At the far end of the arena, a heavy door slowly creaked open, and a towering figure emerged from the darkness.
It was a nearly three-meter-tall tigerkin warrior, bare-chested, revealing his scar-covered, muscular frame. Below, he wore only a leather skirt protecting his vitals.
But the most striking feature was his face, tiger-headed, humanoid body, with fangs bared and cold, savage amber eyes glinting with menace.
He wore almost no armor. That was part of the Weapon Master class's supernatural trait: when lightly armored or unarmored, movement and attack speed receive a significant boost.
The tigerkin held a massive greatsword, nearly as tall as a human, with such ease it seemed like a wooden stick in his hand.
"You look weak, human," Aksa rumbled, his voice deep and coarse, dripping with mockery. "Let's see if you can last three seconds against my blade."
Robb took a deep breath and shifted his breathing to the rhythm of the Solar Breath.
The internal heat currents surged, enhancing his muscles and reaction time.
"Combat start!" the mechanical voice announced.
Almost the instant the words rang out, Aksa lunged.
His speed was astonishing, nearly incomprehensible for someone so massive.
In the blink of an eye, he had crossed most of the arena, his greatsword sweeping in a deadly arc aimed at Robb's waist, intending to cleave him in half.
Robb barely managed to raise his sword to block, but the force of the impact sent him flying. He tumbled across the ground, struggling to get back on his feet.
His arms trembled violently from the blow, he could barely grip his sword.
"That's all you've got? Pathetic weakling…" Aksa scoffed, striding forward with ease.
Robb adjusted his breathing, gritting through the pain and assuming a defensive stance once more.
He knew he couldn't match Aksa in raw strength, his only hope was to rely on technique and agility to find an opening.
The second assault came swiftly. This time, Aksa unleashed a barrage of fast, precise thrusts, all aimed at vital points.
Robb dodged and parried with all his might, but still took several hits, his body soon covered in shallow wounds.
"Your guard has gaps. Movement's sluggish. Your grip is unstable."
Aksa commented mid-attack, his tone cold and professional.
"For a swordsman, you're far below standard."
Robb felt a wave of frustration. Even though he knew this was just a simulation, being completely outclassed still stung.
What hurt most was how accurate Aksa's critiques were, they laid bare every flaw in his technique.
The battle went on for nearly ten minutes. Robb was exhausted, covered in injuries, while Aksa didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat.
"I expected more from you." The tigerkin shook his head, eyes filled with disappointment. "What a waste of time. Let's finish this."
He suddenly accelerated, blade aimed directly at Robb's throat.
In that split second, time seemed to slow down.
Robb watched the deadly blade draw near, and a sudden realization struck him, he had been trying to counter brute force with technique alone. But in the face of overwhelming power, that approach was doomed.
The true breakthrough didn't lie in perfect form, it lay in understanding the essence of the sword:
All weapons exist for one purpose, to kill.
In that moment, he stopped thinking about stances or sequences. His awareness fused with the blade, with his body. Everything he had trained, every repetition, came together into something new.
[Basic Swordcraft EXP +1]
[Breakthrough! Basic Swordcraft (Adept 100/100) → Basic Swordcraft (Mastery – Max)]
[Trait Advancement: Sharp → Blade Unleashed (Increased Weak Spot Detection & Attack Speed)]
Just as the blade was about to pierce his throat, Robb did something that normally would've seemed reckless.
He stepped forward, not back, twisting his body just enough to narrowly dodge the fatal strike.
At the same time, his own sword slipped through Aksa's defenses at an impossible angle, aimed straight for the heart.
Aksa froze. A flicker of surprise, and admiration, flashed through his amber eyes.
"Not bad, human," he growled.
"Looks like you've finally grasped the truth of the blade."
Robb stood motionless, watching as his sword hovered just before Aksa's chest, blocked, but that wasn't the point. What mattered was the clarity in his mind.
In that moment, he wasn't using a sword. He was the sword, sharp, precise, lethal.
"Swordcraft isn't about fancy moves. It's about the resolve to kill."
