"Now that you’ve learned much of how to make use of the sword and attack, it’s time to put them into practice," Kratos said and turned backward, creating a distance between himself and Tony.

Tony released an exhale of relief and straightened his posture to stand firm. Then, as he memorized what Kratos had taught him over the minutes, he put them in motion.

’Left hand, bottom,’ he held the hilt of his sword. ’And right hand to the top. Power should be focused on my left hand and right hand for direction.’

Then, he readied his stance, shifting his right leg forward and left leg backward. However, he immediately notified himself that this stance will come in handy if he wants to attack in the left diagonal.

And if in the other way round, then the reverse should become the case.

Across the field, Kratos just watched him quietly with folded hands, allowing him to keep a calm mind before the last lap of the training will begin so they can head back home. But if he were to comment on Tony’s progress, he would say that he was really talented in the first place.

Tony had learned how to channel his mana to become one with the sword in just one attempt, and that had helped him to perform a sword skill of his known as [Divine Edge].

What Kratos didn’t know was that Tony was able to do that because of his [Divine Blade].

While Tony had made known to his tutor his four skills, he didn’t let him know that he had also awakened a sub-class as a result of his summon. That being the case...

"You will be making use of only one skill at the moment. That’s your [Blade Awakening] skill. Let’s see how effective it is against me. Then, we will end this training by letting you apply all your skills in one fight."

Kratos announced, and Tony nodded.

However, in his mind, he immediately reminded himself of the three beginner lessons Kratos had taught him about basic attacking.

’Be alert, master your distance, and perfect your timing.’

As if on cue, Kratos asked, "Ready?"

Tony stabilized his stance and his grip on the sword. Then he nodded, "Ready."

In that instant, Kratos unsheathed his sword from its scabbard at his back and held it in front of him just like he had taught Tony. Only now did he get the chance to fully see it in its full glory.

It was a long sword like Tony’s but gently curved, tapering to a razor-sharp point that feels precise in every stillness. Its polished steel carries a quiet, water sheen, and a faint, cloud-like temper line runs along its edge like frozen lightning.

It would have almost looked exactly like Tony’s blade if not for the fact that, unlike that of Tony, which has both cutting edges, Kratos’ blade possessed a spine that looked blunt and a cutting edge.

Kratos was making use of a katana blade.

The moment these details settled in Tony’s mind, his opponent blurred before him. Soon, the training field echoed with the sharp ring of steel.

[Blade Awakening].

Tony barely had time to raise his sword as he activated the skill quite late.

CLANG!

Kratos’ blade crashed against his guard hard enough to send vibrations racing down his arms. Before Tony could recover, Kratos stepped forward, his sword already coming from another angle.

Tony twisted just in time.

Another clang, and the second strike glanced away.

"I must say, your [Blade Awakening] is handy, but don’t let it control your overall movement. The skill is just there as a morale; you are the boost."

Kratos’ stance changed, and he lunged once again.

"Why did I just say that? Don’t block the sword," Kratos said while attacking. "Block the man."

A horizontal cut swept toward Tony’s ribs, causing him to retreat one step. But he was also too slow, and as a result, the tip of Kratos’ blade stopped a finger’s width from touching his shirt.

"Dead."

Tony gritted his teeth.

Just how powerful is Kratos? Even with his [Blade Awakening], he still can’t keep up with him. That is even to add that this was a harmless duel, so Kratos was suppressing most of his power.

Kratos lowered his sword and let his chin widen slightly into a smile.

"I can guess what you’re thinking. If you were going against a less powerful opponent, then you would stand a very high chance of bullying them. I only suppressed my power to what you people might call an A-rank opponent, and you’re able to keep up; that’s improvement."

Tony’s eyes widened.

Does that mean he can go up against B-rank opponents and easily win?

"But don’t get ahead of yourself. Only that matters is how skillful you are. Although the power gap might be too large, using your skill in the right manner, like I’ve told you, is very important."

"I’ve been a living witness. There are times when I had to fight against formidable foes and was able to take them down because of how skillful I am."

’This is the right chance,’ Tony thought while Kratos was still lecturing him, and lunged.

A diagonal strike cut through the air, but Kratos seemed even more alert than he had usually been and shifted his weight, and the blade passed harmlessly by his chest.

"If you had used [Divine Edge], then I would be as good as severely injured."

But Tony was not listening... or, he was paying attention but was looking for the slightest chance he could use to win Kratos.

So, he didn’t even waste a moment before he flowed into a second attack. Then a third.

With each attack, steel flashed in the air and collided against each other.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

For several seconds, the field became a storm of movement.

Tony continued to attack relentlessly, yet he didn’t detect when Kratos simply retreated in the midst of his attacks. This led Tony into creating an opening even he wasn’t aware of until it became clear in his eyes.

