“Deek! I didn’t know you were such a deviant to make advances on defeated women. You’ve disappointed me!” Alysia said darkly.

I’m really not! I just don’t want to die! Stop trying to get serious! Unfortunately, I didn’t say that. When you got on a lion’s back, it was hard to get off. Since I committed to the technique of crap talking, there was no way I could stop now.

“Don’t get me wrong…” I put on a malicious grin. “I have no interest in your friends. You’ve caught my eye personally. That’s why I’ll definitely have you!”

“Aiiiieee… He confessed!” A Titan’s Fall girl cried out.

“So romantic!”

The red-faced Alysia’s eyes twitched. “D-don’t get cocky. You have no hopes of defeating me without the help of that massive spell you used. The only man that can have me is a man who defeats me in battle, and you’re still not there yet!”

“Then, we’re in agreement? If I win, you’ll be my plaything! I might even make you my sex slave!”

Her eyes narrowed, and suddenly a power started to resonate from her. “Since it is my heart you want, then I can’t afford to hold back. I will show you the distance between us, Deek. Perhaps, if I show you how far that line is, you’ll give up on me and understand that we were never meant to be. My path is a lonely one, and only a man strong enough to fight against the heavens themselves will be able to stand against me!”

“Abort! Abort!” Octius’s panicked voice buzzed in my ear. “Your words had the opposite effect! She’s getting more serious than she’s ever been before!”

“You’re telling me that now? This was your idea! Keep me alive, you idiot!”

“… It’s been nice knowing you.”

“Octius!”

“Just hold your butt! How could I let my precious significant other fall? What kind of woman would I be?”

“You’re not a woman! You actually think you’re a woman?”

“I tell you what. I’ll use your puppet-controlled body to defend against her attacks. Then I’ll quickly defeat these three here. Then, I’ll jump in just in time to save you from Alysia! Just trust in your senior!”

“I’m dead, aren’t I…”

The conversation couldn’t go on, as Alysia had leapt forward and initiated her next attack. My sword rose to meet it, and we exchanged a dozen attacks in a matter of seconds. Octius moved my body to deflect everything Alysia threw out. Although my sword was just a simple one and much weaker than the sword that Alysia had once cleaved in two, it didn’t break against Alysia’s onslaught. Octius was using extreme precision and skill to pull back at just the right times, and always block in the spot that dispersed the most of Alysia’s attack.

I began to realize that the skills he was using were familiar. They were the skills of my own Hero and True Hero. They were the swordsman and weapon skills I was used to. However, the way he used them was many times more advanced than anything I had ever tried before.

Any attempt to interfere would only put my life in jeopardy, so I found myself doing something else. I committed his actions to memory. He was using my body, after all, so I paid close attention to how he moved and what he did. Slowly, I began to learn how a professional truly used the sword in battle. Since it was literally my own body and movements I was studying, I was able to learn it intimately.

The battle wore on, and I continued to study how to fight.