A Blade in the Distance

The katana felt awkward in my grip. Not because I didn't know how to hold it—my body remembered—but because I was trying to force movements into muscle memory that weren't mine.

In my head, I replayed the knight's every strike, every fluid counter. The memory was sharp, burned into me from the trial.

Step forward. Rotate the wrist. Shift your weight… cut.

The blade slashed downward.

The edge caught, dragging clumsily across the training dummy's surface. Wrong. The motion wasn't smooth.

Again.

I stepped, pivoted, cut—

Wrong. Too shallow. You're off-balance.

I scowled. My breathing came harder now, my chest tight. Still, I reset my stance.

Again.

Again.

The katana hissed through the air, my movements growing faster, more desperate. The knight's technique was perfect in my mind, but my body failed to match it. I wasn't even close.

"Faster…" I muttered. My palms ached from gripping too hard.

"Cleaner. Stronger."

Over and over, I struck at the dummies. Over and over, they withstood me. Sweat clung to my back, dripping down my neck.

How many hours had passed?

I didn't care.

I wasn't going to stop. Not now.

This body isn't enough. I need more. I need…

Shing—

The katana finally struck true, cutting a shallow line across the dummy's torso. A faint hiss of heat followed.

I froze, staring.

A white hue had clung to the blade's edge for an instant. Heavenly Intent.

Even without consciously summoning it, it bled out of me. The energy felt… clean. Like a blade meant only to cut through corruption.

"Good," I whispered. My lips curled into a smile. "It's not perfect… but it's progress."

Clack.

The sound of polished shoes echoed behind me.

"Young Master Mikael."

I turned.

The butler stood at the edge of the field, his face calm, hands clasped behind his back.

"You've been down here long enough," he said softly. "Sir Darius instructed me to remind you not to push yourself too far. The entrance exam is in two weeks."

I didn't answer. I just stared at him, my breathing steady but shallow.

His concern meant nothing.

This isn't my world, I reminded myself. His worries are just an empty shell. He doesn't know me—only the boy I replaced.

"You're not invincible, Young Master," he added. "Don't let your recent growth blind you."

Still, I said nothing.

The butler stepped closer and placed a small, crystalline object on a nearby table.

"Sir Darius also instructed me to give you this. Two skill crystals. Consider carefully before using it."

Then he turned and walked away, his footsteps fading into silence.

I stared at the crystals, its faint glow reflecting in my eyes.

"…Careful, huh?"

My hand tightened around the katana.

The katana in my grip felt heavier now—not from fatigue, but from the weight of expectation I'd set on myself.

Again.

The blade hissed through the air, tracing the same arc I'd seen dozens of times in my mind. The knight's perfect movements replayed like a cursed memory. My version was a crude imitation. Too stiff, too slow.

"Damn it…"

I shifted my stance and struck again.

Wrong.

Every mistake rang like a bell in my head.

From the corner of my eye, the faint glow of crystal caught my attention.

Two of them. Left by the butler when he walked away.

I sheathed the training blade and walked over, crouching.

The first crystal pulsed faintly—a soft, eerie blue. Mind's Eye.

The second flickered in ghostly gray hues. Phantom Step.

My fingers brushed over the smooth surfaces. These weren't high-tier skills, but right now, they could mean everything.

"…You're not wrong, old man." I muttered under my breath. "But being careful isn't going to save me."

I pressed the first crystal to my chest. It dissolved in a wash of cold light, sending tendrils of energy crawling through my nerves. My vision sharpened, my mind brimming with strange new clarity.

Mind's Eye acquired.

Then the second. This one melted into my legs, flooding them with a strange lightness as though the ground itself had loosened its hold on me.

Phantom Step acquired.

The system text faded from my mind, and the changes hit me instantly.

Every line in the training field seemed clearer, sharper. I could trace the subtle movement of air across my blade.

Mind's Eye… so this is what it's like.

I turned, gripping the katana.

The knight's image burned in my head as I stepped forward.

I lunged—and in a flash, my body moved faster than my mind could follow. The sound of my footstep barely whispered against the floor.

Phantom Step engaged.

The blade cut an arc, sharper and cleaner than before.

Better.

The technique still wasn't perfect, but I could see the flaws now. I could feel where my posture tilted wrong, where my wrists twisted too late.

Again.

I flickered forward, striking. Too shallow. Adjust the angle.

Again.

The katana whistled as it tore through the dummy's shoulder, the impact ringing out.

Better.

Each movement fed into the next like flowing water. Mind's Eye slowed the world down in bursts, allowing me to correct in real time. Phantom Step shortened the distance between each strike as though the air folded around me.

I didn't know how long I trained—hours, maybe more. The world narrowed to my blade, my breath, and the phantom memory of that knight's perfect form.

By the time I stopped, faint trails of white Heavenly Intent clung to the edge of my katana.

"…Not perfect." I muttered, staring at my shaking hands. "But closer. Much closer."

Closing my eyes again, I let out a long, controlled breath.

Everything stilled. The sounds of the training dummies' faint whirring mechanisms, the hum of the lights above, even the faint ache in my arms—all of it faded to the background.

I focused inward.

My trait, [A Peace of Heaven], was already working the moment I'd started swinging my blade. A soft, comforting warmth spread through my muscles and bones, soothing microtears and repairing strained ligaments. My body was adjusting, reinforcing itself with each movement.

I could probably train until the end of the day like this… I realized. As long as I take a few minutes every now and then to let it heal me fully, I'll always return to peak condition.

It wasn't just regeneration—it was optimization. A cheat-like trait that made the limits of fatigue and overtraining almost meaningless.

I exhaled again and opened my eyes, a flicker of determination sparking within me.

The two skills I'd absorbed—[Mind's Eye] and [Phantom Step]—still felt fresh, like newborn instincts clawing at the edges of my awareness.

The world looked sharper now. Every dummy in the room seemed to slow down slightly, their potential movement paths tracing faint lines in my vision. With Mind's Eye, I could see openings where I hadn't before, and the subtle flaws in my own stance became glaringly obvious.

My legs felt different too—light, almost spring-loaded. Energy pooled in them, waiting for me to release it.

I gripped the katana tighter.

Let's try this again.

I stepped forward, this time letting Phantom Step activate in a burst. My body blurred, and in an instant I was behind the first dummy, my blade slicing through where its neck would've been.

I didn't stop.

A second flicker—another Phantom Step—and I zipped to the next dummy, tracing the same graceful, lethal arc the knight in the trials had shown me.

The katana felt heavier as I moved, but not in a bad way. Each swing carved cleaner paths as my memory of the knight's movements began to sync with my own muscle memory.

Still… it wasn't perfect. Not yet.

When I tried to mimic the knight's flowing counters, the motions stuttered slightly at the transitions. My strikes were faster now, my perception sharper, but the sheer elegance of his blade still eluded me.

It's like I'm only scratching the surface…

I stopped for a moment and let my arms hang loose at my sides.

A little more.

I let [A Peace of Heaven] work again, repairing the growing ache in my shoulders and hands. My breathing steadied, and that calm warmth filled me once more.

If I kept this up—cycling between high-intensity practice and letting my trait restore me—I could grind down this wall faster than anyone else.

The knight's blade… I'll make it mine.

My eyes narrowed.

No… I'll make it better.

I stepped forward again, my katana flashing as I dove back into the motion.