"Father, why do you want me to be strong?" I asked my cold-hearted father who was teaching me how to properly use my Secret Art: Infinite Swords.

"As a member of a noble bloodline, you must be powerful, a weak Noble would just be eaten by those trash who call themselves 'commoners'." Father answered with displeasure as the hundred and twenty swords he conjured circles around me, taking advantage of every holes in my defence.

Father once praised me by saying I was talented in our household's Secret Art: Infinite Swords, but the only thing I was rewarded after that was strict training from the age of six.

Father never moved a single step whilst training me. He manipulated the flying swords around him to attack me using their blunt edges, tripping me over or bruising me whenever I was careless.

I also controlled the same number of swords as father. However, the intricacies of manipulating many swords at once was something father was more familiar with the sounds of metal clashing resounded around me.

[Sword Formation- Dragon Wings]

The transparent swords that were clashing with the multiple Aura Swords I conjured returned to my father’s side before changing in size and shape.

They turned into metallic wings on my father’s back, allowing him to fly off into the sky at will. I, as someone who hadn’t mastered the art of flight, could only use my swords to create a makeshift shield as father lunged towards me at a breakneck speed.

Once again, I was beaten down and bruised. There was no mercy in father’s eyes as he retrieved a sword from his ethereal wings and slashed towards me.

As someone familiar with my father’s tactics, I was able to accurately predict the trajectory of his attack while also countering it with a sword of my own.

Father seemed to enjoy training me as he seemed to like the feeling of fighting someone with the exact same style of combat as himself, but I didn’t feel the same...

I never liked this kind of life!

"I don't want to train...! I want to live normally like my friends! I want freedom!" I roared towards my father who emotionlessly watched my tantrum. For whole five years, I've endured pain and suffering for a title I didn't even desire to have. Why should I care about my 'nobility' or power?

"It seems I've been pampering you too much for quite some time." Father narrowed his eyes coldly before breaking the myriad of ethereal swords I conjured with a snap of his finger.

He didn’t even need to use any advanced techniques to destroy my conjured swords. All he did was sacrifice a sword for a sword, allowing his own be destroyed in the process.

"You must think that you're the most pitiful girl in the world, that strength doesn't matter at all to nobles like the both of us, but... You.Are.WRONG!

So wrong in fact that it makes me want to punish you. Why can't you be more mature like Fredrick's son? If you had at least half that child's stubbornness and determination, you would have been able to unlock the third layer of Infinite Swords and earned glory for our Noble Household!" Father growled at me in anger, his eyes seemed to contain a blazing inferno of rage.

"I'm sorry." I gave up and apologised.

I don’t want Father to hate me. I hate it more when father looks at me like that!

Father hadn’t been the same ever since mother died... Not even once had he smiled ever since we lost mother to the Vampires outside the borders.

I don't know what father feels when he makes such an angered expression on his face but I know that it's due to me making some sort of grave mistake.

I'm sorry, father. Your daughter will try harder. I won't ever complain anymore...!

I didn't lower my head nor did I cry, I used actions rather than words to communicate what I felt. I closed my eyes for a second, and when I opened them, I felt more in touch with my Secret Art. I once again conjured a hundred and twenty ethereal Aura Swords, it was then that the myriad of diamond glowing swords hovering above me doubled their number to two hundred and forty before I attacked!

This was my final ultimate attack! An interconnected chain of strikes that was basically throwing a plethora of magical swords at father’s chest.

There was a shift in the atmosphere as even my Fire Attribute was enchanted onto my swords to give them the ability to explode on impact.

All my blood, sweat, and tears were put into this last attack which held everything I learned over the entire course of my ruthless training sessions.

An excited expression appeared on my father's face as he saw I was finally able to execute a technique even HE was unable to cast. A smile curved on his face as he casually blocked my strongest strike using multiple swords enchanted with his imitation of the Water Attribute!

The swords he conjured were shaped as shields as they all blocked two swords each. There was not even hole in my father’s absolute magical defences...

"Good! Good! You've grown. You may just be able to reclaim our Household's lost glory. Now that you've surpassed my younger self in all aspects, I'm sure Helen would be proud, good girl!" My father praised as the fire in his eyes cooled down. A satisfied smile curved onto his lips as he praised my talent.

"As a reward, name something you want and I'll give it to you. I promise to fulfil any of your wishes!” Father said generously as he gave me a hug.

"I want Simon to be my personal servant." I said with a blushing face.

I only noticed him after he beat Jack up with his strange Arts and Spells. He looked so cool~ He's like a legendary Hero~ I really want to compare notes with him and spar with him. I can’t help but admit that he’s even more of a genius than I am in magical combat~

The only difference between us would be our Magical Talents and Heritages.

Now that I think about it, I wonder if he’ll be able to keep up in the future considering the massive secret regarding my family’s grand lineage?

I sincerely hope he can!

