Not knowing when, at some point, Everblood was standing off to the side. Possibly intentionally, he stopped outside of her range.

Having been using attachments to her pommels. Jessica went through a number of experiences. Learning fast, the hard way.

Not everything could be random. The length of the string had to be measured. No amount of practice allowed her that freedom.

Throwing the weapon meant she could throw at different speeds for unknown effects. When to grab or rotate would have little effect.

Ultimately, without a set standard, everything came out randomly. From accuracy to efficiency. Worst of all, was validly of this technique.

As something created with her own hands, she was unwilling to abandon it. After a number of alterations, she settled on string length. This was also the first important milestone in this technique. Without knowing your range, effectiveness of the technique tanked.

Therefore, seeing him just outside her range caused a slight chill to travel down her back.

“Don’t get distracted.” His voice was a bit stern. He wasn’t talking to a girl that was shoved onto him. Nor was he talking to someone that had helped save his disciple’s family. He was currently talking to a young one that was still wet behind the ears.

This became a challenge, not because he was standing so close. No, she knew she couldn’t land a single hit. Saleh, was a perfect example of this. Everblood was the one that taught him. The issue was that he continued to talk as she was trying to make random movements that linked together while moving in ways that were otherwise awkward and difficult.

“Part of the reason I said the two of you made such a good combination is not because you can cover for some of his faults. Working well with someone doesn’t make you a good combination. I don’t know how much you were able to gleam from your spar.”

Watching her reach the end of her cycle, he paused. She was trying to listen while moving. It didn’t slip past Everblood that she was a lone wolf. This technique was sloppy and extremely weak, however, the creative nature of the technique was interesting. Having solid ground to stand on.

She was struggling to listen, ponder, while continuing to move and keep her actions diversified. Thus, he decided to wait. What he really wanted to know was how did Everwood raise her, he was someone with a vast array of tactics, though in terms of techniques. Well, they were subpar.

As someone who grew up in war, Everwood had a simple and straight forward approach to fighting. He didn’t do anything complicated, however, that was what made it so dangerous. There was nothing complicated about it. Dominating a battlefield without complete one-sided strength required tactics not technique.

So how was it that the child raised by him came up with her own technique that was the opposite of him. Her technique was sloppy and all over the place. She would end up dead in a ditch after the first battle in a war.

There weren’t any wars. Not at the moment, so this fighting style shined. In a small skirmish where tactics had less importance, this technique would devastate anyone in the area. Unfortunately, it was still too early in its development.

This was the reason she lost. She depended on physical skill to overcome her opponents. Most people have basic groundwork. If you do this, they do that, type of mentality. It was the natural course. Making it an easy approach to grow stronger.

Jessica, however, did the opposite. Putting massive amount of pressure on herself. She fought in a way that had too many moves. When someone did this, she could do that, this, or a large assortment of things.

When facing someone of equal strength or weaker, her sheer will was what allowed her to hold the advantage. Only once she fought someone that was of an equal skill level did it show how terrible and sloppy the technique was. Not to be confused, Everblood saw a lot of potential in this technique. Only what she needed was some stability.

In exchange, what he wanted was her variety to rub off on Saleh. Jessica held the advantage in the spare, but in the end she hands down lost. Saleh was stronger while taking up an advantageous position.

It was true, he couldn’t touch a single hair on Jessica’s head. Jessica came close a few times, but she could also not break his defense. While battlemage’s were rare, making it difficult to deal with. Defending was always easier than attacking in a real fight. Jessica ended up tired, while Saleh still had some left in his reserves.

With his thoughts being kept quietly to himself, Jessica was able to preform a spinning slash. Keeping the glinting fiber a foot around her as he could hear it cut through the air along with the dagger it was attached to.

“You use your technique incorrectly. Maybe in the future it would be fine. Now, however, you need stability. Where a normal technique would react in one way, you can react in two. You have the talent to make it three. There would be nothing wrong with that.”

The more Jessica thought about his words, the harder it became to keep her exercise going.

“For the time being, I would advise you to lower the variety of your technique down. You lack a set standard, some of your attacks were more effective than others. Even still, you continued to try different methods, never going back to what worked. In the end, you tired yourself out without any progress.”

Watching as she came to a stop, he moved on. Ultimately, her decision was her own. At most, he could give her hints. However, the technique was self-made. Doing anything else would destroy the freedom and creativity put into the technique. The parts that made it a technique worth continue using.

Everblood had hope that if she could bring it up as she continued to progress in grades. A monster like his disciple might just grace the continent with its presence. A terrifying thought, though, he was called the Ever of Slaughter, what did panic, fear, and war have to do with him.

Moving over to his student, he slapped him on the back of the head. The absentminded student was half-heartedly doing his mana control exercise as he eavesdropped on their conversation. Once the slap was felt, the strands of mana snaking on his palm broke and dissipated without any effort that was meant to be put into them.