Turning Chapter 1011

‘She really has crossed the wall.’

Yuder thought as he watched ghna staring down at her own hands, as if possessed by sothing. He had believed she was catching up faster than expected, but even he hadn’t thought she would make it this far.

‘I did consider stopping halfway through for a mont...’

But when he saw the exhilaration gleaming in ghna’s eyes as she faced him, he no longer wanted to.

Yuder had encountered many people who felt despair or fear when facing him. Yet it had been a long ti since he’d t soone who was so genuinely delighted to be pushed to their limits. Soone who truly welcod the obstacles he laid before them, took them on with their entire being, overca them, and ca at him again with terrifying persistence—each ti he saw her chase him like that, he felt sothing strange and refreshing.

It wasn't the cold tension of facing soone who could threaten his life if he let his guard down for even a mont. It was sothing else entirely.

Perhaps it was similar to the shock ghna herself must have felt in facing Yuder.

And so, the final result they had reached, far beyond his expectations, was truly a relief.

‘I never used to like outcos that strayed from expectations. But if it’s a deviation like this, I suppose I should welco it.’

Truthfully, it wasn’t quite accurate to say that ghna had now been officially recognized as a Swordmaster. It was true that the most important elent in being acknowledged as a Swordmaster was ‘the ability to release enough aura to completely engulf and overturn the sword body’—but if it only happened once, how could she be called a Master?

‘ghna, just now, released aura only once during the spar, and even that lasted only a mont.’

Even she seed unsure whether she could maintain that level of aura consistently. She would probably need ti to go through a process of proving her own strength.

Still, the aura she had just displayed—even though weaker compared to Kishiar or Nathan Zuckerman—was strong enough to rival the Masters he’d encountered in his past life, so there was little to worry about.

‘And even if the realization she gained just now isn’t enough, she has General Gino right by her side. With focused aura training under him, she’ll likely reach full stability within a few months—and once that happens, they’ll be able to formally announce it to the world.’

If ghna were to be officially declared a Swordmaster, that would bring the number of Masters in the Orr Empire up to five. In his past life, Yuder had heard that for hundreds of years, never had there been more than four Masters alive at the sa ti in the Empire. It was truly an extraordinary occurrence.

“Whew...”

He exhaled softly and looked down at the practice sword still in his hand. The mont he realized there was no need to keep gripping the shattered handle, his whole body suddenly felt as heavy as if it were soaked in water.

Unlike ghna, who had thrown everything she had into the fight in a state of selfless trance, Yuder had to constantly adjust the strength of his Awakener power to avoid injuring her, relying solely on swordsmanship. While it was similar to how he normally fought, it was more ntally exhausting than actual combat. That was because ghna Curlieva, in terms of pure swordsmanship, was not soone easily overco.

To fend off a swordfighter on the cusp of becoming a Master using an inferior weapon and still overpower her... if not for the accumulated experience of Yudrain Aile, it would’ve been impossible.

‘Even if I hadn’t used Awakener power, the outco might’ve been different if we’d fought sowhere other than this open training ground—sowhere with places to hide, or if I could’ve used other weapons.’

Since returning to the past, he hadn’t used anything but a sword outside of training. But originally, he had used a wide variety of weapons. If it were against an inexperienced knight who knew only the sword, he was confident that just one extra concealed weapon would have given him the edge.

‘Still, my body feels heavier than expected. I suppose my strength hasn’t fully recovered since the rift incident in the deep sea.’

While Yuder calmly assessed his condition, Nathan Zuckerman approached him.

“There’s no need to keep holding onto that sword. Please hand it over—I’ll dispose of it.”

Rather than asking if he was okay, he imdiately asked for the broken practice sword. That was just like him. Yuder silently extended the fragnts of the training sword to him and opened his mouth.

“Thank you for stepping in at the right mont.”

“You say that as if you did nothing yourself, even though you left the opening for to enter.”

‘...So he noticed?’

