Alex lowered the sword and looked at Bron.

"So what do you want me to do?"

He obviously already knew what Bron was going to ask so he wasn’t worried about anything.

Or at least that’s how it should’ve been.

To his surprise, Bron picked up a sword that had been placed against the wall and said as he turned around, "Follow me."

Seeing him walk out of the room, Alex’s jaw fell open.

How the hell did I forget this?

In Villain’s Ascension, original Alex didn’t come to Haestus Forgery because of someone’s recommendation, he had found out about the place during the one-week training at the City Knight Order’s base.

This meant Bron was already aware of the original Alex; however, the same wasn’t true for the current one.

After a few steps, Bron stopped, furrowed his brows, and turned toward him. "What’s wrong?"

Alex looked at him and thought, I can’t just tell him that I’ve never used a sword before...

For a long while, both of them stood staring at each other in silence and then Alex stepped forward. "Let’s go," he stated with a faint smile.

Bron nodded with slight confusion visible in his eyes.

The two walked toward an open area for Bron to test his sword skills during which Alex’s eyes were fixed on the space before him.

As they neared the place, notifications appeared.

[System: Host Alex, you have purchased...

[System: Host Alex, you have purchased...

[System: Host Alex, you have purchased...

Alex’s lips curled upward and he dismissed the screens. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Soon, the two of them stood facing one another. The place was empty, brightened by the lanters hanging at the poles and falling moonlight.

Everything was so silent that Nyxare seemed to have become a haunted city.

Bron slightly raised his sword and pointed it at Alex with his free hand behind his back. "Show me everything you have."

Alex nodded and took a deep breath.

He was sure that Bron a former paladin would instantly find out that he had never trained with a sword so all he wanted to do was leave a good impression.

As the cold wind blew across the area, Alex channeled mana into his feet and zipped toward.

Once he closed the distance, he poured mana into Velcrean and felt how it flowed through it as though water.

Ah! What a great feeling!

He grinned and slashed in a wide sideways arc.

Seeing that, Bron furrowed his brows and raised his sword to easily block the attack.

"What are you doing?" He asked with confusion and looked into his eyes.

Alex took a step back then spun on his feet to move away from Bron’s sword and swung forward with Velcrean shimmering with infused mana.

Bron blocked it just as easily and Alex attacked once again.

For the next couple of minutes, Alex attacked him with all of the strategies he could think of without using [Shadow Movement] and Bron blocked them with disinterest.

Though as time went on, the disinterest changed into something else.

"Have you even held a sword before?" Bron asked sharply.

Alex suddenly felt a strange pressure on himself but instead of answering, he moved through it and attacked again, leaving Bron surprised.

However this time, Bron had decided to retaliate.

As Velcrean neared him, Bron ignored the attack with a slight side step and then drew a downward slash.

Alex instantly raised Velcrean to block the attack but as two swords met, vibrations climbed the sword and sent shivers down his spine.

What the hell?!

Alex slithered away with dumbfounded eyes and Bron muttered, "This is what happens when you actually know how to use the sword."

He stepped closer and swung in a wide arc, though unlike Alex, his attack was way more precise and hard to notice.

As Bron’s sword neared, he lifted Velcrean between himself and his sword, blocking it with the help of [Keen Eyes (D)] one of the three skills he had purchased while making his way here.

Bron who had expected him to fall back on his butt was left momentarily surprised which Alex used to his advantage.

He stepped forward without making a noise and swung his sword while twisting his core in the same direction.

Although the attack was silent and much more precise than before, it was still a novice attack that Bron could easily block.

And that’s exactly what happened.

Bron met the swords’ flat sides with one another and sent Alex stumbling to the side only for him to turn around and cut toward him.

What kind of strange footwork is this? Bron wondered while examining Alex’s attacks. His steps weren’t making any sound and his body was perfectly aligned with his core, allowing him to pour all his strength into his attacks.

This was possible because of the second skill Alex had purchased: [Silent Steps (D)]

Seems like I have to test him harder, Bron concluded and his attacks became stronger and faster than before.

As the two swords met, Alex stumbled back from the weight behind Bron’s attack and let out a pained groan.

Shit! Alex cursed inwardly. I was hoping to get used to the new skills.

He fixed his grip on Velcrean and moved it in time to block another one of Bron’s attacks.

Vibrations traveled through the sword and sent tremors through his arms.

"Ugh!" He groaned and jumped back. I have to dodge instead of blocking!

As Bron’s attacks didn’t have any kind of malicious intent behind them, skill [Dodge] couldn’t activate, leaving everything to him.

Bron closed the distance between the two of them and drew a sideways slash.

Alex leaned backward and the sword went past him. Then, Bron brought it down at him, causing Alex to spin to the side.

For the next few minutes, Bron continued his attacks and Alex dodged them with everything he had.

In between he also attacked at Bron. It was after all to test his sword skills not dodging skills.

The fight went on and as an hour passed, Bron asked, "What are you huh?"

Alex grinned. "What do you mean?"

"How can you move like that while having such sword skills...? It doesn’t make sense."

Alex shrugged though he already knew the reason – it was the third skill he had purchased: [Enchanced Reflexes (D)]

Bron shook his head and stated, "Let’s end this."

Alex nodded.

The next moment, a sharp glow struck him and then he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Seeing that, Bron lowered his sword and mumbled, "Hmm... Maybe I was too hasty."

"Using a star move on an amateur was indeed hasty, master," a soft, mischievous voice added from behind.

Bron nodded and turned around, "I didn’t think I’d see you anytime soon, Ystella."

Ystella shrugged and looked at Alex, "I didn’t either."

Bron also turned his gaze to unconscious Alex and asked, "Are you going to teach him the sword?"

She shook her head and answered with a grin, "I already have a student."

Hearing that, he blinked his eyes and mumbled in surprise, "You... you have a student?"

Ystella nodded. "Yes."

He furrowed his brows in surprise and asked, "What’s her name?"

"Heh. I don’t remember telling you that my student is a woman," she muttered.

Bron let out a sigh, "I am your master, I know pretty well how much you hate males... that is why I was surprised when you sent him to me."

Ystella expertly ignored the topic of Alex’s recommendation and said, "Her name is Crela Estrada. She met me at the gates and instantly asked to be my student, saying the spirits told her."

"Guess weird people attract one another," Bron added.

"No wonder you are my master," Ystella stated with a wide grin.

Bron let out an embarrassed cough and turned toward the forge. "Pick him up."

"Haha!"