Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Dragon Princess (2)
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“No, not really. It’s just that nothing at all has happened—to the point where it’s getting unsettling.”
Currently, three hundred troops from the Western Border Guard were deployed at this ruin excavation site.
The reason so many soldiers had been dispatched was because this place was that dangerous. Excavating ruins in the Balan Forest, overrun with monsters, required sufficient forces.
But ever since the excavation had begun, there had been almost no clashes with monsters. At most, the scouting parties had run into some? With three hundred soldiers gathered together, no bold monsters were targeting the excavation site directly.
Zail said,
“It’s so problem-free that it’s actually making me anxious.”
“Well, with three hundred troops assembled, isn’t that to be expected? We haven’t detected any major faction stirring lately, have we?”
Rick said.
The Western Border Guard always operated small elite scouting parties to monitor the situation in the Balan Forest. What they were especially wary of was when monsters banded together to form groups. Small tribes were fine, but if their numbers swelled beyond that, they dispatched large-scale forces to nip the threat in the bud.
That was why they knew there were no monster groups large enough to pose a threat right now. But Zail shook his head.
“We can’t be certain. Who knows what might be lurking in the depths...”
Even the scouting parties didn’t roam the entirety of the Balan Forest. The depths were home to monsters too dangerous for them to handle. As a result, there was always the possibility of major threats brewing in uncharted areas.
‘For example, dragons.’
The apex predators of the natural world. They were like sated beasts, staking out territories deep in the forest and rarely venturing out. But whenever they did emerge, it always caused massive upheaval.
Zail said,
“How about a spar, then?”
“Anytime. Where to?”
“I’ve got a spot in mind.”
It was hard to find a place out of sight from the others in the camp. But Zail, who didn’t want anyone watching their bout, had already scouted a suitable location.
It was a clearing where trees had been felled and piled up from the surrounding area. Beyond it, there were only sentries standing watch at a distance—no one else.
Zail proposed,
“No contact, three-fold breath pace—sound good?”
“Perfect.”
As he replied, Azel whistled inwardly.
‘Wow, he’s still using Duke Crois Nidel’s sparring method? The old man would be thrilled if he knew.’
Duke Crois Nidel.
One of the great knights who had fought alongside Azel in the Dragon Emperor War and left his name in history. A hero who had felled numerous high-ranking officers of the Dragon Demon King’s army, and as far as Azel knew, the finest technician among knights.
What Zail meant was this:
“No contact” meant they would spar without actually striking each other. They would halt attacks just before they connected.
“Three-fold breath” meant treating three times the normal breathing rate—not during intense exercise—as one breath cycle, and moving slowly accordingly. In spars focused on reading the opponent rather than physical prowess, they deliberately slowed their movements.
They agreed to duel under those conditions. Zail asked,
“What weapons?”
“Sword’s best, spear’s fine too. Hammer might work, but it’s not ideal for sparring, right?”
“Hammers don’t even have practice versions.”
Zail gave a wry smile and handed over a practice sword. Azel took it, gauged its balance, and swung it through the air a few times.
‘Not quite matching the image in my head.’
His body had recovered to some extent, but it still felt far off from the sensations he remembered. Azel swung the sword through the air a few more times, aligning his mental and physical senses.
“Alright.”
His body felt sluggish, dulling the sharpness of his strikes, but that wasn’t something he could fix right now. What mattered was knowing how his body could move and matching his mental image to the reality.
After a major injury and recovery, correcting this disconnect in imagery took a lot of time. Azel’s condition was the same, but through consistent recovery since waking, he had astonishingly quickly overcome the issue.
“Then.”
Azel and Zail faced each other at a distance where their swords could clash.
Azel didn’t wait long. The moment they took their stances, he moved at the slow, deliberate pace matching their agreed “three-fold breath,” thrusting his sword forward with one step.
Even Rick could follow how leisurely their exchange unfolded. Assuming near-identical physical abilities, they moved while imagining the reactions from sword clashes and the damage from other actions.
Mental combat unfolded alongside the physical.
In fact, that was the main event here. Spirit Order practitioners targeted each other’s senses using mana force.
Rick was physically an ordinary man, but as a healer, he could perceive mana flows and phenomena caused by mana force. Watching their Spirit Order exchange, he clicked his tongue in amazement.
‘Incredibly flashy.’
Their bodies moved slowly, but the mana force they emitted via Spirit Order was another story.
In the realm invisible to normal eyes, fierce maneuvers played out. Focusing his mana-sensing perception visually, Rick could see three or four lines of transparent light extending from Azel and Zail’s bodies.
