[Check Out My P4treon For +50 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! And get chapters before publishing them here for free on my p4treon][patreon.com/roaverse]
===
"Who else dares to defy?!"
"Come!!!!"
The dojo was utterly silent. Everyone stared blankly at Eris.
Isolte looked at Eris, then at Faltz, who was lying on the ground, staring blankly at the blood on his face. She glanced at Kurri, who wanted to help Faltz but was hesitating nervously.
Then she surveyed the surroundings.
What met her eyes were faces filled with astonishment.
The former junior dojo chief disciple, who should have been pleased with Eris's victory.
Only clenched the hilt of his sword tightly, his face as grim as still water.
Exuding a powerful, oppressive aura.
It made Sylphy, who was about to celebrate beside him, stiffen.
She was the first time she had seen Isolte, who was usually smiling, wear such an expression.
Why?
A hint of confusion arose in Sylphy's mind. Logically, Isolte should be happy for Eris...
No.
With just a moment of daze, the empathetic Sylphy understood why Isolte looked like this.
Isolte was a companion.
But she was also a part of the Water God Style.
Was Eris's sudden idea to challenge the dojo truly just to get revenge for the farce that had just unfolded upon entering the dojo?
And this sudden idea.
Was it truly a spontaneous thought?
Her shame and anger stemmed from the Water God Style junior dojo members gossiping behind her, Allen's, and her backs.
Or was it because she had brought Eris, so proudly, wanting to show off this advanced dojo of the Water God Style, this place where she and Allen had grown up, this place Eris had talked about all the way here...
Talked about all the way here!!
That longing, born of love for her brother, which extended to an admiration for the Water God Style Main Dojo!!
And opening the door, what met her eyes was such a decadent sight???
And people were coming to raid the dojo! And even losing so disgracefully!?
Sylphy instantly understood where Isolte's anger came from.
Angry at their inaction!
After understanding this, Sylphy's urge to comfort Isolte vanished.
This was an emotion that couldn't be soothed with words; this wasn't her area of expertise.
Question: How can decadent 'stagnant water' be made to ripple?
How can it raise waves?
How can it churn into a furious torrent?
Answer: With fiercer desire!
With more illogical words and actions!
With the roar of a person who can ignite the fire in others' hearts!
Possessing a more fervent and sincere yearning for swordsmanship!
Her own personality and her identity as a mage didn't possess this 'ability.'
So, was there anyone present who had this ability to help Isolte?
Yes!
That person was...
Isolte quietly looked at the dojo apprentices, whose fighting spirit had dulled. She felt an unpleasant mix of emotions.
She herself didn't actually feel much pride or attachment to the Water God Style Dojo, and she knew the character of these noble children very well.
To hope that this group of noble children would put all their energy into swordsmanship was akin to hoping that Senior Brother Allen would clean himself up, strip naked, and obediently lie on her bed.
The latter, perhaps if she succeeded in a night raid someday, making Senior Brother Allen crave more, might actually happen.
But the former had not the slightest possibility of ever occurring. As a commoner, the Water God's granddaughter, Isolte, who already carried the burden of 'glorious oppression,' understood how difficult this was for this group of spoiled nobles.
Normally, these noble children's minds weren't occupied with swordsmanship, nor with any honor tightly linked to swordsmanship.
They only cared about which noble lady would be delicious and willing to strip naked tonight? Which noble family's eldest son dared to pick a fight with them over a woman? When would they need to go home to help with their family's business to gain more influence?
Finally, how much advantage would their Water God Style Main Dojo 'junior dojo' credentials bring to those first three points?
Their sense of oppression wasn't found in swordsmanship.
If the heart isn't sincere, then it won't linger.
So, Isolte didn't care about these 'peers' at all; she only cared about herself and Allen. She could only focus on the difference in swordsmanship between Allen and herself, and silently work towards that goal.
It concerned the honor of being the Water God's granddaughter.
It concerned whether she could gain Senior Brother Allen's approval.
