The Return of the Limited-Time Sword Master

Chapter 115 – Noble Duty (7)

Martin and Adel moved to the training grounds, positioning themselves at a distance as they faced each other.

“I don’t mind sparring, but what made you request it so suddenly?” Martin asked.

“I want to overcome the wall holding me back,” Adel replied.

“A wall, huh… I don’t mean to downplay your concerns, but reaching the 5th Circle at your age is already remarkable. Sien is a special case.”

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that she reached the 6th Circle. To be honest, it bothers me,” Adel admitted.

“Well, you two have been rivals for a long time, so it makes sense. Are you sure, though? If this duel is meant to help you find your breakthrough, I won’t hold back.”

“That’s exactly what I want,” Adel responded, raising her rapier.

Martin drew the holy sword Karadyl from the subspace, taking his stance.

Wham!

An intense, murderous aura poured out from Martin, swiftly engulfing the entire training ground.

“Urgh!”

Adel barely managed to suppress a gasp, but her face went pale. The sheer force of his aura made it difficult to breathe.

She summoned all her focus to keep her composure, but that was all she could do. Moving even a finger seemed impossible, let alone sparring.

And then, Martin moved.

Or so she thought—he had somehow appeared behind her, his blade pressed lightly to her neck.

His calm voice reached her.

“With that strike, you’re dead, Adel von Bitenfeld. And remember this—I won’t hold back again.”

Whum.

As soon as he finished speaking, Martin reappeared in his original position.

“Well, I’ll give you one handicap. From now on, I won’t use Spatial Shift during this duel. But you’re free to use it whenever you like.”

Martin spoke casually, but Adel couldn’t respond. She was still paralyzed by his overwhelming presence.

‘I can’t go on like this.’

Weak or not, she was still the head of her family’s branch. She couldn’t accept looking so pathetic.

Resolved, Adel drew all the mana from her core, wrapping not only her rapier but also her arms and legs in aura.

With her power temporarily maxed out, she managed to shake off Martin’s oppressive force.

She activated Spatial Shift, appearing behind Martin and thrusting her rapier with all her strength.

Whoosh!

Martin turned smoothly, his movements calculated, deflecting her rapier with Karadyl.

As her blue aura clashed against his golden one, a loud blast echoed across the training ground.

“Ugh!”

Adel groaned but had no time to dwell on it. Martin’s counterattack followed immediately.

Karadyl came down from above, forcing her to leap back and slash upward to intercept it.

Boom!

Another explosion shook the ground, leaving cracks on the training floor.

Martin extended his left hand, activating Omni Distortion to manipulate the space around him, absorbing the shockwave from their clash.

Then, he pulled his right arm back, gathering power, and swung Karadyl horizontally, aiming at Adel’s side.

‘I can’t dodge that.’

But she couldn’t block it either. The moment she saw Karadyl coming, she decided and activated Phantasmal Form.

Swish.

Martin stopped his blade mid-swing, stepping forward as he extended his left hand to grasp her throat.

Using Omni Distortion to manipulate space, he bypassed her Phantasmal Form.

And he didn’t stop there. He lifted her and slammed her into the ground with force.

Boom!

Adel’s body bounced off the ground, leaving a small crater where she’d struck.

“Gah!”

Blood spurted from her mouth, the pain so intense she couldn’t even scream.

Releasing his grip, Martin looked down at her and spoke.

“Spatial abilities are highly regarded, but Phantasmal Form is seen as one of the best, along with Spatial Sword.”

Phantasmal Form, which nullifies all physical interference, made its user nearly invincible.

While it didn’t hold up against masters above the 7th Circle, only a handful of people in the Altaria Empire could manage that level of power.

“So, what’s the problem?” Adel managed, her voice faint.

“Abilities that are powerful can be a weakness because they make the user over-reliant,” Martin replied.

“…Please explain, Acting Head.”

“Becoming strong is simple. If you continuously face threats and overcome them, you’ll grow. But you rarely experience those life-or-death situations. You just phase through everything with Phantasmal Form.”

“Wouldn’t the same logic apply to the members of the Igreet family? They shrug off most attacks with their overwhelming physical power, which makes them nearly invincible.”

“That’s… different. They’re practically a different species. Comparing yourself to them is pointless.”

The Igreet family was a unique case, one that should be considered separately.

“A sword is ultimately a tool for killing,” Martin continued, “and it constantly threatens our lives. So you need to experience that risk, to truly feel the threat of death.”

Martin’s words forced Adel to confront her past.

She had always taken the most efficient approach, often relying heavily on her unique ability.

“Ugh…”

With a groan, Adel slowly pulled herself up, raising her rapier toward Martin once more.

Seeing this, he gave a slight smile.

“Want to keep going?”

“I haven’t had a breakthrough yet.”

“You could get hurt worse.”

“There’s no difference at this point—I already feel like I’m about to die.”

“You’re getting tougher.”

“Thanks to you.”

Whum.

Adel concentrated all the aura from her limbs into her sword.

She could now withstand Martin’s oppressive pressure without flinching. She couldn’t afford to waste any more energy.

“Alright, here I come,” he said, kicking off the ground.

He moved so fast it almost seemed like Spatial Shift, but Adel stayed calm.

She could tell he was deliberately moving in a straight line, letting her anticipate his attack.

‘This isn’t him going easy on me.’

She knew full well she had no chance against Martin right now.

