Erza froze too. She looked at the longsword in her hand, then at the Tachi she had knocked away. Her chest heaved violently from rapid breathing, her face a mix of exhaustion, sweat, and disbelief mixed with excitement after success.
In that moment just now, she truly felt a weak but very real warm current flow through her body, strengthening the connection between herself and the weapon.
The cold iron was no longer just a tool at that moment; it seemed to come alive, actively responding to her will, becoming an extension of her arm.
"I succeeded?!"
Grandpa Rob walked up chuckling and patted Erza on the shoulder.
"Well done, little Erza! It seems pressure really is the key to unlocking potential. Next, you need to learn how to actively sense and control that power inside you. That is Magic Power..."
As he spoke, he turned to Shane. "Come, since you know magic, hold little Erza's wrist and use your Magic Power to guide her. Let her 'see' the trajectory of the power flowing in her body more clearly."
Shane's heart skipped a beat. Let me guide her?
He didn't know any magic, and the little bit of Magic Power in his body was only E-rank, not even half-baked.
But looking at Erza's eyes full of anticipation and trust, he thought about it and had to bite the bullet.
"Let's be clear first, I'm actually pretty bad at magic..." He responded, stepped forward, extended his right hand, and hesitantly held Erza's exposed wrist.
These words made Erza and Grandpa Rob look at each other, their expressions subtle.
You still say you don't know magic... then what was that arrow that broke the formation single-handedly?
The girl's wrist was slender but not weak; he could feel the tough strength contained beneath.
The moment their skin touched, both were slightly stunned. Erza felt a strange warmth from Shane's fingertips, somewhat similar to the warm current flowing in her body just now, yet different.
This external warmth was more stable, like a tiny fuse probing into her arm, spreading slowly, seemingly pointing the way for her.
She subconsciously held her breath, her cheeks feeling slightly hot, but her attention was completely attracted by the feeling of being "lit up" inside.
"So... this is how Magic Power flows."
Shane was also flying by the seat of his pants, relying entirely on instinct.
He carefully mobilized the pitiful bit of Magic Power in his body, trying to flow it into Erza through the contact point. He didn't dare do anything else, just trying hard to maintain that warm current.
At the same time, he was complaining crazily in his heart: This job is too professional; I haven't even figured it out myself...
Grandpa Rob's voice sounded at the right time: "Calm down, little Erza. Feel the Magic Power carefully, don't resist. Try to use your mind, imagine pushing it, gathering it where you want it to go, like... your hand, your sword."
Erza closed her eyes as instructed, her long, thick eyelashes trembling gently, immersing herself completely within.
Time passed bit by bit. Only the sound of waves crashing on the shore remained on the beach.
Millianna, having crouched for too long, stared thoughtfully at the sand in front of her.
Suddenly, Shane felt a weak sense of "longing" from the longsword he manifested and the Tachi he held.
It was as if they were being called by something, wanting to break free from his control and fly to Erza's side.
His heart stirred, and he immediately understood.
Instead of stopping it, he completely released his authority over the longsword. At the same time, with another thought, he untied the gray cloth, and three identical longswords instantly appeared beside him.
Almost at the same instant, Erza opened her eyes. A stream of light seemed to flash through her scarlet pupils.
Blessed with sudden insight, following her instinct, she beckoned with one hand and called out toward the front.
Hum—!
The four longswords emitted a slight hum simultaneously, then, as if pulled by invisible threads, suddenly flew up, hovering lightly and precisely around Erza.
The tips of the swords drooped slightly, like the most loyal guards protecting their queen.
"Holy crap... Sword Kinesis?"
Shane blurted out subconsciously, looking at the four swords dancing around as if they had a life of their own.
This style factor was just too high. Which kid didn't fantasize about learning this move?
Then he heard Erza's clear voice, full of leaping laughter: "Haha! Shane, again!"
Before her voice fell, she leaped out with her sword. The three flying swords followed her like shadows. She moved like a dancer stepping into battle, graceful yet carrying a chilling killing intent.
This time, the battle situation was completely different from Shane's total domination earlier!
