Chapter 5 : 【Swordsman】
Chapter 5: 【Swordsman】! Basic Sword Techniques
Just as the other male squires had imagined, practicing swordsmanship inevitably involved physical contact.
Inside the training room, Eve flicked her wooden sword upward, closed the distance swiftly, and lightly bumped her shoulder forward.
Leo was jolted by the force and sent flying backward.
After Eve’s test, Leo’s physical condition could only be described as very average.
“With your current body, there’s nothing much I can teach you. You can only start by building a solid foundation. Watch carefully.” Eve tightened her grip on the wooden sword.
“The foundation of all sword techniques consists of just three movements. The first—slash.” Eve lowered her stance, stepped forward, and brought the wooden sword down fiercely.
Accompanied by a deep tearing sound through the air, the wooden sword struck heavily onto the wooden dummy.
The immense force traveled through the dummy, producing a heavy impact on the ground.
Visible to the naked eye, the blade of the wooden sword had sunk several inches into the wooden post.
A faint smile curled at Eve’s lips—she was very satisfied with Leo’s reaction.
“The second movement—cut!”
As soon as her words fell, Eve retracted the wooden sword and immediately unleashed a flurry of sword shadows.
With a horizontal slash, the upper half of the wooden post snapped like sugarcane and tilted to one side.
Before Leo could even react—
Eve moved her foot, twisted her waist, and the wooden sword in her hand became a blur.
Like a venomous snake striking—
“The third—thrust!”
Thud!
A powerful piercing sound mixed with the tearing of fibers rang out.
Leo watched as the wooden sword in her hand directly pierced through the thick wooden post.
With a twist of her wrist, the force spiraled—
The remaining half of the wooden post split cleanly in two, bursting apart to either side.
Eve casually spun a beautiful flourish with the wooden sword and tucked it behind her back.
She looked at Leo for two seconds, as if waiting for him to process what he had seen.
Then, expressionless, she casually tossed the wooden sword to him.
“This one weighs three jin. Practice.”
Leaving behind those words, Eve turned and strode out of the training room without looking back.
“When you can skillfully wield a ten-jin iron sword, I’ll teach you real sword techniques.”
After closing the door, she suddenly turned back.
Pressing her head against the crack of the door, she began observing Leo’s reaction.
She was very satisfied with the demonstration she had just performed.
It would definitely give this boy a great shock—and she thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of showing off and then watching others’ reactions.
However, although Leo was indeed surprised, his reaction was not as intense as she had expected.
Leo only paused for a moment and looked at the wooden sword in his hand.
It was indeed powerful—being able to wield a wooden sword to such an extent had already surpassed the limits of an ordinary person.
But compared to the things he had heard about in his previous life—such as splitting armor with a single strike or opening the gates of heaven with one sword—
this level of power was still within his imagination.
Without overthinking, Leo immediately began to imitate.
With his Spirit at 1.2, his memory far surpassed that of ordinary people.
Although Eve had only demonstrated the movements once,
the actions had already left a complete image in his mind—every detail perfectly clear.
“Strike while the iron is hot—start practicing right away.” Leo gripped the somewhat heavy wooden sword.
First form—slash!
Leo followed Eve’s movements and brought the sword down.
Through the silver mirror on the wall, he could see that his movements were far more strained than Eve’s.
Moreover, due to insufficient strength, his form was clearly somewhat distorted.
But Leo was not discouraged.
Second form—cut!
He moved his feet, twisted his body, and tried to replicate every detail of force application as accurately as possible.
Third form—thrust!
Even though it was only striking empty air,
Leo gritted his teeth and treated each motion as if facing an imaginary enemy, committing himself fully.
Then came the second round—he faced the mirror, comparing himself to the memory in his mind, attempting to correct his movements.
Then the third round.
Outside the door, watching Leo practice with such meticulous focus, Eve’s expression gradually became serious.
“Well, Miss Eve?”
Startled by the voice behind her, Eve suddenly turned around and saw a gleaming bald head.
She quickly raised a finger to her lips. “Shh!”
As if afraid Leo inside would hear, she dragged the bald instructor Clarsen to the side.
“Keep it down. What do you mean ‘well’?”
“I’m asking—how is your first student?”
“Heh, naturally outstanding in talent.” Eve’s face was full of pride.
She and Clarsen could be considered senior and junior—ever since she defeated him last year, the two had been secretly competing.
Although she spoke confidently, her hand unconsciously clenched the edge of her sleeve, revealing a trace of unease.
“Oh? Outstanding talent? I didn’t see that.” Clarsen had carefully observed Leo earlier.
Whether it was his bone structure or physique, he did not look like someone suited for swordsmanship.
“That’s my student.” Eve remained stubborn.
Clarsen teased, “Every year when the snow melts, Sir Laforin holds the year-end assessment. That’s about three months away. Your student probably won’t participate, right?”
“Three months? One month is enough for him to defeat your so-called students.” Eve refused to back down.
Clearly, Clarsen had stirred her competitive spirit.
“Oh? Miss Eve is so confident? Then I’ll be watching closely.” Clarsen waved his hand and left with a smile.
Eve remained where she was, having just boasted impulsively.
She bit her lip.
In truth, she did not have much confidence in this new student.
But… looking through the crack in the door at that diligent figure practicing sword swings—
“Perhaps?” Eve shook her head.
She knew that anyone would have initial enthusiasm at the beginning.
Everything depended on whether this boy could persist.
As for her own current level of swordsmanship—others called it talent, but only she knew—
Since the age of five, she had practiced the sword.
On countless nights unseen by others, she had swung her sword alone in her room time and time again.
To enjoy the pleasure of being called a genius always required a price.
Eve stopped watching and left the training room.
A good swordsman could not be taught purely through instruction.
Nor did one need to constantly supervise.
After a shocking demonstration, letting the student explore on their own and only guiding them when they encountered a bottleneck was the best method.
However, out of curiosity, Eve deliberately passed by the training room every two hours to check on Leo’s training.
Two hours. Four hours. Six hours.
Every time she returned, Leo was still practicing.
Eight hours! Ten hours!
When Eve returned for the fourth time, she lingered outside and watched for a while.
By the fifth time, she could no longer hold back—she pushed the door open and strode inside.
“Are you trying to kill yourself?!”
At this moment, Leo was shirtless, his slender body glistening with heavy sweat.
“Instructor.” Seeing Eve burst in, Leo stopped swinging the wooden sword.
“It’s already been ten hours! Who trains like this?” Eve snatched the wooden sword from his hand, her eyes carrying authority.
She had thought Leo would stop after at most two or three hours.
But unexpectedly, this boy had trained for a full ten hours straight.
And this was his very first time practicing swordsmanship.
Leo smiled. There was no water clock in this small training room, so he had lost track of time.
But in truth, he wasn’t particularly tired.
Because within his panel, he had already unlocked a new class.
【Class: Swordsman (Green)】