— Nina Farion —
"This city, wrapped in a whirlwind of chaos, is currently one of the largest and most prominent of the Begaritt Continent," Vince said in his usual calm voice, his finger tracing the words as he said them so I could follow along.
But that was ultimately useless.
Because right now, and for the past few months, whenever we read together like this, I found myself staring at him instead of the page.
"Its economy is heavily dependent on the work of Adventurers that explore the surrounding labyrinths, and the facilities that accommodate them. You will often see the streets lined with bars, markets, blacksmiths, and brothels…" he continued, bringing his hand to his chin. "So practically everything is based on exploring labyrinths, and the goods that come from them… quite interesting, no?"
Yeah, it was interesting.
The Labyrinth City of Rapan… while I wasn't the biggest fan of reading, learning about places like this was one of the few times I thought it was worth it.
The thought of a city where the sole purpose was adventure, where strength was valued just as much as wit… that was a place I wanted to go.
In fact…
"Vince, this city… I would like to go there," I said.
"Really? Well, the Begaritt Continent is quite far, and the journey is said to be dangerous… but I believe you could do it once you get a bit older," he said, turning his smile towards me. "In fact, I wish to see more of the world as well… so maybe we can go together?"
I hated how he did that.
No… actually, I loved it.
Suddenly talking about the future.
Talking about a future where I'm still next to him… it was comforting, knowing that I was in his thoughts.
If it was me from before, I would have ignored such feelings, thinking that they only got in the way of attaining the heights of swordsmanship, to becoming a daughter worthy of the Sword God.
But now… my pursuit of strength seemed secondary.
No, that wasn't quite right.
Getting stronger was still the most important thing, but now, it wasn't in pursuit of being accepted as a proper first child of Gal Farion.
No… now, it was to make sure I could stand next to him, and be strong enough to protect him if he needed a partner.
Vincent… my thoughts on him were simple.
I loved him.
A few months ago, I had still been confused about what these feelings were… the heat in my chest when I saw or thought of him, or how he always appeared in my dreams…
But now… now I knew what it was.
It was love.
Not in the lustful way like how my father described my late mother, nor in the familial way that appeared in the stories we read.
No… this was just romantic. I wanted to spend my life with him.
I loved how he likes me as a girl, even if I didn't have the sword, but still honoured my strength.
That balance of unconditional care and respect… it made him perfect.
So yes… I love him.
"Nina?" Vince asked, tilting his head in confusion.
Oh right, his question.
"That… would be nice," I said, turning to look out the window as I brought my hand up to my ear.
That earring… that precious gift… I think it was that day when I realized it.
I knew I cared for him before that, such as the fear I felt when he nearly got killed when sparring that Sword Saint, but it was on my tenth birthday that I understood that my feelings went further than simple care.
I remember how he comforted me with my insecurity.
He didn't laugh at me or brush my worries aside by saying I was plenty strong for my age… no, he told me straight.
He was stronger, but that was okay.
Because he would still care about me and still stand next to me, even if I was the weakest person in the world.
And then there was the earring, how nice it looked, how it likely had cost him most of his savings… but he had bought it anyway, simply because it was for me.
And then that hug… I had never hugged someone like that before, but it felt… amazing.
The comfort, the warmth, the pleasant tingle from my stomach as I pressed against him… it was all amazing.
I wanted more.
I wanted to feel that all the time.
But no… I had to control myself.
I knew that grown-ups showed their love in different ways, and I planned to learn exactly how in the near future so that I knew what to do with Vince, but for now, I needed to focus solely on getting stronger.
But anyway, yes… I loved him, and I didn't want him to leave.
I wanted to grow older with him, do adult things with him, and have children with him… I wanted to be with him forever.
"Vince," I said.
"Yes?" he asked.
"I want to stick with you for a long time, so…" I said, looking at him. "Promise me you will."
His eyes widened in surprise as his cheeks flushed a bit.
Cute.
"Uh… okay? Yeah, sure… I promise," he said.
Good. That was everything I needed.
"Then keep reading to me," I said, leaning my head on his shoulder. "Tell me more about cool places we can go to when we get older."
"I… alright, Nina," he replied as I closed my eyes.
