In the Training Area, wooden swords clashed.
The cracks along their blades and the splinters flying through the air made it clear that this was no simple practice bout, but a duel fought at full strength.
Amos slid back several meters, shaking his sword to disperse the violent impact transmitted through its hilt.
Altaïr seized the opportunity and raised his sword into a focused stance. After gathering power for a moment, his figure flickered and vanished from the spot, appearing before Amos almost as though he had teleported.
Amos's pupils contracted as he stared at the tip of the wooden sword poised to pierce his throat.
In an instant, his body reached a speed he had scarcely used in nearly twenty years. Pivoting, he raised his sword to deflect the thrust, then snapped a backhand strike into Altaïr's wrist.
The blow sent Altaïr's wooden sword flying.
With that, the duel ended.
Altaïr clutched his wrist and endured the sharp pain as he bowed in thanks. "Thank you for the guidance, Master Amos."
Amos calmly turned away and returned his wooden sword to the rack at the edge of the Training Area. In a seemingly casual gesture, he brushed the back of his hand across his forehead and wiped away the cold sweat that had just formed.
In that exchange, he had appeared to win effortlessly, deflecting Altaïr's relentless attacks one after another before knocking the wooden sword from his hand and claiming victory, just as he always had.
All that was missing was a mocking remark like, "After all these years, you still haven't improved."
In truth, however, only Amos knew how narrow his victory had been.
Now that Altaïr was in his twenties, his body had fully matured. His strength and speed had improved tremendously since the previous year, and in terms of raw physical ability, he had already surpassed Amos's current capabilities.
The same was true of his swordsmanship. A year ago, the secret scroll had only given Altaïr an initial glimpse of the path of swordsmanship. Now he had truly set foot upon it, unconsciously forging a path all his own.
Even to Amos's discerning eye, that path remained immature and incomplete, but it meant Altaïr had genuinely entered a realm beyond the reach of most Blademasters.
If Amos still had both arms, or if he were twenty years younger, he could easily keep the boy in check for a few more years.
But now...
If that kid comes back again next year, I'll call Isis's mother home and have her spar with him in my place.
Yes, that's the plan.
"What do you call that last strike?" Amos asked as he turned around, his usual calm already restored.
"I call it 'Instant Slash,'" Altaïr answered honestly. "It works both as an advancing move like Spirit Thrust and as a counter like Iai."
"Impressive. The key is 'focus,' isn't it?"
"Exactly." Altaïr nodded, unsurprised that Amos had grasped the principle behind Instant Slash at a glance.
Then he asked hopefully, "Master Amos, do you see any way to improve it further?"
Amos fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "There's no need to change anything. Any adjustment I suggested would merely make it better suited to me."
"Your own path is beginning to take shape. From now on, don't simply learn everything others teach you. Treat what they show you as an exchange of ideas and take only what benefits you."
"I understand." Altaïr was slightly disappointed, but he still nodded obediently.
After helping Amos tidy up, Altaïr left the underground Training Area with him.
Altaïr had expected Amos to ask about his relationship with Isis, or at least warn him with something like, "Treat Isis well, or else."
But that never happened. Amos behaved as though he had forgotten, or perhaps had long since grown accustomed to such matters. They talked about swordsmanship all the way home.
—--
The other visitors had already left. Only Gael and Francesca remained at Isis's home.
They were squeezed in on either side of Isis, exchanging glances and whispering about something while her ears turned red.
When they saw Altaïr and Amos return, all three immediately fell silent.
"What are you doing here?" Amos frowned at Francesca. "Aren't you supposed to be organizing the advance team's work on Tidal Island?"
Francesca was momentarily speechless. Couldn't you have asked me that when I first arrived?
"I don't even want to get started on her." Gael gave a derisive chuckle and launched into a merciless tirade. "She left full of confidence, saying she was going to make a name for herself, then came slinking back in less than a year.
