Calendar: January 5, 1015
Character Profiles:
Name: Carsel von Stellaris
Age: 15 years old
Born on: January 1, 1000 (He was born on the evening of 31 December 999. It's the same as January 1st; you can go back to Chapter 20)
Height: 169.2 cm (approx. 5'6.6")
Affinity: Star (Stellaris Bloodline)
Role: Hybrid (Swordsman Mage)
Name: Seraphina Von Heartstone
Age: 15 years old
Born on: April 4, 999
Height: 160.0 cm (approx. 5'3")
Affinity: Eternal Ice (Heartstone Bloodline)
Role: Swordsman
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Third-Person Point of View
Without any pleasantries, Seraphina immediately charged at Carsel. The blade of her jian shot towards his throat. Reflexively, Carsel raised his longsword horizontally, blocking.
CLANG!
So fast. Her strength is unreasonable for such a slender body.
Carsel retreated, intending to correct his stance. However, Seraphina wasn't going to make it easy for him. The blade of her jian was enveloped in an Indicolite-colored aura. Carsel didn't have time to fix his position. Her jian moved from below, targeting his ribs. However, the attack stopped just before touching his skin.
"Dead." Her tone was flat. "If this were a real fight, you would have already lost a vital organ." Seraphina stepped back.
"Again."
I attacked this time—a horizontal slash with full force. She parried with minimal effort, deflecting my blade, then countered. The tip of her jian was at my heart.
"Dead."
Reset.
Over and over. Various variations. I tried attacking, defending, feinting, even a desperate all-out assault.
The result was the same. Always the same.
"Dead. Dead. Dead."
A few attempts later
This had been more than fifteen attempts, yet I still hadn't managed to land a single attack on her.
Gulp.
Carsel swallowed. He then tightened his grip and prepared his footing.
"Don't hesitate. Attack me—use that Sword Aura of yours."
"A-alright."
Sword Aura is a manifestation of spiritual energy (aura) that coats or extends a physical sword, creating an "energy sword" that is longer and stronger than the original blade. For example, the sword blade becomes 1.5 times longer than the original. The function of a Sword Aura is to cut through harder materials, send "Slash" energy from a distance, and block energy attacks with one's own energy.
Carsel's blade began to glow a bright yellow. Then, Carsel initiated the fight—his sword slashed vertically. Seraphina blocked the slash horizontally, then struck the side of Carsel's blade, causing his slash to miss. Seraphina launched a thrust at Carsel's shoulder. Carsel mimicked Seraphina's earlier method, deflecting the direction of the enemy's slash. Seraphina's jian veered to Carsel's left side—but it didn't stop there. Seraphina released her grip, letting her sword fall, and caught it again in a reversed position, a counter-rotation.
Carsel was surprised—however, he was also ready to receive any kind of slash from Seraphina. But instead of slashing, Seraphina launched a sweep kick.
Thud
Carsel fell—the longsword slipped from his grasp. The blade of Seraphina's jian was right at the skin of his throat.
"Dead."
"I-I thought this was just a pure sword fight."
"Don't think like that. You have to consider the worst-case scenario as well. If you're fighting an enemy and have the chance to use a punch or a kick—then do it." Seraphina withdrew her jian and stepped back.
So what Seraphina means is that I'm still naive? But this is a sword duel—isn't using methods like that pathetic?
"Your sword style is trash compared to the princes from the other Empires."
Those words stabbed Carsel's heart, but he let it go.
"Let's continue, but use your techniques—I want to see what you have." Seraphina then got into a stance.
I have to be careful this time. The Star affinity is synonymous with the cosmic; they can attract, manipulate, and manifest energy from celestial bodies. Compared to my affinity, Carsel's is better. However, that doesn't mean I will lose. After all, Carsel wasn't trained like me or the other members of the Imperial families. What I mean is, he didn't have the privilege.
Carsel got up again, took a breath, and exhaled. He looked at Seraphina's face—there was a hint of annoyance within him. "How can I attack you? The slave symbol is on my left chest! If I attack you, won't I be the one who feels the pain?"
Hearing that, Seraphina remained calm. "That's fine, because I can control it. You would automatically feel pain for attacking me or disobeying my orders. However, if I allow it, then the pain won't appear. And this time, I am allowing you to attack." Seraphina then raised her jian, pointing it at Carsel. "Attack me."
"And I suggest you do it quickly—because the longer we fight, the greater my advantage becomes."
Carsel advanced with quick, calculated steps. He leaped towards Seraphina—launching a horizontal slash from the right. However, this time Seraphina didn't block it but instead slashed at Carsel's stomach through an opening.
"Too common."
Carsel was split in two—but instead of blood, what flowed out was a Stardust Mirage. It was one of Carsel's techniques, aimed at distracting the enemy with a fake body.
"The Heat of the Stars!"
As the name suggests, this technique has a heat equal to that of the stars—only, the technique is unrefined, so it's currently only as hot as a normal fire.
Carsel appeared from behind, his longsword glowing gold, intending to slash Seraphina's back in a straight line.
"Mirror Ice Counter."
Right behind Seraphina's back, an ice mirror appeared that would reflect the attack back at the opponent.
CLANG!
"What?!"
The blade of Carsel's sword clashed with the blade from Seraphina's technique. Carsel was shocked. Seraphina turned around.
Slash.
Seraphina launched an energy projection, sending a slash from where she stood. Carsel dodged the attack—he rolled quickly to his left, avoiding the energy projection that sliced through the air where he had just been. The ground behind him was deeply scarred, leaving a two-meter-long vertical gash.
Strong.
Carsel got up quickly, his eyes locked on Seraphina. She stood with perfect posture—jian in her right hand, left arm relaxed at her side. No sweat. No heavy breathing. As if this wasn't a fight, but a morning warm-up.
