My Disciples Grind, I Get 100x Their Progress

’Uwah... What kind of Master does this!? He’s treating his disciple like this!’

Kina felt like she could burst into tears right then and there. The man standing before her was clearly a Scavenger, one of those survivors who clawed out a living in the Invaded Zone by hunting other humans for their gear.

Judging by his level, he was at Rank-F too, but his progress sat far, far higher than Kina’s.

’He’s about to hit Rank-E.’

That realization made Kina’s throat go dry. If she’d been in peak condition, she might have stood a chance and managed to escape. But her mana was running dangerously thin, her body was covered in wounds, especially that deep gash in her thigh, and all she had was a plain little knife.

Given all that, Kina found herself wondering whether she’d even make it out of this alive.

’I really don’t have any other choice... I just hope to god he’s not a liar.’

Still, Kina’s mind drifted back to what she’d seen on her system. The fact that her master-disciple bond with that man had actually triggered a system notification, that alone made her wonder just who he really was, and what he was even doing out here.

"Ugh... I’m not dying here."

She bit down on her lip, forcing herself through the pain wracking her body, and lunged forward the instant she saw the man rush at her with his sharp dagger.

"Hahahaha!" The man laughed, swinging his dagger down until it clashed against Kina’s small knife.

Clang!

"Ugh...!" The weight behind the strike felt brutally heavy given the gap between their conditions. Kina was knocked back, forced onto the defensive.

Her expression darkened, but her eyes kept flicking side to side, searching for an opening. She only needed one, one chance to use One Slash, exactly as she’d been told. She had no idea how her Master had known about her skill, but she was going to trust him, just this once.

"Hehe! You’re holding up pretty well!"

Kina put some distance between them, while the man licked his dagger clean, a smirk spreading across his face. Then he raised his arm and slashed at the empty air.

"Take this!"

Slice!

A gash tore open in the empty air, forming a blade of white wind that shot straight toward where Kina stood.

Kina ducked her head, barely managing to dodge it. The wall behind her shattered, a massive slash-shaped hole torn through it, and that wasn’t even the worst of it.

"Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora! Ora!"

Slice! Slice! Slice!

More blades of wind came rapid-fire, one after another. Kina struggled to keep up, dodging some but taking direct hits from several others.

All she could do was minimize the damage enough to avoid anything fatal. But even the least fatal of those hits still left her with brutal wounds.

"Heugh..."

Blood trickled down her cheek, soaking into her neck. Her left arm bore a deep, gruesome gash as well, the sharp pain nearly bringing her to tears, but she bit down on her lip, forcing herself to breathe through it, bracing for whatever came next.

’I can’t do this.’

Her gaze locked onto the man as he charged straight at her. Kina took stock of her condition and realized, with total clarity, that she had absolutely no way of winning this outright.

’I just need to use One Slash, right?’

Right, she remembered her Master’s exact words too, she didn’t need to win. She just needed to use One Slash.

So Kina did it. She raised the knife with both hands wrapped around the small hilt, positioning it above her head as though she were gripping a proper sword.

The Scavenger laughed in amusement at the sight, but Kina pushed forward with what she had to do.

For a brief moment, her mind drifted back to her family, to everyone around her, to every single person who’d mocked her for awakening such a low-ranked Talent.

Because of her pathetic Talent and a Skill, One Slash, that was nothing more than garbage, Kina had been cast aside, not even allowed to hold a sword or train properly.

So she’d fled her family’s estate and decided to become a freelance Hunter instead. But ironically, the group she’d joined lasted only three days before betraying her, all because of an order from her own family, who wanted her dead.

She let out a sigh.

’Bunch of blind idiots. If I’d just been given enough time, I know I could’ve achieved something...’

Kina was fully aware of it, she had genuine natural talent for swordsmanship. That was exactly why she’d left on her own with such confidence, she truly believed she could make it work.

But unfortunately, here she was.

’One... he said one mana, but what does "one mana" even mean?’

Mana was an energy with a mass so immense yet completely invisible. It moved like water cascading down from some towering, jagged mountain range, so how could that possibly be called "one mana"?

That didn’t make sense.

And yet... Kina thought about it for less than two seconds before it clicked. If, all this time, she’d been using One Slash by trying to gather a huge mass of mana around her blade for more raw power, then why not try compressing that mass instead, condensing it down into a single, straight line?

That would make it one, wouldn’t it?

Kina closed her eyes, the knife in her hand pulsing with wild, untamed energy. The instant she opened her eyes again, she understood it completely, the true meaning behind her Master’s words.

’Right. The answer is one.’

The Scavenger’s dagger came slashing toward her. Kina brought her knife down at the same moment, One Slash cutting through the air, it wasn’t overwhelming power, but it was more than enough to cleave a person clean in two if they weren’t careful.

"...!"

Something about that power felt undeniably wrong, and even the Scavenger sensed it, his body locking up rigid, his expression twisting into something far uglier.

He redirected his dagger’s arc in a flash, trying to block the strike outright. The clash of the two weapons rang out.

Clang!

sparks scattering between them.

But the very next second, the dagger shattered into pieces. The Scavenger froze in shock, his face draining of color as he let go of the ruined blade and stumbled back several steps.

Slash—!!

Spray!

"Keugh!?" But One Slash still reached him, tearing a massive gash across his stomach, and the Scavenger doubled over, groaning in agony.

The surroundings fell into total silence. The Scavenger stared at Kina, eyes wide, but a few seconds later, Kina let out a small, shaky breath. Her legs suddenly gave out beneath her, and she collapsed, her face drained of all color.

The Scavenger looked startled again, but then broke into loud, booming laughter.

"Heuh...haha...hahaha! You ran out of mana after all that!? Hahaha! Now that’s a surprise... Guess a Mivelo really is a Mivelo in the end, huh? Kehehe!"

The Scavenger didn’t hesitate, closing in on Kina with a wide, twisted grin. His hand shot out, clamping around Kina’s neck and hoisting her straight up into the air.

"Kuagh...!"

Kina jolted, her eyes going wide, the knife slipping from her grip and clattering off to the side, tears welling up at the corners of her eyes.

"Ah... what a shame... If the other Scavengers weren’t after you too, playing around with that body of yours would’ve been real fun. Hehe, such a damn waste."

Watching the man leer at her with that lecherous look on his face only pushed Kina further into despair. Especially now that she understood she’d become the target of a hit ordered by someone, and it was obvious exactly who: her own family. They didn’t want her surviving in this Invaded Zone even a moment longer, so they’d sent a whole swarm of Scavengers after her.

And right now, her only shred of hope. A single tear slipped down Kina’s cheek, and she rolled her eyes sideways, glancing across the way to where her Master stood.

The knife he’d thrown was already raised above his head, his face wearing that same overwhelming, indifferent calm. The air around him seemed to shift, and in that instant, Kina felt an overwhelming wave of dread wash over her as she stared into her Master’s dark, swirling eyes.

As though she were looking at something that had no business existing in this world.

And right now, that figure, standing directly before her, was about to use the very skill everyone had written off as garbage.

One Slash.

By the time the Scavenger realized it, it was already over.

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