The banquet naturally came to an end.
Anyway, it was nearly over, and the atmosphere had been broken by the intrusion of the lady knight, Marquis Roede.
After that, the place we were heading to was…
“The Imperial Training Grounds?”
“Marquis Eleonora von Roede requested this from the Emperor. It seems she wants to assess the abilities of adventurers and see if they can assist in conquering the Erin’s Canyon region in the east.”
“What a meticulous knight.”
It was late at night, but the users gathered here were heading to the outdoor Imperial Training Grounds in response to the sudden quest.
[Receive the recognition of the Master, ‘Eleonora von Roede’ of the Alparion Empire.]
The Continent of Astria, while set in a medieval fantasy world, did not have a low social status for women. Even women could hold high positions based on their abilities and continue their family lineage.
Master, ‘Eleonora von Roede’.
She was the next Duke of the ‘House of Roede’ and the captain of the ‘Roede Knights’.
The ‘Duchy of Roede’ bordered the east of the Alparion Empire, right where the ‘Erin’s Canyon’ lay. It seemed the knightly lineage of the House of Roede, known for their deep-rooted connection to knighthood, took on the responsibility of defending the dangerous eastern lands.
“You seduced a passing noble lady and made her spill everything she knew?”
“I didn’t seduce her!”
Chris chuckled a bit. I puffed out my cheeks. That noble lady had relaxed her gaze upon my smile and started blabbing away.
“I heard almost everything I was curious about.”
The House of Roede.
A family renowned as a founding house of the Empire.
A lineage that had produced the Empire’s greatest knights for generations.
Truly, they had the power to voice their opinions boldly in front of the Emperor.
The reason the emblem of the Roede family matched with that of my sister Melissa’s family was…
“Melissa’s family was Roede.”
I recalled ‘Melissa’, a confident hero party member with striking blue hair tied in a ponytail and an impressive smile.
She rarely spoke about her family. The only thing she mentioned was the story about the demon’s tomb over in the desert.
A thousand years ago, during a grim time for humanity, even being the continent’s greatest swordsman, she had left her family and took up the sword for the hero party—’Master Melissa’.
Now, her heir was inheriting the title of ‘Master’.
“My sister Melissa’s family has been serving the Alparion Empire for generations.”
The puzzle pieces were falling into place.
However, I discovered an unpleasant fact as well.
The Roede family’s historical grievance.
It was that their ancestor, the greatest knight of the continent a thousand years ago, had lost the name of their hero.
It all started with the background of why Melissa had left her family.
The head of the family wanted to curl up, gather the remnants of humanity, form a nation, and push back the demon race, while Melissa wanted to storm the Demon Lord’s castle and take the Demon Lord’s head.
In the end, both methods needed to be executed for humanity to survive, but…
Melissa never returned from there.
She couldn’t reconcile with the head of the family.
Perhaps that’s why the ‘House of Roede’ boasted the prestige of being a founding family of the Alparion Empire, but could not carry the title of the family that contained the ancient hero who saved humanity a thousand years ago.
I knew that name.
The full name of the hero party’s lady knight, ‘Master Melissa’ was…
“Melissa von Roede.”
Finally, I arrived at the training grounds, looking at the current master, ‘Eleonora von Roede’, who stood confidently to test the qualifications of adventurers.
And I smirked.
You’re going to test our qualifications?
No.
I’ll test whether you deserve to inherit my sister Melissa’s ‘Master’ title.
Whether you have the qualifications to reclaim the name of the ancient hero, your ancestor.
I will judge your qualifications.
The expansive sky was impressive over the grand Imperial Training Grounds, which was astonishingly vast. A Named Combat Area level?
Several palace wizards were on standby to generate a barrier, and the Emperor was looking down at the grounds from the platform with his retainer.
The Emperor’s face, which looked small from my perspective, seemed to glance my way. With a slight smile on his face, it seemed this was one of the scenarios he had in mind.
Did he really think this far ahead?
Don’t worry, smart Emperor.
That reckless knight, who just relies on his strength and charges in, will be sternly trained by this matriarch.
Even though it was already late at night, the magical light orbs that floated in the air illuminated the training grounds as brightly as midday.
Standing in the center of the training grounds, Eleonora looked around at the faces of the users and spoke.
“Adventurers from the stars. I wish to see your abilities, I ‘Eleonora von Roede’.”
At Eleonora’s confident declaration, the vanguard users murmured among themselves.
“What happens if we don’t receive her recognition? Will we be unable to enjoy the expansion pack?”
“That shouldn’t happen, right? A world quest has just popped up. But support in resources may dwindle. The area we’ll be working in seems to be under that knight’s family’s territory, so the rewards for monster extermination quests will probably be meager. They’ll likely believe they can fend off the demons on their own without adventurers’ help.”
