Chapter 39: The Fifth Day

Opening her eyes once more, Xingyu found the horizon still shrouded in a hazy gray.

She exhaled a puff of white vapor that quickly dissolved into the dense morning fog.

Dragged up from the sofa at the Raindrop Commission Agency by Xingyu, Hill slowly opened her eyes, a look of profound grievance lingering in her gaze.

Xingyu felt a slight twinge of guilt in her non-existent conscience.

Yet, she still hauled Hill up firmly. "We need to start today's training."

"Xingying..." Hill rubbed her eyes and replied helplessly, "You don't look like you've rested well either. Shouldn't we first—"

She was simply... far too eager to grow stronger quickly.

Xingyu shook her head. "I want to hurry."

There were too many things weighing on her mind, and that included Hill's busy schedule.

Although Hill always maintained a cheerful expression during their conversations, Xingyu noticed that in the pauses between talking, Hill would frequently glance down at her Agent Terminal, her brow furrowing unconsciously and worry flashing in her eyes.

Every afternoon, after Hill hurried away from the commission agency, she would not return by the time Xingyu left.

Xingyu took a deep breath, forcing herself to ignore the signals of fatigue sent by her body.

The headache caused by lack of sleep and the sore, stinging sensation in her eyes reminded her that she needed more rest, but Xingyu chose to ignore them.

She stared at Hill and repeated, "I want to train earlier."

Her voice held a hint of entreaty, but it was underpinned by determination.

Hill glanced at her and replied with a helpless sigh, "Alright... Since you insist. But there's no need to rush these past couple of days; true experience can only be accumulated through actual combat."

For now, she could only learn the most basic movements.

Slashes, thrusts, upper-cuts.

"...An upper-cut can be used as a deceptive move. It can be used to break through a defense or as a feint to confuse your opponent. This mainly requires flexible use of the wrist."

Clutching Xingyu's black short sword, she simply demonstrated the movement.

Even so, this set of basic exercises still left Xingyu feeling somewhat exhausted.

Days of insufficient rest caused her movements to gradually lose their force.

"Stop." Noticing something was wrong with her state, Hill immediately called a halt. "Let's take a break first. It's useless to continue practicing in your current state. Why are you so absent-minded?"

"Um..." Unable to deny her poor condition any longer, Xingyu sheathed her sword.

Her body was overly fatigued, her mood too restless.

Clearly, she was supposed to be practicing, but her mind kept drifting toward other matters despite herself.

She had to focus... she simply had to.

Her silence and anxious expression did not escape Hill's notice.

"Want to spar with me?"

"Wait—what?" Xingyu snapped her head up, the exhaustion in her eyes instantly vanishing.

The corners of Hill's lips curved upward slightly.

"Just like that. Keep your sword, and I won't use one. You look listless anyway; let's wake you up." Hill spoke casually, even stretching lazily.

"But..." Xingyu gripped the short sword, speaking with hesitation.

She could see that apart from her trench coat made of special fabric, Hill wore no other protective gear.

Besides, this weapon was quite unusual... Wouldn't it be too unfair to fight Hill with it?

"...Are you worried about me? Don't worry." Seeing through Xingyu's reservations, Hill shoved the short sword into her hand and took a few steps back.

"Alright!"

Her fatigue and anxiety seemed to be instantly cast to the winds, replaced by a long-absent desire for a challenge.

She now possessed some combat experience, and her body had undergone two enhancements.

More importantly, her mindset had shifted—

When facing combat, she no longer felt intense fear; instead, there was a faint anticipation of rising to the challenge.

Xingyu took a deep breath, her gaze sharpening. She tightened her grip on the short sword and assumed a combat stance.

"I'll count to three, and when I say stop, it ends."

Hill continued to back away, her hands casually tucked into the pockets of her trench coat.

"Then, one, two..."

"Three."

The moment the word fell, time seemed to accelerate. Before Xingyu could even blink, Hill had charged toward her like a phantom.

Xingyu instinctively swung her sword to parry, but Hill's movements were almost too fast to track. Deftly dodging the blade, she side-stepped directly to Xingyu's flank.

A rushing gust of wind heralded an incoming blow, and Xingyu barely managed to dodge Hill's knife-hand strike.

This split second made her realize how ridiculous her earlier concern about hurting Hill had been.

She quickly adjusted her mindset and, without hesitation, swung her sword in a counter-thrust toward Hill's position.

Hill gracefully stepped back half a step, evading the counter-attack.

A smile still lingered at the corners of her mouth, as if she merely found the whole thing amusing.

