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Upon accidentally meeting Scarlette Overland, Ryan marked the crimson-haired woman as his primary key to find [that person] his master has been looking for all these years when Ryan took notice of the item that Scarlette was wearing around her neck.
If [that person] Ryan was looking has a connection with Scarlette Overland then, Ryan's search would be that easy since he became the crimson-haired woman's companion and Ryan had a chance to investigate the crimson-haired woman discreetly.
He didn't want to rush things quickly because if that happens then, the situation could be worse if that happens.
Especially if Scarlette knew that Ryan was investigating her secretly while they were traveling together, and Ryan didn't want to be on bad terms with this woman.
"Sloppy. Stiff. Not perfect."
"AHHH!"
Ryan jerked on his place as he snapped back from his thoughts when he heard a sudden voice from behind his back.
He suddenly became alert as he stood up and looked around as he drew his sword, preparing himself for an incoming battle from the sudden intruder.
"Who are you?! Show yourself!"
He shouted and he didn't let his guard down as he pointed his sword in the direction where he heard that voice.
In the darkness of the night, bushes of the trees can be heard as the wind came across and Ryan saw the familiar silhouette of someone leaning against one of those trees behind.
When he managed to recognize who it was, he sighed in relief as he put back his sword on his scabbard and looked at the crimson-haired woman's place as he noticed what she was holding into.
'A tiny tree branch? What would she do with that?'
He thought as he frowned and took a deep breath as he felt his heart beats faster because of nervousness.
"You scared the hell out of me there, Scarlette! I didn't notice you were there. I thought you were sleeping?"
He anxiously exclaimed as he was not that far from the crimson-haired woman and this woman just popped out in the middle of nowhere.
This is not the first time that has happened to him.
'I didn't even notice her presence at all! She's a dangerous woman. Thank goodness that I'm with her and if not, I don't know what would happen to me in this place.'
He thought as he sighed in relief and tried to compose himself not to show his anxiousness in front of this woman.
Scarlette, on one hand, looked at Ryan with her cold gaze and that makes Ryan noticed that the crimson-haired woman is back to her usual cold and quiet demeanor.
Her crimson-lilac eyes were like a piercing lance because of her intense gaze that makes him uncomfortable.
As he wanders from his thoughts, he felt something coming at his direction and he tried to avoid it but after that, he winced in pain as he felt something that came across through his face.
*DRIP!
*DRIP!
*DRIP!
He touched his face as he felt something like liquid, and he looked through his fingers to see it.
He saw blood dripping from his left cheek and his eyes widen in shock as he looked at the direction from where it came from.
There, he saw Scarlette and the crimson-haired woman is still leaning on the tree while holding that tiny tree branch within her palms.
Before Ryan could speak, Scarlette cut him off; "You had a powerful built, yet your sword form is a bit lacking."
The crimson-haired woman said as she walked towards the direction where Ryan stood still at his place.
"When you hold the hilt of your sword, you put too much pressure on it and that's why it looks stiff whenever you perform your sword technique. I bet you're trying to create a new one for yourself."
She keeps on talking as she continued to walk toward Ryan while playing with the tiny tree branch that she's holding.
Ryan, on the other hand, heard what the crimson-haired woman stated and from that moment, his instinct warns him to be careful with this woman.
'Although she didn't emit a killing aura, but her presence alone is still suffocating. I still couldn't gouge her true strength.'
He thought as he remained calm while watching the crimson-haired woman take her time as she walked towards at his place.
"Your body is not fit for that kind of sword technique you're trying to create."
'Wow! This is unusual for her to speak this much.'
He thought as he noticed that the crimson-haired woman wasn't in her usual speech since the time she suddenly appeared out of nowhere while he was training all by himself.
Scarlette halted on her steps, and she was three feet away from Ryan and after that, she said her final statement.
"Swinging without thinking can lead to your demise."
The crimson-haired woman said nonchalantly as she pointed out Ryan's mistakes, and the man stood still on his place while touching his face that was bleeding from an unknown source.
He didn't know what the crimson-haired woman have done because he saw that she didn't even move from her place earlier before she got in front of him.
Now that he thought about it, she keeps on talking about his sword technique from the moment she appeared, and he was still overwhelmed about the sudden attack that he received from earlier…
'W-wait a minute?! A-am I getting a sword lesson from Scarlette?!'
He thought as he remembered something once again.
< …. "Don't you know? Scarlette Overland's strength and abilities are still unknown to others however, few of them had witnessed her abilities and they knew that wasn't her full strength yet, but there was a rumor that she's already a transcendent rank swordmaster for her to manifest an aura blade without a sword." ….. >
Ryan only heard that rumor back then and he wasn't sure if those rumors were just all talk or the truth.
Now that he thought about that particular rumor, Ryan took a good look at the tiny tree branch that Scarlette was holding and he just noticed that there was some faint of an aura manifested on that tiny tree branch that made him shocked.
'So, about her being a transcendent rank swordmaster wasn't just a rumor at all!'
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