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Chapter 7
(Open / Unfold to Win)
“Tsk tsk… you all look like melted butter, completely soft and without substance.”
With sunken eye sockets and messy, puffed-up hair, Simon stood before the lined-up knights late in the evening, looking as exhausted as ever.
“Today is the long-awaited embodiment training. Now then, Perrinem. Have you seen the statue of the legendary Knight Sir Weber?”
Perrinem lifted a brow as if the question were obvious. Of course—there were statues of Weber scattered all over the imperial palace.
“Yes.”
“What’s on the back of his left hand?”
“…A bite mark.”
“Correct.”
Simon snapped his fingers.
“As you know, if you recall memories tied to survival instincts, you can unleash stronger sword qi. Sir Weber is said to have remembered his fallen comrades every time he bit the back of his hand. He vowed never to die—for the sake of those who already had.”
His gaze landed on Kata.
“You all have memories that fuel your will to live, don’t you?”
“……”
“Like Sir Weber biting his hand to recall his resolve, link certain actions to those memories. That is embodiment training.”
Simon swung his sword. White sword qi burst from the blade. Then he yawned—wide and unbothered.
“Haaaam.”
At the same time, the sword qi shot upward violently, as if swallowing the blade.
“My embodiment is yawning. When I yawn in battle, my sword qi gets dramatically stronger.”
The knights exchanged disbelieving looks. Simon only smiled casually.
“For reference, Senior Knight Sir Richard apparently chants things like ‘By Semaciar…’ during battle. A lot of talking. But that’s just his embodiment.”
“……”
“No, correction. He probably wanted to sound cool, so he embodied that way.”
He turned his gaze again.
“From the first training, there was someone already using embodiment well. Monia?”
“Yes!”
“Step forward.”
“Yes, sir!”
Monia marched out confidently.
She was a solidly built woman—straight posture, sharp shoulders, tanned skin, and striking features that gave off a strong, warrior-like presence.
“Everyone, Monia will demonstrate embodiment training. Now, Monia—attack as usual.”
Without hesitation, she coated her sword in sword qi. Crimson energy erupted like flames.
“YAAAAAAAAAH!”
And Kata effectively lost her hearing on the spot.
Half a month had already passed since dawn training began.
And by now, even the senior knights—including Leia—were starting to lose patience with Kata.
Whether it was stubbornness or something innate, Kata never once gave up on any training, no matter how harsh.
Thrown into freezing lakes, she swam enthusiastically. Given cleaning duty, she scrubbed floors until they were spotless.
And for some reason, Zenon Korer was always present at the dawn training grounds.
They sometimes considered banning him, but the sight of his sword qi slicing through the air made them reconsider.
Forget it. No need to antagonize someone who would soon become a full knight.
Then one day—
“…Sir Soram?”
Less than half an hour into training, Soram unexpectedly appeared.
Since Kata’s instruction after the first session had been delegated to juniors, his presence was highly unusual.
Leia frowned.
“What brings you here at this hour?”
“I thought I’d give her more proper instruction.”
“Pardon?”
Soram tossed his sheathed sword toward Kata.
“I heard she’s been doing embodiment training. Perfect timing.”
Kata caught it reflexively.
“This is a spar.”
Soram was naturally strong.
He achieved his first awakening at twelve, and his second at fourteen.
Years into Arkan Knights, he was now on the verge of becoming a senior knight.
He had always been fascinated by strength.
“That girl’s a monster.”
That passing remark from Simon had caught his attention.
He had heard about the duel from Leia’s report, but the blunt evaluation had gone far beyond expectations.
“Katarenia Donovan. I didn’t expect much after her first training, but she’s not a typical first-awakener.”
“…Are you not overestimating her?”
“No. She completely toyed with Perrinem.”
Simon wasn’t a particularly reliable man, but he wasn’t the type to exaggerate a newcomer’s strength.
“Hm.”
Soram became curious.
His impression of Katarenia Donovan had been: clumsy during first training, socially clueless, and later just “unusually fit.”
But Simon’s assessment was interesting.
“I’m a second-awakener, but I’ll only use sword qi through my blade.”
“Yes.”
“Do your best. Don’t embarrass yourself like last time.”
Soram smiled mockingly.
He noticed Zenon watching from a distance.
This would be a good opportunity to show the senior knight candidate the gap in skill.
“Make the first move.”
A tense silence stretched. The moment their eyes met, Kata kicked off the ground.
“Hm?”
Soram widened his eyes and met her charge.
KAAAANG!
The air exploded.
He struck downward; she blocked with the flat of her blade.
CLANG! CLANG!
Blinding speed exchanges followed. Their positions shifted and blurred in an instant.
“…With this level of skill, why did she act so useless during first training?”
Soram frowned.
Donovan’s sword qi was not that of a typical first-awakener.
Second awakening allowed one to manifest pure sword qi without a medium—but more importantly, it also meant a qualitative leap in ability.
With Soram’s level, most first-awakeners couldn’t even properly withstand his pressure.
But Kata was holding her ground.
“Unfortunate.”
Shhk!
A straight cut opened on her cheek.
Kata flinched slightly. Soram pulled back with a sigh.
“With this level of skill, still only a first-awakener…”
“……”
“There are rare cases of second awakening after fifteen, but you’re already an adult. That ship has sailed.”
He smiled.
“Such a shame. If you had awakened again, you might’ve been treated as a hero once more.”
In the Empire, strength determined everything. Soram knew well how strong people were constantly judged and ranked.
Even if people dismissed such gossip, those who weren’t recognized still gritted their teeth in frustration.
Donovan must have suffered too, hearing her evaluations sink so low.
Soram found it mildly entertaining.
Simon’s reaction made more sense now, but in the end, she was still only a first-awakener.
“Yes, it is unfortunate.”
Kata’s steady voice cut through his thoughts.
“So please, teach me a little more.”
She raised her stance again without wavering.
