When Ketis woke up the next morning, she noticed she was not lying in a bed.

Instead, the liquid around her told her that she was immersed in a healing pod!

Warm liquid immersed her from every direction, soothing her muscle aches in order to restore them as quickly as possible.

It worked, but not effectively enough for her liking. She still felt as if her body had gone through a singularity. Her limbs aches and her body signalled that it was weary.

Augmented by lots of candy or not, the ordeal that she had just gone through was arduous on a whole other level.

Not just her body, but also her mind felt weary. A persistent strain affected her mind and spirit, causing her to feel as if she had exercised way too hard. Even though she felt as if her mind and mentality had expanded somehow, the extreme stretching and exertion also caused to feel as if she had been on the verge of breaking her mind.

It had been close.

As the hazy memories of her final attack came to her attention, she vaguely realized how much she risked in order to defeat Ivan Reid.

It was stupid. She shouldn't have risked so much to pull off something unprecedented. She came too close to breaking. Only her unyielding will kept her mind firm enough to successfully channel the Sword of Lydia.

Swish…

Sharpie slightly perked up after she woke, but her sword intent was pretty much in the same awful condition as herself. Even though its presence had become a lot larger and more substantial than before, Ketis clearly sensed it was in constant pain.

Just like her, Sharpie performed something so unprecedented in its existence that it irrevocably changed from the experience.

Swish… swish… swish…

Still, neither of them had regrets. Every ambitious person had to push their limits and go beyond their existing capabilities in order to achieve success. Risk always came with reward, and Ketis had a feeling that as long as Sharpie and her recovered, their expansion would stay behind.

After the doctors in the employ of the Infinity Guards pulled her out of the healing pod and gave her a thorough checkup, she was allowed to go free.

"In fact, you are far from recovering, but it can't be helped." Venerable Dise spoke as she accompanied Ketis on a slow walk through the garden of Angelique's villa. "Your participation in the group tournament may have come to an end yesterday, but you still have a chance to go further in the solo tournament. I don't want to make a decision on your behalf. You should be the one to decide how you wish to go forward."

On one hand, the condition of her body was bad. The Endurance Candies along with her other physical augmentations may have helped a lot, but any other person would have been bedridden for months if they hadn't outright died already!

As it was, she was already straining her physical body to the limits by going on a walk. Each step sent another jolt of pain through her body. Her breathing grew heavier and it became more difficult to keep herself upright.

She had been pulled out of her treatment program too early. If she had a few more days to recover, her enhanced physique would have made enough progress for her to run without causing her body collapse right afterwards!

Her next match was scheduled to begin in just a couple of hours, but the deadline to inform her willingness to make an appearance was only ten minutes away.

Ketis looked down on her body. She had to make a choice.

"It's not cowardice to admit your weakness." Venerable Dise softly spoke as her force of will, which was normally aggressive and firm, took on a softer and more harmonizing feel. "No one is immortal and no one is invincible. You have already done the improbable and defeated the heir of the Cloudstrider Sword School. The entire Heavensword Association is abuzz about your stellar performance against one of the best sword initiates in the state. Even if you have technically lost the group match, the Heavensworders all acknowledge you now. There can be no other outcome."

The Heavensworders were steeped in a culture that worshipped strong swordsmen. Although they were more strict about the moral character of their warriors, as long as someone showed off enough strength to surpass the vast majority of swordsmen in the state, that person automatically became an idol to the people!

Ketis didn't care too much about this. The press and public vilified her so much that she never developed an affection for them. Why should she welcome their praise?

The only reason why she didn't intend to insult them at the first opportunity was because this development was favorable to the Swordmaidens and the Annihilator Sword School.

Venerable Dise smiled. "Our organizations are doing very well now. You not only fought splendidly, but truly debuted as a new sword initiate who truly possesses the strength to fight against the potential champions of the tournament. Many swordsmen and swordswomen have become enchanted by the unyielding spirit you have shown. Many more wish to be able to manifest the Sword of Lydia and cut through everything."

She spoke those last words in jest. Both Dise and Ketis knew that it was practically impossible for other Swordmaidens to replicate such an attack. Sword initiates and swordsmasters were very rare in the Heavensword Association for a reason! Too many people simply lacked the 'talent' to become anything more than a regular swordsman.

Only the most persevering among them might be able to push themself to a pseudo-sword initiate by force, but that took decades of training. At least Fred Walinski was lucky enough to achieve some results while he still had some years left in his lifespan!

Even though it was rather deceptive to dangle the hope of being able to fight like Ketis when the odds were so small, many swordsmen nonetheless wished to try. Even if they ultimately fell short in the end, they still benefited from the journey!

