There was something about return journeys that made them even more boring than before. Perhaps it was the fact that we were seeing the exact same things. Or perhaps it was the lack of something to look forward to. I didn’t know. And I didn’t really care. The group was decidedly more quiet, but I had other things on my mind.


    Like what I suspected was a testing area for air mana. I had decided not to take it. There was something that told me it wasn’t such a good idea at the moment. Perhaps it was the fact that it might end up with me dead. The Darkness test had almost killed me. I wasn’t yet ready to take up another one.


    I didn’t know enough.


    That brought me to the woman that I had been relying on for information. Miss Emily. Now that we were heading back, I should decide what to do about what I had learned. The woman was older than the Empire.


    That would make her at least two hundred. Not that old as such things went, but still old. The Empire itself was very new. There had only been two Emperors after the founding Emperor, and one had died early.


    There was little to be found in the Empire’s own history, and much that hid in the past before it. The Trashy Novel hadn’t told much of it, but I did know some things about this. The House of Life had been nobility before the Empire was founded, but not at the level they were now. The Founding Duke had been supposedly helped by someone, making his life magic stronger and allowing him to bring his family to greater heights.


    Was that person Miss Emily? Sir Festeran would have me believe so. I could believe it. There was more to the woman than was immediately apparent. But then the question rose, just how powerful was she? Why was she here? And what did she want?


    I conjured a bit of darkness mana, circling it around my fingers as I tried to think of an answer. But none immediately sprung to my mind. Miss Emily had been helpful. More than helpful, she had been downright generous. The way she had made sure that Elena and I felt welcome was not something I could easily forget or ignore.


    That just made me more nervous about it. There could have been a chance that the woman wasn’t here for me. That I didn’t really play much of a part in her plans. But there was also a good chance that she was using me for something.


    I was beginning to think it was the latter. That just made more sense to me. Why else would she go as far as she had?


    And that meant there was one more thing for me to deal with.


    Groaning at the thought, I looked around, keeping an eye out for any particularly powerful beasts. Not just because of the threat they posed, but also because of the mana they had. I needed power, and I needed to get better at magic. Fighting beasts had been very helpful for both.


    That was why I was looking for more of them. There really weren’t any. A few Rank 2s passed us by, but I could tell that they wouldn’t pose a threat to me. The fish weren’t the kind that hunted others and tried to grow. No, they were ones that just went along eating any easily gotten food. A few of them had gotten lucky enough to be a bit more powerful. That was all. There was little enough power in their mana cloaks that I didn’t even care to kill them.


    “What you looking for?” Connor asked.


    I looked at him, a bit surprised that he had approached me. The man largely seemed to keep to himself. At least when he wasn’t drunk.


    “Just looking out for any threats.”


    Connor stared at me. “No, you want hunt.”


    I raised an eyebrow. “Yes.”


    “Hmm.” Connor narrowed his eyes at me. “Raise sword.”


    “Wait, you want to fight here?”


    Connor shrugged. “The two of us catch up. The rest not move fast.”


    That was…true. The two of us could easily catch up with our greater strength.


    “Why now though?”


    Connor tilted his head as if puzzled. “Cause you want to.”


    Then he pulled out his sword. I pulled out mine. To be honest, I had expected fighting Connor to be easy. At least, my higher rank would give me a significant advantage.


    What happened told me otherwise.


    Connor’s sword shot forward with a speed matching mine, clashing against my own sword before he twisted his sword, trying to move my sword out of the way. I used all of my strength to resist, forcing Connor’s sword back, but only a bit. And not nearly fast enough.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    In the time it had taken me to even form a response, Connor had punched my stomach. I coughed onto the seabed, feeling the contents of my stomach rising into my throat as I conjured a shield around me.


    A shield of darkness appeared around me and Connor glared at me.


    “Not Darkness, Blade.” he growled as he lifted his blade. I nodded, waving my shield away as I prepared to defend against him again.


    Mana ran through the length of my blade, my determination matching his for a moment. Then he moved, and I moved with him, our blades meeting in the middle, mana colliding with a nearly soundless explosion that displaced the water around it.


    Then Connor took half a step back and brought his sword down again. I moved forward, meeting him, only to find the sword’s tip approaching my neck as Connor leaned forward. In my hurry to meet his blade with mine, I hadn’t noticed the lack of distance between us. And of course, that had given him the opportunity to strike at me.


    “Think more.” he said. “Not just this move, but also next. The strikes flow.”


