Celeste was troubled by Arens sudden proposal for a spar.

It was common for the strong to give lessons to the weak at swordsmanship debates.

Even if its a master instructor from another family.

And, saying no is okay, of course.

She was the eldest daughter of the Constantini family, and hes the master instructor of the Okamoto familys eldest daughter, so it wasnt common to give lessons, however, in some ways, it would be rude to refuse.

No, its not disrespectful, and Celeste didnt really want to accept this fight.

What would father have done?

She briefly thought about it.

If her father was D-Rank facing a S-Rank hunter whos obviously trying to vent his anger by teaching him a lesson.

He would have accepted it.

If theres something you can learn, tough it out and learn.

That was Salvatore Constantinis motto, and he was ostracized by other swordsmen.

Of course, the reality is that other swordsmen have kept their mouths shut ever since Salvatore became SS-Rank.

In any case, it proved that his method was better than anyone else.

However, thats only possible because its her father.

She was quite prideful, but she didnt want to accept this obvious fight, so she was going to refuse.

Celeste.

Hm?

Yoo Seodam had come down from the Costantinis section and approached her.

Go ahead and spar. Itll be a good learning experience.

After hesitating for a moment, Celeste nodded.

Ever since she started learning swordsmanship from Yoo Seodam, she has been attentive to his words.

Smiling at Aren, Seodam spoke.

Well, since shes my student, Id like to give her some pointers during the spar. That wont be a problem, right?

Do as you please.

Aren hardened his expression as soon as he saw Seodam, but it was none of Celestes concern.

Seodam beckoned Celeste over, then whispered something in her ear.

Soon, she tilted her head after hearing his instructions.

Is that really possible?

Mhm. Just trust me and hit.

Seodams instructions were so simple that it was rather doubtful.

Just hit when you hear hit!, dodge when you hear dodge!, and block when you hear block!

The opponent is S-Rank.

Theres no way its going to be that simple, will it?

However, Celeste still nodded.

Ill try.

Also, give up after an adequate time.

Im thinking so.

Celeste pulled out her sword and stood before Aren.

Both are superhumans wearing aether coated uniforms, so there wont be any major injuries, and actually, its because they will be using sparring swords.

Oh, whats this? Aren wants to teach the Constantinis eldest daughter a lesson?

Hm. Is he really trying to teach her?

Well.

It became a hot topic and drew everyones attention because it was Celeste and the S-Rank Aren.

So Aren regretted it, albeit late.

Damn it

Why did I ask the Costantini familys eldest daughter for a spar?

He had lost his reasoning out of anger after Taylor said he was revolting and Sanagi, the one he taught, lost.

Something done in a fit of anger.

Aren decided that after a few exchanges he would end the spar.

However, what he did in a fit of anger became an opportunity for Seodam.

Im going to make use of this opportunity to integrate myself with the ordinary master swordsmen.

Thinking of the bigger picture, the spar began.

Immediately, White Witchs Library was activated.

[Identifying the types of spells.]

[Enhance Strength (B) / Guide Aim (B) / Enhance Speed (C)]

[Reduce Friction (C) / Air Pocket (D)]

[Flame Burst (B) / Flame Bullet (C)]

A total of seven types of magic.

Although the Witch Witchs library has a considerable amount of knowledge on magic, it took some time to fully crack because its still low rank.

[Cracking progress17%]

[Interference is now possible.]

Tung!!

Celeste, flustered, raised her sword as Aren lightly kicked off the ground and struck with his sword.

Although she has trained with S-Ranks in the past, she isnt at the level where she could fight against one.

Tung!

Ugh!

Celeste was lightly hit in the head, but quickly recovered.

Since she is wearing an aether uniform, theres no problem even if she is cut with a real sword.

Still, she couldnt stop the shock from the impact.

Chang, Chink! Tung!

As Arens sword was swinging for her head, in between he would aim for the side of her body, and when she came to her senses, she was hit in the chest.

Although Celeste has managed to block thus far, she was out of breath as she raised her sword again.

Obviously, I dont think I can stop it, but!

It was instinct.

The instinct of a genius swordsman.

The kind of instinct to be able to read the patterns of an overwhelmingly strong sword little by little just from looking at it a few times, and even retaliating.

If this was a real battle, Celeste would have been beaten in a single strike, but since it was a spar, she was able to study her opponents sword.

But, strangely, whenever she tried to block, Arens sword kept slipping away.

Like a mirage, the trajectory would bend.

It wasnt just fast.

There was technique hidden behind it, and unfathomable to the current Celeste.

Oh wow

Its indeed mister Arens swordsmanship.

Ive heard even S-Rank hunters cant imitate it.

As people were bursting with admiration, Seodam managed to identify the true technique behind that strange swordsmanship.

Is it Guide Aim?

The technique of forcefully twisting ones attack to hit the target.

And like a mirage, it looked as if it was bending.

At a glance, it looks like a good technique, however, as a type of magic, using it frequently will strain the body, resulting in your mana quickly depleting.

Since it was the S-Rank Aren, he had no difficulty using it.

Then, what if Aren, who has been using it, suddenly lost it?

