NOVPUBWhen I heard about the confrontation between the knight orders, I actually thought that the First Queen might want to shift the command onto someone else.
And that makes sense, because every single knight in the Allen Knight Order is basically a monster!
Starting from the newbie, the weakling that barely qualifies, to even Poseil. There are so many characters who, even if they appeared in the last part of the game, you’d think, “Ah, so that’s why they’ve been hiding their identity all this time.”
How is the First Knight Order supposed to defeat these guys?
Ah, of course, they’re not completely useless. They’re assembled as the elite of the kingdom, so they do have a decent level of skill. In the game, they were tough opponents, after all.
But that’s based on the strength shown in the game, isn’t it? Characters that have transcended the game's limitations won’t necessarily be strong in reality!
It seems Benedict’s thoughts weren’t much different, as he accepted the proposal put forth by the First Queen.
Then, the next day, when Benedict returned to the territory and informed the knights of this, they all erupted in cheers.
“Haha! How long has it been since we’ve seen real combat?!” “If it’s the First Knight Order, they must be powerful! I’m itching to swing my weapon!” “I’ll do my best to protect the honor of the Allen family!”
These knights, whose brains were filled with muscle to the point they’d even laugh off the intense training of the Allen family, seemed more excited about facing the kingdom’s elites than intimidated.
Of course, despite being knights, their speech is polite, but if you just look at them, the men would seem like they were ready to commit crimes and the women might seem like they were ready to die.
Hmm... Was that the opposite?
Oh, well. Anyway, after seeing the knights who were ready to do anything but consider defeat, I passed by those who shouted about starting deadly training and headed to the inner training grounds.
<Alright, then. From now on, I’ll teach you what I’ve realized.> "If it's nonsense, I'll get angry."
They didn’t even explain properly what kind of value the Fairy Forest held, and as a result, I had to suffer even more after losing the broken character.
<Heh. Don’t worry. I’m not planning to get stuck in a trash can.>
The old man chuckled lightly and, as usual, had me stand in front of the mirror.
<Do you remember the advice the God of Martial Arts gave me?> “Something like... 'Softness and strength are opposites,' right?”
I had pondered that phrase deeply afterward, but I couldn’t find any revelation.
That’s just a cliché from martial arts novels, isn’t it? They talk about comparing trees and weeds, sometimes saying that the weakest things might be the strongest... all that kind of stuff.
What does that have to do with the martial arts I’m practicing?
<The fairy weapons you’re wielding now are endlessly soft and flexible. Like the breeze flowing in spring. That's why I wanted to specialize in that part.>
What the old man was talking about was the weapon style we had originally chosen. We had intended to raise softness to its extreme.
The playful fairy dance was so fragile that it might scatter at any moment, so instead of countering an attack, we decided to focus on dodging and evading.
I agreed with the old man’s point.
Rather than thinking, “Is this all I can do?” I’d think, “You can’t even hit what’s right in front of you?”
<I got caught up in this idea of specialization. Just as my past self specialized in strength, I believed that focusing on one thing would help me progress faster.> “Isn’t that correct?”
<Right. Normally, that would be the case. But the fairy dance doesn’t work like that.>
The old man recalled the time when he faced the fairies and spoke out.
<They appear weak and delicate. They seem playful and ready to scatter. But that’s not the case. The fairies who protect the forest are never weak.>
If you get deceived by their appearance and join in their games, ordinary humans will die.
If you truly anger the fairies, a disaster will occur. If even the Fairy Queen turns against you, then a crisis worse than the fall of an entire nation will come.
Having fought the Fairy Queen who had fallen to the Dark God, the old man spoke of how strong she had been, and how terrifying the fairies were. He talked about the fear of stepping into their forest.
<Soon, you will see for yourself. But the fairy dance is very much like you. The delicate appearance, the playful laughter, the ability to captivate the world. And beneath that, the hidden strength.> “Yes.”
<So, go ahead and dance the fairy dance. Join them in their games.>
After the abstract explanation, the old man started talking about how to modify my technique specifically.
<Step lightly, as if you were walking on the wind.>
I abandon the heavy steps of a knight and adopt light steps, bouncing like a droplet of water falling into a puddle.
<Make your arms and legs softer. Flowing with the water.>
I discard the solid posture I had maintained since holding the shield. Like a dancer on stage, I link each movement smoothly. I dance the fairy dance.
