The Five Stages of the Sword
I stood in the garden of the Moon God's Palace, thinking for a brief moment.
Honestly, I wasn't sure if it was okay to practice sword sparring here. Lumiela's garden and all...
...I'll just have to act a bit spoiled with her later.
A little embarrassment was nothing compared to what was at stake.
As I smirked in anticipation of the upcoming duel, Sera looked at me with clear worry and asked,
"Master...? Are you really sure it's okay to start from the very basics?"
"Why? Is there a problem?"
"There's no problem, but... haven't you already stepped into the Sword Cloud realm...?"
In our previous duel, Sera had experienced my 'intimidation' firsthand. It wasn't the kind of blood-soaked killing intent that made people freeze, but it was still a fairly threatening aura. She might not have known exactly where I stood, but it was obvious that the basics should have been child's play for me.
I tilted my head at her words.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"............?"
We stared at each other in mutual confusion. The silence stretched until Sera suddenly remembered she'd been in this exact situation before.
'This happened when I dueled Theodora, too...'
Back when I'd sparred with Theodora, the vice-commander of the Twilight Knights, she'd often worn that same expression.
-Why can't you do this?
It wasn't criticism or mockery. Just pure, innocent curiosity. The kind that could rip an ordinary person's heart to shreds with a smile.
Feeling that familiar déjà vu, Sera asked carefully, half expecting the answer.
"Master... how long have you been learning the sword?"
"Huh...? I've never formally learned it."
"......What?!"
Sera's mouth fell open in pure shock. She clearly hadn't wanted to show me such an undignified side, but my words had completely blown past her imagination. Even if my strange evasive maneuvers were some kind of innate talent, the unique sword style and flowing posture were impressive enough to make even her admire them without thinking. And all of it was...
"So you learned everything through self-study...?"
At her stunned expression, I nodded.
"That's right. That's why I'm pretty ignorant about swordsmanship. But now that I have you, Sera, if I practice enough I should be able to learn it all in a month, right...?"
I figured that by then I'd have at least the basics down. They were only the basics, after all. I had a fair bit of confidence.
'A... a month...?'
Completely mastering the fundamentals of swordsmanship wasn't about memorizing moves or swinging the same way in similar situations. It meant adapting to every situation and environment while preserving the unique nature of your own style. You had to slowly feel out the form that best suited your body and make it yours.
Even Sera, who was called a genius, had taken well over three months to learn all the basics. Saying one month sounded incredibly arrogant.
'Even Theodora probably couldn't do it in a month... or could she?'
Since she was considered the greatest talent in the knight order's history, maybe it wasn't impossible.
Sera cautiously asked another question, still looking like she could hardly believe what she was hearing.
"M-Master. You said you self-taught the sword, but... at what age did you start?"
Since I looked to be in my early to mid-teens at most, she was convinced I must have begun training from a very young age.
'If a true prodigy started holding a sword and training from infancy, then maybe it's not impossible...'
I asked back, not quite understanding the question.
"What age...?"
"Yes?"
"I only picked up a sword for the first time two weeks ago."
"......!"
Sera Lexion had just met a swordsmanship genius the likes of which the world had never seen.
***
After several more exchanges, Sera heard my entire story and began jumping around the garden in excitement.
'This is insane. Completely insane!'
She bounced from one end of the garden to the other. Part of it was the brainwashing, but most of it was her honest reaction.
'Is this why the First Princess hid Master so desperately? Because of this otherworldly talent...?'
It was a completely wrong guess, but she started convincing herself anyway.
'So that's why she cherished him so much!'
At first she'd thought I was talking nonsense. But the more she heard, the more her mouth fell open in disbelief.
'Spinning Strong Sword? It has a fatal flaw, but it would be useful against large monsters.'
'Void Illusion Sword. Isn't this just an advanced version of intimidation...?'
'Rebound Sword...? You created it after seeing a deflecting technique? How can someone casually invent these heaven-defying skills like it's nothing?'
Every single one was a practical sword technique, and their quality was far from ordinary. Sera stared at me so hard I started to feel self-conscious.
"Uh, um? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No reason. Hehe."
