Nina slapped the palm of her hand against her face, clearly frustrated. Around her, the warriors and spectators expressed varying degrees of surprise and confusion.
Jino had just challenged Clint, the Sword Emperor, for his position among the Gaia's Twelve Kings.
Clint occupied the ninth spot, but everyone knew this was not a true reflection of his strength.
Since joining the Kingdom of Gaia, he had fought only once to contest his ranking, and with a single blow he secured his victory.
Even so, he did not seek to climb higher in the standings. His remaining in ninth place was strategic: it avoided unnecessary battles with countless challengers and allowed him to stay focused on his training.
Clint was a man dedicated to seeking perfection in his swordsmanship. Those who knew him more closely were aware of his fanatical dedication to fencing.
Reaching the level of Sword Emperor required something beyond talent: it demanded absolute dedication.
That's why, when Jino challenged him, many thought it was merely the product of youthful ignorance.
Nina, on the other hand, knew Jino better.
He wanted to fight a strong opponent, but she had told him to challenge those at the bottom of the ranking, just as she had.
And indeed, Jino had challenged one of those at the end of the list. But this was a Sword Emperor! She sighed deeply as she noticed the discreet smirk forming on Jino's face.
Eris crossed her arms and spoke in a teasing tone:
"Hmph, your strength isn't that impressive, Nina! If Jino is near your level, he will never beat Clint!"
A vein bulged on Nina's forehead.
"Not that impressive?"
Before she could think, she had already thrown herself at Eris. The redhead was caught by surprise, and the two fell to the ground, exchanging punches and shoves.
They weren't using Touki, so the blows were light, but both were completely engrossed in punching each other. Strangely, both were smiling.
Attention turned back to the arena as Clint entered the scene.
Seriously, with an upright posture, his left hand resting on the hilt of his sword. His eyes fixed on Jino, who waited calmly.
"I wonder what gives you the confidence to defeat me... Did you defeat your father before leaving the Sword Sanctuary?"
Everyone held their breath. The question hung in the air.
Jino shook his head.
"I challenged him before I left... but he was still faster than me."
Clint seemed to relax a little at the answer. Still serious, he replied:
"Then why did you challenge me? You could easily have won a higher position by challenging those above me."
Jino's eyes sparkled. He looked at his own sword and answered in a distant tone:
"Well... when Rygar was thirteen, he could already defeat you with fencing alone, right? I'm already fourteen."
Clint frowned.
"And what of it?"
Jino smiled, the light in his eyes intensifying.
"If I want to defeat him, how can I lose to him in that regard?"
Before anyone could understand what he meant by those words, Jino shot forward like lightning.
But Clint was a Sword Emperor. He reacted without hesitation, striking firmly. The blades collided with a sharp metallic ring.
The impact occurred slightly closer to Jino than to Clint. The Sword Emperor was still a bit faster.
But then, Jino vanished from everyone's sight.
Kilian, watching with wide eyes, spoke: "Is that the Wild Dash?"
The arena was filled with a symphony of snaps and buzzing. Clint delivered strikes from all angles, but Jino was never where the blow landed.
Only afterimages remained. The fight turned into a battle of pure speed.
Jino wielded all four fencing styles with mastery.
He was versatile, precise, and even when switching to the Longsword of Light, whose speed was slightly below Clint's, he compensated with strength and technical mastery. His blade was an extension of his body.
Before the spectators could wonder how he had advanced so much in Beast God Style, the fight reached its conclusion.
With a spin too difficult to follow, Jino appeared behind Clint and cut the tendons in the Emperor's legs.
Then, in a fluid and brutal movement, he severed his opponent's dominant arm, anticipating the counterattack that would have followed.
"Ugh!"
Blood dripped from the disabled stump. Jino, with some sweat trickling down his forehead, stood in front of him.
"I lost to my father before leaving the Sanctuary... but it's been over a year since then."
He turned and walked out of the arena.
"If we faced off now... he's no longer my opponent."
Rygar hadn't taught Jino how to refine the techniques of Beast God Style.
