Ais being Riezel's very first mentor was something undeniable.
He had learned his first magic from her.
He had also learned his first swordsmanship from her.
Before encountering Ais, Riezel had been able to enter the Dungeon and fight monsters, but what he relied on were a few unrefined combat techniques learned from his previous life. With nothing but brute strength, experience, and reckless excitement, he had fought monsters desperately, caring for nothing else.
Only after learning magic and swordsmanship from Ais had Riezel finally begun to resemble a swordsman, an adventurer, instead of a mere savage who fought monsters blindly.
But for the Riezel of the present, the swordsmanship he had once learned from Ais had long since become a thing of the past.
After leaving the world of Danmachi, Riezel had experienced several others.
In the world of Demon Slayer, he had mastered many Breathing Styles, acquiring new powers and new swordsmanship.
In the Akasha Continent, he had learned the Breaking Steel Sword Style and the Holy Dragon Sword Style.
He had also crossed swords with numerous swordsmen who had each mastered various swordsmanship, stealing bits of their skills in combat—including the Shadow Strike Sword Style, which he later merged into Mist Breathing.
He had even fought against countless heteromorphs and monsters in the world of Overlord, as well as witnessed that world's unique Martial Arts.
Even in Faerie Britain, Riezel had faced Fairy Knights like Gawain and Lancelot, personally experiencing their slashes and power.
Each of these experiences, each opponent, had contributed to Riezel's own combat system.
Having already possessed astonishing growth potential and speed thanks to Fool's Obsession, Riezel had once learned Ais's swordsmanship after just a few sparring sessions.
Likewise, after witnessing the Breathing Styles and the Akasha Continent's swordsmanship, he had been able to comprehend them one by one.
Naturally, he had also learned new techniques from each of his opponents.
Especially after awakening the Transparent World, which allowed him to perfectly perceive his enemies' muscle movements, blood flow, and even internal organ activity, Riezel's ability to see through and learn from others' techniques had increased severalfold.
Every battle he fought granted him explosive growth in both combat technique and experience.
Thanks to that, Riezel was no longer the rookie swordsman who merely used Ais's swordsmanship, since he had already merged countless swordsmanships, skills, and tactics into one, refining and extracting their essence, blending them with his own style and preferences.
He had long since formed his own complete combat system, becoming a master swordsman whose swordsmanship had undergone a complete transformation.
Even though one could still faintly discern traces of Ais's style within it, that was merely a small part of Riezel's vast repertoire of combat techniques.
Even compared to veteran adventurers like Finn and Gareth, Riezel's combat skills now far surpassed theirs.
Ais was undoubtedly powerful, her swordsmanship sharp and fierce, but in terms of combat technique, experience, and overall battle refinement, she was still some distance behind the older generation, such as Finn.
For this reason, in this sparring match, even though Riezel had only displayed the same level of ability he possessed when he had first reached Level 5—his STR, END, DEX, and AGI all seemingly no different from before—his combat technique, experience, and fighting sense had far surpassed his past self, allowing him to suppress Ais, who had just advanced to Level 6.
—If you still think I'm the same as before, you're in for a nasty surprise.
Riezel had said this with a smile before, and only now did Ais finally understand his words.
Meanwhile, from the others' perspectives, the Level 5 Riezel had just crossed the gap of an entire level through sheer superhuman technique and forced the Level 6 Ais back!
Such a fact stunned everyone watching the spar.
Ais, who also understood that fact, started to lose her composure.
'Did he… surpass me again?'
Although it seemed unbelievable, Ais had no choice but to admit it.
Unfortunately for her, she had no idea...
"It's too early to be surprised." Riezel said from across the courtyard, his smile fading. "Get ready—the real show starts now."
As he spoke, the atmosphere around him changed.
"Huuu... Haaa..."
Riezel stood naturally, his expression calm, yet his breathing suddenly shifted as he lowered his head while drawing in large amounts of air to fill his lungs.
