The steady rhythm of steel cutting through air echoed across the training grounds.
Kael's grip tightened around the hilt of his sword as he moved through another sequence, muscles burning, breath controlled. Sweat traced down his temple, but his thoughts were far from his body.
Lyra.
Rin.
And the system.
Religion had been the perfect veil. The more he thought about it, the clearer it became, faith, devotion, obedience. If anyone wanted to hide intent, there was no better cover than worship. He still couldn't fully see how it all tied back to Lyra, but the lingering traces of magic hadn't lied. They had led underground. To the workshop hidden beneath the temple of the goddess Seraphina.
His jaw clenched.
With a sharp exhale, Kael swung.
The blade bit cleanly into the tree before him. The trunk cracked, splintering violently as it gave way, collapsing with a heavy thud.
"Eirene…" he muttered under his breath, not even sure if he expected an answer.
That was when he heard it.
Movement. Wheels. Voices.
Kael straightened instantly, senses sharpening as the sound drew closer, from the direction of the castle. He turned, hand still on his sword, and moved without hesitation.
A wooden carriage rolled into view, drawn by a tired horse. A young woman guided it carefully, her posture tense. Behind her sat a second figure, small, covered, unmoving.
They slowed when they noticed him.
The moment the carriage stopped, the covered figure shifted.
Then.....
Rin looked up.
The cloth slipped just enough for her ears to show.
Kael froze.
"…Rin?"
The name tore out of him as disbelief crashed into shock. He didn't think—he ran.
Rin's eyes widened, and the next second she was already climbing down, stumbling forward before throwing herself into him. Her arms wrapped around him tightly, fingers clutching his clothes as she broke down completely.
"Kael—!"
He caught her without hesitation, arms locking around her, holding her as if letting go would make her disappear. Relief hit him so hard it almost knocked the breath from his lungs.
She was warm. Real. Alive.
At that exact moment, light flashed before his eyes.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
STATUS UPDATE CONFIRMED
CLASS UNLOCKED: SWORDSMAN IN TRAINING
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Kael barely registered it, his attention still on Rin, but the system's presence lingered in the back of his mind.
Footsteps thundered closer.
"Well, damn."
Hiryuu appeared beside them, hands on her hips, eyes immediately locking onto Rin. A wide grin broke across her face as she reached out and gently stretched Rin's cheek.
"So you just vanish on us like that?" she teased. "You know how worried we were?"
Rin let out a weak sound somewhere between a laugh and a sniffle. "S-Sorry…"
The moment the word left her lips, her composure broke. She leaned forward suddenly, arms wrapping around Hiryuu as quiet sobs shook her frame, her fingers clutching desperately at Hiryuu's clothes.
Hiryuu froze for half a second, then softened, one hand coming up to steady Rin instinctively. "Hey…" she murmured.
"Are you okay?" Hiryuu asked, her tone gentler now.
Rin nodded weakly against her. "I was… oddly taken care of," she admitted, her voice muffled. "But… I was bait. They wanted to lure Kael out."
Kael stiffened slightly.
"…Who?" he asked, his voice low, uncertain.
Rin hesitated, lifting her head just enough to speak. "Not exactly. I didn't really understand it myself… but I met someone. A man. He definitely had a grudge against you." She frowned, trying to focus. "He was the one really looking for you."
Before she could say more, her body suddenly sagged.
"Whoa—!"
Hiryuu reacted instantly, tightening her hold and supporting her fully. "Okay, that's enough talking for now," she said firmly. "She needs rest."
Kael nodded, concern flooding back in. As Rin was guided away, his gaze drifted inward again—back to the system.
He pulled up the update properly this time.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
SYSTEM UPDATE
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
SPECIAL CONDITION DETECTED
REWARD AVAILABLE UPON COMPLETION
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
CONDITION:
ACHIEVE ROYAL KNIGHT SWORDMASTER PROFICIENCY
TIME LIMIT: ONE DAY
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
His pulse quickened.
Without wasting another second, Kael turned toward the castle.
"The library," he said under his breath.
Moments later, he was already moving through the halls, determination burning in his eyes. He found Miyako where he expected her to be and called for her boyfriend immediately.
