"I admit I underestimated you. Your talent for swordsmanship has surprised me, too."
Kraun was in high spirits. "Father, let's go again! I feel even stronger now."
During their sparring, his skill proficiency had shot up. He realized that real combat was the best way to grind his swordsmanship skill.
He was thrilled to have found an even more efficient way to grind.
"I admit you've improved quickly, but that doesn't mean your swordsmanship is already strong. It's time to show you my real skill."
Nick bent down to pick up his weapon and beckoned Kraun over with a finger.
The young man had a solid grasp of swordsmanship, so Nick decided to show off his true skill and knock the other man down a peg.
Otherwise, this Acolyte would be hard to keep in line once he advanced to Transcendence!
Their sparring began again. As soon as they crossed swords, Nick felt something was off.
It was as if the person facing him had changed. The moves no longer felt stiff and rigid, despite being technically correct. Instead, they had a fluid rhythm to them.
There were fewer and fewer obvious tells before his opponent attacked. After their blades met, his opponent changed moves faster and faster, his movements as fluid as flowing water and utterly seamless.
It was getting harder and harder to knock the other man's weapon away.
Kraun was in excellent form.
As they traded attacks, one profound insight after another welled up within him.
So it can be done like this, too. He had exclaimed this more than once, and his swordsmanship was improving by leaps and bounds.
Nick's experience was quite different. At first, he'd sparred with Kraun with ease. Later, he'd felt a little less at ease.
Now, he felt he could only just barely keep his opponent in check.
Sweat streamed down Nick's forehead. He was keeping his physical abilities at roughly the same level as his opponent's, and he felt it wouldn't be long before he was no match for Kraun.
Unless he stopped holding back and simply crushed Kraun with the physical abilities of a Transcendentalist Father. But that wouldn't be swordsmanship practice—it would be picking on a child.
He really is a freak. It's as if he was born for the sword!
As time passed, half an hour went by.
Kraun feinted an upward slash. When Father instinctively moved to block, Kraun stepped forward and changed the slash into a strike. His blow sent Nick's weapon flying.
The setting sun slanted across the Training Ground, bathing it in orange-red light that dappled the two men.
The priest stared blankly at his empty hand. He felt some regret, but far more joy and pride.
His swordsmanship was only average among the Exorcist Priests, but he had also undergone a long period of rigorous training.
What did it mean that someone who had only been using a one-handed sword for five or six days had defeated him?
It meant the church in Zack Town was about to produce a genius Crusader Order warrior!
[Basic Swordsmanship: 592/2000; Tier 2]
In less than three hours, his proficiency had increased by more than a quarter!
Only Kraun could see the golden numbers flashing before his eyes. Excited color rose in his cheeks.
At this rate, reaching Tier 3 swordsmanship was just around the corner.
"Training is over for today. Your Basic Swordsmanship is already very solid. Tomorrow, I'll teach you Cross Sword, the sword technique for slaying evil. It's a prerequisite for the church's Transcendental sword technique, Flame Cross. Make sure you pay attention."
"Ah." Kraun had been focused solely on the blade in his hand and had completely lost track of time.
He looked up in surprise and saw the Red Sun sinking beneath the horizon, with rosy clouds filling the sky.
The bright moon peeked over the treetops, its light falling across Kraun's face.
He formed the Moonlight Seal with both hands, bathing in its clear radiance.
The moon turned across the sky, and You Hour soon passed.
He gently breathed out. His breath looked like a streak of white smoke before it vanished into the air.
The Golden Light Incantation had more and more wondrous effects. During Meditation at You Hour, his breath came out like White Frost. But when he practiced Visualization beneath the morning sun, his whole body felt like a blazing furnace, radiating light and heat all around him.
He stood up and sat down in a chair to rest.
He'd been busy with Acolyte training these past few days and hadn't found time to draw talismans. He hadn't drawn a single Heart-Clearing Talisman or Golden Light Talisman.
He had, however, discovered quite a few things about the Time Hourglass.
The range of Time Stop was limited. Its effective area extended twenty centimeters outward from his body.
Beyond that distance, its effect dropped off sharply. A little farther away, it had no effect at all.
The best use for this ability was against small but powerful attacks, such as bullets.
Against large targets charging at him, it consumed a great deal of Time Sand.
The last time he used Time Stop against the Werewolf, all the Time Sand had been used up.
He had a vague theory: the amount of Time Sand consumed was calculated based on the kinetic energy of the target he wanted to stop.
He would need to test this theory further.
Now, the Time Sand in the Time Hourglass had filled a third of the conical vessel.
According to what he'd learned from Geralt, as the Evil Spirit that a Spirit Controller coexisted with grew stronger, evil whispers of temptation would constantly sound in the Spirit Controller's mind.
He had never heard any whispers of temptation. He hadn't even dreamed of them.
There was only one explanation: the Golden Light Incantation could eliminate this harmful influence.
In fact, his guess was already close to the truth.
The Golden Light Incantation had two functions. One was to calm the mind.
When the mind was calm, wisdom flourished. He felt he remained in a relatively efficient peak state and rarely experienced fluctuations or drops in performance.
The second function was to cleanse Evil Entities. The Evil Spirit's wicked thoughts counted as a kind of inner demon, making them especially vulnerable to the Golden Light Incantation.
Kraun kept up his Golden Light Incantation practice every day. Before the evil thoughts accumulated in the Time Hourglass could amount to much, they were burned away.
As a result, the Evil Spirit's faint spark of consciousness remained suppressed, never getting the chance to grow stronger.
Once Kraun felt he'd rested enough, he picked up the sword leaning against the wall and walked toward the door leading to the backyard.
Under the night sky and moonlight, a black monster raced down the street, darting nimbly through the shadows.
When it reached a courtyard, the monster leaped over the wall and landed steadily inside.
It kept sniffing around, then crouched by the stove and rummaged through it. There was nothing else there, and the monster found nothing.
A low growl rumbled in its throat, but the sound cut off as soon as it began.
It was a Werewolf. Its main reason for coming to this house was to swallow the man who had injured its forehead and soothe its furious heart.
The Werewolf covered its mouth to stifle its growl and crept cautiously toward the door.
It was very cunning and wanted to stay hidden in the dark so it could strike a fatal blow.
When it reached the door, the Werewolf tilted its head and pressed it against the door, listening for any movement inside.
Someone inside was heading toward the door. The Werewolf was overjoyed. It kept up its pose of listening stealthily and raised the claws of its right hand high.
Anyone who came out would be greeted by a huge claw.
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