The gap in their abilities was simply too vast.

This was a test.

He was intentionally telegraphing his movements to see how she would respond.

Adel gripped the hilt of her rapier tightly.

‘Just one more step… All I need is one step forward.’

She had made up her mind, but her body refused to move. The fear of experiencing that pain again weighed her down, making her legs feel heavy.

Frustrated with herself, Adel gritted her teeth.

If she couldn’t push past this here and now, she’d be left behind by Sien. That was something she could never allow.

‘One disgraceful failure is more than enough!’

Boom!

Determined, she took a firm step forward with her left foot, thrusting her rapier. A brilliant blue light wrapped around her blade, intensifying with her resolve.

But that was as far as it went.

Stop.

Her rapier halted just short of Martin’s solar plexus, while the blade of Karadyl, the holy sword, was already aimed at her throat.

Even though she had timed her move perfectly, she was still outmatched by Martin.

“…It seems that mere resolve isn’t enough,” Adel admitted.

“Of course not. The difference in our abilities is significant.”

“Ugh, the more I get to know you, Acting Head, the more irritating you become.”

“What can I say? The truth is often harsh. Still, I’ll commend you for that one step forward just now.”

“That’s the most insincere compliment I’ve ever heard.”

“Hey, I really did admire it. So, let me give you another piece of advice.”

“I’m listening.”

“You know that unique abilities are a special kind of power. They allow you to attack with incredible force without nearly as much effort as martial skills or magic. But relying on them alone won’t make you a true master.”

“And what makes you say that?”

“Because I believe true strength is forged, not gifted. That’s why martial arts and magic are worth dedicating yourself to.”

“So you’re saying I should focus on the strength I build myself, rather than relying on the power that was given to me?”

“Exactly. Strength that you’ve earned will, in turn, give you confidence in yourself.”

Shiver.

Adel’s eyes widened, trembling as she absorbed his words.

In that moment, a surge of brilliant blue light erupted from her entire body.

Martin smiled faintly.

“I didn’t expect you’d truly have a breakthrough.”

Would she be able to break through her limits?

He watched her with an intrigued look on his face.

—

The Adalbert family was renowned as the premier swordsmanship lineage on the Cracian Continent, even surpassing the Altaria Empire’s elite.

Adel had always believed it was because of the unique ability wielded by their direct bloodline—Spatial Domination.

However, the Ferdinand family, another of the three great noble houses, also dedicated itself to all manner of martial arts, including swordsmanship.

Yet, the world saw the Adalbert family as a step above.

Even though Ferdinand’s unique ability, Wave Domination, was no less formidable than Spatial Domination.

Why, then, was there a difference?

Adel hadn’t understood it before, but now she knew the answer.

‘A perfect union between swordsmanship and unique abilities.’

The martial arts of the Ferdinand family focused on maximizing the power of Wave Domination, a destructive ability in its own right.

But the Adalbert family’s swordsmanship was different.

The perfect example was the Spatial Sword technique.

‘The sword itself is what’s important.’

Crack.

As she reached this realization, a shift occurred within the mana core in Adel’s abdomen. Her existing limits shattered, and her mana core began to expand.

With it, a new mana ring formed.

Flash!

The light radiating from Adel intensified, gathering along her sword, molding itself like clay until it formed a blade of light.

An aura blade.

An art that only those who reached the pinnacle of pure swordsmanship at the 4th Circle could manifest.

This radiant blade, long pursued by knights, had finally been summoned in Adel’s hand.

“Congratulations. You’re now at the 6th Circle,” Martin said with a smile.

“It’s all thanks to you, Acting Head. I’ll never forget this debt.”

“Then I’ll trust you’ll repay it one day.”

Adel gave him an exasperated look but let it go. For now, she wanted to bask in the exhilaration and thrill surging through her.

‘Life is truly unpredictable.’

Sien wielded extraordinary strength through simple, yet restrained movements, a style that extended naturally into her mastery of her unique ability.

Adel, on the other hand, had honed her precision and sharpness through careful technique, and now she had taken a step forward by perfecting her swordsmanship.

Sien had reached the 6th Circle with swordsmanship and unique abilities both at the 3rd Circle.

Adel reached the 6th Circle with swordsmanship at the 4th Circle and unique abilities at the 2nd.

In terms of circle level, they were equal, yet they had each grown by pursuing a path that defied their own natural tendencies.

“With this, I can finally have some fun teasing Sien—she still can’t wield an aura blade,” Adel said with a playful smile.

“Go ahead, that’s between you two. I’d rather stay out of it. Just thinking about going back to the capital is a headache enough.”

“The capital… It’s been a while since I’ve been there.”

For the Founding Festival, not only the heads of the three great noble families, but also the heads of the branch families were required to attend, as they, too, were nobility of the empire.

“It’s such a hassle. I hope this year’s event doesn’t bring any major issues.”

“You don’t actually believe that, do you?”

“Of course not.”

He didn’t even need to think back to his previous life. The tensions and contradictions within the empire had already escalated as far as they could.

‘Every factor that held back civil war has vanished.’

The internal conflicts within the Adalbert family, the strife among the elves, and even the wyvern that absorbed the world tree’s power—all had been dealt with.

With these restraints gone, the only thing that remained was…

‘An inevitable rampage.’

The era was already on the brink of madness.

No one would be able to stop the flow.