It concerned whether she could, at certain crucial moments, demonstrate an attitude that matched her senior brother's unwavering stance.
But, this was just 'normally speaking.'
Reality, however, wasn't quite normal.
Because of Allen Boreas Greyrat's existence.
Unlike herself, her senior brother possessed a character completely unlike that of a noble. In the few years he served as chief disciple of the Water God Style Dojo, he would not tolerate these nobles in the slightest, regardless of his 'indifference.'
He insisted on 'caring'! He insisted on suppressing all the objectionable voices!
In his words:
—The Water God Style Dojo is a place for swordsmanship practice. You are weak, lack ambition, and cannot even serve as my whetstone. Yet you spend your days scheming and muddling through, treating the dojo like a noble's banquet for social exchanges, making noise all day so no one can find peace?
—Come, let's feed the blade!
So, in the two years he served as chief disciple of the junior dojo, challenges occurred almost every day.
The rest of the pampered, ornamental fish in the large aquarium that was Asura naturally resented Senior Brother Allen's demeanor. After being unilaterally tormented for several months, this resentment gradually turned into awe, then after another two months, into admiration, and after another two months, it finally became adoration.
When people look at someone close to their own strength, they're always unwilling to concede defeat. But when they realize the gap is widening, until they perceive an insurmountable chasm.
This defiance gradually transforms into admiration.
From this point onwards, voices of defiance stemming from a desire to compete disappeared.
The 'excellent habit' of challenging, however, remained, turning into sparring matches viewed with mutual honor.
Two years ago, the Water God Style junior dojo was forcefully steered onto the right path by Senior Brother Allen, single-handedly.
But, now.
After returning to the Water God Style Dojo with Senior Brother Allen's own sister, Isolte realized that in these two years, because her mind was completely preoccupied with her Senior Brother, she had neglected to maintain the atmosphere of the junior dojo. A strange sense of having failed and shame immediately crept into Isolte's mind.
It made her instantly decide to take immediate action, to quickly and effectively correct this point before Senior Brother Allen returned from the Direct Instruction Dojo. This led to her earlier deliberate imitation of Senior Brother Allen's posture and tone, to provoke the apprentices, to try and ignite everyone's anger.
To let Eris, that shark-toothed monster, stir up this small pond of ornamental fish, and make everyone reignite the fervent atmosphere of two years ago.
But it failed...
Under pressure, the blade not only showed no rebound.
It snapped directly!
Isolte looked at the utterly silent junior dojo, took a deep breath, and with a sharp frown, was about to say something.
But before she could speak.
Footsteps sounded!
Eris, after frowning and scanning the area, actually stepped towards an apprentice who was looking at her in shock, by the side of the dojo.
Thump, thump, thump!
And the apprentices around the zabuton where she was heading collectively scooted their butts backward, trying to get away, fearing that they might accidentally provoke this little demon into picking them up and chopping them down with a sword.
Eris scoffed. With a flicker of her body, she was beside an apprentice, reaching out to grab what was in front of him!
The latter's expression was utterly terrified. He quickly supported himself and scrambled backward, sitting.
Then!
Eris didn't grab his collar as he expected. Instead, she casually reached for his waist, snatching the wooden sword from his side.
She spun around and sharply threw it.
Bang!
It landed in front of Faltz's face, who was still sprawled on the ground, dazed.
A roar echoed in the dojo, "Get up!!"
Faltz's eyes widened. He looked at her in shock, then heard Eris continue to roar.
"I just did 'again' once, now it's your turn for 'again'!"
After the initial shock, Faltz felt a surge of anger from this inexplicable logic. He looked up, glaring at her furiously.
"What? Are you scared?" Eris stared back at Faltz with burning eyes.
She walked a few steps back into the center of the ring. She crossed her arms, looking down at Faltz with her chin raised.
Faltz's veins pulsed on his forehead. He took a deep breath, then, with a roll, got up from the ground. He first glanced around at his 'colleagues,' then, after replaying the previous battle in his mind, he said through gritted teeth, filled with reluctance.