"We're starting now," Kael said simply. "I need everything you've got."
There was no hesitation.
Training was about to begin.
...........
The dining hall was a chaos of shattered porcelain and rolling fruits. A man, broad-shouldered and imposing, slammed his fist onto the polished oak table, sending a cascade of roasted meats and bread tumbling to the floor. His deep voice thundered through the hall, reverberating off the high ceilings.
"Do you think I can tolerate this?! Do you understand what this massacre has cost me?!" Duke Cedric Valemont's amber eyes blazed with fury, his neatly tailored robes barely containing his tense muscles. His face was flushed, veins standing out on his temple as he gestured wildly, pointing at the spilled fruits and broken plates.
Seated beside him, his wife, **Clarisse**, a refined woman with gentle but strong features, rose gracefully from her chair. "Please, calm yourself, my lord. Let the servants clean this up. There's no need to waste more energy in anger," she said softly, her voice carrying both warmth and firmness.
The duke threw his hands up in frustration. "Calm? Calm?! Do you know how much mana crystals I lost because of this? My share—my fair share! Everything disrupted!" His voice broke with the combination of anger and disbelief.
The two daughters remained seated on either side of the table. The older one, **Elara Valemont**, exuded an eerie serenity, her dark hair cascading over her shoulders, her expression almost hollow, emotionless, like a noble trained from birth to conceal her feelings.
"And how was your meeting with the noble suitor today?" Duke Cedric asked, trying to redirect some focus, though his rage still simmered beneath the surface.
"It was… adequate," Elara replied flatly, her tone void of emotion, almost rehearsed. She stared at her plate as if the words themselves were meaningless.
The younger daughter, **Isolde Valemont**, a sharp contrast with mischievous and calculating glints in her violet eyes, lifted her gaze to her father. A smirk played at the corner of her lips. "Father… why not just kill everyone who carried out the massacre? Why worry over them? They weren't worth it anyway," she said, her voice sweet but with a razor edge beneath it. Then, shrugging casually, she added, "Those villagers… their lives meant nothing. A few lost homes and lives? Hardly a tragedy."
Duke Cedric's amber gaze sharpened, a mixture of exasperation and resolve flickering across his face. "It's not that simple. It's more complicated than you realize. Sixty percent of the ministers involved were assassinated recently. I'm more angry than afraid, but the consequences… they're dangerous," he explained, his tone firm, controlled, but with a simmering undertone of his raw frustration.
Clarisse sighed, adjusting a strand of her chestnut hair behind her ear. "I warned you, my lord. I told you not to entangle yourself in these backdoor dealings. And yet you—"
"Enough, Clarisse," he interrupted, his voice low and sharp. "Do not lecture me now. Send a message to the imperial kingdom immediately. And contact Kaizen. I want a meeting, and I want it done yesterday."
Elara rose silently, moving with the elegance of a practiced noble, her expression still blank, like a statue carved for perfection, her movements precise but emotionless. Without a word, she excused herself to her room.
Isolde twisted a ring on her finger and rose with a sly, dangerous tilt to her head. "I have a hobby to attend to," she said with a mischievous smile before leaving, her steps silent yet purposeful.
Duke Cedric gestured to a servant to make the arrangements, then donned a determined look, his anger now channeled into action. Clarisse rose as well, excusing herself softly, her face a mask of worry and affection, clearly torn between her husband's rage and the looming dangers surrounding their family.
---
In Elara's room, the heavy curtains were drawn, letting in only slivers of moonlight that painted the floor in soft silver lines. She moved silently, removing her clothing with meticulous care, leaving only her silhouette exposed in the dim light. Her movements were graceful and precise, a shadowed figure against the dark room, muscles tensing as she lifted a long, polished sword. The gentle sway of her figure accentuated the curves of her form, a tantalizing dance of strength and allure that lingered in the moonlight. Each motion carried a natural rhythm, the fluidity of her swings teasing the eye even as her focus remained deadly serious.
She began a series of fluid martial arts techniques, her body moving with a combination of strength, discipline, and elegance. Each swing, each step was calculated and deliberate, the metallic ring of the sword cutting through the still night. Her hair shifted with each motion, the shadows tracing the seductive contours of her frame. Even the subtle twist of her waist as she pivoted added a flowing, mesmerizing grace to every strike.