"If you'd shut the whole thing down right away, I'd at least say you had some backbone. Instead, you dragged it out until now you're stuck playing nice and working for free for another two months.
"Your father told you long ago that it wasn't a business you could run, but you refused to listen. If you ask me, you'd be better off staying a Hunter.
"Just look at Isis. In only a few years, she's already reached High Rank, and she even brought a boyfriend home. When are you going to bring a boyfriend home for your mother to meet?"
Francesca covered her head and ears, refusing to listen to another word.
Having thoroughly enjoyed herself, Gael smacked her lips as though savoring the satisfaction of lecturing her daughter.
Then she looked at Altaïr and Isis, her expression turning more serious. "Now, as for you two... the advance team's work is more or less over. What are your plans?"
Isis scratched her head. "We haven't really thought about it yet. We'll probably go to Harth first. Ted and Malika are recuperating there, and I'd like to see if Ted can teach me a few tricks.
"I hear the beer and hot springs there are pretty good too..."
Gael frowned. Her manner shifted from that of a gossiping neighbor to that of an Instructor at the Hunter Training Camp.
She pointed to the sofa beside them and motioned for them to sit, then said, "Altaïr, Isis, you were only just promoted to High Rank, so there are some things you might not fully understand yet. Listen carefully."
Lady Gael's abrupt change in tone made Altaïr and Isis instinctively sit straighter, their bodies growing tense.
"Once you're promoted to High Rank, you'll be required to accept Guild assignments and resolve all kinds of troublesome Monster incidents. This is a compulsory duty, and you need to get used to it."
Altaïr and Isis nodded. They already knew that much.
Gael continued, "By established custom, newly promoted High Rank Hunters receive an adjustment period of about two months.
"Unless the situation is truly desperate, the Guild probably won't assign you any quests during those two months.
"You must make the most of that time. Upgrade your armor, learn new techniques, do whatever it takes to become as strong as possible.
"Afterward, you'll be given High Rank quests whose difficulty rises sharply compared with 4★ and 5★ quests.
"Don't think I'm trying to scare you. More than a handful of 6★ Hunters have died on their first High Rank quest."
Without giving them time to respond, Gael turned to Isis. "Altaïr's situation is manageable, but Isis, yours is serious."
"H-Huh, me?" Isis pointed at herself, bewildered.
"I'm sick of that old geezer handing out promotions whenever he feels like it!" Gael crossed her arms, plainly irritated. "Why can't he follow procedure and make people pass the promotion exam before promoting them?
"Doesn't he understand how dangerous it is to promote people like this?"
It took Altaïr a moment to realize that the "old geezer" she meant was His Immenseness...
"Under the normal promotion process, you'd choose a 6★ Monster, prepare specifically for it, Hunt it successfully on your own, and only then be promoted to High Rank.
"You could then use that Monster's materials to craft armor and a weapon, upgrading your equipment at the same time so you would be better prepared for the difficult High Rank quests ahead.
"If you wanted to be especially cautious, you could first join other Hunters' parties or carefully gather materials for intermediate armor. That would let you acquire High Rank equipment early and grow accustomed to it before taking the promotion exam. It would be much safer. (That was Morgan's approach.)
"But the two of you received a special promotion for your outstanding performance in a large-scale defense battle. The materials allocated to you aren't enough to forge the equipment you need and complete your upgrades.
"So if you coast through these two months without preparing properly, you'll end up having to face High Rank Monsters with your current equipment.
"Altaïr is fine. His Espinas Armor Set is already High Rank equipment, and although I don't even recognize his weapon, it's clearly no ordinary blade.
"But you, Isis? Your Zamtrios Z Armor Set and Glavenus Gunlance are only respectable by Low Rank standards. Do you plan to face Elder Dragons with that equipment?"
"Gael is right," Master Amos added. "Once you account for the time needed to forge the equipment and grow accustomed to it, you have no more than a month left.
"Within that month, you must Hunt a 6★ Monster whose materials are suitable for crafting your equipment."
* * *
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