Chapter 21 Practice (3)

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'It's so fucking tiered!!'. I screamed in my heart.

At this moment, my body was covered in sweat, my hair was messy, and my body was trembling slightly. My breathing was a bit hurried.

'Maybe I should rest a bit before continuing'. I thought.

Then I put the sword back into the sheath hanging on my left waist. I just stood there and started to adjust my state.

Before I could take a few breaths, a voice caught my attention.

"Why did you use a Rapier?". Aveline asked directly, without beating around the bush.

'How in the world did I pull off catching her attention just by training?'. I cursed in my heart.

Aveline asked too directly, making me a bit confused. But I quickly regained my composure and replied.

"I'm just interested in it."

Aveline frowned upon hearing that.

"Do you know that you'll just be wasting your time on this?"

'She probably thinks that I'll give up halfway and switch to another weapon.'

"I don't think so." I shook my head and replied.

Aveline frowned even more.

"I'm really serious about Rapier, I want to use it as my main weapon. I won't give up until I prove that Rapier isn't as useless as everyone thinks." I said with a calm and serious expression.

Seeing my determined gaze and confident demeanor, Aveline was a little surprised. After a while, she couldn't help but sigh and accept.

"Alright, that's your choice, I have no right to interfere."

Then she put on a serious expression.

"But that doesn't mean I don't have the right to give advice as a teacher. You didn't accept my advice and decided to choose Rapier as your weapon. If that seriousness is fake, I won't forgive you."

As she spoke, Aveline exuded a certain pressure. It wasn't too strong, but it was enough to make me a little uncomfortable.

"I guarantee it. I'm really serious about this sword." I said firmly.

My eyes and Aveline's met. A flash of surprise appeared on her face, but it quickly disappeared. She released the pressure and turned to leave.

"You'd better remember what you said."

---

After the conversation with the student who used Rapier, Aveline returned to the corner. She couldn't help but recall his eyes.

A pair of mysterious purple eyes hidden behind messy hair, they were as deep as a black hole. Boiling within them was determination, an unshakeable determination. When she met his eyes, she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

Looking into his eyes, she knew that no matter what she said, it would be futile. He had already made up his mind. She decided to let him be and observe him more closely. She was curious to see if his determination was as strong as he projected.

'What's his name then?'

She had just started taking charge of this class, she really couldn't remember all the students. Aveline could only remember the prominent names. As for that boy, she had almost no impression of him.

She opened the class list and started searching for that student.

It didn't take long for her to find his profile.

'Number 25. Rank 672. Danz Grayson. Currently ranked F-. Potential limit is C...'

She wasn't surprised by his rank limit either. You know, every year, there are many students with low rank limits who can enter Hollis just by paying a large amount of tuition. As long as they can afford that amount and pass the entrance exam, they can study at Hollis.

"Let's see if you're really serious about that sword." She muttered.

She accepted that Danz using Rapier, but that didn't mean she trusted him. After all, there were too many similar precedents. Being stubborn for a while and then giving up. It was just a waste of time and effort.

---

"Enough rest now, let's continue."

After adjusting my state for a while, I continued to perform the straight thrusting movement. Occasionally, I would try activating Convergence to understand it better. I continued to perform that series of actions until the end of class.

After that, I went to the canteen and had a full meal, replenishing my tired body's energy.

In the afternoon class, I met Professor Herman Revaz again. I had a history lesson just like my previous life.

Just like that. I ended my day in Hollis peacefully.

---

"I should probably move into the Hollis' dormitory soon."

It was now afternoon. I was sitting in my rented room and thinking about my next plan.

I planned to move into Hollis' dormitory tonight. And tomorrow morning, I would have time to practice in Area 3 before class.

"Alright, let's do it."

Without saying much, I stood up and quickly packed my luggage. Then I informed the innkeeper that I was checking out and headed towards Area 8 - Student Dormitory.

The check-in process at Hollis' dormitory was no different from my previous life. I smoothly moved into my place.

...

"Oaaaaa. What a good sleep."

