The Paladin glanced at the dark blood seeping from his shoulder joint and lowered his executioner’s sword. "Congratulations. You have finally proven yourself." He planted the tip of his blade against the invisible floor. "I will send your consciousness back to the physical world now."

"Wait," Solomon said, stepping forward and raising his silver longsword. "We are not done yet."

The Paladin tilted his head. "Have you actually grown attached to me?"

"I only managed to land a single deep strike after hundreds of days," Solomon argued, wiping a smear of blood from his cheek. "That is nowhere near enough. I need to critically injure you before I can guarantee a victory outside."

The Paladin shook his head. "I am currently fighting you with my complete combat experience and my full strength. The undead corpse roaming the labyrinth lacks my actual mind, meaning its movements are merely a shallow imitation of my true power. Since you managed to pierce my guard in this domain, I am absolutely confident that you will destroy my body out there."

Solomon tightened his grip on his hilt and firmly planted his boots. "I am still not leaving. I want to fight you more."

The Paladin fell completely silent. He stared at the boy through his white visor, clearly hesitating and holding back whatever words he initially wanted to say.

’I am not being stubborn just to annoy him,’ Solomon thought, desperately trying to justify his own selfish demand. "I have never fought an opponent as strong as you in my entire life, and I highly doubt I will get another chance like this anytime soon. I want to learn more from you. I need to fight you until I get much stronger."

"Do you realize you are a complete battle maniac?" the Paladin asked, his raspy voice echoing across the white canvas.

"I am not a maniac," Solomon retorted, though a wild grin immediately betrayed his denial. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to become stronger."

He launched himself forward without waiting for permission. The Paladin smoothly raised his massive sword to catch the incoming strike, and their endless sparring resumed instantly.

They exchanged a rapid sequence of vertical and horizontal blows, their blades clashing loudly against the silent void.

"Start using the fifth, sixth, and seventh forms," Solomon demanded mid-swing while ducking under a brutal sweep.

The Paladin parried a thrust and easily shoved Solomon backward. "There is zero need for those techniques. No matter how hard you train your physical body, you will never survive those specific strikes."

"Let me try to block them anyway!" Solomon yelled, charging back into the fray.

"You physically cannot stop them," the Paladin stated, sidestepping a diagonal slash. "Those attacks are heavily infused with pure magic. Since you possess no mana to counter the energy, the magic will simply bypass your physical guard and instantly obliterate your flesh."

Hundreds of days dissolved into the void, measured only by the relentless ringing of steel. The sparring gradually transformed from a desperate struggle into a lethal, high-speed chess match. They clashed six thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine times across the endless canvas.

The Paladin claimed six thousand six hundred and seventy decisive victories, leaving Solomon with exactly ninety-nine hard-fought wins.

Now, the six thousand seven hundred and seventieth duel commenced without a single spoken word.

Solomon sprinted across the invisible floor, keeping his center of gravity incredibly low. He lunged forward to execute the fourth form, condensing all his kinetic energy into a forward thrust.

The Paladin recognized the stance instantly and stepped aside to parry the silver blade.

However, Solomon never committed to the strike. He abruptly snapped his wrist mid-lunge to hit the dirt, using his Basic Acrobatics to turn his forward momentum into a violent upward flip.

He vaulted entirely over the Paladin’s guard, spinning mid-air to bring his sword crashing down in a flawless vertical execution of the first form.

’He adapted again,’ the Paladin thought, immediately shifting his footing to absorb the overhead blow.

The heavy greatsword caught the silver blade, sending a fierce shockwave rippling across the void. Instead of retreating from the kinetic feedback, Solomon used the recoil to push himself backward.

He landed lightly on his boots and instantly chained a rapid sequence of diagonal slashes.

The Paladin smoothly deflected the third form, waiting for the inevitable pause in Solomon’s breathing. The ancient knight snapped his hips to deliver a devastating horizontal sweep designed to end the match.

Solomon anticipated the counterattack perfectly. He utilized his Basic Parkour, leaping directly onto the flat of the incoming greatsword. Using the Paladin’s own weapon as a springboard, Solomon launched himself forward to close the remaining distance.

The Paladin widened his stance and pulled his hilt back to thrust upward.

Solomon completely abandoned his defense. He executed the fourth form while falling through the air, aiming his silver tip directly at the Paladin’s visor. The ancient knight’s blade scraped dangerously against Solomon’s ribs, tearing a shallow gash across his skin.

Solomon ignored the burning pain, twisting his shoulder at the very last millisecond to bypass the heavy steel guard completely.

Solomon landed heavily on his knees and slid to a halt. He held his silver longsword perfectly steady, pressing the sharp edge directly against the exposed gap in the Paladin’s neck guard.

The Paladin’s greatsword rested inches from Solomon’s spine, halted completely by the sudden checkmate.

Silence stretched across the canvas.

Solomon breathed heavily, a drop of sweat sliding down his chin as he maintained his lethal grip.

The Paladin slowly lowered his weapon and let out a deep chuckle.

"You completely sacrificed your own footing to trap my blade," the Paladin noted, his raspy voice echoing with genuine amusement. "A reckless gamble, yet executed with absolute perfection."

Solomon pushed himself off the floor and wiped the sweat from his face. "If I played it safe, you would have just knocked me across the room again. I had to force an opening."

The Paladin crossed his gauntlets over his pommel and gave a slow, respectful nod. "You secured your one hundredth victory just now. Furthermore, you managed to defeat me three times in a row."

Solomon rested the longsword against his shoulder and let out a long exhale, finally allowing his battle-crazed grin to soften into a look of pure relief. "I am still not satisfied, but I guess this is enough. It’s about time I leave this place.

"I am a knight of Eden," the Paladin replied, standing up straight. "My word binds my soul. You have thoroughly proven your mastery of the physical arts, and you possess the spirit required to survive the horrors outside this domain. You are entirely ready."

The Paladin planted his greatsword into the unseen floor and stepped closer. "I will leave you with my final guidance. I am going to reveal the deepest secrets of reality. The truths that no mortal was ever meant to know. Even back then, only a few knew about it and it was considered as forbidden knowledge."

Solomon lowered his silver blade, giving the knight his full attention.