A Bug In Fate

A few moments earlier...

While Alden charged into the horde of monsters, a woman observed him with keen attention.

*Hmm... let’s see.*

She thought as Alden rushed toward the first monster that came before him.

She watched him sever its arm before finishing it off with a single strike.

"Good."

The next moment, Ravenna saw Alden being surrounded by several monsters.

She watched with anticipation, waiting to see how he would deal with them.

But her expectations were quickly overturned.

Instead of fighting them head-on, Alden simply changed his position.

"Huh... why did he do that?"

She murmured to herself.

Ahead of her, Alden seemed to have abandoned the idea of killing every monster one by one. Instead, he deliberately charged toward groups of monsters.

"Hmm... now that’s much better."

She nodded in satisfaction, and a faint smile appeared on her face.

"His speed and strength are impressive."

As the battle continued, Ravenna carefully analyzed every aspect of his fighting style.

She had to admit she was impressed.

Different expressions passed across her face as she watched.

Sometimes she smiled or nodded in satisfaction, as though Alden had done exactly what she expected.

Other times, she frowned, a thoughtful look appearing on her face whenever he made a questionable decision.

Her expressions—and even the aura around her—changed so frequently that if a passerby had seen her, they might have concluded that she was suffering from multiple personality disorder.

Back on the battlefield, a jelly-like sphere of water was being formed by a group of aerial monsters.

Alden suddenly leaped into the air and cut one of them down, causing the synchronized attack to collapse before it could be completed.

"...He also has good awareness of his surroundings"

Ravenna murmured and nodded to herself.

She didn’t know how, but Alden always seemed to sense incoming attacks before they got close to him.

"Perhaps... an innate ability?"

A thoughtful expression appeared on her face.

It wasn’t as though there weren’t abilities that enhanced one’s senses.

Generally, cultivators developed sharper instincts as they grew stronger and accumulated battle experience.

But Alden was only in the Spark Realm.

If he truly possessed such extensive combat experience, then some of his earlier decisions on the battlefield completely contradicted that impression.

" Hmm...And his swordsmanship is refined."

She continued as her eyes followed every movement of his blade.

Every strike was simple...

Yet incredibly efficient.

To refine every basic movement to this degree at his age...

*...Sigh. I guess he is a genius when it comes to swordsmanship.*

She thought to herself.

After all, there were people in the world who possessed extraordinary talent with a specific weapon, some of whom had reached heights so great that their names were known across the entire world.

Whether Alden would become one of them, however, was something only time could tell.

Like that, Ravenna continued analyzing every aspect of Alden’s battle until the last monster fell.

Only then did Alden lower his sword and begin walking toward her with a calm expression.

Alden stopped in front of her with a faint smile lingering on his face.

"So... Teacher, how did I do?"

There was a hint of expectation in his voice. After fighting for nearly twenty minutes against sixty Rupture Realm monsters, he couldn’t help but feel a little proud of himself. If nothing else, he thought he deserved a few words of praise.

Ravenna looked at him for a moment before smiling gently.

"You are a mess."

"...Huh?"

"You heard me."

"You are a mess."

Alden’s smile froze.

He stared at her in silence, unable to understand how she could say something so merciless with such a gentle expression.

What the hell does she mean?

He instinctively glanced back at the battlefield, wondering if he had overlooked something obvious. Seeing nothing unusual, he looked back at her with genuine confusion.

"What do you mean by that?"

Ravenna folded her arms and spoke calmly.

"Let’s start with your strengths. Your physical strength and speed are impressive. You most likely possess a special physique, which explains why someone in the Spark Realm can match Rupture Realm monsters in terms of raw physical ability."

Alden blinked before smiling awkwardly.

"Oh... thank you."

"But," Ravenna continued without changing her expression, "you’re not using that advantage to its full potential."

The smile on Alden’s face gradually disappeared.

"What do you mean?"

"You keep jumping around the battlefield and changing positions every time several monsters surround you. That certainly keeps you safe, but it also wastes time. With your physical strength, you could have broken through them directly instead of avoiding every confrontation."

