Training: Reaper vs. Sword Emperor
The spar between Luna and Eschard—the Reaper and the Sword Emperor—began with Tiny watching intently.
Jenas looked curious too, but he seemed to have his own busy schedule. From overhearing Eschard and Jenas murmuring, it appeared to involve linking Raphtan with that idiot from his old family.
'If Raphtan turns out like he did in my past life, I'll have to step in and sort it out...' He'd already passed that info on to Eschard and Jenas, and he had no desire to meddle in noble family squabbles. For now, he'd focus on what was right in front of him.
"Be careful."
"You too."
Luna, showing her resolve against an Aura User, and Eschard, facing a lower-ranked opponent without dropping his guard. The sight instilled a strange tension in the onlookers, likely due to Luna's nature.
"If you don't know my techniques, even a superhuman will... die... cough, get hurt."
"I've heard the stories, Miss Luna. I'm looking forward to this."
As Eschard's gaze flicked toward Tiny, Luna shot him a glare with furrowed brows.
"I told the old man your techniques too."
"That's... not fair."
"Ha, now you're straight-up calling me 'old man,' huh?"
Tiny averted his eyes from Eschard's blazing stare and grinned at Luna. Honestly, when both sides knew each other's moves, the assassin had the disadvantage. The gap in realms only made it worse. But there was good reason for it.
"That's how you'll improve faster, Luna. Once you hit Aura Exceeder level, our fights in the future will be a lot easier."
Luna scowled but reluctantly nodded. In truth, even in his past life, the Reaper had never crossed into Aura Exceeder territory. Reaching the pinnacle of Aura User in her mid-thirties alongside Ma-Do Knight Argon was an unbelievable feat—but with Tiny, four or five years younger, ascending to Aura Exceeder and vying for the top spot, they ended up rated as the weaker ones among the teenage knights.
Still, the Reaper and Argon had unique talents no one else could mimic. For the Reaper, it was her three-dimensional combat style, freely slipping between reality and shadow space, making her a nightmare in ambushes and one-on-one fights—on par with Aura Exceeders in those scenarios. She'd proven it by solo-assassinating the marquis-level, 8th-stage mana beast 'Ventus the Extreme Speed', a monster that gave everyone trouble.
Of course, things were different now.
'Whether you can use Aura or not makes an even bigger difference.'
But this wasn't a life-or-death duel. The goal was growth through the process, so knowing each other's techniques was for the best.
Luna, however, seemed annoyed about something else.
"Stop calling me Luna... Can't use little bro. It's sis. Not Luna."
"...Anyway, it'll help more. Lu—cough—Sis."
"Fine."
Tiny let out a hollow chuckle at Luna finally nodding with a faint smile, but the blue-eyed middle-aged man, thoroughly ignored amid their exchange, ground his teeth and cut in.
"Fine. You're up next, so get ready, kid."
"Wha—!? Why me!?"
We did it yesterday too!
"Why? Aren't you grateful a '52-year-old' 'old man' is offering back-to-back spars even while wheezing?"
'Ah, that damn stubborn old goat...'
The curse rose to his throat, but he lacked the guts to spit it out. And it was true that sparring with him was hugely beneficial.
"...Yes, thank you."
Tiny nodded meekly, face twisted like he'd eaten shit. Right then, as Eschard opened his mouth to say more while glaring at Tiny—
A shortsword wrapped in black shadow burst from behind his head.
"Tch!"
The clash was instantaneous.
Boom!
Eschard's Aura, reflexively erupting across his body, repelled Luna's shortsword. Her face paled as she slid back smoothly.
'Oh no...'
Tiny's brow furrowed watching the scene. The Reaper, specialist in interpersonal combat, had one glaring weakness: defense and durability far below her peers. Without Aura, it stood out even more.
Even so, her strike had surprised Eschard plenty.
"Ho. Forcing me to use Aura on the first clash. Faster than that kid, Miss Luna."
Embracing her assassin nature, Eschard showed no irritation at the sudden ambush—instead, he was impressed. Considering Tiny's combat prowess far beyond his realm, it was high praise.