"He'll naturally become your personal servant if he can reach the third level of Aura Manifestation and create his own personal Skill Root. In fact, he'll become something much more than that if he is able to draw out his potential at such an early age." Father's smile was a little scary as he said that.

Simon is going to become something more than a personal servant? What does me mean by that? I hope he isn’t planning something like marrying me off to him. I might admire the strength of that servant name Simon but there’s no way I would want to marry someone with such a low Magical Talent...

"Forget it, you yourself should be making preparations to enter the third level of Aura Manifestation as well. A person with high talent shouldn’t be wasting their precious potential." He shook his head after declining to answer the question in my heart.

"What is the 'third level'?" I couldn't help but ask. Father never really shared much of an explanation regarding it despite my advanced level of education.

"The first level of Aura Manifestation is just the augmentation of the flesh whilst the second level is the actual external control over imitated attributes, but these two are merely the foundation used to reach the third and most important level of Aura for true Warriors: Skill Root." Father patiently explained.

"You may not be able to understand right now, but you should keep in mind that the first and second level of Aura Manifestation aren't weak. It's just that those two levels aren't able to be as 'Mystical' as the third level." I wasn't able to understand father's warning very clearly, causing my expression to be unable hide my thoughts. Father could only sigh as he explained further.

"As I've said many times before, those who increase their mastery over the augmentation of flesh are classed as Martial Artists whilst those that focus heavily on the second level of Aura Manifestation are classed as Mages.” Father spoke while conjuring a Water Ball in his left hand and displaying a thick Aura on his right hand. Only after I nodded in understanding did he move on.

"These two professions might be weaker in extremely dangerous combat scenarios compared to those who became Skill Holders, but they are still dangerous in their own right." Father informed while shaking his head.

"But what's a Skill Root?" I didn't really have much of an interest in learning about Magicians or Warriors because Skill Holders are WAY cooler~! I heard that some of them can teleport!

Father sighed he looked at me for a moment before answering.

"Skill Root, as in the 'root' of all your future skills, a very important foundation for your future development as a Skill Holder. My own 'Cloudy Blue Sword Eyes' Skill Root is one of the few high quality Skill Roots that exist within this vast world.

However, you must remember that I'm unable to help you any further than giving you pointers in order to give you an easier time. A Skill Root isn't something that can be sought, it is something that's found. I want you to try to find your own ‘root’ through enlightenment. After all, those who are able to overcome challenges are the ones who will survive the upcoming Holy War...” A shiver ran down my spine as I saw the harmless expression on my father’s face... His fixation with killing Vampires was definitely higher than anyone else in Drakeyol Kingdom. I merely nodded my head repeatedly as he continued by giving in-depth knowledge regarding how to become a Skill Holder.

"Train well." Father left after leaving behind those words. Only after I made sure no one was looking did I lazily lay on the grass of my own personal Training Grounds.

Father's 'Cloudy Blue Sword Eyes' Skill Root is amazing~! Just thinking about how he showed off his Skill Root a few days ago makes me feel excited about what my own personal Skill Root will be like. A flame burns deeply in my heart as I looked at the cloudy sky...

I want a Skill Root as well! Father said he'll let me adventure if I'm able to create one before the age of fifteen. I want to see the outside world myself!

"Young Miss, what are you thinking about?" Anna suddenly appeared beside me before asking curiously towards my dazed eyes...

I wasn't really that surprised by her sudden appearance. Anna always liked to scare me like this when I was younger, but now it's just childish~

I'm not that same little girl anymore!

"I'm thinking about how talented you are in using your Dark Aura." I said sarcastically. I definitely wouldn't show this side of me to father, who knows how he would react after seeing me like this. Would he be disappointed in me?

"Young Miss, don't even mention my low ‘talent’. I've never even heard of someone like you who could instantly learn every Ninja Technique I had so painstakingly mastered over the years..." Anna said dispiritedly. A smile couldn't help but curve onto my lips as I saw her mood.

"I know~ I know~ I'm a talented genius, so praise me more~" I sung playfully before jumping and giving her a giant hug! I had never be able to forget how easy it was to form 'Shadow Images' were when I first tried it out as jokingly. Who knew I had such talent in using the imitation of the Dark Attribute? I might not have even noticed this hidden talent of mine without Anna’s help considering how there’s no way to check a person’s affinity with the Dark Ether of Sphera...

"By the way, have you invited Simon over? I want to meet him." My eyes brightened as I asked Anna with great enthusiasm! There’s no way I would give up the opportunity to talk to him~

Someone who can fight so dextrously at the same age as myself is definitely someone worth creating a connection with. Who knows if he will become an important figure of humanity in future?

Father has always made it clear that I should always create connections with competent individuals and discard anyone without sufficient willpower...

He’s never taken a liking to befriending other Nobles who didn’t at least put their children through similar training hells... Perhaps only Simon is worthy enough to become my trusted aid.

"No worries. Martha should be bringing him here any moment." After hearing her words, I gestured her to prepare a table. It’d be embarrassing if he saw me lazily laying on the grass...!