The Fencing Club is located in a square, white, three-story building on Rose Street in the wealthy southwest area. Here you can see towering telegraph poles in the shape of gear crosses, and slender wires like spider webs connecting wealthy areas.
Portraits of well-known members of the club hang on the warm-colored walls, as well as several sets of decorative swords and shields. Weapons racks, benches and wooden tables, potted dieffenbachia and palm plants were also placed around the edges, and incense was burned in the corner to cover up the stench of sweat from the men wielding swords.
Catalina, who was on the field at this moment, was wearing a thick protective jacket, leather gloves and an iron mesh helmet. The blunt-ended long sword met with a clanging sound.
Her opponent is 'Buffalo' Bildt: over two meters tall, tall and strong, one of the top players in the club. A veteran and a second-level Extraordinary.
Under Catalina's stormy offensive, Bilt's attention had begun to slip. His defensive movements were slow and laborious, like a panting bull.
Catalina's pace is still light. She is not in a hurry to win, but by constantly pressing her opponent, making him consume more energy than herself.
She raised her long sword high, changed her position to the "high hanging position", and launched a clean downward slash. When her opponent tried to intercept her blade with an upper cut, Katarina quickly retracted her sword and stepped back to avoid collision.
Taking advantage of her opponent's chaotic rhythm, she approached again and slashed downward with the blade again. 'Bison' quickly took a step back, trying to intercept the attack again. This time, Katarina did not choose to dodge. The strong sword struck the opponent's weak sword tip, causing a moment of polarization.
Then Catalina skillfully flipped her wrist, and the sword shadow turned into a counterclockwise circle in the air, changing from a downward slash to an upward lift, and struck the opponent's right arm.
The sword move called "Rain in the Mirror" brought the game to a perfect end.
The referee in a tuxedo skillfully separated the two people with a long carved wooden pole and announced the result of the game: "8:2, Miss Catalina Oakland wins! Undisputed victory!"
There was thunderous applause and even piercing whistles from the sidelines - it was inevitable to be overjoyed when a master overturned his car. She even saw a gentleman wearing a top hat who couldn't help but stand on the tea table and applaud.
After winning seven out of seven games, he spent one afternoon beating all the masters in the club, including two second-level Extraordinaries.
Catalina took off her helmet and raised her hands gracefully, enjoying the crown of glory. She loved this feeling, as if she were the knight who won the crown at the rodeo.
She heard the blood steaming and burning in the furnace of her heart, affecting her eardrums, and the time of the world seemed to slow down by half a beat. Smell the perfume on your body mixed with the sweat on your skin, changing from the refreshing grassy scent in the front note to the green and pleasant warm floral scent in the back note.
Personality crystallization and transformation period? !
At this moment, she realized that she had actually taken another big step towards becoming a Level 2 Extraordinary.
The crystallization of personality takes time to fill and grow, and it will not enter the transformation stage until it reaches saturation. Generally, this process takes one to two years.
And all in all, from the time she met the great sage in her dream last night and was cured of the crystal malignant disease, to this afternoon she sneaked into the swordsmanship club and defeated all the masters in it——
It only took less than a day for me to enter the transformation period? !
Could it be that the old man who called himself the "Secret Keeper" cured himself of crystal malignancy and at the same time gave him some kind of secret treasure?
Catalina took off her armor, lowered her head and walked to a leather sofa to sit down, falling into unrealistic contemplation.
In the end, she denied this conjecture: In the currently known field of occultism, any action that stimulates the crystallization of personality through external forces is to encourage the development of personality and is very likely to cause irreversible damage to the mind.
This may be a matter of accumulation. Strictly speaking, I became an extraordinary not yesterday, but ten years ago——
She suddenly remembered that it was a long time ago. He was playing hide and seek with his brother in the flower garden of the manor when he suddenly fell to the ground.
The world became slow and sticky, and there was a buzzing and tingling pain in my head. My brother's cries became as distant as a distant city...
When she woke up, her father, who was supposed to be in the city, was sitting next to her. Grandpa Lawn, the housekeeper, pushed her father's wheelchair and told her not to move around for the time being.
At that time, Catalina thought that everything would soon return to normal. Until one day, she sat on the bed and complained to her mother, asking when she could go out to play. Her mother didn't answer, but suddenly began to cry...
It was then that Catalina suddenly understood that her life had been changed forever.
"Miss."
Butler Lao En's voice suddenly came to my ears. Catalina then opened her eyes, as if waking up from a dream. I saw that the old housekeeper had walked to him at some point:
"Please come with me. Mr. Brandon has something to ask you."
…
Catalina walked through a spacious corridor lined with various porcelain sculptures. The gilt patterns on the ceiling turned cold and blue at night.
My father's room was at the end of the corridor, quiet and deserted, as if no one had ever lived there. He rarely appears here, either in city hall or in the chamber.
Pushing open the door, Brandon Oakland sat in front of the window in the dark night. He stared at the darkness outside the house, the moonlight and stars disappeared without a trace.
Unlike his ancestor "Aoki Shield" Brandon, who gave him this glorious name, his father was more accustomed to managing affairs in the shadows.
"Father." Catalina put her hands on her belly, lowered her head respectfully, and restored the etiquette that a noble should have.
"Catalina." The man turned his head and nodded slightly. The voice was calm and soft.
Lord Brandon's body was as light as cotton, and his face was pale and thin. An embroidered blanket covered her knees to cover her thin and shrunken legs.
"Lao En, you go down first."
The man raised his right hand to signal. The old housekeeper bowed and resigned, leaving only the father and daughter in the room.
"I heard that your crystal malignancy has been cured." His voice slowed down slightly.
"Yes, Father."
Katarina lowered her head guiltily. Although she had thought of more than a dozen excuses in private, standing in front of Lord Brandon, her lies seemed to become weak.
An uneasy premonition arose in her heart. If her father really asked about crystal malignancy, her secret would probably be exposed...
Fortunately, Brandon did not pursue the question further and instead said:
"I heard that you went to the fencing club alone without telling Lawn in advance."
"No, I just..."
"Going or not going?"
He spoke softly, interrupting Katarina's defense.
"Yes, I went to the fencing club." Catalina lowered her head, as if waiting for scolding.
However, she was secretly glad in her heart that her father did not ask too much about crystal malignancy.
"You are too rash. Many eyes are staring at us. They may not dare to do anything to me, but you and Roderick..."
Father did not continue speaking, he let out a subtle sigh:
"Anyway, you must be careful in the future. You must inform Lawn before going out."
"knew."
Katarina lowered her head and bowed. She took two steps back. Just when she was about to leave, Lord Brandon stopped her:
"...I also heard that you are doing well in the club, winning seven out of seven games."
"I didn't...I..." Catalina wanted to deny it, but she didn't know what to say.
"This is a very good result, Kelly. Since the Silver Knight Galt, there has not been a swordsman like this in the Oakland family for a long time."
Father called Catalina by her nickname. The moon flashed through the gaps in the clouds, and his indifferent smile disappeared in the sky and night in an instant.
Catalina was stunned by the sudden compliment. She raised her head and looked into her father's eyes in surprise.
"I originally wanted to give you this gift when you came of age, but now I have a better choice. In this case, as a commemoration of your recovery from a serious illness, I hope you will like this small gift, Kelly."
The man's left hand, which was hidden in the blanket on his lap, was raised. Even on this moonless night, the broken silver light was still as bright as the stars——
It was the hilt of a broken sword.