Yeah… this was something I wanted forever.
I had never met my mother, as she died shortly after I was born, and my father was the Sword God, focused solely on getting stronger and making me stronger.
Since I was not allowed in the main dojo with my father since birth, I had been taken care of by the orphanage, which was quite large as many parents met their end during training or battles against monsters, and others thought of children as a hindrance to getting stronger.
There were, of course, those that wanted to have a family, but most would simply move to another land, selling their skills to make enough money for a comfortable life.
So the concept of family… it was foreign to me.
But being with him… I think this is what it was meant to feel like.
No… I didn't want to let this go. Ever.
— Vincent —
Time had passed, meaning it was nearly a month until I reached ten years old, and Nina and I were sparring yet again under the careful watch of Gal Farion.
That wasn't necessarily unusual, and he still trained us… but he had been quite focused on my progress with the Water God Style lately.
I would expect him to focus on training me in the Sword God Style instead, but no… maybe he wanted me to be a bit more balanced?
Either way, my progress in it had advanced significantly.
According to Gal, this was to be somewhat expected, as I had already built my battle aura control during my training to become a Sword Saint, so now it was just about using that control for Water God Style techniques.
It was much more complex than the Sword God Style, which simply focused on speed, so it took some training… but with practice, I eventually got the hang of it.
So now it was just about putting it into practice.
I watched as Nina closed in.
Her left foot shifted.
She was going to attack with a horizontal slash.
I raised my sword as her body moved, and with her arms swinging out… I didn't sense any battle aura.
A feint.
I took a step back as I prepared for her incoming attack, not goading myself into an improper position with her movement.
Indeed, this had been one of the two foundational skills for increasing my Water God Style ability.
The ability to read movements and sense battle aura and mana.
And now… well, I could do it quite well.
Reading movements was still difficult, especially when it was against someone I had never faced before, but as for the battle aura and mana sensing?
Well, Gal said I was probably good enough to be a Water Saint, if we were going by that skill alone.
But unfortunately, being able to read people's movements meant nothing if you couldn't stop them.
I watched as Nina's battle aura began to converge at her feet, her body tensing in preparation for a leap.
A moment later… she moved. Advancing in a flash as the snow exploded from where she had just been standing.
A Longsword of Silence, and one that had been honed over the months since she had become an Advanced ranked swordsman, becoming a terrifyingly strong attack.
If it had been at the start of the year, without using the Sword God Style, I probably would have lost at this point, or barely been able to defend myself with a block.
But now… now I was much better at the Water God Style.
And while the style's main tenet was defence, it wasn't simply about blocking.
It was about countering… using the opponent's force against them, like water redirecting a river's current.
And this was all found in the other foundational skill, the main technique of the style… Flow.
My blade twisted to the side as I took a light step forward, meeting Nina as she closed in, her sword heading towards my neck.
We usually used wooden swords for our spars, as we didn't want to restrict ourselves in going all out in fear of accidentally killing each other, but with Gal being here to watch over us, we could use our real swords without worry.
I moved forward, sliding my blade against hers until I reached the hilt, where I easily flicked it to the side, diverting her momentum off target.
A perfect parry.
But that was just one half of Flow.
Redirecting the opponent's current… and then having it converge against them.
My battle aura hummed along my blade, the power resonating across mine, like a ripple spreading across calm water, as I rotated my wrist, my sword whipping through the air in a smooth motion.
And with the crack from the sound barrier breaking… I stopped, my sword resting right next to Nina's neck as we both froze.
"I… win," I said, lowering my sword as Nina did the same, a small frown of frustration on her face.
But I didn't focus on that.
That Flow… it was different.
It felt… it felt perfect.
Almost like when I performed the Longsword of Silence for the first time…
"Well, would you look at that… you did it," Gal said, walking over to us. "Though I shouldn't be surprised at this point. Since you gained control of your battle aura, it was only a matter of time until you got the proper technique down."
He stopped in front of us.
"Congrats, kid. You're now an Advanced rank swordsman in the Water God Style," he said, smirking. "Looks like Nina getting stronger gave you a good training partner."
"Yeah… she's perfect," I said, smiling back.
