Clash on Kannin Peak
She had swung the sword her entire life out of necessity. She'd never once found it fun. Every time she failed to meet the standards, brutal punishment and training followed. She had forcibly dedicated the long life of a fairy race member to the blade.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how much you've grown, miss."
As promised, the two met again at the summit of Kannin Mountain. The mysterious fairy race swordswoman Erph, with her clipped ears, and Erika, who had spent a year as the adventurer Gil-dong Hong. A master-disciple bond forged over ten years of teaching and learning.
"Teach me a thing or two."
With that declaration, Erika drew her longsword from her waist. A hefty blade, a bit too long and heavy for one-handed use. Gripping it with both hands, she raised it high above her shoulders, tilting it to guard her center. She spread her legs wide front and back, assuming the middle guard—perfect for countering any high, mid, or low attack or defense. Up to this point, it was exactly as her master Erph had taught her.
But from there, it diverged sharply.
The distance between them just before Erika lunged was over 10 meters. Even generously, it would've taken five strides to close. She covered it in one leap.
Erph had anticipated mana usage. But even the pre-departure Erika would've needed three steps for that gap.
The amount of mana has increased, and her control has improved. But the biggest change is her body. The elasticity is incredible.
Normally, mana had to be split evenly between body protection and output. Human bodies were just too fragile—they broke and tore easily. But Erika was no longer an ordinary human. Now she could pour 1 part into protection and 9 into output. The result? More than double her previous power.
In that split-second, Erph finished her analysis of Erika. No use hiding it—she was terrifyingly strong. It almost seemed a waste for such a powerhouse to play sword instructor in a peaceful territory.
Fun, huh.
One day, Erph had asked her disciple Erika why she trained so hard. Duty as the marquess's daughter? Ambition for power?
Erika's answer: This world doesn't have much that's fun. This is the closest thing.
Erph had thought then: So swordsmanship could feel fun?
"They say humans change completely after just a year apart. That must've been about you, miss."
"And you're still as ageless and unchanged as ever, Master."
Erika let out a hollow chuckle. This woman's been hiding her true strength, after all. Or maybe she just never had a chance to show it. The old me was pathetically weak.
"Come to think of it."
The exchange began. Swords clashed. Practice like the real thing. Their strikes weren't some theatrical clash of steel—they targeted vital points that could kill in an instant. They chatted casually even as they aimed for spots that would be fatal if not perfectly blocked.
"Ran into a Swordmaster the other day."
"Someone known, or new?"
"Kalcion Northwind, the Northern Grand Duke."
"Did you cross blades?"
"He was protecting Amelia, so unfortunately no."
"What a shame."
The intervals between clashes shortened. Soon, they lost the leisure to talk. Dozens of slashes in an instant—clashing, repelling. Occasional thrusts exploiting gaps. Breaths grew ragged, bodies flushed red, hearts pounded wildly. Excitement built higher.
Their expressions twisted further. It was almost vulgar, like base copulation. Breaths mingling, invading, crumbling, stripping, tormenting. Racing toward climax in a heartbeat.
"Kuhak!"
Their bodies tangled. Erph pinned beneath, Erika's knee to body atop her. In real combat, it'd escalate to brutal grappling, but this was sparring.
"No holding back there, Master."
"Truly impressive growth. I yield."
Then Erika's hand blurred faintly, and a leaf appeared in it.
A leaf?
You have subdued an incredible powerhouse.
Steal her possession.
Reward:Steal Skill Lv. 1
It was a quest from the Rogue Master's Legacy. Erika figured it lightly. Right in front of me. Borrow it quick and give it back—no harm done.
She slyly lifted the item Erph kept tucked in her clothes: a leaf.
Why treasure a leaf like that? Fairy race thing?
By the time she gained the Steal Skill reward, the sword demon beneath her had eyes rolled back in fury.
"Don't touch other people's things without permission."
"Sorry, wasn't on purpose."
Erika meekly returned the leaf, and Erph tucked it back into her bosom. But her anger didn't subside easily.
"Let's continue the spar."
Erph's aura shifted entirely. She unlocked the double and triple seals she'd kept locked. What had been a friendly bout to avoid injury now burned to teach this rude brat a lesson. Her sharpened presence, altered mana flow—even facing her made skin prickle like it might split. Spar Phase 2 began.
Before, Erika had pressed the attack while Erph defended. Now it reversed. From friendly sport to a heartfelt clash: punisher versus survivor.
"Whoa! Ack! Haa!"
"Haaaaah!"
Screams-like kiais? Groans? The ferocious exchange dragged on. It ended after 10 minutes, as Erph finally reined in her emotions.
Erika was spent enough to pass out in three seconds flat on a bed.
"You've grown tremendously, miss. I meant to thrash you once, but you blocked everything."
"I legit thought I was gonna die. That leaf that precious?"
Even after ten years together, Erph had never shared her past or present. She just called herself a ronin, a guest.
"That's a story from when the marquess was still young."
The fairy race was a tiny, insular group. Imperial citizens kept kidnapping them for slave trade. Erph, raised as racial guardian and enforcer, lost her sister to slavers. She became a vengeful ghost, massacring humans.
A subjugation order issued. Victims being slavers aside, a fairy massacring humans was fact. Leading the subjugation force: Julius Confeld, future western marquess and young noble scion.
He succeeded in capturing her alive and interrogated her personally, but she stayed silent.
"I thought you'd execute me."
Julius clipped her ears, claimed her human, and brought her to his house.
"I figured you'd make me a spectacle, abuse and mock me."
But no.
"He just said he couldn't stand seeing an innocent punished for not being human."
Erph was treated as a guest. She long remained an outsider, but after becoming Erika's swordmaster, she started calling herself a retainer. The pure sword-loving girl's sight finally opened her heart.
Dad's got a light novel backstory like that!?
Erika was stunned hearing Erph's tale. That's heroine material. How could she not love Dad then?
"Aiming for stepmom spot after all?"
"No. The marquess is ugly."
"Fair point."
But light novel protags needed looks. Julius was entry-level reject.
World's harsh.
"Don't you find a mass murderer like me scary or repulsive?"
"If they deserved killing, sure."
Erika wasn't big on inalienable rights. Past life or this one.
"Don't kill without reason" rang hollow to her.
"This leaf is the leaf flute my sister played. Preserved with magic so it doesn't rot."
"No wonder you got so pissed."
"No idea where you picked up that bad habit. Hard up for cash?"
"Got a long story myself."
Erika recounted dungeon delving, sudden selection by the Rogue Master's Legacy.
"Rogue Master? The one who felled the demon king a millennium ago?"
"First I've heard."
"You don't know the tale of the four heroes?"
A story erased from imperial records, remembered only by fairies. Four heroes who slew the demon king.
Erika mused: Emperor's a Swordmaster descendant, so they bloated his feats and erased the others?
Rulers twisting history to taste. Common in human realms.
"Politicians suck, huh."
"Politicians?"
"Nobles, royals, whatever."
"Aren't you a marquess's daughter?"
Erika shrugged. Erph smiled watching her.