Chapter 21: A Moth's Flight

*Clang!*

Sharp blades clashed with silver scabbards in mid-air, producing the sound of metal striking metal.

In the somewhat narrow courtyard, two figures, enveloped in wind, collided, causing the surrounding air currents to become chaotic due to the friction of the wind.

Lige charged at Ais without hesitation, his rapier flaring up, creating countless arcs of light as he slashed at the young girl.

*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!*

One after another, the sounds of clashing blades echoed throughout the courtyard.

Facing Lige's relentless charge and merciless slashes, Ais deftly danced her scabbard, effortlessly deflecting all the incoming silver light.

The wind collided, and so did the swords.

The confrontation between the two swordsmen continued, seemingly on equal footing, but in reality, one side was constantly attacking while the other did not retreat a single step.

Any discerning observer could tell who had the upper hand in this battle.

Lige felt as if he was not facing a person but an immovable mountain. No matter how he charged or swung his sword, he could not shake his opponent in the slightest.

However, facing such an unshakable opponent, Lige did not feel the slightest bit of fear. Instead, his blood boiled, and his eyes grew brighter.

That's right.

He was enjoying it.

Enjoying the battle with a formidable enemy.

Enjoying the intense fight where every second counted, where even the slightest mistake could lead to defeat.

Driven by this mindset, Lige unleashed all his strength.

*Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!* *Clang!*

The sounds of clashing blades became even more intense and continuous.

Lige began to circle around Ais, launching a variety of attacks at her slender figure, making the sword and blade shadows appear all around her, slashing at her from all directions.

There were powerful downward strikes aimed at her back.

There were vertical slashes aimed at her ankles.

There were thrusts aimed at her shoulders.

There were cuts aimed at her abdomen.

Lige did not hold back his strength or avoid vital points, as if he truly intended to kill Ais. Each of his strikes was powerful and deadly.

There was no choice; if he did not use all his skills, he would not pose any threat to this female swordsman.

Understanding the gap between them, Lige believed that Ais would not fall to this level of attack and attacked with all his heart.

Ais did not disappoint Lige. She stood there without moving, and with just the swing of her scabbard, she deflected all of his strikes.

The girl did not simply block with her scabbard but used various direct and simple methods to counter Lige's attacks.

Facing a powerful downward strike aimed at her back, she swung her scabbard from the side, using the most efficient technique to deflect the heavy attack.

Facing a vertical slash aimed at her ankles, she did not choose to dodge but instead kicked Lige's sword hand, causing him to lose his strength.

A thrust aimed at her shoulder was blocked by her scabbard, a strike that relied more on surprise than power, and was easily deflected.

A cut aimed at her abdomen had no effect, being deflected by the scabbard as she rotated her wrist, forcing Lige to step back.

Gradually, the girl did not limit herself to defense but launched a counterattack, using the scabbard, which had no lethal power, to leave marks on Lige's body.

Her speed in swinging the scabbard was incredibly fast, and her attacks were fierce. Even without adding wind power, each strike of the scabbard produced a whistling wind, striking Lige hard.

Lige could not see the trajectory of the scabbard and abandoned his defense, focusing all his attention on the attack. The arcs of light from his slashes became faster, more ruthless, and more deadly.

Seeing Lige, who seemed like a cold and merciless sword demon, relentlessly attacking Ais, those watching from the windows of the mansion could not remain calm.

"Is this a joke?"

Tiona muttered involuntarily.

"Isn't he a new recruit who just received a blessing?"

Tione's face was full of shock, as if she could not believe it.

"Hey! Damn Loki!"

Bert, who had returned to the window at some point, looked down at the intense battle, as if he had been stimulated, and shouted at Loki, "Are you sure that kid was an ordinary person who hadn't received a blessing a few days ago? Even jokes have limits!"

Not just Bert, but Finn, Reviar, and Grace were also speechless, looking at Loki.

"New recruit?" Grace said doubtfully, "This skill and ability would be considered an expert even in Level 1."

That was exactly the case.

Lige's displayed strength greatly exceeded everyone's expectations, surprising the Level 1 adventurers who had only intended to observe the potential of the new recruit.

"Oh." Loki scratched his head and said, "It seems it has come to this, hasn't it?"