Those lines, each tinged with slightly different hues, were the trajectories drawn by mana force condensates controlled by will. Each one would produce different effects according to its wielder’s intent.
He couldn’t tell what those effects were. Rick’s knowledge of Spirit Order only went as far as knowing that practitioners’ mana force often influenced the opponent’s mind.
“Hmm.”
It was about five minutes later.
Azel exhaled steadily and lowered his sword. At the same time, the mana force he had deployed dissipated.
Zail looked puzzled.
“Why stop?”
“Mana force depleted.”
“What?”
“It’s down to a pittance now—I can’t continue.”
Azel playfully raised both hands.
His current mana force reserves were pitiful. He had only just formed one incomplete Life Ring, so that was inevitable. The surprising part was that he had held his own against Zail, a Quadruple Master, for five minutes with so little.
At those words, Zail realized.
“I see. Your technique was so superb, it didn’t even occur to me.”
As a Spirit Order practitioner, Azel’s skill far exceeded what Zail had expected. It was hard to believe someone who could wield mana force so freely had lost all their Life Rings and let their Spirit Veins dry up.
Azel said nonchalantly,
“Guess I was pretty decent back in the day after all.”
“Indeed. No one with that level of skill would lack renown.”
“One thing I’m curious about... Sir Zail, where do you rank among knights with your abilities?”
Azel casually posed the key question. Having sparred directly with Zail, his answer would serve as vital reference for gauging the era’s knightly standards.
Zail replied,
“My skills aren’t that impressive.”
“Then I’m nothing special either?”
“No... not quite.”
Zail, who had been modest, showed a flicker of embarrassment at Azel’s point. Azel glanced sidelong at Rick and said,
“I already know your level, Sir Zail, so I’d appreciate an honest, objective assessment. Is that possible?”
“Hmm...”
Zail pondered briefly. He had been hiding his status as a Quadruple Master from those around him, so it was tricky with Rick listening. But...
—Can you promise not to tell anyone else?
Spirit Order practitioners had a technique called “Whispering,” which transmitted thoughts to the opponent without vocalizing. Unlike communication magic, it was limited to short range, but invaluable for secret talks.
—Of course.
Azel replied with the same technique.
Zail said,
—Excluding technical prowess... Quadruple Masters are rare. Across the entire Western Border Guard, there are only three besides me.
—That elite?
Azel was surprised.
‘Knights’ average level hasn’t improved much.’
No, it might have declined. For a unit guarding a nation’s border and seeing frequent combat to have only four Quadruple Masters... In Azel’s era, Quadruple Masters weren’t that uncommon. It was just hard to find someone who reached that realm at Zail’s young age.
‘No, wait—“only four Quadruple Masters.”’
Zail hadn’t mentioned those who had surpassed that. There would certainly be Quintuple Masters or higher, though fewer in number.
Come to think of it, even knowing how many Quadruple Masters were in this unit was military secret territory. The fact that Zail shared it meant it was probably public knowledge to some extent.
‘Anyway, techniques seem to have advanced...’
Sparring with Zail had let Azel experience unfamiliar methods.
The techniques knights used in Azel’s time were far more straightforward and brute-force. That didn’t mean those knights lacked finesse. Separating raw talent from technique, Azel simply got the impression that techniques themselves had evolved to be more complex and varied.
Zail’s techniques were fluid and diverse. Azel could tell that much from their brief exchange.
Of course, if Azel had wanted, he could have beaten Zail under these conditions anytime. Their short clash had revealed his mana force control vastly outstripped Zail’s.
But Azel had deliberately held back. Showing too much strength would invite suspicion, which wasn’t ideal for him now.
After a moment’s thought, Azel said,
“Sir Zail, I have a request.”
“What is it?”
“Until my status is decided, could I work here as a laborer?”
“A laborer?”
“My body’s fit enough for work, so freeloading feels wrong. Plus, if I gain freedom, I’ll need traveling funds.”
“So... you want pay for the labor.”
“Haha. Exactly.”
Azel laughed sheepishly.
Offering to work because freeloading felt bad, then asking for wages—it struck him as brazen even to himself.
‘But I’m flat broke, so no choice.’
Humans needed money to live. Azel was a world-saving hero, but right now, he was penniless. And...
‘I need to check out those ruins too.’
Working as a laborer would give him access to the ruins where he had slumbered. If Kallos had left any clues there, he had to find them.
Zail said,
“Very well. That’s within my discretion... You can start today if you like. But.”
“But?”
“Twice a day, you spar with me like this. Morning and evening—enough time to recover your mana force, right?”
“Gladly.”
Azel grinned and nodded.