But the recipient seemed to think differently.
"Now... the real thing."
Whoosh.
Luna's face hardened even more menacingly. She stepped forward—and vanished in an instant. She reappeared diagonally behind Eschard's left, hurling her shortsword as if teleporting.
The blade accelerated further, wrapped in black shadow the moment it left her hand.
'Hm...?'
Grim Reaper’s Throw after shadow shift. An ultimate technique accelerating the thrown dagger silently over mid-range, bewildering the enemy's vision, space, and speed sense—a superb move.
But...
'Too close?'
Sure enough, Eschard, still a half-beat slow, unleashed Aura again to deflect it.
However—
Boom!
The instant the shortsword bounced off the Aura, as the fading shield parted—a hand blade shrouded in black shadow pierced through.
'Ah!'
As Tiny gasped inwardly, Eschard's belated swing came around. It was late compared to Luna's hand blade, but—
Kuuung.
A massive pressure crushed the entire space, throwing Luna's trajectory off.
Splat.
And in the end—
"Guhk."
Her hand blade grazed Eschard's throat, drawing a thin line of blood—instead, his iron sword halted right before her eyes.
'Couldn't dodge.'
Luna's trembling pupils filled with raw fury. The pressure binding her body had dulled her movements.
But the victor's face—Eschard's—was full of admiration.
"Splendid. Truly splendid. Forcing out my Heavy Pressure in just two exchanges. Knowing it in theory and experiencing it are different, but even accounting for that, you've exceeded my expectations. And moreover..."
Eschard wiped the blood beading on his throat, then regulated his internal mana to expel black blood from the shallow wound—specifically, the black mana trying to invade his veins.
Seeing it, Eschard gave a wry smile.
"Poison made of mana? Impressive technique."
Luna's expression shifted oddly.
"Shadow Poison. Demon clan's method, slandered for it. Family wiped out as excuse. But deadly hidden blade. And... praise?"
Indeed, Shadow Poison was an instant-kill lethal toxin against inferiors, and a latent one against superiors—slowly eroding vitality from within. Its ingredient was the mana of a Shadow Law practitioner, leaving no scent, taste, or trace. The ultimate—and worst—assassination tool, feared enough that rulers exterminated the Morse family over it.
But—
"If you'd tried to assassinate me, it'd be different. But knowing it was coming? Excellent combat tool."
Eschard, nearly caught by it, just kept praising with a laugh. Sensing his sincerity, Luna finally shook off her frustration, snorted, and retreated.
"Fine. Lost. Admit. Old man... strong."
That word—one in particular—reignited fire in Eschard's eyes. But the killing intent flickering like flames wasn't aimed at Luna.
"Old man? Old man, huh... Heh heh heh. Wonder whose fault that is?"
The target just feigned ignorance, shamelessly shaking his head.
"No idea. Maybe His Excellency's just getting presbyopic...? Haha."
Even Luna shot him a look of disbelief at the excuse, which naturally fell flat.
"...I'll smash that mouth, kid."
"S-Spar, right!? I don't even have a weapon—!"
"Shut up!!"
Boom!
Amid the commotion, their "training" session(?) truly kicked off.
For the next month.
Under Eschard's lead, Tiny and Luna endured daily high-intensity training. Occasional mock battles with Jenas joining were brutally grueling, leaving no room to worry about outside news.
Just endless cycles of training and rest. Even that rest, tailored to their near-superhuman bodies and endurance, totaled barely five hours including meals and sleep.
Eschard, guiding them under the guise of one-on-two spars while handling external duties, left no room for complaints.
They felt their skills surging day by day. Especially Tiny—sparring relentlessly with Eschard honed his Soul Weapon mastery to the limit.
"...Can't help but call you a monster."
Eschard's admiration was inevitable. And Luna's growth, fresh to Challenger rank, was steep too. At some point, she grasped Aura's feel, occasionally unleashing dark, ominous energy mid-spar. Not an Aura User yet, but at this rate, she'd break through in 2-3 years max.
