Chapter 17
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 17
“Those who do not understand the essence of sword techniques believe that mana must be divided and used for each specific posture.”
Eisen spoke to Lucian while stroking his wooden sword.
“They focus it only in their arms when striking down with force, only on the weight when clashing blades, and only in their legs when dodging. They constantly move the mana throughout their entire body in a loud, inefficient manner.”
“...Is that not the way?”
“Of course not.”
Lucian flinched at the immediate rebuttal. He felt a prick of shame, as that was exactly how he had used his sword in his past life.
“Then how should one use mana?”
“Like this.”
Whoosh.
As Eisen swung his wooden sword through the air, a faint bluish aura began to emanate from his body. Lucian shuddered at the sight of the mana taking a clear, visible form.
My god. To materialize the mana of his entire body like that without any warning.
Usually, mana was only visible for a fleeting moment in a specific area when a renowned knight unleashed their power. Yet here was Eisen, materializing mana across his entire body just to use it as a teaching aid.
“Watch closely.”
Fwoosh.
Every time Eisen moved, the materialized mana writhed and shifted its form. Lucian could see exactly how the mana flowed during each posture and where it needed to be concentrated during instantaneous transitions. It was all as clear as day.
While Lucian stood mesmerized by the near-divine technique, the demonstration drew to a close.
“Do you understand?”
“P-please, show me one more time.”
“As many times as you like.”
Eisen smiled at Lucian’s request and performed the forms again. Lucian’s eyes darted busily, tracking the movement of the mana. Every single one of these lightly demonstrated movements was a treasure that couldn't be bought for any price.
“How is it? Do you see it now?”
“...The mana throughout your entire body remains constant at all times.”
“Yes, exactly.”
Eisen wore a satisfied smile, pleased with his quick-witted student.
“If you shift all your mana from place to place with every posture, a significant disconnect occurs between movements. Your flow will inevitably break after every technique. And in combat, that slight hesitation is a gap wide enough to get your head cut off.”
Lucian couldn't say a word. He had always thought the key to swordsmanship was how well one could bridge those gaps, but to think that the very existence of a gap was the mistake. He felt like he had spent his whole life digging into a rocky mountain, believing it was a gold mine.
No wonder those high-level knights were so fast to reset their stances.
“When using mana, you must maintain full-body enhancement while leaving enough reserve to direct elsewhere. The point is not to pull from the mana you’re already using, but to continue the technique with the mana you’ve held in reserve. And...”
Eisen paused and withdrew the materialized mana. Then, unlike before, he took a proper stance.
“Once your control of mana becomes free, you can do things like this.”
CRACK!
“...!”
The sound of air exploding rang out as he swung the sword. Lucian was startled by the power, but what happened next was even more shocking.
Crack, pop, boom!
What in the...!
The sword was flowing. For an ordinary swordsman, that sound would only occur if they swung with immense force, stopping and starting with every strike. Yet Eisen was making the air explode while keeping his sword in a continuous, fluid motion. Lucian couldn't believe his eyes, even as he watched it happen.
After finishing his tenth strike with the wooden sword, moving as if in a dance, Eisen lowered his hand.
“This is the sword that the Third Young Master will be learning from now on.”
Gulp.
Lucian swallowed hard. Eisen hadn't even shown him the Lion Heart Sword yet. He had merely demonstrated the result of reaching the pinnacle of mana control. To think that mere mana manipulation, not even a formal technique, could possess such power.
He truly realized how vital a master was to a swordsman. As he stood there in awe, a question crossed his mind.
“...Then what happens if you use the Lion Heart Sword while your mana control is that free?”
Eisen burst into a hearty laugh at the question.
“It would exert tremendous power, of course. I would love to demonstrate it for you personally, but I cannot do it here.”
“Why not?”
“This is a training ground used by other knights as well, is it not? If I were to destroy it, His Grace the Grand Duke would surely scold me.”
That one sentence was enough. It meant that if he used it properly, the power would be enough to demolish the entire training ground.
“Now, since I’ve shown you the direction we’re heading, let’s practice mana manipulation. We’ll start with the transition between the vertical slash and the horizontal slash.”
For the next three days, Lucian did nothing but practice vertical and horizontal slashes. The key wasn't simply swinging the sword, but maintaining a constant level of mana throughout.
Fwoosh.
I thought this would be easy, but my old habits keep holding me back.
Perhaps it was because his soul remembered the work it had repeated for so long, even if his body was different. Whenever he swung the sword, the "snap-and-stop" habit from his past life as a mercenary would resurface. It was almost like an automatic reflex, making it difficult to correct.
“You’ve improved a lot. You’re a fast learner.”
“Thank you.”
Despite Eisen’s praise, Lucian couldn't bring himself to smile. Having used a sword for over a decade, he had believed he could master this in a single day. Instead, he had wasted three days just trying to fix a bad habit.
...I need to focus on my swordsmanship for a while. It’ll be a headache in many ways if those old habits keep popping out.
It would be one thing if he were just clumsy, but Lucian’s old style had already been honed into a complete technique. If he showed off skills he hadn't been taught in front of others, he would instantly become the center of unwanted attention. To avoid unnecessary suspicion, he needed to overhaul his body’s muscle memory.
Well, I suppose it’s a relief that I just look like a high-achieving beginner. It would have been a problem if it looked like I already knew what I was doing.
