Kara: "Your sword... is cursed."

  Leo: "W-What?? How??"

  Mary: "What do you mean by that?"

  Kinto: "Does that mean he's going to die?"

  Leo: "Why are you wishing for my death?!"

  Neron: "Cursed?"

  Kyotai: "Interesting."

  Damian: "I didn't think anything would catch your interest."

  Garin: "tell us more please, Kara."

  Kara: "There are cursed weapons all over the world, whether swords or otherwise. Cursed weapons have a will of their own."

  Leo: "A will of their own?"

  Kara: "Yes. As strange and unbelievable as it sounds, it's true. These weapons choose their wielder. If the wielder is not worthy, just using the weapon will curse them, and the curse will not be light."

  Leo: "By using it, do you mean just swinging the sword?"

  Kara: "Yes. From the very first swing, your fate is sealed. But if you can clearly sense the weapon’s aura, you will know whether it has chosen you or not."

  Leo: "That means Lin... acknowledged me."

  Kara: "Exactly. And I don't sense any sword curse from you."

  Leo: "Good to hear that."

  Kara: "As I said, I can't do anything for your sword. But I believe there is someone who can."

  Leo: "Really?? Who?"

  Mary: "People who can work on cursed weapons?"

  Garin: "Who are they?"

  Kara: "My sisters."

  Damian: "Your sisters?"

  Kara: "Yes, I'm the youngest in my family. My two older sisters are also blacksmiths, but they are in different kingdoms."

  Kinto: "Did you all separate or something?"

  Kara: "You could say that. Kara, Afra, and Imara—you could call us the finest blacksmiths in the world."

  Mary: "T-That's amazing!"

  Leo: "The finest blacksmiths? That’s really something special."

  Garin: "Our weapons are going to be top quality, no doubt."

  Kara: "One of my sisters might be able to work on your sword."

  Leo: "I'm looking forward to meeting them!"

  Kara chuckles before speaking again.

  Kara: "You can all go now. The weapons you ordered will be ready in a maximum of two weeks."

  Neron: "That’s all we needed."

  Garin speaks to his sword: "We'll be apart for two weeks, then."

  Kyotai: "I'll finally let go of my wooden sword in two weeks. That’s unfortunate."

  Leo: "Did you grow attached to it?"

  Kyotai: "Almost."

  Leo: "Didn’t expect that response from you."

  Mary: "Me neither."

  Kyotai: "Shut up."

  Mary: "That's Kyotai for you."

  Kento speaks to his daggers: "Two weeks without you, huh? I'll become stronger to be worthy of wielding you."

  Damian: "Two weeks… I wonder what we’ll do in the meantime."

  Leo: "You've been quiet for a while, Myuso."

  Myuso: "To be honest, I didn’t have anything to say, so I stayed silent."

  With Kaiser and Beatrix

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Beatrix: "Why do you wear a glove on just one hand, Kaiser?"

  Kaiser: ".....I don’t think there’s any harm in showing you."

  Kaiser pulls off the glove, revealing burn scars covering his entire palm.

  Beatrix: "W-What happened to your hand?"

  Kaiser: "Do you... know what happened in Karez’s childhood?"

  Beatrix: "Yes? He told me before."

  Kaiser: "That’s good. I can talk about it then. When I was little, I used to see Karez’s mother getting beaten a lot. She was my favorite among my relatives. One day, when I saw her being beaten by my grandfather, I got the courage to step in and help her. But my grandfather was so furious that he used lava and burned my hand by accident."

  Beatrix: "W-What?? you were just a child??"

  Kaiser: "Yes… Luckily, my hand is still here and wasn’t completely melted."

  Beatrix: "At least..."

  At the restaurant

  Kano looks toward Kani.

  Kano thinking to himself: "You're fighting while in pain, aren't you, Kani? You talk while feeling sad. You think you’re the weakest. You tell yourself that no matter how much you try, you’ll always be left behind, don’t you, Kani…"

  Sai: "Let’s leave the restaurant now. We need to meet up with the others."

  Kani: "Let's go."

  With Arian

  Arian: "Rocks aren’t enough anymore. I think I need to move on to metals."

  With Hakan

  Hakan: "Where am I... What is this pit? Does it lead underground? Do I just jump in?"

  The platform rises, revealing Leo and the others, who see Hakan.

  Leo: "Where have you been, man?"

  Hakan: "I got lost."

  Mary: "How did you get lost when you were walking with us...?"