[Attempting interference on artifact Guide Aim (B)]

[Attempting interference on artifact Enhance Speed (C)]

Just one second.

The amount of time the effects from the artifacts will be deactivated through interference.

But that was enough.

Block!

Shouted Seodam, then Celeste instinctively raised her sword.

Chaang!!

!

She had stopped Arens sword.

Perhaps surprised herself, Celeste widened her eyes and took a step back.

The surroundings burst out in exclamation as Aren seemed flustered.

What? What happened to my aim guide?

Aren.

His actual ability is B-Rank, and his sword skill was decent enough.

So even without Guide Aim or Enhance Speed, he would still be able to strike Celeste.

The attack was blocked because he simply relied too much on the artifacts.

Its strange. The sword slowed all of a sudden.

Celeste had also noticed the strange change in Aren.

But, without giving her time to think, Aren rushed at her again, so she had no choice but to lift her sword.

It was good that a D-Rank had successfully blocked a S-Rank.

However, it was merely a fluke.

Aren and everyone who was watching thought so.

But, the fluke continued.

Dodge!

Like a miracle, she dodged Arens sword.

Block!

Chaang!!

She had blocked his sword once again.

The invisible technique, it seemed that Celeste was slowly grasping it.

W-what?

Is she really D-Rank?

Dont you see? Every time the Costantinis master gave an order, she successfully answered.

Clearly, the sparring would have been a landslide victory for Aren.

If he only relied on his B-Rank ability, Celeste would have lost.

Because her swordsmanship is yet at the level where she can beat superhumans two ranks above her.

However, this was Arens weakness.

SomethingSomethings wrong!

B and S rank ability, he doesnt understand why its interchanging.

His sword kept moving from slow to fast as his strength weakened and grew.

Even Arens unique swordsmanship from the use of Reduce Friction to move around was not working properly.

What the hell!

He kept trying to use his artifacts, but it kept failing, so an opening appeared.

Head!

Shouted Yoo Seodam.

Schwik!

Celestes sword brushed Arens cheek.

Ugh!

Very slightly.

With confidence, she, a D-Rank, grazed the cheek of Aren, a S-Rank.

Look, I cant believe it.

What the hell is going on?

Breathing heavily, Celeste slowled took a step back.

She missed the strike by a hair away.

If I had focused a little more, I might have hit the mark.

Aren widened his eyes as he rubbed his cheek.

What is this

He was so surprised that he couldnt control his expression.

Yoo Seodam was also surprised.

Was it because Celestes swordsmanship is excellent?

No, its because Aren advantage was great.

Thatsquite advantageous, isnt it?

Its only a second, but after the artifacts were deactivated, Seodam guessed that Arens ability is around B to A rank.

But it doesnt matter.

Because Aren thinks his ability is higher than it actually is when the artifacts are deactivated.

Air Pocket, Reduce Friction, and so on were actually very rare magic.

Air Pocket, which allows someone to shoot a bit of air, is a fairly short range attack magic, and Reduce Friction could hinder a targets movements.

But Aren was using the magic on himself.

Shooting air in the opposite direction to gain momentum, and reducing friction under his feet.

It was Arens ingenuity to use the artifacts the way he does.

Seodam admits he has been too complacent with magic.

Magic isnt just the art of throwing fireballs or calling down lightning.

Even low level magic has endless possibilities depending on its utilization.

Simply igniting a sword and swinging it, or shooting magic missiles with the left hand and wielding a sword in the right.

Was that a mage?

No, it wasnt.

In Seodams view, this is the true essence of a mage.

To use everything at ones disposal to push magic to its limit.

Even though guide aim and body enhancing magics can destroy the body, there were a number of other uses.

Also, although its not being used currently because its a spar, Flame Bullet could make up for the weakness of being close range, and Flame Burst could be used as a long range attack.

In other words, Aren has a clear grasp of his weakness and ways to overcome them.

So, without knowing how to use magic, Aren was like a magic swordsman.

This fact excited Seodam greatly.

Because he thought he had learned a very good thing.

Apart from this. Ill have to deactivate all the body enhancing artifacts.

From a closer look, I was certain.

Arens condition was very serious.

To be honest, its difficult to undo the damage.

If he tries to activate any more artifacts, instead of being maimed, he might live a miserable life as a vegetable.

Whose artifacts are these?

All the artifacts used by Aren were the same type of magic.

Thats to say, all were created by one person.

It cant be coincidence that as many as seven artifacts are found on Aren, and it all happens to be a perfect match for him.

So, there can only be one conclusion.

There could be other mages beside me in this modern world

While Yoo Seodam was troubled by the thought, Aren, who was heated, clenched his teeth.

Damn it! Why is there a problem with the talisman all of a sudden?

Forsaken the talismans altogether, Aren roughly strengthened his body.

Talisman?

Only

He doesnt need to rely on it.

With his sheer talent, he was determined to hit Celeste.

I give up.

Huh?

A towering figure.

The sword that was aiming for Celestes head had stopped.

Sweating profusely and with a big smile on her face, she spoke.

Senior, thank you for your great guidance.