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Dianal, who was training alone, frowned as he let his sword droop to the ground.

He had been practicing his swordsmanship repeatedly.

‘This isn’t it.’

The lack of progress left him feeling stifled.

It was like he was stuck without a breakthrough.

But then—

“…?”

In the distance, he saw Damian running somewhere.

Dianal watched him.

“That guy…”

Judging by the direction, it was that place again.

The spot he always went to every night.

This time, he seemed to be carrying a lot of stuff.

“…”

Dianal stared blankly in the direction Damian had gone.

And suddenly, he recalled a conversation with someone from the Erkal Defense Squad.

The guy had mentioned that Damian had performed impressively in the recent search operation in the Bronselian Forest.

As Dianal mulled over those words, he sighed softly.

“Might as well… see what happens.”

Dianal started walking in the direction Damian had gone.

* * *

Focus, focus, focus…!

Damian was struggling to control the swirling magic inside his body.

Sweat dripped from his forehead, trailing down his cheek and landing on the ground.

His shirt was soaked with sweat, and his lips were turning pale.

As time passed, Damian’s body began to tremble slightly.

His skin grew paler, and the amount of sweat increased.

How much time had passed?

It felt like three or four hours.

Slowly.

Damian opened his eyes.

“…Phew.”

He exhaled softly and looked up at the sky.

He felt his head clear, and the world seemed a little sharper.

As the sun set and darkness settled, Damian let out a dry laugh.

“How long was I at it?”

The magic training technique had started before lunchtime.

By the looks of it, he had been at it for at least six hours.

Damian checked the magic stored in his magic hall.

It was filled to the brim, leaving no room.

‘It’s more than I thought…’

The elixir Basser had given him contained a large amount of condensed magic.

However, there was a bit of a drawback.

‘The magic hall is too small to absorb all the magic.’

Damian furrowed his brow.

At least some of the magic from the elixir remained in his body.

It would eventually dissipate, but—

‘I need to expand the magic hall quickly to absorb it all.’

He couldn’t afford to waste this valuable magic.

And at that moment—

“How long do you plan on meditating?”

“…?”

Damian turned his head toward the voice.

Dianal was there, sitting with his sword planted in the ground.

Damian had been so focused on his training that he hadn’t noticed someone nearby.

‘I need to be more aware.’

He scolded himself.

Feigning calmness, Damian asked Dianal.

“What brings you here?”

“How could I not notice when you leave every night? Plus, I saw you pass by earlier.”

“…”

Damian scratched his head.

He hadn’t been trying to hide, so it didn’t matter much.

“Have you been waiting all this time?”

“Yeah. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

Dianal replied.

As Damian smiled faintly, Dianal asked,

“They said you took down several orcs that were tainted with magic during the recent search operation?”

“…Yes.”

Where did he hear that?

But Dianal continued as if he already knew Damian’s thoughts.

“I know someone in the Defense Squad. He said you were impressive.”

“Aren’t we supposed to be on bad terms with the Defense Squad?”

“There are some who keep communication lines open. Sometimes it’s necessary.”

Dianal stood up, pulling the sword from the ground.

He then spoke.

“Damian, would you fight me at full strength?”

“…What?”

What kind of nonsense is this?

Combat between unit members is prohibited.

Let alone a full-strength fight?

Damian looked at Dianal.

His eyes were earnest.

No, they were filled with desperation.

Damian’s expression became serious.

‘…This guy.’

Damian could tell.

Dianal was serious.

They had been close in their past lives, so he could read Dianal’s expression easily.

But more than that, what caught Damian’s attention was—

‘…He’s hit a wall.’

The guy’s face looked troubled.

Damian asked Dianal,

“Since when?”

“About what?”

“Since when have you been stuck?”

“…!”

Dianal’s eyes widened, as if his innermost thoughts had been exposed.

He bit his lip but eventually confessed.

“…Sigh. It’s been a while. About three months?”

He spoke as if confessing.

“I feel like my skills haven’t improved at all. I’ve been training separately, but it feels like I’m just going in circles.”

Damian nodded at Dianal’s words.

That feeling.

‘I know it all too well.’

The suffocating sensation when you hit a wall.

As time drags on, you start feeling impatience and, at times, fear.

If you don’t receive proper training or guidance at this point, you could remain stagnant for a long time.

‘I went through that, too.’

So he knew.

The best way to break through this situation.

“I can help, but if the other unit members find out, it won’t end well.”

“Then we just don’t get caught.”

“Hehehe.”

This guy, he’s definitely my kind of person.

Damian chuckled as he stood up and grabbed his spear.

“You could get seriously hurt.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for. But don’t think I’ll go down easily.”

Dianal raised his sword.

Dianal’s expression turned serious.

Seeing him, Damian spoke.

“Then, come at me.”

At that moment, Dianal charged toward Damian.

* * *

Tarion and Erin were on their way back from meeting the Erkal Defense Squad.

They had attended a meeting regarding the upcoming subjugation.

