They stood in the center of the private training room, the air still and quiet. Sergeant Svane, with a grim seriousness, removed his outer tunic, leaving him in a simple, practical undershirt that did nothing to hide the corded muscle of his arms and shoulders. He took a deep, centering breath, and his entire demeanor shifted. The discreet aide vanished, replaced by the lethal focus of a Silver Aegis of the highest caliber.

“I will demonstrate the foundational unarmed form first,”

he stated, his voice a flat, professional monotone.

What followed was a masterclass in controlled violence. Svane moved through his drills, his body a blur of brutally efficient blocks, parries, and strikes. There was no wasted motion, no theatrical flair. Every movement was a study in pragmatic lethality, designed to end a confrontation with the utmost speed and finality.

He then drew his sword. The simple, unadorned blade seemed to become a living extension of his arm. He flowed through his swordsmanship katas, the steel whistling through the air in a display of controlled, lethal precision. It was not the beautiful, flowing dance of a duelist; it was the cold, hard geometry of a soldier who had perfected his craft in the unforgiving crucible of real combat.

As Svane moved, Ray stood perfectly still at the edge of the room, his focus absolute. He was not just watching; he was recording, in his mind, a silent, whirring engine of data acquisition. In his mind's eye, a quiet system notification confirmed the

Tactical Replication Protocol was active, its analytical subroutines dissecting every angle, every shift in weight, every subtle feint.

[COMBAT STYLE ANALYSIS IN PROGRESS... SUBJECT: SVANE ORBEN. STYLE: SILVER AEGIS (MARTIAL ONLY)...]

[DATA CAPTURE: 100% COMPLETE. NEW SIMULATION PROFILE UNLOCKED: 'SVANE ORBEN'.]

As the final confirmation chimed in his mind, a crucial addendum appeared, a detail that sent a chill down Ray’s spine.

[NOTE: Subject did not utilize any Mana-based Battle Cantrips or Aura Skills. The recorded data is for physical combat only.]

Ray stared at the notification, his mouth suddenly dry. He understood with perfect, chilling clarity. The breathtaking display of martial prowess he had just witnessed, a level of skill that already seemed insurmountable, was only a fraction of Svane’s true power as a Spellsword. He had only copied the swordsman, not the mage. The mountain he had to climb was even taller than he had imagined.

Late that night, long after Rina had retired, Ray stood alone in the silent training room. The surveillance feed was a peaceful, static loop of an empty space. His real work was about to begin. He took a deep, centering breath and focused his will.

System, initiate Tactical Replication Protocol Combat Simulation Feature. Activate new simulation profile: 'Svane Orben'

A perfect, shimmering holographic replica of Sergeant Svane appeared before him. It stood with the same unshakable, disciplined calm as the real man, a silent testament to the system's flawless data capture.

The simulation began. Ray was immediately and completely outclassed. Svane's hologram was a wall of perfect defense and flawless offense. The Stoic Assassin's 'Flowing Shadow Technique' allowed him to evade the hologram's precise, powerful strikes, turning him into a phantom that danced just beyond its reach. But every time he tried to counter, to find an opening, the hologram was already there, its block perfect, its posture unshakeable. It was like trying to punch a mountain that could move like the wind.

Frustrated, Ray decided to test his most powerful new skill. As the hologram advanced, he activated The Fulcrum Principle. He kicked a holographic stool, his mind visualizing the perfect trajectory to shatter the hologram's knee or, at the very least, break its perfect rhythm.

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Svane's hologram didn't stumble or dodge. In a display of absolute, masterful stability, it simply adjusted its stance by a single inch, letting the stool shatter harmlessly against its armored shin. Its forward momentum did not falter; its rhythm was not broken. It continued its attack as if the stool had been a mere gnat.

The inevitable end came a moment later. The hologram feinted a high strike, and as Ray flowed back to evade, it reversed its momentum with impossible speed, its hand striking a precise, non-lethal blow to a nerve cluster in Ray’s neck. The simulation registered the hit as a successful neutralization and ended.

