Time passed so fast, I’ve been in this world for seven weeks now.
The days had blended into a blur of constant, repetitive effort. Every single morning, I opened my eyes to the same unfamiliar ceiling, but the initial panic had long since faded, replaced by a quiet, disciplined drive.
I stayed consistent to my training, not missing a day.
Even if my body was screaming in protest, I didn’t let myself slack off even once. I couldn’t afford to. The threat of the Frostguard Elders was like a dark cloud hanging over my head, and the only way to clear it was to build enough power to stand on my own two feet.
I even started adding more intensity to my trainings as my body got used to my routine.
My daily runs became longer, my sprints faster, and the physical conditioning drills I did in the backyard grew increasingly brutal. I pushed my muscles to their absolute limits.
That’s what all I’ve did the whole time, to be honest.
Training, studying, honing my abilities, and stuff.
My life was incredibly simple, almost boring, but it was necessary. When I wasn’t physical training, I was sitting in my room with my phone, analyzing every bit of information I could gather.
I did thought of acquiring useful artifacts that I know from the game story, like the main characters of novels that I read that was in the same situation as me to get stronger.
In those stories, the transmigrated protagonist always seemed to instantly run off to find some hidden, overpowered cheat item hidden in a secret cave or a dusty antique shop. It was a tempting thought, and I spent hours trying to map out where those items might be located based on my memory of the game.
But to be honest, I’m not so confident that I will get them with my current situation.
This is my reality now, not a game.
Most of them are in dangerous places, I’m not strong enough to try and get them.
If not that—then they’re hella expensive to acquire, I have no money of my own right now.
The items that were kept in safe, civilized areas were locked behind massive price tags in high-end auction houses or exclusive magic shops. I was currently living off the charity of the Blackthorne family; my pockets were completely empty.
And even if we say I have the money and strength to get them, leaving to get them sounds stupid for me.
The absolute biggest issue was my safety.
Especially since I’m supposed to be currently hiding.
If I leave the Blackthorne residence, then being discovered by the assassins after me is just a matter of time.
The moment I stepped outside the relatively safe perimeter of this neighborhood to travel, my unique white hair and blue eyes would make me an incredibly easy target for the Elders’ network of spies. I would be walking straight into an ambush.
I was really trapped here.
That’s why even though it’s really tempting and will make me stronger fast—I just stayed still and drowned myself to training.
I had to suppress my impatience. I had to focus on the things I could actually control, which meant perfecting my physical body, skills, and mastering the unique traits of Vael’s mana.
’I will have a lot of opportunity to get artifacts and key items that can make me stronger in the academy anyway, I can wait a little longer for them.’
I thought to myself.
The academy would have its own dungeons, training grounds, and secure transport systems. Once I was officially a student under the protection of [The Star Academy], I could move around with much more freedom and start hunting down those rare items safely.
Anyway—
The afternoon sun was warm against my skin, casting long shadows across the green grass of the backyard. I stood in the center of the lawn, catching my breath as I finished my final warm-up stretches.
"You ready?"
Cindy asked me that as I just finished stretching my body.
She was standing a few paces away, her needle-like wooden training weapon resting casually against her shoulder, it was at the length of a short-sword. Her expression was relaxed, but there was a sharp, competitive glint in her dark eyes that told me she wasn’t planning on holding back.
FWISS~
With a single, focused thought, I channeled my mana. In an instant, a flurry of cold air gathered in my palm, and a sleek, beautifully formed ice rapier materialized in my hand. It felt light, perfectly balanced, and completely solid.
I look hella cool in my opinion.
"Ready as I can be."
I said with a smile on my face.
The tip of my ice blade pointed toward the grass, the cold vapor drifting off the weapon like a tiny trail of smoke.
It was time for another spar between me and Cindy.
We had been doing this every single day.
FWIP-
Cindy held her needle weapon and assumed a battle stance.
She lowered her center of gravity, her feet planting firmly into the dirt. The tip of her slender weapon was pointed directly at my chest, ready to strike with lethal precision.
I replied in kind and lowered my body, preparing myself for the fight.
I held my rapier slightly forward, my weight balanced evenly on both feet so I could react to her movements in a split second.
The backyard where we have our spar is pretty spacious, even though the Blackthorne family isn’t as rich as noble families, they still live in big houses in a good neighborhood.
There was plenty of room for us to move around, but as big as our arena is, we still can’t use our full power here; not just the backyard—the whole house will get damaged if we do so.
Just imagine if I suddenly summoned a humangous ice spike here...
That’s why to avoid destroying anything; Cindy and I decided that we will not be using large scale area magics and skills.
We restricted ourselves to close-range combat, precise physical strikes, and small, controlled bursts of magic and skills. It was a test of pure skill, reaction time, and tactical thinking.
"Let’s begin."
Moving on, Cindy said that when the two of us were in position.
The air seemed to grow heavy in the quiet backyard. The distant sounds of the neighborhood faded away, leaving only the sound of our breathing.
The two of us just stared at each other, watching for the slightest twitch of a muscle or shift in weight.
