Compared to the other continent, their time here was very peaceful. It had only been three days but so far, there haven't been any incidents surrounding them. Yoko stuck with the group because of what happened last time.
If there were any changes, then it'd be Kei and Date who kept sparring with Kai. At first, it was just Date but Kei became influenced by him and together, they fought Kai for an hour every day. Yoko abstained from fighting and was evidently troubled since they got off the ship.
Kei slashed down with his sword but he stopped midway and changed trajectories. Date complimented Kei's attack by attacking from the latter's previous position.
Kai's hand disappeared for an instant and two clangs rang out. Kei and Date's sword were blocked at nearly the same time.
Taking advantage of the opportunity they were caught off-guard, Kai was prepared to knock them out but Kei suddenly grinned and took Date's hand. Kei was spun once and thrown towards Kai which forced the latter to block.
Date took that opportunity to balance himself and launch another attack.
"Wow... they've really improved."
Erina praised the two openly.
"They only lasted fifteen seconds the first time but now they can last against Kai for a whole five minutes."
Iori muttered.
Their training started a month ago and since then, the two's swordsmanship greatly improved. But the one that showed the most improvement out of the two was Date, his drive to get stronger was insane and even when everyone was asleep, he continued to train.
This time, everyone with the exception of Yoko was watching them train. Although it's true that Kai is holding back most of his power and skills, he was still leagues ahead of Alteria's knights.
The three of them battled intensely but it was obvious as to who held the advantage. Kei and Date were using all of their power just to not allow Kai to attack but Kai was nonchalantly blocking and dodging everything with minimal movements.
If they slashed horizontally, he would take half a step back, if the slashed vertically he would take half a step to the side, if they used a thrust, he would redirect it with his sword while taking half a step.
"Alright, that's enough."
After breaking their stances, Kai blew them away with a single sword slash.
"Your Highness, can you go fetch Yoko?"
"..."
Iori was speechless. Although Kai talked to him in a respectful way, it was obvious that he was being used as a servant. Still, he went to find Yoko while grumbling to himself, it looks like he had been trained quite well by Sachiko.
"Kenji, I lost my fan thanks to you."
Sachiko held an expression of pain as the fan in Iori's hand had disappeared along with him.
"You're right next to Mio."
"Ah, true."
After hearing the two of them, Erina smiled wryly and made the air around them cool by several degrees. Not enough to make her shiver but it was still cold.
"Arata, you'll join today's training, I'm going to teach you all a physical technique."
"Alright."
After hearing his confirmation, Kai turned to Yoko who was arriving alongside Iori. Her eyes made it evident that she was troubled about the matter with Emi.
"Yoko, I'm going to teach you all something but... if you don't feel well, then you can step out of this one."
Everyone's eyes widened with only Sachiko and Iori as exceptions.
Kei, Arata, and Dates' eyes were even wider than the rest. That was because they had experienced Kai's hellish training. Erina was a bit better because she was pampered the entire time.
"Kenji, I know you're trying to make a move on Yoko but isn't this too blatant...? You're in front of your girlfriends after all..."
Arata had an awkward expression on his face as he glanced at Yoko and Erina and Amelia.
"The Demon of Training has given Yoko an opportunity to escape from training, is the sun going to rise from the west?!"
Kei was looking alarmed and his expression even made it look like he wasn't joking.
But their reactions were natural. After all, Kai even forced sick people to train while saying that it would make their bodies better. One time, Kei fell sick and Kai beat him up until he got better.
Still, the one who was most stunned was Yoko. Nobody had ever taken a break from Kai's training.
Hearing Arata, Kai was prepared to face Erina's glare but when he only saw her smiling normally, he raised a brow.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Seeing as everything was alright, Kai turned back to Yoko.
"So, will you participate?"
"...Yes."
Yoko was still stunned and walked to the rest with a doubtful expression.
"Your Highness, where are you going?"
Kai suddenly appeared right in front of Iori who was trying to sit on a chair.
"...To rest."
"And why is that?"
"I'm not feeling well..."
"Then that's perfect. We'll beat the sickness out of you."
Just as he said that, Kai immediately retrieved the gun, Bang from his pendant and pointed it at Iori's head.
"OI!"
Iori was frightened out of his mind as he looked at the gun pointed at his forehead.
"So?"
"I'll train! Please let me train!"
"Good."
Kai hid the gun feeling satisfied. Iori was still trembling in fear, he saw the power of the gun with his own eyes before after all.
After seeing Kai give Yoko a way out and forcing Iori, they were all speculating. The most surprising thing though was not Kai giving Yoko a free pass, it was Erina not glaring at Kai.
Seeing everyone gathered in front of him, Kai clapped his hands.
"Today, I will teach you all about Flash Step. Here's a demonstration of the technique."
Kai's figure vanished and reappeared a few meters away. All of them only felt a short burst of wind but not even dust was shaken by what he just did.
"It's useful for traveling short distances in an instant. Now, I'd for you all to give it a try."