Ray was left on the floor, panting, a phantom ache radiating from his neck. He had not just been beaten; he had been given a lesson. He understood now the vast, terrifying gulf between his own clever, synthesized art and the sheer, honed perfection of a true master like a Silver Aegis. He had a new benchmark. He had a new mountain to climb.

The morning after his humbling simulation against the Sergeant Svane's hologram, Ray sat in the quiet of his study. He could still feel the phantom ache in his neck where the hologram had delivered the final strike. He wasn't discouraged; he was analytical. The defeat had been a necessary and invaluable lesson.

A gruff, pragmatic voice from his Ambient Presence summarized the situation with the brutal clarity of a seasoned soldier.

Veteran: "You can't climb a mountain in one step. You need foothills."

Ray knew the old soldier was right again. Sergeant Svane was the mountain. To attempt to match him now would be a fool's errand. He needed intermediate data, stepping stones to bridge the vast, terrifying gap between his own clever art and the honed perfection of a true master. He needed a new curriculum.

He focused his will, his mind interfacing with the Custodian's Crest resting in his pocket. The academy's systems bloomed in his mind's eye. He pulled up the full course catalog for the College of Valor, his gaze sweeping past the introductory courses he had already endured. His objective was clear: find the training grounds for competent, but not master-level, opponents. He needed a library of new fighters to study.

The training hall of the College of Valor smelled exactly as Ray remembered: a sharp, earthy mix of sweat, steel, and sawdust. He stepped inside, with Sergeant Svane trailing discreetly behind him. The class for Body Tempering 101 was already gathering, and his arrival immediately silenced the boisterous chatter.

He had changed so dramatically that his former classmates didn't recognize him. The frail, pale boy was gone, replaced by a slender but vital youth who moved with a quiet, coiled grace. His hair was no longer a pale ash-blond with streaks of gold but a rich, radiant gold that seemed to catch the light. Whispers rippled through the students.

“A new transfer student?”

“Look at his aide. That man’s no simple servant.”

“Must be from one of the great houses in the capital.”

Darian Varrus watched him with a hostile, assessing glare, his hand instinctively resting on the pommel of his practice sword. What he saw was not a weakling to be tormented, but a new, unknown rival to be measured. Svane’s quiet, professional presence only deepened the mystery, his calm gaze sweeping the room with an authority that was unmistakable.

The heavy doors at the far end of the hall banged open, and Master Hadrick strode in, his scarred face a familiar mask of stern discipline. He was surprised to see Ray, his eyes widening for a fraction of a second before his professional composure returned. He recognized him instantly. He gave a curt, almost imperceptible nod to Svane, a silent acknowledgment from one professional warrior to another. Annoyed by his students' gawking, Hadrick’s voice boomed across the hall.

“What are you all staring at? It’s Initiate Croft. Get back to your drills!”

The reveal sent a shockwave through the class. Jaws dropped. A dozen students turned to look from the radiant, confident boy back to the empty spot where the pale, struggling 'Ivory Tower Scholar' used to be. The person they saw now and the person in their memory were two completely different people. Darian’s face became a mask of pure, stunned disbelief, his earlier hostility collapsing into slack-jawed confusion.

Master Hadrick approached Ray.

“Are you rejoining the class, Croft?”

Ray politely declined, his voice calm and steady.

“I am just observing today, Master Hadrick. For research purposes.”

Hadrick grunted, finding the boy as strange as ever, and turned to address the class. The sparring drills began. As the students fought, Ray’s focus became absolute. A quiet system notification appeared in his mind's eye:

[TACTICAL REPLICATION PROTOCOL: ACTIVE. SCANNING AND ANALYZING COMBAT STYLES... DATA CAPTURE AT 15%...]

He watched, a silent predator gathering intelligence, his mind dissecting every clumsy lunge and every desperate parry, building his new library of blades.