Xingyu whirled around, her sword momentum this time far fiercer, carrying a reckless desperation. Hill frowned slightly, evidently not expecting Xingyu to adapt to the battle rhythm so quickly. She was forced to retreat rapidly to avoid the blade's edge.

Her evasive maneuvers appeared casual, yet every step was erratic and hard to predict. Xingyu immediately felt immense pressure—she seemed completely unable to touch her target.

After catching her breath briefly, she stopped launching chaotic attacks and prudently created some distance between them.

"What? Done already?" Hill raised an eyebrow, a provocative edge to her tone.

Hill wasn't taking the spar seriously at all... She was merely dodging Xingyu's attacks without launching many counter-offensives, making her demeanor seem rather leisurely.

"You're being so perfunctory with me... Can this even be called a spar?"

"Ah—well, that's fair too."

An expression of mock regret crossed Hill's face before she cracked her knuckles.

In the blink of an eye, the distance between them closed once more. Xingyu barely had time to instinctively raise her sword to block when a tremendous force slammed into her.

Hill's fist struck the hilt heavily, the vibration traveling all the way up Xingyu's arm and sending a pain through her wrist as if it were cracking.

It hurts—

With a clatter, the short sword fell to the ground. The powerful impact forced Xingyu to stumble back a step, though she managed to keep her balance. Enduring the pain, she instantly reversed her grip, wrapped her wrist around Hill's arm, and pulled downward to neutralize her momentum.

Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Xingyu abruptly changed her moves. With her right hand gripping the sword, she thrust upward, the blade aiming straight for Hill's throat.

The tip of the sword stopped just short of Hill's neck.

...She was far too short compared to Hill; this distance was already her absolute limit.

Xingyu panted heavily, her chest heaving violently. Her muscles trembled slightly from intense tension, and sweat dripped down her forehead.

Finding this opening relied entirely on her accurate grasp of Hill's slightly casual attitude toward the fight.

If Hill had truly gone all out, she wouldn't even have needed to use mental interference to inflict severe damage; it would have been a completely one-sided rout.

Even so... she had given this duel everything she had. Although she hadn't deployed the detailed techniques Hill taught her, it wasn't a bad showing, was it?

Just as she opened her mouth to say, "I—"

Hill flashed her a meaningful smile.

The next instant, her wrist was firmly seized—Hill clasped both hands around her wrist and wrenched it sharply outward with blinding speed.

The sequence of movements was fluid and natural, as if rehearsed a thousand times.

The move was fast and vicious, bringing not just pain, but an abrupt loss of control. A numbness spread through Xingyu's wrist, and the short sword almost slipped from her grasp.

Before she could react, her sole remaining weapon had changed hands.

Hill effortlessly flipped the hilt into her palm, the blade pointing slightly downward toward Xingyu's forehead, as if the weapon had always belonged to her.

A chilling intent of slaughter washed over her.

The cold metal rested a hair's breadth from her skin. The oppressive weight forced Xingyu to lift her chin while involuntarily holding her breath.

"Only when it reaches this point does the fight truly end."

Hill casually put the weapon away, and the sensation of mortal peril vanished instantly.

"Well? Was I taking you seriously or not?"

"..."

...Was this person here to encourage her, or to shatter the confidence she had built up over the past few days?

Pressing her lips together, Xingyu took the sword handed back to her.

Her fingers were still trembling slightly, whether from the intense combat or the internal wave of frustration, she couldn't tell.

"Not bad at all. Your reflexes were better than I expected. Don't be impatient; techniques are learned gradually, and trying to force them won't work..." Mid-sentence, Hill seemed to notice something.

She bent down slightly so her eyes were level with Xingyu's. "Oh? Are you mad?"

"I am... not." Xingyu replied sullenly.

Hill's smile widened. She pinched Xingyu's cheek, deliberately adopting a light tone. "Then why aren't you looking at me?"

"Ow—" Xingyu batted her hand away.

She was annoyed by Hill's keen perception and simultaneously mortified by her own inadvertent display of emotion.

She couldn't keep going like this.

She must, absolutely must, control her expression at all times and never reveal her true feelings.

Taking a deep breath, Xingyu forced herself to raise her head and meet Hill's gaze.

"I was just thinking about the battle just now."

...Even to her own ears, her voice lacked conviction.

Hill casually ruffled Xingyu's hair and changed the subject. "Fine, if you say so. How's your hand?"

"Oh, by the way, I heard from Quenna that you went to apply for a 'codename' yesterday?"