"Vince!" Nina shouted, her cheeks reddened.
Ah, right… that could be taken differently than just sparring partners.
But why was she embarrassed?
She was able to hug me whenever she wanted without a care in the world, but now she was flustered?
Oh… now that I think of it, it might be because we're in front of her father.
"I see… seems like you two have grown in more than just your swordsmanship," Gal said, nodding as he turned away, heading back to the town. "Just make sure to not get pregnant yet. Don't want to mess up your body before you're fully grown."
"F-Father!" Nina shouted back.
Well… I don't think that was something to say in front of kids.
But if he was just aiming to tease us… well, it had worked.
—
With the new year K415, I was now 10 years old.
As was tradition in the Sword Sanctum, this was the age that kids began taking their path to swordsmanship more seriously, where they were expected to spend the rest of their lives dedicating themselves to the art.
Of course, I didn't need to do that, since I was already a Sword Saint, Advanced rank in the Water God Style, and Intermediate rank in the North God Style… but that was beside the point.
With this new focus on swordsmanship, it was also tradition for parents to gift their child a new sword for their tenth birthday, and unlike other swords, this one was meant to remain by their side for the rest of their lives.
And my parents were no different.
So, after enjoying a lavish breakfast to celebrate the special day, my father then gave me my new sword.
It was nice… extremely nice.
A simple longsword, made with the finest steel one could find, and crafted by the steady hands of a master blacksmith.
It was perfect… kind of.
The sword itself was indeed excellent, but just like with Nina's, the balance was slightly off for my current self, as it was made for an adult and not a ten-year-old child.
But that was fine.
That just meant I would grow into it as I got taller, and even if it was bigger than my previous one, the weight wasn't a problem with my strength.
I mean, at this point, I could lift a wagon without even using my battle aura.
Anyway, that was all I had expected to receive for my birthday, though I would be lying if I wasn't hoping for Nina to reciprocate and give me a gift as well.
But when I was called to stand before Gal Farion, my teacher… I ended up receiving another one.
"You're the strongest ten-year-old I've ever seen, and probably the strongest in history… so I got you a gift," he said, motioning to the steed standing next to him. "Here. He's fast, strong, healthy, and listens perfectly to his rider. A great companion. And now… he's yours."
I widened my eyes as I took in the horse in all its glory.
He was beautiful.
With a white coat and an ivory mane and tail kept neatly in place, the stallion stood tall and powerful, his black eyes locking firmly onto mine.
He looked almost… regal. Like a king's horse. But according to Gal… he was mine.
"What's his name?" I asked, going up to pat its head, his snout pushing into my palm in response.
"Doesn't have one. He's just a year old, and he hasn't had a true owner before. Just the stable master," Gal said. "This breed is meant to live for a long while, so he'll be your partner for quite some time. Make sure you give him a good name."
A good name…
Memories of a certain game flashed into my head, with a couple notable white-haired girls with particular personalities.
For the sake of my expenses, let's hope he didn't end up eating as much as a certain gluttonous one.
But I didn't want to copy another name from my past life.
No… this guy deserved a strong, powerful name befitting his stature.
Fast as the wind… a wind spirit… Zephyr.
Or maybe something noble, demanding respect… something like Astraeus.
Or even something astrological, his white coat shining brightly like the distant stars at night… almost like a star… Luminor.
Those three were all good names I would be happy with.
But I couldn't help but think of something else… the Greek god of the sun… the one who drove a golden chariot through the sky every day, banishing the night…
"Helios," I said, brushing my hand through his mane. "His name will be Helios."
"Helios… that's an interesting one," Gal said, nodding to himself. "I like it."
"Yeah! That sounds so cool!" Nina added, her eyes shining in amazement.
I smiled back at her as I continued stroking my new steed, his head lightly nodding, as if he had understood that I had just named him.
Thankfully, he seemed to like it.
But still… I was confused about this all.
I really did love horseriding, and I already felt bonded to Helios despite us having met just a minute, but… why would he give me this?
Gal wasn't one to give gifts.
He didn't even give anything to his daughter, other than swords and training.
So if he gave this to me… there must be a reason.
