The day after meeting the king, Amelia approached Rory, who was in the palace yard, to talk about something important.

“You want me to teach you some techniques?”

Rory repeated her question.

She nodded.

“Yes. After fighting in the tournament, I’ve realized that I’m lacking in many areas. Even though I made it to the finals, they were several battles were I had to risk everything to win.”

She said.

“A win is a win. There’s no need to beat yourself up.”

Rory replied. However, Amelia shook her head.

“I only won because there was a no killing rule. If it was a battle to the death, I would’ve died in at least the matches against the Brooks Sisters. I only won, because I had time to think of a strategy. If I had faced them outside the tournament, they would’ve killed me before I could do that.”

She argued.

“Hm….That is true. With their speed and destructive force, you’d probably die in a straight death match.”

Rory said.

“Also, even though I’ve won must of my battles I’ve done so only after taking a considerable amount of damage. If this continues, I’ll die sooner or later.”

Amelia added.

“And that’s why you want me to teach you techniques that can ensure a safe victory?”

Rory asked.

Amelia nodded.

“Hm…..That’s easier said than done, since the techniques that I know require a higher level of anima control than what you currently possess.”

Rory said, while staring at her intently.

“You don’t know any novice techniques at all?”

Amelia asked.

“I haven’t been a novice in a century. I forgot.”

Rory replied.

“However, if you want to become stronger you don’t actually need to learn new amazing techniques. You can just improve on what you have now.”

He said.

“For example?”

Amelia asked. He pointed at her sword.

“Why did you choose a saber as your weapon?”

He asked.

“I thought that it would help kill my enemies without using too much anima.”

Amelia answered.

“But when was the last time you’ve defeated an enemy with a sword?”

Rory asked.

“That’s……”

Amelia started to recall all the battles she had as of late. No matter how much she tried, she couldn’t remember the last time she actually killed someone with her sword.

“See? That’s something you need to fix.”

Rory said after seeing her long pause.

“If a weapon can’t fulfill its duty of slaying your enemies, then what’s the use of it? Why have a weapon in the first place if you can’t use it properly?”

Amelia listened to his words and had to admit that he was right. She had the saber, but if it didn’t defeat her enemies wasn’t it better that she fought barehanded?

“Then, I should stop using a saber?”

“I never said that.”

Rory, who was laying on the grass, sprung to his feet.

“You just need to turn your sword from a decoration to a weapon. In other words, become better at using your sword.”

He said.

He then stretched his hand out and anima started gathering in his palm. Soon, Amelia saw the anima expand and took the shape of a sword. It looked like a sword made of green light.

“Woah….”

Amelia was shocked when she saw the sword made out of anima. She never thought about creating a sword out of purely anima before.

“Once your skills improve, you should be able to conjure weapons out of anima. However, it’s still better to have a physical weapon, since conjuring one takes a great amount of anima. Even more, if you want to maintain it for a long period of time.”

Rory said.

Amelia then saw the sword looked even more realistic by the second. Soon she saw it turn into a real sword, it even looked like it was made from steel.

“You can conjure real weapons as well. But they aren’t permanent, and will disappear if they are away from their creator. Well, there are ways to go around this. But I’m not versed in them.”

He said.

He pushed the sword near Amelia.

“First, I think this Dao Sword suits you better. I’ll ask the king to provide one in the future.”

He said before turning his back to her.

“Using a weapon to make up for your lack of strength is common sense, but don’t underestimate what it truly means. Just waving a weapon around won’t make you stronger.”

Rory lifted the sword and swung it down. Shortly after, something could be heard falling from the sky.

When Amelia looked, it was a bird. It was cut in two and had a look of shock in its eyes.

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Rory then turned to his side and swung his sword horizontally, and a statue 200m away was cut from the waist.

He then spun around and thrust the sword. Amelia saw a hole open up in a nearby tree, as if it was bored by an invisible force.

“These are some of things you can do with a sword after mastering it to a certain degree.”

Rory turned to her and said with a smile.

“Come, I’ll give you some tips a friend gave me, to improve your swordsmanship.”

