The dueling area remained busy.
Intermediate swordsmen continued taking turns on the floor.
After each match, Gal or Timothy usually offered a few comments.
Most of the time, Timothy carefully observed the disciples and pointed out deficiencies in their swordsmanship or directions for improvement, giving them specific weaknesses to address in later training.
Unless a duel involved promotion, a formal challenge, or some other important matter, Gal generally left teaching to Timothy.
In a sense, the monthly general sparring session was simply the Holy Land of Swords’ monthly exam.
Thud.
Crack.
Clack…!
Intermediate matches continued at full intensity.
Wooden swords struck one another constantly, and disciples were frequently knocked to the floor.
None of that distracted Noah.
Eyes closed, he happily inspected the system rewards he’d just obtained.
Almost every “mob” had dropped a treasure chest.
Clair, Alvi, Silas: ‘Are we not human to you?
Are YOU human?’
[Killing Intent: Ember]
[Effect: By collecting, refining, and accumulating killing intent, the user may increase pressure in combat and release a murderous aura.]
[Note: The user may inject an appropriate amount of battle aura into the field to increase its strength and effects.]
‘So it really can level up!’
The moment Noah received Killing Intent: Nascent, the word “Nascent” had made him suspect it was merely the skill’s initial form.
Unfortunately, the system had given no instructions for upgrading it.
Noah’s only option had been repeated use, hoping proficiency might eventually change something.
Now he understood.
He still needed the broad masses of wholesale wool suppliers—otherwise known as other people.
Only sufficiently impressive performances produced harvestable rewards.
The evolved Killing Intent had gained one major effect: Noah could now inject battle aura to amplify the pressure.
Previously, he could only accumulate killing intent and release it at once.
The maximum power was directly tied to his own strength, leaving serious restrictions both on the upper limit and on the charging requirement.
Adding battle aura dramatically raised that ceiling.
How much higher?
He would need to experiment.
Battle aura was ultimately another application of mana.
From a magical perspective, this technique could almost be interpreted as a form of mental-attack magic.
And the cooldown?
Since the skill had already evolved once, perhaps a future evolution would eventually remove the charging limitation too.
Noah had high expectations.
[Night Owl: Soundless Slash]
[Effect: While suppressing killing intent and minimizing unnecessary motion, execute five high-speed slashes from a silent drawing stance. This sword technique was created by a blind swordsman 230 years ago.]
[Note: When used at night, while the enemy is blinded, or under similar conditions, enemy vigilance is reduced and the technique’s effectiveness greatly increases. Essential swordsmanship for home defense, travel, murder, and robbery.]
Noah read the description.
Then reread the last line.
‘System…
Purely in terms of mechanics, it wouldn’t be especially difficult to practice.
The hardest requirement was suppressing killing intent.
For swordsmen trained to expose overwhelming aggression, that prerequisite alone would block most people.
The nighttime and blindness bonus made even more sense when Noah remembered that the original creator had literally been blind.
Day or night made no difference to the guy who invented it.
That was pure environmental buff abuse.
Noah could only conclude that once he properly multiclassed into Assassin someday, he’d be able to use the technique at full potential.
Then came the reward he was most interested in.
[Battle Aura Coating: Emission]
[Effect: Through battle aura manipulation, the user may release battle aura a short distance from the body to attack an enemy. Maximum distance depends on aura quantity and proficiency.]
[Note: Battle aura released without a physical medium will dissipate rapidly.]
It belonged to the same family as Battle Aura Coating: Hardening.
Noah already considered Hardening almost god-tier.
Emission represented a different method: projecting aura outward to attack.
Yes, aura dissipated quickly once detached from the body.
But that only applied when there was no physical medium.
Which meant—
What if there was one?
The exact possibilities needed experimentation.
Still, comparing it with Hardening made Noah more excited about this reward than any of the others.
A bold thought appeared.
If battle aura could remain wrapped around a physical object after leaving his body…
Could he ride a sword through the air?
If the answer was yes, Noah would gladly become a xianxia sword immortal purely for the style points.
Worst case, he could carry several spare swords and become some kind of flying-sword swordsman.
While Noah fantasized about his future, more than half of the Intermediate matches had finished and the session was gradually moving toward Advanced rank.
This was the Sword God Style, after all.
Either you one-shot the opponent…
Or the opponent one-shot you.
Smack—and it’s over.
Fast as hell.
Most Sword God Style swordsmen had no concept of “martial ethics” once the signal started.
The officiating Sword Saint’s voice had lost the excitement it possessed at the beginning.
He’d been shouting names and results for ages and was obviously tired.
“…Advanced swordsman Nina versus Advanced swordsman Noah. Both fighters, please enter the center.”
Noah heard his own name.
Then the very familiar second name.
He blinked.
‘Wow.
I actually called it.’
There wasn’t much time to think.
Noah stood from his corner and walked toward the center just as Nina entered from the opposite side.
The Sword Saint prepared to announce the start.
Nina raised one hand.
The entire hall seemed to stumble mentally.
She surrendered?
Even when people drew opponents far stronger than themselves, direct surrender was extremely rare.
Today had already been full of bizarre matches.
Apparently they needed one more.
The referee Sword Saint clearly had no idea how to handle this and looked helplessly toward Gal and Timothy.
Gal’s expression remained unreadable.
His gaze settled directly on Nina.
“Reason?”
“I’m not Noah’s match.”
Nina said it without shame.
She had sparred with Noah repeatedly over the past few days.
She didn’t understand every detail of his strength, but she understood enough.
Then she glanced at him.
Noah’s face was slightly flushed—from the excitement of imagining himself riding flying swords through the sky.
His clothes were somewhat disordered.
The earlier fight against Silas had forced him to overdraw his body for explosive speed, leaving sweat visible on his training uniform.
From Nina’s perspective, those previous duels had clearly consumed a significant amount of Noah’s stamina.
“But next month, during the general sparring session, I’ll challenge Noah properly.”
“…Ha. So you’ve finally found a goal.”
A fierce smile spread across Gal’s scarred face.
He could guess what his daughter was thinking.
Her goal was to defeat the rival who had surpassed her.
And she was too proud to challenge him when he wasn’t at full strength.
Gal understood almost instantly and waved a hand, accepting the result.
Nina turned and walked away from the floor without hesitation.
Noah alone looked confused.
‘That’s it?
We’re not fighting?’
He’d been hoping that another good performance might squeeze one more reward out of the system.
Instead Nina had stepped up, surrendered, and left.
They could have at least pretended to fight for a while.
What a waste.
Noah was still lamenting the lost loot when a system notification appeared.
His spirits immediately rose.
[System Notice: You used your “looks” to entice the opponent and achieved victory without fighting.]
[Achievement Challenge: “The Sword Emperor’s Cry”]
[Requirement: Defeat Nina ten times in formal duels. Each duel must be acknowledged as legitimate by both participants and the overwhelming majority of spectators.]
[Progress: 2/10]
Noah’s expression broke.
‘Damn it!
System, that’s slander!
I can sue you for defamation!’
‘And what the hell is this challenge supposed to mean?!’