The Author's POV

As my sword tore through the air in front of me, I noticed a trickle of sweat running down the side of my face.

It had been a while since I practiced with the sword, and I sort of missed this feeling. The discomfort, which I subjected myself to on a regular basis in order to improve my strength, was not something I particularly enjoyed. I much preferred this to that.

Swoosh—!

It had also been a while since I started sweating during my training.

Swoosh—! Swoosh–!

"I think that's enough for today."

A voice called out from the back, and I stopped.

I turned my head, and as I did so, my eyes stopped on Grandmaster Keiki, who was coming in my direction. He was grinning to himself in a relaxed manner.

"You've been training like crazy for the past few days; I think you should take some time to rest."

He tossed me a towel, and I grabbed it.

I wiped my face and stabbed the sword into the ground.

"You see, I don't really have much time left here."

Matthew's words weren't clear before, but I could feel them now. I had the distinct impression that I did not have a lot of time left to enjoy life in this world.

"I want to learn as much as possible before leaving."

He didn't exist in my world, sadly. If there was a time when I could learn from him, then it was now.

I couldn't afford to waste a single second.

"You're leaving? Where to?"

The news appeared to take Grandmaster Keiki by quite a bit of surprise. It seemed as though he hadn't expected my sudden departure.

'He looks better.'

When I looked at him, he appeared to be in much better shape than when I had first found him, and that made me smile.

"I'm going back home."

"You don't live in Ashton City?"

Thinking of my world, I shook my head.

"No… I live quite far away from here."

A place only I could reach.

"Oh."

Grandmaster Keiki nodded his head reluctantly.

"That is unfortunate. I really wish that you could have spent some time with my family. If only I could, I'd be happy to put you in touch with them, but..."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"It's alright. I appreciate the gesture."

I wiped the side of my face with the towel.

The situation of the three Grandmasters was still a little sensitive. It wasn't so much that Octavious didn't want to absolve them of their wrongdoings; rather, it was more that he found it difficult to persuade the general public of their crimes.

At the same time, the Protector also existed. If he could do it, then it was going to be a long and slow process.

One that may take months or maybe even years, and sadly, during that time, they wouldn't be able to visit their families.

grim look, I shifted the conversation

there something else you suggest

"Oh."

lit up, and he soon nodded his

occasions over the course of the past week. You are going to need to keep practicing the fundamentals over and over again. Please don't get the wrong idea; they are not bad. Rather, your fundamentals are already at a level that

for

that it's the only thing you haven't mastered. As opposed to the movements, which you seem to have quite the hang of, your basics are the only thing that you don't

he retrieved the sword from the

Swoosh—!

slash, and slash. That's really all there is to it. Keep slashing until you feel as if it's second nature to

sword back

"I see…"

sword from his hand

slash, and slash,

easy enough. It wasn't

"Anything else?"

"No."

He shook his head.

in no time. The same can be said for the two other forms of swordplay. The Gravar and Levisha styles. Even though there are some key differences, they are all based on the same principles.

"I understand."

to the ground and took a

training my fundamentals, then learning the other two sword arts should also be

a lot of sense, and I found myself

so rushed to increase my power so much, I

fact, they were quite good—they weren't perfect, and at this point, perfection was what I needed the

for a moment

to do with the fact that

then I was sure

A pity I didn't.

Swoosh—!

slashed the sword

***

Thump—!

through the air and landed with a thud on a small target approximately one hundred meters away from the location where the source of the noise

target in the

really talented in

view of the target, even though it was far away. It was currently

attempting to hit the target for a week and

felt rather

This was hard.

"Huh."

took a deep

really doubting the validity of his words. No matter how much she thought about it, she didn't feel suited for

'It's still too early.'

deep breath

getting a feel for the bow in her hand, she gave the string a very light pull. As a direct result of this, her

it quite clearly. This wasn't

always had good

she couldn't even

Creak—

she pulled the string. Feeling the wind around her, she waited. Waited for the perfect moment for her to let

than she thought. Feeling the air

Thump—!

the fact that not even a second had

as if time had slowed down and all she

it tore through the air, slicing through it in the most delicate way

"…"

arrow that had pierced through the target, Amanda felt her mind go blank for

blinked her eyes several times as she tried to make sense of what had just occurred in her head. When she finally succeeded,

"Yeasss!"

had never experienced anything like the rush she felt when she realized she had finally hit