Lucy and I stood up without a word and walked towards the training ground.

    As we approached, Lucas pointed to one side and said,

    “Choose any weapon you like.”

    He was pointing to a rack filled with various weapons and equipment.

    “I’ll take a spear.”

    Lucy reached out without hesitation and picked up a spear.

    She swung it a few times experimentally, then nodded in satisfaction.

    “Then, I’ll take this sword.”

    I also picked up a sword from the rack without dy.

    It was a single-edged katana.

    It seemed to be a practice sword, as the de wasn’t sharpened.

    Lucas’s eyes lit up slightly when he saw the weapon I had chosen.

    “Oh, an Eastern sword? You’ve chosen an interesting weapon.”

    This is what I’m used to.

    Your double-edged swords are the ones that are unfamiliar to me…

    As I was gripping and releasing the sword, checking its feel,

    Lucas approached me quietly and spoke.

    “Are you alright, Mr. Lishite?”

    “What?”

    “About sparring with the princess. You seemed reluctant.”

    “Ah, yes… Well…”

    “If you’re ufortable, just say so. I can switch partners for you.”

    Lucas patted my shoulder lightly and returned to his position.

    I watched him for a moment, then came to my senses and took a step forward.

    I was momentarily tempted by his offer, but I shook it off.

    Since it was just a spar, not a duel, there was no need to go that far.

    …And I didn’t really want to ask him for help.

    I tightened my grip on the sword and stepped onto the training ground.

    Lucy was already standing in the center of therge circr arena, ready to begin.

    I stood before her with an impassive expression.

    Lucas lightly shook the bell in his hand and said,

    “Begin when the bell rings. Both of you, get ready.”

    I took a deep breath and widened my eyes, focusing.

    Lucy also assumed a ready stance, aiming the tip of her spear at me.

    “…”

    “…”

    A brief silence hung in the air as we faced each other.

    And the silence was broken by

    -Ding!

    The clear ringing of the bell.

    .

    .

    .

    People say

    that modern kendocks practicality.

    Kendo is a sport that focuses on speed and precise strikes.

    It has its limitations when ites to weapon grappling against other weapons in actualbat.

    But does that mean medieval swordsmanship is overwhelmingly superior to modern kendo?

    That’s not true either.

    Compared to the clean movements of kendo, medieval swordsmanship has many unnecessary techniques,

    and its rigid formsck fluidity and naturalness.

    In short, they’re both about the same.

    One is suitable forbat but outdated,

    while the other is modern but not as suitable forbat.

    Of course,

    if a normally trained kendo practitioner were to face a medieval knight, thetter would have a higher chance of winning.

    Modern kendo is rtively unfamiliar with realbat.

    But that’s only true for ‘normally’ trained practitioners.

    -Whoosh!

    The spear de came hurtling towards me at a terrifying speed, tearing through the air.

    Just before it struck my face,

    I tilted my head slightly, deflecting it.

    Then, I lightly moved my sword, parrying the immediate follow-up attack.

    -ng!!!

    A thin sound, too delicate for the sh of spear and sword.

    It was the sound that could only be produced when my sword struck the tip of Lucy’s spear with perfect precision.

    I felt the weight and vibration through my hand and smirked slightly.

    ‘It’s been a while.’

    When I was Kim Naru,

    I spent every day training, and around the age of seventeen, I hit a wall.

    My technique had already reached its peak, with no room for further improvement.

    My physical strength and flexibility were also far beyond that of ordinary people.

    In short, I had reached my limit.

    No matter how much I trained, my skills didn’t improve any further. Seeing this, my father introduced a new training method.

    -From today onwards, you will spar with these people.

    -Not one at a time, but all of them. Simultaneously.

    It was sparring.

    Not just sparring with regr kendo practitioners,

    but against various types of cold weapons: spears, double-edged swords, one-handed swords, rapiers, and more.

    My father gathered masters of all kinds of weapons and lined them up before me.

    Since my technique had reached its peak, he decided to instill the very instincts and reflexes ofbat into my body.

    At first, it was two or three opponents at a time, but eventually, it became six or seven.

    “…”

    …Thinking back, my father was aplete madman.

    It wasn’t training; it was torture, a form of relentless pressure.

    At first, I couldn’t adapt to the raw, unrestrained fighting, and I just got beaten up throughout the sparring sessions.

    The beatings continued.

    A year passed.

    Two years passed.

    By the third year,

    I hadpletely adapted to kendo as a form ofbat.

    I could even hold my own against six opponents in the weekly one-on-six sparring sessions.

    By the time I was 22 and participating in the World Championships, I had a win rate of over 90%.

    One of the masters who had been beaten unconscious by me even called me a ‘monster’ in fear.

    How ridiculous.

    It was you guys who turned me into a monster.

    That’s how I, instead of bing a normal kendo practitioner,

    became a monster and once again rose to the top.

    -ng!!!

    I parried another sharp thrust.

    Disbelief finally crept into Lucy’s blue eyes as she gritted her teeth and swung her spear.

    The surrounding students also began to murmur amongst themselves.

    -He blocked it again…!!

    -Is that really Young Master Lishite…? I thought he had no talent for physicalbat…

    -How can he so easily deflect the attacks of the princess, who’s among the top five in Raphael ss…

    I tilted my head, deflecting the spear de aimed at my head with the back of my sword.

    Top five…?

    Sure, she had strength and some sharp techniques, but that was about it.

    Her gaze control was terrible, and her footwork was sloppy.

    Each individual move was decent, but she couldn’t connect them smoothly, making her attacks feel disjointed.

    “…”

    Well, I guess that’s to be expected from someone ranked fifth in her ss.

    I had gone from watching the World Championships to high school level, so I hadn’t realized the difference.

    ‘…The opponent I faced in the World Championship preliminaries was much better than this.’

    In short,

    she was a pushover.

    -Screech…! ng!!!

    I lightly scraped my sword down the spear shaft and attacked her hand.

    As expected, she let go of the spear with one hand,

    but sorry, I had anticipated that as well.

    “Gasp…!!”

    The moment the number of hands holding the spear went from two to one,

    I swung my right leg and powerfully kicked the spear shaft.

    The impact sent Lucy’s hand holding the spear flying sideways, exposing her entire abdomen.

    “Ugh…!!”

    Lucy tried to assume a defensive stance with a look of dismay,

    but I had no intention of letting this opportunity slip.

    Using the momentum and rotational force of my body, I spun around in an instant

    and delivered a clean roundhouse kick to her abdomen.

    “Ugh…!!”

    Lucy let out a groan and stumbled backward.

    Uh…

    Did I kick her too hard…?

    It was hard to control my strength with this body, which hadpletely different strength, physique, and speedpared to my previous life.

    Since my Strength, Agility, and Stamina stats were so ridiculously low, I thought I could just kick with all my might.

    But it seemed that my technique had amplified the destructive power.

    “Uh, um… Your Highness? A-Are you alright…?”

    “......!!”

    My question was a mix of embarrassment and concern.

    I had asked out of genuine remorse, but Lucy seemed to have taken it differently.

    “Ugh, uh… Mocking me… You’re still as frivolous as ever.”

    No, no.

    That’s not it.

    I’m really sorry…?

    Lucy’s deep blue eyes were burning with anger.

    I tried to exin,

    but she ignored me, grabbing her spear again and shouting,

    “I’ll make you kneel today… no matter what…!!”

    Seriously.

    This is driving me crazy.

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