"If you won, you won! I, Faltz, am not such a sore loser. Your Sword God Style just now, was that the Voiceless Sword of Light? And it clearly had those unrefined techniques of North God Style. I admit your strength. You have... you have Senior Brother Allen's shadow! If we fought again, I probably still couldn't win. This time, it's my..."
"Boring!!!"
Faltz was interrupted by Eris. He tightly gripped the sword in his hand, glaring angrily at Eris, his entire face flushed.
"You!!!"
Her response was an empty swing of her wooden sword that tore through the air, showing no intention of holding back, striking the floor.
Bang!!!
She looked around, her expression bright and uninhibited. With a blunt, intensely emotional, and utterly reckless fervor, she roared!
"Cowardly!"
"Weak!"
"Stupid!"
"Useless!"
"Is this the junior dojo!?"
"Is this a challenge!?"
"Is this the sword in your hands!?"
"Is this all there is to it?!!"
As her words fell, the entire dojo was stunned.
Everyone looked at Eris in disbelief. Even Isolte was dumbfounded. Ariel, Derrick Redbat, and Dantolis all had their mouths agape. These three, who had grown up under the rules of noble games, had never seen such brutal confrontation, let alone heard such foul language from a noble.
This was...
But two people were exceptions.
One was Sylphy. She shook her head helplessly, looking at Eris, but her eyes were full of amusement. She even had time to glance at Isolte.
The other was Rudy. He already covered his face, letting out a silent sigh of lament. But if Allen had been present, he would have noticed that Rudy's entire body was surging with mana, clearly ready to unleash a shockwave magic, and then, amidst the chaos, drag people away to call Allen for external assistance.
However, the burning voice didn't cease.
In just a few sentences, she ignited the fury of everyone in the Water God Style Dojo.
"How boring!!"
"Isn't a challenge ten matches? Where are the people?!"
"Step forward!!"
"Didn't you all resent my brother?! Didn't you want to defeat him just now?? Didn't you say you wanted to challenge him?"
"Then get past me first!!"
"Pick up your swords!"
She swung her finger, pointing at Faltz, who was gritting his teeth beside her.
"Didn't you just speak so beautifully? Dojo! Strength speaks for itself!"
"If you can't even raise your sword-wielding hand, how will strength speak for itself?! If you're not strong now, does that mean you won't be strong later?"
"I'm learning with my brother as my goal! According to your words! Will I never catch up? Should I just concede?"
"Why?!"
Eris's face suddenly turned stern. She swung her hand in an empty strike!
Slicing through the air!
A sudden gust of wind erupted, disheveling her hair.
"Why??? Speak!!!"
As her words fell, all the apprentices abruptly stood up.
One by one, they picked up their wooden swords.
Rudy, seeing this, looked like something terrible was about to happen. He took a step forward, as if to pull Eris, that troublesome 'rolling blade,' away.
The next moment, he heard a chuckle from beside him.
He turned in surprise.
He saw Isolte rubbing her forehead, shaking her head helplessly, the gloomy look on her face completely gone.
"Mr. Rudyus, I know what you're worried about. Don't be nervous."
"This is the Water God Style Main Dojo, not a fighting pit."
"But... this..."
Isolte smiled, watching Eris, who was surrounded by the crowd. A sense of relief and satisfaction spread across her face.
"Water God Style Dojo: strength speaks for itself."
"No one would willingly associate with those who rely on sheer numbers, this is the pride of a swordsman. Although they are nobles, at the same time, they are all Advanced Water God Style swordsmen. While they may seem very weak from Senior Brother's perspective."
"They are already considered 'junior dojo' apprentices who have entered the Water God Style."
"Their anger is about their dignity as swordsmen, and about the honor of the Water God Style. But it would never be about choosing to gang up on someone to vent their frustration."
"Watch."
Rudy looked at the arena in surprise.
He saw Faltz, already brandishing his sword, walking into the ring. He was now facing Eris, setting up his sword stance again, muttering through gritted teeth.