    Connor brought his sword forward again, just like he had done before. “Think of what opponent do.”


    Then he took a step back. I remembered his attack from before and lifted my sword to block it.


    “And plan for it.” Connor shot his sword down, towards my legs instead. I moved to block it, only barely able to shove the sword away with the tip of my blade. Connor took the opportunity to punch me in the face.


    I brought my hand up to rub my cheeks, gently running my finger against the bruise that was forming.


    “I get your point.” I mumbled.


    “Take charge.” Connor continued. “Just reacting not enough.”


    I groaned, but did take an attacking form. Then I rushed at him. Connor looked at me with a raised eyebrow, not even lifting his sword. A bit of confidence, but really he was just expecting me to pull a trick.


    Well, I wasn’t going to. I swiped down at his chest, catching him by surprise as he moved to defend himself. Of course, he was more than fast enough to do so. I groaned, extending my hand to attack him with the tip of my sword.


    Connor was already leaning back, his sword’s edge running against mine as he struck at my wrist. I swore, forced to pull away rather than risk injury.


    “How did you know?” I asked. “That I would try to stab you?”


    “You looked like you would.” Connor answered.


    “I…looked like I would? How could you even tell?”


    Connor shrugged. “That comes in time. Don’t worry.”


    I stared at a few minutes before sighing, letting my sword rest against my leg. “I don’t know if I have the time for that.”


    Connor tilted his head, looking at me.


    “Hmm, use magic.” he said, pulling his sword up.


    “What?”


    “Try Darkness magic against me.” he said, his sword beginning to glow as he put mana into it. I frowned, jumping backwards as I conjured a shield around me.


    Connor did not give me much time to put up a distance, rushing at me with his sword held up.


    I was ready.


    A bolt of darkness shot at him as he ran towards me, ready to put a stop to his attack. Connor cut through it like it was an annoyance, striking at my shield in a single motion. I blinked, surprised at his actions, but not quite done. The shield stopped his attack from hitting me, and even more importantly, gave me time to react.


    I jumped backward, using Blade mana to push more power onto my legs. Darkness mana would not allow such a thing, but I had a feeling Blade mana would love it. And it did. I jumped nearly a hundred meters, conjuring my shield once more.


    Then I conjured more bolts of darkness and sent them to circle Connor, not quite attacking him yet. I wouldn’t let him cut away my magic that easily. I could have sworn the man was smiling as he stared at me bolts, crouching as he held his blade horizontally against his side.


    I narrowed my eyes, strengthening my shield, and not a moment too soon. Connor ran towards me, Blade mana running through his body. In moments, he was on me, his sword held above my head, ready to strike down at me.


    I shot bolts of Darkness mana into his back, the same ones I had conjured before. A benefit of magic was that I didn’t have to actually see to aim. As long as I thought of where it should go, magic would find its way there.  Well, in most circumstances. Just because I hadn’t failed yet, it didn’t mean I wouldn’t.


    Connor winced, slammed onto the ground by the mana bolts as I ran further away from him. Of course, that didn’t keep him down for long. The guy stood up, his mana cloak almost disappearing into his body as he grinned at me.


    “See?” he said, “This better.”


    Then he seemed to disappear. I turned around in a hurry, panicking a bit as I tried to figure out where he had gone. I did not find Connor. But I felt his mana. Like a whisper in the wind, Blade mana followed the sword as it headed towards me.


    I barely had the time to think, but my knew what to do. I leaned backwards, really backwards until my head was at the same level as my butt. As I watched, a barely visible sword made of Blade mana passed through where my waist had been just seconds ago.


    Then I came back up, bringing with me dozens of darkness bolts that I shot where the sword had come from.


    Connor stood there, grinning as he tapped his sword against his leg. “This is what I like. Darkness give you space. The shield give you time to react. That make you much better. The Blade is for those that act fast. That not you. You think before acting. That not work with Blade. But with magic…”


    The guys shrugged, but I could see his point. And how much better that had been. Connor had to actually put some effort into it.


    I suppose I really was better at more mage-ey magic than Blade magic.


    “So,” I began, walking closer. “Was that how fast you can really—Connor, what’s going on?”


    I looked at the man closely, watching as his hand twitched, not letting him slide his sword into its place. The same man that had been moving so quickly just moments ago. Now he looked like he could not handle his own sword.


    “J-just an old injury.” Connor said, “Sh-shouldn’t have p-pushed myself.”