"How many people did we scam this time?" Ketis asked with a wry smile.

"You can't imagine how many Heavensworders and foreigners have observed your match. We have already been flooded with hundreds of thousands of inquiries. While the vast majority of them are not serious, we estimate that we can absorb at least several hundred high-quality mech pilots and a thousand more swordswomen. Of course, each of them will need to undergo at least a few months of intensive training to convert them into Swordmaidens."

This was quite a lot of progress! The Swordmaiden's mech pilot roster only consisted of a single mech company, so the immediate addition of hundreds of female mech pilots who met Venerable Dise's standard was a crucial injection of strength!

Since the Heavensword Association was a second-rate state, its mech pilots were extremely well-trained and could easily pilot any second-class swordsman mech in battle!

"What about the Annihilator Sword School?" Ketis asked.

As the supposed head of this school, she had a responsibility to revive it. Even if she wasn't obliged to do so in order to fulfill her promise to Fred Walinski, her honor and sense of duty did not allow her to neglect this responsibility!

"Your sword school is much more popular than our mech force. Not everyone is a mech pilot, after all, and the Heavensworders are much more familiar with the structure and benefits of sword schools. While you're not a Swordmaster, the strength that you have shown has already indicated that you are qualified to teach the styles you know. There are thousands of swordsmen who are interested in learning how to annihilate obstacles. I'm not fully up to date with the numbers, and I don't determine how strict the thresholds should be. You should talk to Fred to know the details, but last I met him, he was bursting with joy."

"Those poor sods… Fred is about to hoodwink all of them. Of all of those thousands eager swordsmen and swordswomen, maybe one of them will actually be able to become a sword initiate. The rest…"

Venerable Dise looked down on a pond where a school of fish was leisurely swimming below the surface. "I don't feel bad about dangling this hope in front of people. What we are doing is no different from any other sword school in the state. We offer something more than just transcendence. Anyone who joins our sisterhood will gain comrades, undergo intensive training and travel to exciting new locations. The men and women who opted to join the Annihilator Sword School will be able to take on a fruitful career in the Larkinson Clan."

It was just like the mech piloting career. Few if any mech pilots would ever be able to become an expert pilot, but that did not stop an uncountable amount of hopeful people from stepping onto this path.

This realization allowed Ketis to feel less guilty about recruiting optimistic fools. As long as they knew what they signed up for, she would be happy to welcome them into her ranks.

She slightly shook her head. How her thoughts had changed. Responsibility was still too foreign to her. She never considered herself to be a leader like Ves. Yet now that the situation had forced her to step up, she was not willing to give up without giving it a serious try.

"Ketis." The expert pilot turned and faced the younger woman. "The reason why I'm telling you all of this is that you have essentially fulfilled our requirement. We are no longer short of recruits, and the praises that people have showered on you will not fade quickly. Even if you don't show up in the arena anymore, we still have confidence we can bring back at least a thousand battle-ready swordsmen mech pilots."

"We can do better, though."

Dise carefully placed her hand on Ketis' shoulder. "We can, but the question is whether it is wise to do so. Your body is still in a recovery phase. Every heavy exertion you make will delay your recovery or exacerbate your wounds. There is also the possibility of suffering permanent ailments, particularly if you put excessive strain on your brain. Mech pilots are especially prone to suffering neural damage, but the doctors say that you are at risk of suffering similar damage."

Time was running out. Ketis had to make a decision quickly. She looked down at her hands and tried to imagine swinging a sword again. The illusion evoked both pain and anticipation in her. Her hand clenched into a fist.

"I… can't stop like this. I still have some fight left in me. I want to challenge more Heavensworders. I want to beat more powerful swordsmen like Ivan Reid. I won't be able to return to this state after we have ended our visit, so this is the only opportunity I have to push myself against lots of diverse and well-trained swordsmen."

The unyielding spirit that she had embodied previously welled up in her mind again. Even though the pressure induced more pain in her, she was willing to bear it if it meant she could continue to fight!

Her will radiated from her body as she voiced her determination. Venerable Dise easily perceived this and gave Ketis a look of approval.

"If this is your choice, then I will inform the tournament operators that you will participate in the following match. You're lucky that your next opponent in the solo tournament is just a regular swordsman. While he's not a pushover in your current state, I hope you can quickly solve him in order to reduce the strain on your body and mind as much as possible."

Ketis nodded. "Understood."

The solo tournament schedule was not kind to those who suffered severe injuries. Even if she was able to defeat today's opponent, she would have to fight another one tomorrow and the day after. Failure was only one stumble away!