# Enhanced Translation
"Hide a leaf in the forest," says the proverb. It's an ancient maxim about concealment techniques. (It's not.)
Therefore, the Annihilation Squad infiltrating forests becomes masters at setting traps using leaves. Though installation methods vary by season, Krasilov Kingdom essentially only has summer and winter, making it considerably easier.
-Twing—
"Eek!!"
Isabelle wrapped her head and rolled as soon as she heard the sharp sound of a thread snapping. Soon after, BOOM. A familiar explosion erupted where Isabelle had been standing.
"Seriously! This could actually kill someone!"
"Weren't you the one who asked me to teach you as if it were real combat?"
"There's! Such a thing! As moderation!"
Isabelle jumped up and immediately swung her sword toward the direction of the sound.
-CLANG!
"Kill your emotions."
"You're making me want to kill you, sir!"
With a lifetime record of 17 matches, 0 wins, and 17 losses, Isabelle gritted her teeth and swung her sword.
Clang, CLANG. Sparks flew as an axe blade flashed from within the shadows. By now, this had become something of a routine.
A booby trap in the escape direction after gunfire, then a sudden attack in the direction you dodge the trap.
Ivan's patterns were ruthlessly efficient. His impeccable skill guided even the direction of evasion into a series of traps.
These were traps designed to kill or severely injure at the slightest mistake.
After five days of this, Isabelle could now anticipate attack timing even with her eyes closed.
"Excellent."
Ivan withdrew his axe with a slight smile and stepped back. A cool forest breeze tickled Isabelle's bangs.
"People truly do become stronger the more they're hammered."
"I think your concept of 'people' might be slightly different from mine."
"At least you're not one of them. You've kept up well."
Ivan isn't stingy with praise. He's someone who has directly faced the Hero Party. Naturally, this means his standards are impossibly high, but because of that, his standards for "trainees" were extremely low.
Because no matter what, moving like a hero is impossible, so except for truly strong individuals, everyone else is more or less the same.
Among them, being even slightly exceptional is enough. He's more accustomed to teaching soldiers rather than heroes anyway.
Soldiers only need to perform at an average level. As long as they can function without hindering mission execution, that's sufficient.
But not anymore. Ivan took his axe and assumed a stance.
He had taught all the basic techniques needed for ambush response. Now it was a matter of instinct and mastery.
So the remaining time...
"Take up your sword."
He would teach her the Domain of the Transcendent.
Ivan's eyes deepened. Magic power swirled around him, making his beard flutter gently.
True masters, those who step into the battlefield of the transcendent, are on a different "level" altogether.
From now on, he would teach her about that place where Isabelle must eventually reach, even if he had to pound it into her head.
'The Academy is dangerous.'
One might wonder how dangerous a university could be, but this isn't just any university. The Academy is literally no different from the frontlines of battle.
That's "common sense."
"Extend your sword."
"What? Oh, yes."
Isabelle extended her sword straight out. Her stance was flawless. From her grip on the sword to her footwork, abdominal tension, and the balance from shoulder to wrist—everything approached perfection.
As expected of the Hero's daughter. Her talent for using her body was instinctively complete.
Therefore, all she needed was learning and experience.
"Endure it."
"...What?"
Just as she was about to smile and joke, "That's really reassuring..."
-SHING—!
Ivan's arm blurred, and in an instant, the blade was cut in two.
He split the sword with his axe, yet no impact was felt. The axe sliced through the blade like cutting tofu.
"What is this now..."
Isabelle laughed dejectedly. She stared blankly at the halved sword and snickered.
"This was really expen— No, what exactly..."
"Did you see it?"
"See what? My sword transforming from a sword into what used to be a sword...?"
"Time delamination."
Ivan twirled his axe upward and assumed a stance.
"Human auditory nerves take 0.1 seconds, tactile nerves 0.25 seconds. There's a clear limit to what training can achieve."
That's the physical limitation of human anatomy. Neural response speed is electrical stimulation transmitted from sensory organs through receptors to the brain, so there's an inevitable physical speed limit.
Pre-modern fantasy worlds haven't developed such advanced anatomy yet, but surprisingly, magic power exists in this world.
This versatile resource—which becomes an earring when hung on the ear and a nose ring when hung on the nose—can directly interfere with the human nervous system to push transmission speeds to their limits.
Simply put, this is time delamination.
"When you strengthen your nerves with magic power, a new world unfolds. Isabelle. There's a realm you reach when seeing, feeling, and moving transcend their limits."
That is the battlefield of the transcendent.
Those who can reach this position are extremely limited, but with sufficient talent and experience, it's the destination one eventually reaches.
It's the first step where the struggle of those with "level" begins. If you can't reach this point, you'll never rise above being just another soldier.
