to remain unyielding no matter what invasion comes.”
Enemies would continue to appear in the future.
And this was not limited to the Great Invasion.
He had to prevent the indiscriminate war the Central Empire would unleash.
Stop the southern fanatics from summoning an evil god.
And deal with the corpse uprising the western Necromancers would cause.
There was no way he intended to stop after merely asking her to help create an alliance.
Nor could he waste a Sword Master-level talent who had practically fallen into his lap on something so minor.
“Do you think something serious is going to happen in the North?”
“......Yes.”
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“Could you grant my requests for the time being?”
Larissa stared at Ian for a moment.
Originally, she had planned to leave the North within half a year.
She had already learned everything she could from her family.
She had examined the swordsmanship of most of the knights belonging to the family as well.
There was nothing more for her to learn there.
All that remained was to gain more experience, refine her skill, and break through the wall.
“Fine.”
She did not know what his requests would be.
But she had no particular reason to refuse.
To Larissa, Ian was still like a gift box that had not been fully opened.
There was no harm in leaving the North only after she had seen everything inside.
“Thank you. And I’ll return Winterbane.”
-What? Really?!
“Why?”
Two voices burst out at once.
Ian continued without even changing his expression.
“In exchange, could you give me a chance to use the weapons in the training ground?”
It came out of nowhere.
Weapons in the training ground?
To Larissa, it could only seem like a strange request.
But to Ian, it was an opportunity he could not pass up.
‘I’ve already formed Pacts with most of the weapons in our family.’
Rapid growth required many Pacts.
Ian had been completing several Pacts a day, sometimes ten or more.
To him, every new weapon was another Skill or another increase in his abilities.
“That much is fine.”
“Then that will be enough.”
“W-Wait. You’re really giving it back?”
-I’m finally going back! Johan, I miss Johan!
Ian let out a small sigh at the sight of both master and sword making a racket together.
Winterbane had already caused him plenty of trouble with how noisy it was.
“Have you ever seen me lie?”
“No. You’re my second mas—”
“Second?”
“M-My rival.”
Johannes faltered after nearly saying something else.
Then he took Winterbane back, and his grin stretched nearly from ear to ear.
“A-Ahem. I gratefully accept your goodwill.”
“Just treat your sister well.”
“I always do!”
Ian let out a small laugh at his shout.
“Then are we ending training for today?”
“Not sure. I should rest a little more first.”
Ian answered as Tarian approached and asked.
“If my mana recovers, I can keep going.”
“Then please grant me a bout a little later.”
“S-Sir Tarian? Did you not say you would teach me?”
“Ah. That is right.”
As though only now remembering, Tarian walked over to Johannes.
Johannes looked slightly dissatisfied.
“This brings back memories. The days when I learned the sword from you were truly wonderful......”
“There are many fine knights in the Bahen Grand Ducal House besides me.”
“That is true, but......”
“Then I suppose I should bring back those old memories for you. Come this way.”
And so, after Ian returned Winterbane once more—
Johan’s training, which had been delayed by Ian and Larissa’s spar, finally began.
“By the way, Ian.”
“Yes?”
“You should prepare yourself.”
“......?”
Ian looked puzzled at the warning.
‘It probably isn’t about combat.’
While Ian tried to figure out what she truly meant, Larissa, now back to her usual expressionless face, continued.
“Father likes you.”
“What should I prepare?”
“A title, territory, those kinds of conditions.”