She tossed the sword right in front of him.
Grabbing her own weapon from the ground, Lusia dropped into a solid combat stance.
Sitting in the dirt, Ersak panted heavily, sweat pouring down his face.
He gripped the hilt and stumbled to his feet, his body swaying unsteadily.
Ersak locked his glare directly ahead.
Watching the boy from afar, Hawen suddenly raised a question that left Enmie entirely bewildered.
“I don’t think he’s a swordsman, is he?” Enmie looked at Hawen, then shifted her gaze back to Ersak, hesitating with uncertainty.
“I-I think so…” Ersak planted his feet firmly into the turf, the grass rustling beneath his weight.
WHOOSH!
Dirt and grass exploded upward as he bolted forward, swinging his blade wildly at Lusia.
With sharp, calculated deflections, Lusia easily battered away Ersak’s consecutive slashes.
Her subtle tilts and steps backward caused his strikes to repeatedly miss their mark.
In her eyes, Ersak and his weapon moved like slow, sluggish trails of faint golden vapor.
Her serious expression remained unchanged.
In a flash, Ersak lunged forward with a straight thrust, forcing her to leap backward to clear the blade.
Suddenly, Ersak vaulted directly behind Lusia, slashing at her while she was still airborne.
Lusia’s eyes widened in brief surprise.
His wooden blade ripped inward.
THUD!
Ersak’s face twisted into shock as his weapon was completely stopped in its tracks.
Without even turning her head, Lusia delivered a powerful parry, knocking the teenager off-balance and sending him dropping to his knees on the ground.
Ersak stared up at her, his pupils vibrating.
How the hell did she block that without even looking?…
he thought.
Lusia took two steps forward.
“If you keep thinking before every single strike, you’re never gonna touch me.” Ersak’s eyes stretched wide as her flat voice continued to echo.
“In a real fight, if you hesitate, you’ll be the first one to die.” Her narrow gaze locked onto his sweat-drenched face.
Lusia lowered her head slightly, her determined eyes boring into him.
“Look at me like someone you absolutely hate.
Attack me at all costs.
Move on pure instinct instead of relying on your brain…” Ersak rose from the dirt, his expression darkening as his hanging hair masked half of his face.
He began to slowly advance toward her.
His wooden sword dragged along the ground, slicing through the blades of grass with a stiff, ominous rustle.
Lusia raised her weapon, pointing it directly at Ersak as she dropped into a tight, two-handed stance.
She watched him close the distance.
In her vision, the world dimmed, and Ersak transformed into a cluster of glowing golden energy drifting toward her.
His Soul Vessel is way too obvious, Lusia thought.
Even if he becomes decisive, it’s gonna be hard to pull off any real techniques with such a pathetic amount of energy…
BOOM!!
The golden light suddenly plummeted.
A violent gust of wind slammed directly into Lusia’s face, whipping her hair straight back.
Cold sweat burst from her skin, her eyes stretching wide in sheer shock.
The trail of golden vapor vanished.
In a fraction of a second, it materialized right in her space.
Lusia instantly dropped her center of gravity, snapping her head to the side.
The wooden blade whistled past her skull with a fierce, deafening tear.
Panic gripping her mind, Lusia slowly rolled her eyes upward toward his sweat-soaked face, taking in the scene.
Time seemed to grind to a halt as a golden circular barrier was pierced clean through.
W-What is happening?!
she thought in terror.
He’s t-too fast!…
Gripping her hilt tightly, Lusia narrowed her eyes and spun on her heel!
Sitting on the grass in the distance, Enmie watched the duel unfold.
The space around her instantly bled into pitch black, revealing two completely different flows of energy.
A deep, dark golden aura and a bright gold-white vapor flashed before her eyes, charging forward.
Her eyes bulging, Enmie bolted to her feet.
A sudden shockwave erupted, sending dirt and rocks flying everywhere as her figure vanished into thin air.
Hawen was blown back by the sheer force, scrambling to his feet in complete panic.
Lusia completed her turn, swinging her sword behind her back.
The moment her eyes locked onto Ersak, her entire face went rigid.
Ersak’s blade was already execution-style slicing horizontally, inches away from her face.
“Ah?…” The weapon crept closer and closer to her cheek.
Suddenly, a massive pulling force yanked Lusia backward from behind, ripping her completely out of the line of fire.
ZIP!!
Stunned, Lusia snapped out of her daze and looked back.
Enmie was tightly clutching her collar.
“Enmie?…” Her face tense, Enmie closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh of relief.
“Thank goodness…” THUD.
Ersak dropped onto the turf as his heavy, ragged breathing filled the air.
Hurling the wooden sword away, he collapsed onto his back and covered his face with his hand, completely exhausted.
Hawen approached the group as Enmie released her grip on Lusia’s collar.
All three stood trading wide-eyed glances, cold sweat dripping down their faces.
“B-Be more careful next time…” Enmie panted, letting out a heavy sigh.
“Even with Etyna around, we can’t afford to have anyone getting hurt…” Lusia lowered her head, an uneasy expression crossing her face.
“I…
I was just caught off guard.” Hawen kept his eyes locked onto Ersak in the background.
His gaze widened as he stepped forward, tracking the boy.
His hands moved on instinct, opening his notebook and gripping his pen to write.
In Hawen’s vision, a faint, swirling stream of gold-white light floated through the air, wrapping loosely around Ersak’s body.
A gold-white Soul Vessel…
Hawen thought, his eyes dropping to the pages as his pen began to move.
That’s the first time I’ve ever seen one.
Calling out from behind him, Lusia added, “I didn’t expect him to…” “Honestly, no one can blame you,” Hawen replied, keeping his head down as he wrote.
“I didn’t see it coming either.” Enmie scratched her head, chiming in, “Same here.
Turns out the kid actually has some potential.
The only thing is…” She glanced at Ersak as he lay on the ground gasping for air.
“…it’s both a blessing and a curse.” “Enmie!!
Everyone!!
I’m here!” Etyna’s voice called out from a distance.
All four turned their heads toward the sound, while Ersak peer through heavy eyelids past Hawen’s group.
As Etyna jogged up to them, Lusia looked over.
“Etyna?” Etyna smiled warmly at the group.
“So, did you guys wait long?” she asked.
“How’s the training going?” Lusia immediately avoided her gaze, stammering, “Uh, well, you see…” Poking her head out from behind Lusia, Enmie spoke up with a sarcastic smirk, “Well, someone almost needed the teacher to come use her healing on them!” Lusia’s expression went completely rigid.
Reaching behind her back, she grabbed Enmie’s head and forcefully shoved it down in annoyance.
“Shut up.
No one’s gonna think you’re mute if you keep your mouth closed, alright?” With her head pressed down, Enmie grabbed Lusia’s hands as tears welled up in her eyes.
“Stop grabbing my head like that!…
Ahhh!…” Both Etyna and Hawen burst out laughing.
Lusia dusted off her hands, leaving Enmie slumped on the ground, silently clutching her head.
Etyna leaned her body to the side, peering past Hawen.
Ersak sat up from the grass, his hair masking his eyes as he tilted his head up slightly.
A gentle breeze nudged his hair aside, exposing his exhausted blue eyes.
The contrast between the two was stark—Etyna’s wide, round eyes shone with a deep, sparkling blue, while Ersak’s gaze was so tired and pale it seemed completely drained of color.
Etyna blinked, her dark blue eyes glistening in the light.