Clearly, the reactions of the clan members were all within Loki's expectations.

"That growth rate, it's no wonder these kids who grow step by step are shocked." Loki recalled the events of the previous night.

Last night, after Ais agreed to Lige's request to teach him magic, Lige did not leave immediately but asked Loki to help with his third ability update.

Lige Brihaut

Level 1

Strength: F385 → D555

Endurance: F380 → D548

Agility: E431 → C623

Dexterity: E449 → C637

Magic: I0

Total skill proficiency increased by over 700!

The third ability update continued to show Lige's astonishing growth rate.

Especially his "Agility" and "Dexterity," both had entered the C stage!

This was something even adventurers who had worked hard for years in Level 1 could not achieve.

As previously mentioned, those who could raise their basic abilities to the S stage were extremely rare, and even those who could reach the A stage were few. Reaching the B stage was already considered a genius, and there were not many in Orario.

Lige, however, had reached the C stage in just three days, and not just in one ability but in two.

Because of this fact, Loki doubted his divine life all night, let alone others.

If others were like this, then Ais, who faced Lige directly, was even more so.

"He?"

Ais's transparent golden eyes stared directly at the continuously attacking Lige, her pupils slightly contracting.

To Lige, Ais was an immovable mountain, but to Ais, Lige seemed like a constantly transforming cocoon, small but gradually growing wings, becoming a moth, and flying towards the flame.

In terms of basic abilities, Lige was now surpassing over 90% of the adventurers in Level 1, clearly becoming one of the top experts in Level 1.

With the additional magic "Wind Spirit Dash," Lige's abilities in attack, defense, and speed were all significantly enhanced. Now, unless he faced a Level 2 opponent, he could fight anyone.

Of course, this level of strength was almost negligible to Ais.

As the world-recognized strongest female swordsman, with the strength of a Level 1 adventurer, even if Lige were two or three levels stronger, he would still be no match for Ais, let alone the fact that Ais had been at Level 5 for three years, not a newly promoted Level 1 adventurer.

However, from Loki's words, Ais knew that Lige was an ordinary person who had only received a blessing three days ago and had never received a blessing before.

To have the strength of a Level 1 expert in just three days?

This fact deeply stimulated Ais's innermost being, making her feel surprised.

What surprised Ais even more was that Lige continued to transform as he fought with her.

Specifically, Lige seemed to have gradually found the key to controlling "Wind Spirit Dash," starting to add wind power to his sword or directly detonate it under his feet, thereby increasing his attack speed and movement speed, truly becoming a gust of wind, rapidly attacking.

Moreover, as time passed, Lige's sword became sharper, no longer chaotic but familiar to Ais.

"Is he learning my sword techniques?"

Ais's heart was stirred by an uncontrollable wave.

She was right.

Lige was indeed learning her sword techniques, or rather, her sword skills.

"Is this how I should swing my sword?"

In the continuous attacks, Lige's eyes showed a hint of enlightenment, changing the way he swung his sword.

It became simpler!

It became faster!

With his extraordinary memory, Lige carefully observed Ais's movements, memorizing every technique she used, and, with his inhuman growth rate, reproduced and mastered them.

This was an unexpected gain.

Originally, Lige only wanted to learn magic from Ais, but it was only now that he realized this.

"I should not only learn magic."

"I should not only grow in ability values."

"My combat techniques and skills also need to be learned and improved."

In his previous life, Lige had only learned self-defense martial arts and had never learned combat techniques for fighting.

Especially swordsmanship, which Lige had never learned.

Now, he had the opportunity to learn.

Such a Lige, in Ais's eyes, had undergone a transformation and evolution without any difference.

"Too fast!"

Ais shouted in her heart.

"He is growing too fast!"

This realization made Ais's seemingly flawless movements show a slight flaw.

"There!"

Lige's eyes suddenly lit up, capturing this barely noticeable flaw.

*Clang!*

With a powerful downward strike, Ais stepped back.

"Opportunity!"

Lige instinctively realized that this was the only chance in this battle to pose a threat to Ais.

Without hesitation, Lige aimed at Ais's exposed chest and thrust directly.

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(End of Chapter)