The ruined courtyard and the bleeding angels melted into a blinding white mist. The entire illusion washed away, leaving Solomon standing completely alone in the endless, blank expanse. He waited for another memory to manifest across the void while minutes passed in absolute silence.

Absolutely nothing happened. He kicked the unseen floor and let out a frustrated groan.

"Fuck this," Solomon cursed, his voice echoing endlessly across the white canvas. "What the hell is actually going on here? I get blasted by an S-Rank magic attack, and my SSS-rank talent still refuses to awaken? How am I supposed to get out of this place?"

A deep, raspy voice echoed directly behind him. "I pulled your consciousness into this space, and you cannot leave until I permit it."

Solomon spun around and saw the figure of the Undead Paladin stood just a few feet away. The creature wore the exact same pristine white steel armor and spotless cape from the labyrinth boss chamber. Corrupted golden light flared violently inside the cross-shaped visor.

"Is this finally my talent?" he muttered, his heart racing against his ribs. "Did Convergence trigger at the last possible second to trap the boss inside my mind? Did my awakened ability do this?"

The Paladin shook his armored head. "It did not."

Solomon narrowed his eyes. "Then what exactly is going on here?"

The Paladin planted the tip of his massive executioner’s sword against the unseen floor. "This is a fragment of my own fading consciousness. I used the remaining embers of my soul to pull your mind into this domain right before the magical blast consumed your physical body."

The towering warrior looked down at his pristine gauntlets. "I have remained trapped inside this cursed armor for centuries. The divine corruption forced my corpse to wander the ruins as a mindless guardian. I simply waited for a warrior strong enough to finally strike me down. I need someone to destroy my corrupted core so I can finally join my wife and daughter in the afterlife."

Solomon crossed his arms over his bare chest and processed the bizarre request while rubbing a scar on his collarbone. ’This guy really wants me to finish him off after wiping the floor with me,’ he thought.

"You dragged me into your mind right before a magic blast vaporized me. Now you want me to kill you. I have a lot of questions about this setup. How do I actually get out of this space and wake up?"

The Paladin rested his metal gauntlet on the pommel of his sword. "This domain will collapse the moment my physical body dies. You will return to your own mind when someone finally strikes me down."

"Why do you need someone else to do it?" Solomon asked, taking a step closer. "You can just end your own life in here and be done with it. You clearly possess enough strength to shatter your own core."

"I can easily destroy my consciousness inside this void," the Paladin agreed while pointing a mailed finger toward the invisible floor. "My physical corpse outside will remain entirely intact. Without my mind holding the corruption back, the body will become fully undead. It will turn into a mindless calamity, and no one in that labyrinth will possess the power to stop it. I absolutely refuse to let my corpse massacre innocent people."

Solomon let out a dry laugh while gesturing to his bruised body. "I am just a beginner with zero awakened abilities. I literally lost my weapons out there. My iron sword shattered into pieces, and I dropped the greatsword right before the explosion, which I think also got destroyed since I tried to block your magic attack with it. You completely crushed me during our fight. I obviously lack the strength to kill you."

The Paladin nodded in agreement. "You are entirely correct. I hold the title of Swordmaster. Only a warrior who has reached the pinnacle of the blade can penetrate my defenses and destroy my core. A novice will only ever scratch my armor."

"Good luck finding one of those roaming around a beginner maze," Solomon scoffed. He turned his back to the knight and stared into the endless white distance. "Let me know when you finally recruit a Swordmaster. Until then, you can just send my mind back to my body."

The Paladin planted his boots firmly on the unseen ground. "I have already found one."

Solomon spun around and cupped a hand over his ear. He purposefully scanned the blank space around them. "Really? Where are they hiding? I only see a lot of white paint in here."

The Paladin raised his executioner’s sword and leveled the steel blade directly at Solomon’s chest. "You will be the one to strike me down."

Solomon swatted the tip of the blade away with his bare hand. "You need to get your eyes checked. I just told you I am a talentless rookie. Find another candidate."

