“Haaam.”
How much time had passed.
Selene began to feel slightly drowsy.
Come to think of it, until when am I supposed to keep this watch?
Since it wasn’t required by anyone but herself, there was no one to relieve her.
Spending the whole night awake? Until when? Just tonight? Tomorrow night too? The next as well? When would she be able to sleep?
Still, it felt wrong to just finish a watch of an hour or two and then lie down on the bedding.
Of course, no one would have criticized her for it, but this was a matter of her own conscience.
Conclusion: she would stop when she felt satisfied.
The amount of time so far hadn’t been enough to satisfy Selene.
At least two more hours, she thought she should try enduring.
She would probably be a bit sleep-deprived, but it wasn’t a big deal.
A knight prides themselves on their strong body. Missing a night’s sleep here and there wouldn’t significantly harm her physical condition.
“Hm.”
Selene stood up from her spot.
It wasn’t working out, feeling too drowsy.
At times like this, physical activity was the answer.
Fortunately, this was perfectly fine.
She had set aside swordsmanship training after her injury.
This was quite unusual for her, since after resolving to become a knight, she had trained diligently every single day without rest.
Though it was late, she needed to get back to her routine and regain her sense.
Swish. The blade was pulled out.
As Selene felt the cold sensation of the blade, she began to swing it.
The imaginary enemy standing before her was a lizardman leader.
The monster that had given her a terrible defeat.
Her determination was to review her failure and progress so that next time, she would surely win.
“…”
And in the darkness, a pair of luminous eyes watched her.
*
Geez, what’s all that noise under the moonlight.
Rena awoke from her sleep.
Her night-vision, sharp enough to pierce through the darkness like daylight, sought the source of the commotion.
Naturally, it was none other than Selene.
Out of some consideration, it seemed, she was practicing her sword skills at a bit of a distance from the campsite.
So what? It didn’t matter.
Rena’s hypersensitive hearing, sharper than any beast’s, made it useless regardless.
“Huh, just stop standing guard and go to sleep already…”
Rena guessed why Selene was practicing swordsmanship under the moonlight.
That tends to happen with night watches. You’re awake alone in the silent night—of course you feel sleepy.
Her intent seemed to be to drive away the drowsiness by moving her body.
Now that she understood what was going on, she thought about trying to sleep again.
Rena has sharp senses, yes,
but that doesn’t mean her sleep is easily disturbed.
If Rena decides to sleep, she sleeps soundly even if someone beside her is dancing or beating a drum.
Just the same, her wild instincts remained in her body.
Monster attacks often occurred under the moonlight, making her sensitive to unfamiliar sounds.
Even with that sensitivity, as soon as she closed her eyes again, she could return to dreamland.
“Hmm… Let’s watch a bit,”
Forget sleep.
Rena’s sluggish expression was replaced with sharp alertness.
Knights, swords, swordsmanship!
This was the romance of a male!
No wonder, Rena had chosen the knight’s fate after her wild nature.
And having someone to discuss knighthood with could make for good conversation topics if Selene were that knight.
Even so, it was the existing interest that was now urging her forward.
――――――――
[The Fate of a Knight]
This is the path of honing oneself through conviction and moving forward with unwavering will.
A knight’s mission is not a mere act of combat.
To safeguard what deserves protection and fulfill one’s duty.
The possessor of this fate will contemplate on the boundary between justice and reality and carve out the world with firm belief.
A knight will be tempered in trials and eventually remain as an immortal legend.
※Knight’s Oath: Physical endurance forged by belief
※Keen Insight: Penetrating perception of the opponent’s moves
※Unrivaled Mastery: Innate skill in using all kinds of weapons
※Pledge of the Battlefield (details omitted)
Presence of a protector, unyielding spirit, ultimate strike…
――――――――
As she had chosen the fate of a knight, she needed to learn the art of wielding a sword.
She had heard that basics are crucial when learning martial arts.
This was the advice of the Taekwondo gym owner she used to visit as a child.
Bad habits formed are twice as hard to fix later.
However, Rena lacked a teacher to teach her the basics.
There were no people in the Great Forest.
There were monsters like Lizardmen wielding spears and swords.
But come on, was she supposed to take a monster as a master?
That was a bit…
In that sense, she was lucky.
Right in front of her was an expert—a seasoned sword-wielding knight.
Since an exemplary model can teach correctness simply by observing, a knight was a perfect model in every way.
Rena quietly observed Selene.
Her sword dance was mesmerizing, sending shivers down Rena’s spine.
It was like those roller coasters or giant drop rides that scare you but make you want to ride anyway.
The fear of the blade swinging, under precise and controlled skill, presented an alluring charm.
“She’s pretty good,” Rena acknowledged.
Considering that she had been defeated by just Lizardmen, she was quite skilled.
While watching, there were plenty of things to learn.
If Rena’s movements were 1 part rationale and 9 parts instinct, Selene was exactly the opposite.
Her every movement had a carefully thought-out basis.
