Beneath the tree.
Allen lowered his finger from his temple.
He could no longer stand Eris's intense, burning gaze. Raising both hands, he made a surrendering gesture.
"I haven't mastered the ken-kai no hakudatsu (Deprivation Sword Domain). First of all, I still haven't fully grasped the essence of kanryū (Flow Perception), and I'm even further from mastering nenryū (Thought Flow). I've only skimmed the surface. So just now, I used a little trick—I closed my eyes to block out sound and color and other visual inputs, focusing solely on tactile feedback. Then I paired it with nenryū, using only the perception of 'form' to briefly execute a Deprivation Sword Domain."
"In truth, using it is extremely taxing on the mind. Even Lady Lieta herself can only use it while remaining stationary, to avoid her own movements disrupting her perception and causing misjudgments."
Eris pouted, then loudly interrupted him!
"Whatever! Allen will definitely become a Water God!"
The statement had no logic at all, but her pose—arms crossed confidently—carried absolute certainty.
Allen's mouth twitched.
"Thank… you… for your blind and excessive… faith in me."
Eris shouted again!
"Then Allen must be stronger than that other Allen from the Water God Style dojo!"
The moment her words dropped, silence fell over the group.
Ghislaine withdrew her admiring gaze from Allen and turned to the falling leaves.
Rudy facepalmed.
Allen stared at Eris's expectant face and scratched his head helplessly.
"Isn't he your first cousin? Isn't this a bit much?"
Eris:
"I don't even know him! I only know you! Allen is Allen! You're the only Allen I care about!"
The same defeated face-rubbing sound Rudy made that morning now echoed from him again.
Allen covered his forehead in exasperation.
"...Fine, alright."
"Let's get back to your Water God Style training plan."
Allen ignored Eris's deepening scowl and her pouty, arms-crossed glare.
"First of all, based on Ghislaine's assessment and your own condition, there's no doubt—Eris, your talent in the Sword God Style far surpasses the Water God Style. So, the plan I've prepared gives up on the usual Water God basics—like defensive counters and information perception-calculation techniques."
"Yes, those are the core traits of Water God Style."
"But if you follow the usual path, what may await you is mediocrity in both styles. Sword God Style unfinished, and Water God Style underwhelming."
"Not everyone can progress evenly in multiple styles. Some personalities are just better suited for one over the other. Forcing you into Water God Style isn't a good idea."
Eris stared at Allen, wide-eyed.
"What?! But Allen, you use both styles, don't you?"
Allen gave a helpless shrug, about to speak—but Ghislaine cut in.
"Three."
"Huh?"
"Allen is also adept at the North God Style."
Allen waved a hand dismissively.
"I'm just a fluke. Got lucky, that's all."
At that, Rudy grinned and chimed in cheerfully:
"Lucky? Please, you just don't trust Eris's math skills to keep up with—ow!"
Before he could finish, Eris smacked him on the head, cutting his words short.
Rudy clutched his head, glaring resentfully, but motioned for Allen to continue.
Allen shook his head.
"So, just focusing on nenryū (Thought Flow), especially the blade movement that responds to information—even if Eris can't fully master it, it'll help cover some of the Sword God Style's shortcomings and push it to a higher level."
"As for those shortcomings, they come in two main areas."
He glanced at Ghislaine, who nodded knowingly, and began writing with his finger on the ground:
"One: Attack posture."
"The Sword God Style's hikari no tachi (Blade of Light) only has three attack stances—high, middle, and battōjutsu. You must maintain lower body stability in these positions. If you face someone like North God's Akama, who uses underhanded tricks, and you can't release the Blade of Light at a crucial moment… you're in trouble."
"Nenryū, however, allows strikes from all angles. While not as fast as Sword God Style, it doesn't restrict your stance. So if you ever face extreme combat scenarios, you'll have more options."
"Two: Concealing killing intent."
Allen turned to Eris.
"Your killing intent is too obvious. It makes your attack intentions easy to read, which is extremely dangerous in real fights. Nenryū can help suppress that. Even if you never master the style, it'll still teach you to control your killing intent."
"Killing intent? Doesn't Ghislaine have it too?"
Allen glanced at Ghislaine.
She looked back.
Their eyes met—and silently turned away.
Allen sighed.
"First, Ghislaine's killing intent is extremely well-hidden. It only leaks out during the actual swing of her blade. Unlike you, who just has to glare at Rudy and your killing intent pours out—even untrained civilians could sense it."
Rudy nodded in agreement.
Then froze.
He turned slowly.
Eris was squinting at him, red eyes glowing with that familiar predator's gaze.
He shrank instinctively.
At that moment, a finger appeared in his view, pointing beside Eris's eye.
"Obvious killing intent. Even I, an outsider, can sense it clearly."
Allen's voice.
Eris blinked.
Then—unexpectedly—her face stiffened for a split second before flaring up in anger. She raised a fist, ready to strike Allen.
Her punch came fast! Wrapped in the sound of rushing wind!
She was furious!
Naturally, Allen casually swatted it aside with a ryū-ōgi (Flow Secret Technique), and—under Rudy's stunned gaze—he even grabbed Eris's cheek, pulling her face toward him.
However, his fingers were coated in ki, dispersing the force so as not to hurt her—as if he didn't want to cause her pain.
While doing this, Allen sighed and said:
"Sigh… Don't just go around throwing full-powered, ki-enhanced punches. You'll hurt someone. That's a bad habit, okay? You'll have to fix that now that I'm your teacher…"
As he spoke, he twisted her face toward him.
Their eyes locked.
And then—the words stopped.
In Allen's vision—
Even though he was tugging her cheek, Eris still clenched her teeth stubbornly, face indignant, brows furrowed high.
Like a young beast, ready to pounce.
But what Allen saw in her eyes was only surprise.
Even Ghislaine, off to the side, looked visibly startled.
Why?
Because—
The heavy, suffocating killing intent from before…
Had disappeared from Allen's perception.
Even though Eris's expression hadn't changed much at all.
(End of Chapter)
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