He had only demonstrated the forms, explained the fundamentals, and let the youth absorb them on his own. But for a true fencing genius, that was more than enough.
With a solid foundation and an ardent desire to become stronger, Jino went on alone. He refined every movement, every thrust, and every technique he knew.
He internalized the techniques, made them intimate, adapting them to his unique combat style.
Moreover, he created new tactics, fine adjustments, and real-time improvisations, all without a master's supervision.
This applied not only to Beast God Style—he applied the same principle to all the styles he learned.
Jino Britz was a prodigy.
And since his goal was to defeat Rygar, the Beast God, he knew he needed something beyond effort. His training bordered on the insane, a relentless routine, without rest, where injuries were treated as part of the progress.
At only thirteen, Rygar was already able to defeat swordsmen like Clint and Timothy in direct sword combat.
And his strength didn't depend solely on the sword—the magic coursing through his body elevated his power to almost unreachable levels.
At fifteen, Rygar was called the Wild Beast Emperor, capable of breaking even the defenses of the Deprivation Sword Kingdom, of the Water God herself.
At sixteen, in pure fencing skill, he defeated Gall Farion, the Sixth World Power and until then considered the best living swordsman.
This was the floor Jino needed to reach.
For this, he trained and lived for the sword, but always kept Rygar's and Gall Farion's teachings in his heart. Always remembering the reason he brandished his blade.
He wanted Nina for himself, and in that, he had already succeeded.
But now, he wanted to reach Rygar, and surpass him.
Therefore, when he defeated Clint Lio—a Sword Emperor—at fourteen, Jino did not react with much arrogance or surprise. For him, it was just another step. But the rest of the world did not think so.
On the faces of most spectators were shock, astonishment, and admiration.
Defeating a Sword Emperor at that age was something surprising and unbelievable.
Almost everyone who watched was left speechless. But the reason was simple: few dared to consider facing Rygar.
The Beast God, to them, was a divine figure, beyond comprehension, beyond any human measurement. Invincible. Unreachable.
When they realized that Jino had said his true objective was to defeat Rygar, reactions were mixed.
Some laughed. Others felt pity. Others frowned, considering the idea blasphemous.
A mere human, with a sword in hand, wanted to challenge a God.
It was like a lone knight raising his lance against a titan that touched the firmament.
It was ridiculous.
But there were also those who watched Jino with more attentive eyes.
More calculating figures. They analyzed his talent. They analyzed his mindset. And took his words seriously.
And these, in the end, saw a risk.
He wants to defeat the leader. And he has enough talent to one day attempt it.
Dangerous thoughts arose in the minds of these men and women.
That boy must be eliminated before he grows.
Obviously, Rygar wouldn't care one bit about that.
It was at that moment that Eris, finally freeing herself from the light scuffle with Nina, wiped a strand of sweat from her forehead and turned to Jino with a half-smile:
"Uh, going to stop now, Jino? Don't you want to fight me?"
The eyes around the arena gleamed with anticipation.
So far, only newcomers had won—a spectacle, for sure—but seeing her lady, Eris, the Red Lioness, put these youngsters in their place seemed even more thrilling.
Eris, even having seen what Jino was capable of, was still confident. Her eyes were piercing, and the smile on her lips was a mix of provocation and challenge.
But Jino only tilted his head slightly.
"Maybe another time..." he replied sincerely. "But... when is Rygar coming to the dojo?"
The refusal took Eris by surprise for a brief moment. She blinked and brought a hand to her chin, thoughtful.
"Maybe he won't show up today... but I'll ask him when I get home today. More importantly..." She turned to Nina.
"Let's arrange lodging for you two!"
With those words, the tension eased, and those present began to disperse.
But even as they walked away, the two newcomers—Jino Britz and Nina Farion—were still the center of attention.
Their names were on everyone's lips. The Combat Temple buzzed with conversations, rumors, and expectations.
The shift in the hierarchy of the Gaia's Twelve Kings had been made official that day.
Shortly after, figures in various parts of the Kingdom used the Magic Letter—long-distance communication devices—to spread the news.
