The jeep rolled to a slow stop in front of Sword Empress’ manor.
It stood quiet behind tall iron gates, its white walls clean and almost too neat for someone who claimed to be just another university student. The morning light reflected off the windows, and the place looked less like a home and more like a private estate.
As they stepped out, Catherine glanced around and smiled.
"So this is where Leora lives? Her house is quite big for a university student. She must be quite rich."
Sword Empress’ eyebrow twitched at that obvious jab, but she said nothing.
She simply walked ahead, pushing open the gate as if the comment had not reached her ears at all.
Vale followed a step behind, but his gaze kept drifting toward her back.
He had been told the truth on the way here. Sword Empress was the one acting as Leora, Isaac’s maid in public. While he understood the reason behind the disguise, understanding and accepting were two different things.
She was a reincarnator. A veteran of another era.
And yet she wore the appearance of a young woman, living among them as if she were their age.
Of all the forms she could have taken, she chose this.
Vale’s expression shifted into something uncertain.
He suddenly remembered the old lady at the orphanage, where he and Celia were raised. That woman had always tried to act like a young girl, speaking in childish tones and pretending she was still in her twenties. It had unsettled him even back then.
Without thinking, Vale slowed his steps and moved a little farther away from Sword Empress.
Sword Empress kept walking calmly, but the tips of her ears turned faintly red.
She didn’t need to look back to know what kind of thoughts were brewing behind her. Isaac and Alice were too focused on the manor to notice anything strange, but Vale’s gaze had weight to it. Questioning. Judging.
Only Catherine caught onto the misunderstanding.
She realized almost instantly that Vale believed Sword Empress’ older appearance was her real one, and that the younger form was something she had chosen deliberately.
Catherine considered correcting him.
Then she remembered she had been dragged into today’s training without much choice.
She decided she had no reason to help.
They stepped into the manor.
The interior was clean and organized, clearly maintained by professional staff. A few maids bowed slightly when Sword Empress entered.
Sword Empress turned to one of the maids. "Make sure no one comes downstairs."
"Understood."
The maid nodded immediately.
Sword Empress opened the door to basement and began descending.
The others followed.
The staircase was narrow and longer than expected. The air grew slightly cooler as they went down, and the light from above faded until only embedded wall lamps guided their way.
At the bottom, another door waited.
It didn’t look ordinary. The surface had a strange sheen, almost like liquid glass. The space around it seemed slightly distorted, as if the air itself bent near its edges.
Sword Empress placed her hand on a panel beside the frame. A soft hum followed. Several faint beams of light scanned her palm, her eyes, and her face.
After a few seconds, the door clicked open.
Beyond it, there was nothing.
At least, nothing Isaac could see.
It looked like warped space, twisting and folding in on itself. There was no visible room beyond, just a hazy white distortion.
Sword Empress stepped forward without hesitation and disappeared into it.
Catherine sighed. "Well, here we go."
She followed.
Alice went next, then Vale.
Isaac stepped in last.
The moment he crossed the threshold, the world twisted.
His senses felt dragged sideways, like his body had been pulled through a narrow gap in reality. The ground vanished beneath his feet for a second.
Then everything stabilized.
When Isaac opened his eyes fully, he found himself standing on a vast dirt ground.
The soil beneath his boots was dry and firm. The sky above was pure white, empty and unfinished, as if someone had forgotten to paint it blue. There were no clouds, no sun, no horizon line that made sense.
And near them stood a small wooden house.
Isaac slowly turned in place.
The space was enormous.
He couldn’t see the end of it. There were no walls, or barriers. It felt like standing in a world that had not been fully built yet.
Sword Empress ignored their reactions. She walked toward the small house and went inside.
For a few moments, none of them spoke.
Isaac flexed his fingers.
Something felt wrong.
He closed his fist and opened it again, repeating the motion. His muscles moved, but the familiar surge of power was gone.
He tried to channel his strengthening skills.
Nothing.
His physique-based enhancements were sealed. Even the passive boosts from his abilities had vanished.
He frowned.
The seal wasn’t absolute. He could feel it. It was thin, and fragile. If he truly wanted to, he could shatter the seal with a thought.
But at the same time, he instinctively understood something else.
If he broke it, this space would reject him.
He would be thrown out.
Sword Empress returned, carrying several wooden weapons. Practice swords. Spears. Staves.
She stepped forward and tossed one weapon at each of their feet.
"You must have noticed," she said calmly. "Your stats, your physical enhancement skills, and your physique-based boosts have all been sealed. That is the effect of this place. Right now, all of you have roughly similar physical abilities."
Vale picked up a wooden sword and tested its weight. "So we’re basically normal people?"
"Not entirely. Your foundations remain. But the overwhelming difference in raw power has been equalized," Sword Empress replied.
Isaac picked up his own practice sword and swung it lightly.
The movement felt slower, and heavier.
Sword Empress continued, "We are going to train in physical combat techniques. I will teach you one of my [Arts]. Weak stats are actually beneficial for this. For example—"
She pointed at Isaac.
"—You’ve been overwhelming your opponents with superior might ever since you became strong. It isn’t wrong. You’ve been efficient, and you use your advantages well. However, it is entirely possible that you will face enemies who are much stronger than you."
Isaac nodded.
"You need to be able to fight when you are the weaker one. That is the purpose of this training. I will teach you one of my personal [Art]. If you perform well, I will also teach you the [Moon Sundering Slash]. It is the technique I used to cut the wings of the Catastrophe," she said.
Isaac, Vale, and Alice all stiffened slightly.
They remembered that strike.
Even Isaac and Alice could only replicate that level of destruction by using their strongest skills. It had not been something casual.
Vale swallowed. "You’re serious about teaching that?"
"If you are worthy of it," Sword Empress replied.
Excitement appeared in the eyes of all three.
Catherine crossed her arms and looked at them with pity.
"The training is good, but isn’t learning all this going to take time? You told me to clear only today’s schedule." Vale said after a moment.
Catherine stepped in before Sword Empress could answer.
"This is a hyperbolic time chamber. One hour outside equals one month inside," she said.