After saying that, he and Amelia walked towards a different direction. He looked back at where they were and smiled a bit, before resuming his convo with Amelia.

Meanwhile, a groan came from behind the tree that was bored. Soon a man appeared out of nowhere holding his shoulder. His shoulder was bleeding and had a hole bored through it. He fell on his knees and continued to groan.

At the same time, behind the statue that was severed from the waist, a person could be seen laying under the torso of the statue that fell after getting cut. There was no sound coming from them because they lost consciousness, but there was a large cut across their chest, which was quite deep, yet no organs were damaged.

At same time, somewhere in the palace-

“Ahhhhhh?!”

Someone was screaming out in agony as their body convulsed.

“Hold him down!”

There were others around that person trying to attend to them.

“It’s no use! The pain from having his connection with the bird forcibly cut, is too much for him to bear! We have to put him to sleep!”

“Dammit! How did that bastard know that the bird was spying on him?! Don’t tell me he can tell when someone is using Link?!”

As for Rory, he didn’t seem to care for those he left in pain and was chatting with Amelia.

Later that day, the first prince James was walking through the halls with a frown on his face. He soon turned and entered a room. Inside the room were several burly looking people. Even the women looked intimidating.

“Your majesty.”

All the people in the room stood in unison upon James arrival.

“You can sit.”

James told them, before taking a seat at the table that was in the middle of the room.

“Now, give a report.”

He said.

“The spy that we assigned to watch Rory and Amelia, suffered severe injuries to the chest.”

One of the men stood and reported.

“What is the origins of the spy? Was he qualified for the job?”

James asked.

“Yes. He was a part of our secret operation division. He graduated at the top of his class, and excels in stealth and camouflage.”

The man answered.

“So you believed that he was incredibly skilled?”

James asked.

“Yes.”

“Can you bet your life on it?”

James narrowed his eyes and asked.

“That’s….”

“If you can’t bet your life on it, then you shouldn’t have sent him.”

He said.

“That being said, the target was a legend who made a name for himself during a war driven era, so him detecting us couldn’t be avoided. It was my fault to insist on that we keep taps on him.”

He bowed his head.

“I overestimate myself and caused you all to suffer. Forgive me.”

“Y-Your Majesty!”

“Please raise your head!”

Seeing their leader bowing towards them, the people in the room started to panick.

“No. I made a foolish mistake. Liam would have never done what I did.”

“That’s where your wrong, my lord.”

One of the women in the room spoke up.

“It wasn’t only you, but the second and the third prince had also sent spies to keep watch.”

James lifted his head when he heard that.

“Are you sure?”

He asked.

The woman nodded.

“I can understand Christi sending spies considering those who are working for him, Liam….is a bit surprising.”

James mumbled

“He must be planning something.”

He then stood up.

“Change of plans. We will abandon trying to bring Rory to our side. I honestly thought that it was a lost cause since he doesn’t seem to be as interested in me as he did with my brothers.”

He said.

“We will instead try to persuade Amelia Rosa. She’s strong, has immense potential, and most importantly it seems like we can both get along.”

He smiled.

“I must pull her to my side. If I’m successful, she might bring me closer to the throne.”

Elsewhere, the second prince Liam was sitting in a room with Brooks and some others. The room was dimly lit, and had vintage furniture and a fireplace. Liam was sitting in a comfy chair with his legs crossed reading a book.

“……”

Brooks sat in silence and watched him, as if he was waiting for him to finish. After a while, Liam closed the book and placed it on a table beside him.

“So, the spy was caught?”

He asked.

“Yes, my lord. Just as you predicted, the other princes sent people to keep tabs on Rory.”

Brooks nodded his head and replied.

“I see. And the spy?”

“He’s outside. I ordered him to come here after getting his wound treated.”

Brooks answered.

“Is the wound serious?”

Brooks shook his head.

“He was hit in the shoulder, so it isn’t life threatening.”

“I see. Send him in.”

“Yes.”

Brooks stood up and opened the door, and told a man to enter. The man walked in and bowed in front of Liam.

“My prince!”

He shouted with reverence in his voice.

“Quickly, tell me. What happened while you were monitoring the targets?”

Liam asked.

