After minutes of sparring, Johan was starting to get the hang of channeling his mana into his sword and shield. Quinus was impressed with how quickly Johan was grasping the basics of controlling his mana, especially when he started at twenty-seven years of age. Sure he knew the basics of swordplay back when he was a child but that was all physical. In contrast, this was magical, which was far more difficult to master.

"See! It's like riding a bike," Quinus stated.

Johan chuckled, "What's a bike?"

Quinus shook his head once he realized what he said. 'Hanging around Rya has made me slip back into Earth sayings.'

"Never mind that, Johan. Look, your technique has improved in a short amount of time. Is it starting to feel natural for you now?"

"Not quite... I need to focus on the flow a bit more than I would like, but I think I'm getting the hang of it," Johan replied.

"Well, if you are ever in the capital. Make sure you can come by the palace and practice with me," Quinus offered.

"That sounds nice, but I wish I could learn some spells... It would have been nice if you and Lady Rya could stay here a little longer," Johan said.

It was at that moment General Douglas walked up to them.

"Excuse me, your Highness... But we've postponed it for long enough. We need to get back on the schedule or we will be late arriving in the capital. And it is already getting late in the morning," Douglas interjected.

Quinus looked up at him and nodded, "I guess you are right."

It was at that moment when Rya, Tayna, Nieren, and Yuliana came walking up. Percy and Dalia were by the carriage, and Sir George just finished stowing the supplies on the horses with the other knights.

"My Lady. Did you enjoy the show?" Quinus asked Rya with a smile.

Rya sighed with a bit of displeasure, "Yeah. I'm glad you could get some training in with Johan. But..."

Douglas's head snapped towards Rya as he felt that she was about to make another one of her demands. Which he was getting tired of dealing with.

"But what?" Quinus asked.

"Well, I was hoping to help Johan get a jump start on his mage training... So, if we have the space, I can teach him on our journey to the capital... That is, if it works for them, of course," Rya suggested.

Douglas looked at the Prince with a glare, "Your Highness. Adding the young Lord and his wife to the party is a big risk. It will start stressing my men's ability to protect you if we add more people at this rate. There is no telling who or what is lurking along the roads between here and the capital."

Johan looked disappointed while Quinus gave Douglas a stern look.

'He's worried about weakening my protection? Even after telling him, he still doesn't have a clue who's riding with him and his men. Rya's a force to be reckoned with. Shit, man! I'm a force to be reckoned with and with Percy, Dalia, Nieren, and Sir George. I can't see any medium sized army coming to attack us without getting wiped out first. Even Yuliana is a capable mage. This man has got to be the most stubborn person I've ever met. And it's getting on my nerves..." Quinus thought.

"Douglas... I told you what Rya and I are capable of, right?" Quinus asked him.

"Yes, Your Highness. I do. But this is a serious matter. I cannot risk anything happening to you while you are under my protection."

"So you doubt me then?"

Douglas became silent and refused to back down.

'What a hard-headed ass...' Quinus thought.

Rya, seeing the two men staring each other down, decided to speak up.

"So, are you saying that the Royal Knights of the Kingdom of Fiafyr are too weak to protect their Prince and his guest from a bunch of bandits or other threats along the way?" Rya questioned the General.

All of the Royal Knights and General Douglas took offense to her question and started to glare at her.

"How dare you suggest that the Royal Knights are weak! How dare you, a mere outsider, question our capabilities," Douglas snarled.

"I'm not questioning you or your men's abilities. But it seems like you lack confidence if you're worried about protecting a few more people," Rya said with a smirk.

The knights grumbled in response, and some gripped their weapons angrily.

"We are only twenty-four strong and you expect us to protect not only the Prince but now the heir of the Eder Hills Barony and his wife as well. What do you think will happen if we have to deal with a hundred people? Then what are we supposed to do!?" The general questioned while trying to hold back his temper.

