Defense specialized. Mastery refined.

Successfully completed the challenge. The benefit of the new gear, increasing HP, was confirmed.

Satisfaction from sufficient results. Yet the quest remains incomplete.

"Next is the blacksmith's quest."

"Ah. The difficulty should not change significantly."

In a field not restricting mobility as severely as before, the three of them have no opponent capable of defeating them.

"Still... it's grown quite late today. The next battle might yield a useful skill. Perhaps we should attempt it another time, when we have the leisure. What do you think?"

"Ah, true. That might not be a bad idea. We're not in such a desperate state that we must act immediately."

"Shall we disband for now?"

"Indeed."

"Then call us again! We'll support you with all our strength!"

"Ah. I rely on you."

Maple, having secured a significant gain today—【Stan Ineffective】—departed early, bidding farewell to the two and logging out first. The remaining two exhaled, stillness settling over them.

“Kasumi, what now?”

“No pressing matters. I plan to log out soon myself. Do you need something?”

“If possible… a battle.”

“Very well. Whether I can fight you is uncertain.”

“That’s not true.”

“Hmph. Understood. Then… let’s go to the training ground.”

The moment the words left her lips, Kasumi’s presence shifted. Sharper than the previous boss fight, a tension like killing intent—proof that she regarded her opponent as stronger than any boss.

They faced each other in the training ground, drawing their weapons. Fellow guild members, they knew each other’s moves by heart. They had fought countless times before, refining strategies, anticipating each other’s habits.

“…………”

Kasumi sees Sally poised with two daggers, blade tips crossing her own. There is no opening. Not a single one. In her mind, she simulates the attack—Sally remains still. This too is routine.

Sally invited the duel. Yet Kasumi is the one who strikes.

“[Warrior’s Arm][Battlefield Demon][First Cut: Mirage]!”

Kasumi vanishes—reappears before Sally—slashes instantly.

“[Hyper Acceleration]! [Sword Mountain]!”

Sally evades—Kasumi rushes forward at speed, blade lancing from beneath her feet. Kasumi’s skills all have drastically shortened cooldowns. She hammers out powerful techniques, raises her stats, shifts position repeatedly, and attacks again.

“Kuh…”

Kasumi frowns at the fact she cannot land even a single strike. She realizes it is herself who has been steadily raising Sally’s skill. Attacks that once required dodging with a dagger now are evaded with ease. Now, they are avoided with a margin of mere millimeters left untouched.

At the moment the skill is used, the weapon’s trajectory and speed become fixed. Exploiting this information in battle is standard among high-tier players, yet this is still an abnormal situation.

In a world where dodging is expected through guard or backstep, the precision of distance and body control exceeds necessity. A movement so flawless it causes a chill—perfect, beyond measure. Such effort should not be required.

Having delivered a full sequence of attacks, Kasumi declares surrender once the effect of [Hell on the Battlefield] fades.

This was the usual course.

Normal attacks were mixed in, but… I can’t hit her anymore now.

Thank you. Thanks to that, I’ve improved quite a bit.

If I’ve been of use, that’s all that matters. I only feel dissatisfaction with the sword’s activation speed when facing Sally.

Skills are performed through vocalization. For example, there is a slight difference in the number of seconds between saying [Slash] and [First Sword: Mirage]. It doesn’t usually matter much, but when facing Sally, the longer the skill declaration, the more precise the response waiting.

This makes hitting the Demon King difficult, even now.

Maybe not. If you can hit him… no, yes. I’d like you to try.

Confident, aren’t you? If you say so, I might have to hold back a little more…

That’s… not necessary.

I suppose not.

Yes.

I’ve thought of many offensive patterns through this training. Still… it’s hard to tell just how effective they’ll be in reality. That’s a flaw, though.

That’s… sorry.

No, it’s fine. If you think of anything else, I’ll be the one to speak first next time.

Thank you.

One battle. Yet the time felt rich. They part ways, satisfied. Sally feels a solid sense of her own growth. She has played many games before. But even after reflecting on all of them, she has never reached this level of refinement.

If it’s a skill she recognizes—then, as long as there’s space to avoid it—she is certain she can dodge it down to the millimeter.

Fuh… I’ll tighten up my movements a bit more.

Sally stretches. Still not satisfied. She activates the training facility’s automated attack system to sharpen her own techniques.