"There are Anemoculi in the sea too?"
"Hmph! Actually, there's a little island there. You'll understand once you get there."
Lumine marked the two locations that Little Wen had mentioned. Only then did the overly proud sword spirit remember Victor Wang's other instruction. ["Right! That island—I only gave a rough direction. There might be a slight margin of error…"]
In the ocean, a small misalignment in direction could lead to vastly different destinations.
"That's okay. A general direction is already super helpful. We'd never have guessed an Anemoculus could be out at sea," Lumine replied, enlarging the marked area. "But… how do we get there?"
"Freeze a path across the sea!"
"Take a boat!"
Victor Wang and Paimon answered simultaneously.
"Freeze a path... you mean, using Swirl reactions with Cryo to make an ice bridge on the water?"
Paimon hit the nail on the head.
"Hsss—just thinking about that makes me feel drained." Lumine rubbed her chin. Even imagining it was exhausting.
"Haha… I was joking. There's a rumor that Kaeya did that once and earned the title Lord of Ice Bridging."
"Kaeya, huh? Sounds exactly like something he'd do." Paimon shrugged, her round face full of exasperation. "But hey, you didn't just come to help us on a hunch, did you?"
"Is something up? We heard about the Chief Instructor... That man was truly good. I don't believe for a second it was his intent."
They'd looked for Victor Wang at the Dawn Winery banquet, hoping to attend together. When he never showed, they later learned from the Knights what had happened.
"It's not about that, actually. I want to become a Senior Adventurer as soon as possible. The fastest way from mid-rank is defeating a boss-level creature like the Cryo Regisvine. But I don't have much experience with large enemies—so I thought of you."
Victor Wang's dark eyes met Lumine's golden ones, glowing even in the dim light.
"You've fought Stormterror, Andrius, and last time you and Xiangling took down a Cryo Regisvine. I figured you'd have some advice to share."
"I didn't do it alone, really. I always had friends helping. If it had been a Pyro Regisvine instead, Xiangling and I would've been in serious trouble."
"That's not a concern. I've already decided on the Cryo Regisvine. I'm familiar with its weak points. My main worry is not being able to dodge its wide-range attacks."
"I see," Lumine rested her cheek in one hand, thinking. Then she tilted her head. "Meet me tomorrow afternoon at the city gate. I know exactly what you need to learn."
After closing her door, Lumine exchanged a glance with Paimon. "The one northwest of Cape Oath is close to a teleport waypoint. I want to go get it right now!"
"I'm coming too!"
They teleported to Cape Oath and, just as Little Wen said, found an Anemoculus perched on a sea-facing cliff platform to the northwest.
"Little Wen's super useful. Would probably make a better guide than Paimon, huh?"
Paimon froze. "What's that supposed to mean?!"
"But as a travel companion, Paimon's better. She gives great shoulder massages. Little Wen can't do that."
"Hmph!"
After teleporting back to the fountain plaza, Paimon hovered behind Lumine, massaging her shoulders all the way back to the inn.
"Mmm… I'm so sleepy. But tomorrow—wait, today—we've gotta get up early to find the last Anemoculus. And we promised to train Victor too."
"After that, we can finally stop staying up late and waking up early. We'll have them all."
"Yeah, it's not like I can ignore the statues just because I'm borrowing their power. But the next nations probably won't need so many Anemoculi…"
"Other gods aren't as lazy as Barbatos. Their statues are probably properly maintained. No need to recover lost divine energy." Paimon nodded solemnly.
They smiled at each other in the dark and fell into a deep sleep.
…
The next morning, they teleported to Starsnatch Cliff and offered the nameless island's Anemoculus to the statue. The fully restored Statue of the Seven looked drastically different from when Lumine first encountered it.
Cracks that once sprawled like vines were gone. The chipped areas were mysteriously filled in. Golden decorations gleamed in the sunlight.
Statue of the Seven (Brand New Edition).
