The sun had risen behind the mountains, casting a warm golden glow over the Ancient Beast Mountain Range. Inside an isolated valley surrounded by mountains, there was a clearing of nothing but grass. Due to the freezing temperatures of the mountains, the grass had frost growing on it despite the sun.
As the rays of sunlight descended onto this valley, two figures plopped onto the ground taking deep breaths. There were craters, crevasses, and destruction all around them, evident that they had just fought. However, when they looked at each other, they both had small smiles on their faces, indicating that it was a friendly bout.
"Haaa… Haaa… Haaa…"
"Haaa… Haaa… Haaa…"
As the two sat down, leaning on their weapons, Ryuu's golden Sword Threads dissipated, and Mira's black Scythe Intent vanished.
It took a few minutes to steady their breathing, and Ryuu looked at Mira after it did.
"I-I'm surprised you made so much progress in just a few days, Mira," Ryuu said with a wry smile, feeling a little disheartened. Watching Mira advance her Scythe Intent at such a rapid pace made him feel like his hard work over the years wasn't worth shit.
He had to admit that he was a little jealous of Mira's talent, but before that jealousy could turn toxic, he transformed it into a desire to get stronger!
'If I want to stay ahead of her in terms of strength and skill, I need to work harder!' Ryuu thought, secretly clenching his fists.
Despite all her weird abilities, he could still consider himself stronger than Mira. Not only that, but his Weapon Endowment progress was more advanced than hers.
While the question of who would win in a life-or-death fight was still up in the air, as they both had their trump cards, Ryuu was confident he wouldn't lose. However, that wouldn't be for long with the pace at Mira progressed. To stay ahead of her, he would need to put in more effort and train more efficiently.
No more wandering around the Continent fighting weaklings!!
"...I can only progress this fast because you're a great sparring partner, always pointing out my weaknesses and what I could improve," Mira said with a neutral expression, but the corners of her mouth did raise slightly.
"Well…" Ryuu scratched the side of his cheek awkwardly, "...If you say so."
He didn't intend to be humble, nor did he need to be. They both knew that Mira would never make such fast progress if it weren't for him, even with her comprehensive abilities.
"It shouldn't be much longer before I break into the [Manifestation] Realm," Mira informed Ryuu before closing her eyes and meditating on what she had learned during this most recent sparring session.
Ryuu nodded with a tired smile and closed his eyes, reminiscing on the last few days.
***
It had been several days since Ryuu agreed to help Mira reach the [Manifestation] Realm with her scythe, and during that time, they seemed to have gotten a bit closer.
On the first day, after Mira dragged him away to the valley they are currently in, the two began fighting. However, surprisingly, Mira didn't bother taking "revenge" as she didn't see the point. She was here to learn and improve, not for petty squabbles.
She paid him a Divine-Grade herb for this, after all. She wasn't going to waste her time messing around.
"I'm only going to use my Scythe Intent and scythe skills I've learned over the years, nothing else. You tell me what is solid and what needs improving. Afterward, we'll go from there." That's what Mira said before she launched herself at him.
Since he didn't have any problems with that, Ryuu agreed. Rather, this was precisely the kind of environment he hoped for when Mira asked him for guidance.
*Clank!*
Their weapons clashed, but he twisted his greatsword, slamming the tip of it into Mira's right hip.
"You're right side was a bit weak. Try to make sure your scythe is constantly in motion, so nothing like this will happen again."
Mira nodded, storing his words inside her Mind Palace in the room labeled [Scythe].
*Clank!*
This time, after their weapons clashed, Ryuu dashed forward and jabbed Mira in the stomach with the hilt of his sword.
"Your center was wide open for a second there. You need to be more mindful of the speed at which large weapons can move."
*Clank!*
"Good! You covered her head perfectly! I don't think I could've done any better!"
*Clank!*
"Your footwork could use a little help. Your stance is a little wide, making it easier for me to trip you!"
*Clank!*
"Perfect! It seems you know how to defend your arms with ease! Just be sure to remember to keep your scythe in motion at all times. The moment your scythe slows down is the moment I gain the advantage!"
