Encrid had one more reason for coming to the Capital.
"Could I face off against the Masked Knights?"
It wasn't just the threats from monsters and beasts that advanced the city's culinary and construction techniques.
Those with outstanding martial prowess also gathered within the city walls.
It was a necessity for survival and defense.
Among those who gathered, the foremost were the Knights, and the Knights of the Capital were the symbol of military power.
When dividing ranks into city-level, national-level, or continental-level, where did it all begin?
Where did the term 'Junior Knight' come from?
Everything was based on the existence of the Knight orders.
And it was one of these orders.
The Marquis had investigated Encrid. He had a rough idea of the man's preferences.
What mattered most to Encrid, more than women, rank, or power?
By digging into his past, by understanding the path he had walked and the purpose that drove him, one could know a man.
The Marquis did just that.
"I hear I am to be the gift. What does that even mean?"
Asia entered the mansion and spoke, and behind her, Encrid could see the Marquis smiling.
Standing on one side of the training ground, Asia was lightly armed, with a sword strapped to her side.
'The sly one.'
Andrew had once said that he was a man who had swallowed dozens of snakes, with the intestines of a hydra.
It was an apt description.
A man whose true intentions could not be known.
Was he on the Queen's side, Krang's side, Count Molsen's side, or Viscount Mernes' side? Or perhaps he was positioning himself as a new power?
No one knew.
He was merely in the Capital as the Marquis of Octo.
Given the power he wielded, he couldn't be taken lightly, and even the Queen treated him with caution—a high-ranking noble she couldn't recklessly offend.
Currently, there was no Grand Duke in the Kingdom, and no one held a title higher than a duke, so alongside the Marquis of Visar, he shared control over the nation's power.
Would such a Marquis side with Krang?
The emergence of a Grand Duke, something that hadn't happened before, would also affect his power.
It was said that for this reason, the Marquis of Visar didn't welcome Krang either.
Marcus had said so himself.
Yet, despite the fact that everyone could see that Encrid was on Krang's side, the Marquis had approached him, struck up a conversation, and even asked for his assistance in certain matters.
A man whose thoughts and actions were utterly unpredictable.
Well, for now, all of that didn't matter.
"You don't need to worry about that."
Encrid was pleased. He had wanted to meet her, and there she was—one of the people he was eager to charm into sparring with him.
"Speak casually."
Asia nodded as she spoke. She was the same as before, with a gentle face and short hair.
She brushed back her orange hair with her hand and stared intently at Encrid.
It was shocking and absurd.
To her, the fact that this man stood before her didn't make sense.
She clearly remembered when she had conducted a sort of skill test for Encrid at Marcus's request in the Border Guard.
She vividly recalled the sight of Encrid passing out under pressure.
'Luagarne had said he was a bit different, though.'
Asia trusted her own instincts more.
It was only natural for her to trust her own experience more than the words of others. After all, she was someone who had to walk her path with conviction, as someone aspiring to become a Knight.
In her eyes, it would have been a miracle if Encrid had reached the level of a Squire.
No, that was a very generous assessment. At the time she had observed him, she judged that he had no potential to advance further.
But here he was—the same man, standing before her, earning fame in various ways and meeting her gaze boldly.
"How did you do it?"
"What kind of tricks did you pull to accomplish such feats?"
A feeling, similar to competitive spirit, was rising within her. She wanted to gauge his skills.
Although she had come here for business, the moment she saw him, she knew.
She hadn't joined the Knight order and risen to the rank of Squire for no reason.
Wielding a sword or any weapon suited to oneself, becoming obsessed with body techniques, combat, and fighting—that's what it took to become a Squire.
Only when talent is combined with ambition can one reach the rank of Squire.
As he looked into Asia's eyes, Encrid paused what he was doing and met her gaze.
"Do it again."
He had told her to speak casually, so she did. Her straightforward attitude appealed to her.
"What?"
She asked back.
"Your Intimidation."
"You'll just foam at the mouth."
"Do it."
This time, there was nothing felt from behind him. Back then, when she had used her Intimidation, hadn't his subordinates been glaring at her?
Andrew Gardner was nothing to worry about. What concerned her were the men under this guy she had seen before, but again, they were nowhere in sight.
Asia summoned her Intimidation. She shifted her stance, turning her body sideways and mimicking the gesture of placing her hand on the hilt of her sword. Intimidation was a technique based on willpower, used to break the opponent's will.
"Kneel, or die."
Encrid felt the murderous intent in her Intimidation.
An imaginary blade flew toward him. He knew it wasn't real. The old Encrid, who once closed his eyes at the sight of a sword, or the one who was crushed by Intimidation, no longer existed.
A will of refusal surged within him, pushing back against her Intimidation.
Encrid took a step toward Asia.
