"You're weak."
Jan's eyes widened. Her words were blunt, harsh in fact, but undeniably true.
"...And the guild will help me get stronger, huh?"
"Yes, I'm certain of it," Erza replied, clasping her hands together on the desk. "You'll assist us with missions, and in return, we'll help you settle into this world. It's not a bad deal—"
Thud!
The door swung open and a young girl stormed in, a crumpled sheet of paper clenched in her fist. Her sharp blue eyes locked onto Jan like daggers. Fiery red hair spilled over her shoulder plates, and her gleaming armor, with gold-trimmed edges, accentuated her toned frame. At her hip hung a broadsword—shorter than Rollo's, but just as threatening.
"So, this is the so-called hero who's training with my uncle?" she scoffed.
"Sophia! Stop!" Maria rushed in behind her.
"Shut it, Maria!" Sophia snapped back, unsheathing her sword and pointing it at Jan with a look of disdain, "I challenge you to a duel!"
"You what now?!" Jan blinked.
"I said I challenge you to a duel!"
"And I refuse," Jan said calmly.
"You can't refuse!" Sophia snapped back.
Erza sighed, rubbing her forehead in frustration. "Sophia, what do you think you're doing?"
"Mother, I won't let this guy join our guild!" Sophia declared.
"But I already registered him," Maria cut in, holding up Jan's guild badge.
Sophia's eyes flicked to the badge, her jaw tightening. "Even better! The Guild Master cannot stop a duel between two members once it's declared! So, stay out of it, Mother!"
"..."
The room fell quiet for a moment before Jan exhaled sharply. "I still refuse. Why would I accept such a duel?"
Sophia pulled a sack of gold from her armor. "Maria said you joined for money, right? Here's 50 gold. If you win, it's yours. But if I win, you'll get your sorry ass out of this town."
****** Trial by Combat! *****
For some reason, Sophia has a grudge against you. She has challenged you to a duel—prove yourself and defeat her.
Difficulty Level: B
Requirement: Win the Duel
Warning: If you fail to win, your guild membership will be revoked, you'll be expelled from the town, and your relationship with Rollo will suffer drastically. Your training will end.
[Accept] [Refuse]
******************************
Jan casually pressed the button and said. "I refuse!"
"What?!"
"I said I refuse."
"So 50 gold is too low for you? Then a 100!"
"No."
"300 gold!"
Maria gasped.
"Still no."
"ONE THOUSAND GOLD!"
"Sophia, NO!" Maria yelped.
Jan paused.
Sophia smirked—only for her smile to vanish when he said, "I really still don't think I can accept this duel."
Maria sighed in relief.
"What now?!"
"I simply don't think I could win. Heck, I don't even think I can land a finger on you."
"Hah, as if I'd let you touch me with your filthy hands!"
"Come on, you can't possibly believe that I couldn't even touch you once. I was just exaggerating earlier."
Sophia's eyes flashed with pride. "Hah! Fine! If you land a single hit, you win!"
****** Trial by Combat! *****
For some reason, Sophia has a grudge against you. She has challenged you to a duel—prove yourself and win the duel.
Difficulty Level: D
Requirement: Touch Sophia once
Warning: If you fail to win, your guild membership will be revoked, you'll be expelled from the town, and your relationship with Rollo will suffer drastically. Your training will end.
[Accept (Selected)] [Refuse]
******************************
"Well then, I accept."
Maria dropped to her knees as Sophia immediately unsheathed her sword shouting, "Bring it on!"
"Not in my office!" Erza roared, stepping forward. "If you're going to fight, do it properly in the training arena!"
Sophia scratched her head, chuckling nervously. "Sorry, Mom."
"Didn't I tell you not to call me 'Mom' in the guild?"
"Hehe, sorry."
Maria jumped in, "I know you don't have that kind of money! Whose money do you think you're putting on the line?!"
"It'll be fine. I won't lose!"
"Still…"
The mother and her daughters left the room quarreling, leaving Jan behind. He hesitated before following them downstairs to the main hall, and then further down until they reached an open field designed for training and duels.
Sophia jumped into the center of the arena. "Get in here already. Don't waste my time."
Jan left his sword and backpack on one of the nearby benches and stepped into the arena.
"Where's your sword?!"
"I don't need it."
"Tsk, you arrogant bastard! You think you can afford to look down on me?"
"No, I just don't think I'll need it," Jan replied calmly.
Without another word, Sophia charged forward, sword gleaming mid-stride.
'As expected.'
She was fast—faster than wolves, faster than any human he'd seen. But Rollo was faster, and Jan was ready for how she'd react to his taunt.
As her blade sliced through the air, Jan sidestepped with practiced ease, narrowly avoiding the strike. Sophia pressed the attack, slashing and thrusting relentlessly, but Jan evaded each strike, his movements fluid and precise.
'It's like that time.'
Back when he was younger, his parents had pushed him into trying out different sports. He did some boxing, some wrestling, and even played football in high school. But the one he'd really poured his time into was Kendo.
Kendo wasn't his choice. His mother, a passionate anime fan, had insisted he take it up.
For three years, he trained hard, eventually earning his 2nd Dan. His sensei urged him to keep going, sensing his great potential.
But to Jan, the path ahead just felt too long. He stopped attending the dojo but never abandoned his morning routine—a thousand strikes every day. It kept him sharp and helped clear his mind.
During his time at the dojo, Jan had encountered all kinds of swordsmen. Those like Sophia were always the easiest for him to handle.