Rya gave him an unamused look and was about to speak when the two dwarves and Sir George burst out with laughter. Dalia was smirking as well.

"He says, 'What are we supposed to do!?' Haha! I'll tell you what we'll do, General. We open a cask of ale and take bets on who will slay more. The Crown Prince or the Saintess," one of the dwarves roared in laughter.

Douglas' right eye was twitching while the other knights were taken aback.

"You're telling me that these two can take on a hundred men," the General stated.

"No... Not one hundred. But twenty thousand," the other dwarf laughed.

Douglas wanted to discipline those two dwarves.

'Who the hell do they think they are? Making a fool out of me in front of my men...'

"If you're so sure then, how about a little wager?" Douglas barked back.

Everyone was surprised at this.

"What kind of wager, General," Sir George asked.

"If Lady Rya can take on ten of my knights, then the Lord and his wife can join us. And we'll see how you fair against true warriors," the General explained.

The knights started to chuckle as they liked the idea of teaching this dark elf a lesson.

Quinus walked up to Rya, "Babe? Are you okay with this? I can order them to back off. They are my men after all."

Johan hurried over as well, "I-It's fine my Lady. We can come visit you in a month or two. There's no reason to-"

Rya held her hand out and stopped Johan from speaking.

Tayna was a little worried for her friend. Very few women fought on the battlefield, especially noble women.

"Lady Rya. Please reconsider this. I don't think a Lady such as yourself should partake in a knight's training. It's beneath you," Tayna urged.

"Don't worry. It'll be fine. Plus, they need to learn a lesson," Rya winked at them.

Tayna knew that look. It was the same one Rya gave her when she questioned her for being evil by nature. 'Oh boy! M-Maybe I should back up.'

Tayna grabbed her husband's hand and pulled him a few feet away.

"Huh? Tayna? What's going on?"

Tayna just gave him a nervous laugh, and said, "Don't worry, dear. Lady Rya is going to need some space."

"Huh?"

Quinus noticed Rya giving him a wink.

He sighed, "Alright, just make sure not to kill them by mistake."

"Don't worry. I'll go easy on them."

Rya walked forward with a grin and took a spot in the middle of the training ground. The knights looked at her with disgust. At the same time, the two dwarves looked over at Sir George.

"Betcha one gold piece the Saintess takes them down in thirty notches," the one dwarf stated.

"Really? You're on. She'll take them down in twenty-five notches. What about you Dalia?" Sir George asked.

"Ou! Ou! Put me in for fifteen notches! Alpha is going to kick their asses," Dalia replied.

Sir George and the dwarves chuckled.

"I'm in for fifteen gold pieces, for twenty notches," the dwarf named Kyan replied, while his comrade pulled out a wooden object that looked like it was an incense holder and he placed a long thin stick with tiny bumps, running evenly along the length of the rod.

"Alright... It's ready to be lit," Suhail stated.

Kyan nodded and channeled his mana into the tip of his dagger. He held it close to the end of the stick. He was waiting to light it once the fighting started.

 

Rya was standing there waiting to see who her opponents would be. Sir Richard stayed out of it with thirteen other knights who didn't want to fight her. While the other ten seemed too confident and wanted to take her on.

General Douglas had an amused look on his face.

'The Young Lady Rya doesn't know what's about to happen. My men are the best in the kingdom. And she thinks she's going to embarrass us by beating them. Well, she's about to learn a hard lesson. I'm not going to allow my men to kill her, though. They'll just knock her unconscious or cut off an arm. That should be enough to satisfy their honor.'

"You ten will fight her at the same time," Douglas shouted.

'Hmm, this should be interesting. So, I'm taking on these ten, aye? Well, this should be fun at least,' Rya thought as she cracked her knuckles.

"Should I hold back from using my magic?" Rya asked the General.

"Of course not, Lady Rya. We can handle any spell you have. For Mages fear us," Douglas smirked.