Then all of a sudden—FWISH~!
She disappeared!
The space where she had been standing only a microsecond ago was completely empty, the grass still swaying slightly from her sudden departure.
It’s the same thing she did when she knocked me out during our first spar. Apparently, it’s a blink skill that lets the user teleport for a short distance.
But this has a weakness, the user can only travel in a single direction, where they were facing! She couldn’t change her trajectory mid-blink. Once she committed to the direction of her face, she had to follow that line to the very end.
And so—
TWACK!
A sharp, wooden crack echoed through the yard.
Swinging my ice rapier upward; I parried Cindy’s needle-weapon that was thrusting straight at my head!
The impact sent a violent vibration down my arm, but my grip remained steady. The cold blade of my rapier held firm against her wooden point, preventing her from landing a clean hit.
"?!"
Cindy looked genuinely surprised when I stopped her attack.
I was as well to be honest, this is the first time I stopped it after all!
Even though I know about the skill and that she was coming, I still failed before because she was just too fast and I can’t see her.
My physical eyes simply couldn’t track her movements when she moved at that extreme speed.
Though this time—I was using a buff onto my eyes and brain to heighten my vision and reaction time! I cast it before the spar even started.
I studied and honed this buff skill specifically to fight Cindy, wanting to surprise her.
It strains my eyes and hurts my head a bit, but it’s manageable.
FWOOSH!
After parrying Cindy’s weapon, I thrust my rapier forward, aiming for her head!
But her reflexes were insane that with just a slight turn of her head, she dodged it!
FWISH!
Cindy even followed up a left uppercut aimed at my chin!
Her fist moved with terrifying speed, coming from my blind spot as she lunged upward.
THUMP!
Though, I caught her fist in time with my left palm, intercepting the blow just inches before it could connect with my jaw.
The impact stung, but I stood my ground.
In terms of physical strength—I wouldn’t lose to her.
Vael’s natural physique, combined with my intense seven weeks of strength conditioning, gave me a massive advantage in raw power. I clamped my fingers tightly around her hand, locking her in place.
Then as our skin was touching—FSSSSSHKK—!!!
A surge of frost erupted from my palm.
I used my ice ability and started freezing her hand!
"Ugh?!"
Cindy groaned and immediately jumped back.
She violently wrenched her hand free from my grip, shattering the thin layers of ice that had begun to form on her skin, and leaped backward to create distance.
And that was what I wanted her to do—BAM!
I didn’t let her escape that easily.
I kicked off and followed after her, matching her retreat with an explosive forward lunge.
And while the tip of my weapon still aimed at her head—SHHHHK!!!
I extended the length of my rapier!
With a sudden burst of mana, the blade of ice rapidly grew, stretching forward by several feet in an instant.
Cindy’s eyes widened seeing that, realizing she couldn’t jump far enough to escape the growing range of the blade.
She had no choice but to duck down to avoid being hit.
She dropped her center of gravity, dropping low to the ground as the extended ice blade swept cleanly over her head!
And while she was crouched down in front of me—I threw a kick toward her with my right foot!
I aimed a solid, heavy kick right at her exposed shoulder, wanting to end the match right there.
FWISH~
Though before I could even hit her, she disappeared again!
The space beneath my foot was suddenly empty.
It was the blink skill!
My foot struck nothing but empty air, throwing my balance off for a brief microsecond.
’BEHIND ME!’
I didn’t need to look. Based on her combat habits and the direction she was facing when she ducked, my brain immediately calculated her destination.
I immediately clocked onto my head where she would appear.
And so—FSSSSHK!!!
I made an ice pillar erupt behind me, creating an instant, solid barrier to block her incoming strike!
CRACK!
And not even a second after that, I heard something piercing that ice pillar!
I quickly turned around, keeping my momentum going.
And just like what I did during our first sparring—FWOOOSH!!!
I made spikes erupt on the other side of the ice pillar to attack Cindy!
Dozens of sharp, frozen needles shot out from the back of the pillar, designed to force her to retreat or catch her off guard.
But I knew she wasn’t going down, especially since I’m using a move she already had seen.
Cindy was far too clever to be caught by this. I kept my guard up, preparing myself for her to slip around the sides of the barrier to launch a counterattack.
I adjusted my stance, ready to swing my rapier to my left or right.
FWIP-
"Huh?"
But as I was focused on my sides—I suddenly felt something sharp at my nape.
I felt chills ran through my body as well, my entire nervous system freezing up as I realized how completely exposed I was.
"...?"
I slowly turned my head behind me, looking over my shoulder.
And there—I saw Cindy looking at me with a smile on her face.
She was standing right behind me, completely bypassing the ice pillar and my frontal defenses.
"I didn’t tell you, but I can use blink three times simultaneously without a problem if I have the mana for it."
She said, explaining how she suddenly appeared behind me.
A light, playful chuckle escaped her lips as she lowered her weapon, victorious once again.
"Haaa... I lost."
I just let out a sigh and admitted that.
I dissolved my ice rapier, letting the cold mist drift away into the grass as I slumped my shoulders in defeat.