Her pupils widened. She had heard the rumors, but only after seeing it for herself did she believe.
This guy was the real deal.
Luagarne had been right. Her judgment, based on experience, had been wrong.
Unlike before, when he had forcibly endured it, this time he countered her Intimidation with sheer will.
"Sparring?"
Encrid asked.
"Sounds good!"
Asia replied energetically.
Cling!
The slender, straight rapier at her waist was drawn.
Holding her sword vertically in front of her face, Asia spoke.
"You didn't think Intimidation was my only specialty, did you?"
"If you're not a fan of losing, you'd better take this seriously."
Encrid responded. It was a subtle provocation.
Asia smiled broadly. The expression on her face seemed to say, 'I need to teach this guy a lesson.'
Encrid found that shift in her expression quite satisfying.
As she raised her sword, Encrid adjusted his sword belt and fine-tuned his grip for a narrower draw.
At the same time, he shifted his left foot and let his arms hang naturally. He was in the 'ready' stance, just before a fight.
Sparring as soon as they met—how unexpected.
Work and everything else didn't matter right now. None of that was important.
Asia started off seriously from the beginning.
There was no need to test each other cautiously.
They were both Squires, after all, possessing that level of combat prowess.
Just the fact that Encrid had overcome her Intimidation was proof enough.
"I don't know how many wills you're using, but get ready. It's going to be fun."
Asia said as she lowered her vertically raised sword, pointing it at him.
Encrid instinctively measured the distance.
Five steps. With her sword drawn and aimed forward, it felt like the tip of her blade was right in front of him.
Encrid shifted sideways, changing his position to stand with the sun at his back. Asia didn't move her feet, using her left foot as a pivot, and only adjusted the direction of her sword.
The tip of her blade still hovered before Encrid's eyes.
At first, Encrid looked at Asia. Then, his gaze shifted to the center of her body, focusing on her shoulder.
The Focus Point skill activated automatically.
This was a true Squire of the Knight order.
Just because he had once faced a Knight's sword didn't mean he could overwhelm her.
With The Heart of the Beast, he held onto his boldness.
With Focus Point, he locked his eyes on his opponent.
He heightened his senses and prepared himself.
He was ready to strike at any moment, full of thoughts of launching the first attack.
However, as Encrid stared at her shoulder, his field of vision gradually narrowed.
The broad view of her entire body shrank, narrowing to her shoulder and hand, then to the rapier and the hand gripping it.
Eventually, he could only see the blade of the rapier. As time passed, his gaze became even more focused, honing in on the very tip of the blade.
Finally, all he could see was a single point. But that point grew so large that it completely blocked his view.
He understood it logically. His opponent was simply holding a sword and pointing it at him.
But—
'I can't get a sense of the distance.'
It was clearly five steps, yet the distance vanished.
All he could see was the tip of the sword, which had become a dot.
There was nothing but the dot.
There was no Intimidation. No pressure. Naturally, the Will of Refusal didn't activate.
All he saw was the tip of her sword.
Encrid couldn't even begin to search for an opening. How could he, when all he saw was the dot?
The more he focused, the larger the dot grew.
'What the hell are you doing?'
Andrew, watching from the sidelines, was bewildered.
They had gone on about trying something, then took a step forward, proposed a sparring match, drew their swords—and now they were frozen.
Encrid had taken a few steps to find his position and measure the distance, but now both of them were standing still.
'Aren't they going to fight?'
Andrew had been excited to witness a high-level sparring match, but time had already passed with no action.
'Should I say something?'
"Leave them alone."
Just as he was thinking that, Rem approached from behind and rested an arm on Andrew's shoulder.
Andrew's body froze as Rem's hand gripped his shoulder and neck.
"If you interfere now, that blade might fly right at you."
Rem pulled him back as he spoke, and Andrew quietly followed his lead.
It wasn't just Rem who had arrived.
Ragna, Jaxon, and Dunbachel had come out as well.
All three had their eyes fixed on the center of the training ground.
Sweat began to drip down Encrid's forehead.
Asia, too, was not entirely calm.
Her opponent's energy was fierce and intense. Even the slightest opening, and it would erupt like a volcano.
If that happened, it would be difficult to maintain her current advantage.
Leonesis divided swordsmanship into five categories: precise, illusory, heavy, swift, and graceful. He organized their strengths and weaknesses into a cycle of mutual countering.
A Correct Sword Technique was weak against an Illusory Sword Technique.
A Correct Sword Technique trapped the opponent within the user's intention, so it was weak against an Illusory Sword Technique that deceived and misled the opponent.
The Illusory Sword Technique was weak against a Heavy Sword Technique.
Because the Illusory Sword relies on deception, it was vulnerable to straightforward attacks. A single, heavy strike was the strength of the Heavy Sword Technique.