“Yes. I was observing them having a conversation about making Amelia Rosa stronger. Rory suggested that she improved her swordsmanship, and conjured a sword out of anima.”

“Physical?”

The man nodded.

“Yes. He created a physical sword.”

Liam’s eyes widen when he heard that.

“I’ve heard stories of people conjuring real weapons out of anima, but I’ve never seen it before.”

He muttered to himself. He then looked back at the man.

“Continue.”

“Yes. After he conjured the sword he then demonstrated how to use the sword; however, that was a trick. He was really taking out the spies around him, me included.”

The man said.

“Good. You may leave.”

The man bowed again before leaving.

“I originally sent a spy to see how Rory would react to being monitored, as well as to reveal the other spies by having my spy not even try to hide himself, however I never thought that he would react so violently.”

Liam said after the man left.

“Do you know what kind of injuries the other spies sustained? Like if they were all on the same level as ours?”

He asked Brooks.

“According to reports from our spies in the other camps, Prince James’s spy was given a deadly wound which could have taken his life. As for Prince Christi, his spy was linked to a bird, but that bird was killed; forcibly cutting the connection. As you should know, the pain from cutting a connection by a person using Link, is very painful to the user.”

After hearing Brooks’ report, Liam started to think.

“Each spy received injuries, but the severity differs from person to person.”

He leaned back in his chair.

“The question is, was that a coincidence or was it intentional?”

“Are you saying that Rory knew which spy belonged to which faction and injured them to whatever level he saw fit?”

Brooks asked.

“We’re talking about a legend here. It’s best to think outside the box when dealing with him.”

Liam answered.

“But if what you say is true, then doesn’t that mean that he’s showing blunt favoritism with the wounds the spies received?”

Liam nodded.

“And the fact that our spy received the least life threatening wound….”

Liam and Brooks smiled at each other.

“Brooks, have the spy rewarded for his work. Giving rewards when due, is the best way to keep those working for you satisfied.”

Liam said.

“I need to figure out a way to fully bring that man to our side.”

At the same time. The third prince, Christi had a furious expression on his face, as he stood in a dark room.

“This is the second time he’s hurt one of my friends. Unforgivable!”

He growled.

“Calm down, Christi.”

“We’re dealing with the Devil King here.”

“One wrong move, and it’s over.”

At that moment, dozens of hard to see silhouettes appeared in the shadows of the room.

“I know. I won’t make any foolish moves. That will only give my brothers what they want.”

Christi took a deep breath and said.

“But what are we going to do?”

A silhouette said.

“The devil king doesn’t seem to be interested in the kingdom’s affairs, but that might change in the future. Should we try to recruit him?”

“But he almost killed Roc.”

Said another silhouette.

“True, but if he wanted to kill him he would’ve. He said that the creator of our school, was a fellow member of Pandemonium. It seems that he has a soft spot for us.”

“On what bases have you come to that conclusion?”

“Instinct. He also seem to enjoy Christi’s hostility. How should I say it? It’s like he’s teasing you.”

“Hmph. I don’t like him.”

Christi said.

“Then do you want to become enemies with him? Even roc couldn’t win, you know. That only leaves the Boss and that guy to compete with him.”

“The boss might be able to win, but ‘that person’….I’m not sure.”

“We don’t really have that much info on him after all. But according to the boss, he’s incredibly strong.”

“Christi, what do you think?”

Upon hearing the question, Christi started to think. After a while he answered.

“For now, we’ll take a watch and see approach. We won’t provoke him, but we won’t befriend him either. He’s too dangerous, and I doubt he can be controlled.”

“We understand. We’ll relay your words to the boss and ‘that person’.”

Christi nodded.

Shortly after, only he was left in the dark room. He clenched his fist.

“Rory.”

“Rory? What’s wrong?”

At same time, Rory was in the middle of showing Amelia some sword moves when he froze up and showed a smile.

“It’s nothing.”

He said.

‘Things are becoming lively.’

He thought.

‘But, I’m still curious as to who was able to intercept my Sonar. Even here, I still can’t detect them.’

He grinned.

“Looks like our stay here, will really be a fun one.”