The backyard of the Gremory mansion looked more like an imperial garden than a training ground.
In the middle of the plants, a wide expanse of polished stone spread out like a private arena.
Rias was sitting at a table under a white parasol, a cup of tea in her hand.
Meanwhile, Zhao Lin was facing Lucien Valtoris.
Lucien held two wooden swords. He threw one to Zhao Lin, who caught it with both hands.
"First lesson," said Lucien. "A sword is an extension of the body. There is no separation between thought and cut. Hold the sword as if it were the most important thing to you."
Zhao Lin nodded and closed his fingers tightly around the sword's hilt. He had no experience with swords in his previous life, which was precisely why he was willing to take this training seriously. There was no way to be Yuuto Kiba without knowing how to use a sword.
Then the training began.
The following hours of that morning were filled with basic teachings on body awareness, techniques for holding a sword, and how to move.
Zhao Lin made mistakes—many of them.
His body was fast, his reflexes sharp, but his mind was still trying to adapt to it all. However, he could feel how this body had a talent for absorbing the lessons.
Lucien didn't criticize; he just corrected.
A light touch on the shoulder, a nod of the head, a short observation. And with each repetition, Zhao Lin felt a little more comfortable with a sword in his hands.
However, fencing lessons were just one of many lessons in the schedule that Rias Gremory had prepared to turn Yuuto Kiba into an ideal Knight.
After lunch, he had classes in Etiquette and Devil Culture, Basic Magic and Theory of Demonic Power, and Linguistics and Human Education.
Only after all that did Zhao Lin have free time. The sun was setting, but he was eager to test the system himself.
So instead of going to his room to rest, he went to the backyard, picked up a wooden sword, and began swinging it in the air.
"It's a hundred thousand swings... There's no way I can do that in a single day, so I must start immediately."
The first hundred swings came easily. The first thousand were exhausting.
But now Zhao Lin understood what everyone meant when they referred to body awareness.
After repeating a movement so many times, it became natural. The cut was no longer a conscious action but an impulse. This impulse adapted to his breathing, and his breathing commanded his entire body.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind.
[Progress: 2,382 / 100,000]
He laughed softly, tired. "One hundred thousand... This is going to take a while."
At first, it seemed like it would just be a boring task. However, now each stroke made Zhao Lin's muscles burn. The wood of the sword no longer felt as light as it had in the first thousand, and the only satisfying thing was the sound that repeated in perfect cadence—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Even when the sun completely dipped below the horizon, Zhao Lin did not stop.
[Progress: 4,914 / 100,000]
Zhao Lin paused when he heard the system's voice again.
He gasped, resting the sword on the ground for a moment. Sweat dripped down his temple and his clothes stuck to his skin.
Kiba's body was incredibly resilient; Zhao Lin's own body wouldn't have been able to endure even half of this before collapsing from exhaustion.
"Another thousand," he muttered, raising his sword again.
Night had fallen completely, and the mansion's magic lamps lit up.
From the second floor of the Gremory mansion, Rias watched her Knight in silence. Her blue eyes followed his every movement below—the sword rising, falling, his shoulders tightening, his breath panting, the sweat dripping...
"Is he still out there?" someone asked her.
Rias nodded with a smile when Venelana Gremory, wrapped in a white silk evening gown, stopped beside her to look out at the backyard.
"Even after the sun went down, he didn't stop."
Venelana approached the window and looked out as well. Down below, Yuuto Kiba continued to swing his sword.
"He has determination... Even among loyal servants, few train so intensely without encouragement."
Rias rested her chin on her hand. "Ever since I saved him, there's been something in his eyes... Until yesterday, I was sure it was hatred. Today I saw something different."
Venelana smiled slightly. "Perhaps your Knight is trying to prove his gratitude for his second chance."
"Perhaps..." Rias smiled slightly.
In the courtyard, Zhao Lin raised his sword one last time. His body trembled with exhaustion, his arms heavy as lead.
[Progress: 7,000 / 100,000]
"...Seven thousand."
He muttered wearily, sitting down on the cold stone floor. The night wind brought gentle relief, and he looked up at the starry sky.
"So this is how it begins. A new body, a new world... and a daunting goal. It seems that powers will not come without effort in this system."
The only thing that comforted Zhao Lin for now was that Bonding Points were not granted until he completed the mission. However, this wasn't exactly a big problem for him at the moment. He had food, clean clothes, and lived in a mansion, so having to swing a sword a hundred thousand times didn't even seem like a problem.
Thinking about it, Zhao Lin's fatigue was replaced by a strange sense of purpose. That body wasn't his, that life wasn't his... but still, Zhao Lin felt that for the first time in a long time, he was exactly where he should be.
So, after five days without a break, doing at least fifty swings per minute, Zhao Lin finally reached the end of his first mission.
[Progress: 100,000 / 100,000]
[Initial Mission 'Swing the sword one hundred thousand times' completed!]
[You have obtained +100 Bond Points!]
[You have obtained a Lifetime Master and Apprentice Bond with Lucien Valtoris!]
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