No wonder Eschard went from amazed to baffled.
"You're one thing, but Miss Luna's pace isn't normal either?"
"Tell me about it."
Tiny, equally stunned watching her, just shrugged.
"When did the Reaper become an Aura User in your past life?"
"No exact details, but around thirty, I guess."
"And her age now...?"
"...Nineteen."
"Insane. What's the difference? Did she awaken past-life memories too?"
"No way... Why bring that up out of nowhere?"
Tiny scowled mid-reply, but Eschard tilted his head.
"The World Tree guardian got tangled with you, and that happened, right?"
"...Did Estina tell you that much? Anyway, it was coincidence. Not Luna."
"Then how do you explain this?"
"Beats me..."
He trailed off, but had a hunch.
'Her expression's definitely different from her past life.'
Unlike the relentlessly gloomy, vicious mid-thirties Reaper, she looked like a whole different person despite the face. Probably because he'd derailed the future, altering her life's major trajectory. Judging by her changed demeanor, she'd endured something awful.
'Likely tied to the imperial disaster.'
Whatever the case, positive change.
"Morse bloodline... must have real power... Nah, impossible. You two are just freaks. Hah..."
"Might as well call it special."
Shadow blood. If the Morse lineage with ancient magic churned out superhumans like this, they wouldn't have been wiped out easily. It was purely Luna's talent.
Eschard switched training methods.
"Luna, focus more on meditation from now. The wall's close. You siblings' talents are astounding."
Stimulated like Luna, Blue Wing leader Jenas took long-term leave and started "commuting" to the training grounds.
But Tiny's growth stood out most. His body had changed.
"Bro... grew again..."
"At this rate, he's just a beast."
In the training yard's center, Tiny—now towering among knights—stretched bare-chested. Ignoring their stares, he shrugged with a grin.
"What can I say? Feels like I've hit my peak."
New year just started a month ago. He'd shot up nearly 10cm, body scaling accordingly. Tiny credited Valentia mansion's kitchen.
"The food here's amazing."
"Nonsense..."
The reason for his rapid growth was clear. No need to stock mana for constant combat like in Elvenheim or orc lands, so Mana Body's nutrition and growth effects funneled straight to his physique.
'Just over 180cm? Still feels off compared to my past life...'
His ultra-compressed body via Nian Ti was tree-floor-crushing heavy without gravity lightening, and yielded immense power. Maximizing size within innate limits, then compressing mass further. He'd reached his regression-era physical goal.
'Pure physical strength already surpasses my past life.'
Satisfying milestone. And he'd discovered something new: heightened senses from realm ascent detected an unknown internal energy.
Too subtle to notice in his immature past youth. More restraint than curse—suppressing growth to amplify mana positively.
Obvious what it was.
'Dark-affinity mana, hard even for mages to handle, naturally attuned... For Shadow Law.'
Luna's words were true.
'This bloodline really suppresses growth.'
Now it truly sank in: he carried Morse blood.
'A lineage leaving such hidden power in direct descendants means ancestors with absurd strength.'
But he wasn't grateful.
'How much hell did I go through as a kid?'
Dark mana had limited uses, and who wants to be a dwarf pumping general mana at that cost? He had plenty of height-related grudges. Being smallest made him Wolf gang's most pathetic beggar—last in shares, even named Tiny.
All past now, but curiosity lingered since first hearing Luna.
"A family with inherited magic power should've been huge. Why's no one know them? Even if wiped out decades ago."
Luna's answer was straightforward.
"Our family, ancestors founding merits. Imperial shadows copied us. Ancestors amazing. But assassins, no respect."
"I see..."
Her blunt explanation cleared it up. Problem: discovering the blood energy intensified her fixation.
"So, learn. Illusion Step, you tried copying, possible."
"No, that was forced."
"Try first."
"Agh, Luna..."
"Not Luna. Sis."
"Fine, geez!"
"Hate it? Marry off."
"Arghhh!"
Some commotion, but training progressed successfully.
Until shortly after, when nerve-wracking news arrived.