The Sword (2)
The brilliant crimson glow shimmered. My gaze was completely captivated by the red light on the blade, which seemed capable of cutting through anything. There were no flickering flames. It meant I was controlling it perfectly.
I had been staring blankly at the sword when a wave of confusion hit me.
Why did it work?
I had tried using the Mana Blade day and night without rest. But I had never succeeded properly even once.
What was the trigger?
I probably could have used it. Something you’ve never tried is difficult, but repeating something you’ve already done is quite easy. In that situation, the fact that I couldn’t use it before had to have a reason.
“Is there something you’re curious about?”
A voice that could resolve my doubts reached me. Cain sheathed his sword and approached me.
“······Everything. Just explain everything to me.”
“Hmm.”
Even at my absurd request, he simply stroked his chin in thought. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was an S-Class cadet or because he liked me.
“Very well.”
Having finished his deliberation, he looked at my sword, which was still radiating that red light.
“First, you asked if it was okay to use a sword, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Let me get straight to the point. You may use it.”
“······.”
From then on, I listened in complete silence, focusing intently. Cain was a man who had reached the pinnacle of the sword and was called the Sword Emperor. This was advice that even most heroes would never get to hear. I had to take full advantage of the privilege I enjoyed as a cadet.
“The most essential common knowledge you must know is that a sword is like a vessel.”
“······A vessel.”
“Moving the mana inside your body to the sword, condensing it, and controlling it—that is Sword Qi.”
“······.”
“If you think of it that way, the sword is another version of your own body. If you cannot trust yourself, how could you possibly use Sword Qi?”
I realized why I hadn’t been able to use Sword Qi.
I didn’t believe I could use a sword.
It meant I had to trust the sword as if it were my own body, and that the sword was just as precious as my own body.
“Continuing on, you blocked my sword with your own. Even though you could have blocked it with your fist, you naturally used a sword to do so. From that moment on, you were a swordsman who could wield a blade naturally.”
“······.”
I was glad I had come to Cain. The answers to questions that had never been clear before were all contained in his short sentences.
“······So it really is okay for me to use a sword?”
I had already gotten the answer. But I asked again to hear it clearly.
“······.”
Cain looked at me for a moment without any particular doubt and continued.
“The number of people who cannot use Sword Qi is far greater than those who can. Now that you are someone who can use it, if you don’t wield a sword, who will?”
“······.”
“And for you, fire has always been the main focus rather than fists or swords anyway. It would be the same no matter what you use.”
“······.”
To me, who had remained silent, Cain casually tossed out the words as if they were nothing.
“A swordsman is also a martial artist.”
“······!”
But to me, those words were anything but casual. A realization greater than any of the others struck me.
I was an idiot.
Before, when I had briefly thought about swords, I had resolved to be a martial artist rather than a swordsman. Hearing Cain now, I could only see myself as a fool who knew nothing.
There’s so much I want to try.
Now that I thought of using a sword, I wanted to recreate the sword techniques I had seen from various people, combining them with flames. I stood up from my seat.
“······Thank you.”
I bowed my head in gratitude.
“If it was an answer, then that’s enough.”
He waved his hand as if it were no big deal. To Cain, it probably was nothing, but to me, it was almost priceless knowledge.
“I’ll be going first.”
To put it into practice, I planned to head to my personal training room. I bowed once more in thanks, left Cain’s training room, and headed toward my own personal training room.
“Huh?”
I was still in front of the instructors’ office when I spotted a noble-looking man with light brown hair approaching.
“Oh, Lord Adel.”
Daren must have noticed me too, as he walked over.
“What brings you here?”
“I had something to ask Instructor Cain for advice, so I stopped by his office on the way back.”
“You as well, Lord Adel.”
“······?”
Before I could ask about the odd tone in Daren’s words, he spoke first.
“I am on my way to see Instructor Cain.”
“······Why?”
There was no reason he couldn’t go. I was purely curious. What business did a cadet from the same grade and class have with an instructor?
