Martial Arts 1

It had been a month and a few days since Tsukasa had joined the Loki Familia, and he had become a Level 4 adventurer.

In the morning, right after the expedition, as usual, Tsukasa and Ais did their usual morning sword practice. They fought each other as their rapier and nodachi clashed with each other.

Still, during this fight, Ais couldn't even see how she could gain the upper hand, which made her know Tsukasa was strong!

Tsukasa was so strong that even if his level was lower, he could win against the adventurers who had a higher level.

While Ais wasn't sure, she had confidence that even if Tsukasa fought the strongest adventurer in the Orario, Ottar, even if he couldn't win, Ottar wouldn't be much better than him. It was her belief since she knew his swordsmanship had reached into the realm that one could look up to.

It was also the reason why Ais realized how lucky she was to be able to learn under him.

'I'm going to get stronger!' Ais relentlessly attacked Tsukasa like a storm.

However, Tsukasa was as firm as the mountain. Even if the storm hit him, he stood tall without moving from his spot, deflecting, parrying, and counterattacking Ais, even if his physical ability was lower.

Still, even if his physical ability was lower, there were many reasons why Ais couldn't gain the upper hand from him.

The first thing was, without a doubt, the skill since Ais's understanding of the swordsmanship was lower than Tsukasa's.

The second thing was the distance.

Ais's rapier was shorter than Tsukasa's Drying Pole.

While Ais was able to move agilely, trying to approach him closely, it would make it harder for him to swing his Drying Pole since the weakness of a long weapon like his Drying Pole or spear was hard to use at a close distance. Therefore, if they fought at a close distance, he would be at a disadvantage.

However, even if Ais could close their distance, Tsukasa could use the grip of his sword to push her away before slashing her, causing her to come back to zero again.

Ais was frustrated, but she kept attacking.

Tsukasa kept defending, but then he saw something unexpected.

Ais that had attacked at a fast pace suddenly changed and became slower.

However, this slowness didn't bring disadvantages. Instead, it brought an advantage to Ais.

After all, Tsukasa had been defending her sword at high speed, and the sudden change of pace would throw him off.

However, Tsukasa was just firmly standing on the ground and didn't even pant during their long fight. It might be strange, but it was normal since he was the one who taught her this technique, the combo of fast and slow pace mixed together, interrupting the habit of people that had been made during the battle.

It would mess up one's mind, and before long, one would be defeated.

Still, even if they had a spar, they didn't use their real weapon since Ais's rapier was damaged during the expedition, and Tsukasa wouldn't bully her with his Drying Pole since it was sharp enough to cut most of the things in this world.

After Tsukasa threw Ais off away, he said, "Stop. Let's take a rest."

Ais nodded and stopped, but then she looked at the unexpected person who joined them. "Riveria, what are you doing?" She didn't feel tired and could continue, but that was only the exterior since her mind had been constantly challenged by Tsukasa's outrageous swordsmanship.

"Hmm? Are you saying I can't watch your training, Ais?" Riveria asked with a smile.

"..." Ais got a chill and hid behind Tsukasa subconsciously. After all, Riveria was the source of her trauma, and when she saw this smile, she would automatically run away.

Riveria didn't care much even if Ais moved closer to Tsukasa since her mood was really good at that moment.

Ais looked at Riveria suspiciously since she felt there was something strange about Riveria at that moment. Unlike before, while Riveria was beautiful, she had this unapproachable aura that made everyone think they weren't someone in the same class as her. However, at this moment while, she felt Riveria had become more beautiful, there was this unique charm that she couldn't describe.

Ais didn't understand the reason, but she felt strange somehow. Still, she didn't ask since it wasn't her personality to do so.

Still, Riveria had something to ask Tsukasa, so she asked, "By the way, Tsukasa, why do you keep practicing your swordsmanship? Isn't it enough?" She felt his swordsmanship was like magic. It had reached a level that people could only look up to, so why shouldn't he just lay down and take a rest instead of keeping training?

It was what made Riviria become confused.

"Why do I keep training?" Tsukasa thought for a moment and said, "You know, I feel like a swordsman isn't much different from a cook, a blacksmith, a carpenter, and other craftsmanship professions."

"Huh?" 2x

Ais and Riveria were surprised.

"I mean, look, a cook works hard to make the best dish, a blacksmith works harder to make the best weapon, a carpenter works hard to make the best house, and the others are similar." Tsukasa looked at Ais and Riveria and said, "The swordsman isn't much different since they work hard to become stronger with their sword technique. Even a magician is the same, right? After all, they work hard to uncover the mystery of this world. I am the same. Since I have aimed to become the strongest swordsman, I still need to train to perfect my technique even more."

"....." Riveria and Ais thought this guy was amazing.

Riveria smiled and felt she should do it again tonight since she must admit even if it was her first time, it felt so amazing. She also wanted to have children. However, as an elf, it was quite hard for her to have children.

However, it was a normal rule of this world.

The stronger the creature was, the harder it was for them to have a descendant.

It was the reason why the weak were easier to make children since if they didn't do so, they would go extinct.

Still, if Tsukasa knew what Riveria was thinking, he had an answer for it, the solution to that problem.

"Still, my swordsmanship isn't my best skill," Tsukasa said.

"Huh?" Ais was surprised and asked subconsciously, "What you're best with?"

"Well, Riveria has seen what I am best with, right?" Tsukasa looked at Riveria thoughtfully.

"....." Riveria.

"Riveria?" Ais looked at Riveria in doubt.

Riveria's face was covered in crimson blush, and she glared at Tsukasa before she looked at Ais with an unnatural expression. "Ais, you don't need to think too much. What you need to do is to prepare as much as you can since you'll fight a Udaeus, right?

Ais nodded, but inwardly, she felt uncomfortable even though she didn't know the reason. It felt like Tsukasa and Riveria had kept a secret from her, which made her feel she was being left out.

However, that should be answered later, since now, Tiona joined and said, "Tsukasa, train me too!"

Tsukasa looked at Tiona and asked, "Aren't you going to the dungeon to get money?" Her Urga, the 120 million valis weapon, had melted and vanished. She didn't have a weapon, and she didn't have money.

"No, we have a party later, so I won't go to the dungeon today," Tiona said.

"Party?" Tsukasa looked at Riveria.

Riveria nodded and said, "Loki has said we'll all go to the Hostess of Fertility later. You're going, right?"

"Well, I'll go if I have time." Tsukasa didn't dare to make a promise.

"Do you have somewhere you want to go?" Ais asked.

"Well, I do. I plan to look around the Orario before I go to the dungeon again," Tsukasa said.

"Dungeon? Aren't you going to rest?" Riveria asked with a frown. "If you hunt too much, you'll be burnt out."

"It's okay. I have a way to release my stress," Tsukasa said while looking at Riveria with a knowing smile.

"....." Riveria blushed and looked away.

"....." Ais and Tiona didn't know why, but they felt something had been stolen from them for some reason.

However, they didn't have time to ask since Tsukasa said, "Alright, Tiona, I'll teach you martial arts."

"What? Really?" Tiona was excited and forgot her unhappiness before.

"Yeah." Tsukasa nodded and said, "You have lost your weapon after all, so I thought to teach you a martial art."

"What kind of martial art?" Riveria asked since she didn't expect Tsukasa would be good at martial arts.

Ais was also curious.

"Rakshasa's Palm."