Why the Sword Saint Is Called the Sword Saint
I stared at the massive training dummy in front of me. Why is the Sword Saint called the Sword Saint? Simply being good with a sword isn't enough to earn that title. If that were all it took, he'd have been known as Tinesi Academy's Top Blade, not the Sword Saint.
Anyway. There's a real reason the Sword Saint is called the Sword Saint. He's the one who created the original swordsmanship style that became the foundation for every sword art used today. And the skill that turned that style into a system ability is precisely Path of the Sword.
'I can't believe I actually got this.'
No, more than that—I never thought it actually existed.
Path of the Sword isn't a real skill. The developers probably got lazy or something and tossed it into a dummy file, where players eventually found it. Even though it's only B-rank, it's an absolutely broken ability that raises your understanding of every sword technique and dramatically accelerates growth in every sword-related aspect.
Alright then, Sword Saint? You can keep the title. This body will settle for being Tinesi Academy's Top Blade.
But... when exactly am I supposed to practice sword skills?
Maybe I should ask Priya for a quick spar later...
With that thought in mind, I walked briskly toward the classroom.
When I entered the classroom, my now-permanently-assigned seat immediately caught my eye. On the left, just like always, Priya was already sitting there.
...But what the hell?
A chair I had never seen before had appeared on my right side. And there sat Elena, legs crossed, eyes closed.
As I approached, Elena cracked her eyes open just a sliver, then immediately flushed bright red and squeezed them shut again.
"Kiren! Good morning!!"
"You're full of energy this early."
She seemed strangely more excited than usual today. Her voice was pitched higher, and the massive greatsword beside her gleamed as if freshly polished.
"Of course! Why wouldn't I be in a good mood? It's our first practical training class!"
"Practical training... right, today was the day."
Tinesi Academy's classes were broadly divided into two types: the boring, overly academic theory lessons, and the practical training sessions where you went to the training grounds or anywhere else and actually moved your body. In simple terms, it was just time to beat up training dummies or have mock duels between students.
'Practical training, huh... this is actually perfect.'
I had just obtained a new skill worth testing out. Practicing it at the training ground would be ideal.
Only one problem.
"...I completely forgot about this."
The wooden staff in my hand. It was a training staff designed to cause minimal damage even when striking people.
'Come to think of it, I'm supposed to be a mage.'
Lately I'd only been picking up sword-related skills and swinging blades around nonstop, so I'd completely forgotten. During practical training, you were supposed to practice in the field you'd applied for.
'Should I switch majors?'
Maybe I had more talent as a swordsman than a mage. I half-heartedly cast a few Wind Blades at a dummy while glancing around.
'Elena's doing well.'
Elena was simultaneously attacking multiple training dummies. Her proficiency seemed to have improved since before.
While wiping her damp forehead with her sleeve, Elena's eyes met mine. She immediately looked away again.
I'd have to talk to her properly later.
Anyway.
'Priya's... over there.'
I spotted Priya in the distance. She was smashing a wooden training dummy with a wooden greatsword as tall as she was. It was a scene almost identical to when I'd first encountered her.
Only now...
'I can see it.'
The trajectory of Priya's sword, which had been invisible to me before, was now perfectly clear.
'Next is left.'
With a heavy whoosh, Priya put her weight into a swing to the left.
'One full rotation, then a downward strike.'
Priya spun her whole body in a big circle before slamming her sword down onto the dummy's crown. With a loud thud, the dummy was instantly reduced to splinters.
'So this is what it means to increase understanding of all sword techniques.'
I'd only seen Priya's sword style a few times, yet it felt like I'd been observing her closely for months. I could perfectly predict her next movements and see exactly how she swung her blade.
...But.
'Is she really supposed to swing it like that?'
Priya dragged over a new dummy and repeated the exact same sequence. Something felt off.
'Her center of gravity seems wrong...'
The connection between each motion felt a beat too slow. Shouldn't she release power there? And make that movement bigger?
'Yet somehow her form still looks decent.'
This was the real mystery. I couldn't just watch anymore. I had to ask her directly.
After turning yet another dummy into pulp, Priya leaned against the wall to catch her breath. I walked over.
"Priya."
"Phew, what's up, Kiren?"
She answered while pulling her mouth away from her water bottle.
"I'd like you to recreate that sword sequence from earlier one more time."
"Huh? That's easy. Gimme a sec."
Priya dragged over a fresh dummy. She gripped the wooden greatsword and began recreating the earlier movements.
'Up to here, it's fine.'
She swung the greatsword widely to the left. Then, right before the rotation—
"Stop right there."
"Eh? But that's the highlight!"
"Come over here for a moment."
She set the greatsword down and trotted over to me.
"Excuse me for a second."
I grabbed her arm and pulled her closer, then began kneading both of her arms.
'Holy shit, they're rock solid.'
Were these diamond arms or something? They felt strong enough to shatter a greatsword even if she brought it down with full force.
"Just as I thought."
"What? What?"
This girl... she was simply swinging the greatsword with pure, brute strength.
'It's not that she lacks knowledge of greatsword techniques.'
She seemed to study theory in class when she wasn't staring at me. She just couldn't apply that theory in practice.
'Normally, she should have fallen over at that point.'
The greatsword's center of gravity was way behind her. She should have toppled backward and cracked her skull. Instead, Priya was forcibly holding her ground with insane muscle power and swinging it anyway.
