Sword Princess, You Can't Rest Yet

"How many minutes has it been?" "Ninety-six minutes. Has anyone counted how many strikes?" "I was the first to start counting. By the time I hit seventeen hundred, I saw her sword cut into the seventh ring and froze in shock for a while. All I know is that it's around twenty-four hundred now." When Celia opened the doors to the training hall, an unbelievable sight met her eyes—the swordsmanship apprentices, who usually squandered their sweat and cast away their youth in relentless practice, had all tossed aside their training swords. They were clustered tightly in a circle, deep in discussion over who knew what. She assumed they were crowding around her boyfriend, Felix, wondering if he had finally managed to summon his Wave Sword sorcery spirit. At the thought, she quickened her pace, already considering where they should go to celebrate. The Amber Plains Clubhouse? Or perhaps the Golden Port Bar? Then again, Felix was bound to be exhausted right now. Wouldn't it be better to head straight back to his place to help him "rest properly"? Felix had known her for so long yet had remarkably held back from taking the next step; Celia felt it was time she took the initiative. Yet as Celia stepped into the crowd, she realized she was mistaken—her proud, handsome boyfriend, Felix, was currently acting just like any ordinary spectator, staring blankly ahead with the stunned expression of an extra. Following their gaze, Celia was shocked to discover that there was actually a girl in the training hall prettier than herself: a ponytail tied back casually, a fair, slender neck, and an exquisite face that appeared bare of makeup, with beads of sweat trickling across her skin and glistening like pearls. *An enemy, and a kindred spirit.* Celia sensed it instantly, even before the girl uttered a single word. A "first love" look that appeared bare-faced but had actually required a masterclass in cosmetic technique; seemingly casual attire that revealed just the right amount of neck and wrist; accessories that looked modest yet flawlessly enhanced her beauty... Without deliberate study and meticulous preparation, how could anyone construct such a near-perfect image of a "dream girl," hitting every single male fantasy? *One look in her eyes, and I know: she's a hunter too!* Her eyes narrowed at once. Ignoring the sweat on Felix's skin, Celia stepped forward and looped her arm intimately through his. In her eyes, there was no better prey in this entire training hall—or indeed in all of Sword Flower University—than Felix. Even factoring in Truth University, Felix was a top-tier prize. Gaining the surname Vosroda alone would be enough to bring Celia endless benefits. She had spent a long time scheming to snare Felix. Even knowing his playboy tendencies, she remained confident she could rein in this wild stallion. If handled properly, a philandering nature wasn't necessarily a bad trait—as long as she secured the status of wife, Celia wouldn't care in the least if he strayed on the side. With harvest season finally within reach, Felix was already planning to introduce her to the Duke of Vosroda at his upcoming birthday banquet. Now someone wanted to intercept her prey? Not a chance! "Felix, what are you all watching?" Celia asked nonchalantly. "I had no idea the Swordsmanship Department had such a pretty underclasswoman." "Oh, you're here, Senior," Felix said, only now registering Celia's arrival. Yet his eyes didn't drift toward her for even a fraction of a second, as if only the practicing girl existed in his field of vision. "She... she isn't from the Swordsmanship Department. She's a first-year in the Water Sorcery Department named Sonia Servi." *He already knows her name and year...* The alarm bells in Celia's head rang louder, and she wished she could drag Felix away immediately. But knowing when to play along, she feigned curiosity: "Why are you all watching her train? Just because she's pretty?" "No... not just that..." Felix shook his head. "Since you aren't an apprentice sword sorcerer, I don't know how to explain it to you." "During my first year, I took swordsmanship courses for a few months, you know. I only dropped them because I was more talented in water sorcery," Celia huffed softly. "Besides, you're a genius of the Swordsmanship Department. With your explanation, how could I not understand?" "All right, I'll put it simply," Felix said. "An hour and a half ago, she was a total beginner who couldn't even hold a sword properly. And now, she can cut into the ninth ring of the armored dummy with a single strike." "She must have been faking it, right?" Celia didn't say this out of malice; having practiced swordsmanship for several months, she understood precisely what that implied. Even she had only managed to cut into the second ring back then, and that had placed her above average among that year's freshmen. "I thought so at first too. In fact, I preferred to believe that, which is why I watched her train. I hoped to see her hit a bottleneck. I looked forward to seeing her stall completely... But after an hour and a half, my petty jealousy has turned into sheer admiration." Celia could