“To create a sword technique. I visit Instructor Cain every day to seek his guidance.”
“······.”
This guy trains every single day. It wasn’t that I didn’t train every day, but I didn’t have a clear goal like Daren. I simply generated flames and tried to get stronger. The goal I needed to reach was martial arts. Creating it. If I had a clear purpose instead of just getting stronger without direction, my training would progress much faster.
“Lord Adel. Is something wrong?”
Daren asked with concern when I remained silent.
“It’s nothing. Go on, then.”
I said it because I felt like I had held him up too long.
He must feel like every second counts while creating a sword technique.
I thought that when I created my own martial art, I would probably need to have the same mindset.
“See you tomorrow or on a weekday.”
Tomorrow was Sunday. Whether we would meet or not was uncertain.
“Alright.”
I nodded and headed toward my original destination.
Upon arriving at the personal training room, I absorbed the flames and began organizing my thoughts.
Fire is the main focus.
Cain’s words hadn’t been wrong in the slightest. From his talk about swords, to Sword Qi, and even about fire. Among them, the part about fire being the main focus was completely accurate.
Then how should I design the martial art?
I had been conceptualizing it in my head, but nothing was fully formed yet. Even if I used a sword, I needed to create a martial art that could utilize swords, fists, and flames all together. And among them, fire had to encompass everything.
“······.”
Swish.
I stood up and drew the sword from its sheath.
I should check first.
I planned to try the basics I could do with a sword—cuts, thrusts, and the like. Everything begins with the fundamentals, so to create a martial art that utilized a sword, I first needed to understand the sword itself. That said, I had no intention of diving into it too deeply. The martial art I was thinking of would use a sword while also using fists, and use fists while also using flames. There was no need to reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
In truth, I was simply adding sword use to what I had already been doing.
Step.
I walked out of the path of fire. The place I arrived at was surrounded entirely by stone. The massive rock mountains were like an impassable wall. It was a technique testing ground I had added just in case.
First, Sword Qi.
I generated fire energy and infused it into the blade. It became Sword Qi, radiating a faint red glow.
It works.
Sword Qi had been created.
So it was true.
After hearing Cain’s words, I had decided to trust the sword and use it. The shock he gave me was enough to change my thinking in an instant, and I even felt a sense of awe toward him.
Though I suppose I just lacked knowledge.
Whatever. It was simply that I felt Cain was exceptional.
Swish.
I swung the sword horizontally toward the rock mountain that felt like a wall, releasing a fierce wave of energy.
Kaaang!
The flames that followed the sword left scorch marks and created a faint sword wound on the rock mountain. The Sword Qi had sliced off a tiny bit of the rock.
Oh, that’s interesting.
It was only a very small cut—so small you wouldn’t notice unless you looked closely—but for me, who was doing this with a sword for the first time, it felt fascinating.
Next is thrusting.
I pulled the sword back slightly and condensed fire energy at the tip. Along with the Sword Qi, the condensed fire energy began to emit light on its own, looking as if it would explode at any moment. I quickly thrust the sword into the rock mountain.
Kwaaaaaang!
A sound like stone exploding rang out as smoke billowed up. After waiting a moment, the rock mountain came into view. A distortion that started from a single point had spread faintly, impacting the surrounding area. It looked like glass on the verge of shattering.
Fwoosh······.
The flames seemed to linger for a moment before they eventually went out.
······It feels like it could become something.
It was a strange sensation. It felt like I had found a clue to the martial art, yet at the same time, it felt like something I couldn’t even attempt.
······It’s hard. So hard.
I had never once thought it would be easy, but ever since coming to this world, nothing had been easy.
······It’ll work out someday.
It was a statement that didn’t seem obvious, yet somehow was. If I kept repeating this process, in a few years I would probably have created at least one martial art. I was working hard precisely so I wouldn’t have to wait for that kind of future.
But if I experienced a dramatic realization, I felt I might be able to create a martial art in the near future. That was the feeling I got.