After Genevieve finished eating, she stood up and walked out of the dining room. She met her teacher, Olev, in the hallway. He looked like he was waiting for Genevieve's arrival.
Moland and Quer were also forced to follow her, they could not defy their master's orders. The first rule of shadows is that every order of the master is absolute.
"Good morning, Miss," Olev said. "Today we will be doing physical training again." Her cheerful voice filled the training room, showing how excited she was.
"All right," Genevieve said.
"Wait, aren't they your shadows young lady?" Asked Olev, he noticed Moland and Quer following behind Genevieve.
"Right, I told them to come train with me today" said Genevieve.
"Is that so?"-Olev approached Moland and Quer slowly, "Hey you guys, aren't you banned from your master's training?" There was no respect in his voice when talking to them, he seemed to patronise them with his haughty attitude.
"Shut up, we're just following orders young lady" Moland said with a sharp look and tightly clamped lips, he tried to hide his anger that flared up inside.
"You lane boy" muttered an angry Olev.
"Hey guys, why are you whispering to each other?!" Genevieve shouted and then asked curiously.
Olev lifted the corners of his lips in a fake smile, "It's okay miss, I'm just happy to be able to teach more people" Said Olev, trying to hide the discomfort he was actually feeling.
"Then let's start the training!" Genevieve shouted.
"Yes Miss Genevieve, please follow me" said Olev.
She followed Olev to the training ground. However Genevieve saw it, the training field was large and empty. There were only a few pieces of fighting equipment there.
"Miss, catch!" shouted Olev.
Olev threw a wooden sword to Genevieve. He also gave two dull wooden swords to Moland and Quer.
"This is the physical training" Genevieve held the wooden sword.
"Yes, I will teach you how to use the sword!"
Olev then showed her the proper way to hold the sword. Then, he began to teach Genevieve how to attack and defend.
Moland and Quer were just watching from a distance, and were focused on practising their own sword moves.
"Hyap..hyap" Genevieve was also busy learning the moves Olev taught her.
Genevieve swung her sword, she kept swinging her sword between 45 degrees and did a horizontal backward swing. She kept repeating and repeating until she understood the technique.
Although Genevieve worked hard, she had trouble keeping up. She was not used to using a sword, and she was not as strong as she thought.
"Ouch..., that hurts" Genevieve said with a gasp, she was really in pain.
"Hmm, how about you rest first Miss Genevieve"- said Olev, "In the meantime, how about watching me spar with one of your shadows young lady?" Olev said ambiguously, implying an ulterior motive without explicitly saying so.
"Hmm..., how about that. Maybe I should ask them first" said Genevieve.
Genevieve then called Moland and Quer over, and she asked them if they wanted to spar with Olev.
"So, do you want to spar with Olev?" Genevieve asked.
"Of course we would" said Quer.
Quer thought that this was a good opportunity to show Olev their strength. He thought of lowering the Knight's ego a little.
"What about you Moland" Genevieve asked Moland's agreement to confirm.
"As Quer said, I'm willing to spar" said Moland, he had been staring intently into Olev's eyes.
After hearing the confirmation from her shadows, Genevieve immediately conveyed it to Olev, that her shadows were willing to spar with Olev.
Then, it did not take long for them to prepare the sparring venue. There everyone was already in a state of readiness to fight.
The rules are: firstly, they must use wooden swords; secondly, if one of them crosses the sparring line, it is declared a loss; thirdly, they can end the fight immediately by declaring surrender; fourthly, they may not use magic/relic/enhancement spells.
Before they started sparring, Olev asked Genevieve's shadows to come forward simultaneously.
In doubt, Genevieve asked Olev, "Are you sure you want to fight Quer and Moland at the same time?" Genevieve said.
"Of course young lady. If I were to attack my juniors one on one, it would be unfair to them" In Olev's words full of arrogance, he tried to intimidate his opponent, while glancing over with a condescending expression.
"If that's what you want, then go for it. If you lose, don't regret it, they are my shadow after all" Genevieve said.
"Of course young lady" said Olev confidently.
"Alright then, let's start sparring"-Genevieve ran away from the sparring area, then she started shouting. "1!,2!,3!, START!".
Once the match started, in an instant the atmosphere in the place changed. Everyone in the sparring area showed their killing intent to each other.
Their gazes were locked on each other, reflecting their determination and focus in the face of battle.
As Genevieve winked, Quer went first to attack Olev. With clever tactics, Quer attempted to knock his opponent down with wooden sword strikes to the legs, trying to ruin his opponent's balance and composure.
However, Olev was watching Quer's every move carefully, waiting for the right moment to thwart the attack. As his opponent approached, he quickly stepped to the side and nimbly parried the attack with his wooden sword. A loud noise greeted the ears as their wooden swords collided forcefully.
Olev's face remained calm, despite his racing heartbeat. He tried to maintain his balance and look for an opening to counterattack. In an instant, he found an opening and pounded his opponent with a series of sharp and effective counterattacks.
Quer was surprised by Olev's reflexes and skill. He tried to counterattack, but Olev was able to anticipate it. Their wooden swords collided again, and Olev took the opportunity to unleash a strike that forced his opponent to take a few steps back.
After Quer took a few steps back, Moland rushed forward to Olev. He immediately appeared beside Olev and intended to strike his neck with all his might.
Olev then parried Moland's attack, but Quer who had retreated a few steps was suddenly in front of Olev and attacked him.
Olev then took a few steps back, he tried to keep his distance. However, Olev's efforts to maintain distance were useless, Quer and Moland always approached and then quickly attacked Olev.
