The sun had barely risen when I stepped into the commander's personal training ground.
A place sealed away from most of the fortress, hidden behind thick steel doors. The air inside was sharp, cold, almost suffocating. Everything here screamed of authority and power.
The walls and floor were forged from reinforced alloys, layered with mana-absorbent crystal. Each step echoed faintly, as though even sound itself was swallowed in this place.
This was no ordinary ground for soldiers. No, this was a sanctum built for monsters.
The equipment lined neatly against the walls gleamed under the pale light, every piece crafted with precision. These weren't for the average knight to swing around. Even a weaker SS– rank awakened could go all out here without leaving a scratch on the room. Anything higher… well, that was a luxury reserved only for the very few who ruled above.
I entered the training ground.
The commander was already there dressed in full uniform, standing like an immovable pillar in the center of the field. His gaze locked on me the moment I stepped in.
"Now that you're done looking around…" his voice carried, sharp and steady, "let's begin your training."
He walked toward the racks at the edge of the ground, where weapons rested in neat rows. Without hesitation, he picked up a plain sword.
He swung it a few times, the air splitting with each motion.
Then, stepping back into the center, he leveled the blade at me.
"The sword style I will teach you…" his tone deepened, "is the Iron Tempest Style. A Four-Star Sword art."
"The main focus of this style is overwhelming offense," Commander Arvell said, his voice steady but edged with force. "It's about turning sword and aura into a tempest that crushes everything—offense and defense alike."
He raised his blade and stepped forward, aura surging around him like a storm ready to break.
"This style consists of five forms. The first—Steel Gale Slash."
With a single swing, his sword carved a wide arc through the air. A wave of compressed aura exploded outward, tearing across the training ground. Dust and grit lifted in its wake before the shockwave slammed into the far wall, rattling the ground beneath my feet.
I staggered, heart thudding in my chest. That was only a demonstration—yet the force alone was enough to shake me.
Commander lowered his blade, his expression unreadable. "What you just saw was only a fraction of its true power. The more aura you pour into it, the more devastating it becomes. At full force, this strike can cut through battalions in a single motion, scatter formations, and break momentum before the enemy even realizes what happened."
He swung again—once, twice, thrice—each strike unleashing a sharp burst of aura. Horizontal, vertical, diagonal. Every arc left a trailing wave that crashed into the walls with deafening cracks, each one capable of shattering men and steel alike.
....
AUTHOR NOTE....
Read the remaining chapter on my other webnovel with the same name and cover..
I'll be continuing this story on my other novel (same name and cover). This version will be deleted soon, so please head over there to keep following the journey. Thank you for your support!