*Whoosh—*
Suddenly, the wind blew once again, sweeping through the courtyard of the Twilight Manor, but as if drawn by something, it circled around Riezel and even wrapped around his body.
Seeing this, Ais reacted sharply.
'…Ariel? Is Riezel using my magic?'
As this thought flashed across Ais's mind, she immediately denied it.
No—it wasn't Ariel and wasn't magic.
Even though it looked similar, Riezel hadn't chanted the magic nor shown any sign of activating magic.
Besides, the wind wasn't summoned by a supernatural force but was real, natural wind, yet somehow it gathered around his body.
"Riezel, you—"
Sensing some extraordinary change in him that she couldn't identify, Ais tried to speak, but her words were answered by Riezel raising Fool slightly.
"Watch closely. Don't blink."
*Swish!*
As soon as the words left his lips, Riezel gripped his sword with both hands and dashed forward—his acceleration was incredible as he launched into a high-speed assault.
*BOOM!*
His charge grew faster and faster, and within the blink of an eye, Riezel's figure was swallowed by the roaring wind, creating a blast-like explosion.
As the storm surged violently, blades of wind coiled around his body, transforming him into a razor-edged, terrifying tornado.
*Rumble—*
He tore through the ground as he moved, rushing toward Ais with tremendous force.
"!!!"
Ais's pupils contracted, her heart trembling as she instinctively tried to retreat, but sadly, it was already too late.
"Wind Breathing - First Form - Dust Whirlwind Cutter."
Riezel appeared from within the spiral tornado, spinning like a top—the crystal-clear Fool drawing a wide curve through the air as it slashed toward Ais.
*DING!*
Like the toll of a bell, Fool struck heavily against Desperate, sending out a violent gust that blew everything around them away.
"Ugh!"
A rare grimace appeared on Ais's delicate face.
An overwhelming force erupted from Fool, clashing with the storm and crashing into her body.
At once, she felt as if she had been hit by a mountain—her retreating body blasted away, crashing into the wall of a tower beside the courtyard.
"Wind Breathing - Second Form - Claws-Purifying Wind!"
As Ais smashed against the wall, Riezel twisted his sword mid-air and, from more than ten meters away, unleashed four claw-shaped gusts of wind toward her.
As they advanced, the gusts ripped through the ground like giant steel blades, raising clouds of dust—they resembled judgmental blades that could sweep away all sin and impurity, reaching Ais just a second after she hit the wall.
"A long-range… slash?!"
Seeing slashes she could never produce herself—witnessing a 'wind' she could never summon—Ais's heart wavered.
Now, she was certain of it—this wasn't magic.
It wasn't magic, but it was even more shocking than magic.
Because this was a phenomenon brought about purely by swordsmanship—a power that could be wielded without Falna.
Confronted by such a power, Ais faltered, unable to react in time.
All she could do was watch as the four claw-shaped gusts of wind sliced toward her—then grazed past her body.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Four claw-shaped gusts of wind struck the wall around Ais in rapid succession, exploding with thunderous booms and carving four deep gashes into the stone.
Shattered debris and flying dust instantly engulfed Ais.
It was as if she had been tied to a stake, turned into a doll for knife-throwing practice—there was no time to dodge, and all she could do was raise her arms to shield her face, blocking the dust and rubble from hitting her directly.
*Click—*
Standing across from Ais, Riezel slowly sheathed Fool and walked up to her.
"You okay?"
Riezel's voice carried a trace of concern, finally snapping Ais out of her dazed state.
"M-Mm... No problem..."
Ais stared at Riezel for a long time, still unable to come back to her senses.
Nonetheless, she understood that she had lost.
Even after reaching Level 6, she had still been defeated in this spar against Riezel.
However, that was no longer what mattered.
What filled her heart now wasn't the loneliness and frustration she had felt last time, but pure astonishment—and an overwhelming, burning desire toward what Riezel had just shown.
"That just now was..."
