Inside the gym of the Suou family estate.
Yuki Suou handed a shinai to Fumiya Jin, then looked at him with some concern:
"Are you sure you want to fight Master Hasegawa?"
When she was young, she had genuinely studied kendo with Kazumitsu Hasegawa and knew this kendo master's reputation was well-deserved.
Although she also knew Fumiya Jin had participated in two games and should possess some superhuman skills and abilities.
But any smart person knew not to casually reveal abilities gained from instances in front of non-players, as it would only cause unnecessary trouble.
Therefore, Fumiya Jin certainly couldn't use any items or instance skills. Even his physically enhancing abilities couldn't be used too extravagantly.
Under these circumstances, how could he possibly spar in kendo with Master Hasegawa?
If this were any other day, Yuki Suou might not have cared so much.
After all, a shinai is different from a wooden sword. It's not easy to inflict serious injuries with a shinai, and besides, Master Hasegawa would surely have a sense of proportion. So even if Fumiya Jin lost, it wouldn't be a big deal; he'd suffer a few minor injuries at most, which would heal in a few days.
But today of all days…
In just one or two hours at most, the two of them were going into an instance together!
It was uncertain whether injuries sustained outside an instance would carry over into it.
What if these minor injuries Fumiya Jin might receive became the last straw that broke the camel's back in the perilous environment of the instance, getting them both killed... Wouldn't that be just terrible!
"How about we just skip it? I can spar with you later," Yuki Suou suggested. "I haven't practiced in many years, but I still have the fundamentals. Master Hasegawa even praised my talent back then. Sparing with you should be no problem."
"Thank you for your concern, but I can't pass up such a rare opportunity to spar with a master," Fumiya Jin said with a smile.
"You…"
Yuki Suou couldn't figure out what Fumiya Jin was thinking.
Ever since she first met him, this guy had never played by the book.
"Fine, but at least go put on some protective gear, right?"
"No need. It's too cumbersome and ruins that effortlessly cool feeling." Fumiya Jin shook his head, picked up the shinai, and walked towards Master Hasegawa, who was already prepared on the other side.
"Pfft…" Yuki Suou snorted softly. "Effortlessly cool? You'll be lucky not to get your face beaten black and blue…"
She thought this, watching Fumiya Jin's back with a hint of annoyance.
As she watched…
As she watched…
Suddenly, her cheeks turned red.
She gritted her teeth and muttered, "Damn it… why does his back look cooler the more I look at it… Even if
it's a charm ability from an instance, it couldn't possibly last this long. Could it be that it's not a skill's effect, but that I… I'm falling for him, so he looks better and better? No way, am I really that boy-crazy?"
This isn't a weapon.
This is a magic wand.
I just need to touch Master Hasegawa's body with this magic wand and turn him into a magical girl!
Fumiya Jin arrived at a position three meters away from Kazumitsu Hasegawa.
Kazumitsu Hasegawa glanced at him, "You're not wearing protective gear?"
"You aren't either, Master," Fumiya Jin said.
Kazumitsu Hasegawa wasn't wearing any, of course, because he had enough confidence.
But since Fumiya Jin had put it that way, he didn't insist.
He picked up his shinai and said, "You attack first. Let me see your skill level."
Fumiya Jin nodded and gripped the shinai.
Vmmm!
The next second, a faint orange glow began to flow across the surface of the shinai's smooth, cylindrical body…
Holding it, Fumiya Jin instantly felt a sense of sharp-edged keenness.
He felt that if he swung this sword, he could probably slice through the gym's iron door.
If he used this for a spar, he'd probably cut through his opponent's shinai and the person in one blow… That would be too wicked.
So, Fumiya Jin thought for a moment and slightly changed his mindset.
This is not a weapon.
This is a…
After this bit of self-hypnosis…
Fumiya Jin looked down at the shinai again.
The glow on it had actually dissipated.
It seems this Controllable Sharpness from the instance is quite convenient; at least it can be turned on and off at will. Unlike that superpower everyone loves, which can't be turned off at all.
