When I returned, I came to learn that Lucia hadn't done so well in her solo mission. She expined, "One of the critical conditions of the mission was that I resolve everything diplomatically..."
"So, no use of force?" I asked.
"Precisely," She answered with a defeated sigh. I quickly connected the dots. The dragons must've been stubborn, and Lucia being Lucia chose to cow them into submission with a show of force, which ended up working to some extent but created more problems for her in the process. Now, they're only going to behave when she's around, I concluded as I tried to console her. It was sad, but a childish part of me was secretly happy to see her take the L. Bad Daphne! Bad! I reprimanded myself.
I was praised for my efforts, and although I was quite proud of that victory, I couldn't let myself forget what she said, "It's almost like you're trying to imitate the real thing while failing miserably in the process." I must master my csses and their respective fighting styles. They're the only weapons in my arsenal.
With that thought guiding me, I went into a season of intensive training with my master, Tamara, and Isis would come by every once in a while to help, too. I'd spar with them, boss monsters, Lucia, and even the Dragon Kings whenever they were around. And although I lost more than I'd like to admit, the essence of these diverse fighting forms were being drilled into me.
One day, after another bout of sparring. I engaged my [Recssing] skill once again, but... No luck today, huh? Since that night, I'd been trying to replicate the miracle of using another css's skills but to no avail. If I could just master that, it'd really elevate my fighting potential, I thought to myself but just when it seemed hopeless, something I'd never seen before caught my eye. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but it captured my attention nonetheless. Bde Dance?
It was a rare Swordmaster skill that had been hidden up until now, the reason for that becoming clear as I began to understand it intuitively. Hmm, so I'd not used the Swordmaster css for long enough. It had been locked for a while, only becoming visible after I had gained sufficient experience in the Swordmaster css. However, what I learned next left me in a daze.
"Guaranteed crit and perfect evasion," I muttered in disbelief. Of course, there was a time limit of one minute, but that was more than enough. I must get this skill no matter what, I swore to myself that day, but just then, I happened to come across a major roadblock.
How many do I have now?
Welp, I guess I have long journey ahead of me, I thought to myself as I rose up, Recssing into a Swordmaster. A long and arduous journey, the thought rang in my head for a second time as I set out with a devious smile.