The key to mastering the sword was keeping a clear mind. Hot-headed opponents always lost focus, left openings, swung too wide, and made mistakes.
His sensei used to prove this by effortlessly taking down three students at once—with nothing but his bare hands. Jan understood it wasn't just skill; it was psychological. Facing an unarmed opponent threw even disciplined fighters off balance.
Huff, huff—
'I expected more from her,' Jan thought.
After chasing him around the arena with a flurry of strikes, Sophia had to pause to catch her breath. She was stronger than Jan, but his sharper technique and footwork kept him one step ahead.
"Calm down, Sophia!" Erza called out from the stands.
"Sophia, don't you dare lose!" Even Maria was cheering for her, fearing the consequences of her losing the bet.
"I know," Sophia replied, wiping sweat from her forehead. "I thought you were all talk, but you're not bad."
"Ever heard of Kendo?" Jan asked suddenly.
"Kendo?"
"Yes. It's a swordsmanship style from my world," Jan explained. "It focuses on perfecting a single strike, usually aimed here." He pointed to his head.
"Oh yeah? and how do you plan on doing that? Running away like a coward?"
"We'll see," Jan replied with a slight smirk.
"You're looking down on me again."
"Am I?!"
"I will prove I'm better! I'll defeat you right here and make you regret the day you ever looked down on me—the day you took what should've been my spot as Uncle Rollo's disciple."
"So that's why you hate me so much? You think I took your place?"
"Yes, you did!"
"So you're blaming me, instead of asking yourself why he didn't choose you in the first place?"
"ENOUGH!" Sophia snapped. "You're getting on my nerves. I'm ending this with the next attack."
[Physical Enhancement!]
[Featherstep!]
Sophia activated two skills, and her movements became a blur. She charged at Jan with such speed that he barely dodged her sword, which crashed into the ground with a deafening impact.
'You've got to be kidding me!'
The sudden surge in her speed and strength triggered alarms in Jan's mind.
'This is dangerous—I need to keep my distance.'
But that was easier said than done. Despite his efforts to maintain distance using his footwork, her speed was overwhelming, and her stamina had clearly improved. She no longer needed to pause for breath between strikes; her attacks were relentless. Jan was barely managing to evade each one until—
Drip, drip—
[-30]
Sophia's sword finally caught him, slicing into his arm. Blood began to flow from the wound, deep enough to demand immediate pressure.
An injury like this was the last thing he needed.
As they faced each other again, both Jan and Sophia knew that the next move would decide the duel.
"That's for looking down on me, hero!" Sophia shouted, waving her sword in the air. On the second wave, the blade ignited with flames as she declared, "The next one will end you!"
"Sophia, stop!" Erza yelled from the stands, realizing the dangerous situation unfolding as Sophia charged at Jan, who was clearly struggling to defend himself.
'Sorry, but I won't let that happen.'
Jan shifted to the right as Sophia tried to flank him.
"You're wasting your energy running—I'm much faster!" Sophia yelled, closing the distance with alarming speed.
As she drew closer, Jan suddenly stopped. 'Diagonal strike from the right...'
Whoosh!!
He narrowly evaded, but Sophia's onslaught wasn't over.
'An upward slash...'
Whoosh!!
Jan twisted his body, barely dodging again—his hair almost singed by the flames.
'Now her flashy move...'
Sophia turned the momentum of her missed upward strike into a spinning backslash aimed at Jan's midsection—but he slipped out of reach again.
'And finally a feint!'
Just as Sophia feinted another strike to provoke a reaction, Jan unexpectedly raised his hand.
[Congratulations, you've obtained a new skill: "Insight Lv.1"]
'Not now!' Jan cursed inside.
Jan's hand was already coming down.
Sophia hesitated for a split second—the first time Jan tried to attack, catching her off guard.
Remembering his earlier talk about aiming for the head, she instinctively raised her hands to defend herself.
Whoosh!!
Jan's strike from above cut through nothing but air—it was a feint. But by then, it was too late for Sophia to counter.
From his low stance, Jan prepared to thrust his hand forward, but in the same moment, he saw Sophia shifting her sword in order to guard her chest.
'It's a battle of speed and reflexes—it could go either way.'
Whoosh!
Jan's fingertips closed the distance. He was about to reach her armor, but her sword intercepted his strike, sliding between his hand and her chest.
'Too late to stop now!'
At that moment he couldn't help but remembers his master's words after defeating his disciples barehanded: "A swordsman with a clear mind can cut the world with the palm of his hand."
The air hissed as Jan's fingertips brushed the surface of her blade—then light burst from his palm.
'Huh?!'
A thunderous crack split the air as energy surged forward, shattering the sword's center like glass under a hammer. The shockwave rippled outward, as his fingertips finally made contact with her armorplate.
[Congratulations, you've obtained a unique skill: Heaven-Splitting Cleave.]
Boom!
A deafening shockwave echoed through the training ground, the vibrations lingering in the air, as if the world itself had flinched from the force of the blow.
The impact was powerful, sending Sophia staggering two meters back.
Jan remained still, palm outstretched, steam rising faintly from his fingertips. The faint hum of energy slowly faded, leaving only the sound of Sophia's ragged breathing as she clutched her chest, her eyes wide with disbelief.
[Touch Sophia 1/1]
Ring— Ring—
[Mission Completed]
[Congratulations! You've completed the mission!]