"Still not making a move?" Kazumitsu Hasegawa asked, seeing Fumiya Jin standing there without doing anything for a while.
Fumiya Jin glanced at him with a sigh—Master, you have no idea, I just saved your life.
Then, he nodded. "Alright, I'm starting."
He raised the shinai…
and went towards Hasegawa…
Clack!
Clack! Clack!
Clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack…
The two shinai suddenly clashed rapidly, striking each other more than a dozen times in just a few seconds!
On the sidelines, Yuki Suou, who had been somewhat listless, was suddenly alert.
Something's a bit… off?
Isn't that my style?
Kazumitsu Hasegawa took a step back, creating some distance, readjusted his stance, and tightened his grip on the shinai.
"Good boy, you'd best be careful of my next moves," he warned, and then…
…he took a shuffling step forward and charged.
Clack! Clack-clack! Clack-clack-clack-clack-clack…
He launched a relentless barrage of attacks.
The shinai repeatedly struck at Fumiya Jin from extremely sharp and tricky angles.
But each time, it was either parried or forcefully neutralized by an even fiercer counterattack.
Kazumitsu Hasegawa's continuous assault didn't seem to achieve any effective results.
But the more he fought, the more his eyes shone with excitement.
After fighting like this for over ten seconds…
On the sidelines, Yuki Suou's beautiful eyes were wide, her face frozen in a stupor.
No way, dude…
You actually know how to do this?!
Why are you so damn good!
A final heavy strike was parried perfectly.
The bodies of both shinai trembled and bent slightly from the impact.
Then, the two separated…
Kazumitsu Hasegawa immediately lowered his shinai, his eyes burning as he looked at Fumiya Jin. "Son, which dojo trained you?"
Fumiya Jin also lowered his shinai and shook his head. "I haven't joined any dojo…"
"Then where did you learn all this?" Kazumitsu Hasegawa asked.
"I just... practiced on my own using publicly available materials online, and learned from some videos I found on the internet," Fumiya Jin said.
Hearing this, Kazumitsu Hasegawa almost blurted out, "Impossible."
He knew that times were changing fast and that many kendo training methods and sparring videos were now public online. Many of his peers from the Katori Shinto-ryu had done similar things to recruit new blood. Strictly speaking, it was possible to learn this way.
But years of kendo experience and common sense told him that without a master, just by watching materials and videos on your own, how could you possibly learn the real thing?
It defied logic.
However, before he could say it, Kazumitsu Hasegawa suddenly remembered that when they shook hands earlier, Fumiya Jin's palms were as soft as a normal person's…
He possessed such incredible combat skill, yet his hands had almost no calluses.
That in itself was already illogical.
These two illogical facts, when put together, created an extremely improbable but unique possibility that could explain the situation before him—could this be a once-in-a-lifetime, legendary kendo genius?
"Son, tell me honestly, have you really never properly learned the tachi?" Kazumitsu Hasegawa's eyes were so fiery they looked like they might shoot flames. "Don't lie to me, this sort of thing isn't hard to investigate."
"I haven't," Fumiya Jin replied. It was precisely because it was easy to check that he didn't try to lie his way through it.
"Then I have an unreasonable request," Kazumitsu Hasegawa said earnestly. "Learn the sword from me, even if you don't become my formal disciple. I will teach you everything I understand about the Katori Shinto-ryu! As long as you are willing to carry on and glorify this sword art, that will be enough."
Fumiya Jin: "Emmm…"
It wasn't that he was unwilling to learn.
It's that he'd already stolen it all!
The spar was just too short, so he didn't have a chance to display everything.
Learning under these circumstances would just be a waste of time.
"Eh… Master, you're really going that far…?" Yuki Suou walked over at this point, saying in surprise, "Is this guy really that… incredible?"
Kazumitsu Hasegawa glanced at Suou, "Let me put it this way, Yuki, your talent is already quite impressive. If there's a tree on a mountain and a patch of weeds beneath it, then normal people are the weeds, and you are the tree."
"Is he the mountain?"
"No, he is the sky."
...
...
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