The training room smelled faintly of polished steel and sweat. Sunlight streamed in through tall windows, catching motes of dust that danced like tiny spirits in the air.

Amon Vale's boots scraped the floor as he shifted his stance, muscles straining, arms trembling slightly from the last two days of practice.

He had been training the first form for the past two days after lectures were done.

He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, feeling the weight of the blade settle into his hands. The first form of the Umbral Veil Sword Art demanded precision, timing, and flow—but his body still resisted.

Each swing was a battle against his own limitations. Sweat dripped down his temple and trickled along his neck, soaking the collar of his uniform.

"Again," he muttered under his breath, voice rough with exertion.

He lunged, parried an imaginary strike, then spun, attempting the crescent arc that had eluded him yesterday. His foot slipped slightly, and the movement faltered. He froze, fists clenched, taking a shaky breath.

From the corner of the room, a shadow shifted. Seraphina Luminous, her hair catching the sunlight like threads of gold, leaned against the wall.

Her posture was relaxed, yet her sharp eyes never left him. She had already finished her training and was resting, but there was something in the way she observed him.a A silent acknowledgment of his struggle.

He had grown stronger. Just in a week that she hadn't seen him.

Amon noticed her gaze and felt a flicker of delight and pride.

'This is a good feeling. She's watching—' He shook his head.

Don't look, it won't help you, he thought, tightening his grip. Still, there was an odd comfort in knowing she was watching.

He swung again, more deliberately this time, feeling the rhythm of the form start to settle. The crescent arc moved cleaner, sharper, though not yet perfect. He exhaled, a puff of air escaping in frustration and determination.

Seraphina tilted her head slightly, the hint of a smile playing on her lips. No words, no instructions—just her quiet presence.

For some reason, that pushed Amon harder than any voice ever could.

He went again. And again. And again. Each swing a little closer to mastery, each step a little surer, as if the room itself was bending to the persistence in his movements.

Since it was hard to create and slash using shadow, Amon decided to use raw mana.

He covered the blade of his sword with mana. It glowed in a blue hue. It was beautiful.

He sharpened the mana perfectly, precisely on the sword's blade.

He brought his sword back and swung it in a clean horizontal arc.

He manipulated mana to release from the sword's blade as a crescent-shaped arc slash form.

But it didn't travel much. It trembled, and then the arc faltered. Mana subsided into the air.

Amon fell to the floor, sitting on his rear.

"Hah… hah… hah…" He exhaled heavily. It was not perfect. But slowly, he was getting the hang of it.

Once he achieved the first form using mana only, then he could move to use his shadow ability in it.

Then completely learn his first form of Umbral Veil Sword Art.

A bottle of water came in front of his face, held by a fair hand.

Amon raised his head and saw the one who was holding it for him.

A smile formed on his face.

"Thanks." He took the bottle from her hand, slowly opened its lid, and brought it to his mouth.

Gulp! Gulp!

Water slowly flowed down his throat in big gulping sounds.

"Hah…" He made a satisfied sound after drinking the water.

"You are working very hard. I can see your progress as well," Seraphina said with her expressionless face.

"Yes. But it's still hard to learn the first form," Amon said. He ran his hand through his wet hair.

Seraphina silently sat beside him on the floor, her hands wrapped around her knees.

"You are getting closer to it. Your mana control is getting better and better. You might just learn it in a week or two," she expressed her thoughts.

Amon hummed a little.

"It's also thanks to you, after all, you help me a lot in controlling my mana precisely." He gave her a smile filled with gratitude.

Her lips curved up slightly. She raised her hand, her fingers tucking her golden locks behind her ears. "I'm glad that I was a help."

Amon looked at her face. 'This girl is too sweet!' That's all Amon could think.

"Sera… You're so sweet~ and cute~" and his mouth couldn't hide it much.

That made Seraphina's cheeks turn pink.

"Amon… You can't say something like that to a girl so casually," she tried to teach him, not to blurt anything that came to his mind.

Amon just chuckled at her. His palms touched the floor behind him as he leaned back a little.

"You're right, Sera. I shouldn't say such things so casually. But if it's you… I don't think you mind it, do you?" Amon asked with a smirk.

"I… I mean… I don't actually mind it… I—" she remained silent. She didn't know what to say now. Should she say that she minded it? That she didn't like it? But it's not that she didn't like it. It just made her flustered.

"Then that's alright."

Amon got up on his feet, patting his pants.

"Seraphina, want to spar? I mean, just normal sword play. Also, go easy on me." Amon asked for her to be his training partner again, extending his hand to help her up.

Seraphina agreed to him. Holding his hand, she stood up.

"Alright, let's do it." Amon held his sword and stood a few steps away from her.

Seraphina was at Mana Initiate rank. She was clearly stronger than Amon.

He heard from Eliana that when he was away on his mission, Seraphina and Arnold had a spar during a sparring session.

Arnold was the second first-year student who had reached Mana Initiate rank.

And the result was Seraphina's victory. Eliana said that fight was really amazing. Arnold was really far stronger than she had thought.

But Seraphina was clearly stronger than him.

Anyway, back to training.

Amon's grip tightened on his sword.

"Here I come!" He dashed at Seraphina with all his might.

The outcome was predictable.

Amon lost miserably.

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