Yesterday, I successfully moved into Hollis' dormitory. After struggling all night, I finally finished unpacking my things. Since I had a very tiring day, I fell asleep right away.

It was currently 5am, I planned to go to Area 3 to practice my swordsmanship. I had to make the most of every moment if I wanted to improve quickly.

This time, I wouldn't be so foolish enough to stop at Zheng Kai's practice room. If I were to be noticed by him, I would only suffer. I don't want to draw his attention.

...

Walking down the hallway of the self-practice area. I decided to randomly choose an empty room and enter. It was only the beginning of the school year, there wouldn't be many students practicing at this time. I could comfortably hone my sword skills without worrying about the eyes of others.

Standing in front of the mannequin, I closed my eyes and adjusted my posture. I tried to visualize the straight thrust in my head.

I pulled out the sword that was hanging on my left waist, got into a ready position, and stabbed straight.

*Keng*

The tip of my sword was deflected by a large margin, about 5 cm. With that distance, it would be a long time before I could stab accurately at the weak point.

"Haaaa...". I sighed a little helplessly.

'What do I expect from myself again?'. I smiled bitterly and shook my head.

It was impossible to succeed after sleeping overnight. If you want to improve, you have to practice hard.

There is a saying "With enough effort, even iron can be sharpened into a needle". Now I have to try hard myself. You can't just sit around and expect things to fall into your lap, right?

I'm not a genius like Karen and the others, if I don't work hard, I won't have enough strength to support them.

I sighed once again when I thought about supporting Karen's group to defeat the Demon King. Why does it feel so hopeless...

I shook my head vigorously to get rid of those negative thoughts.

'What's so hopeless about it? If I don't try, how will I know what the future will be like? No matter what, there's nothing wrong with trying a little bit more'

I reassured myself by setting a goal to change the dark future and defeat the Demon King, which motivated me to move forward.

Just like that, I continued to perform the straight thrusting motion aimed at a point on the dummy's body. Occasionally, I also activated Convergence to increase my understanding of this sword technique.

---

Outside the corridor, a tall young man with long black hair neatly tied up was walking. Each of his steps was filled with internal energy, as steady as Mount Tai.

He planned to head to the room at the end of the row like he had chosen yesterday.

On the way, there was a clanging sound coming from one of the self-training rooms. He couldn't help but feel a little curious.

'Other than me, there are people practicing at this time?'

It was only a few days before the start of school, he didn't think there would be students here to practice, and it was so early in the morning.

He walked towards the source of the sound and looked inside.

The image of a skinny young man holding a Rapier in his hand was continuously stabbing the dummy. A trace of surprise appeared on his face.

'There's actually someone who chooses a Rapier as a weapon?'

As someone who came from a family with a long tradition of martial arts, it was not strange that he had some knowledge about weapons. He respected all types of weapons. To him, no weapon was weak, each had its own strengths. But Rapier was really not easy to train for beginners, not to mention that Special Skills that used Rapier as the main weapon were extremely rare. Rapier was the last choice that a swordsman in this era would choose.

This was the first time he had seen someone using a Rapier. How could he not be surprised? So he decided to stop and observe for a bit.

But not long after, he lost interest and turned around to leave.

'The movements are too clumsy, this is the performance of a newbie. Staying to watch won't do me any good'. He thought to himself.

---

'Damn it... if only I had been more serious about swordsmanship in my previous life, I wouldn't be struggling like this now'. I sat on the ground and panted continuously.

In my previous life, I had chosen swords for my three years in Hollis. But I only studied to cope with the tests, not really understanding swords. If only I had understood a little more about swords, no matter what kind of sword I used, there would be some common points, and I wouldn't be as struggling as I am now.

But to be honest, even if I studied to cope, I still had some basic knowledge about swords. Unfortunately, most of my memories about swordsmanship had disappeared without a trace, and if I tried to remember, the headache would attack me again. I had no choice but to give up and continue practicing like crazy like now.

"My memory is really useless." I sighed.

After a while of resting, I looked at the time and stood up.

'I should go back and prepare, it's almost time for class'

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