Walking ahead of us both, Seika burst open the double doors that led out the back of the inn.

I hadn’t properly seen it before, but out here lay a rather large and empty field, which, according to Seika, was frequently used for minor tournaments, duels, and other forms of recreational combat.

Along the back wall of the inn, neat assortments of various wooden weapons were arranged on racks. It was from these that combatants usually chose their gear for the following match.

Naturally, Yukiko approached the rows of daggers, displaying great variety in both size and shape. After fiddling around with a few, she decided upon a single-edged one, the length of which about matched her forearm.

“I thought you were training to fight unarmed,” Yukiko remarked as she observed me testing the weight of a sword before me.

“I want to try something different today,” I replied before grabbing the hilt of a blade that caught my eye.

There was something I wanted to test out.

Yukiko cautiously examined the sword in my hands. Almost instantly, she recognized it to be nearly the exact same type and length as her own brother’s, yet she quickly masked any reaction and chose to avoid making any comments.

As soon as we made our choices, Seika led us to our respective starting positions on opposite ends of the field.

“Alright, there’s usually some sorta reminders the referee’s supposed to say here, but I can’t be bothered to repeat them. Just don’t hurt each other too much or something. Now, show me the progress you two have been making!”

I focused on the air before me and forcibly opened up a system window.

[ You are the Prelude to one backing god ]

Good. I could basically command it at will now.

[ Blessing of Ares has been activated ]

[ Weapons Mastery (Lv. 0) has been activated ]

***

I hadn’t been spending the past two days merely training my physical skills alone.

Since rediscovering my abilities as Ares’s Prelude, I learned that the system, although limited in its current state, now responded to my feelings and desires to some extent.

Upon tiptoeing around the topic with Seika, I also learned that every shardbearer’s individual connection with the system varied in degrees, meaning my authority over the system was likely far greater than most others due to having partially used it all my childhood.

She gave an example of how the guy named Akari she had mentioned before sometimes received directives that she didn’t. Upon hearing this, I decided to keep the true extent of my system’s capabilities to myself, at least for now.

After several hours of meditation, I reached the point where I could trigger certain messages and system responses with my thoughts alone, one of which was the ‘Blessing of Ares.’ 

At this point, the system had become less of a tool for me to access abilities beyond my capabilities and more of a display reacting to my own command over these abilities, stating “...has been activated” rather than “You have activated…”

In other words, I had managed to make these abilities my own, and the system would now respond to me rather than myself responding to it.

***

[ Your mastery of this weapon exceeds what is granted by Weapons Mastery (Lv. 0) ]

[ Katana Mastery (Lv. 1) has been registered ]

As I expected. So syncing my personal skills with the system would lead to new abilities being unlocked.

Had I used a katana before to warrant a level 1 ability though?

I sifted through my memories, eventually returning to the moment at which I defeated Seraphim.

Right… I hadn’t properly wielded one, but I nonetheless commanded a technique that mimicked the properties of one.

“If you’re not gonna make the first move, I will!”

Hearing Yukiko’s provocation reminded me that we were supposed to be in the middle of sparring. I had been too focused on contemplating the aspects of the system.

Shifting the dagger in her hands to a reverse grip, she dashed towards me with astounding speed. There were traces of mana all over her body.

Did she already learn to apply the fleet-footedness of her brother’s techniques to her own?

She aimed a slash at my chest as I raised my blade to barely guard in time.

“Well, you’ve gotten faster.”

“I could say the opposite for you.”

“We’ll see about that…”

I pushed back against her assault with a flick of my katana, assuming a proper stance for the next exchange.

[ Your aura has reached Stage 0 ]

Start off small. Only focus on technique for now.

Yukiko sensed the faint flow of mana in my body and responded in like.

The two of us amplified the strength of our mana, staring each other down as we tightened our stances.

[ Your aura has reached Stage 1 ]

At once, we sprung off the tips of our toes, the edge of my katana flowing in a single powerful strike like the descent of a waterfall.

First Dance: Layered Snowstorm

She adjusted her grip once more as the tip of her blade flew in consecutive horizontal arcs at a nearly untrackable speed.

Yet, it wasn’t that my senses couldn’t keep up with her movements– No, it was more that I couldn’t discern each movement from the next.

Our blades collided once.

Sliding her hand further down the handle, the first slash became the second, then the third, then the fourth. Each strike connected with such fluidity that they didn’t even seem to be individual attacks.

Having focused the majority of my energy into the first strike, I now was forced to gradually retreat, blocking with each backwards step.

Second Dance: Falling Thrust

Before I could readjust my stance, she moved even closer, striking the inside of my weapon with her own and swinging it down into the ground.

Then, her dagger rapidly rotated in her hands, now pointing directly up at my chest. 

So these techniques were what she had been working on in private, huh?