"Alright, if you say so."

General Douglas ordered his ten knights and they formed a line facing her. They readied their shields and drew their swords.

Rya took a relaxed stance and created a stone pole from the ground. She grabbed it and twirled it around.

'Hm! Nice balance. I'm getting better at creating earth staffs... Huh? Oh yeah, got to focus.' Rya thought as she stopped twirling the pole staff and had it at the ready underneath her armpit.

"Whenever you're ready, General," Rya smiled.

'Tch! I don't care what stories the prince and Sir George told me. No one can take on ten fully armored knights with their own enchanted weapons and armor. Not even the Hero of the Demonic War.'

”Show her why the Fiafyrian Royal Knights are the best, men," the General roared.

The knights roared and readied themselves for a fight. They rushed her and she was surrounded by nine men and one woman.

'Huh? I thought they would be as fast as Sir George? Interesting. I guess George is a cut above the rest,' Rya thought as she waited for the knights to strike.

Three knights came bearing in and started swinging their swords at her in a calculated fashion.

*Swing! Swing! CLANG!*

Rya nimbly bent her torso backward and was able to dodge the first two blades before parrying the third.

'Hahaha, sparring with everyone over the past month is really paying off. Well, time for the counterattack!' Rya thought.

Rya spun the stone staff above her head and brought it down hard onto the third knight's shield.

*Clang! Thud!*

Her strike knocked the shield out of the way so she had a clear shot at his face.

"Ack!"

She hit him square in the face. Breaking his nose and causing him to lose a few teeth.

The other knights watched in shock as they saw Sir Glen, face plant into the dirt with ease.

"She's mine!"

*Shing!*

A sword grazed Rya's neck as she bent backward and did a backflip.

'Hm! Not bad. He's fast.' Rya thought as she looked at the knight while in the air. And just as she landed on the ground. The earth shifted under her feet as she had a moving platform that let her come flying right back at the knight who grazed her neck.

*Clang!*

"Urk! Gah!"

*Thud!*

Rya slammed her stone pole against his chest, causing him to cough out blood before passing out.

"Dammit! Don't let your guard down," the third knight shouted.

'Shit! This bitch is fast.' He thought as he lined up with two other knights.

*Clang!*

*Thud!*

One knight swung his sword and hit the staff. While the other aimed for her legs.

*Swish!*

She was able to parry all three of their blades at the same time by twirling her staff and tried to counter them but their shields protected them from her attack.

'Hm! I guess his shield is pretty tough. But their shins are exposed.' Rya thought as she spun around her staff, smashing it into the three knights' shins.

*THUD!*

*Crack!*

'Damn!'

'Shittt!'

'FU-'

*Thud! Thud! Crack!

Rya shattered all three of the knights' shin bones, causing them to drop to the ground and cry out in pain.

The five remaining knights looked at their fallen comrades in fear.

'No way. No one is that fast. I thought she was a mage. Not a warrior. What the hell is she? And how the hell is she moving so fast?'

"Don't just stand there! Form up! We can take her down together," a female knight roared. The remaining knights quickly formed a line.

Rya smiled as she moved towards them in a blink of an eye. Smashing her staff into the middle knight's shield.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

She continued to strike him with the stone staff, causing him to slowly back up.

"Urgh! Huff! Gah!"

"Flank her! Flank her," the female knight roared.

Two more knights joined in and tried to flank her.

'Hm! Time to change it up a bit.' Rya thought.

She slammed her foot down and sent the dirt into the three knight's faces before smashing her pole into each one of their sword hands. Fracturing their arms while sending them to the ground.

*Thud!*

*Crack!*

*Clang!*

"Ahhh! My hand! Shit," one of the male knights cried out while holding his arm. He was about to get up but Rya slammed her staff down on his chest breaking his ribs, causing him to cough out blood and passed out due to the pain.

The other two received a similar treatment as they too were knocked out into a bloody mess.