The instant Tony overcommitted to that downward strike, Kratos stepped inside the attack, and their shoulders nearly collided... but only nearly.

Tony’s eyes widened.

Kratos’ sword rested lightly against his throat.

"Dead."

Tony groaned.

"Do not use all your strength in one attack. The more strength you put in, the more mana you use, and the less time you would spend in a fight. That is to say, do not always go all-out from the beginning."

Kratos commented and stepped back.

"Now, check your mana power."

Tony did as he was told.

[MP]: 3,100.

That is to say that his [MP] had reduced by a significant amount of 105. If he was fighting a single opponent, it wouldn’t have been a problem since he would still have more to spend.

No. That doesn’t seem right. He hadn’t even spent more than five minutes in this harmless duel with Kratos, and he had spent that much. This meant that the [Blade Awakening] sucked his mana power depending on the kind of effort he put in during battles and the fact that it is a ’runny’ skill.

In that case...

"I keep correcting you, little brother; you swing lightly, not heavily. A light swing is more effective than a heavy swing. Should I experiment with your neck?"

Tony looked at Kratos.

"Why not tell me straightforwardly you’ve been searching for an opportunity to cut me seriously."

"Haha, it’s just for demonstration. Nothing serious," Kratos raised his sword. "Now then, you can practice with your other skills. Let’s go."

[Divine Edge].

[-10 MP].

The moment Tony activated the skill, brown energy surged from his sword in a clean, violent arc before it was then compressed into pure intent.

On the opposite side, Kratos didn’t flinch. He simply raised his own sword, and just like Tony’s blade, white energy surged from his own sword.

The two forces didn’t waste any more time as they shot forward and collided midair like crashing storms. For a moment, it looked even until Tony decided to become cocky.

He immediately reinforced his attack with [Divine Blade], and since it was a class and not a skill, plus the fact that his opponent was under suppression, it turned out to make his own attack more powerful. The brown light sharpened, deepened, and pressed forward inch by inch until Kratos’ white streak began to falter.

Kratos clicked his tongue and stepped aside at the last possible instant.

The blast tore past him instead, carving through the air and splitting a nearby tree clean in two with a screaming crack of wood.

Tony’s eyes widened.

So that was the extent of his skill, even at his current level? How powerful will it be when he begins to level up and even have malicious increments to his stats?

A movement suddenly snapped him out of his thought. Kratos had already moved forward in a blur.

Tony moved too, his instincts flaring. As the distance between both of them was closing, Tony decided to become cocky again... or this time, skillful.

[Saint’s Step].

[-20 MP].

His body vanished from where Kratos expected him to be, and instantly, Tony reappeared behind him.

A grin plastered on his chin immediately. This was the moment he had been waiting for. The moment where he would finally defeat this Godslayer.

What an honor it would be to him.

His thoughts did nothing to distract his momentum as he immediately procured the best stance to land his final attack and activated his last skill.

[Severance].

[-25 MP].

He swung down in the left-diagonal motion, so confident and decisive. However, nothing.

His blade cut through empty air, a brown stream shooting across.

"Wha—"

A soft tug hit his back in that moment, causing his balance to be disbalanced. And he stumbled forward.

His foot clipped another foreign foot, and another step was all it took for his moment to betray him completely.

Tony hit the ground face-first with a dull thud.

And then, silence.

Then a low, amused chuckle came from behind him, then two rounds of applause.

"I must commend this last round. You really did improve by much heap. However—" Kratos’ eyes shot upward, "Was that severance you used just now? Little brother doesn’t want me alive?"

Tony hitched and pushed himself upward from the ground. With the sword in his right hand, he lowered it and looked up.

And immediately understood what Kratos was meaning.

That last skill had cleanly sliced through more than three giant trees of the forest before them and left a deep gash on the fourth tree.

’So [Severance] is an advanced version of [Divine Edge]? No, not quite exactly. But similar enough.’

Tony turned to Kratos. "Thanks for the training. We should head home now."

Kratos nodded and made a turn but paused.

"Little brother, I really commend your usage of my skills. Truly, you didn’t disappoint me. You’re a nice successor," he turned back to Tony and patted his shoulder.

"You should already realize that you don’t need to apply your skills in each moment of every fight. That was why I had to teach you without skills first. But there’s one last thing."

Tony raised his brow.

"Do not forget to retreat if you release all your cards, and your opponent is still so powerful. If I must put it casually...," Kratos raised his brows. "...run!"

***

By the time Tony and Kratos reached home, Sandra had already returned and put things in order.

She didn’t know there was a second body, but the meal she prepared would be enough for both Tony and Kratos.

However, she was nowhere to be found. And instead of her presence, a letter rested on the desk beside Tony’s bed.

As Tony moved to collect the letter and read its content, a chime caused him to take a step backward.

Ding!

[You have received a Quest!]