After finishing his first round of Dungeon exploration training, Qianshuo returned to his usual routine—training under Hedin.
Hedin also drew up a new training plan for him:
Seven days a week, with one day of rest.
Three days training under Hedin.
Three days entering the Dungeon alone for practical experience.
If Qianshuo wanted to push into new floors or go deeper, he would need to find companions himself—or ask within the familia whether any higher-level adventurers were willing to accompany him.
His schedule was packed to the brim. Very little free time, almost no entertainment.
But that was exactly what Qianshuo wanted.
After all, unlike Lefiya—who had trained in the Academy District—Qianshuo had become an adventurer later. If he wanted to catch up, he needed to work harder than everyone else.
Especially after learning that Loki Familia's "Sword Princess," Ais Wallenstein, was only one year older than him—yet already a Level 5 adventurer.
That fact hit him like a hammer. It became both pressure and fuel.
If he intended to reach the goddess's expectations, then he had to do better than everyone else.
And that Sword Princess—she was the target he needed to chase.
That was why Qianshuo never found training bitter.
He enjoyed it.
The Battle Wasteland
Qianshuo was, as always, drenched in sweat.
And Hedin was, as always, suppressing him completely.
At one point, Hedin shifted into a clever angle and swung backhand—an elf sword technique with an impeccably "correct" arc, the blade path clean and orthodox.
It was Hedin once again displaying his formidable swordsmanship—something Qianshuo's mimic technique could record, break down, and absorb.
Hedin assumed Qianshuo would fall to that strike.
But at the very last instant—at the narrowest possible distance—Qianshuo blocked it.
"Hm?"
Hedin's eyes flashed faintly. He nodded to himself.
Surprised, yes—but given Qianshuo's recent growth, it was also… understandable.
His progress had been explosive. Compared to the first day, he'd grown stronger by leaps and bounds.
In that fleeting moment, Qianshuo seized the opening.
Hedin's sword pressed down.
Qianshuo's body was forced into a bend, his arm muscles screaming as if they might tear—
But he didn't dodge.
He didn't retreat.
"Second Secret Sword: Armor-Splitting!"
The black katana in his hand pried Hedin's blade aside—then snapped into an upward diagonal cut, a reverse-kesa slash.
It was "inch power" applied through a sword.
While receiving Hedin's pressure in a near-impossible posture, Qianshuo used the elasticity of his lower body and the torque of his waist to unleash a point-blank strike.
Among everything he had mastered—aside from his "Secret Sword Ultimate Techniques"—this was his strongest Secret Sword move.
And it was the first time he'd ever used it on Hedin.
Hedin blocked it—
But his body trembled, just slightly, almost imperceptibly.
"A good cut."
Hedin's voice remained calm.
Yet Qianshuo heard something different inside it.
Approval.
That counterattack had been unexpected—so unexpected that even Hedin hadn't predicted Qianshuo could produce it while being crushed into a losing position.
In real combat, unless the opponent's strength completely overwhelmed Qianshuo the way Hedin's did—
That strike would have landed.
Not dead, then crippled.
It seemed the first Dungeon expedition had given the boy real insight—and Hedin could also sense that Qianshuo's understanding of swordsmanship had stepped into a new layer.
"Is that your second Secret Sword?"
Hedin recalled Qianshuo's Secret Sword ultimate technique and already had a guess.
"Yeah." Qianshuo sheathed his blade and exhaled deeply, staring at Hedin's still-expressionless face with a bit of helpless awe.
"But just how strong are you, Master…? I thought the second Secret Sword would at least make you get a little serious."
Level 1 versus Level 6.
The gap was so vast it felt… hopeless.
Even his strongest sword couldn't coax even a sliver of seriousness from Hedin.
That alone proved how terrifying Level 6 truly was.
"If you want me to take you even slightly seriously, you're still far off." Hedin glanced at him calmly, then delivered the verdict like it was weather.
"Reach Level 4. Then maybe."
"Level 4…"
Qianshuo murmured it, the distance of that goal briefly weighing on him.
Still—he believed he would get there.
Someday, he would catch up to his master… and to the seniors of the familia.
Hedin looked at the sweat-drenched boy.
His gaze was as calm as ever—
But there was a touch more appreciation in it.
Especially after hearing how Qianshuo had helped Lefiya in the Dungeon, and what he had said to her.
Even Hedin had privately acknowledged it.
Helping an "enemy familia" aside—
It demonstrated Qianshuo's character.
If someone was strong but vile, Hedin wouldn't even look at them straight.
But Qianshuo was not only favored by Lady Freya—
He was Hedin's disciple.
A disciple with that kind of integrity was something a master could take pride in.
"Heith sent lunch." Hedin glanced at the blazing sun overhead.
"Rest a bit. We continue sword training this afternoon."
With that, he turned and left.
Qianshuo nodded, found a shaded spot beneath a tree, and opened the lunchbox Heith had brought.
The aroma hit him immediately and his appetite surged.
He'd been training—getting beaten down—since around seven in the morning.
He needed food. He needed rest.
Otherwise he wouldn't survive this intensity.
But as he ate, a figure in the distance caught his eye.
Cheeks full, chopsticks raised, Qianshuo stared toward the front.
"That is… Senior Hogni?"
He blinked.
He wasn't that familiar with most of Freya Familia's executives.
The only ones he truly knew were Hedin and Heith.
He'd met the others only a few times.
After all, he was still Level 1—no matter how favored he was, rules were rules: he couldn't just stroll into the executives' private dining areas.
He had seen Hogni before and greeted him.
But seeing him here was still unexpected.
The Sword Dance… and the "Seal"
Hogni drew his blade.
A sharp tearing sound split the air as he moved.
His refined swordsmanship sent falling leaves—drifting like light rain—into rippling motion.
Even with Qianshuo's improved strength, he could only barely track Hogni's afterimages.
Qianshuo's eyes widened.
His mimic technique reflexively activated; in his mind, he began replaying, dissecting, and reading Hogni's swordwork.
The style resembled his master's—so Qianshuo's "breakdown" came faster than usual.
Then Hogni slid his blade back into its scabbard and—
did something that nearly made Qianshuo spray his food.
Hogni covered his left eye with one hand, lifted his face to the sky, his long hair fluttering in the wind—
And in a low, magnetic voice, he declared:
"Sleep… abyssal power within my left eye."
Qianshuo's chopsticks froze in midair.
"The time is not yet ripe… When the day comes that I face Hedin in a battle to the death…" Hogni's voice grew more impassioned, "then you shall—"
He spun sharply.
A black cloak flared behind him, tracing a perfect arc.
And then—
He saw Qianshuo.
Qianshuo: mouth full of rice and meat, chopsticks raised, wearing the exact expression of someone whose brain just screamed WHAT DID I JUST WITNESS.
The air solidified.
Hogni's face changed color at visible speed—white to red, red to purple.
His lips moved, as if trying to say something.
But in the end—
He simply turned around and fled the Battle Wasteland at a speed that could only be described as escape.
Qianshuo watched his back disappear into the distance.
Slowly, he swallowed the food still in his mouth.
"…So Master really wasn't joking."
He remembered something Hedin had once said casually:
"Hogni… don't be fooled by his cold, cool exterior. In private, that guy…"
Back then, Qianshuo thought it was just teasing.
Now he understood:
Hedin never jokes.
....
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