Sidney leapt high into the air, attempting to retrieve his sword—only for Victor Wang, also airborne, to use his extra three feet of blade length to knock it away again. The weapon spun directly into the watching crowd.
The momentum shifted instantly. Victor Wang unleashed a full set of Favonius Bladework upon Sidney, utterly merciless.
Sidney screamed with every strike, nearly invoking his elemental shield—but remembering the consequences of violating the rules, he forced himself to endure. Yet without a weapon, he wasn't about to fight barehanded. His defeat had been sealed the moment his sword was disarmed.
Victor Wang's wooden sword now rested against Sidney's neck.
"No no no! Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Sidney panicked, pushing Victor's sword away and shouting, "What was that move?! That's not even in Favonius Bladework!"
"What, just because it's not taught means I can't use it?"
"We were competing in swordsmanship!"
"You mean footwork and body movement don't count? Then we might as well be two wooden stakes hacking at each other."
"Sharp-tongued scoundrel!"
"Heh. I don't know how long you've been practicing, but the day I accepted your challenge was the first time I ever trained in swordsmanship. You just thought you could take advantage of a rookie, didn't you? And you talk about fairness?"
"I didn't—I wasn't—No! No! It has to be the sword! I want a rematch with Cool Steel!"
Victor Wang shook his head, ran a hand along the wooden blade, closed his eyes, and calmly said, "A sword is a sword. Whether it's made of wood or iron—it makes no difference."
Saying something like that in front of a crowd—Victor Wang could only think of one word: cool.
Ellin glanced at her own wooden sword, then at the Cool Steel the chief instructor held—one she'd seen since childhood in her father's hands. She was clearly moved by Victor's words.
The chief instructor saw that the kid was about to mislead the entire next generation. He coughed and said, "There is a difference between wooden and metal swords. Weapons forged from mineral ores can unleash sword aura. Even those without elemental power can break through an elemental shield with sword aura. A wooden sword can't do that."
Victor Wang rubbed his nose in embarrassment.
Sword aura? He remembered the instructor mentioning it once, but he'd been too focused on training to look into it.
The instructor continued, "That said, when it comes to technique, there's no difference between wooden and iron swords."
"I don't care! I want a rematch! I want to use my elemental power! I—I know Gale Blade! I know Gale Blade!"
Sidney was starting to sound hysterical.
"Your techniques aren't all that different. What you lack is practical experience. You're still too young."
The chief instructor delivered the final verdict. "As agreed, you can no longer join the Knights of Favonius."
"Whoaaa—!"
The crowd burst into uproar. A Vision holder—rejected? The Knights only managed to recruit ten of them a year on average. Were they truly going to be that strict?
"No no no..." Sidney clutched his head, beginning to unravel. Then a dark thought struck him—he could still kill Victor Wang. He reached for a sword, but his hand came up empty.
The chief instructor had never returned Cool Steel, knowing Sidney's emotional state was unstable.
No sword. No Gale Blade. Sidney had nothing. He collapsed to the ground in despair.
"I... I have to join the Knights... I must..."
"You still have one option." Victor Wang crouched down beside Sidney and said, "Tell everyone what you did to me, and I won't demand your permanent ban from the Knights."
Sidney looked up in shock.
Before even signing up for the selection, Sidney had promised his father he would succeed this time.
And after seeing his son receive a Vision, Sidney's father believed it completely. He'd even reserved a table at a prestigious restaurant in town, ready to send out invitations for a celebration.
Joining the Knights had been Sidney's dream—passed down through three generations.
But after receiving the Vision, that dream had become muddied.
"You... You'd forgive me?"
"I don't care whether you join the Knights or not. I just want my name cleared."
Whether there was one more or one less person in the Knights, Victor Wang truly didn't care. But back when Sidney accused him in front of everyone, there was no good way to explain—he had hated rumors like that in his previous life too. If he could have reached through the screen to punch internet trolls, he would've.
The best way to fight lies was to force the liar to confess. Sidney had taken a beating and now would clear Victor's name himself. Everyone would see his true nature—a form of social death.
Sidney looked to the chief instructor again but couldn't read the man's expression.
He couldn't afford to think too hard. He bowed to Victor Wang and said, "Dust, I was wrong! I told Cliff and Bart to provoke you—because I was jealous of your sword. And when you said you had some strange illness and couldn't show your face, I tried to make you lose your temper so you'd be punished."
"It was all my fault! It was my scheme! I shouldn't have let my jealousy consume me!"
Some gasped. Sidney had always seemed polite—who knew he was so malicious?
Others muttered, Figures.
Sidney turned to the crowd and began explaining. "Everyone, you heard that! Dust didn't attack Cliff unprovoked. Cliff was following my orders to frame him. Cliff? Come out here and explain with me!"
Hidden in the crowd, Cliff was already being scorned by those around him. There was no way he'd step forward now.
So, Sidney spun in a slow circle, explaining to everyone himself.
"I knew something shady was going on."
"I suspected it too."
"Can't trust anyone these days..."
"Hmph. All that just for a Vision. Cliff is an idiot."
Sidney's lackeys stood awkwardly. They had been hoping to ride his coattails. Now the coattails had fallen off.
"Maybe lay low for a while. That guy's got a Vision, after all. Who knows what he'll do..."
"..."
The murmurs quieted quickly.
Sidney turned back and cautiously asked Victor Wang, "Is that... enough?"
Victor Wang nodded.
Sidney then looked pleadingly at the chief instructor.
"Even if you had won, I wouldn't have let you into the Knights again. But since Dust changed his terms, and you've confessed..."
The chief instructor sighed with a complex expression.