"Thank you… I will definitely take care of him, but… why did you give me this?" I asked, turning back to Gal.
He smirked.
"I knew you'd catch on, smart brat," he said, rubbing his beard. "As for why… well, let's say I got you a good teacher to advance your Water God Style. And it'll involve a little trip down south."
Wait… a Water God Style teacher… down south… don't tell me-
"You said you wanted to see the world, right? Well, you'll be able to sooner than you thought," he said, his tone becoming firm. "Vincent, I order you to go to the Water God School in Ars, the capital of the Asura Kingdom. There, you'll learn under the current Water God, Reida Reia."
…What?
"WHAT!?" Nina shouted, her eyes widening. "H-He's… Vince is going all the way to Ars?"
Having learned more about the world with me, she knew that was a three-month journey at least. Not something that was done on a whim or for a simple lesson.
"Yep. And he'll be staying there until he becomes a Water Saint… actually, I would rather him not come back here until he's an adult," Gal said, looking down at his daughter. "Why… is there a problem?"
This would be when Nina tilted her head down, accepting her father's words and swallowing any frustrations.
After all, she respected him more than anything else-
"Yes, there is!" she said, shocking me, and from how Gal's eyebrow quirked up, him as well. "Vince can't… he can't just leave here! Leave me! I… if he's going, I'm going too!"
Gal looked at her in silence for a few moments before a smirk bloomed across his face.
"Would you look at that. You grew up more than I had thought," he said, shaking his head. "Either way, it's a no. You need to keep training in the Sword God Style under me."
"B-But… I…" Nina said, her words faltering as she looked between me and her father.
Sorry, Nina. I wanted to stay with you as well, but your father was right in that you needed to remain here to get stronger.
Besides, while I loved spending time with her, I was a bit worried about her becoming too dependent on me.
Especially since she seemed to have started to gain romantic feelings for me… if I remained beside her for her entire childhood, watching her grow from a child into a woman… it would make me feel quite uncomfortable. Too uncomfortable to see her as a serious romantic interest.
If I ended up being with her, I didn't want to think of myself as a groomer.
"But once you're a Sword Saint… you can leave and go back to him," Gal said, causing Nina's eyes to harden. "And with me focusing solely on your training, you'll get there pretty fast… but it will be hard. I'll be demanding as hell. So… are you up for it?"
Her head snapped towards him.
"Obviously!" she shouted.
"Good," Gal returned with a smirk as he turned towards me. "Now, as for you, Vince… I said I wanted you to come back as an adult, right?"
"Yeah…" I replied, not liking where this was going.
"Yeah. Because honestly, you don't need any more guidance from me. You have all the tools to reach my level, you just need time, practice, and experience. Once you turn 15, I expect you to come back here so I can check on your progress personally," he said, slowly drawing his sword. "But before that… we'll have to see where you stand right now. Take me on seriously, Vincent. Treat this as a real battle."
Ah… so it was going to be like that.
Taking a deep breath, I walked away from Helios as I drew my sword, my battle aura flaring across my body as I narrowed my eyes at Gal.
I could sense every movement of his body. The rise of his chest from breathing, his neck bulging slightly with his pulse… and his battle aura.
Ever since I started properly sensing battle aura, I had discovered just how insane my master was.
It wasn't simply a veil covering his body and sword, like most swordsmen's.
No… it was as if he was made of it, the energy pulsing with every movement, even flowing out of his mouth with his breath.
When he got serious, Gal Farion was terrifying just to look at, and the pressure from it was nearly overwhelming.
He could probably send me flying with just his battle aura alone if he tried.
After all, I had seen it. How he crushed a beast that attacked during one of our hunts, simply by looking its way.
So yeah… while he said that I should treat this as a real battle, if he wanted to, he could win at any moment.
But this was a demonstration, so I just needed to do my best.
His wrist flexed, and his battle aura surged, the world slowing down as he launched his attack.
After learning to cover my entire body with battle aura, and controlling the enhancement of it, I had learned that the enhancement wasn't just for endurance, speed, and strength.
Sure, for most of the body, it was something to do with those three attributes, but when it came to my nervous system, my brain and eyes… it enhanced those too.