Right before ghna’s final strike, Yuder had realized his already cracked and nearly broken practice sword would not be able to withstand the ominous force about to be unleashed. He could have partially shielded himself using water power, but he was certain the sword would shatter. So instead, he decided to draw the remaining power he had to protect the onlookers, while simultaneously deflecting a °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° portion of the incoming aura and retreating.

‘Dodging was easier than a direct clash.’

What made him change that plan in a split second was sensing Nathan Zuckerman’s movent as he unsheathed his sword and tried to dive in. In that instant, Yuder had created a narrow gap in his power field to make it easier for Nathan to enter. It had all happened in less than the blink of an eye.

“At best, it was a narrow path that most people wouldn’t have even noticed. The fact that you found it and broke through is thanks to your skill, Sir Zuckerman.”

Upon hearing Yuder’s response, Nathan Zuckerman replied with a blank expression.

“You flatter .”

“Why would I flatter you, Sir Zuckerman?”

Yuder responded as if he’d just heard sothing absurd.

“You were the one who destroyed the sword body in a single strike, preventing the aura from continuing to burst forth. That was your judgnt. Without such skill, it wouldn’t have been possible. I didn’t do anything but block stray aura and dodge.”

For once, Nathan Zuckerman remained silent for a mont longer than usual.

“...You saw all of that clearly. In that short instant.”

“I see things like that all the ti.”

At that mont, soone draped a coat gently over Yuder’s shoulders. When he turned his head, Kishiar was standing there with a smiling face.

“Here. Now that it’s over, you should put sothing on so you don’t get cold. Are you thirsty?”

“I’m fine.”

“You look tired.”

“Mm... I’ll be fine soon.”

“Then how about going to the infirmary?”

Yuder could feel Kishiar’s red eyes scanning his arms, cheeks, and various other parts of his body. These were all the places where he had been scratched and torn during the spar, showing thin traces of blood. The sensation of being touched just by his gaze—without even a fingertip laid—was remarkable. Yuder looked down at where the gaze had landed and shook his head.

“This will heal after a good sleep. But Deputy Curlieva should probably go.”

“My, you’re so stoic it’s hard to worry about you.”

Kishiar softened his brows and chuckled. Yuder blinked, wondering if his answer had made Kishiar worry, but the man shook his head as if reading his thoughts.

“If it doesn’t hurt, that’s fine. But if anything bothers you later, even a little, promise you’ll either co to or go to the infirmary. Can you do that?”

“......Yes.”

“Good.”

The man, smiling like a flower, pulled sothing from his coat and held it out to Yuder.

‘...A handkerchief?’

Unsure whether it was ant for wiping himself or for so other purpose, Yuder took it and stared at it in confusion. Kishiar smiled with his eyes and whispered sweetly and softly.

“Giving a handkerchief to the victor of the best duel—that’s the highest praise a supporter can offer. Will you accept it?”

‘...Praise?’

Yuder’s brows twitched slightly. He vaguely knew that there was once a tradition where admirers gifted handkerchiefs to knights who won duels or spars. But as far as he rembered...

‘It was sothing noble ladies did.’

He blinked a few tis but didn’t say it aloud. When he quietly accepted the handkerchief Kishiar offered, the man’s faint smile deepened into one of imnse satisfaction. Thinking that he wouldn’t have seen that smile if he’d refused, Yuder felt glad he hadn’t said anything.

He held the handkerchief carefully and tucked it into his pocket. The scent that clung to it—Kishiar’s unique fragrance—was too distracting to simply wipe his face with it.

“Yuder.”

General Gino, supporting his disciple, approached with a warm smile.

“Thank you for showing such an incredible duel. I never imagined I’d get to see a fight like that.”

“You flatter .”

“Now, now. No need to be overly modest. It was a valuable ti—I got to confirm that all the Cavalry mbers who copied your style were praising you truthfully. And more than that... you gave my disciple an enormous realization, didn’t you?”