"Bart! I got the front and—" The female knight tried to regroup with the last standing knight but Rya used her wind magic to swiftly glide around the arena. Before the Knight named Bart could register what was happening, his body was being slammed into the dirt. Dislocating his shield arm.

*CRUNCH!*

*THUD!*

Rya broke his left arm and leg before kicking him in the chest.

"Ahh-Arrgg," he dropped his sword and fell to the ground holding his arm.

"Gotcha," Rya said as she twirled her staff and swung it at Sir Bart's head.

"Wait!"

*SMASH!*

Rya's blow knocked him unconscious, fracturing his skull. Rya sighed and shook her head. She walked over the body of the unconscious knight who was the last to fall as Rya focused her attention on the final knight who looked worried.

General Douglas witnessed nine of his knights getting easily defeated by a single woman in under 15 seconds.

'No way. The Prince had to be spinning a tall tail about her. No one could be this strong! And how is she so fast? No one can be this fast.'

The female knight looked panicked at first before regaining her composure.

"I won't give you an opening. You're fast, but you're not faster than my blade," the female knight stated as she got into a defensive stance.

"Is that so," Rya grinned before her azure eyes glowed.

*Whoosh!*

"Huh?"

*Shing!*

The female knight panicked as Rya's staff was coming straight for her. She did everything in her power to avoid her attack. She contorted her body just enough for Rya's staff to miss her face but it left her torso open. Once Rya saw the opening, she used the other end of her staff to hit her breastplate instead.

"Gah!"

*Clang!*

Rya wasn't done as she continued to launch a flurry of strikes on the poor knight.

"Gah! Ah-gah-Gah-GAH-GAH-GAAAHH," she was battered with attacks.

*Clang!*

*WHOP*

*CRACK*

*THWAP!*

The female knight's sword went flying after Rya fractured her forearm and her body was covered in bruises.

*Thud!*

"Ough-Gah!"

Rya's last attack was a hard swing to the knight's legs, sending her crashing to the ground with two compound fractures.

'M-My legs!?'

The female knight was sitting on the ground looking at her sorry state before looking up at Rya who still had her staff in her hands looking down at Lady Rachel with what she thought was a sinister smile.

'S-She's a monster! She's going to take over the kingdom and we will all die! No... I failed!' Lady Rachel cried in her mind as the tears flowed from her eyes.

Douglas and the knights that didn't join in the fight didn't know what to do.

'She's killing my men... A-And I don't know if we can even stop her! Should I order the rest of my men to go after her or stay and help the wounded? Why didn't I listen, we are no match for her. Damn, you, Prince Quinus! This is all your—' Douglas' cursing stopped when he saw Lady Rya reach her hand out towards Lady Rachel.

'This is the end!' she thought as she closed her eyes and prepared for the final blow.

Rya didn't know the knight's thoughts, but she saw the look of defeat in her eyes. 'Haah... I bet she thinks that I'm going to kill her. Well, there's no point in torturing them, I won. So let's heal them up.'

She channeled her mana into her hand just before she touched her head.

'Huh,' Lady Rachel felt a gentle touch on her head and a soothing sensation flowing through her body.

She cracked open one of her eyes and saw her compound fractures disappearing while her arms and legs straightened back in place. All the pain vanished in a matter of seconds.

'I-Is this healing magic? Can that be?' She was in shock at the fact that the woman who easily killed all of her comrades was now using healing magic on her.

'What the hell is happening?' Rachel looked up and saw Rya smiling at her.

"You need to work on your stance. You need to fight like a woman, not a man," Rya chuckled before turning her attention to the rest of the wounded.

Rachel didn't understand. She was defeated. Why is she helping her? Why didn't she kill her? And why did she say "fight like a woman" instead of "fight like a man?"

Douglas couldn't believe his eyes as Rya went from one knight to another, healing all ten of them without breaking a sweat. He then looked over to the Prince who wasn't looking too happy for some reason. While one of the Dwarves was celebrating winning the bet against his friend, Sir George, and Dalia.

