The dull weight of the standard training sword in my hand felt utterly inadequate after the ethereal lightness of the Azurine Blade. Herald stood before me, his stance perfect, his presence radiating an almost palpable aura of mastery. His left eye, thankfully, remained shut, sparing me the suffocating pressure of his full power. But even without it, the sheer force of his presence was overwhelming.
"Now," Herald said, his voice calm, yet utterly definitive, "let us begin your true training. Show me what you have learned. Show me you can go beyond the Novice realm."
My heart pounded. This wasn't just sparring with a manor guard. This was training with one of the strongest character in the novel, a man who had casually shattered an A-tier artifact. I took my own stance, the Front Guard, trying to mimic the perfect form I had seen in my mind's eye from the novel's illustrations. My grip on the sword was firm, my knuckles tight.
