Shadow Slave

Nephis looked at him and contemplated. This time, she remained silent longer than usual.

Sunny felt a bit nervous under her gaze, knowing that he was being evaluated. With Changing Star's skill and insight, it wasn't hard to imagine just how much she had gleaned from his battle performance. Both his current level and future potential must have been pretty much laid bare in front of her. Were they enough to make teaching him worth her while?

After some time, she took the soul shards and nodded.

"Okay."

Sunny smiled, congratulating himself on a successful deal. Not only did he receive a lot while not losing much, but he had also managed to create a bit of a favorable impression of himself in the eyes of Nephis and Cassie. As far as performances went, this was a great one.

"So when do we start?"

Nephis shrugged.

"Now."

Now?

Sunny glanced at the sun, which was already almost gone. Were they going to train in complete darkness? It wasn't really an obstacle for him. Changing Star, however…

"We will start with some words. That will be enough for today."

After hesitating a little, she added:

"Cassie, you listen too."

Sunny and Cassia turned to Nephis, listening to her like two obedient students. Despite the fact that their age was more or less similar, both knew that, in terms of martial prowess, their companion had authority that was as beyond theirs as a dragon's might was beyond that of a worm.

for a while

All you need is repetition and experience. In a fight, things

She paused.

initial results through repetition. Then, it must be cemented through experience. The more battle experience you have, the deeper a technique will be assimilated into your body. There is no other way. A thousand hours of training won't be as impactful as one real fight.

made it seem like all those lofty Legacies with their years of training

statement was true. That, however, posed a question of its own… just what kind of life had Nephis led

stop

Meanwhile, Nephis continued:

however, is not simple at all. That is because, once you reach a certain level of skill, the mind is where the true combat takes place. The outcome is often decided before your

looked at them

think that essence

hesitated. The… essence of combat? What

would have been tempted to say something stupid like "honor", "valor" or "duty". But he already knew that Nephis did not fit into the image of a noble aristocrat he had in his mind. She

minute or so, Cassie

"Victory."

the

"Survival."

Star shook her

"No."

pierced

essence of combat

little. Nephis, however, did not seem to care. In the same calm tone,

trying to kill you. In the end, one of you will be killed, and the other one will

heart and reverberated there, causing something inside of him

matter. The only thing that matters is to be the last one standing. In this way, anything you do in combat must be viewed