hardly believe such humble, heartfelt words were coming from Felix's mouth. Even when discussing his father, the Star-Forging Duke, or his older brother, Dimi, he always adopted a dismissive, aloof tone. Yet toward a girl he barely knew, he was showing genuine admiration and curiosity. That was an extraordinarily dangerous signal—curiosity was often the vanguard of falling in love. And he had watched this girl for an hour and a half... Wait, an hour and a half? He had watched for an hour and a half, which meant this female hunter named Sonia had been training non-stop for an entire hour and a half?! Only now did Celia scrutinize Sonia's movements: gliding steps forward, swinging strikes targeting the head, steady as a rock, swift as thunder... Every action followed the *Swordsmanship Manual* to the letter, with zero corner-cutting or leveraging momentum, pouring every ounce of strength into each strike! Normal people had to pause and catch their breath after just a few minutes of training. Even Felix could only manage three hours at most, and one full hour of that was spent resting and recovering. Yet according to them, this girl had trained continuously for over an hour without stopping even once?! That explained why they were all gathered around watching—compared to a pretty girl, this crowd of strapping youths whose heads were filled with nothing but swordsmanship were probably far more intrigued by how anyone could possess such terrifying stamina. After watching for a while, however, Celia found herself drawn in as well, her gaze helplessly captured by Sonia's form. Her movements possessed the beauty of swordsmanship, the beauty of power, and the beauty of youth. What was more terrifying was that she seemed to be improving with every passing second; every swing was stronger, more precise, and more skillful than the last. It was art—a performance of pure martial artistry. In this moment, Celia conceded defeat completely. If this girl named Sonia really had her sights set on Felix, Celia would stand almost no chance of winning. She knew Felix's obsession with swordsmanship all too well. If her persona of an "intellectual, gorgeous senior" scored an eighty in Felix's book, Sonia's archetype of a "genius swordsmanship beauty" was easily a hundred and fifty. *Clang!* The moment Sonia's wooden sword slashed into the tenth ring of the armored dummy, everyone sucked in a collective breath, dropping the temperature in the hall by several degrees. They had witnessed a miracle! A novice apprentice when she walked through the doors, after two hours of uninterrupted training, had successfully struck the dummy's tenth ring! Even if she did nothing else from here on out, once the moment arrived, she would trigger a resonance with the knowledge of the Void Realm, summon a swordsmanship sorcery spirit, enter the Void Realm, and become a Void-Wing Sorcerer! It could take a single second, or at most a few months! Not everyone at Sword Flower University managed to become a sorcerer; the graduation rate consistently hovered around fifty percent. Every graduating Void-Wing Sorcerer was guaranteed a brilliant future! In other words, from this moment onward, Sonia was practically assured a lifetime of comfort and security! Meanwhile, Sonia lowered her wooden sword, letting everyone breathe a sigh of relief—the monster disguised in a beautiful girl's skin was finally exhausted. If Sonia had kept training any longer, they would have genuinely begun to wonder whether women's clothing came with a stamina buff. Not that the reality wasn't already absurd: two full hours, averaging a strike every two seconds, thirty strikes a minute, totaling thirty-six hundred strikes in two hours... Just tallying the numbers made the swordsmanship apprentices' scalps tingle. At that moment, Ingrid hurried out from the crowd with a towel and a cup of water, ready to support Sonia back to their dorm. By the time Sonia reached a thousand swings, Ingrid had already been won over, feeling for the first time an urge to get closer to her. *What bad intentions could someone who practices swordsmanship possibly have?* "You must be exhausted, Sonia. Shall we head back together?" Ingrid only knew this single method for befriending people: walk back together, go to the bathroom together, eat meals together... Sonia, who wished she could melt into a puddle right there on the floor, took the towel to wipe herself down and took a small sip of water. She offered Ingrid a smile of pure relief and was just about to agree when suddenly, a surge of energy flooded through her limbs and bones, replenishing her stamina entirely. Her face froze. Her eyes locked directly onto Felix in the crowd. It was the piercing gaze of a hunter locking onto prey. The other apprentices sighed inwardly, Celia bit her lower lip in frustration, and Felix tilted his chin up slightly, flashing Sonia a confident smile. The reason behind these reactions was truly heartwarming. Because in Sonia's eyes, the Watcher was standing right behind Felix. Wagging his finger, that damnable little loudspeaker said: "Sword Princess, you can't rest yet." "Next," he pointed at Felix, "you must defeat this person."