I opened my eyes in something like an arena.
In front of me stood my copy. Completely dark.
"You have 10 minutes. Defeat it. Attempts are unlimited. The physical parameters and sword style of the shadow are almost identical to your level at the start of the round, so you can't simply become stronger to win."
"Fuck!" I shouted in my head.
Well… at least death isn't mandatory here.
And so it began. I looked at the shadow. The shadow looked at me. The shadow moved first.
12(9) Steps of the Storm. I blocked everything. My father was worse than this.
Right… I remembered how my father trained me. He said the best way to learn something is to face it directly.
Well… for once, he was right. Seeing things from the other side really helps.
While parrying his attacks, I thought: our speed is identical. Only if he spams the technique will he run out of aura before 10 minutes pass, but I still need time to finish him.
The old man didn't say anything about knowledge, only technique. That means I need to find my own weaknesses. Interesting.
Even after the terrible First Trial, I was actually looking forward to this. I didn't know if it was the old man's spell's side effect or if I had gone insane. Doesn't matter. I started observing the shadow. First attempt—nothing. Failure.
Alright, again. Full aura on both sides.
This time I chose to attack—12(9) Steps of the Storm. He blocked everything again.
But I noticed something: every time he attacks, his wrist slightly shifts, like he's preparing a counter. I tested it—after blocking I stopped instead of continuing, and he immediately counterattacked.
I blocked it and attacked again. 12(9) Steps of the Storm. Missed. Ten minutes passed. Failure.
"Old man, are attempts unlimited?" I asked.
"Yes. In this round you can try as many times as you want."
I decided…
Attack attempt. Defense attempt. How many more chances would I have to see myself from the outside? The sooner I eliminate habits that reveal my intent, the better.
Alright, attack. Steps of the Storm. I parried.
Steps of the Storm has incredible speed and power due to momentum. It is essentially a movement technique combined with sword style.
And if I also learn movement technique…
Alright. Future goal: learn movement technique.
While I was lost in thought, the attempt ended.
I attacked again.
12 Steps of the Storm. If the difference in strength is small and the opponent retreats, the fight drags on too long. Yeah… I already noticed that.
On defense, I only found one flaw—I parry thrusts awkwardly. The round ended.
In the attack round, I only noticed a weakness in the right-side lunge.
Four more rounds passed. New flaws: a slight delay after the final step of the Storm technique.
And after blocking a thrust, I was too vulnerable to overhead attacks.
I also noticed the shadow's pattern—it is overly aggressive. That's the difference the old man mentioned. Mercifully so. He didn't even correct the shadow's mistakes, just like he said—this is about technical progress.
I began fixing my weaknesses.
It took 12 more rounds.
Round 13.
The shadow still has a delay after parrying thrusts, so after a thrust I struck from above and wounded its right side—but it managed to wound my left arm.
Then I switched to defense. And after the 12 Steps of the Storm, the shadow becomes vulnerable. Left-side lunge. The shadow dies.
"You passed," the old man said.
I nodded.
The mercy in this trial wasn't sarcasm—it was real. Cold. Almost instructional.
What will the third trial be like, if the second one was this… gentle?
Judging from the first trial, the old man is definitely not a kind person.
"Are you ready?" the old man asked.
"Yes," I answered calmly.
The world went dark.