Yanma then takes a few steps back, waiting for me to attack.

She's got to be kidding me. Stop attacking and wait for the opponent!?

It's almost like she's telling me to show her if I'm really strong.

If it's going to be like this, I'm going to make her learn to respect me!

Air Magic takes over my body, making me have a bright green aura!

With just one step, I reach Yanma at full speed!

Magic is increasing my speed, I need to take advantage of it to imbue my attacks with it!

I make multiple stabs aiming at the woman's chest, she manages to defend herself, but not fast enough to counterattack!

I need to get faster, have more mana, and have more strength!!

"KYHAAA!" The thrusts become more and more intense, and, for the first time, I manage to be faster than her defense!

Small stabs damage the armor's chestplate!

Yanma's face has completely changed, before it was calm and confident, now it looks like she is uncomfortable.

Even though I make scratches on her armor as I attack, she still manages to parry most of my sword strikes.

I'm starting to get tired, but I can't slow down!

My sword is starting to give off... sparks?

The wooden sword is breathing fire!?

No, that's not it...

This must be Dragon Magic activating!

Damn, I no longer have the strength to continue at this speed.

I quickly move away, jumping back. When my legs touch the floor, I feel my knees give out, making me kneel on the floor.

Beads of sweat run down my face and drip onto the floor.

The surrounding riders cheer at the spectacle.

I think it was enough to show her that I'm not weak.

(Light Rods POV)

Finally, I found this place. It appears to be some kind of training facility...

This is not the time to think about this. Where's William!?

I see that there is a circle of riders drinking, as if they are watching something.

It must be there!

I run towards this cluster of armor, but my path is completely blocked by men.

"Excuse me." I start pushing and pushing through the crowd. "I'm passing." I say as I make them notice my presence.

I finally get a glimpse of William.

Is he kneeling?

When I finally make it past all the knights, I see him and a woman wearing glamorous armor in the middle of the circle. Both are holding wooden swords.

"Huh?" Everyone's attention turns to me. "Who is this kid?" Some riders ask each other questions.

"What's going on here!?" I ask, looking at William, who is kneeling and looks exhausted.

"I was…" he breathes heavily. "I was dueling." He completes.

Dueling? In his situation?

He should be resting, not fighting people!

I look at the woman, and she seems confused. In fact, your eyes are similar to the Asian eyes from my old world.

"You should be relaxing; you're not fully recovered yet. What are you thinking!?" I exalt myself.

"What am I thinking?" William asks. "I'm thinking about not being your shadow!" He gets up.

"Be my shadow?"

Was that why he was acting strange at lunch?

He doesn't want to be left behind. I think he must have felt useless in yesterday's battle.

"I'm already fine. There's no need to worry." He says.

Still, I don't know his condition. Children are often reckless in their actions. Maybe he pretends to be fine to appear strong. Not to mention, he looks exhausted.

"If that's what you think..." I say. "Just don't... cross the line. I don't want to have to worry." I say in a calmer voice.

"Relax. It won't happen again." He says with a reassuring smile on his face.

(William Rods POV)

Light then leaves the training field, and the knights slowly return to doing their jobs.

Yanma goes back to where he left his beer bottle and takes it back. Obviously, I follow her.

After this battle, I think I have a chance to make her train me...

Yanma takes a long drink from the bottle.

"You gave me a hard time, brat." She says as she checks to see if there is any liquid left in the bottle.

I guess I'll have to ask myself...

"So, are you going to train me?" I ask.

She looks at me with a half-lidded gaze. Suddenly, she closes her eyes and gives a small smile.

"After that whole show, I think it's unfair not to give you a chance." She responds.

That's a little relieving. I'm finally going to train swordsmanship with an experienced person!

I genuinely smile at her response.

"That..." I let out the excitement in my mumble.

"You are truly talented—the most talented I have ever seen. But you still need to learn; only then will you reach the pinnacle of your sword art." She says. "I'm certainly not the best swordswoman in the world, I'm not even the best on the continent, but I can show you where to start." She adds.

"I understood!"

(Light Rods POV)

After checking on William, I went to the castle library.

After getting some directions from the guards, I finally found the door that led there.

When I first saw the closed door, I thought the library would be very simple and humble. Because, Legorio is not a very big kingdom, so my expectations were low.

But when I opened it, I saw a huge room filled with bookshelves; there were four aisles where they were positioned.

The library has a mezzanine with more shelves—three in total. There are also some tables for reading inside the library, as it is possible to take one of the books and take it to the rooms.

Then I have to ask Ryza to lend me some books...

Each runner had a different session, from cooking to self-defense.

Today, I wanted to read something more historical. I'm a little tired of learning about magic. I need to read some history or something.

With that in mind, I picked up the book called "Arkone, The First Supreme Mage."

As the title says, this is a book that portrays the life and deeds of the first supreme mage.

After the Union of Kingdoms was formed, the kings decided that they should name the strongest wizard to serve as an example of power.

Arkone was already famous for his strength, and he was well-liked by people. The Union named him the first Supreme Mage.

A few years later, the position of Supreme Swordsman was created, and these two positions still exist today.

Coincidence or not, Arkone possessed the Forest Goddess Magic, just like me.

The book tells about a legendary magic, which the Supreme Mage himself gave his name to. He called it "the pinnacle of forest magic: The Divine Tree."

Pretty dramatic, I'd say.

I spent the day reading this book. It's basically a biography of Arkone's life. It's really fun to read and doesn't have many pages; it's almost like a story. Maybe I can finish it in a day or two.

When it's evening, while I'm reading my book, one of the maids calls me to my room for dinner.

I confess that I'm still a little lost in this castle. If I'm already bad at finding places during the day, it gets even worse at night.

Luckily, the place is well lit with wax candles and some torches attached to the wall. In addition to the brightness of the full moon, that also helps with lighting.

Arriving in the dining room, I see everyone together again and a variety of food on the table.