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.

I shifted the conversation away from his

is there something else you suggest I take note

"Oh."

finally lit up, and he

need to keep practicing the fundamentals over and over again. Please don't get

for a

the hang of, your basics are the

his hand, he retrieved the sword from the ground

Swoosh—!

feel as if it's second nature to you. Once you get that done, everything will

sword

"I see…"

the sword from his hand and

and slash, and

enough. It

"Anything else?"

"No."

He shook his head.

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. You won't have trouble getting the hang of them when you

"I understand."

the towel to the

if I keep training my fundamentals, then learning the other two sword arts should also be easier.. not just the

and I found myself

much, I neglected to train my

they weren't terrible—in fact, they were quite good—they weren't perfect, and at this point,

for a

the fact that

I was sure my

A pity I didn't.

Swoosh—!

slashed the sword

***

Thump—!

a thud on a small target approximately

target in the distance, Amanda

I really talented

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

had been attempting to hit the target for a

rather depressing

This was hard.

"Huh."

a

validity of his words. No matter how much she thought

'It's still too early.'

deep breath

light pull. As a direct result of

see it quite clearly. This wasn't

had always had good

anything when she couldn't even

Creak—

she waited. Waited for the perfect moment for

sooner than she thought. Feeling the air around her still, Amanda

Thump—!

the fact that not even a second

slowed down and all she could

delicate way possible, before finally coming to rest against the

"…"

had pierced through the target, Amanda felt her mind

as she tried to make sense of what had just occurred in her head. When she finally succeeded, her face became flushed with excitement, and she leaped

"Yeasss!"

felt when she realized she had finally hit the target; it