After washing up and putting on the set of gear he had neatly arranged in his inventory, Ren left his private room, following the stone-paved corridor that led straight to the soldiers' dining hall inside the castle.
He arrived later than usual. Most of the troops stationed in Yofel Castle had already finished breakfast and returned to their posts, either guarding or patrolling along the outer walls.
The air had grown quieter, filled only with the clatter of dishes and the lingering scent of food in the warm space.
Ren walked past rows of long maple-wood tables, their surfaces aged into a warm amber hue. The aroma of hot soup, toasted bread, and a faint trace of herbs hung in the air, making his stomach growl softly.
After glancing around to find a familiar face, he finally spotted Kizmel sitting by the window, lazily stirring her steaming bowl of soup with a wooden spoon. She had already started eating.
"Looks like… they put a bit too many vegetables in the soup today."
Ren pulled out the chair across from her, his tone half teasing, half complaining, before smiling faintly. It wasn't that he disliked vegetables, in fact, he rather enjoyed them.
"Thanks for saving me a seat."
Kizmel took a bite of bread and simply nodded, as if the gesture required no thanks.
Her eyes flicked briefly to Ren's bowl, where the vegetables seemed to be floating in numbers that nearly drowned out the broth... and, quite naturally, she leaned slightly to shield her own food from sight.
Ren narrowed his eyes.
He wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but ever since Kizmel started inviting him to breakfast, the amount of vegetables in his portion had steadily increased, nearly doubling by now.
And Ren refused to believe that the castle's kitchen, or any kitchen for that matter, had suddenly become so generous, especially when food supplies had to be rationed for the entire Dark Elf garrison.
A suspicion flickered across his mind, but he just sighed, picked up his spoon, and shook his head helplessly.
"Probably just a coincidence…"
Ren lifted the wooden spoon carefully, almost cautiously... as if afraid to spill even a drop of the hot soup.
He blew gently before taking a sip. The light saltiness, the mellow sweetness of the vegetables and herbs, and the spreading warmth down his throat washed away the weariness from the morning's training.
Then, without hesitation, he tore open his bread, scooped in all the remaining vegetables, meat, and broth, and pressed it together into a clumsy, makeshift sandwich.
It was a crude, battlefield-style meal… but the smell was rich and the taste surprisingly satisfying.
Ren bit into it with a large mouthful, the chewy bread and the hot, savory filling blending together. It wasn't pretty, but it was good.
Across from him, Kizmel's expression flickered.
She watched how he ate, her head tilted slightly, pointed ears twitching just a little...curiosity plain in her gaze.
Ren noticed but pretended not to, lowering his head to focus on his sandwich as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
After a moment, Kizmel touched her spoon lightly, then glanced at Ren again.
And this time… she actually copied him.
Awkwardly, she opened her own bread, mimicking his every move, a little stiff, but earnest.
Ren nearly laughed, but he managed to keep a straight face, turning slightly away to hide the smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
Since his stay at Yofel Castle began, Ren had started to understand Kizmel a little more.
On the surface, she was the composed, almost stoic Dark Elf knight, a face rarely showing emotion, except for those rare, fleeting smiles she gave Kirito and Asuna.
But after days of eating together, training side by side, and exchanging quiet words during calm evenings, Ren realized something else.
Kizmel wasn't cold, she simply wasn't good at expressing herself.
She listened intently whenever Ren spoke of the human world, of strange foods she'd never heard of.
She asked about "schools," "cities," about "roads that had no forests around them."
Her curiosity was quiet, but unmistakably genuine, the kind that didn't seem to come from a warrior, but from someone who simply wanted to understand.
Ren didn't know if it was mere curiosity… or a sincere desire to know more about these mysterious beings called Plaedem.
As for him, he only knew that, in that small moment when Kizmel awkwardly tried to eat bread the way he did, the world somehow felt a little softer.
As if, for the first time in a long while… someone had smiled for him.
But the air between them soon turned awkward.
The two sat quietly, eating their meal without a word.
Only the soft clink of a spoon against a bowl broke the long silence, so much so that Ren began to feel even his own breathing was too loud.
"Uh…" he finally spoke, his tone uncertain. "I thought you'd be heading up to the next floor with Kirito and Asuna?"
Kizmel, still fiddling with the piece of bread in her hand, paused.
She looked up, her sapphire-blue eyes meeting Ren's gaze, clear, calm, and faintly surprised.
"I would like to go with the two of them as well," she said softly, her tone steady but tinged with a trace of regret. "But the two kingdoms have agreed not to extend their influence to the Fifth Floor. Because of that, I cannot leave this place."
