''Balance? Speed? Strength?''

Alaric's chest fell and rose each time he blocked a series of stabs from his summon, but the moment he lost focus, the sword demon drove its wooden sword straight into Alaric's chest.

''Damn!''

Alaric gritted his teeth, forcing himself to swallow the pain like it was just another part of the road to strength. With sharp, stubborn eyes, he searched desperately for even the smallest opening in Khaled's strikes so he could push back.

But yeah… easier said than done. There was no weakness to be found—unless the demon left one on purpose. Technically, Alaric could order his summon to do that… but then what's the point? That'd just turn training into a joke.

''Speed's too slow,'' the demon muttered as it sent a kick from behind, voice flat and cold.

Alaric snapped his blade up in time to deflect, stumbled a few steps back, and fought to regain his balance.

He was out of air. His hand trembled violently as he glanced down at it. No way he could hold his sword properly now. Hell, he could barely lift it.

''Keep going?''

Alaric looked up and met those same empty, unreadable eyes behind the demon's helmet.

He raised a hand, shook his head, then dropped down into a sitting position without even thinking about it.

''I'm drained,'' he exhaled.

[You have completed the Normal Mission]

[Reward: 5 Chaos Points]

Five minutes later, he asked the demon:

''So… what am I missing right now? Balance? Speed? Strength?''

The demon tilted its head slightly before answering:

''All of 'em… but you did manage to combine them together a little.''

Alaric forced a smile and downed half a bottle of water. Yeah… it was exactly what he thought. The Blessing of the Supreme Sword Demon let him adapt sword styles at fast speed, sure, but it didn't magically do everything.

His lean body could not keep up with the movement of the current techniques, but if an actual fight broke out? He wouldn't last ten minutes. He'd be wiped out, gasping on the floor, sword slipping out of his hand like earlier.

''Fuck! I've been eating right and hitting the gym, but my body's barely changing. It's like muscle hates me.''

Maybe he was a little too hasty about his build before. Realistically, with his old condition, he'd need at least three years to pack on real weight and muscle. But he was a summoner now—mana core and all. So the fact that his body hadn't budged even a tiny bit after days of training? Yeah, the frustration checked out.

''No… this definitely ties back to that damn illness I had. The aftermath's still kicking my ass.''

Alaric exhaled long and slow.

''Guess I just need more time to fix my strength… my health… all of it.''

Time. He needed more of it. But, tomorrow, he was supposed to duel that muscular bitch from the legendary clan. Tch. He could already see it: himself losing like a pathetic side character, getting tossed around like a scarecrow.

He had only been training with a sword for a few days. Even with the blessing, even with the talent… it was still impossible.

For those reasons, he had prepared everything thoroughly. First, he found books related to the Leonard clan. Most of them already told the legendary tale, as expected.

The most crucial information he found, maybe, was their summoned beings.

A summon tied to the humanoid stones. Their bloodline was special—no one else was able to possess summoned beings like theirs. Like Curry Leonard using Archer Stone, but unlucky for him, he was killed by his own friend.

It wasn't easy to find their weakness in books. If not, that made him think maybe the Leonard clan wasn't actually one of the legendary clans, after all.

If he couldn't dig up weaknesses or info on that muscular bitch from books, Alaric still had one more option.

Dana Leonard.

He figured siblings in legendary clans probably hated each other. That also explained why the muscular bitch scolded Dana in the classroom.

And for some reason, he believed if he asked Dana, she might slip him something useful.

Either way, the enemy of the enemy was the friend.

And he was going to abuse that logic to the fullest.

''Well, that's my plan.''

Alaric slowly stood up, left the training room, and headed to the bathroom. Finally, he could let himself sleep properly—because tomorrow was going to be a long, long day.

***

In the backyard of the academy—which was built massively with brink-firm bricks—soft winds and warm light flowed through the place, giving a sense of something beautiful. Of course, a place like this was only for promising students… the ones who had passed the gods' challenge.

Brian clapped to gather the special students.

"Today, we'll learn how to fight without using summons. You know, we can't depend on them. In the dungeon, you'll face packs of monsters—tons of them—so you'll need to cooperate with your summons… which means you must be strong enough to not be a burden."

"Also, in a real fight-to-the-death battle, killing the summoner is always top priority. Once the master dies, the summon vanishes."

The professor scanned the backyard. The students looked bored as hell after his speech. Normally, he would be pissed, but these kids were different. He assumed they all already knew the basics.

"Anyone who passed the gods' challenge should know this stuff like a born predator's instinct."

He cleared his throat right after.

"Alright, before we start—you guys split up and practice with each other. I'll watch your progress and design personal lessons for each of you."

Soon, the groups were formed:

Group 1: Slater Alvarez, Sydney Doyle, Phyllis Neonard

Group 2: Alaric Jinkens, Dana Neonard

Alaric's group wasn't chosen—it just happened. Well, an inferior status would do that to you.

And Dana… Well, she stood completely still, not caring about anyone at all. Nobody wanted to stand anywhere near her because of her hideous face. No one could get close to her…No one, except Alaric.

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