Persuasion and Negotiation (5)

“So what brought you here?”

The day after Julia came to visit. Catalina stormed into the mansion as if she had been waiting.

Even right after eating breakfast, they come inside screaming loudly.

The guards also let her in with frowns.

“If you come in, you come in. “Why are you screaming and making such a fuss?”

“They say someone screamed.”

As usual, he haughtily crossed his legs and yawned.

It is said that they did not come for any reason.

It is said that he came just because he was bored and wanted to have a game with Erina.

“Stop bothering Erina. Now, whenever I see you, I avoid it.”

“Tsk. It’s not fun. “My strength is so strong that I only have the size of a pea.”

Catalina clicked her tongue and looked frustrated at Erina.

Erina openly showed her annoyance as she looked at Catalina.

One difference is that Catalina does not hate Erina.

At this point, I even became curious.

“Why are you so obsessed with Erina?”

“What an obsession. “If anyone hears it, they will misunderstand.”

“There are other kids besides Erina.”

“They are no fun. They only cowardly fire magic or arrows from afar.”

“Kayla and Tyria are both listening.”

“I’m telling you to listen.”

It’s also a talent not to look hateful even when someone criticizes you in front of you.

Of course, other colleagues except me looked displeased.

“Anyway, if you don’t want to fight, just give me some alcohol.”

“Sister. Drinking in the morning…”

“Be quiet. He said he didn’t even touch sand or alcohol. “This is okay.”

As before, I stood up arguing while with Malcolm.

And he gestured for Catalina to follow.

“Let’s go out and spar.”

“With whom? With you?”

“Okay. Let’s stick together properly for the first time in a long time.”

I had sparred with Catalina once before.

That match ended in a draw, but this time it will be different.

Of course, Catalina smiled and stood up.

Since he had the personality to not shy away from a fight, there was no way he would back down from a sparring match.

“Seohyun…”

“Are you okay. “Because it’s just sparring.”

“Still, Sister, you’d better prepare well. “In ten minutes, you’ll be lying face down on the floor.”

“Who says what to say?”

We made silly jokes, grabbed our weapons, and headed outside.

The reason I asked Catalina to spar was simple.

Likewise, I was leisurely and thought I could have a more interesting sparring than my colleagues.

And I wanted to see how much I had grown.

‘My abilities have increased quite a bit.’

Name: Seohyun

Age: 23 years old

Gender: Male

Class: Dragon Knight

Level: 39

HP: 3100/3100

MP: 1050/1050

Strength: 49/100

Stamina: 51/100

Agility: 15/100

Magic attribute: 40/100

Wisdom: 25/100

Luck: 29/100

His strength and stamina were close to 50, and his magic power also reached 40.

His abilities are incomparable to when he first arrived in this world.

At this level, the ability level was equivalent to the last half of the first round.

Of course, it was difficult to compare Erina since she was constantly growing until the ending was updated.

At least compared to other colleagues, his ability level was the highest.

In other words, Catalina could have easily won.

“Everything except the head and vital points doesn’t matter. If you surrender first or are subdued, you lose.”

“Okay.”

Catalina thrust her great sword with confident eyes.

It seemed difficult for any country to freely handle such a large sword.

It would be nice to be able to check Catalina’s abilities as well.

While I was lost in thought for a moment, Catalina rushed at me without warning.

“Hmm…!”

He immediately pulled out his long sword and blocked the great sword.

As the sharp blue blade slashed vertically, I had the illusion that the space was distorted.

Tremendous pressure felt in both hands at the same time.

But I managed to stop the blade.

“Tsk… !”

Catalina hesitated and adjusted her posture, probably surprised that the great sword was blocked.

It looks like he was embarrassed because the great sword he swung with all his heart was blocked.

In previous sparring, we had never clashed swords head-on.

As expected, I also seem to have grown.

“You won’t be able to defeat me with force.”

“Well, maybe I should try it.”

I tried to apply pressure by swinging my sword several times, but I did not back down.

Instead, he began swinging his long sword like a flowing sword to block the sword strikes.

Previously, I wouldn’t have been able to react to the fast speed.

Now, I could read the sword’s path and even predict it.

In the first place, Catalina had nothing to say about swordsmanship.

He’s just randomly using his strength and swinging his sword.

Because it simply relied on the overwhelming power and distance of the great sword.

In a situation where their power was equal, it was far from enough to overwhelm me.

‘Of course I can’t let down my guard.’

He was trying his best to break through the defense by twisting his sword strikes at every turn.

He suddenly swung with his sword or put his foot out to try to push him away.

“Whoa…”

I exhaled lightly and wrapped magic around the blade.

Rather than radiating cold energy like before, I focused on the long sword and sharpened it.

From what I felt before, I was sticking to a method that wasted too much magical energy.

Rather, it is more efficient to reduce magical power as needed.

“You’re using magic. Cowardly child… !”

“Where is the cowardice? Just win and that’s it.”

Catalina’s movements changed as she realized that the forces were equal.

The speed slowed down a bit, but the sword curved and took an unpredictable path.

Has Catalina become stronger as I have grown?