However, the Heavy Sword Technique could be countered by the Fluid Sword Technique.
Because it was straightforward, the heavy sword was prone to being misdirected by flowing movements.
On the other hand, the Fluid Sword Technique struggled against the Swift Sword Technique.
The sheer speed of a swift sword, striking before the fluid technique could redirect, rendered flowing movements ineffective.
Lastly, the Swift Sword Technique was vulnerable to the Correct Sword Technique.
Once trapped within the anticipated movements of the correct sword, the power of speed was diminished, making it easy to counter.
The Correct Sword was weak against the Illusory Sword.
The Illusory Sword was weak against the Heavy Sword.
The Heavy Sword was weak against the Fluid Sword.
The Fluid Sword was weak against the Swift Sword.
The Swift Sword was weak against the Correct Sword.
Of course, just because you used a swift sword didn't guarantee you could beat a correct sword, and there was no certainty that a correct sword would always lose to an illusory sword.
Everything depended on the level of training, so the outcomes of battles were never straightforward.
One could even die while fighting an opponent much weaker than oneself.
It was an old saying.
The sword has no eyes. Whoever is struck by a blind sword will die. Death is fair to everyone.
Humans strove to overcome that fairness by surpassing their limits.
That was willpower. The embodiment of willpower was the Knight.
Asia's sword was an Illusory Sword Technique.
It was a technique that used the opponent's focus against them, countering their moves.
As soon as Rem, Jaxon, and Ragna saw Asia's technique, each of them instantly thought of ways to counter it.
They were geniuses, after all—of course they would.
But, if they faced Asia directly, she would also adapt, so the outcome of the fight would be uncertain until they actually clashed.
Dunbachel couldn't immediately grasp her technique, but she knew what she could do.
'Strike before she draws.'
Encrid couldn't immediately understand Asia's technique either. But the path he had walked, the skills he had honed, were his own.
Whether it was a dot or a line, it didn't matter.
If he couldn't break through it, he would destroy it here.
The moment he realized time wasn't on his side, Encrid moved.
Swish!
The sound of his sword being drawn was unusual. It was so fast and straight that it made that sound. It was a swift draw, minimizing friction.
This was the result of relentless training.
It was the Will of the Moment. The sword he drew was Ember.
Ember became a streak of white light, slashing through the dot.
Clang!
The sound of metal clashing echoed. As soon as something touched the tip of Asia's sword, her muscles contracted and exploded with force.
Whoosh!
Her sword flew back at twice the speed, slashing at Encrid's neck.
It seemed as though blood would immediately gush out with a 'splat'—but it didn't happen.
Encrid barely avoided it, tilting his neck back just in time.
Asia stopped at that moment. Any further, and this would have been a fight to the death.
For a first sparring match, this was already brutal.
It was hard to even call it a sparring match.
Even in the Knight order, sparring with real swords like this would draw angry complaints.
They'd ask, "Are you trying to kill each other?"
And yet—
"One more round?"
Encrid's eyes sparkled. A faint smile appeared on his face. He looked absolutely thrilled.
Hadn't he just narrowly escaped death? And yet he was smiling like that?
No matter how daring one might be, no matter how much they loved a good fight, when you come that close to death, some negative emotion is bound to surface.
But Encrid showed no trace of resentment, complaint, or dissatisfaction—not even a speck of negativity.
"What?"
For Asia, this was a first. She had never encountered a person like this before.
"If you're tired, we can take a break."
Even those watching from behind reacted to his words.
"He's at it again."
"He's crazy."
"Hmm."
It was Rem, Ragna, and Jaxon, in that order.
Dunbachel kept her mouth shut. She wasn't confident that she could block the sword technique Asia had just shown.
It wasn't the speed that was frightening.
If it were just about speed, Encrid's sword was even fiercer.
So, it wasn't the quickness that surprised her. It was more about the way Asia stole the timing.
'My breath was interrupted.'
She knew this because she had been unconsciously engrossed as she watched.
Asia's sword slipped in between breaths where it was impossible to avoid.
If it had been her, her neck would have been cut.
Of course, she wouldn't have fought the way Encrid did if her opponent was holding their sword like that in the first place.
She would have run.
She would've created some distance and started over.
'Could I win like that?'
It would be difficult. Dunbachel found the thought frustrating, and she let out a sharp breath through her nose.
"You're kind of a strange person."
Asia finally said to Encrid.
"You're smiling right now too."
Encrid replied.
He was right.
Asia, too, was feeling rare excitement and joy.
It had been years since she had experienced something this fun.
"Haven't you had breakfast? I haven't eaten anything."
Asia said.
"Andrew?"
Encrid called out to the owner of the mansion. Andrew nodded.
Since they always made sure to eat regularly, breakfast was surely well-prepared.