"Even criminals can be reformed. Some from the Fatui have turned their lives around and joined the Knights. I'll give you one chance. Originally, with your credentials, you'd have started with important responsibilities. Now, you'll begin at the bottom like everyone else—and the scrutiny on you will be much stricter."
Somewhere in the crowd, someone muttered, "So the Knights do play favorites with new recruits..."
The instructor didn't even bother lifting his head. "Important duties come with greater danger. If you have the ability, you'll still be sent. But just because you don't have a Vision, doesn't mean you're worthless. Lady Vanessa and Lord Arundolyn didn't have Visions either—they are your role models!"
The crowd fell completely silent.
The chief instructor looked back at Sidney. "This incident will go on record—a permanent mark. From now on, your behavior will be under special observation. Whether you truly change is up to you."
"I'll change. I swear I will!"
Sidney calmed down and gave sincere thanks to both the chief instructor and Victor Wang.
No matter what people said about him now—or what word reached his family—at least the dream of three generations remained intact. A Vision? It was never about the Vision. It had always been about joining the Knights. When did that get turned around?
Sidney let out a long, heavy sigh.
The duel was over. The instructors still had one final special lesson to teach the reserves.
The chief instructor checked the time. It was a little early, but he called the ten assistant instructors together, gave a few orders, and then blew the gathering whistle.
Each instructor returned to their respective teams.
Victor Wang's team instructor announced: "As is tradition, regardless of whether you pass tomorrow's selection, the Knights have a gift for you all—a method for ordinary people to fight Vision holders, and also a way to strengthen yourselves."
When curiosity had reached its peak, the instructor revealed, "That method is sword energy."
Victor Wang heard cheers from other teams—not sure if they were genuinely excited or just hyped for training to end.
"Watch closely."
The instructor drew a two-star standard longsword and performed a familiar Favonius Bladework. As the blade sliced through the air, visible currents of wind followed its path.
This was the power Victor Wang had seen when the chief instructor cleaved through Palm Vortex—and now, watching the demonstration, he finally understood: sword aura was the normal attack visual effects from the game!
So those weren't just special effects!
Victor recalled the book A Study of Elemental Power—the author barely mentioned sword aura. Maybe he didn't know it? Maybe he was a mage?
Oh, right. That author despised anyone using specialized weapons. No wonder he never touched sword aura.
"All your weapons are forged from ores with strong elemental affinity. As you know, a Vision helps humans harness elemental power. Weapons don't compare, but when swung, they create fluctuations in elemental force. That's sword aura. The better the forging material, the higher the elemental affinity—the stronger the sword aura."
Ellin stared at her wooden sword, saying nothing.
"Sword aura can counter Vision shields exactly because of that. Those with Visions know: forming an elemental barrier around your body will block most mundane weapons—so long as the energy holds. But sword aura, being elemental in origin, can break through."
"Coach, I've been training with swords forever. Why haven't I seen any sword aura?"
"Ah, just getting to that. Like how swinging a sword creates wind, the world is filled with elemental energy we can't perceive. A weapon attuned to those elements picks it up. So, all of you have produced sword aura—but it's chaotic and shapeless. Without form, it has no power."
"How do we give it form?"
"Some elite adventurers naturally developed it through countless battles. Others who specialize in a weapon and train long enough figure it out. There's no fixed method—you'll have to discover it yourselves. Our job is to give you the concept."
There is an easier way, the instructor thought, but it only works for those with Visions. No need to rub salt in the wound.
The crowd let out disappointed sighs.
Someone asked if there were any real examples of sword aura defeating a Vision user.
The instructor grinned. "'Lion of Light' Arundolyn—don't tell me you've never heard of him?"
More cheers erupted.
"If you're interested, I can demonstrate more sword aura techniques now. If not, feel free to continue personal training."
Not a single person left. Victor Wang, of course, stayed to watch.
The fact that ordinary people could use sword aura to bypass elemental shields—this was news to him. Maybe he couldn't even dominate regular people...
Then the chief instructor called all Vision holders aside.
"Time for your special reward. I have two combat skills to show you. One is Gale Blade, from Captain Jean. The other is Wind Fist, my own technique. I'll demonstrate both. Doesn't matter if you're not Anemo—the principle's the same. I hope these inspire you to create your own skills."
The chief instructor raised his sword, concentrating. Strong wind swirled around the blade, creating suction—nearby pebbles were drawn into orbit.
It started similarly to Palm Vortex. But the key was what came next.
He thrust the sword diagonally upward. A mini-storm erupted from the blade—what had once drawn in now blasted outward, hurling pebbles far away.
"Mastering both suction and repulsion lets you control your enemy's position. That's Gale Blade. Jean's blade is a guardian's weapon, so it's not especially deadly—but you can hurl enemies upward to take fall damage or shape the wind into cutting blades. This technique is only taught after joining the Knights. For now, I'll show you my own."
He sheathed his sword, focused, then punched forward. A ghostly fist-shaped silhouette extended from his arm, trailed by spiraling wind.
A moment later, the spiral intensified. The fist warped, morphed into a vortex—and exploded with a roar like a beast's cry.
He'd shown this move on the first day of training.
"This is my Wind Roar Fist. Yes, it uses spiral winds and suction, but that's not the core. See the fist shape? That's a manifestation of my martial art merged with the Anemo element. For those unfamiliar with martial arts, there's a shortcut—detach your protective elemental barrier. It's weaker than the true Wind Roar Fist, but easier to learn."
"Just imbue your will into the elemental force—that lets it maintain a shape and change on command. Add in your elemental affinity, and you've got a simple combat skill."
Willpower... mental control of detached elemental energy—not just a fire-and-forget projectile. Isn't that just like Venti's Wind Domain? Or my own controlled tornado barrage? Just needs more precision...