There was a world of difference between a genius grasping something instantly and an average person showing perfect mastery. An ordinary swordsman might not tell the difference, but a Sword Saint would surely notice the discrepancy. In that sense, Lucian’s old habits had provided an unexpected benefit.
“Let’s move on to the next step. This time, we’ll spar to—”
Eisen suddenly stopped mid-sentence and looked toward the entrance of the training grounds. He frowned before anyone even appeared.
“What brings the Fourth Young Master here?”
“As expected of the Master. You noticed me before even seeing me.”
A youthful voice drifted from behind the door. It didn't seem like he was hiding; he was simply on his way, his voice growing closer along with his footsteps. A moment later, a servant and a beautiful boy around Lucian’s age appeared.
“Joshua greets the Master. And it has been a long time, Brother.”
There was only one person with the name Joshua who would call Lucian "Brother." It was Joshua Valdek, the fourth son of the Grand Duke.
Though they were half-brothers from different mothers, they were only six months apart, making them essentially the same age. While Lucian was still processing Joshua’s sudden appearance, Eisen spoke up again.
“Yes, it is good to see you. However, the Third Young Master is currently training, so please withdraw. If you have something to say to this old man, I will visit you later.”
“I didn't come to see you, Master, but my brother. As the younger brother who started learning first, I wanted to help him with his training. Would you please allow it?”
“Help with his training?”
“Is there not a process of light sparring when learning mana manipulation? The goal was to maintain a constant amount of mana while using sword techniques. If possible, I would like to be his sparring partner.”
What nonsense. Joshua hadn't learned enough to be in a position to teach anyone. Yet here he was, barging in during a lesson. As Eisen let out a hollow laugh, Joshua quickly bowed his head.
“I apologize if I have offended you. However, I am quite busy myself, and this is the only time I have to speak with my brother. I wish to help him with his training and, in doing so, make up for the time we’ve spent apart.”
In short, "helping with training" was merely a pretext. His true goal was to build "brotherly rapport." This, too, was absurd. Choosing a sacred training session to build rapport? And specifically choosing a duel where they would clash blades?
His intentions were so transparent it was staggering. However, Eisen couldn't easily refuse.
This is... politics.
Though Eisen lived for the sword, he wasn't ignorant of schemes. He had never devised one himself, but he had been the target of them more than enough in his youth. Naturally, he could see right through Joshua’s plan, which was amateurish at best.
He probably doesn't even expect me to agree. His true goal is to keep requesting a duel and being rejected.
The first few times, it would only result in a slight loss of face for Joshua. It was rude to interrupt someone else’s training, and there were plenty of reasons to refuse. But what if he kept asking and was rejected over and over?
People would eventually stop looking at Eisen and focus on Lucian and Joshua.
He intends to brand the Third Young Master a coward.
It wasn't as if they were fighting to the death; it was a spar held under the supervision of the Sword Saint. It was no exaggeration to say there was no risk of injury, yet he would refuse even that? Lucian’s lack of courage would be discussed far more than Joshua’s rudeness in interrupting.
What made it even more troublesome was that the excuse he gave seemed fine on the surface. The other two brothers had had several unpleasant encounters with Lucian in the past. However, Joshua had almost no prior contact with him, and their level of swordsmanship wasn't overwhelmingly different. He was in a position where he could reasonably request a spar for the sake of brotherly bonding at any time.
This is difficult.
If this were merely a matter of disrespect toward Eisen, he would have refused immediately. The problem was that this proposal was a political trap set against the Third Young Master. If it were refused, the one who would suffer was Lucian, not Eisen.
Just as Eisen was looking toward Lucian in contemplation—
“Master, I know it is rude, but please accept my brother’s proposal.”
“Pardon?”
“Though I am in the middle of training, my brother has come all this way saying he wants to bond with me. It would be shameful for an older brother not to indulge his younger brother’s whims.”
“...!”
Eisen’s eyes widened at those words, and Joshua’s face contorted violently. With a single sentence, Lucian had dismissed Joshua’s actions as a "childish whim" while painting himself as a benevolent older brother.
The Third Young Master’s tongue is no joke either.
With such wit, he must have accepted because he had something else in mind. Eisen nodded obediently and stepped back.
“If that is what the Third Young Master wishes, then so be it. However, this spar will be a one-time occurrence. No matter how important brotherly rapport is, private emotions cannot take precedence over training.”
“Of course. Isn't that right, Brother?”
“That is... correct.”
Joshua’s eyebrows quivered as he forced a smile. To think he would speak like an older brother who had raised him, when until recently he had been scurrying away to avoid him!
Let’s see if you can still talk like that after this.
Gritting his teeth, Joshua took the cloth that had been held by his servant. Eisen’s brow furrowed as a real sword was suddenly revealed.
“Why a real sword all of a sudden?”
“It is a one-time spar; a wooden sword lacks tension. Since the opportunity has arisen, why not compete with real blades? Since neither I nor my brother has ever been on a battlefield, it will be a good experience.”
“You...!”
Eisen was furious at Joshua’s overstepping. It was rude enough to taint training with politics, but now a real sword? He couldn't even maintain the pretext he had used to request the duel!
Just as a thunderous scolding was about to erupt from Eisen’s mouth—
“That’s a great idea! Let’s do it right now!”
“...!?”
Lucian’s excited shout left both men speechless.