The stance that Diether had used requires extreme precision to execute. If there was a mistake in his sword placement, Calliope would've realized the trick behind his sword strike and he wouldn't be able to easily gain an advantage.

Pah!

​​

Calliope was hit on her right shoulder after being unable to defend against Diether's attacks… She failed to follow his sword and ended up being hit.

Unfortunately, she was still unable to understand what was happening.

'This is so infuriating… I can't fight back at all…'

Calliope grumbled after realizing how tough her position was.

She couldn't properly execute her sword art as she can't follow Diether's sword… She specializes in return technique and it would be difficult to display her skills with how things are progressing.

"Hey… Sevdi, what's going on?" Kazim whispered to his friend. He didn't want the others to know that he has no idea what was happening so he lowered his voice.

However, to his surprise, the young girl who seemingly knows a lot of things just shook her head.

"I don't have any idea… Just continue watching and we may learn something…"

"I-I see…" Kazim replied but instead of looking at Diether, he observed the crowd and found out that the others were also looking confused.

It seems that they were all unable to comprehend what was happening.

'Well, I can just ask Diether after his fight…

'As Kazim thought of this, he heard the other recruit's ideas about what was happening. They were all trying to make sense of how Diether was doing it.

"It must be an Arcane Magic…"

"I think so too. But what kind of magic is this?"

"Perhaps it's something similar to Slow?"

"But I never heard of a magic weapon that possesses a stealthy Slow ability…"

"That's true. Maybe Diether has an Arcana?"

"That's impossible… He's not even twelve yet…"

The crowd watching their fight was confused, not because of how fast Diether was, but because of how Calliope was unable to react in time.

In truth, they can see that Diether was only moving slowly and the only time that he moves very fast was when he already reach an effective striking range.

Oliver, the Knight-Lieutenant watching the competition, was also unable to comprehend what was happening at first…

However, his vast experience with sword fight made him realize what Diether was doing after seeing it a couple of times…

"This is definitely an optical illusion… Tsk! I should've invited Ferdy and Lauren over. They should see this."

The two people he was referring to were the Knight-Captains he was acquainted with. Their units were composed of the best swordsmen in the Knights Order and they would surely become interested if they saw the fight of these young recruits.

Apparently, Oliver was right…

Seigan no Kamae can also be called the "Right Posture". Just like Men-Kiriotoshi-Men, the most difficult technique in ittouryuu that requires preciseness in the positioning of the sword, Seigan no Kamae also requires the same thing but this time, the placement of the tip of the sword must be aimed straight at the eyes of the opponent.**

By doing so, the opponent will only see the pointed tip of the sword towards them, they will not have a clear view of the length of the sword, and their sense of distance will be blurred.

Thus, making them unable to react in time.

This is also the reason why Calliope was unable to tell if Diether was getting too near.

The moment that she realized he had gotten closer, she would no longer have enough time to respond with her sword art and could only make some hasty defensive actions…

These reactions were sometimes not enough especially if Diether used a stronger Spiritual Energy behind his attack.

Of course, one more secret about his technique was his subtle use of Suri-Ashi…

If not for this foot technique Calliope would've easily noticed his plans.

Finally, after being unable to follow Diether's movement, Calliope made an opening which Diether exploited to end the event…

"I lost…"

Calliope said as she forfeited the fight. She'll just hurt herself if she continued fighting him like this.

"I didn't know that there's someone in this batch that can defeat my sword style…"

"Mhmm… I got lucky... May I know the name of your sword style? I'm amazed by how you control your sword and ignored those impacts whenever we clashed…"

Diether said as he smiled towards her.

He realized a moment ago that using his Jodan against her would not be as effective as Seigan, since her sword art specializes in return technique and she also has that method to control the sword impact she's receiving.

It was quite magical and he wanted to learn how to defeat the users of that sword technique.

"Mhmm… It's a secret. But if you tell me yours, I will tell mine…"

"Oh… Then that's great."

Diether has no intention of hiding the name of his Sword Style. Even his master didn't mind it, so there shouldn't be a problem. Aside from that, he doubts that there would be anyone who knows this sword style since his master said that this technique is from wherever he had come from.

Of course, he didn't ask more about his origin as he imagined it to be a place where only blood can be eaten. In short, a scary and creepy place for a normal human like him.

"Kendo… My master called it Kendo."

"Kendo? I have never heard of it…"

Calliope looked at Diether to see whether he was lying. However, his clear and innocent eyes told her that this guy doesn't know how to lie.

"Mmm… My master said it was special. Who knows, maybe this was his original sword style… right?"

"I see... If your master is a well-known swordsman, then perhaps it is his own sword art."

"Eh? My master? Well… I'm not sure. But that's not important… Tell me your sword style now."

"Ahh… Of course…"

Calliope then stepped closer to Diether as she whispered the name of her sword art.

"It is called Praetorian Sword Style… Hehe. Amazing, right?" Calliope said as she smiled proudly at Diether.

The young boy looked at her blankly as he tries to remember his previous studies about the sword styles in the kingdom. Unfortunately, he couldn't remember any sword style that has that name!

"Ahh… That's-- That sounded very strong. Is it original sword art? It is also my first time hearing that."

"What?!"

Calliope was surprised that this amazing young swordsman has never heard of her Praetorian Sword Art…

After all, it was something very common and it must be included in the teachings of swordmasters! Not many had seen its swordplay but they should've heard of its name even once.

"Are you serious?"

"Er… Yes."

"Sigh~ This sword style should've been around for 300 years…"

That's right! This is one of the oldest Sword Art on the continent! Aside from that, learning about various sword styles was also something that must be done in order to learn how to properly respond.

'I guess he wasn't taught by his teacher… Haa~ I shouldn't compare my master's teaching method to his master…'

Calliope thought as she calmed down.

"Eh? Three hundred years? That long already? Is it supposed to be a famous sword style?"

'Aah!'

Diether then remembered how she even whispered the name of her sword art. It means that it must be something that must be hidden from others.

"Yes… It should be. Please don't tell the others… I didn't display most of my sword art so they shouldn't have recognized that it's that style…"

"Is that so? Don't worry, I'll keep it a secret..."

Their monthly event ended with that as five people received the reward from Oliver.

"All of you guys who took first place in each event, step forward!"

The Knight instructed as five recruits stepped forward from the crowd. Diether and the others anticipated the reward as they faced Oliver.

"Congratulations… Here's your reward…

"Oliver seemed to be lazy as he threw five small objects in the air.

The five caught them and stared at it… They first thought it was a coin but it seems to be a token of some sort.

They have no idea what's the use of this item yet.

Anyway, it was only a small piece of wood with an engraved sun and wings designed in its front and back. It was the old emblem of the Sun Fire Knights.

"Don't lose them. These emblems are important. Once you've had enough, you can exchange it for an item that you can find in the treasury. Aside from that, if you managed to collect a hundred of them, the Knights Order will recommend you to attend the Arcana Bestowal Ceremony. If you understand, you can have a rest now."

After saying that, Oliver quickly left. He can still ask Diether about his sword technique once he rested.

However, all the recruits were stunned by his words that they forgot to answer him!

Attending the Arcana Bestowal Ceremony?

It would be a dream come true for every young practitioner here!

Once the Knight was no longer in their sight, everyone shouted in joy as they were excited about their future… Sure enough, the next monthly event would no longer be as easy as today.