Chapter 16: Haerial Swordsmanship

One hour later, in a forest reduced to a mess, Hulim collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted, her mana completely depleted.

【Congratulations on defeating all enemies! Battle experience increased ~! 】

Hulim’s face was expressionless as she stretched out her right hand, ruthlessly shattering the glowing subtitles that appeared before her.

“Sigh~, it’s rare for someone to find this kind of training fun, you know.”

Semilis muttered in dissatisfaction at Hulim’s reaction.

At this moment, Hulim was far too tired to count this one’s twisted sense of humor.

Just now, after she had finally managed to use the terrain to defeat three Slimes, this guy immediately released four more Slimes.

After defeating those four, he unleashed five, then six…

Are you a demon? Where do you keep catching so many Slimes?

Speaking of which, Semilis had recently been traveling to some pretty faraway places.

I thought she was just off having fun, but turns out she’s been out hunting Slimes?!

“Well~, don’t be mad, okay? Look at how much faster you’re growing.

Compared to the beginning, your speed in dealing with Slimes has increased by a lot, hasn’t it?”

Although Hulim wanted to refute that, the facts seemed to say otherwise.

Compared to her cautiousness at the start, by the end she no longer needed barriers to block the corrosive liquid.

She mostly relied on enhanced speed to dodge.

A wave of green light poured over Hulim’s body, her lost stamina quickly returning.

As Semilis withdrew her hands, Hulim stood up again.

She stretched her body; the muscle soreness from intense exercise had already vanished.

Semilis’s magic really was convenient, though the spent mana couldn’t be recovered this way.

“All right, let’s call it a day for now.

Starting tomorrow, new monsters will be waiting for you~!”

“And also…”

“Chirp~! Chirp~!”

The morning sun had just risen, and the birds perched on the treetops were stretching their vocal cords for a new day’s song.

“Hey! Ha!”

A sudden shout startled the birds, scattering them instantly.

In the courtyard of the Hayeral family estate, Hulim was holding a wooden training sword, tirelessly practicing the Hayeral family’s traditional swordsmanship.

Though the yard still retained the coolness of the night, beads of sweat already formed on Hulim’s forehead.

“Hulim, you’re up really early.”

Hulim paused her sword practice and glanced at Amen, who had just come into the yard and was doing stretches.

“Good morning, Amen.”

After greeting him, Hulim resumed her sword practice.

Beside her, after finishing his stretches, Amen didn’t immediately start his usual sword training.

Instead, he watched Hulim’s movements.

“Oh~, Hulim, your form is already quite skilled.”

“Yeah, because I’ve been practicing hard, hey!”

Hulim answered as she continued swinging the wooden sword.

“Good!”

Amen’s interest was piqued.

He casually picked up a wooden sword lying nearby.

“Hulim, come practice with me for a bit.

Let’s see how far you’ve come.”

“Really?”

Hulim paused her sword swing and looked at Amen.

“Of course, just come at me!”

At the same time, Amen assumed a stance.

Sensing the serious atmosphere, Hulim tightened her grip on the wooden sword.

“Then I’m coming at you! Ha—!”

Whoosh!

With a swift slash that cut through the air, Hulim, who had been two or three meters away, instantly closed in on Amen.

The edge of her wooden sword aimed straight at Amen’s exposed neck.

Clang!

Amen held his sword with one hand and deflected Hulim’s full-strength strike at a tricky angle.

Using the momentum, he twisted Hulim’s wooden sword aside.

As a result, Hulim lost her balance and left an opening.

Amen seized the chance, withdrawing his sword and then thrusting forward with high speed.

Hulim sensed danger as her attack was blocked.

Losing balance, she hooked the tip of her right foot into the ground and fell backward in a wide arc, dodging Amen’s thrust.

Using the momentum, she flipped backward, successfully putting distance between them.

“Hulim, you really go all out.

I almost thought the sword was going to break.”

Though Amen complained verbally with a relaxed expression, his posture was flawless.

Hulim didn’t respond.

She studied Amen carefully, her gaze involuntarily shifting into Semilis’s training mode—or rather, her combat mode…

A sudden chill ran down Amen’s back.

What’s going on? Hulim’s gaze gives me a dangerous feeling, just like Brother Zieg when he returned from his last leave.

No, no, no, it must be an illusion.

No matter what, Hulim couldn’t possibly have the aura honed by so many brutal fights.

While Amen was lost in thought, Hulim sharply seized his distracted state and decisively launched an attack.

“Ah, no.”

Realizing Hulim had vanished from his direct line of sight, Amen felt alarmed.

At the same time, a dangerous slicing sound came from the right.

Turning around, a swordlight suddenly appeared in his vision.

Clang!

Amen quickly angled his sword to block the attack and stepped back rapidly, trying to create space for his own fighting style.

Failing to land a hit, Hulim didn’t hesitate.

Instead, she seized the moment when Amen was off balance to launch a series of rapid strikes.

Clang, clang, clang.

The constant sound of wooden swords striking echoed through the courtyard.

Because Hulim was relentless, Amen was forced to defend from a disadvantaged position…

“Hah, Hulim, I have to admit, you’ve mastered Huiguang.”

During the fierce close-quarters sword fight, Amen spoke.

Hulim remained unmoved, silently swinging her wooden sword faster and faster.

“Oh~! Impressive, impressive.

You can still speed up!

Looks like the second form, Shoujian, isn’t far off!”

As if unaware of Hulim’s silence, Amen continued.

“But your techniques are still…”

“Too raw!”

Whoosh whoosh.

The sound was like a gale.

Clang—!

With a crisp snap, Hulim felt the wooden sword break in her hands.

The clash of battle abruptly stopped.

The broken wooden sword flew high and eventually landed far away on the ground.

Amen’s body was surrounded by a whirlwind of sword shadows, but he made no further move.

The third form of the Hayeral swordsmanship — Yulan.

The outcome was clear.

In this match, Amen and Hulim were not using ordinary swordsmanship.

They were practicing the renowned Hayeral family sword technique, passed down from their ancestor Olubert.

It consisted of five forms from basic to advanced: Huiguang, Shoujian, Yulan, Xingshan, and Ruolei.

Thanks to this swordsmanship, even as the Hayeral family’s power waned and once faced utter ruin, no one in the empire dared challenge the Hayeral family’s noble title.

‘I lost…’

Hulim stared blankly at her empty hands.

“Uh… that, Hulim, don’t take it too hard.

I’ve practiced a few more years than you, so it’s normal I win.

Besides, you lasted so long and almost put me in danger.

You’re already pretty amazing.

Maybe you’re a natural talent in swordsmanship?”

Amen sheathed his wooden sword and awkwardly tried to comfort her.

“Really?”

Hulim looked up and asked.

“Of course, Dad guarantees it!”

At that moment, Rezelian’s voice came from the side.

“Dad, when did you get here?!”

“Father.”

Rezilian smiled as he walked over.

“I’ve been here since you two started sparring.”

Then he turned to Hulim.

“Hulim, as Amen said, you mastered our Hayeral family’s first form, Huiguang, in just one year.

You’re already close to reaching the threshold of the second form, Shoujian.

That’s pretty impressive~!”