When they arrived at the training grounds, a broad-shouldered man with brown hair was already waiting beside the combat platform.
His gaze swept across the group before stopping on Jean.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Well, Jean. I wasn't expecting to see you here."
The young woman gave a slight bow.
"Good morning, Professor Austin. I came to practice with Lusian. We were both trained by Master Albert."
Austin nodded in understanding.
"I see."
He then turned his attention to the rest of the group.
"My name is Austin Evans. Starting today, I'll be in charge of your combat training."
He gestured toward the wide stone arena.
"You'll train here every morning. There'll be no need to report to the classroom—come straight to the training grounds."
Conwick stepped forward.
"When do the qualifiers start?"
Austin smiled calmly.
"So eager to fight... I like that."
He paused briefly.
"Next week. Each of you will fight one match per day until we've completed the internal tournament."
Conwick clicked his tongue.
"We have to wait that long?"
"First, I need to assess each of your skill levels. It wouldn't make sense to start a tournament without knowing your strengths and weaknesses."
Austin looked back at Jean.
"Since you're already here..."
A smile spread across his face.
"How about we begin with a demonstration?"
Jean stepped forward and looked at Lusian.
"How about a fencing spar?"
Lusian immediately understood what she meant.
"Technique only."
Jean nodded.
"No magic."
"No body enhancement."
"No mana flowing through the swords," she added.
Lusian smiled.
"Just as Master Albert taught us."
The young woman returned a faint smile.
"Then let's see how much of his teaching you still remember."
Austin folded his arms, satisfied.
"Perfect."
He raised his voice slightly so everyone could hear.
"Pay close attention. What you're about to see isn't a fight to determine who's stronger."
The students turned their attention to the platform.
"This is a fencing exercise. Technique, control, and posture only. In a real battle, magic, mana, and special abilities can decide the outcome. Not here. Today, we're evaluating nothing but swordsmanship."
The others stepped back, forming a wide circle around the platform.
Kasper smiled with interest.
"Now you've got me curious."
Jean and Lusian stepped onto the platform.
They drew their swords at the same time.
Austin raised one hand.
"Begin."
For a moment, neither of them moved.
They simply watched each other.
Both remembered the same lessons.
Both knew the same stances.
Both knew exactly what was allowed...
And what wasn't.
Kasper crossed his arms.
"This should be interesting."
Austin stepped back a few paces.
"Start whenever you're ready."
Jean took the first step forward.
The smile vanished from her face.
Lusian did the same.
Both raised their swords into the opening guard of Albert's school.
For a brief moment, neither attacked.
They simply observed one another.
Jean was the first to break the distance.
Her sword shot forward in a direct thrust toward his chest.
Lusian was already waiting for it.
Clang!
He deflected the thrust and answered with an upward slash.
Jean blocked it before the swing could finish.
The swords began weaving together at a speed that left the other students speechless.
A slash.
A block.
A thrust.
A feint.
Every movement was met with an immediate answer.
It was as though each of them already knew what the other's next attack would be.
Austin smiled in satisfaction.
"Exactly what I expected..."
The students glanced toward him without completely taking their eyes off the platform.
"They both learned the same school of swordsmanship. They know the same guards, the same openings, and the same counters. The moment one begins a technique, the other already knows how it ends."
On the platform, neither could gain the advantage.
Jean launched a diagonal slash.
Lusian blocked it before the blade had even finished changing direction.
He answered with a sweeping cut toward her side.
Jean had already stepped back half a pace.
Again.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Their blades collided again and again.
There wasn't a single wasted movement.
Only technique.
Only precision.
Lusian smiled.
"I still can't catch you off guard."
Jean answered just as calmly.
"That would be strange. Master corrected the same mistakes in both of us for years."
The spectators watched in fascination.
So far, neither seemed superior to the other.
Then Jean changed her stance.
It was an almost imperceptible movement.
She merely shifted her right foot forward and adjusted the angle of her grip.
Lusian frowned.
That guard...
He didn't recognize it.
Jean smiled faintly.
"It seems Master hasn't reached this lesson with you yet."
Before Lusian could answer, Jean attacked again.
But this time, she wasn't aiming for his body.
Her sword struck his blade.
Once.
Lusian adjusted his guard.
Again.
He corrected it once more.
A third time.
The impacts were light.
Almost gentle.
Yet each one forced Lusian to move his feet just a few centimeters.
Is she... guiding my position?
He tried to reclaim the center of the platform.
Jean wouldn't allow it.
Every clash shifted his sword by a few millimeters.
Every step disturbed his balance just a little more.
Only then did Lusian understand.
She wasn't trying to overpower him.
She was building a position from which victory would become inevitable.
Too late.
Jean pivoted on her heel.
With one clean motion, she swept Lusian's sword aside and rested the tip of her own against his throat.
Silence fell over the arena.
Jean calmly lowered her sword.
"Did you understand?"
Lusian looked down.
His feet were no longer in the proper position.
He had lost the center.
His sword was completely outside the defensive line.
He let out a quiet laugh.
"You weren't even trying to cut me."
Jean shook her head.
"There was no need."
She lightly tapped Lusian's sword with a finger.
"A swordsman doesn't always defeat an opponent by attacking the body."
She paused briefly.
"Sometimes it's enough to break their stance."
Lusian nodded slowly.
"So... this was the next lesson."
Jean smiled.
"Master said it was still too soon to teach it to you."
Austin stepped onto the platform.
He looked at all the students before speaking.
"Who do you think is stronger?"
No one answered.
Austin continued.
"If this match had allowed magic, body enhancement, and mana flowing through the blades, the outcome could have been completely different."
His gaze lingered on Lusian for a moment.
"But today, none of that mattered."
He raised the training sword.
"When two combatants possess similar power..."
He gently tapped the tip of the sword against the ground.
"The sword decides who lives and who dies."
The students remained completely silent.
"One misplaced step.
One poorly positioned guard.
One broken stance.
That's enough to create an opening that no amount of mana can correct."
He looked at Jean once more.
"She didn't win because she was stronger."
Then he turned to Lusian.
"She won because she had mastered swordsmanship to a higher level."
Finally, his gaze swept across the rest of the class.
"Never forget this lesson. Magic can decide a battle before swords ever cross. But when two warriors make it this far... technique is the only thing that separates the victor from the corpse."