"Finally!"
Hands on their hips, Lumine and Paimon beamed with pride.
"Let's go get a feast!"
…
At noon, Victor Wang and Lumine met in a quiet grove just outside the city.
"I've been observing your swordplay. Your fundamentals were a bit rough, and though you've improved, your footwork and technique still lag behind. Especially against large enemies, the gap becomes very clear."
"Mhm."
"For enemies your size, 'the best defense is a good offense' often applies. But against larger foes, it doesn't. So today, we'll focus exclusively on evasive training."
"Mhm."
"When fighting large enemies, the optimal tactic is to completely dodge their attacks, not block them. Only when dodging is impossible should you attempt to block. So, in today's training, no blocking—pure evasion."
"Mhm."
"Let's begin. I'll mimic the Cryo Regisvine's area attacks using harmless wind. Do whatever it takes to dodge."
"Mhm."
Lumine began launching massive Anemo blasts in sweeping arcs toward Victor.
"Big movements! You won't escape its range otherwise!"
"Flight's good—but don't freeze mid-air! The Regisvine can still hit you from above. If it lifts its head like this," Lumine raised her hand, "its attacks reach the skies. And in the air, your usual reflexes won't help. You'll have to rely on wind propulsion."
"Until you're trained, airborne evasion creates more openings than advantages—and consumes far more energy than ground movement."
"Give it your all! Treat every wind pillar like a death sentence. Only that way will you awaken your survival instincts!"
Compared to their last Gale Blade lesson, Teacher Lumine was much stricter this time. After all, this would be used in real combat soon.
"Imagination alone can't match the pressure of a real threat…"
"I have an idea!"
Paimon, who had been watching quietly, shouted, "Every time Victor gets hit, he has to pay 10,000 Mora after training. That should raise the stakes!"
"Uhh…" Lumine hesitated.
Victor flinched. Figures Paimon would suggest that. Thank the Archons it didn't apply retroactively—he'd already been hit dozens of times.
"I agree. Sometimes you have to push yourself to realize your potential. Let's go!"
With stakes set, Victor noticeably sped up.
Dodging was different from swordplay. It didn't rely on memory—just instinct. A roll, a sprint, a soaring twist—all simple on paper, but challenging in practice.
There were no set forms—just the body's reactions and fighting spirit.
Still, with a foundation in footwork and far above average physical strength, he improved quickly. The Regisvine had only a few attack patterns, and once familiar, he adapted fast.
…
As the sun sank lower, his mistakes became fewer. But there was one move he just couldn't avoid—a 360° horizontal wind sweep.
"If you stay grounded during this move, you have to take the hit. The only solution is to go airborne. You're almost there, but your aerial evasion's still rough."
As dusk approached, Lumine stopped the wind.
"Your turn to attack. I'll demonstrate."
"Got it."
Victor stood in her spot and launched a three-meter-wide wind column sweeping toward her.
In response, Lumine rocketed into the air, boosted by elemental power. She cleared the height easily—but Victor, just like she had earlier, redirected the wind upward.
But Lumine twisted mid-air, legs rising above her head, body arched into a perfect curve—like a professional high jumper. She evaded the angled blast with grace.
Still in the air, she completed a backflip before landing softly, her white dress fluttering—like a butterfly-koi leaping through the Dragon Gate.
Beautiful…
Victor stared, momentarily dazed. Not because he was lovestruck, but because he'd lost control of the wind blast after the last directional shift.
Still, he forced his arm downward. The wind beam crashed vertically—but Lumine had already sidestepped with ease.
The Cryo Regisvine's bulk would never be able to do that mid-attack.
"Teacher Lumine is amazing!"
"Practice enough, and you'll manage it too. But remember—this is training specifically for the Cryo Regisvine. Different enemies, different tactics. Don't rely on this alone."
"Mhm!"
In total… Victor paid 370,000 Mora for the lesson.