Before Ais could finish her question, Riezel gently pulled her away from the wall covered in sword marks—but in the very next instant, a loud shout suddenly interrupted them.
""WHAT WAS THAAATTT—?!!!""
With this chorus of shouting, many figures began jumping down one after another from the nearby tower.
They were none other than the members of the Loki Familia who had been watching the entire spar.
Led by the top executives Finn, Riveria, and Gareth—along with the executives Tiona, Tione, and Bete, and even members of the second string like Raul, Anakitty, and Alicia—one after another, the familia members landed in the courtyard.
"Riezel!"
Among them, the first to rush over was Tiona, who had been yelling the loudest—she grabbed Riezel and shook him wildly.
"Hey, Riezel, what was that?! What was that?!"
Before Tiona could shake him any further, however, a kick suddenly sent her flying.
*BANG!*
"Shut up, you dumb amazoness!"
Bete kicked the shouting Tiona away, irritation written all over his face.
Ignoring Tiona's angry glare, Bete turned toward Riezel with the hungry eyes of a wolf spotting fresh meat.
"Riezel, that gust of wind you unleashed just now—it wasn't magic, was it?"
It was Riveria, the strongest mage in Orario, who asked first, her gaze filled with curiosity.
"It was pure swordsmanship, wasn't it?"
"Pure combat technique causing phenomena and attacks like magic…"
"No way... Does that kinda thing even exist?"
Finn, Gareth, and Tione each voiced their thoughts in turn.
Everyone was speaking over one another, some in disbelief, others in fascination—all clearly shaken by what they had witnessed from Riezel's swordsmanship.
"C-Could that have been some kind of skill effect?"
"Very possible…"
"Maybe Mr. Riezel just awakened a new skill?"
Raul, Anakitty, and Alicia couldn't help joining in the speculation from the side.
"Mr. Riezel… Amazing…"
Only Lefiya, for some reason, gazed at Riezel with eyes full of growing admiration, her expression almost ticklish to look at.
Bathed in their collective stares—some astonished, some admiring—Riezel let go of the still-silent Ais and smiled at the group.
"It's called Wind Breathing." Riezel explained lightly. "It's a very special swordsmanship that uses a breathing technique. When combined with its own unique sword forms, it lets you pull off techniques most people could never achieve."
He gave them a simple explanation.
"It strengthens the heart and lungs, allowing the blood to absorb a huge amount of air in a short time, which causes a sudden spike in physical ability and can even have some unexpected applications."
"For example, the Wind Breathing I just used works really well with enchant magic of the same attribute, like Ariel. When used together, it not only boosts Ariel's effects but also greatly reduces the strain it puts on the body, extending Ariel's duration."
"It's a special combat technique I picked up during my time away from the familia. As you can see, the results are pretty good, right?"
At these words, some people suddenly understood, some widened their eyes, others exchanged looks, and a few could only gasp in amazement—their reactions were strikingly intense.
Especially Ais, her pair of golden eyes was shining brightly.
"Wind Breathing, huh...?" Finn said thoughtfully. "Didn't think something like that existed in this world. Incredible..."
"Guhaha, you brat..." Gareth laughed as he smacked Riezel hard on the shoulder. "You were only gone a few days, and you already picked up something that crazy. Even Level 6 Ais isn't your match anymore—how's that still Level 5, huh?"
"Mm, impressive..." Riveria said, her gaze a mix of admiration and respect. "You really do keep surprising us."
Meanwhile, Tiona, Tione, and the others had already started arguing loudly, excitedly discussing Riezel's Wind Breathing with endless energy.
It was clear just how deeply his performance had shocked them all.
Riezel smiled as he watched the commotion, when suddenly he felt a tug on his clothes—as if someone had grabbed him.
Turning his head, he saw the golden-haired, golden-eyed Ais looking at him with a bright, determined gaze.
In those eyes, a silent sentence was written clearly—'I want to learn.'
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
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