Rudeus blinked in surprise.
"A Water God-ranked swordsman, the top of the Water God Style from the central dojo, called Reida Ria... sounds like a cool, powerful onee-san name. Definitely not an old lady. Allen's so lucky to have met someone like that."
"Allen, you actually met someone like her? Did you see her fight?"
Allen raised his eyes slightly.
"Yeah, I guess I just got lucky."
Paul glanced sideways at Allen, a little knowingly.
Allen gripped the hilt at his side and continued.
"That's my view of the Water God Style. As for the Sword God Style, I don't know much."
He turned to Paul. Paul scratched his cheek.
"Well, I go by feel. But if I had to say, I guess it's 'intuition.'"
Rudeus's eyes sparkled.
"Intuition? Sounds awesome."
Allen's brow twitched.
"Paul-nii, isn't that just another way to say 'feeling'? Are you just talking about your own intuition?"
Paul glanced upstairs and caught Zenith smiling down at him. He smiled back and turned serious.
"More precisely, it's battle intuition. In short—"
Paul's face tightened, suddenly grave.
"The sword must be faster than thought."
Rudeus clapped enthusiastically.
Allen looked unimpressed. He'd heard this dozens of times, but the abstractness of it made it hard to apply.
Just as Allen was about to press for clarification, Rudeus piped up.
"What about the North God Style?"
Allen blinked at him. Rudeus glanced toward Paul.
Paul was groaning, looking like he wanted to pull his hair out.
Allen cleared his throat.
"Well, the North God Style..."
Paul visibly relaxed.
Allen sighed and continued.
"Unlike the other two, the North God Style doesn't have a single core tenet. It's composed of various schools, each with their own focus."
"For example, take the most popular style among adventurers—North God Style Kiba School. Kiba doesn't analyze like the Water God Style or rely on sheer power like the Sword God Style. Instead, it adapts to the situation and picks the most effective method to win."
Rudeus frowned.
"That sounds kind of like the Water God Style—adapting to the situation."
"No, the methods are completely different."
Allen suddenly remembered Rudeus's future encounters with North God users and decided to give an example.
Before Rudeus could react, Allen slashed his sword. Rudeus flinched and dodged instinctively—only to trip over Allen's outstretched foot.
"You're shameless!"
"Exactly! North God Kiba Style is all about being shameless. Anything goes if it means winning. Honestly, I was going to kick you in the crotch."
"Nooo!"
Rudeus clutched himself, only to find Allen's knife-hand already at his brow.
Allen flicked his forehead and motioned for him to sit.
"Don't tell me you were going to pull my chair next!"
Allen grinned.
"If I were using Kiba Style, this leaf would be a hidden weapon."
He flicked a leaf, and it landed on Rudeus's forehead.
At that moment, Paul's serious tone broke in.
"Allen. Even if it's an example, don't swing your sword at family."
Allen blinked, saw Paul was completely serious, and nodded.
"...Yes, sorry."
Paul nodded and let him continue.
"That's most of it. But since it's clear I don't know Sword God Style well, I've got some questions. Just answer me directly."
Paul sighed. No escaping now.
"Go ahead."
"I've heard that in Sword God training, people train by performing countless focused slashes every day—some even say you can reach the Sword God Style ultimate technique: Light Blade, that way. True?"
Paul's face twisted.
"That sounds like Ghislaine's method... hmm."
Allen chuckled via telepathy.
("Exactly, Paul-nii. That's how Ghislaine and Eris trained.")
After some thinking, Paul replied.
"Everyone has their own way of training, but slashing itself is definitely effective. I've seen Sword God practitioners train that way."
Allen narrowed his eyes.
"The slashing itself?"
"Yeah. Let me contrast it with Water God. In Water God Style, you: perceive and analyze the environment, plan, move to evade or block, then counterattack with a slash. The key is in observation. Slashing is just a means."
"In Sword God Style—"
Paul stared directly at Allen.
"There's no analysis. It's just: I see."
The wind stirred.
In the blink of an eye, Paul's wooden sword was at Rudeus's face. A falling leaf split in half before fluttering down.
"I cut."
Allen stared at the leaf pieces, then slowly looked up at Paul.
Silence.
Paul, pleased with the dramatic effect, nodded.
"That's the Sword God Style: Silent Blade. I held back most of the power. In real combat, it'd be much faster."
Rudeus whined.
"But Father, you just said not to swing swords at family..."
Paul froze.
"Wooden swords don't count."
Rudeus: ...
Allen: ...
Paul turned to Allen.
"Since you favor Water God Style, your reaction is normal. Water and Sword God Styles are polar opposites."
Allen sighed, brushing his fingers over his blade's hilt.
"Still full of feel-based nonsense... but this time, something felt different."
I see. I cut.
(End of Chapter)
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