*Clank!**Clank!**Clank!**Puchi!*
"Ah! I know my Sword Threads are harder to defend against than my greatsword, but I think if you twisted your body fast enough and gained momentum earlier, you could've blocked all of my attacks!"
*Clank!*
"Wow! You learned fast! Your core was rock solid, and your stance was firm, not allowing me to capitalize on the momentum!"
This continued for a few hours before they both got tired and stopped. However, Mira didn't stop training. Instead, she sat down and began meditating.
Ryuu could hardly believe what he was seeing!
'This woman just went from one of the most intense spars I've ever had straight into an equally taxing mental endeavor! What a crazy work ethic!'
One has to know that to meditate and replay the scenes from the last few hours, trying to discern anything that could be improved is no easy feat. It's an incredible mental workout that only those who know their bodies like the back of their hand can do.
At this moment, Ryuu realized that behind all of Mira's talent and strength were countless hours of training and hard work. Although he already knew that, partially, he'd never seen her train before.
He figured that no one could outwork him, but it seems he's met his match today!
'Well, let's just see how long she can keep this up.' He thought but would soon regret those words.
After an hour, Mira finished her mediation and again launched herself at Ryuu.
This cycle continued until the present day…
***
After Ryuu was done reminiscing about the past, Mira woke up from her meditation, but before she could attack him again, he stopped her!
"Wait!" He raised both his hands in front of him, "From now on, we'll fight in the sky. You might not know this, but about half of your battles will be in the air once you reach the Nascent Soul Realm. Thus, knowing how to fight in those scenarios is integral, and doing so can even help you grasp some of your weaknesses easier."
Mira pondered on his words for a few moments but didn't have an issue with them. In fact, she couldn't think of a better time she could train her aerial combat skills! She's neglected them for a while now and isn't as great as she could be, but with Ryuu's help, she should be able to fix that relatively quickly.
"Sure, let's do that. I've been meaning to work on that anyways; I just haven't found the right time to do so," Mira said before circulating her Qi, using it to float up in the air.
Ryuu did the same, yet for some reason, just the simple act of floating into the sky seemed more fluid and graceful than when Mira did it, something she took notice of.
"Come!" Ryuu yelled, pointing his greatsword at her and shaking her out of her thoughts.
Without giving any signal, Mira trusted herself forward like she usually did. However, Ryuu seamlessly dodged her beeline attack with ease.
Looking at her with a slight frown, he realized that Mira seemed to have no experience in the air for her to make such a trivial mistake and muttered, "Ah. It seems like this is going to be a long few days."
"Oi! Mira! That attack was too choreographed! I would've had a harder time dodging a baby's punch than that shit! Aerial combat is all about you being unpredictable yet being able to predict your opponent's movements! You've already failed if you can't even do one of those!"
Those words seemed to spur Mira on as she circled back around and charged at him again, except this time, her movements were more chaotic!
"Good! Keep that up, and maybe I won't land so many hits on you! Hahaha!" Ryuu's smile widened as he chuckled, showing off his white teeth.
Mira's eyes lit up with fighting spirit, and she gave him a predatory grin, showing off her canines, "Be sure you don't regret those words when I'm ripping out chunks of flesh later."
Ryuu's eyes narrowed into pinholes hearing that, and his blood turned cold as Mira's voice sounded way too serious when she said those words.
"Wait! Wait! Wait! There's no need to go that far, right?! I was just joking around, okay?!" Ryuu yelled, but Mira never responded.
Instead, a bloody aura surrounded her, and she charged at Ryuu, seemingly with no intention of holding back! This frightened Ryuu as he wasn't prepared for such a change, and because of this, Mira was able to catch him off-guard.
*Clank!*
Their weapons clashed, but this time, Ryuu was the one to get hit. He felt a pang in his side as the impact sent him hurdling through the air, during which Mira's voice entered his ears.
"You're going to have to do better than that!"
***
Master Izaria watched all this happen from the sidelines with a faint smile on her face, but deep down, she was curious about something.
'Why does it seem like after Mira went all crazy, she became more…human? She seems to be showing more emotion than I thought an apathetic person like her could show.'
Shrugging her shoulders, she pushed that thought to the back of her mind and returned to watching her disciple enjoy himself with his new 'friend'.
