With the challenge of finding companions, we finally reached Ganaize.

Its exterior was that of a Fortress City surrounded by City Walls. Perhaps because the surroundings were desolate, it gave a rather bleak impression.

The scale is quite large… The City Walls, showing an ocher color due to the sand dust, are high and instill an image of robustness. In fact, like Silvet, this Town was never invaded by the Demon Race until the very end. The presence of warriors who could be a fighting force in this place, combined with its robust structure… these were likely the factors that prevented its invasion until the end.

As for the Town’s structure, there is a Castle in the center, surrounded by the cityscape. There are several Arenas within the Town, and the content of the fights varies slightly by location… but since there are no plans to fight in the Arena right now, we can probably ignore them.

After passing through the gate, a bustling Main Street appeared. There should be Humans who have evacuated from other places here, but for now, there seems to be no confusion.

Where are we going?

As we walked down Main Street, Sofia asked. I turned my head and said,

To the Swordplay Dojo… He’s an acquaintance, so don’t worry.

Understood.

Hearing her reply, I turned my head back and proceeded down Main Street without hesitation.

—Among the events that can be triggered here, there is one that increases sword skill abilities. It’s possible to receive various instructions, not just on technical aspects, but also on Magic Power control, and I remember my parameters increasing quite a bit in the game.

Perhaps the results obtained might be even better than in the game… Unlike in the game where parameters simply increased, for example, just learning basic Sword Technique skills—like footwork and how to swing a sword—would improve the quality of one’s swordplay. That would yield results far beyond a simple increase in ability.

Sofia had been taught by Knight, so she should have a basic understanding of swordplay… Therefore, what she needs to learn is magic power control. For example, with “Wind Blossom Spirit Slash,” she has problems like scattering wind around because she can’t control it well. By undergoing magic power control training, that will also be resolved… and the power of her other techniques should improve, and by improving her control, her magic barriers and such will also become stronger.

That’s why I’m guiding her to a place where she can be taught such techniques… a place I also used during my training and that appeared in the game.

Before long, we turned off the Main Street onto a side road. Looking at a slightly anxious Sofia, we arrived at—a large white building.

“Here?”

“Yes.”

I nodded and entered the building. What appeared before me was a receptionist.

“…Hello.”

I greeted the woman at the reception desk. She was a beautiful woman with black hair, but she seemed somewhat unfriendly… She replied, “Hello,” and asked what our business was.

“How may I help you?”

“I’d like to request sword instruction… If you tell the instructor that Ruon Madin, who visited before, is here, I think she’ll understand.”

“…Please wait a moment.”

The woman stood up and went to the back. In the meantime, I looked around. From the back, which seemed to be a training ground, I could hear voices like people getting pumped up, indicating someone was there.

Eventually, a person appeared with the receptionist woman—

“Oh, it’s been a while, Ruon.”

“It has been a while.”

I bowed. The person who appeared was also a woman… with wavy blonde hair and black eyes. She would look good in a dress, but currently, perhaps for practice, she was wearing simple black clothing, and a wooden sword was in her hand.

Furthermore, a fearless smile was on her face. She was a woman with a strong, bold aura, to whom the word tomboy suited perfectly.

Her name is Eirei Macleod. She is an NPC whose name appeared in the game and is involved in these ability enhancement events.

Her sword skills have reached a considerable level, and I can’t even match her in terms of technique… Perhaps she, too, wants to fight the Demon Race, but she has a bad leg and apparently can’t endure long journeys. It seems fine for her to swing a sword a bit, but… it’s a shame.

“Hmm? Oh, is this your attendant?”

Eiley immediately looked at Sofia next to me.

“Yes… Her name is—”

“My name is Sofia Rattle.”

She spoke and bowed. Eiley smiled with satisfaction at her demeanor, and said,

“Oh, what’s this? She’s a good child, isn’t she? A hundred times better than you, Ruon.”

“Yes, yes.”

I replied with annoyance… or rather, since she’s from the Royal Family, I think she’s a million times better than me.

“So, you’re here to train her today?”

“Yes. She herself has a desire to fight… and wants to become stronger than she is now.”

“Hmm…”

Eiley stared at Sofia.

“May I ask, Sofia? What is your reason for fighting?”

“To fight the Demon Race.”

“From the looks of it, you’re also one of the humans who were driven out of their nation, aren’t you?”

Eiley shrugged.

“I’ve seen many humans like that. With the invasion of the Demon Race, many humans decide to take up swords… But whether they can truly fight the Demon Race is a different, difficult matter.”

“She has potential. If you don’t mind, please confirm it.”

I said. At my mention, Eiley seemed interested and looked back at me.

“Oh, if Ruon says so much, then I’ll take a look.”

“Thank you.”

“Alright, Sofia. I’ll show you to the training ground.”

“Yes.”

Sofia nodded… and thus, her training began.

I guided her here because there’s a basis for her to become stronger… but the problem will be the duration. Since Sofia has a foundation in swordsmanship, she should grasp the training here quickly… but I wonder how long it will take. By the way, I finished everything in two weeks… if it takes about that long, I might use my free time to act alone.

“Come on, bring it on.”

Training Ground. It seems to be a different place from where I heard the voice earlier, and there’s no one around.

Sofia has been given a wooden sword. Sometimes they fight with real swords, but here it’s usually a wooden sword.

“Come on, what’s wrong? Although the weapon is a wooden sword, you can use any skill or magic.”

“…Understood.”

She nodded and took a stance. Eiley, on the other hand, remained natural… and in an instant, Sofia attacked.

She closed the distance in one go. Her sharpness had increased considerably with her level—however, Eiley easily parried the unleashed slash.

“Good charge, and good movement.”

Sofia then swung her sword. Eiley parried it and immediately counterattacked.

Sofia immediately went on the defensive… but when her stance was slightly broken by the initial attack, Eiley’s thrust immediately touched Sofia’s right shoulder.

“Ugh…!”

It was more of a light touch than a stab. But perhaps thinking a follow-up attack was coming, Sofia immediately backed away.

“Good judgment too.”

Eiley said. Sofia stopped moving for a moment here—the next instant, a faint magic power emanated from her wooden sword.

“That magic power, are you a Spirit Contractor?”

Eiley easily saw through it. But Sofia moved and unleashed “Gale Sword.”

A strike imbued with wind—Eiley met it head-on. As a result, they clashed… and Sofia was held back.

Although nothing could be felt from Eiley, magic power must have been imbued in her wooden sword. Unlike Sofia, she completely controlled her magic power, so it was not noticeable.

Sofia immediately retreated. At the same time, she showed a stance to unleash another technique.

I knew what she was going to use. Intermediate Generic Technique “Clear Stream Flash”—would it actually work?

Sofia started moving. Her movements were sharper than when she first dashed. The sword technique that defeated Redras of the Five Great Demons exploded towards Eiley—

“I see, you have a good technique.”

Eiley muttered, as if she had seen through what kind of technique it was. At the same time, Sofia rapidly approached.

Immediately after, something unbelievable happened. Eiley, who was in front of Sofia, suddenly moved—no, she definitely unleashed “Clear Stream Flash” too.

However, even I, watching from the sidelines, could tell. Eiley was technically superior.

“Ugh…!”

Sofia groaned again. It was probably because her technique didn’t work.

“Yes, I understand what Ruon says.”

Eiley spoke, looking somewhat amused.

“Passed. Sofia, so you can become stronger… I will teach you a bit of my technique.”