"It was seventeen notches, shorty! I won!" Dalia protested.

"Oi! You chose fifteen notches and it went over!" Kyan barked back at the wolfkin.

"But I was closer! So it should count!" Dalia growled.

"That's not how it works, you dumb wolf! It's not who's closest! It's about who doesn't go over the time limit," Kyan countered.

"That's not fair!" Dalia cried out.

"Dalia... It's okay. Sometimes we lose," Percy said while trying to calmly diffuse the situation.

"Humph! Fine. You're lucky that my Gamma is here. Otherwise, I would have ripped your beard off your face," Dalia turned her head and stuck out her tongue.

"Ha! I didn't know wolfkins could be so funny," Suhail laughed.

 

***

 

Douglas then looked back at Rya who was helping up one of his knights. All of them looked dumbfounded as they looked at Rya with wonder after she healed them all. They were struggling to understand the events that just transpired.

'Why didn't she kill us?' one of the knights asked in his mind.

'Why didn't she torture us and leave us for dead? I thought that's what dark elves did?'

'S-SHE REALLY IS A HEALER! And a WARRIOR! I didn't know anyone could do both.'

Seeing her helping his men made Douglas realize something.

'All the stories of healers from the past, always mentioned about how much it took out of them, depending on the wound. The emperors of the time always complained about not being able to use healers too much. Even though the healers themselves weren't hurt, using their powers to heal others was exhausting and could cause them to faint if they overdid it. Yet, this dark elf didn't seem to show any signs of fatigue at all. She was able to heal ten heavily wounded soldiers without a second thought. She's not just a warrior. She's also a healer, the best kind. And she's not just a dark elf. She's the legendary dark elf who is a master of all elements. I'm standing in the presence of a goddess... H-How did the prince tame her?'

He then looked at the prince and saw him glaring daggers at the Rya. He was clearly upset about her performance for some reason. Rya didn't notice Quinus' stare while helping out the last knight.

"Ummm... Is something the matter, Your Highness?" Johan asked.

"..."

"Your Highness?"

"She almost got killed when Sir Walfort came charging in and grazed her neck... I almost lost her once... And I'm not going to lose her when she's standing in front of me," Quinus said with a cold tone.

Johan gulped as he was sweating bullets from the prince's fury. He's never seen this side of Quinus before. Tayna didn't know what to say to him either.

"S-So what are you going to do, your Highness?"

"I need to correct her defenses. I'm going to train her," he said before looking over at Sir George.

"George! Get me the Twilight Dancer and Sun's Fury," Quinus ordered.

"Huh? Right away, my lord," Sir George ran back into the carriage and got the weapons that Quinus asked for. Quinus walked over to Rya who just finished healing the last knight.

"Oh? Come to congratulate—"

"What is this?" Quinus said as he rubbed his finger over Rya's neck where the blade of Sir Walfort almost cut her throat.

"That's not necessary. I'm perfectly fine," Rya was used to this behavior during sparring. It seemed like anytime she made a mistake, Quinus would try and correct her.

"Rya... If you are sloppy with your training then you will pay the price in battle. This is serious," Quinus scolded.

"I was holding back so I wouldn't kill someone," Rya defended herself.

When all the knights that fought her heard that she was holding back that entire time. They had mixed feelings. On one side they were disappointed that they didn't put up that much of a fight. But on the other side, they were thankful that she didn't just kill them.

'Holding back? That was holding back!?' One Knight thought.

'Was she serious? Or is she making a fool of us?' Another Knight thought.

'What a monster. Thank the Goddess that she's merciful.'

"I know. And I appreciate that, but there may be a situation where you exhausted your mana, and all you have is your physical strength. And even then you should be able to hold your own. Take your sword and get in position," Quinus held out Rya's sword to her.