She lowered her gaze again, carefully breaking off a small piece of bread as if trying to hide the emotion that had briefly surfaced.
"I see…" Ren murmured, nodding lightly.
Her answer drew the room back into silence. He didn't know what else to say, and Kizmel, too, remained quiet.
After a moment, Ren spoke again, searching for another topic to bridge the gap between them. "Um… then, what do you think I should pick for my new skill slot?"
Kizmel looked up again, tilting her head slightly.
Ren scratched his cheek awkwardly and explained, "I mean… I just unlocked a new active skill slot, along with my first passive one when I hit level 15. I'm wondering… if I should add another sword skill or not."
His tone sounded casual, but there was a mix of excitement and hesitation in it, as if he was trying to use talk of combat to ease the earlier tension.
Kizmel set her spoon down, her expression softening, lips curling into a faint smile. "So… you've finally started thinking about expanding your abilities."
She tilted her head, voice low and composed. "I'm not sure if my advice will be of much use to you, but I've already formed a rough idea of your fighting style."
Her gaze met Ren's, thoughtful. "Pretty good, considering your current level. But…" She tapped a finger lightly on the table. "I think you should add something other than a sword skill to your active slots."
"For example, [Dodge]. It'll help you in many situations, both for engaging and retreating. With your combat style focused on speed and burst damage, that skill will help you maximize the gap between attacks."
She raised her hand, tracing an imagined motion in the air. "[Dodge] forward, strike with [Stab], then finish with your sword skill. Besides, [Dodge] also helps you avoid wide-range attacks, something solo sword users often struggle with."
Kizmel paused for a moment, her tone turning more serious. "Most beginner sword skills have roughly the same destructive power. They lack flow, they can't be extended or amplified through sword aura, nor can they evolve into complex finishing techniques."
Her gaze sharpened slightly. "Only once you reach the third stage of Weapon Mastery should you start thinking about those things."
Ren nodded slowly, though a faint crease remained between his brows. "You're right… but there's something I still don't understand."
He set his spoon down on the wooden table, his voice lowering. "You mentioned 'sword aura' before… What exactly is it? Some kind of special effect?"
(Note: I plan to buff this concept quite a bit. In the original, it feels underwhelming considering they fight massive bosses, so I'll expand on it. I'll also study more about sword skills and system functions from the later canon material.)
Kizmel hesitated slightly, then gave a faint smile, one that Ren rarely saw from her. "To humans, perhaps they'd call it a 'light effect.' An extended technique that occurs when a sword skill strike reaches absolute precision."
"Sword aura is the sign of perfect synchronization between the body and the sword skill. When a player reaches Weapon Mastery Lv.3 or higher, the motion of activating a skill is no longer separate from their body, it becomes one. At high levels, it can make an attack extend beyond the weapon's physical reach, appearing as a cut that slices through the air itself."
She spoke slowly, her hand gliding along the spine of the sword resting beside her chair. "But to us...to the Elves, that phenomenon is the breath of will itself."
Ren looked at her, silently.
"Not everyone can manifest 'sword aura,'" Kizmel continued, her eyes softening as they settled on the tip of her blade, as if seeing something far away.
"When a swordsman truly becomes one with their weapon, no longer thinking of movement, timing, or distance, their strike carries their very soul. At that moment, technique merely reflects what the mind has already completed."
Kizmel paused briefly, as if to make sure Ren was listening, then continued, "In theory, it enhances damage, cutting power, and even extends the reach of attacks beyond the weapon's physical limits."
Ren nodded, then shook his head slightly, an unsure expression that made her sigh softly.
"You know 'Sword Aura,' don't you? That glow that surrounds the blade when you activate a sword skill?"
Ren nodded again.
"Sword aura is its perfected form. Once you reach a certain level of mastery, you can sustain that energy without relying entirely on the rigid trigger motion.
It opens up the ability to chain together complex combinations, far beyond the limitations of standard sword skills."
Kizmel tilted her head, voice lowering. "You've seen those violent gusts unleashed from the Viscount's sword techniques, haven't you?"
Ren narrowed his eyes, recalling that moment, the sweeping strike that tore through the air, winds twisting together like a storm.
"They weren't wind," she said, her voice cutting through the quiet, "that was sword aura."
She lifted her sword slightly, letting the light catch on its darkened edge.
"It's a kind of reinforcing radiance. When someone reaches true mastery of their weapon, be it sword, spear, or axe, they can awaken it."
Her pointed ears twitched faintly, as if she could hear Ren's thoughts forming.
"And no," Kizmel added with a small, knowing smile, "it isn't a privilege reserved for swordsmen."