Chapter 82: Afterimage 2

Unlike Ilunia, who’d received a skill functioning as a mirror-like shield, what Julian gave Kina was a skill designed to deceive her opponents.

It was called Afterimage. A skill capable of leaving behind a trace of the user’s presence while the user actually moved elsewhere. Looking at it closely, the skill honestly didn’t seem particularly impressive.

Because the trace it left behind would simply stand fixed in the exact position the user occupied when activating the skill. That trace didn’t attack, didn’t move, it just stood there, and could be destroyed with ease.

So, to identify the real one, all anyone had to do was watch for the user actually moving from their position, knowing that was the genuine article.

Simple as that. And yet, in fights against opponents of a higher Rank, deception-based skills like this genuinely proved their worth.

Julian’s reason for choosing this skill also tied back to One Slash, which was, fundamentally, a skill fairly easy to dodge. Which meant Afterimage would become a skill capable of catching an enemy off guard, delaying their realization that One Slash was about to obliterate them until it was already too late.

Julian’s gaze finally settled on Kina, who was just about to open her eyes. Quite a lot had happened since Kina’s identity had been exposed, the way people treated her had shifted noticeably since then.

People had grown reluctant around her, even Ilunia had looked visibly startled. Meanwhile, Kina herself hadn’t really changed much at all, still carrying on exactly as usual.

Julian’s gaze then drifted to the blue butterflies fluttering around Kina, scattering tiny, glittering flecks of snow, a natural phenomenon showcasing her extraordinary Talent.

Right then, Kina opened her closed eyes, revealing blue irises scattered with tiny, shimmering stars.

A flash of white flickered briefly as she let out a slow breath. Meanwhile, the wind blew hard above her, rustling tree leaves that shielded them from the somewhat harsh midday sun.

Then, as though that calm, elegant expression had never existed at all, Kina immediately broke into a bright, energetic smile as she looked at Julian.

"Master! I’ve mastered it!"

’She immediately looks so radiant.’

Julian smiled awkwardly internally, gave a small cough, and nodded, glancing at the system screen appearing before him.

[System]

New Skill acquired.

Skill: [Afterimage]

Initial Grade: [E]

Progress: [0.0%]

Skill successfully registered.

[Status Update]

Skills:

• [Afterimage] — [E] — [0.0%]

"Good work."

Julian then looked back at Kina, who quickly closed the distance, plopping down eagerly beside him.

"So, what’s next, Master? Is there anything else I should do to make you even prouder?"

’...What more is there for me to be proud of? With talent like yours, I’m the one who’s genuinely benefiting here.’

Julian held that thought back internally as he pulled out one of the Serum vials Aveela had given him. Then, he briefly used his system’s ability to check Kina’s current status progress.

[DISCIPLE INSIGHT]

Name: [Kina Mivelo]

Master: [Julian Clair]

Rank: [F] — [37.50%]

Talent: [Lower Swordmanship] — [F]

Potential: [Sword Maiden] — [SSS]

Skills:

• [One Slash] — [E] — [0.08%]

• [Flash Step] — [F] — [55.70%]

• [Frost Edge] — [D] — [20.06%]

• [Afterimage] — [E] — [0.00%]

’It might still take some time for Kina to actually reach Rank-E.’

Well, that wasn’t something he could force. Julian could be patient about it too, after all, once Kina finally hit Rank-E, all this patience would pay off handsomely.

He let out a light sigh as his gaze met Kina’s, watching him with obvious enthusiasm.

"Kina, what are your plans regarding your family? And your plans going forward?"

Because once Kina left for the Elite Academy, it would become genuinely difficult for Julian to reach her. At this point, Julian had decided he needed to know, at the very least, the direction and future Kina actually wanted for herself.

That way, Julian could figure out more clearly what he needed to do.

Kina looked hesitant for a moment, gazing up at the cloudy blue sky, loosely hugging both knees to her chest.

"Anything, I guess?" Kina answered awkwardly, clearly not having any concrete plan in mind. "But Master, I think I want to take over that family. Yeah, that’d probably be the best outcome, because that way..."

Kina stopped mid-sentence, a nervous smile crossing her face as she glanced at Julian, her cheeks flushing red.

"That way, what...?"

Hearing that, Kina flinched slightly, sweat beading on her cheeks, forcing her smile to look as natural as possible as she laughed awkwardly. "H-hehe... what else? If I had something to actually lead, that’d mean I could help Master out even more."

Julian likely never would have caught what Kina was actually thinking, had she not said exactly what she just said.

Because of that, all Julian could do was look at Kina with an equally awkward smile hidden inside his own head.

He was honestly a little curious what that expression actually meant, even considered asking about it. But since Kina had refused to elaborate, Julian figured it probably wasn’t worth digging into.

That shouldn’t be anything bad, right?

’Well, clearly I’m just being a little paranoid here.’

Pushing that thought aside, Julian shifted his focus elsewhere, returning to what Kina had just said.

’I wonder, would she still think that way if she knew how much of all this had actually just been one big misunderstanding?’

Julian felt a chill just thinking about it. So he pushed that thought far, far away and handed the Serum vial over to Kina.

"What’s this, Master?" Kina accepted it, tilting her head, a puzzled expression crossing her face. But almost immediately, her expression shifted into something else entirely. "Is this a Serum?"

Julian nodded. "That’s an E-Grade Serum with a fifteen percent Mana concentration. You should use it once you reach Rank-E, once you’re at the Elite Academy."

Julian was looking forward to it, Kina’s growth likely skyrocketing the moment she started at the Elite Academy, which, fundamentally, trained its students through direct combat against Aliens.

Kina held the Serum vial for a moment, studying it carefully, then gripped it tight and smiled. "Okay! Thank you, Master."

At that moment, Julian was only making small talk with Kina when someone suddenly approached him.

It was a man who seemed to be one of the staff members often seen with Adelle. Julian didn’t recognize him well, but he remembered his face.

"Lord Julian," the man said, sweat on his face. He looked somewhat grim, and that grimness was enough to make Julian shudder.

’Oh, here we go, what now?’

He felt a bad premonition drawing near.