Rya sighed then took her sword and got in a ready position.

Quinus then pulled out the Sun's Fury and readied himself.

"Now block my attacks."

"Okay," Rya said as she was prepared to receive Quinus' attack.

"HYAH!"

*Shing!*

'She still leaves her sides open. She's too cocky,' Quinus thought as he moved with blazing speed.

*Cling! Clung! Clunk!*

Rya was having trouble keeping up with Quinus. His attacks were coming at her so fast and so accurately that she started to give ground quickly.

'Damn it. How can he hit me so quickly? His attacks are getting stronger each time. I have to do something else,' Rya's eyes darted around as she tried to find an opening. But then Quinus' blade parried her sword and knocked it out of her hand and then his blade was coming for her neck.

'Move back! Move back! Move~' *Thud!* "Huh!?... Ack!"

Rya didn't realize that she was pushed back to the manor wall and bumped right into it when she was focusing on moving away from Quinus' attacks.

*Shing!*

Her eyes went wide as her body became still when she felt the touch of cold steel on her neck. Quin's blade was on the same spot where she was almost killed. But Quinus' control over his blade was so superb that he had the dull part of the sword resting against her neck.

The cold steel and Quinus' scent sent shivers down her spine as she looked at his expression. Seeing his golden eyes stare down at her, like an apex predator who's caught his prey, sent her heart into a frenzy.

'G-Get it together Rya! H-He's not flirting!... But God damn. He looks so hot when he's serious. Hehe, but if I play this right. I might be able to turn the tables on him,' Rya smiled as her heart rate picked up.

"Rya... Do you see the weakness in your form? You need to protect your vitals. You can't rely on your mana all the time," Quinus' tone was different from the usual playfulness he would have. It was serious and stern, but when he spoke, his face moved in closer to hers, their lips were only centimeters apart.

"Y-Yes, Your Highness," Rya blushed as her body heated up.

"Now... What have you learned today?"

"U-Um. I know that my technique is not there... But I don't know what I'm exactly messing up, babe... You've been training with a sword for decades, while I have only been doing this for maybe a month," Rya stated as she started to pant lightly.

Quinus' serious face twisted into a grimace before he let up on Rya.

'S-She right... I keep wanting to treat her like a seasoned veteran. But she's still all new to this... Maybe I should have someone else teach her the basics... Maybe I can get Lady Nelumbo to train her? But then that would mean I would have to spend less time with her...'

"Babe? Are you okay?" Rya whispered.

Quinus was brought out of his thoughts and noticed that Rya was blushing while looking at him.

"Y-Yes. I was just thinking," Quinus answered.

"Thinking? About what? What's on your mind?"

"W-Well, I was just thinking about getting someone else to train you the basics when we get to the capital. But then I realized that I would have to spend less time with you."

Quinus' honesty was refreshing and a bit shocking to Rya. But also a bit worrying.

"Babe... You don't have to worry about spending time with me. I would be happy if you could get me a teacher to teach me the basics. I know that you are going to be busy running the country and your time will be limited. But the training you already have given me has been a huge help. I don't want to be a burden or take up your time,"

"You're not a burden. I want to help you become strong," Quinus stated but then he remembered what Lady Nelumbo told him years ago. After his mana vein awakened he couldn't control the flow of mana through his body. She said, One thing you will have to learn is when to move on to the next lesson.

'Yeah, Rya knows far more about using mana than me. And Lady Nelumbo knows far more about teaching basic techniques and swordsmanship than I do,' Quinus looked at Rya. "I think it's time..."

"Huh? What do you mean, babe?"

"Lady Nelumbo is the only one who could train you properly in the basics. She was the one who trained me before my mana vein awakened. I can still show you the ropes, but she knows more about teaching the fundamentals than I do."

"Oh? Well if you trust her. Then I will trust her as well. Thank you," Rya hugged him tightly and gave him a peck on the cheek.