“…Sigh, this subjugation looks like it’s going to be tough.”

“But we have to do it. If this subjugation goes well, it’ll benefit us greatly.”

They discussed the meeting details as they walked. But suddenly—

“…Hmm?”

Erin stopped in his tracks.

He heard the sound of weapons clashing somewhere nearby.

“What’s that noise?”

“…It’s coming from over there.”

Tarion and Erin moved toward the back of the unit.

And there, they saw two people.

“Dianal? Damian?”

It looked like they were sparring.

Tarion and Erin watched in mild surprise.

Their sparring was far more intense than they had anticipated.

Erin’s brow furrowed.

“These guys…!”

Sparring between unit members without permission was prohibited.

Erin stepped forward to stop them. But just as he moved—

“Leave them be.”

“…What?”

Tarion stopped Erin.

Erin looked at Tarion in surprise.

“Leave them be?”

“Yes.”

Tarion looked at Dianal.

The only one who trained alone after the daily training sessions.

Tarion knew how much effort Dianal put in to get stronger.

He also knew that Dianal had hit a wall.

“…”

But Tarion couldn’t help him.

He lacked the ability to do so.

Moreover, how desperate must Dianal have been to ask the newly recruited member for help?

Knowing full well that he could be punished for sparring.

Tarion spoke.

“…Let’s just watch for now.”

“But, Captain…”

Swoosh.

Tarion looked at Erin.

Erin let out a small sigh in response to Tarion’s unspoken gaze.

“Understood.”

With that, Tarion turned his attention back to Damian and Dianal, who were locked in combat.

‘That guy…’

Dianal was one of the top talents in the Neokalitz unit.

While others were standing still, he alone was pushing forward.

But this sparring match…

“…Hoo.”

The gap in skill was far too noticeable.

Tarion watched Damian’s movements, then turned away with Erin.

* * *

Vwooom!

A fierce sound cut through the air.

Dianal’s sword cleaved through empty space.

It had to be his umpteenth attack by now.

Yet, not once had it reached Damian.

‘Damn it…!’

Dianal’s expression twisted in frustration.

What on earth?

What was happening?

‘It feels like he already knows where I’m going to attack.’

Dianal could see it.

Before he even swung his sword, Damian was already evading.

‘How can he do that?’

Dianal wielded a greatsword known for its heavy weight.

Its destructive power in a single strike was exceptional.

However, because of its weight, altering its path mid-swing was nearly impossible.

As a result, his sword paths were simple.

Vwoom!

Another swing cleaved through the air, and Dianal bit his lip.

Damian watched him, having lightly stepped back.

His grip on the sword was good, and his movements were concise.

He even understood why Dianal wielded such a heavy sword.

In the Neokalitz unit, fighting monsters was the norm.

The intent was clear: kill with one powerful strike.

‘He definitely has talent.’

To wield a sword that didn’t suit him this well was proof enough.

Damian studied Dianal’s body more closely.

He had built significant muscle strength to handle the heavy sword.

His lower body and core strength were particularly impressive. But…

‘The balance is off.’

The muscle-focused training for wielding a heavy sword was, in fact, hindering him.

In this situation—

‘Convincing him with words would be hard.’

The only way was to make him feel it clearly.

For that, there was just one option.

Damian gripped his spear.

‘This would have been a bit too much before…’

But with the increased magic from the elixir, he could do it.

Having made up his mind, Damian planted his feet firmly on the ground and raised his spear.

The moment the spear pointed forward—

‘It changed…!’

Dianal felt a crushing pressure weighing down on him.

Damian’s gaze had shifted from evasion to something more intense.

However—

‘He’s not dodging.’

Dianal had the advantage in attack power.

There was no reason to avoid a head-on clash.

“Hraaaaaah!”

With a shout, Dianal charged and launched a powerful strike that seemed to tear through the air.

“If you don’t dodge, you’ll get seriously hurt!”

“…Don’t worry about me.”

At that moment, Damian infused his spear’s tip with magic.

He focused on Dianal’s sword.

The movement was sharper than ever before.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Damian swung his spear.

Clang!

Whirr!

Something spun rapidly into the air.

Thud!

The blade of Dianal’s sword, severed in half, fell to the ground.

“H-Huh!”

Dianal was shocked at the sight of his broken sword.

“T-This was an expensive sword!”

It wasn’t a standard issue; it was a custom piece Dianal had commissioned.

Repairing it was impossible now that it was broken like this.

“Arrgh!”

Dianal wore a look of despair.

Without a weapon, he couldn’t even participate in operations. But then—

“Private Dianal, come at me again with that sword.”

“…What?”

“Try attacking me again.”

His sword was now half its original length.

What could he possibly do with that?

Dianal let out a sigh. But still…

‘It’s not over yet.’

In real combat, broken weapons were a possibility.

Motivated by Damian’s words, Dianal charged again, swinging his shortened sword.

And then—

“…Huh?”

Dianal’s eyes began to shake violently.

—