Meanwhile, Carsel—his breathing was becoming irregular. His grip on the longsword tightened as his palms sweat. His right shoulder ached from repeatedly blocking pressure that was too strong for his body size.
This doesn't make sense. She's the same size as me—even smaller. But every time our swords meet, it feels like I'm hitting a stone wall.
"You rely too much on reflexes," Seraphina said in a flat tone. "Every move you make is reactive. There's no initiative. No strategy."
She stepped forward—slowly, steadily. "If your opponent were weaker, perhaps that would be enough. But if your opponent is stronger—"
One more step.
"—you're only delaying your death."
Carsel swallowed. His fingers tightened on the hilt of his sword.
She's right. I'm just reacting. Dodging. Defending. Never controlling the tempo of the fight. But how can I control something I can't even keep up with?
"Continue," she said. "Or have you already given up?"
Those words ignited something in my chest.
Give up? I just got out of Heartwood. It's only been one day in the outside world. There's still so much I have to find—Mama, that kidnapper, the truth about my real family. I can't be weak here.
Carsel took a deep breath—exhaling slowly. Focus. This time, he didn't wait.
Carsel advanced—a quick, low step, lunging from the right side. His longsword moved in a horizontal arc, wrapped in a bright yellow aura. Seraphina raised her jian—blocking at a perfect angle, deflecting Carsel's momentum without excessive effort.
But I already predicted that.
Carsel released his left hand's grip—leaving the sword only in his right hand. With the remaining momentum, he twisted his body deeper—changing the horizontal slash into a diagonal one from above. A one-handed attack was weaker—but faster, more unpredictable.
Her plum eyes narrowed slightly—not in panic, but... rapid calculation. She took half a step back—her jian spinning in a circular motion, cutting off the path of Carsel's sword before it could even get close.
But that gave Carsel one second.
Carsel spun—using the momentum to launch a slash from a different angle, from below, aiming at her left ribs. Both hands were back on the hilt of the sword—full power.
Seraphina didn't block. Instead, she leaped backward—lightly, without a sound—and landed three meters from Carsel.
Carsel prepared to attack again, but—
Cold.
The soles of Carsel's feet felt cold.
Carsel looked down—and saw it.
Ice.
A thin layer of crystalline ice covered the floor around him. Not just where he stood—but also along the path he had taken since the beginning of the fight. Every place Seraphina had stood. Every place her jian had touched the ground. Every step she took. All of it left a nearly invisible trail of transparent ice. And now, more than half of the training arena was covered in it.
"You just noticed?" Seraphina asked—her tone was still flat, but there was a hint of... disappointment? Or perhaps just cold observation.
Carsel tried to step—
Slip.
His right foot slipped slightly. Not enough to fall, but enough to ruin his balance. He slowed his movements—carefully placing his feet, controlling his body weight. But that made him slower.
And Seraphina—
She glided over the ice as if there were no friction at all. Her jian came from the left—Carsel raised his sword to block, but his foot slipped again, making his stance unstable.
CLANG!
The swords collided—but this time, it was Carsel who was pushed back. His heel lost its footing—
Carsel fell.
His back hit the hard floor—the cold pierced through the fabric of his shirt. Before he could get up, the tip of her jian was at his throat.
"Dead."
Third-Person Point of View
Seraphina withdrew her sword, taking a few steps back. Her plum eyes observed Carsel, who was still lying on the floor—panting, sweat drenching his temples.
"Get up," she said. "I'm not finished."
Carsel slowly got up—using his sword as a support. His hand trembled slightly—not from fear, but from exhaustion. Seraphina looked at him with an unreadable expression.
Weak. Not in the sense of being untalented—the star affinity is an incredible advantage. But in pure swordplay and the techniques he just launched—he's untrained. His basic movements are solid—grip, stance, footwork. But there's no real combat experience. No strategic variation. Like a boy who learned the sword from a book, not from a harsh teacher.
"Do you know why you lost?" Seraphina looked into Carsel's eyes.
Carsel lifted his head—those silver (fake) eyes looked back with a mixture of frustration and... determination.
"Because I'm weak," he answered—his voice hoarse but not broken.
Seraphina shook her head. "That's not it."
She walked to the side of the arena—jian still in hand, but her posture was relaxed.
"You lost because you don't have a clear fighting style."
Carsel frowned—confused.
Seraphina explained with the tone of a professor teaching a dumb student:
"Every swordsman has a 'signature style'—the way they understand and master combat. Some focus on absolute speed. Some focus on destructive power. Some focus on a perfect defense."
She pointed to the floor covered in ice.
"My fighting style is field control. I don't try to beat you with one strong attack. I change this ground into my territory—the longer the fight, the greater my advantage."
Carsel looked at the traces of ice that now covered almost the entire floor. But then, suddenly, the ice vanished—the ground that had been almost completely covered in ice was now clear. It seemed Seraphina could control it.
"But you—" Seraphina stared at him sharply, "—you have no style at all. You just react. You attack without purpose. You defend without a plan."
"It's not your fault," she continued. "You weren't trained properly. Or perhaps, you weren't trained to fight against humans."
Carsel didn't answer—but his jaw tightened.
Seraphina walked slowly closer—a trail of ice followed her every step like a ghostly footprint.
"You have potential," she said—and this was the first time her tone wasn't completely flat. There was a hint of... acknowledgment. "The star affinity is one of the strongest. Your techniques aren't bad—just unpolished."
She stopped right in front of Carsel—one meter away.
Plum eyes met fake silver eyes.
"Your result today—" Seraphina pointed to the entire ground they stood on with the tip of her jian, "—is a total loss."