The third bout began with Aureus approaching Edward in a storm of dust.

Aureus's sword drilled towards Edward without letting up.

Edward stepped back in rapid fashion.

As Aureus's speed tapered, Edward's blade instantly glowed.

Aureus's eyes flashed and he activated his aether gems.

Mass.

Edward's blade flew out of his grasp as his blade connected with Aureus's sword.

The bout was over in a flash as Aureus's sword connected in rapid succession with Edward's barrier in the next second.

—

"Beautiful!" Johan cheered as Aureus ended the bout.

"A true killing move," Tarin agreed.

"Hope that Edward doesn't take it too hard," said Johan while looking sympathetic. "Few can force his highness to such a level even when using a gimmick."

"I wonder what is Edward's background with the sword. He appears to possess the potential to be a 3 leaves swordmaster." said Tarin.as looked at Edward.

"Could he be a potential divine blade too?" Johan asked as he turned towards Tarin.

"My old eyes are not that discerning. Perhaps his highness would have a more accurate evaluation."

"Still, that's a unique combination of heavy and light. He has only been here for a few weeks and thought up of such a stratagem. He even used the Lighten which is commonly used outside combat situations to such a degree. Quite impressive."

"That wasn't all there is to it. If he was not naturally a speedy fighter and choosing to augment himself with two strength boosting cores, he would not have been able to push his highness this far."

"What was his main factor in being able to do so though? I can tell that it wasn't his combination of heavy and light nor speed and strength that pushed his highness this far."

"It was his variation and grasp of timing. He uses his variety to create a series of minor openings in his opponent and then capitalizes on it with his unique grasp of timings with an unrelenting focus on weak spots. He reminds me of as an assassin. I wonder if special operations is an euphemism for assassinations in his realm."

—

"Well played, your highness."

"You too. It was a good series of bouts. Are you considered a swordmaster where you are from?"

"I am not too sure about that. I believe I should be good enough but I never went to take the certification. Where I come from, swordplay is considered more of a sport or pastime as the gun was more or less the weapon of choice for most combatants."

"Do people who engage in this pastime regularly become swordmaster?"

"No, highness. Many whom I know, pick up the sword in a combination of interest and to maintain their body fitness."

"Sounds like an idyllic realm."

"Meet me at the study at 4pm, there is something I wish for you to look over."

"Highness, I will be there."

—

As Aureus rejoined Tarin and Johan, Johan showed a rare display of patience as he waited for Aureus's assessment of Edward's combat abilities.

All along the path back to the castle, Aureus was silent. As they reached the main hall, he expressed his thoughts.

"I believe within a few years Edward could step into an Adamant's level of strength."

"Does he have the potential of being a divine blade?" asked Johan in a curious tone.

Aureus was apprehensive as he deliberated his answer. As they rounded the corner towards the study, Aureus concluded that Edward does have the potential to be a divine blade. However, Aureus added that his particular style of swordsmanship would not allow him to count amongst the strongest of divine blades.

"What about his potential as a sphere combatant?" Asked Tarin as they rounded a corner towards the study.

Aureus only had two words, "Very high."

—

Aureus was seated in the study and looking at the golden spatial pouch he bought from the core realm.

After a few more moments of contemplation, he reached into the pouch and summoned several blueprints.

(This will do) Aureus thought as he closed his eyes in meditation.

—

There was a knock on the study door at five minutes before four.

"Enter," Aureus called out.

Edward entered the study and saw Aureus seated behind the study desk with what appears to be several blueprints on the desk.

"From what I gathered from Johan's report, it appears that your realm has no such phenomenon as Aether magic. Your realm primarily relies on what you classify as science and technology in order to prosper, am I right?"

"Yes, that is correct, highness."

"Correspondingly, your level of technology is several levels higher that what you can find in the three realms but it appears that overall, we may not be too far off due to our usage of aether magics."

"Highness, in some ways, your realm is far more advanced than mine. For one thing, there is no such things as spatial gates in my realm. Our fastest mode of transport would be Airplanes, it allows us to fly from one continent to another quickly but nothing instantaneous."

"I would like to say the spatial gates is our invention but sad to say, that is far from the truth. Our magis merely found it and learned how to operate it. We did not create it."

"That is interesting," Edward looked contemplative as he thought that information through.

"I gather you were an engineer in your previous world, take a look at these blueprints. Let me know what you think." Aureus pointed to the blueprints on his desk.

Edward studied the blueprints for a quarter of an hour, "These appears to be a preliminary draft of a railway system."

"What is your assessment on them being implemented on a city?"

"Highness, I will be blunt. If you were to implement the system as it is upon a city, say as big as Everdawn and its outskirts, it will start breaking down in half a century or less."

"There are various issues. Such as maintenance, level of technology over time, placement of rail lines, stress loads of said lines and weather compatibility. The blueprint itself has few issues. It is workable but there are no mentions of any countermeasures against the issues I mentioned."

Aureus looked somewhat incredulous at Edward's analysis and was about to speak when Edward started explaining.

"Highness, I am not -what my realm will refer to as - blowing smoke up a certain area. My sister is an engineer too, and she became a director at my nation's railway systems department. Over the years, I conversed with her frequently and our common topic was about the various engineering issues she faced at work as we were unable to discuss mine."

Aureus looked mollified after the explanation which slowly turned into a smile.

"It would appear that the railway systems in your realm is far more advanced than ours."

"Regarding the issues you mentioned, our realm has a crutch. We can lay a magical foundation of sorts that will allow us to completely replace an area with another area of our choosing. It is a common practice in the three realms. In this way, we revitalized our various cities and capitals in our realm. Hence we are not as concerned as the system breaking down as we have the means to replace it as long as we planned for it."

It was Edward's turn to look incredulous, "That sounds very convenient, highness."

"It is, the catch being the amount of resources one would need to do so. The bigger the land area, the more resources required. In addition, the areas are replaced with an area with the infrastructure already built so that is another cost." Aureus added.

"That sounds more like it. More realistic." Edward was nodding his head now.

"Edward, could you give me a review of your engineering abilities? In particular, are you able to reproduce the firearms you were using?"

"Highness, with regards to the issue of firearms, I am afraid that I have to report that with the current level of technology and magic your realm has. Production on the level of firearms my realm is using is near impossible. The firearms that my realm is using requires specialized technology to manufacture which cannot be found or substituted here. As long as one component is unable to be produced, the whole item will not work. I apologize, highness. I have no way of helping with that."

Aureus did not look disappointed as he heard Edward's report. On the contrary, he seemed to be in agreement, "No worries, I expected such a result. Power is not gained overnight, access to artifacts on the level of the firearms you have displayed will ensure a power bloc such as Astrea Empire reach a new level of dominance amongst the three superpowers for quite a period."

"Highness, during my last year of education, I specialized in understanding technology related to a period of time named the industrial revolution by my realm. With regards to the implementation of a railway system, I believe that I may be of help."

Edward then summarized the technology he was familiar with. Aureus appeared surprised at the end.