The feeling of the collar around my waist brushing sent a chill down my spine.

Of course, I had no intention of just defending myself.

As he swung his sword, he began to slowly send chills toward the floor.

As the floor slowly froze, Catalina’s posture began to rapidly collapse.

He approached with a distorted expression and narrowed the gap.

“You son of a b*tch…!”

The sword came right in front of us in an instant, accompanied by swear words.

I had no choice but to step back due to the unexpected attack.

As increasingly irregular attacks continued, I couldn’t let down my defenses.

If the attack is properly allowed even once, you will be pushed back by the momentum.

“Huh…”

Catalina is looking for an opening with a killer look.

I was finally able to realize that she was fighting, not sparring.

A feeling of living with colleagues that cannot be felt in Dalian.

Since I couldn’t give in to the momentum, I held on tightly to my long sword and called in the frosty wind.

As the cold wind blew through the garden, the heated atmosphere quickly cooled.

Catalina’s life seemed to shrink from the biting cold.

“If it’s a battle of momentum, I’m confident.”

The battle continues. Neither I nor Catalina had any intention of backing down.

In the meantime, there were numerous attacks, and neither she nor I were okay.

The collar was torn, the skin was torn, and fresh blood flowed on the floor.

But strangely enough, there was no pain.

In fact, I even forgot about the breath that was rising to my chin due to the feeling of joy welling up in my head.

“Excuse me… Stop now… “

“I’m fine. Serica.”

People around me seemed worried and tried to stop me.

Catalina and I had no intention of stopping until someone fell.

“Malcolm. You too, stay still… !”

“Ha… “I understand.”

As soon as Catalina finished yelling, I rushed in first.

The blade swung aiming at the leg sliced through the air.

The back of the great sword approached, targeting that gap.

As I left my position and tried to counterattack, a kick suddenly came.

Catalina quickly grabbed her leg and poured magical energy into it, and Catalina bit her teeth tightly, suppressing a scream.

“Ugh… !!”

Before the great sword flew, I let go and took out my shield.

He blocked the blade flying at his side with his whole body and persistently aimed for his leg.

Catalina was gradually pushed back, unable to keep her stance on the frozen ice on the floor.

Of course, there was no way the attack would work properly.

They pushed and pushed Catalina, but there was no victory.

He was swinging his greatsword freely and blocking all of my longswords.

But there was a gap that came momentarily.

I captured the moment when I took a wrong step and lost my posture.

‘Now… !’

As I hit the blade towards my shoulder, red blood spurted out in front of my eyes.

Understand!

At the same time, red blood welled up in front of my eyes and a stinging pain came.

What happened? Before I could understand the situation, I noticed that blood was flowing from my head.

‘When… ‘

The hilt of the great sword was approaching my eyes.

Did you aim with the hilt of the sword, not the blade?

However, Catalina’s face was distorted, as if she had no intention of aiming for the forehead.

“Seohyun… !”

At the same time, the area before my eyes turned white and a warm feeling came over me.

Serica’s healing miracle. In an instant, the bleeding stopped and the pain subsided.

“…I lost.”

Catalina stood up with a frown on her face.

I nervously put down my great sword, probably because I was truly in a bad mood.

However, rather than being angry because he lost a match against me, he seemed disappointed that he broke the rules and attacked my face.

“…Sorry. “I made a mistake.”

Catalina apologizes clumsily but clearly.

Still, it didn’t lead to a major accident, so I guess that’s okay.

At least I could say that I won in Dalian.

“Shit. I’m just in a bad mood.”

“Because I don’t care. “Don’t worry.”

“How can it be that I don’t care? Right now, that guy is staring at me like he’s going to kill me.”

When I turned to the side after hearing Catalina’s words, I saw Erina looking at me with murderous eyes.

Her hand was even pointing towards the long sword at her waist.

An attitude as if he would draw his sword and attack at any moment.

But fortunately, Erina did not come forward.

“Seohyun. Are you okay now… ?”

“Okay. It’s okay now.”

The wound that was throbbing just a moment ago disappeared like melting snow, and my breathing quickly began to stabilize.

“You shouldn’t push yourself too hard. Next time, please spar moderately.”

“But you can’t lose on purpose.”

Fortunately, the mood did not last long and brightened.

Catalina apologized first, and I didn’t feel too bad.

That’s why I thought it would be a shame to end it with just one sparring.

There’s nothing to do anyway, so let’s continue our sparring a little longer.

“Tyria. “I’m free now.”

“Yes… ? Yes.”

“Then can you spar with me?”

At my request, people around me looked at me with astonished expressions.

Of course, Tyria was reluctant and refused.

“No matter what, with Seohyun…”

“If you defeat me, I will grant your wish.”

Then Tyria’s eyes suddenly changed.

As expected, she likes me, so I can’t miss this opportunity.

Of course, Erina glared at Tyria as if she were going to kill her.

Tyria took a calming breath and nodded slowly.

“Seo, if Seohyun wants it, I’d like it too. “I will try to spar sincerely.”

“Okay. Let’s give it a try.”

So Tyria took her bow and arrows and armed herself well.

I also stood in front of her with my long sword drawn.