Olev parried every attack from both of them, he was getting cornered and approaching the sparring line.
Olev then thought, 'So this is their intention, trying to get me cornered to the sparring line'-he was angry at Quer and Moland's strategy, 'Then I'll just jump on you guys!
Angrily, Olev with his large body charged at them regardless of the attacks they launched. He directly hit Quer, who was currently in front of him, in the stomach.
'Feel this!' Olev thought.
"Ukh...!" A sound of pain came out of Quer's mouth.
Quer immediately moved away after getting an attack on her stomach, she continued to hold her stomach which was in pain.
"Hehehe" came a small laugh from Olev's smile.
Moland who saw Quer in pain immediately went forward to attack Olev with all his might, he targeted every weak point.
Olev was happy to deflect every angry attack from Moland. Right now, Olev felt that sparring became easier as he knocked out one person.
But that was just Olev's simple thinking. Quer, who had been hit in the stomach, immediately recovered and advanced to help Moland attack Olev.
They continued to charge forward to corner Olev, but this time without giving Olev a chance to fight back. They made sure that the same person could not attack them twice.
Olev was cornered all the way to the sparring line. Full of rage, Olev shouted, "You guys!" A very loud shout.
But Moland and Quer did not flinch at the shout, they continued to advance and advance. They launched a combined attack that focused on Olev's stomach, which eventually pushed Olev out of the sparring line.
Olev cried out in pain as he was pushed back over the line, "Akhhh...!", Olev fell to the ground.
Genevieve, who saw Olev step out of the sparring line, immediately shouted, "Olev loses, Quer and Moland win!" Genevieve shouted excitedly.
Genevieve was thrilled to see her two shadows win the spar against their teacher.
Genevieve slowly approached the mourners and congratulated them.
"Congratulations to you both," Genevieve said.
"Thank you young lady" they both said.
"Now, may we withdraw from here, we are already very late in attending our training with the other shadows" With thoughtful eyes, Moland tried to make his young lady understand.
He looked very hurried, almost as if the training for the shadows was something very important that they had to attend at all times.
"Alright, you two can go. I will stay here to train with Olev" Genevieve said.
"Thank you young lady" Moland said, he was glad Genevieve had allowed him to leave.
Moland and Quer who had received Genevieve's permission then said goodbye to Genevieve.
"Then we will leave young lady" With a gentle smile, Moland spoke in a soft voice, expressing his intention to leave politely.
"Yes, go" said Genevieve.
Then, Moland and Quer immediately left the court and quickly passed through the hallways. In less than a minute, their presence had disappeared.
***
Not long after the shadows left. Olev who had been gloomy, and his eyes looked like he had eaten a dead fish, suddenly his eyes lit up, his face lit up with excitement. It was as if he had an epiphany.
After a while, Olev recovered from his defeat. He instantly forgot about his defeat and immediately invited Genevieve to spar with him.
"Young lady, let's spar!" Olev said with sparkling eyes.
'Aren't you just trying to bully me because you lost to my shadows' Genevieve thought, thinking that all Olev was doing was trying to take out his anger on someone.
"So how is it young lady?" Her eyes were really sparkling, and Olev had a pleading look on his face that didn't suit his face shape very well.
"Erm..., okay, but please don't attack me too hard" Genevieve showed a face that contained a request.
"Of course young lady, I won't use all my strength" said Olev who was very confident about his attack control ability.
Genevieve, who wanted to refuse Olev's invitation, ended up following Olev's wishes. Olev promised not to strike hard, and Olev reasoned that this sparring was to improve Genevieve's understanding of combat.
In the end, Olev continued to push her relentlessly, and eventually Genevieve began to make progress. She started to be able to attack and defend better, and she even started to be able to hit Olev a few times.
After an hour of training, Olev told Genevieve to stop.
"That's enough for today," he said.
"You've worked hard."
Genevieve nodded. She was tired, but she was also satisfied with her progress.
Since her physical training ended early, Genevieve walked back to her room and took a shower. After that, she rested for an hour.
At 1pm, she went to the research centre to practice magic with Zian. Even today, Zian looked very beautiful wearing his usual jewellery and purple coat.
Since Genevieve still couldn't use the ancient language, Zian continued to teach Genevieve about reading and writing the ancient language.
Genevieve had trouble keeping up with Zian's lessons, but she didn't give up. She knew that she had to learn an ancient language if she wanted to use magic.
Genevieve thought that learning an ancient language was just like learning a foreign language.
After three hours of studying magic, Genevieve went to the laboratory room to practice alchemy. She was taught by Goun, who currently had a very large panda eye on his face.
'Looks like he hasn't slept all day' Genevieve thought.
Since Genevieve was quick to remember the basics, Goun decided to start teaching Genevieve about the various functions of materials, and he also taught her how to distil ingredients.
Genevieve loved Goun's lessons. She was happy to be able to learn faster due to the help of his unique ability which was very useful.
After three hours of alchemy, Genevieve returned to her room. She was very tired, but she was also satisfied with her progress.
She then went to take a shower, and after her shower she put on some pretty clothes. Then Genevieve went to the dining room to eat.
There was lots of food in the dining room, but there was no one in the dining room at all.
"Hmm..., it's like a party, but I'm the only one celebrating," said Genevieve.
Her face looked haggard and sad, with a thin, pale smile that signalled her loneliness.
"Yeah..., I'll get used to it later" With an understanding smile, she tried to calm and comfort herself.
After feeling full, Genevieve went straight back to her room and then lay down on the bed. She immediately fell asleep soundly.