Her previous goodwill hadn't faded. If anything, it had grown even stronger.
'If I received Master's seed... would that talent pass on to my child...?'
As Sera entertained those rather dark thoughts, I started to feel like I'd been too full of myself.
'To someone like Sera these must look pathetic. I got too excited.'
A master swordsman of her caliber would surely be disappointed by the crude techniques I'd created through self-study. I subtly avoided her gaze and got to the point.
"Anyway. Can you teach me swordsmanship now?"
"........."
There was no real reason to refuse, but Sera rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.
'Master is... a raw gemstone that's almost too much for me to handle.'
His talent was so overwhelming she couldn't even decide where to begin. A genius like this would normally be better taught by someone like Theodora, but bringing me into the knight order was impossible, so Sera was stuck.
The one saving grace was that when it came to the 'basics,' she had trained to a level no genius could match. She was perfectly suited to teach foundational swordsmanship.
"Huu..." She let out a sigh that could have been joy or resignation. "For now, Master, I think I should start by teaching you the basic knowledge."
Sera picked up her sword.
I flinched.
In that instant, her entire atmosphere changed. The woman holding the sword was no longer a maid. She was a steadfast, rock-solid swordswoman.
"The path of a swordsman consists of five stages."
Sera swung her blade lightly. A clean horizontal cut. The sculptures in the garden trembled slightly.
"The beginner level. Commonly called third-rate, this stage is Sword Wind. Most mercenaries spend their entire lives stuck at this level."
Sera swung again. If the first cut had been clean, this one was distinctly sharp.
Slash—
Before I knew it, every leaf in the garden had been severed.
"If you can add your own sharpness to the Sword Wind stage, that becomes the Sword Fire stage. You infuse your will or emotions into the blade to amplify its power."
Lowering her sword, Sera spoke quietly.
"Precisely up to this point is the level of an average swordsman. Even ordinary people can reach Sword Fire if they train diligently for decades."
"However... beyond this requires something special."
Up until now effort could substitute, but the stages after Sword Fire couldn't be achieved through will alone.
Suddenly Sera's sword began to whirl at blinding speed. It moved so fast it was difficult to follow with the eyes—an extreme fast-draw technique.
Yet she didn't shed a single drop of sweat as she calmly continued.
"This is Sword Thunder. The stage where you achieve great mastery in swordsmanship and create your own unique applications."
"Of course, no matter how advanced your swordsmanship, without the ability to use mana you'll never reach Sword Thunder."
"The Sword Thunder stage is the line that separates true knights from everyone else."
That's why no ordinary soldier, no matter what tricks they tried, could ever defeat a knight. Their heads would be severed before they could even demonstrate their sword skills.
"And to advance even 'further' from there, you must transcend the swordsmanship you've learned."
To step forward from Sword Thunder, you couldn't just stop at what you'd been taught.
Sera closed her eyes and carefully sheathed her sword.
"........."
Swish—
She drew the blade. The same fast movement as before.
But my eyes caught the true essence hidden in Sera's swordsmanship.
'I can see it.'
It was Sera's unique technique—the Linked Ring sword. A continuous barrage of attacks that never stopped, no matter the position or stance.
Sera changed her grip mid-motion, even switching to a reverse grip, yet the attacks flowed seamlessly. A sword art that allowed linked strikes in literally every possible situation.
"Breaking free from familiar forms and carving out your own unique path. That is Sword Cloud."
When Sera finally stopped her sword, every flower and plant in the garden had been shredded to pieces.
'Is it really okay to leave it like this?'
I'd been so focused on the demonstration that I only now started worrying about what excuse I'd give Lumiela when she saw the destroyed garden.
***
Before the unprecedented war that would engulf the continent, the man wandered endlessly through the demonic realms he had once conquered.
Most had long since fallen into ruin, but his steps carried no hesitation. Having visited every last one without exception, he completed all his preparations.
His sword trembled violently. For some reason it shook as if terrified.
"...They're coming. Everyone, focus."
The man lifted his head and looked 'up.'
Rumble—
The earth, the very continent itself, shook because it could not bear the weight of such a high existence.
-.....
The gods from beyond the outer realms were descending upon the continent.