This allowed my senses and thought process to become enhanced when I wanted them too, which was a large reason I was able to sense battle aura and mana, and also… it was why I was able to react to his Longsword of Light.
It was too fast to properly parry, and blocking would probably end up breaking my wrist, so instead, I leaped to the side to dodge.
A gust of wind whipped past, brushing my short hair back as I reformed my stance to face him.
Well, with his first attack leading to nothing, it was my time to strike.
Colour faded from the world as I launched forward, my sword weaving through the air as I twisted my hips, adding the rotational motion to my slash as I aimed towards his exposed back.
But, in a flash, his sword appeared in my vision, the blade tilted to the side as he easily deflected my blow.
And the way his battle aura fluttered along his sword… I needed to defend. Now.
Letting go with one hand, I exploded a blast of wind in my palm, propelling me to the side at the cost of tearing the skin off my hand.
But I felt it. The cold chill of a blade passing over my back, nearly inches from cutting me in half.
The Water God Style… to think the Sword God would be so good at it.
What a terrifying opponent.
I landed on the ground as I instantly turned to face him, healing my hand as I scrambled away to create some distance.
Of course, Gal wouldn't just watch that happen.
I noticed his footwork shift to an attacking position, and in my current state, I would be an easy target.
So… I disrupted his flow, throwing my sword as hard as I could, the blade twirling through the air towards his chest.
He easily deflected it, batting it away with his bare hand as he closed in.
A failure… well, not exactly.
While it didn't come close to harming him, it bought me a moment of time, and that was all I needed to get to my feet and extend my hand, forming a Stone Bullet spell in my left hand.
I was still unable to properly use magic as projectiles, and at this point, I had given up on doing so.
But magic… it didn't only need to be used as ranged attacks.
His sword closed in towards me, but with me pushing my left hand forward, the piece of stone crashed into the edge of his sword, exploding into shards in an instant.
But it deflected it just enough to give me the space to move in.
With his chest left wide open, I covered my right hand in battle aura, enhancing its strength as much as I could as I thrust forward with a punch, the wind howling at the force.
Unfortunately… Gal was faster.
With his knee blurring upwards, I felt the impact on my chest a moment later, the world quickly turning upwards as I felt all the air forcefully expel from my lungs.
I landed a moment later on my back, still processing the shock of the blow as I attempted to lift my head… only to see a sword resting over my neck.
"I… lost," I said, taking in a rasping breath.
I was pretty sure he had shattered a couple of ribs with that knee…
Moving a hand to my chest, I quickly began healing it back to normal.
"Yeah, you did. But hey, that was pretty good," he said, placing his sword back into its sheath. "Honestly, that sword throw and magic usage surprised me. When you're at Ars, ask Reida to find you someone to train your North God Style."
"O-Okay," I said, slowly getting up as Nina came over to help, her hand pulling me to my feet. "But still… that wasn't much of a fight. It was over in ten seconds."
I had thought that for a demonstration, he would have let me do a bit more.
If I hadn't reacted to his first strike, it would have been over in less than a second.
"Yeah, but it's not meant to be. I said I wanted a real battle, and while I restricted myself enough to let you show some skills, you weren't meant to be an actual challenge," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "But next time, I expect you to last a bit longer."
"Cough… yeah, got it," I said, coughing hard into my sleeve as I spat out some blood.
Yikes, my lungs must have been hurt too.
And I was only able to heal it by using my hand… that was a liability.
"Well… that's about it from me, kid. I already prepared everything you need for your trip, so just head back to your parents to gather your things and say your farewells," Gal said.
So I would be leaving today?
I mean, it was the morning, but still… this was quite sudden.
But then again, waiting around for another day or two wouldn't do any good.
"I see… thank you," I replied.
"Don't mention it. Just make sure you take advantage of the opportunity," he said, turning to walk away before he suddenly paused. "Oh, and kid?"
"Yes?" I asked, watching as he turned back to me with a wicked smile.
"Do me a favour and surprise that old lady when you meet her. And make sure you remember her face so you can tell me when we meet again," he said.
"Uh… got it," I said with a nod.
And with that, my preparations for departing the Sword Sanctum began.