Even in darkness, her focus was absolute. Each strike was a promise to herself, a silent preparation for challenges she knew would come. There was no rush, no emotion, only the hum of concentration and the rhythm of disciplined practice.
The night air carried a faint scent of jasmine from the balcony window, mixing with the metallic tang of the sword's steel. In that quiet room, under the pale moonlight, Elara trained as if every motion was a step closer to mastering her destiny.
.......
Elisia stood frozen by the edge of the bed, her eyes locked on the faintly pulsing symbol etched across Rin's flat stomach. The mana restriction mark glowed a dull, ominous red, and Elisia's brow furrowed as she whispered under her breath, "How… how can I get this out?" Her fingers twitched, an almost helpless urge rising within her to reach out and touch it, but she knew better, one wrong move could cost Rin her life.
She took a deep breath and murmured to herself, "It's restricted mana… it can only be removed by someone who shares a portion of the same mana. Hiryuu's mana is close… but it's far too ancient, too complex… and mine… mine has been restricted for a while, there's a limit I can't exceed."
Her heart clenched as she glanced down at Rin, unconscious and fragile, her chest rising and falling in slow, shallow breaths. The room felt heavy, as if the very air pressed down on her shoulders.
"Elisia… you need to be careful," Mira's voice broke the tense silence. She hovered nearby, her hands glowing faintly.
Elisia hesitated for a moment, then asked quietly, "Mira… can you try? Just a healing spell… maybe it'll stabilize her?"
Mira's eyes flickered with uncertainty, her hands pausing midair. "I… I can try," she said softly, her voice cautious. "But… it might be dangerous."
"Do it Please," Elisia urged firmly. "Anything to get rid of that."
Mira's hands moved with grace, forming intricate sigils in the air above Rin's form. Just as the healing energy began to flow, a sudden invisible force slammed against Mira, pushing her violently backward. She collided with the wall with a sharp thud, gasping, and then her eyes rolled shut as she collapsed, unconscious.
Elisia's heart skipped a beat. "Mira!" she shouted, rushing forward and kneeling beside her fallen companion. She checked Mira for injuries, thankfully no visible wounds, but the magical symbol on Rin's stomach blazed brighter than before, sending waves of heat and anxiety through the room.
Her mind raced. "This… this isn't just a normal restriction," she whispered, almost to herself. "It's… it's reacting. Stronger… more volatile than I expected…"
Elisia's chest tightened as she thought of Kael, Rin's precarious condition, and the mysterious nature of this mana. She had no time to experiment further, one wrong move, and Rin might never wake. Her jaw set firmly. "Miyako," she called out, her voice echoing slightly in the quiet room.
Moments later, Miyako appeared, her usual composed expression giving way to subtle concern as she surveyed the scene. "Elisia… what happened?" she asked softly, her eyes flicking from Mira to Rin.
Elisia explained quickly, her tone taut with urgency. "The symbol… it's restricted mana. Mira tried to heal her, but something… something pushed her back and knocked her out. Rin's mana, it's glowing stronger now. I don't know what to do."
Miyako knelt beside Rin, studying the symbol closely, her brows knitting together. Her fingers hovered just above the glowing mark, but she didn't touch. "I can't trace this mana anywhere," she admitted, her voice calm but edged with worry. "I… I can't say how to remove it, or what it truly is. It's… unlike anything I've seen before."
Elisia swallowed hard, her hands clenching into fists. "So… there's nothing we can do now?"
Miyako shook her head slightly. "Not without risking her life. If we attempt anything… anything else, it could kill her. However… I remember one of Kael's brothers is a very high-ranking mage. If he arrives, maybe he could tell us what to do."
Elisia exhaled shakily, a mixture of frustration and fear weighing her down. "Until then… we just… wait?"
Miyako nodded gravely. "Yes. And we stay alert. Rin's life is fragile, and the moment we try anything reckless could be the moment we lose her."
The room fell into a tense silence, the glow of the restriction symbol casting eerie shadows on the walls. Elisia stared at Rin, her mind spinning with questions and fears, every second stretching unbearably.