"Faltz Eolus Greyrat, Chief Disciple of the Water God Style Dojo's Junior Dojo, please instruct!"
And Eris, with a triumphant lift of her eyebrows, took up a grand overhead stance of the Sword God Style.
"Eris Boreas Greyrat! Please instruct!"
All the surrounding apprentices formed a circle, standing with their arms crossed, supporting Faltz. And Isolte, who was supposed to be the referee, had already been replaced.
Kurri stood in the center of the ring, his expression serious. He raised his hand!
"Ready!"
Just then, Isolte's somewhat relaxed voice entered his ear.
"Eris really is Senior Brother's own sister... She's so much like Senior Brother. Although Senior Brother never said these exact words, similar ones, more inciting and elegant, less direct and crude, were reiterated by Senior Brother daily in the dojo two years ago."
"But without a doubt, the effect produced by both is consistent."
"In Senior Brother Allen's words."
"Only by igniting the fire in one's heart can a person constantly drive themselves..."
Isolte placed her hand like a blade before her, then lowered it!
"Forward!"
In the ring, Kurri's hand, like a blade, simultaneously dropped into the air before him!
"Begin!"
In unison!
Clap! A crisp striking sound!
It was the sound of clothes being slapped by inertia. Eris's figure had already vanished from her spot!
The next instant, she squeezed out from the air beside Faltz, sweeping her blade towards his neck!
The latter's pupils constricted. He employed 'Interception' again, using his sword to vibrate against and stick to the blade in Eris's hand.
Flow Ougi activated! It precisely entangled Eris's blade.
His palm reached down!
The next instant!
Eris's right leg, leaving an afterimage, kicked towards Faltz's chest. The battle aura, wrapped in even fiercer desire, was even faster than last time!
So fast that Faltz, despite being forewarned and having predicted Eris's killing intent's landing point, still didn't have time to use Flow Ougi!
Thump!!
In his haste, Faltz still gritted his teeth and took the kick head-on. Enduring his completely numb hand, he supported the sole of Eris's shoe, which carried immense kinetic energy, then twisted his sword, intending to thrust it into Eris's ribs.
However, before the sword could thrust, his figure abruptly froze.
A force disrupted his balance.
It came precisely from in front of his palm.
His pupils were momentarily blinded by the rapidly approaching foot.
Bang!
Faltz was directly sent flying by the immediately following kick, crashing into the crowd like a bowling ball!
Eris, leveraging the force of Faltz's support, performed a somersault. Using her left leg to send him flying, she landed steadily on the ground.
She casually snatched up the sword hilt that barely hadn't hit the ground.
She stood up! Swung her arm!
And vibrated her blade against the air!
The wind whistled! Accompanied by her soaring voice!
"Next!"
"Kurri Idalos, Second Seat of the Water God Style Junior Dojo, please instruct!"
"Come!"
Outside the junior dojo, a hand gently rested on the doorknob, but lingered, not turning it.
Through the door crack.
Roars and shouts, continuous.
Slashes and sword clangs, rising and falling.
After a long moment, the hand finally released the doorknob and rested at his side.
His posture relaxed.
Allen tilted his head to look at Reida behind him.
His smile uninhibited.
"I think, it should no longer need verifying. Given Eris's familiarity with Sword God Style, as long as her opponent uses Sword God Style, between those of the same rank, there's no reason for her to lose."
Reida just listened quietly for a while, then turned and walked towards the Direct Instruction Dojo.
Her footsteps faded.
But the wind brought a response.
"The commendation banquet, I accept."
"From this day forward, Eris Boreas Greyrat."
"Shall be the Chief Disciple of the Water God Style Advanced Dojo."
Allen quietly watched Reida walk away, then looked up at the sky.
Noisy morning crows called from the branches.
The red sun ascended above the eastern sky of Asura.
A new day had arrived.
===
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 365 on my patreon, go check it out
https://p4treon.com/roaverse
if you want more updates == supports with power stones
Every 20 Power Stones==Bonus Chapter