“So, we have to defeat this knight no matter what then. Or at least show some convincing strength.”
The Skada raid team made the first move.
Schwing.
The main tank of the Skada team, ‘Park Jeong-kwon’, drew his sword. The sword in his hand was the ‘Sword of the Northern Legion Commander.’ A legendary weapon from farming the Abyssal Tree, the second legendary weapon in Astria Online.
“If the opponent is a swordsman, then a swordsman should take charge too. If she’s a Named, I might allow for a gang-up, but for an event like this, 1:1 is the way to go, right?”
Ding.
[Level ???]
[Master Eleonora]
[HP ??? / ???]
Above Eleonora in the center of the training grounds, the Named interface popped up.
But that information was unknown.
This wasn’t about simply whittling down HP; there was a strategy involved.
I had seen such a stat window during my battles with ‘Ancient Heroes’, but it seemed like it was the first time for the other users.
“What the!? Unknown information?”
“If that’s the case, how many hits will it take to defeat her?”
“Don’t underestimate her. She’s a knight NPC, solidly rated as the strongest human alive. Think of it as facing a Named boss from a raid dungeon.”
I warned Park Jeong-kwon.
Of course, the attack methods would be different, but she would undoubtedly be tremendously strong. Considering the power of Master Melissa in her day, it’s possible to cc a legion commander with just her. Who knows how it would be in the world where the system exists now.
“Huh?”
Though Park Jeong-kwon climbed to the training ground with his sword drawn, Eleonora did not draw hers. She simply stood in the center of the arena, arms crossed, eyes closed.
As Park Jeong-kwon stood with a dumbfounded expression, Eleonora’s voice flowed from her crossed arms.
“Feel free to come at any time. Just understand that there exists an absolute level difference.”
Park Jeong-kwon’s face twisted in disbelief.
“Heh heh, a taunt?”
“What an impressive lady knight.”
“Park Jeong-kwon, are you going to endure that taunt?”
I could hear the voices of the Skada team members from behind, chiming in.
Crack.
Whoa.
Sparkling starlight began swirling around Park Jeong-kwon’s sword.
“Okay, I don’t care how great the Named is, but…”
And then his new form shot towards Eleonora like a comet.
Shwaaaa!
Ching ching ching!
“What is this!?”
Park Jeong-kwon’s fierce assault didn’t last long. On the defensive, he was too busy blocking Eleonora’s strikes with his ‘Block’ skill.
Taking advantage of a slight looseness in Eleonora’s sword strikes, Park Jeong-kwon gritted his teeth and swung his sword. Swhoosh! The horizontally swung sword couldn’t even strike Eleonora’s blade. Whoosh! Movements eerie as a specter, Eleonora gracefully evaded the gap between Park Jeong-kwon’s sword and expertly came in from his blind spot.
Clang!
Sweating profusely, Park Jeong-kwon barely managed to twist his sword in a block. Had he been possessed by a ghost? Indeed, Eleonora’s movements were ghost-like.
“Dodge! Park Jeong-kwon, make a dodge check!”
The raid leader of the Skada team, Skada, shouted anxiously towards Park Jeong-kwon.
“What are you talking about dodge!?”
Park Jeong-kwon gasped in astonishment.
The tier of equipment among the current level users and the agility stats reached quite a substantial level. In the highest dungeon levels, where giant bosses resided, dodging checks were nearly nonexistent.
“But I’m sure it’s there.”
Chris, next to me, nodded.
“Yes. It’s just like with the 3 Named at the Forward Base, Zarkan.”
I agreed with Chris’s statement.
There was indeed a dodge check against an NPC that possessed superior agility stats compared to the users. If there’s a significant stat difference, no matter how fast a sword is swung, it wouldn’t connect.
However, it’s not a 100% miss. If one adds intent to the sword movements not merely through a linear ‘skill’, they can follow through. And the vanguard swordsman ‘Park Jeong-kwon’ was certainly assumed to be capable of such technique.
Whoosh, Thwack!
As Park Jeong-kwon’s thrust approached, Eleonora met his blade by barely touching the edge. Then, sweeping in a smooth circular motion, she directed Park Jeong-kwon’s sword downwards.
Park Jeong-kwon’s complexion paled. Dodge! Hastily performing a backward evasion, the spot where Park Jeong-kwon was standing was cleanly sliced by Eleonora’s sword.
“That, that! Rain, that technique! Isn’t that your technique?”
Kick.
I couldn’t help but laugh at Chris’s excitement. Just how closely did she study the way I fought?
Though it’s more of a technique from that clan than mine.
The swordsmanship I learned from Melissa. The technique of the ‘House of Roede’.
It draws and flows gracefully, transitioning into an offensive maneuver effortlessly. An action that cannot be achieved through skills alone.
It seems that even after a thousand years, that swordsmanship has been properly passed down.
I could give it a passing grade.
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