The news didn't stop in the Kingdom of Gaia. It echoed beyond its borders, reaching the Dragon King's Realm and other distant lands.
"Nina Farion and Jino Britz took the places of Weys Adoldia and Clint Lio."
The Kingdom of Gaia marched steadily toward ascension. It grew stronger day by day, with an almost frightening intensity...
And, inevitably, caught the attention—and the irritation—of great powers watching from afar, in silence.
---
While the Combat Temple was lively and bustling, in the Doldia tribe, in a relatively ordinary house next to a large tree, a tall woman with dark skin and silver hair walked silently through the garden of the house.
Of course, the house only appeared ordinary.
If any experienced mage, or someone with keen senses, approached that house, they would feel an unprecedented sense of terror.
The residence was enveloped in layer upon layer of invisible magical barriers and protections.
Arcane circles, complex and intricate, which very few in the world could decipher, protected that seemingly vulnerable structure.
The woman's eyes were two distinct colors—one deep green and the other light red.
But the most striking feature at that moment was her evident pregnancy. She was likely not far from giving birth.
The woman walked along a grassy path, trying to take light steps, as if seeking to go unnoticed by something—or someone—that might be watching.
Soon, she reached an isolated clearing, surrounded by dense trees and silence.
She stopped and looked around cautiously... then drew a sword red as blood, Hiramune. Without a word, she began practicing her strikes.
The first movements were slow, but as seconds passed, the speed increased.
Each cut through the air left a subtle trail of pressure. The woman's style was refined and fierce. Even pregnant, her movements possessed the elegance and lethality of a veteran warrior.
But then, suddenly, a large white beast leaped through the trees.
With movement surprisingly agile for its size, it lunged directly at the woman's sword... and bit it.
With its teeth embedded in the blade, the beast prevented the next strike from landing.
The woman sighed and, resigned, released the hilt of the sword, letting it hang from the creature's mouth.
The beast tossed the sword aside.
The white beast was, in fact, the legendary Sacred Beast of the Doldia—a being destined to accompany the hero who would one day save the world.
Despite its status and power, it more resembled a huge, fluffy dog, overly shaggy. Its eyes were intelligent, and its body concealed impressive strength.
The woman, now relaxing her shoulders, was Ghislaine Adoldia.
"Leo... if I don't practice at least a little, my skill will diminish more and more!" she said, discontent.
The Sacred Beast barked twice, its half-closed eyes conveying an expression that made it clear: no concessions would be made.
Ghislaine clenched her teeth in frustration.
Leo, the Sacred Beast, was capable of perfectly understanding the Beast God Tongue—and more than that, could also make himself understood by all members of the Doldia race.
Despite being a sacred creature, he was also stubbornly obstinate.
"Rygar doesn't need to know this," murmured Ghislaine, attempting to argue.
"Need to know what?" said a young, sharp voice, emerging from behind the trees.
Ghislaine slowly turned her head, hiding the surprise on her face. Who had appeared was a girl of approximately ten years old, wearing training clothes and light leather armor.
Her long, reddish-brown hair fell loose down her back.
The girl's green eyes were half-closed, and she held a black sword drawn, still with sweat streaming down her face.
"Aisha..." murmured Ghislaine, impassive, maintaining a neutral expression despite being caught in the act.
But Leo wasted no time.
The Sacred Beast barked, then pointed with his snout at the sword Hiramune, which was still planted in the ground, clearly showing Ghislaine had been training.
Ghislaine shot a piercing look at the creature, but Leo remained unshaken, with the lofty dignity of one fulfilling his duty.
Aisha, in turn, began to laugh.
"What blatant betrayal, Leo! Excellent conduct!" she said, still laughing.
And then she turned to the woman.
"Let's go back inside, Ghislaine..."
Ghislaine sighed in disappointment, retrieved the sword, and with one last look at the clearing, followed Rygar's young disciple back home.
Leo followed them, alert and proud.
The forest breeze blew softly, carrying with it the last echoes of the interrupted training.
---
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