I Ascend Alone-Chapter 142: Sparring

Morning came early.

Soft sunlight crept in through the window, warming the edges of the room. For a while, I just lay there, listening. The house was alive—quiet footsteps downstairs, muffled conversation, the clink of dishes. Familiar sounds, steady and grounding.

I rolled out of bed, stretching the stiffness from my limbs, and wandered down to the kitchen.

Leon was at the counter, pouring coffee into a thermos, while Mirae leaned against the wall, sipping from a mug.

They looked up as I entered.

"Morning," Leon said, sliding the thermos cap shut with a click.

Mirae gave a slight nod. "You sleep alright?"

"Like a rock," I said, grabbing a glass of water.

Leon exchanged a look with Mirae, something quick and wordless passing between them.

Then Leon turned back to me, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "We're heading out for a bit. Want to come?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Where to?"

"Our training grounds," Mirae answered, casual but sharp underneath. "Private place. It's where we spar when we're not tearing up the house."

Leon chuckled. "You'll like it. Reinforced everything. No neighbors to yell at us when the walls start shaking."

I smirked. "Sparring, huh?"

Mirae's smile was sly. "Tradition."

Leon tossed me a set of keys—one to a spare car parked outside. "Come if you want. Or stay here and enjoy the quiet while it lasts."

I caught the keys without thinking, spinning them once around my finger.Truth be told, sitting around didn't appeal to me.

"Give me five minutes," I said.

-

A short drive later, we pulled up outside a wide, low building tucked behind a dense line of trees.

As we walked up, Mirae pressed her palm against a hidden panel by the entrance. The door slid open with a hiss, revealing a pristine, high-end training chamber inside—reinforced floors, energy-absorption walls, racks of training weapons lined up neatly along the sides.It was even bigger than I remembered.

The same place Leon had tested me weeks ago.

Felt like a lifetime had passed since then.

Leon stretched his arms overhead, already moving toward the center. "Come on, let's not waste it. Been too long since we had a real session."

Mirae was already rolling her shoulders, her spear materializing with a flick of her wrist.

I stayed near the entrance, arms crossed, watching as they squared off.

"This a new thing?" I asked.

Leon laughed. "Hell no. We've been doing this forever."

Mirae twirled her spear once, slow and deliberate. "Sparring's how we keep each other sharp. Doesn't matter who's stronger."

Leon shot me a grin. "Though for the record... she usually kicks my ass."

Mirae smiled sweetly. "Usually?"

Leon didn't bother arguing—he just shifted into his stance, a short training saber appearing in his hand.

And then they moved.

Leon darted in low, trying to break past Mirae's guard. She parried effortlessly, stepping aside with minimal movement, forcing him to adjust, to think, to adapt.

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It wasn't a clash of brute strength—it was familiarity honed into a blade. They knew each other's styles so well it was almost like watching a conversation in motion.

I leaned back against the wall, a small grin tugging at the edge of my mouth.

The clash of weapons echoed through the chamber.

Leon moved first, stepping in with quick, precise strikes, his saber a blur. His style wasn't flashy, but it was sharp—calculated efficiency honed over years of real battle.

Mirae countered each blow without even blinking, her spear tracing lazy arcs through the air, deflecting and redirecting every strike like it was nothing.

"You're slower than last time," Mirae teased, a slight smirk tugging at her mouth as she danced just outside Leon's reach.

Leon grunted, adjusting his grip and lunging forward in a feint. "Maybe you're just getting cocky."

Their weapons collided again—saber against spear—sending a short burst of kinetic force rippling outward. The walls absorbed the impact without a sound, but the floor beneath their feet cracked slightly where their momentum shifted.

Leon twisted, stepping to the side with sharp footwork, trying to force an opening.

Mirae answered with a sharp jab of her spear, aiming low. Leon barely deflected it, sparks flying as his saber scraped along the reinforced shaft.

I watched silently from the side, arms crossed.

They weren't holding back much.

Every movement between them carried weight—respect, competition, the kind of unspoken understanding that only came from fighting side-by-side, year after year.

Mirae spun, bringing her spear around in a sweeping arc aimed for Leon's legs.

He jumped back, landing lightly—and grinned.

"Almost had me," he said.

"Almost is still losing," Mirae replied coolly.

Leon laughed, but he didn't charge this time. He adjusted his stance, breathing slower now, more controlled.

In an instant, her movements changed—less playful, more direct. Her spear blurred into a flurry of strikes, each one sharp enough that if it had been a real fight, any single blow would have crippled.

Leon blocked the first.

Dodged the second.

Took a glancing hit on the third, wincing as the spear grazed his shoulder.

He cursed under his breath and moved inside her reach, trying to disrupt her rhythm with a hard elbow strike. Mirae leaned back just enough to avoid it, pivoted on her heel, and drove the blunt end of her spear into Leon's stomach.

Leon staggered back, coughing once, but managed to stay on his feet.

Mirae didn't press the attack.

She lowered her spear, resting its butt against the floor, and tilted her head.

"You're getting rusty," she said lightly.

Leon held up a hand in mock surrender. "Maybe. Or maybe you're just finally getting scary."

Mirae laughed quietly, a sound that somehow made the room feel less heavy.

She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and turned her gaze toward me.

"You just going to watch?" she asked, a teasing edge in her voice.

Leon coughed again, straightening up with a grin. "Yeah, Ryzen. Come on. We could use a real challenge."

I shook my head, smiling slightly. "You two need to sort out your pride matches without me."

Mirae raised an eyebrow, twirling her spear lazily. "Scared?"