<Then strike! Like a massive wave crashing on a calm sea, fast and fierce, too overwhelming to react to.>
The bouncy steps are not rigid, but they are fast.
Thus, I can always fall back to the ground and draw on their strength.
The soft movements don’t carry the fierce power of the original stiffness.
However, the uninterrupted softness gains power with every step forward.
When I reach the end, the strength contained within is even greater than before.
I swing the mace.
I unleash the strength hidden within the dance.
I show my fury to the deceived.
Bang!
At the moment I struck the air, a gust of wind blew with an explosive sound, ruffling my hair.
Beyond the ringing in my ears, I heard a familiar notification sound, and a new blue spear appeared in front of me.
[You have learned the Fairy Dance [Ruelyu]!]
Was the martial art that the old man had devised finally recognized as a skill?
After confirming the message, I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.
Ruelyu.
There was no such skill other than the one created by the old man, so does this term even have any meaning?
<Excellent, Lucy.>
“No, I just did what you told me to do.”
<You showed a dance that surpassed what I had imagined. I probably won’t be able to follow even part of your dance.>
“It would be nice if you gave me this kind of praise all the time.”
I smiled slyly, melting under the old man’s excessive praise, before suddenly snapping back to reality and showing him the notification in front of me. It was a confirmation that the skill created by the old man had been recognized.
<...It’s an honor.>
The old man, who had been silent for a while, finally spoke out, saying it was an honor, before closing his mouth again.
Hmm. Normally, I’d poke fun at him for this, but sometimes it’s not bad to just act like a proper granddaughter and show respect.
...Now that I think about it, this isn’t the first time the old man’s technique was recognized as a skill, right?
Like with the Sacred Martial Arts or the miracles he performed.
Hmm. I’ll keep my mouth shut. I don’t want to come off as insensitive by saying something unnecessary.
By the way, seeing that the skill I just acquired is called Ruelyu, it looks like it can be connected with other skills, like Sacred Martial Arts or Miracles.
Curious, I wondered if I should experiment right now.
I raised the sacred energy within my body and imagined my opponent.
I pictured the opponent from the recent match where I clashed with weapons.
Luca, tainted by the Dark God.
Seeing him smile playfully, I responded with a smile and waited for him to charge at me.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
I swiftly dodged Luca’s attacks, which came at me relentlessly.
His fierce onslaught seemed like it could destroy anything, but it was clear that even the waves couldn’t be shattered.
As I flowed and evaded his attacks, I looked back at where I had just passed.
Each of my steps left behind traces of the Sacred Energy.
The Sacred Energy that filled my body left behind illusions with every step I took.
Noticing this, an interesting thought popped into my mind, and I moved faster.
The stage was set.
Instead of drawing magic circles with my hands, I used my body and feet to draw on the earth.
I created the place where I would dance, a performance space bathed in the bright light of the sun.
Hah. I never expected the nagging I’d heard while learning Sacred Magic from the old man to be used in this way.
“You useless god. If you have any sense, put some energy into this. I know you like being used like a tool by a cute girl, so don’t try to pretend otherwise.”
The words were so impertinent and disrespectful that they couldn’t be explained as rude or irreverent, but the stage I created still shone brightly, just as I imagined.
A stage for performing the fairy dance.
It traps evil, purifies the wicked, and grants power to those who do the right thing.
And for me, it creates a place where I can easily captivate my enemies.
If I had to categorize it, it’s close to an application of Sacred Realm magic, but that’s not important.
What matters is whether this technique, which originated from my own idea, is practical.
<It’s like a priestess dancing in the center of a ritual.>
Hearing the old man’s amazed voice, I realized that this was quite useful.
Good. I created another one. Maybe I should call it the Fairy Realm for now.
But it seems like this method could be applied in many other ways, not just in the Fairy Realm.
If I can use sacred energy to create something, then anything is possible.
“I think this is the first time I’ve felt thankful for living this long.”
Surprised by the voice behind me, I turned my head to see Kal and Inuki entering through the door.
Our weakling knight was crying for some reason, and Inuki, full of sincere admiration, walked toward me.
“I’m glad you were stubborn. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to make armor fitting for you.”
Armor?
...
Has the armor been completed already?!
Already?! 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