  At that moment, Beatrix, Karez, Kaiser, and Itor arrive.

  Karez: "Did you meet Heves?"

  Leo: "Her name is Kara."

  Karez: "Kara? I expected a more imposing name."

  Sai, Kani, and Kano arrive.

  Sai: "Hey."

  Kaiser: "Did you order my spear, Damian?"

  Damian: "Yeah."

  Kaiser, smiling in relief: "Thanks."

  Arian arrives.

  After everyone gathers, they book a room in a hotel and enter together.

  Itor: "I don't think this is the best idea."

  Damian: "We don’t have much choice; we don’t have a lot of money, after all."

  Leo: "Now, let’s get to the point. We’ve been through tough times, moving in an unorganized and unsafe manner. That’s why we need a leader to unite and guide us."

  Kinto: "I expected this."

  Kani: "A leader?"

  Kano: "They must be strong."

  Kaiser: "I don’t think this requires much thought. I’m the right choice for the leader!"

  Sai: "Absolutely not."

  Kaiser: "You didn’t have to crush my hopes like that..."

  Beatrix: "A leader must be wise and intelligent."

  Mary: "Someone responsible who can handle even the most arrogant or reckless among us."

  Sai: "Someone who can make quick decisions."

  Arian: "Someone worthy of leadership, capable of making not just quick but also the most rational decisions."

  Hakan: "First, we should rule out some of the group—Kani, Kano, Mary, Kaiser, Arian, Garin, Itor, Sai, and Beatrix."

  Neron: "That leaves Leo, Kyotai, Kinto, Kariz, Damian, you, and me."

  Garin: "Makes sense."

  Kaiser: "Why was I excluded?!"

  Damian: "To make things easier, Kaiser. And as you can see, everyone agrees with the reasoning."

  Hakan: "I think I should exclude myself as well. I won’t be able to lead everyone; it’s too difficult for me. I’m not the smartest here, and I believe most of my decisions are wrong."

  Karez: "Kinto is a good option, but he’s a bit too short-tempered, which could cause problems."

  Kinto: "Short-tempered, huh..."

  Karez: "Also, my personality isn’t suited for leadership I believe, So, I’ll exclude myself as well."

  Leo: "Honestly, no matter how much I think about it, the two most qualified candidates are Neron and Kyotai. Right, Damian?"

  Damian: "I agree. We could serve as deputies at most."

  Kyotai: "I refuse to be under someone else’s command."

  Neron: "You need to think logically, Kyotai."

  Kano: "Kyotai has strength, a good leadership personality, and quick decision-making. Meanwhile, Neron has intelligence, leadership skills, and rational decision-making."

  Sai: "And Neron is strong, even though he’s never used his ability."

  Beatrix: "Speaking of that, what is your ability, Neron?"

  Neron: "I’d rather not answer."

  Beatrix: "Alright, as you wish..."

  Kinto: "Not knowing your ability makes the decision harder. And Kyotai’s personality makes it even tougher."

  Kani: "Why not have two leaders?"

  Kyotai: "If one leader is hard to deal with, short-tempered, and gets angry easily, then having another alongside him to calm him down and help with decisions could be a good idea. Two leaders aren’t a bad option, but I don’t know if Neron and I would get along."

  Mary: "Probably because you barely talk to anyone."

  Kyotai: "Alright, alright. What do you all say—two leaders?"

  Sai: "I have no problem with it."

  Kani & Kano: "Neither do we."

  Leo: "The best possible idea."

  Damian: "This way, we won’t need a deputy or anything like that."

  Itor: "Good idea."

  Hakan: "As long as we won’t get lost again, I don’t mind."

  Arian: "That’s just you. My answer is yes."

  Beatrix: "I agree."

  Karez: "Looks like we’ve reached a satisfying conclusion."

  Kaiser: "Even I can’t argue with it."

  Garin: "I’m okay with it."

  Kinto: "I guess I have to follow orders again... After getting rid of the teacher’s orders, now two students will be bossing me around."

  Leo, mockingl: "Are you upset?"

  Kinto: "Shut up, charcoal head."

  Leo: "What did you say, tomato head?!"

  A Week and a Half Later

  Great Nest Kingdom

  The queen’s advisor, Viren, speaks to her.

  Viren:" Your Majesty, do you have any orders?"

  Vespa: "Tighten security to the maximum level. I will be present at the academy with the director, so bring in stealth mages. Even if the director is killed, we must capture the assassins no matter what it takes—otherwise, I can no longer call myself the ruler of the earth."

