Chapter 7: The Ten-Day Bet, A Genius's Ability Return |
...
Hearing these words, Olivia clenched her fists and lowered her head slightly, her cheeks flushing red.
She had shamed the young master...
She felt deeply ashamed.
She hated why she was born an Albino; why she was a woman, why she was so frail...
She detested this feeling of helplessness, just like when she had been captured earlier.
At that moment, a hand patted her shoulder and pulled her behind him.
Jonas gently touched the somewhat dazed Olivia's head.
Then he smiled at Asher and said, "Asher, let's make a bet, shall we?"
Clang—
Jonas drew the prepared sword from his back and placed it directly on the stone table before them.
"The wager is this sword."
The sword had a slender and straight blade, its edge as sharp as frost.
Instantly, Asher's gaze was drawn to it. Having once been the strongest swordsman here, he naturally had an ardent pursuit of fine blades.
And this sword before him was, in his eyes, of superior quality.
This sword was named Frostclear.
It was forged at great expense by Jonas's father, Holdo, as a birthday gift when Jonas was born.
Holdo had hoped Jonas would become a great swordsman like himself.
Unfortunately, Jonas's subsequent performance was truly disappointing, and the sword had been left unused in his room.
Seeing this sword, Asher's eyes gleamed, and he subconsciously asked, "What's the bet?"
Jonas smiled and said, "Let's bet that after ten days of training with you,
if any one of your students here can defeat her, I lose!"
Jonas had observed that these students weren't particularly talented and had only trained for a few months.
With Olivia's S-rank top-tier talent, ten days of training would be more than enough to easily defeat them.
Jonas continued, "If I win, you must unconditionally teach her for three months, treating her as a true disciple and imparting all your skills and experience to her."
"If I lose, this sword is yours."
After hearing Jonas's words, Asher looked at him as if he were an idiot.
Then he glanced at the frail Olivia beside him.
What difference was there between this bet and simply giving him the sword?
How could such a weak, seemingly cowardly Albino possibly defeat his students who had trained for months?
Impossible!
For a moment, Asher thought Jonas had lost his mind at the brothel, otherwise how could he say such things?
The students behind him also nearly burst out laughing, but remembering this was Young Master Jonas, they held back.
Without much hesitation, Asher immediately said, "Fine! I accept your bet! I hope you won't go back on your word!"
"The Regin Family never breaks promises!
I'll come to observe over the next ten days. I hope you won't treat her differently."
"Don't worry... I, Asher, wouldn't stoop to such things. Even if I teach her everything I know, she still couldn't defeat my students.
I have full confidence in them."
"Good, then we'll see."
Seeing Jonas's confident expression, Olivia tugged at his sleeve and asked timidly, "Young master... can I really do this?"
Jonas said, "Respect is earned through your own efforts. Whether you can do it depends on you!
I hope you won't waste your talent or disappoint me.
Remember, from now on you are Olivia the swordsman, not some lowly Albino.
Understand?"
Looking into Jonas's eyes, Olivia clenched her fists tightly. "I'll do my best!"
[Loyalty: 35%]
[Ability Return: Sevenfold]
...
Soon, Olivia was assigned to the swordsmanship class to train with the other students.
But because of her identity as an Albino and being female,
the other students kept their distance, leaving a large empty space around Olivia that made her stand out awkwardly.
The students watched Olivia with schadenfreude.
Those who could become Asher's students all had decent talent.
Asher was always strict with his students, and they couldn't imagine a frail Albino enduring such training.
...
At the start of training, everyone was given a sword.
The sword was heavy. While the other students could lift theirs easily, Olivia could barely hold hers steady.
Years of malnutrition had left her significantly smaller than the other students.
Seeing Olivia swaying slightly as she held the sword,
the surrounding students couldn't help but laugh.
If she couldn't even hold the sword steady, how could she possibly train?
Young Master Jonas sending someone like this for swordsmanship training was the biggest joke.
This was a military camp, not a place where just anyone could come!
The class leader, Mofort, sneered, "If you can't handle it, go get a maid's broomstick. That would suit you better as a sword."
"Haha..."
"Albinos shouldn't even be here!"
The others joined in the laughter.
Olivia bit her lower lip, her pale face flushing red from exertion and humiliation. She didn't respond to the taunts, only gripping the hilt tighter with both hands.
Asher, seeing this, shook his head disappointedly and said, "Go get a wooden sword. The steel one is too heavy for you."
Olivia glanced at Jonas in the distance and saw him nod.
Reluctantly, she exchanged for a wooden sword and stood at the back of the group.
She didn't want to embarrass the young master, but she'd already done so from the very beginning.
...
After everyone had their training swords,
Asher stood at the front and announced loudly: "To become a great swordsman, the most important thing is foundation.
Every famous swordsman has performed countless basic strikes and swings. Follow my demonstration,
then practice this basic form 300 times!
Begin!"
After demonstrating once, Asher stopped
and let the students practice on their own.
After correcting a few students' forms, he approached Jonas.
Smiling, he said, "Young Master Jonas, it seems this sword will soon be mine. The more I look at it, the more I like it."
On the training ground, compared to those effortlessly wielding steel swords,
Olivia with her wooden sword looked utterly clumsy.
Just as the class leader had said, perhaps a broom would suit her better than a sword.
Asher still couldn't understand why the young master would send a frail Albino to his swordsmanship class.
Was it really just for some peculiar preference?
...
Jonas didn't respond immediately. Instead, he looked at his system interface, crossed his legs, and couldn't help but smile.
[Olivia]
[Swordsmanship: +1, +1]
[Jonas]
[Swordsmanship Increase: +7, +7]
The ability return from a genius was tremendous.
An ordinary person just starting swordsmanship might take considerable time to improve.
But a genius had innate talent and comprehension, showing such obvious improvement immediately.
Simultaneously, Jonas gained new insights into swordsmanship, and a surge of strength flowed through his body.
"How interesting."
His sister Slynda was a Greenstone-rank swordsman with swordsmanship ability over 3000.
After just three years of training, she was acknowledged as a genius.
At his current rate, he might surpass her in just ten days.
Heh...
When that time comes,
he wondered what expression his sister Slynda, who always looked down on her "useless" brother, would make if she got instantly defeated by him?
...