The next morning, Ais arrived at the inn where Lin Yuan was staying on time.
Hestia, who followed Lin Yuan out the door, immediately became alert.
Why did you come to see him?
"We've arranged to spar," Ais replied.
"So Loki didn't send her to kidnap him?"
Ais thought for a moment, " Loki invited him."
I knew it!
Hestia, under the pretext of helping Lin Yuan understand the gods, came to the Twilight Manor together.
The Loki Familia's open-air training grounds are quite spacious. Finn has already instructed the other members to vacate the central area.
Loki sat on a wooden crate by the wall, and his smile widened when he saw Hestia.
"How did this little dwarf, who doesn't even have a child, end up in our house?"
" Lin Yuan hasn't joined your Familia yet, so of course I can come to see him!"
We never said you couldn't see it.
Hestia angrily moved to the other side and ignored her.
In the center of the training field, Ais drew her longsword. Lin Yuan also unsheathed his sword, Nameless, and casually placed the scabbard outside the field.
Finn first confirmed the rules. "The first match will only use swordsmanship, no True Magic. The sparring ends when either side loses their weapon or voluntarily concedes."
Lin Yuan and Ais nodded simultaneously.
"Start."
Ais went first.
The first sword strike aimed directly at Lin Yuan's chest. The sword tip remained steady, while his body retained the strength to change direction at any moment.
Lin Yuan used the Nameless Sword to deflect the blade and took half a step to the left.
Ais's second sword strike followed immediately.
The two longswords clashed repeatedly. Lin Yuan sometimes used the basic stances Erza had taught him to defend head-on, and sometimes he used the footwork he learned in Aincrad to Ais Ais's side.
He had disassembled and reassembled those sword techniques from different people, no longer following the fixed trajectory prescribed by the system.
Her swordsmanship was devoid of superfluous movements. Every strike forced Lin Yuan away from the most advantageous position to unleash his power, as if the person standing before her was not a human, but a monster that could attack at any moment.
Lin Yuan dodged a horizontal slash, while Nameless flicked Ais's wrist from below.
Ais released one hand in advance, and the longsword spun half a circle in her other hand, blocking Nameless. She then moved closer to Lin Yuan, her shoulder bumping into his chest.
Lin Yuan did not retreat. He rammed back with the same force, and the two stopped in place at the same time, but a thin crack appeared on the stone slab beneath their feet.
The two swords clashed once more in the next moment.
After dozens of exchanges, Finn raised his hand.
"Stop."
Both of them sheathed their swords at the same time.
Ais didn't lose her weapon, and Lin Yuan didn't have any sword marks on him. The first match was undecided.
"Now we can use True Magic," Ais said.
She raised her longsword and uttered a short incantation.
"Awaken, storm."
A pale blue aura then swirled around his body and longsword. The wind ruffled his long golden hair, and the pebbles beneath his feet were pushed toward the edge of the training ground.
Lin Yuan also covered Nameless with black and silver spatial magic.
The moment the magic appeared, Loki, sitting on the wooden box, frowned.
That inexplicable aversion resurfaced, and it was even more pronounced than when Lin Yuan first entered the Twilight Manor.
She couldn't discern the origin of the black and silver magic, yet instinctively she didn't want that power to come near her.
In the training field, Ais had already disappeared from the spot.
The wind propelled her across most of the field, and the longsword slashed down from Lin Yuan's left. Lin Yuan did not directly Ariel in speed, but instead folded the distance between them and appeared where Ais had originally stood.
Ais used the wind to turn around and swung her sword again from a distance of more than ten meters.
The azure energy transformed into a slashing attack.
Lin Yuan wielded Nameless, and the black and silver Boundary-Severing Blade extended outward from the sword's edge, slicing the oncoming wind from the center.
The separated air currents collided with both sides of the training field, leaving several cracks in the surrounding walls.
Ais had already caught up with Feng and arrived in front of Lin Yuan.
The longsword clashed with the Boundary-Severing Blade, causing the stone slab beneath their feet to sink simultaneously. Ais used the wind to further increase her power, while Lin Yuan continuously compressed the distance between the two swords.
The Nameless sword tip slowly approached Ais's shoulder.
The wind that had been swirling around Ais began to gather behind Lin Yuan.
Finn entered the training field before the two continued to increase their strength.
The spear fell from the side, accurately blocking the two swords.
That's all.
Lin Yuan first retracted the Boundary-Severing Blade. The wind around Ais gradually dissipated.
"The battle is still undecided," Ais said.
"If this continues, it won't just be a friendly sparring match anymore." Finn glanced at the cracked wall. "You can find a more suitable place later."
Although Ais was still somewhat reluctant, she sheathed her sword.
Lin Yuan also retrieved the sword sheath and hung Nameless back on his waist.
Loki jumped off the wooden crate. After the spatial magic disappeared, her disgust lessened, but her interest in Lin Yuan only grew stronger.
Without any Falna, her strength is comparable to that of a level 5 adventurer; she's a real gem.
" Lin Yuan, our invitation from yesterday is still valid."
I'm going to the library today.
"We're asking about joining Familia."
"I know."
Lin Yuan looked at Hestia had already walked up to him.
He had not yet investigated the connection between Falna and the lower realm deities, so naturally he would not change his decision based on a single sparring match.
I'll answer after I understand this world better.
Ais walked up to Lin Yuan: "The battle is still undecided."
"A friendly spar doesn't necessarily have to result in a winner," Lin Yuan said. "Today's match is over."
Ais remained silent for a moment, then finally released her grip on the sword hilt and did not request another round.