  Viren:" As you command. Pardon me."

  Queen Vespa is consumed by anger.

  Dwarf City

  While everyone is asleep in their hotel room, a loud knock on the door wakes them up in alarm.

  Sai: "What the hell is that?!"

  Sai opens the door to find Kara standing there.

  Kara: "Your weapons are ready."

  Leo: "Huh?? Didn’t you say it would take two weeks?"

  Kara: "I just worked harder, that’s all. I’ll leave them here for you."

  Kara places the weapons beside the door and leaves.

  Kani: "What’s with her?"

  Beatrix: "Is this really a way to wake someone up?"

  Garin picks up his weapon.

  Garin: "It’s clearly sharper now."

  Kento: "Now I can provide my daggers with poison instead of just enveloping them."

  Kyotai: "The hilt is green."

  Kano: "It looks nice."

  Neron: "Two swords… though I’m still unsure."

  Kaiser: "My spear!! It’s beautiful and amazing!"

  Karez: "Now that we’re finally done, I’m going back to sleep."

  Leo: "Me too."

  Mary: "Of course, I won’t stay awake."

  Beatrix: "I feel sick."

  Kani: "That’s bad."

  The students go back to sleep.

  Kyotai places his sword beside him before falling asleep.

  Two Hours Later

  8:00 AM

  Myuso opens the door to their room. The moment he steps inside, Kyotai wakes up and places his sword against Myuso’s neck.

  Myuso: "Are you going to do this to everyone now? I could have dodged it, you know."

  Kyotai: "You’re annoying."

  Myuso: "I’m here to make you all better than this."

  Kyotai: "Another training session?"

  Myuso: "Exactly."

  Kani wakes up.

  Kani: "Who is making all that noise…?!"

  She throws a pillow at Kyotai’s face.

  Kyotai: "What the hell are you doing?!"

  Kani: "Shut up, I want to sleep."

  Myuso: "I think you should wake them up."

  Kyotai: "Just shut up."

  The students wake up. After breakfast, they head into a forest with Myuso.

  Garin: "You said you know him?"

  Sai: "Yeah, he’s a fun guy."

  Garin: "I feel like he’s going to kill us."

  Sai: "You guys feel that way about everyone."

  Myuso: "I assume you can all use Shinton?"

  Neron: "Of course."

  Myuso: "That will make things easier. There’s something called Shinta Envelopment. You can envelop any part of your body with Shinta.

  For example, if you envelop your hands, you’ll be able to punch harder.

  If you envelop your legs, you can run faster or deal stronger kicks.

  You can also use it to reduce damage—if your opponent is about to hit your chest, enveloping it with Shinta will reduce the impact.

  It’s useful for both offense and defense.

  And if you’re smart, you’ll find even more ways to use it."

  Damian: "That’s interesting."

  Itor: "But it’s obvious that learning it won’t be easy."

  Sai: "Not at all."

  Leo: "So, what do we do now?"

  Miyuso: "When you use Shinton, you extract Shinta in the form of a ball and launch it. But before you launch it, it’s slightly attached to your skin. All you need to do is keep the extracted Shinta attached to your skin. Then, start trying to stabilize it on the part you want."

  Beatrix: "Easier said than done."

  Miyuso: "Of course."

  Two Weeks and Two Days Later

  Queen Vespa’s plan fails. The director is assassinated, and they fail to capture any of the assassins.

  Queen Vespa’s mind burns with frustration.

  Vespa: "Damn it…"

  The Next Day

  All the students have mastered Shinta Envelopment. They gather their belongings, and as they reach the city’s exit, they find Karl, Kara, and Miyuso waiting for them.

  Leo: "So you’re here."

  Karl: "It’s been two weeks since I last saw you. But since Kara likes you all, I had to see you."

  Kara: "I don’t like them."

  Myuso: "Be careful on your journey."

  Sai: "You too."

  Kento: "Don’t die."

  Neron: "Thanks for the weapons."

  Kara: "No need to thank me."

  At that moment, one of the glowing butterflies lands on Mary’s hand.

  Mary: "Can I ask what these butterflies are?"

  Kara: "They’re glowing butterflies, as you can see. They are drawn to those with strong Shinta. Some of them follow a person they admire."

  Mary, smiling: "So it likes me."

  Kani: "We’ve got a new companion."

  Kyotai: "We’re leaving now."

  Everyone: "Goodbye."