She paused before adding in the same calm tone,

"And if this had been an actual battlefield instead of a training session, the time you spent moving from one place to another would have been enough for your comrades to die."

"...Oh."

That single sentence left Alden speechless. He hadn’t even considered that possibility.

"Why do you fight like that?" Ravenna asked calmly.

Alden frowned and fell into thought.

Why did he fight like that?

"...I don’t know."

He answered honestly after a few moments, a confused look appearing on his face.

"I’ve never really thought about it before."

Ravenna simply nodded.

"That’s alright. Not everyone realizes how their fighting style develops."

She remained silent for a moment, seemingly organizing her thoughts before continuing.

"A person’s fighting style isn’t something they’re born with. It’s shaped through experience—through the battles they fight and the situations they survive. Little by little, those experiences become habits, and those habits eventually become their personal style."

Her eyes settled on Alden.

"So tell me, what kind of opponents did you fight when you first started cultivating?"

"Awakened Realm monsters."

Alden answered without hesitation, recalling the rabbit and chameleon he had hunted for food during his first days in the Evernight Forest.

Ravenna nodded slightly.

"That’s normal. But besides them?"

"Did you fight anything else?"

There was genuine curiosity in her voice. In her opinion, an Awakened Realm cultivator should primarily fight monsters of the same realm to build a solid foundation.

Alden thought for a moment before answering.

"Well... In awekend realm I also fought groups of monsters by myself. Later I fought a few Spark Realm monsters, and... that’s about it."

His mind drifted back to those difficult days in the Evernight Forest, where every battle had been a struggle for survival.

He also remembered the bandits he had killed.

But he chose not to mention them.

There was no reason to tell Ravenna everything.

Meanwhile, Ravenna couldn’t hide her surprise.

it was difficult but not impossible for an Awakened Realm cultivator fighting groups of monsters alone.

There were many geniuses capable of accomplishing such feats.

And it was bare minimum for noble familes.

The difference was that those geniuses usually possessed priceless cultivation techniques, powerful weapons, and abundant resources provided by their families.

Alden...

Had none of them.

Ravenna recalled everything she had observed during the battle.

*He has exceptional physical strength, a mediocre movement technique, what seems to be an outstanding sensing ability, remarkable mana control... and refined swordsmanship.*

She mentally listed every strength her student possessed.

Then she began listing what he lacked.

*He doesn’t know any sword techniques... only refined basic moves... Hmm...*

Her gaze lingered on Alden as she continued analyzing him.

One detail after another passed through her mind until...

...Wait.

Her eyes narrowed.

He isn’t using a mana cultivation technique.

"...You."

Her expression changed completely.

For the first time since the lesson began, genuine surprise appeared on her face.

She looked at Alden once again, as if trying to confirm she hadn’t made a mistake.

"Hmm?"

Alden tilted his head in confusion, unable to understand why she was suddenly looking at him like that.

"Why aren’t you using a mana cultivation technique?"

Ravenna asked directly, unable to hide the surprise in her voice.

Alden looked at her as if the answer was obvious.

"Because I don’t have one."

For a brief moment, Ravenna simply stared at him.

"...What the hell?"

She couldn’t stop herself from blurting it out.

"If you don’t have a cultivation technique, then how did you break through to the Spark Realm?"

"Hmm?"

Alden tilted his head in confusion before answering as naturally as if he were talking about the weather.

"I just... broke through."

Ravenna felt a headache coming on.

"...Do you even realize what you’re doing?"

She asked, trying her best to remain calm.

Alden thought seriously for a moment before giving an honest answer.

"...yes?"

Ravenna opened her mouth to lecture him, but the words never came out.

Looking into his eyes, she quickly realized he wasn’t joking or trying to provoke her.

He genuinely had no idea.

...Sigh.

Calm down, Ravenna.

She took a slow breath, forcing herself to regain her composure before looking at him again.

"It seems I underestimated how much you don’t know."

A helpless smile appeared on her face.

"I have a feeling our training is going to last much longer than three hours."

She had originally planned to spend those three hours correcting his combat habits.

Now...

She first had to teach him the basics of cultivation itself.

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