* * *
After contemplating various ways to deal with an emergency, I barely recalled that this was not torture.
This was to help Klen test some kind of magic.
As if waiting for that, a sudden wave of cold air rushed in.
Clang! Clang, clang, clang!
“……?!”
And soon, ice began to sprout all over the sword blade stretched far away, like a hedgehog raising its quills.
My body, startled by the sudden situation, jumped up, and I almost dropped the sword.
“Are you alright?”
“!”
A startled heart was more easily shocked by the next impact.
The moment I looked up and confirmed the appearance of Klen, who had appeared right in front of me, I almost screamed.
I usually wouldn’t be this surprised.
I suppressed my pounding heart and slowly took a deep breath.
“Were you hit by the magic?”
“Ah, no. I was just a little surprised.”
But as if he didn’t believe my words, Klen took the hand holding the sword.
As if to check my body temperature, the hand that enveloped mine entirely was gently stroking the area.
His other hand cupped my cheek.
After standing still for a moment, he backed away, seemingly satisfied that I wasn’t as cold as expected.
“Then, try swinging it.”
I raised the sword high. And as I quickly swung it forward,
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!
“……!”
The ice that had sprouted on the blade all shot forward at once.
I couldn’t be sure of the power, but if an enemy had been standing in front of me, they might have been riddled with holes.
It was only a little disappointing that it was a one-time use.
With that single use, the sword returned to its usual appearance.
A similar thing had happened in the forest.
But this felt different again.
Not only was the element different, but the situation was completely different too.
Unlike having to endure something flying toward me at the cost of some damage, the magic wrapped around the sword just by standing still.
And without any intent or movement to attack.
But because he wasn’t sure about it, Klen seemed to have kept me at a distance from the sword.
“Do you want to try more?”
“Yes!”
Of course, I welcomed it.
It felt as if I was using magic myself.
Although I wasn’t particularly interested in magic, I was naturally intrigued by unique techniques.
This was closer to magic than to swordsmanship.
While I chuckled to myself, Klen reached out his hand to Levatein again.
Saaaaaah—
And the sword blade was fully imbued with cold air.
Once, twice.
As we repeated the same process, I became quite accustomed to it.
Levatein, which was initially kept at a distance because I couldn’t gauge the proper range, was now quite close to me.
I felt that if I moved just a little more, I could hold the sword straight and still properly imbue it with magic.
Whoosh—
As I swung the sword, this time a bone-chilling cold air spread out.
“Is your magic power alright?”
I was just swinging the sword like in a normal training session, but Klen would consume magic power every time he used magic.
I didn’t know how strong the magic he was using now was.
The stronger the magic, the more severe the consumption would be.
And wasn’t it said that if magic power was depleted, life could be endangered?
Klen lightly raised his shoulder.
“This much is no problem.”
“……”
It was a relief that it was no problem. How strong is this man, really?
The face looking at me was the same as usual, only lightly tinged with coldness.
Not a trace of paleness could be found.
“I seem to be quite accustomed to this now. Please tell me when you need it.”
“Ah, yes. Th… thank you.”
It was something that couldn’t be used carelessly in front of many people, but an unexpectedly strong power had been added to me.
In a sense, it was a secret weapon that could launch a strong surprise attack just once.
‘Although it has the drawback of requiring him to be present to use it.’
I lowered the sword I had swung diligently and looked at Klen.
He had used too much magic in one go.
Although he insisted he was fine, this situation must be new to him too.
He might not be correctly assessing his own condition.
Wouldn’t it be better to rest for a bit and recover his magic power?
I looked around to take a break.
“Come to think of it, can’t you also see the spell formations?”
“Yes, I can.”
Klen immediately held out his hand.
I tried to make him rest, but it seems I chose the wrong question.
His hand lightly swept the surroundings, and I felt a sensation as if the wind was spreading out.
Was this how he checked for spell formations?
It was a different method from the healer’s or Elliot’s.
His magic-using hand moved habitually and imbued my sword with cold air.
“Coming here earlier was also to find the suspicious spell formation you mentioned. If I had known it was a teleportation spell, I would have searched more thoroughly.”
“Ahaha……”
It seemed that because neither of us had properly shared information, we had taken a long route instead of the short one.
Klen quietly focused his power and waved his hand.
Then, sparkling lights began to rise from the places the wind had touched and gathered together.
The gathered lights began to display some characters in a row.
What he kindly displayed for me to see was clearly a spell formation.
Knowing that this was a place where knights rarely patrolled, the spell formations were spread out around us, quite varied and complex.
‘Are these all failed attempts?’
Surely, it wasn’t the work of the person I saw at the ball.
“Oh, that’s right.”
Seeing the spell formation, another piece of information that I hadn’t conveyed to him crossed my mind.
“That stain you saw before.”
“……?”
“I heard it was a type of curse.”
“A curse?”
Klen’s expression became heavy.
And I could clearly feel his senses extending everywhere, to the point where my skin felt itchy.
He didn’t hide the cautious and persistent energy that was entwining with the surroundings, as if he wouldn’t miss a single small movement, sound, or scribble.
Was he checking if that stain remained nearby?
“I was told that if you had touched it, the curse would have seeped not only here but also deep into the forest, which is why they stopped you.”
“Is that a story from the Divine Beast?”
“Yes.”
His eyes narrowed.
The heavy air was mixed with a coldness that made me feel like my body would freeze if I stood still any longer.
“In that case, we should look around for a moment before leaving.”
Instead of answering, I quickly nodded my head.
The result of his original purpose, the magic practice, was also successful.
And now, since his attention was focused elsewhere, the practice was over.
I swung the sword hard for a final flourish.
Clang—!
“Oh?!”
“!”
We both widened our eyes simultaneously and were speechless at the sight before us.
Klen had just imbued my sword with cold air.
Because I swung the sword, the magic that Levatein had contained rapidly shot forward.
That was within the expected range.
The reason we were surprised was something else.
* * *
