On a world left in ruins by a Stellaron.
The place was teeming with monsters.
Amidst the hordes of Fragmentum creatures, soldiers of the Antimatter Legion would frequently appear mixed in among them.
Once Acheron stopped intervening, Sylvia truly felt the immense pressure of having the entire world as her enemy.
Especially since Acheron insisted that Sylvia switch to 'clearing mode' every time they entered a new area.
For the first couple of days, it wasn't her clearing out the monsters; it was a grand, spectacular escape with her being the one chased!
She almost ran herself to death right then and there.
Luckily—or perhaps not—Acheron would proactively apply pressure, forcing Sylvia to turn around and fight.
Or, just as Sylvia was about to reach a safe distance, Acheron would walk over, grab her by the collar, and toss her right back into the fray.
As long as it wouldn't kill her, she was pushed to the absolute limit.
And so passed about ten-plus days of such 'blissful' time.
--+--
On this particular day, in a frozen, open-air space of unknown purpose.
A white figure was locked in a fierce battle with a hulking blue monster.
"Sometimes I see a dying bird fall to the ground~"
A soft, melodious song accompanied the faint flames wreathing the crimson greatsword. Sylvia, gripping the massive blade with one hand, dropped into a low spin, evading the sharp icicles.
Then, putting the full force of her body into the motion, she swung the sword out in a wide, horizontal slash aimed at the legs of the Ice Out of Space.
The clash of intense heat and extreme cold ultimately saw Sylvia's condensed flames come out on top. The blade tore through the Iceblazer's armor as easily as slicing through soft butter.
With one clean cut, she severed the monster's legs. Sylvia's palm slammed against the ground, using the momentum to drop and roll, bursting out of the ensuing frost cloud just as the creature wailed and lashed out in retaliation.
Springing to her feet, she followed through with an upward slash directed behind her!
"I thought I were no more than a bystander Till I felt a touch so real~"
This time, a single, clean cut, rising from below, following the sorrowful melody, utterly ended the life of this Ice Out of Space.
Standing upright, sword withdrawn, Sylvia quickly recalled the flames, and the sound of "Moon Halo" gradually faded away.
By now, Sylvia had long since learned to ignore the BGM that automatically started playing from a list whenever a real fight began.
She could even coordinate her attacks to the rhythm of the song.
After all, her opponents were just monsters who couldn't understand it anyway. Acheron had also mentioned that such BGM could help train Sylvia's concentration.
The lingering melody slowly dissipated into the air.
Following the tune's cadence, Sylvia flicked her wrist, dispersing the greatsword in her hand into a shower of embers that returned to the Herrscher core.
Sylvia herself swiftly retreated in the direction they had come from.
Sensing the remaining energy within her Herrscher core, Sylvia puckered her lips slightly and let out a soft sigh.
Because the Herrscher core had no means of replenishing its energy, its power dwindled with every use, making Sylvia extremely frugal with it.
She relied almost entirely on her body, passively enhanced by the core, to fight.
Only when necessary would she release a sliver of power to coat her blade, using the flames to dispatch particularly troublesome foes.
And that damn BGM would automatically trigger whenever she released this power, persisting until the flames died down.
It was absurd, utterly and completely absurd.
Acheron approached now, her own blade in hand.
She looked at Sylvia with approval and handed her a peach as a reward.
"You're improving rapidly. Your control over energy has also progressed significantly. Perhaps you are truly a natural fit for battle."
"Thank you."
Slightly breathless, Sylvia took the peach from Acheron, not daring to meet her gaze.
Even though, for Acheron back then, it hadn't been with that kind of intention.
For Sylvia, it had still been profoundly shocking. Even now, after all these days, whenever Acheron produced a peach, Sylvia would instinctively recall that incident.
Fortunately, her ability to manage her expression had noticeably improved lately. She stuffed the peach into her mouth without a change in demeanor and shifted her focus.
As for her rapid progress in recent days...
She wasn't sure if it was due to her own innate talent, or the talent of this body the system had randomly assigned her.
Just days ago, she could only rely on bodily instincts to block Acheron's blade, and earlier still, she couldn't even stand steady in Acheron's presence.
But now, with more and more monsters falling to her hand, Sylvia could maintain her thoughts amidst the blistering pace of combat, assess the situation, and act accordingly.
Of course, Sylvia felt a large part of her quick improvement was also because Acheron would simply grab her and toss her right into the heart of monster packs.
As the saying goes, people rise to the challenge. Sometimes, without being pushed, Sylvia would never have known her own capacity for learning was this formidable.
Thinking back to her first practical combat training...
Sylvia had assumed they'd start by finding a few isolated Fragmentum creatures to practice on. Instead, Acheron had grabbed her by the collar and deposited her directly into the center of a massive horde of them.
And Acheron herself just stood by, watching Sylvia get beaten up and run for her life.
She did nothing except offer occasional verbal guidance on how to wield the greatsword.
In the midst of that frantic escape, Sylvia finally understood, deeply, that she should never have held any expectations for Acheron's teaching methods.
But, credit where it's due, in that state of adrenaline-fueled breakout, Sylvia learned incredibly fast.
Though it wasn't any formal style yet, under Acheron's pointers, Sylvia's greatsword technique had begun to take shape, looking quite proper.
"Speaking of which, why does it feel like we're running into these large monsters more often?"
Munching on her peach, Sylvia voiced her suspicion curiously.
Acheron nodded in response.
"Naturally. We are currently moving closer to the Stellaron's location. The monsters will naturally grow stronger and more numerous."
"Pfft—"
She almost spat out the peach in her mouth. Sylvia stared wide-eyed at Acheron.
"We're heading towards the Stellaron? But you told me not to go near it!"
"I merely wished to prevent you from seeking your own death, not forbid you from approaching it. Given your rate of progress, by the time we get close, you should be ready."
Sylvia looked at Acheron's face and found her expression completely serious. For a moment, even the peach in her mouth lost its flavor.
So Sylvia also sighed, earnestly.
She had thought her recent progress was significant—even monsters like the Ice Out of Space were now chopped down like vegetables in two or three strikes—so approaching the Stellaron shouldn't be a problem anymore.
"I thought my strength was already up to standard."
Hearing this, Acheron instead nodded and walked over to Sylvia's side.
"In terms of pure combat strength, you are indeed sufficient. But do not forget, the ultimate purpose of this training is to temper your will. Fighting is merely a method to achieve that."
Of course, sufficient life experience could also temper one's will, but time simply didn't permit that.
So life-and-death battles, Acheron's killing intent, and even more radical training methods were used to accelerate the process.
"So, what's the next phase of training?"
Although Sylvia held no particular expectations for Acheron's teaching methods, the results were undeniable, so she was still somewhat curious.
And then, Sylvia learned what 'unnecessary curiosity' meant.
Because Acheron actually revealed a very gentle smile.
"The next phase is to fight me. I will wield my blade with the intent to kill you."
How could words so icy cold come from a mouth that's a normal 37 degrees Celsius?
--+--
T/N: Personal opinion, but i personally think Da Capo is better than Moon Halo, even if i do like both songs
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.