Kai was speaking weirdly today. He was being polite and caught everyone off-guard.
Yoko was the first to attempt but just ended up walking forward. The rest of them followed suit but none of them even came close. They all kept repeating their attempts until Kei lost control of his power and broke the floor below him.
The one who made the most progress among them was Yoko who managed to control her power and direct it to her feet. Still, she was far from being able to employ the simplest Flash Step.
They were in the practice field provided for fighters. It cost one gold to rent for three hours but there were many facilities here that could be used and renting weapons is included with the cost.
Unlike the other two continents, the Ancient Dragon Continent valued power. Anyone who kills the current ruler in combat can take over the position with no delays.
Over the years, there have been many tyrants who took over but the current ruler has had his family line ruling for three hundred years which is the second longest reigning period next to only the first ruler. Practice fields like these were established by the ruler to nurture stronger people.
The building was valued at a gold for three hours but an added instructor was two gold for the same time meaning that a field and an instructor would cost three gold for three hours. Only the rich could afford such things so most of the ones around Kai and the others were nobility who looked down on them.
In their eyes, Kai and the others' swordsmanship was unpolished while the ones on chairs were an insult to the rest of them.
They had fields but didn't have walls, it was to encourage them all to get stronger but nobody dared cross the borders because it was a violation.
Over at another field, two people began quarreling with each other.
"What did you say about my swordsmanship?!"
"I said that it's pathetic! Also, that sword on your waist looks like one of those cheap ones that can be bought for a few silver!"
"You!"
On one side was a man who looked like an adventurer while the other side had a man wearing shiny armor and had a sword full of ornaments. The latter invaded the field of the former seemingly not minding the fee for violating the rules.
Quarrels like these were commonplace here and people began watching the show. Kai and the others were no exception but they still continued with their lesson only occasionally glancing at the two.
Many paid attention to them at first and laughed because Flash Step was something they looked down on. To them, what use was a flashy skill like that when you could just beat the crap out of opponents? Fighters in this continent were quite straightforward.
"So noisy! Both of your swordsmanships are half-baked!"
A voice from the field next to the two who quarreled suddenly stopped them.
"What did you say?!"
"You dare!"
The adventurer and the rich man both stepped out of the field and into the man who yelled's field. Each field was quite large but only numbered around twenty-five. The entire place was larger than a village with all the fields and facilities. A field was about as large as an arena stage and each had individual targets, weapons rack, and straw dolls.
Upon looking at him, they found out his eyes were closed and there was only a thin sword by his waist covered by a sheath. His blue hair was tied in a ponytail and he looked about forty.
To Kai and Erina, he looked exactly like those samurais in dramas.
The moment that the two of them stepped into the samurai's field, the air sharpened and time seemed to have stood still. The samurai disappeared and appeared right in front of the two and with smooth movements, his katana was removed from the sheath and slashed directly at the two.
Neither of them could react and none of the people in the surroundings could as well but...
DING
Kai appeared right in front of the two and stopped the samurai's blade from removing their necks with his own sword.
"Hooh~"
The samurai raised a voice in surprise seeing Kai who was fields away from him arrive in an instant.
"Flash Step and you've already mastered it to the extent that there would be no sound and dust, amazing."
The samurai's fierce aura reined in, his mood seemingly improved by seeing Kai's performance. Rather than blocking his sword, he was more surprised at the fact that Kai traversed more than a thousand meters in an instant. From the time his katana left its sheath and where it was stopped by Kai's sword, it only took less than 0.05 second.
To traverse more than a thousand meters in an instant and block his blade was worthy of his respect.
Seeing the katana near their necks, the two who stepped into the samurai's field sweated profusely and dropped down on their rears. They couldn't react at all and if Kai had not saved them, they would've lost their lives.
"T-thank you, senior!"
"I'll repay this debt..."
The two scurried away and left Kai and the samurai to face each other.
"You were really going to continue your attack, weren't you?"
"And so, what if I was?"
The two of them glared at each other- no, one of them had his eyes closed but the air around the two of them was intense.
The samurai was the first to take a step back but as soon as he did so, he vanished from his spot and attacked with a thrust. Kai employed Flash Step to change his footing and position in an instant and blocked the attack.
Next, the two of them vanished at the same time but reappeared in an instant. They were both a few meters away from each other but still within reach of a sword.
"...Alright, I'll back down for today. Your sword is quite formidable."
The samurai smiled and raised his hands before vanishing.
Kai glared at the spot that samurai vanished from and reappeared back to everyone.
"Kenji, what was that about?"
Kei was the first to ask.
"I've found the anomaly."
Kai looked down on his fist and clenched it. If one looked closely, you'd see that it was trembling. The first exchange had left him shocked because the samurai could actually stop Kai but during their last exchange, they had traded over ten blows which was perfectly blocked by both of them.
When they both disappeared, they actually clashed. Kai's hand felt numb from the attacks.
It was rare, for a person to actually match him in swordsmanship.