10 The Resolve of Two Souls

Hokuto left the dojo after that exchange.

A few moments later, from a secret entrance to the dojo, King Ren walked out and faced Astraea who was still snickering. "How was my daughter?" King Ren asked as the [Rose Sword Saint] stood, not bothering to face him.

"She has great talent for the martial arts. However, she still isn't convinced that the sword isn't her way yet," Astraea explained. "How desperate are you for her to learn the <North Star Lily Sword Art>?"

"It is tradition. You know how important that is."

"She will have to learn that on her own, however, I promise to make sure that she will learn it." Astraea looked forlorn but she wasn't facing King Ren so he couldn't read her emotions.

"I understand. You're still an outsider so how could you possibly know about it?"

"I will teach her other arts in the meantime. Her body must be strengthened otherwise she won't be able to possess the power needed to compete against magicians and sorcerers on equal footing. Then when her body has been sufficiently tempered I will teach her the sword art I created after sparring with you before."

"You made a sword art based on the <North Star Lily Sword Art>, yet you never told anyone about it?"

"I felt like it wasn't necessary to share." Astraea laughed coldly.

"I trust you, [Rose Sword Saint]." King Ren nodded and bowed respectfully before leaving.

When Astraea was left alone in the dojo, she sighed in relief. "Finally, I have found the successor to my <Divine God's Ascension Force>... But I have to convince Hokuto to follow in my footsteps to do that. Displaying my immense strength won't be enough for her. I have to prove to her that... She can step toe to toe with the strongest of arch-mages without the use of true magic or sorcery." Muttering to herself, Astraea resolved to pass her arts down.

Hokuto went to the bath springs of the castle to relax her tired and aching muscles. She pondered about how Astraea was indeed as strong as the rumors made her out to be. She easily parried all of her moves and displayed a strength that could be compared to typical mages just with a swing of her blade. She had yet to fully commit herself to the path of the sword... but she wondered if she could really do away with magic.

She had no idea that Astraea had bigger ambitions for her. She didn't even realize that the [Rose Sword Saint] had seen her as a potential successor to her mighty sword arts. All she thought about at this moment, relaxing in the hot waters of the spring, was comparing the benefits of mastering mundane martial combat with being able to use magic.

Not to mention internal martial arts... Could she become the next Sword Saint, capable of harnessing internal energy? If truly, Hokuto had no hope on the magical arts, then perhaps she could learn internal martial arts like her tutor. Then she could fly in the air too. Just the mere thought of it excited her. Hokuto looked up at nothing in particular, continuing to laze in the hot spring.

Unbeknownst to the teacher and the student, their resolves had already started to resonate with one another.