"I cannot instantly turn you into a Swordmaster," the Paladin said, lowering his weapon slightly. "I will teach you the Imperial Sword Arts instead. They represent the highest form of combat ever created in the Kingdom of Eden."

Solomon crossed his arms over his bare chest and shook his head. "I have absolutely zero interest in learning your formal sword arts. They will completely clash with the thirty-four combat techniques I already forced my body to memorize."

The Paladin shrugged his broad shoulders and rested his massive executioner’s sword against the invisible floor. "I respect your choice. You will simply spend the rest of eternity trapped inside this void."

Solomon dragged a hand down his face and groaned. "I need to get out of here right now. My physical body is currently lying entirely defenseless in the middle of a ruined boss chamber. A wandering monster or your own undead corpse will easily slaughter me while we stand around arguing."

The ancient warrior raised a gauntleted hand and dismissed the concern completely. "You have no reason to worry about the physical world. Time does not flow within the boundaries of this mental space."

Solomon let out a long sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I seriously hate my luck."

The Paladin swiped his free hand through the empty space. A weapon painted itself into existence right beside Solomon, taking the shape of a perfectly balanced longsword with a silver hilt.

The ancient knight instructed the boy to pick up the blade and watch his movements closely. He added that the faster Solomon mastered the forms, the sooner he could return to reality and survive.

Solomon reluctantly grabbed the materialized hilt and adjusted his stance.

"You must understand the strict hierarchy of combat mastery before we begin," the Paladin explained while adjusting his grip on his massive weapon. "A fighter must first learn basic swordsmanship before advancing to specialized sword techniques. Those techniques eventually evolve into powerful sword arts. True masters ultimately weave those arts into a flawless sword dance."

He raised his executioner’s sword and pointed the steel tip at the blank horizon. "I will teach you the Imperial Sword Arts. This specific style consists of exactly eight forms. The first seven forms remain entirely identical for every single practitioner. The final eighth form is completely unique to the wielder, meaning you will have to eventually discover your own concluding strike."

The Paladin planted his metal boots firmly on the unseen ground and prepared his stance. He raised his weapon high above his pristine white helmet. He brought the massive blade down to demonstrate the first form, unleashing a vertical strike that visually split the white canvas in half.

He immediately pivoted on his heel and swung the weapon horizontally for the second form. The kinetic shockwave violently rippled across the unseen ground and rustled Solomon’s hair.

The third form followed smoothly as the warrior unleashed a flurry of diagonal strikes from every possible angle. The rapid movements created a blinding dome of flashing steel. He finished the basic physical sequence with the fourth form by stepping deep into a forward lunge and executing a devastating forward pierce.

The Paladin stood up straight and rested the blade on his shoulder. "The fifth, sixth, and seventh forms require a substantial amount of mana to execute properly. I will demonstrate them anyway so you can fully understand their destructive potential."

Golden light suddenly erupted from the Paladin’s blade. He swung the weapon in a wide arc for the fifth form, summoning a massive crescent of pure energy that physically scorched the surrounding white space.

He quickly transitioned into the sixth form by plunging his sword directly into the invisible floor. A localized earthquake instantly shattered the illusionary ground while pillars of golden light erupted upward like a violent volcanic eruption.

The Paladin finally showcased the seventh form by gathering an immense amount of mana into his gauntlets. He leaped high into the air and brought the greatsword crashing down. The downward strike conjured a meteor shower of radiant golden swords that bombarded the entire area and completely leveled the imaginary terrain.

Solomon watched the terrifying display of power while his jaw dropped slightly. He looked down at the simple longsword resting in his hand and swallowed hard.

"So, are you interested in learning now?" the paladin asked.

"..." But Solomon didn’t respond.

"Since you can’t use magic, and haven’t even awakened aura. You only need to master the first four forms. They are quite simple, aren’t they?"

"Fine." Solomon pondered for a while and grabbed the hilt of the sword tightly. "Let’s get this over with."