Is it because she’s wielding a sword? Even if the hilt sticks perfectly to the hand, it’s ultimately an external object, a tool.
Mesmerized, Rena memorized every movement of Selene’s.
“Advanced Insight connects with Manual Dexterity (Lv.max) and deeply perceives the opponent’s actions!”
At first, Rena had simply thought Selene’s movements were impressive without understanding the specifics,
but gradually, things started becoming clearer.
You move like this in one situation and like that in another.
Breaking down the movements, there was pattern and regularity to each action.
Rena’s limbs felt an irresistible urge to try and mimic them.
It seemed it wouldn’t be too difficult.
Though she anticipated some awkwardness initially, that would improve with repetition and practice.
Should she give it a try?
In the bundle she had prepared, there was a sword she had taken from the Dragon’s lair.
Right at that moment,
“Dracois Family Swordsmanship (Lv.1) has been discovered!”
“Conditions for the use of Dracois Family Swordsmanship (Lv.1) are not met!”
“The skill has been locked!”
“The Fate of a Knight connects with Dracois Family Swordsmanship, creating a miraculous cause and effect!”
――――――――
[Mortal Swordmaster]
Long ago, in a time when records didn’t even exist, there was a swordmaster who traversed the continent bare-handed.
He foresaw that a great danger would arise in the distant future and thus amassed his martial arts into a relic.
However, this was scattered due to human greed.
You, who have come in contact with its traces, may gather these pieces…
Reward: Growth points…
――――――――
“Ah, flashy.”
Why is it flashing and causing such a commotion in the middle of the night?
Rena pushed her status window out of sight.
This thing has no sense of timing.
Just when she was starting to figure out how to swing a sword, her concentration was broken…
“Sorry, did I wake you?”
Selene caught Rena’s eye and awkwardly returned her sword to its scabbard.
“Yeah. Your sword practice woke me up.”
Rena confidently responded.
It was truthful; she really had woken up to the sound of the swordplay.
Compared to that, watching secretly wasn’t much of a wrongdoing.
“… It wasn’t intentional. I’ll be more careful in the future.”
Selene looked dejected.
Her shoulders drooped, her eyes downturned, making her expression look like she was about to cry.
Her tone was stern, yet she subtly expressed her emotions.
It was fun to tease her.
As Rena suppressed her chuckle internally, she continued,
“So, in return, teach me how to wield a sword.”
“?”
Getting closer sneakily, she clung on and grinned while clinging to her.
Stunned by the sudden change of atmosphere, Selene’s face froze hard.
“Just a minute, Rena, could you please step back?”
“Ah, maybe you’re not into physical touching?”
Thinking that girls often held hands and walked together, she assumed this level of contact would be fine.
It was a typical misconception among guys.
Of course, not everyone is the same.
Rena cautiously took a step back.
A new line was added to the mental profile of Selene in Rena’s mind.
Prideful, shy, dislikes clinging.
“Sweat came out. It’s dirty.”
The newly added line disappeared.
Hmm, that’s a sensitive matter.
Rena understood her feelings.
“It’s okay, you don’t smell much.”
Not smelling much actually means there is a bit of a smell.
Rena didn’t mind though.
Living among monsters, a little sweat smell was nothing.
If you were overly sensitive about such small things, life would be stressful.
“Will you teach me?”
Selene realized it was a joke from Rena.
Would she get angry while she was grinning and begging her?
Still, that didn’t change the fact that Selene had woken Rena up.
How tough it is to lose sleep due to someone else.
Despite not showing any signs of frustration, Rena’s lighthearted reaction was all the more heartwarming because she hadn’t learned social niceties.
In reality, Rena was just following her desires.
With restless limbs, she thought, why sneak around, let me try and learn directly.
“Alright, I’ll teach you. Thinking about it, Rena, you should probably know how to defend yourself too.”
Even if the Great Forest was the most dangerous place in the world, other inhabited areas weren’t much safer.
Assuming people are kind and friendly would be a big mistake.
Especially Rena, whose looks naturally drew people’s eyes, even without any makeup.
She needed to learn at least one way to protect herself.
Besides, they hadn’t escaped the Great Forest yet.
They didn’t know what dangers might come.
Laying the foundation for swordsmanship now could help reduce the risk of Rena getting hurt.
“Alright, you’ll teach me? Hold on a moment.”
Rena scurried back and pulled a sword out of her pack.
“That’s…?”
“I found it in the cave. The blade is sharp, so it seemed perfect to use as a butcher’s knife.”
Selene noticed the special quality of the sword Rena was holding.
If a person who lived by the sword failed to notice this, it would be considered dereliction of duty.
The edge was so sharp it seemed like it could cut just by looking at it, and the handle’s adornment, though tarnished and worn, retained the elegance of master craftsmanship.
‘If it fell on the ground, wouldn’t such a fine sword belong in the Great Forest?’
‘A trap filled with ants that swallows unwary intruders.’
Countless knights and nobles had perished here.
This must be a sword dropped by one of them, Selene concluded.
