A Month of Training

Seidoukan Academy, Comprehensive Arena.

Besides the stages used for duels, there were actually many Training Rooms and training grounds here.

Not just anyone could use these Training Rooms or grounds without conditions. One had to meet certain requirements before applying for access, making them relatively precious facilities within the academy.

However, there were twelve Training Rooms in the Comprehensive Arena that no one could obtain permission to use, no matter how they applied.

That was because these twelve Training Rooms were exclusively for Page One's Twelve.

One of the many privileges enjoyed by Seidoukan Academy's Page One's Twelve was that they could not only have their own private rooms, but also personal Training Rooms.

These Training Rooms were assigned to students of different ranks among Page One's Twelve according to their specifications and size. The higher the rank, the better the private Training Room assigned to them.

In other words, the personal Training Room used by Seidoukan Academy's Ranked First was the best of them all. Not only was its ceiling exceptionally high, but it was spacious enough to fit an entire large gymnasium. Even if they got a little reckless, there was no need to worry about causing too much damage here.

At that moment, two people were engaged in a fierce battle inside Ranked First's private Training Room.

Clang!

With a sound like metal striking metal, the pure-white magic sword collided heavily with the coldly gleaming real blade, sending sparks exploding outward.

"Hah!"

Toudou Kirin, dressed in a red women's tracksuit, let out a sharp cry. Her slender wrist twisted, sending the famed blade Thousand Feather Cut through the air in streaks of light, slashing toward the front like lightning.

Clang—clang—clang—clang—clang—

The sounds of clashing steel rang out without pause, sparks bursting again and again as they flashed brilliantly throughout the Training Room.

Facing Toudou Kirin's sharp, vicious slashes, Azer, dressed in a blue men's tracksuit, remained calm. His sword-wielding hand seemed to move on its own as, without moving the rest of his body at all, he swung the Black Furnace Magic Sword and swiftly knocked aside every incoming strike.

The pure-white blade, condensed with astonishing heat, collided ceaselessly with Toudou Kirin's Thousand Feather Cut, yet it did not cut through it at all.

If outsiders had witnessed this scene, they would surely have been shocked.

The Black Furnace Magic Sword, said to be impossible to defend against and capable of burning through all things, had merely knocked aside Toudou Kirin's Thousand Feather Cut through countless exchanges of blades. It had not severed it, completely contradicting the magic sword's exaggerated rumors.

Yet neither Azer nor Toudou Kirin seemed bothered by such a scene. They continued their fierce battle.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!...

Toudou Kirin's slashes tore through the air again and again, growing sharper, fiercer, and faster, as though they would never end. The sword flashes became more numerous and denser.

The girl's figure drifted around Azer like a butterfly, Thousand Feather Cut carving cold arcs through the air as it continuously slashed at him from every angle, direction, and trajectory, creating a storm of blade light.

Under such circumstances, every time Azer swung the Black Furnace Magic Sword to knock away Toudou Kirin's blade, it was like compressing a spring, making her slashes even faster.

Toudou Kirin displayed astonishing mastery of the sword. Whenever Azer knocked her blade aside, she followed the force with her wrist and body, making Thousand Feather Cut not only maintain its speed, but accelerate with the momentum.

This was the secret art of the Toudou Style: unceasing consecutive attacks, endless slashes.

Compared to her performance in the Official Ranking Battle not long ago, Toudou Kirin had undoubtedly grown stronger.

But while Toudou Kirin had grown stronger, Azer had not stood still either.

"—Then, it's my turn."

Suddenly, as though delivering a final judgment, Azer moved.

Hum!

The pure-white magic sword abruptly shifted from defense to offense. Vibrating as it swept down violently, it struck directly against Toudou Kirin's incoming blade.

Clang!

With the loudest collision yet, Azer's brutal slash succeeded. It not only unleashed a wave of heat, but also sent Toudou Kirin flying with a single blow.

"Ngh...!"

Toudou Kirin felt her sword hand go numb, and her body was sent hurtling backward uncontrollably. She barely managed to steady herself, her feet scraping along the floor before she came to a stop.

But by then, Azer had become a blur as he charged at her at high speed.

Toudou Kirin hurriedly raised her blade, preparing to deal with Azer's next close-range attack.

However, halfway through his charge, Azer suddenly raised the Black Furnace Magic Sword in his hand and, with a hum, hurled it fiercely forward.

"What...!?"

Toudou Kirin was instantly startled.

Bang!

Having never expected Azer to use such a powerful Pure Star Radiant Armament as a thrown weapon, Toudou Kirin failed to react in time. The Black Furnace Magic Sword, used like a spear, struck her squarely in the body.

The tip of the magic sword violently collided with the Star Power flaring across the girl's body. Though it failed to pierce her body, whose defenses had been pushed to their limit by Star Power, it still sent her flying once more and slammed her hard into the Training Room wall.

Hum!

Before the girl could catch her breath, the Black Furnace Magic Sword hummed as it floated directly before her, its tip aimed at the center of her brow.

"..."

The girl's eyes widened, and she did not dare move.

After a while, as if resigned to her fate, Toudou Kirin helplessly lowered Thousand Feather Cut.

"Are you all right?"

Only then did Azer step before Toudou Kirin. He reached out, gripped the hilt of the Black Furnace Magic Sword, lowered its blade, and smiled at her.

"I-I'm fine."

Toudou Kirin checked herself and discovered that Azer had held back well. With Star Power protecting her as well, she had not suffered any injuries at all.

"I lost to Azer Senior again."

Toudou Kirin said this with only a trace of dejection.

"It can't be helped. You're too by-the-book. Toudou Style's United Cranes is powerful, but its strength lies in its endless chain of attacks. It places greater emphasis on offense and is clearly lacking in defense. Once someone counters it with an unexpected move, its openings become very obvious."

Azer put away the Black Furnace Magic Sword and returned it to its Activation Device form. Seeing the girl's slight dejection, he reached out and naturally patted her shoulder.

"Besides, you don't know enough about the Black Furnace Magic Sword. You didn't know she could act independently of her wielder like that, so you were defeated so quickly."

Azer's consolation lifted Toudou Kirin's spirits a little.

Of course, it was not because she felt comforted by Azer, but because she was somewhat amazed.

"I've been training with you for almost a month now, Senior, yet I'm still often surprised by the way you use the Black Furnace Magic Sword." Toudou Kirin spoke with heartfelt admiration. "It seems like you have completely mastered the Black Furnace Magic Sword's power. It's obviously a magic sword capable of cutting through all things, yet under your control, it can clash with Thousand Feather Cut like it just did."

"It isn't that difficult." Azer did not seem proud of it, speaking as though it were only natural. "The Black Furnace Magic Sword's supposedly undefendable trait of burning through all things is ultimately caused by the extraordinary heat condensed within its blade."

"As long as I lower the blade's heat and reduce its output, that trait will not manifest."

In order to train normally with Toudou Kirin, whenever Azer sparred with her, he deliberately lowered the heat of the Black Furnace Magic Sword's blade and reduced its power output, so Thousand Feather Cut would not be severed the instant it touched the Black Furnace Magic Sword.

Otherwise, the two of them would not have been able to fight on equal terms at all.

"Senior, you're getting stronger so quickly. It's already completely impossible for me to suppress you through swordsmanship like I did in last month's Official Ranking Battle." Toudou Kirin said, unsure whether she was feeling helpless or happy for Azer. "You say you aren't skilled with sword techniques, but even without relying on the Black Furnace Magic Sword's power, you could beat me with swordsmanship alone now, couldn't you?"

Azer had only one response to Toudou Kirin's claim.

"That still depends on the situation."