If that was the case, I no longer felt guilty revealing my own work in progress.

The aura surrounding me vanished for merely a second as I let go of the hilt.

My aether rushed to the tips of my fingers in my right hand as that same glowing energy spilled out to coat my arm. The mana that had previously fled from my aura now wrapped itself around that layer of energy.

“No way… now that’s true innovation–!” Seika muttered to herself while leaning forward in her seat.

As it was before, my scarred right arm could pose as a major weakness due to its incompatibility with mana. However, that arm could still draw from aether perfectly fine.

Since aether was more taxing to consistently maintain in the form of an aura, why not combine the two?

A brief flow of aether to regain complete usage of my dominant arm– I clenched my enhanced hand into a fist.

–and the use of weaving to intertwine dense threads of mana through that layer of aether.

I drove a punch through the flat of her dagger and turned the direction of the blow towards Yukiko’s body, the force of which knocked her body several inches into the air before she steadied her balance and landed a safe distance away.

As she steadied herself, the overlaid energy on my right arm sputtered out and sent a jolt throughout my body.

I still needed to master that deactivation process.

“So you haven’t just been slacking off then,” she taunted with a smirk.

“I could say the same for you,” I replied while picking up my katana.

As the two of us searched for an opening, I snuck a glance to the sidelines where Seika was watching.

Her eyes met mine the instant I did so. Surely, with her perception, she must have realized the true nature of the technique I just used.

It lasted for such a short span of time that the system hadn’t even registered it, but that combination of aether and weaving had managed to mimic the concept and power of a stage 2 aura for just an instant.

I still couldn’t maintain it for more than a second. Even the majority of that flashy display was simply the result of uncontrollable mana overflowing from my arm.

“Looks like you’re getting tired! Wanna wrap this up then?”

“Hah! I could keep going for days.”

“Is that so? Well, I’m getting pretty exhausted myself, so let’s finish this with our next moves.”

Pff. I didn’t expect her to outright admit her condition, but regardless, her plan worked just fine for me. Anyways, I was itching to get a chance to test out what else I had been working on.

She shifted her grip again as her body adjusted to a low stance.

At the same time, I readied my final technique, holding back the katana at my hip.

Concentrate all my mana into my legs and the weapon in my hands. Combine everything I had learned from this world up until this point. 

The explosive power of Seika’s martial combat and the unrivaled cleanliness of Setsuya’s disciplined style.

Third Dance: Ice Pick

Striking Gale Iai Slash

Our blades reached inches before each other within a fraction of a second– her’s, a thrust towards my head– mine, a slash towards her chest.

“Alright! That’s enough!”

Huh?

Somehow, before either of us could notice, Seika had gotten up and placed herself between us, holding us apart from the backs of our collars like she had just broken up a brawl of stray cats.

Yukiko’s face appeared just as confused and dejected as I felt on the inside.

“I said not to hurt each other, remember?”

“No, you said not to hurt each other too much. We hadn’t even gotten to hit each other yet!”

“Oh, did I? Eh, I don’t remember and I’ve already stopped you guys, sooo…”

“Hmph.”

“However, I am quite satisfied with the progress you two have been making, so I’ll let you guys off the hook,” she added as she dropped us on our feet.

I jokingly scoffed, “Let us off the hook for what exactly?”

“You two have been keeping your best cards a secret from even me, that’s what!” she beamed while ruffling our hair.

So Yukiko had been developing that last technique in private as well.

Suddenly turning to Yukiko, Seika chimed, “C’mon, let’s go get your brother. I’m sure his mood will turn around after hearing of your progress.”

As she began walking away, she shouted back at me, “By the way, let’s keep the fact that you copied a technique from him a secret. I’m not too sure how he’d respond to that.”

Her voice was drifting farther away as she seemingly was unaware that we weren’t following directly behind her.

“Let’s be honest, if that last clash played out, you would’ve won for sure.”

“Are you kidding? If that was a real fight, we’d both be dead.”

“Haha! I guess you’re right,” she said while lightly hitting me on the shoulder before asserting, “Next time I’m winning for sure though.”

“Only if I let you,” I teased with a grin.

By now, Seika had noticed our absence, poking her head back out through the doorway.

“C’mon! This’ll just be a short break, so let’s go do something with it! It’s right back to training for you two after we’re done!”

“Well, you heard her. Let’s go.”

“You go on ahead. There’s… something I need to think about for a sec.”

“Out here? Suit yourself.”

With a shrug, Yukiko followed Seika into the building, disappearing from sight.

Alone again, I let out a sigh as I looked up towards the passing clouds.

“I’m not yet ready enough... That’s what you would’ve told me, right?”

[ Time remaining until final wave: 3:16:10:04

- Average expected threat: Rank 8 ]