Aksa lowered his weapon, his voice tinged with approval.
"In that instant, you understood. If not for my superior speed and strength, your blade would've pierced my heart."
Robb took a deep breath, feeling a tidal shift within himself.
Reaching the mastery level in Basic Swordcraft didn't just improve his technique, it gave him a new understanding of what it meant to fight with a blade.
"Thank you for the lesson, Master Aksa," Robb said earnestly, bowing.
The tigerkin nodded. "You've got potential, human. But this is just the beginning. The road of strength is endless, keep walking it."
As his words faded, the arena began to twist and dissolve, transforming back into the empty circular room.
"Simulation complete. Congratulations on your breakthrough."
"Thank you for using the simulation chamber."
The iron door slowly opened. Robb stepped out, where Andrey was pacing anxiously outside.
"Robb! You okay?" The blond youth rushed forward, eyes full of concern.
"You've been in there for nearly two hours! I was starting to panic!"
"Two hours?" Robb blinked.
"Felt like ten minutes, tops."
"Time perception gets warped in simulated combat." Andrey explained. "So? How was it? Did you break through?"
Robb nodded, a content smile on his face.
"Yes. I've come to understand something fundamental about swordsmanship, it's not about mechanically repeating movements. It's about putting your will into every strike."
He lifted his arm and made a simple slashing motion.
Though his hand was empty, the gesture carried such forceful intent that it felt like it cut the very air.
Andrey stared in awe.
"That's… totally different! Your swordsmanship was already solid, but now, it's like you're a different person."
"Yeah. It's like something suddenly clicked."
Robb laughed. "All thanks to that simulation device. Fighting a true master made all the difference."
As the two walked back to the workshop, Robb was still immersed in the joy of his breakthrough.
"Those alchemists who built that device… incredible work," he said to Andrey. "To recreate such a lifelike combat environment, with full sensory realism, even smell and texture? Unreal."
"Yeah. I heard it was a joint project between several veteran alchemists and psychic-type wizards. They created it to train the Order's combat capabilities."
Andrey nodded. "But once the Order's focus shifted to more theoretical disciplines, it kind of got forgotten."
"But the potential in that tech is massive," Robb said, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "If developed further, we could make more practical alchemical tools, like precise mana furnaces, automated herb distillers, or devices that assist in training..."
His mind was racing with possibilities.
I have to accelerate my alchemy studies. This field has way more potential than I imagined.
He glanced back at the dusty training chamber.
"I'm going to use it regularly. Thirty shards is steep, but for what it gives in return, absolutely worth it."
Back at the workshop, Robb couldn't wait to draw his sword and feel the change for himself.
As he practiced, he clearly sensed how much smoother and more natural each movement had become. The sword felt like an extension of his body.
The Blade Unleashed trait imbued each strike with uncanny precision and sharpness. Even wielding a simple wooden training sword, he felt like he could slice through stone.
"This feeling… it's incredible." Robb murmured, eyes shining with excitement.
Mastering Basic Swordcraft had laid a solid foundation for his future evolution into a Magic Swordsman.
Even better, this breakthrough, achieved through experience rather than a system notification, felt far more profound and deeply internalized.
This wasn't just added EXP, it was true understanding of the skill's essence.
In the corner of the room, Valenwood silently observed Robb's sword practice. Her vines swayed gently, as if sharing in her master's joy.
"Valenwood, I did it." Robb said, beaming. "This is another major milestone since I arrived in the Black Mist Forest."
The treant spelled out a line with her vines: "Congratulations, Master."
Robb smiled and nodded, carefully placing the sword back on its rack and turning his thoughts to the future.
This breakthrough proved something important, what once seemed like an insurmountable barrier might simply require the right method or environment.
…
A few days later, Robb's workshop glowed with light.
On the desk lay the scroll of the Sunfire Essence formula Magnus had gifted him. Robb carefully measured and prepared the ingredients.
"Three grams of red phosphor grass powder... two drops of starfire stone marrow… four inches of sun-orchid rootstock…"
He silently recited the ingredients and quantities, hands moving deftly between the materials.