Every one of Erza's strikes was wrapped in a faint halo of Magic Power. Her strength, speed, and resilience were comprehensively improved, numbing Shane's wrists with the shock. He had to use all his strength to block every move.
And those three hovering flying swords were even trickier. They moved according to the girl's will, sometimes circling like a ring, sometimes scattering like stars. Every thrust and defense precisely echoed her movements.
Shane was secretly alarmed. This girl's intuition for combat was simply terrifying.
If he didn't possess the intuition for weapons, allowing him to spot openings instantly, plus the support of master-level swordsmanship instincts, he would have lost long ago.
Even so, he could only exhaust himself parrying under this fierce and exquisite offensive, retreating repeatedly.
For a moment, without releasing his True Name, he actually fell completely into a disadvantage.
"Urgh..."
Being stat-checked by a novice who had awakened magic less than half an hour ago, a trace of childish defiance rose in Shane's heart.
But releasing his True Name would be bullying too much.
So... he suddenly sped up his movements, forcibly parrying the main sword in Erza's hand.
Taking advantage of this gap, his left hand suddenly thrust forward, five fingers grasping at empty air!
"Disperse!"
In an instant, the three secondary swords circling like silver fish, along with the main sword tightly gripped by Erza, turned into four wisps of glimmer at the sound, dissipating into the air like bubbles.
Erza, who was controlling the flying swords with high morale, only felt her hands empty. The sense of protection surrounding her also vanished instantly, and her offensive came to an abrupt halt.
Her forward momentum paused, her face full of astonishment, letting out a short and confused syllable: "Eh?"
That expression carried the blankness of being interrupted and a trace of lingering fighting spirit.
In Shane's view, the current Erza finally had some of the vivid sweetness a young girl should have, instead of just being a Valkyrie who only knew the thrill of battle.
But he didn't intend to show mercy because of this.
Taking advantage of the girl's momentary distraction, he took a stride forward, lowered his body to cut into her guard, his right hand shooting out like lightning to grab her slender wrist, and turned with the momentum.
A clean and crisp shoulder throw!
Erza felt the world spin. She was tossed into the air by a clever force, described a short arc, and fell heavily into the sand pit in the distance with a thud.
Silence for a moment.
Erza suddenly sat up from the sand pit, shaking her dizzy head hard, sand falling from her hair. She looked up and glared at Shane, who was standing there leisurely patting the dust off his hands, and couldn't help puffing out her cheeks:
"Shane! You cheated!"
Shane didn't change his expression and replied matter-of-factly, "Cheated? The weapons you used were created by my ability in the first place. Is it unreasonable for me to cancel them?"
He paused, then added, "In battle, utilizing all available conditions, including taking back lent power, is also a strategy."
"But..." Erza was speechless for a moment. She felt what he said seemed to make sense, but faintly felt something was wrong.
This feeling of having strength but nowhere to use it made her suffocate, so she could only glare at Shane angrily.
Seeing the two refusing to yield to each other like bickering children, Grandpa Rob stepped forward with a smile to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, you two. The sparring ends here. The goal has been achieved."
He looked at Erza, relief in his eyes. "Little Erza, how do you feel now? Can you stably feel the Magic Power in your body?"
Erza's attention was successfully diverted. She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, then nodded vigorously:
"Mhm! Very clearly!"
Then, the corner of her mouth lifted, casting a slightly provocative glance at Shane. "And, I feel my Magic Power... is much more than Shane's!"
Shane naturally acted like he didn't care, glaring back with the composure of a victor.
Whatever, the girl can't beat me anyway. Big fists are the truth. As for Magic Power, hmm... I don't care at all!!!
"That's good, that's good. Next is to slowly get familiar with and train it..." Rob stroked his beard and began to explain the basic points of Magic Power control in more detail.
And not far away, in a corner no one cared about.
Millianna looked at the sandcastle she had worked hard to build for a long time, half of which had been collapsed by the shock of Erza's landing. Her small mouth flattened, her eyes quickly filling with water, wanting to cry but having no tears.
"My sandcastle!!!"