But Isabelle isn't a supporting character. She's clearly one of the protagonists of this world. Therefore, she needed to prepare. This is a realm where the sooner you reach it, the better.
If he can't always protect her, the best Ivan can do is this: give her a push forward.
"If you suddenly tell me to do that..."
"You will do it."
"Yes, of course I'll do my best if you teach me."
"You just need to experience it until you can do it."
"Huh?"
Ivan held his axe in reverse grip. With the blunt side rather than the blade, as if completely non-threatening. With a harmless expression.
"Survival instinct becomes the foundation for growth."
"You say such crazy things so naturally..."
Isabelle cursed her past self for requesting training from this madman as she raised her broken sword.
That was the last sight Isabelle saw.
-BOOM!
"Bella, Bella? Bella!!"
"Huh?! Yes?"
Isabelle jerked her head up in surprise. In front of her, Asidis was looking at her with a worried expression.
On a warm spring day in the campus courtyard, Asidis and Isabelle were spending their lunch break eating boxed lunches together.
Ah, thank goodness. It was just a dream. (It wasn't.)
Isabelle felt a chill run down her spine and rubbed her forearm before looking up.
"You've been acting strange lately. Is something wrong?"
"Wrong? Ahaha. Just busy preparing for exams, that's all."
"What kind of studying are you... hmm... is it because you're in the Knight Department? You seem to have a lot more bruises."
As the Hero's daughter, Isabelle enjoyed all sorts of privileges. For example, a priest exclusively assigned by the Tilles Kingdom.
This explained how she could return to school looking perfectly fine the next day, despite coming home nearly shattered every night.
However, the human body isn't built that way. Sadly, injuries and fatigue accumulate over time. The dark circles settling under Isabelle's eyes were proof of that.
"And you've been acting suspicious lately. Are you seeing someone?"
"Seeing someone! Who would I be seeing!"
Perhaps because of her background as a Tilles court noble, Isabelle's clothes and accessories were all top-quality, but still. She seemed to be putting in more effort than usual...
Asidis wondered if there was a decent guy in the Knight Department, then frowned as she thought of her uncle.
The Knight Department is a terrible place.
"Miss Yuri, do you know anything? Any boys Bella is close with?"
"Miss Isabelle is kind to everyone. Hmm. These days, I'm not sure. Everyone's busy preparing for exams. If I had to say, maybe Mr. Oskar?"
"Oh my goodness! Oskar?!"
Asidis grinned and poked Isabelle in the side.
"You, is there something going on with Oskar?"
"Essie. There are jokes you should make and jokes you shouldn't. Honestly, Oskar is too... how should I put it. A bit greasy."
"Why? He's popular."
"I prefer someone sturdy and quiet... hmm. Kind of bear-like...? Someone reliable like that. He's too delicate."
Delicate...? Was Oskar like that? Asidis tilted her head in confusion. She hadn't paid much attention, but hadn't he been training as a knight since childhood?
Leaving the confused Asidis behind, Isabelle stood up and stretched.
"I'm going to do some more training!"
"Are you trying to steal my scholarship too!"
"Should I let you be the top student forever?!"
Isabelle chuckled and walked away lightly.
"Sir!"
"Hmm."
"Ahaha... I wonder when you'll ever say 'hello!' to me."
Ivan, holding pruning shears, turned his head toward Isabelle, who was running toward him from a distance.
"Let's go train today too! The exam is tomorrow!"
"No."
"Huh?"
Ivan looked Isabelle up and down. The fatigue from six days of training was clearly visible. She had obviously tried to heal herself, but she was far from being in perfect condition.
"Rest today. You need to prepare for tomorrow."
"Hmm... then... um..."
Isabelle fidgeted with the ends of her hair, conflicted. She rolled her eyes slightly and bit her lip.
"Have you eaten yet...? Um. If you have time today..."
"I'm busy."
"Ack."
Ivan was an efficient person, so he didn't repeat himself.
He glanced at the dumbfounded Isabelle and walked away with heavy steps.
Tomorrow was the field practice. An exam taking place outside the university. Naturally, unknown enemies would attempt ambushes, so he also had many preparations to make in advance.
It was common sense that attacks would occur during Academy field practice.
Ivan is a sensible person. If an ambush was expected, the Annihilation Squad's common sense was to prepare for it by eliminating targets before the attack.
"I think I'm going to lose my mind..."
Isabelle watched Ivan's departing back and muttered with her head down.
"Wow..."
Yuri and Asidis watched the scene from a distance and spilled their coffee.
"A man... gardener...?"
"A man... crazy axe-beard John Wick...?"
"Who's that?"
"There's... there's such a person..."