Was that even possible?
"Before you take that stance, do you feel any discomfort anywhere?"
"Hmm... my shoulders feel a bit heavy, I guess?"
Priya stretched both arms straight up. At the same time, her chest bounced slightly up and down.
...The shoulder thing was probably for a completely different reason.
Anyway.
"Mind if I borrow the greatsword for a moment?"
"Wait, what? Kiren, you know how to use a greatsword too!?"
I took the greatsword from Priya and assumed a stance. The moment I gripped the weapon, dozens of sword techniques flooded my mind. Every single one of them was usable with a greatsword.
'Let's start by testing the one Priya was using.'
I gripped the sword with both hands, stepped back with one leg, and swung.
—WHOOOOSH!!
The heavy greatsword cleaved through the air. It was my first time using one, yet it didn't feel unfamiliar at all. I immediately shifted my stance to prepare the next linked movement.
—WHOOSH!
This time the sword moved faster, cleaner, and more precisely than before. I swung it widely to the left, then rotated my entire body. Right as I was about to bring it down—
"HEY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!!"
A voice loud enough to shake the entire training ground rang out. It was so deafening that most of the students training nearby covered their ears and grimaced.
But not me. Kiren Montella does not cover his ears in front of others.
'Thank you, Golden...!'
"Kyuoooo..."
I quickly turned the Golden Slime into earplugs to protect my hearing, then looked for the owner of the voice. I didn't even need to search.
He was already stomping straight toward me.
"Kiren Montella! What exactly do you think you're doing right now!?"
'Holy crap, he's huge.'
The man was tall enough to rival a professional basketball player, with a massive, bloated frame. A thick, unkempt beard stretched from his chin to his sideburns, and his face was generally unpleasant to look at.
"...Professor Ryan."
The undisputed number one most disliked person at Tinesi Academy. The swordsmanship professor, Ryan.
"I asked you what the hell you think you're doing!"
Ryan shoved his face right up to mine, speaking with clear intimidation.
"I'm not sure what you mean."
I genuinely didn't. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't figure out what I'd done wrong.
Ryan's face turned beet red as he bellowed.
"A sword carries the blood! Sweat! Passion and heart of swordsmen!! Did you really think a mere mage had any right to touch one!?"
Ah. So basically, he was pissed off that a mage had dared to pick up a sword.
'This guy is actually insane.'
Now I understood why he couldn't fit in with the other professors and was basically ostracized. What era did he think this was? Mage discrimination? Dealing with idiots like him only drained my own stamina.
"My apologies, then. Here, Priya."
I handed the greatsword back to Priya and turned to return to my spot when—
"Tsk, what would a mage bastard know about swords... acting like he understands anything about them."
I heard Ryan muttering under his breath.
...That crossed the line.
"You're overstepping, Ryan."
"...What did you say?"
I took the greatsword back from Priya and pointed its tip directly at Ryan's throat.
"Do you truly believe a worthless piece of trash like you has any right to lecture this body about swords?"
"What the—"
"Do you think I don't know how you barely scraped into a knight order with your pathetic skills, got exposed immediately, and fled here like a coward?"
It was all true. And apparently those facts had struck exactly where I intended, because a thick vein bulged on Ryan's forehead.
Ryan drew the sword at his waist and snarled.
"I must have gone too easy on you just because you're the top entrance student. Looks like you need a proper lesson."
"A dog challenging a tiger is what you call 'education' these days?"
"Everyone get upstairs! Now!"
At Ryan's shout, the other students immediately headed up to the second floor. Since the training ground's original purpose was as an arena, the second floor had spectator seating.
I looked up at Ryan. Veins popping all over his head, he was wrapping a band around his wrist. A wooden practice sword was stuck in the ground beside him.
'He's still a professor, so a real sword duel would be difficult.'
After finishing the wrap, Ryan picked up the wooden sword.
"Are you prepared, Montella?"
"You're mistaken. You are the one who needs to prepare. Oh, and one more thing."
I glanced at the message window floating in the air. Three options had appeared, just like before. I selected one.
Path of the Sword
I chose the normal difficulty option. The reward should be better than the easy one. Still, it wasn't quite satisfying enough. I raised the greatsword.
"I'll add one condition. If you win, I'll drop out of the academy."
"Fine! That won't happen, but if by some miracle you win, I'll grant you any one wish!"
Ryan grinned, clearly excited at the prospect of expelling one annoying mage. He readied his attack.
'Come to think of it, today really is my lucky day.'
Not only did I get to properly practice Path of the Sword, but a perfect sandbag had shown up as well.
Ryan adjusted his grip on the sword and lowered his stance.
'I can't kill him, so... maybe I'll cripple his legs?'
I'd heard something about legs being life for mages. Or maybe I should just turn him into a vegetable—
At that moment.
"Huh—?"
A brown line was drawn in front of Ryan's eyes. The instant he realized it was the greatsword Kiren had swung, he hurriedly tried to pull his body back.
"Too slow. For someone who talks so big about the sword, your body is pathetic."
Kiren adjusted his grip and slammed the greatsword down hard into Ryan's thigh.
"GAAAAAAAHHH!!!"
For a split second, Ryan felt as if his entire lower body had been sliced clean off. The sensation in his legs vanished completely, and he collapsed backward.
"Is that all? How utterly boring."
Ryan looked up to see a pair of deep, crimson eyes staring down at him.