Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The Former Sword Saint and the Man-Hating Disciple (1)
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Ever since I started flirting with Cecilia like we were newlyweds, time had flown by at an astonishing pace.
A whole month had passed since my identity as the Sword Saint was exposed and I'd made that promise with the Extreme Archmage.
Right now, I was sinking into massive boredom, mentally worn out even though I wasn't doing a damn thing.
'This is why people need a purpose or something.'
Without any goals, just swinging my sword endlessly day in and day out, I felt like I'd truly become a worthless layabout.
In my previous life, I'd hustled with part-time jobs and housework just to survive.
But now, my status as the former Sword Saint guaranteed food, clothing, and shelter, and Cecilia handled all the chores, leaving me with nothing to do at home.
If I had to pick something, it was making love with Cecilia at night or chugging booze.
Sure, it was a life fitting for a hermit like me... but it wasn't exactly fulfilling either.
"Is that why those old recluses in wuxia novels took disciples?"
It eased their boredom in old age and ensured their legacy continued...
'Come to think of it, maybe someone should carry on my swordsmanship.'
The sword arts created by Yuri Kaliyam through insane talent and endless time investment.
Known as the Extreme Dao—an arrogant name for a path that reached the pinnacle.
'...It wasn't even originally a sword art.'
The Extreme Dao wasn't something Yuri Kaliyam deliberately created. It was a collection of sword techniques born from using countless styles separately.
His quicksword, heavy sword, illusion sword, and various others reached their extremes and merged into one, which he called the Extreme Dao.
No matter the style, they all converged at the same end.
The so-called "all rivers lead to the sea."
"Speaking of which, when's that bastard Bergil's granddaughter showing up?"
It had already been a month.
From what Bergil said, the kid urgently needed to learn the sword...
—Knock knock.
I was slouched in the rocking chair, bored out of my mind, when a knock came at the door.
'...A girl?'
Before moving, I subtly extended my senses and picked up a distinctly feminine presence.
She must be Bergil's granddaughter.
Even in the imperial capital, this was the outskirts. No one comes here without a good reason, so it had to be her.
—Hummm!
I withdrew my senses and was about to greet her when...
"...Huh?"
For a split second, Bergil's granddaughter whipped her head toward me.
'Not bad...'
Bergil said she had zero talent for magic, but she clearly had serious aptitude for physical pursuits.
To instinctively sense my subtle ki probe like that.
I figured I could teach her plenty over the next two years.
Grinning at the thought of escaping this boredom, I opened the door—and then it hit me.
"......Karin?"
The name slipped out on instinct.
It wasn't in Yuri Kaliyam's original memories. Shockingly, it was from my head as the game's player.
"I guess Grandfather told you."
Karin Clayman beamed and offered a handshake.
The third daughter of the magical Clayman house, granddaughter of Extreme Archmage Bergil Clayman, and...
One of the heroines from the eroge Academy Login I'd played.
A heroine who seriously hated men, at that.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Thinking about it, her original master in the game wasn't supposed to be me.
Following the main story, her teacher was Rune Sipia.
Unlike me, the retired Sword Saint, she was the first female Sword Saint still active.
Becoming Rune's disciple was the game's canon path.
Of course, with the story already all twisted up, it wasn't that surprising...
'Bergil, you son of a bitch. Couldn't you at least tell me her name?'
That damn fool didn't even mention her name was Karin, landing me as the master of a man-hater.
This was clearly Bergil's fault.
"First, why don't you introduce yourself?"
".........Okay."
The hesitation in her response was killer.
She clearly hated even talking to me.
"As you probably know, I'm Yuri Kaliyam. Former Sword Saint, and your master starting today."
"...I'm Karin Clayman. Per Grandfather's orders, I'm your disciple as of today."
Her word choice dripped with distance, already giving me a headache, but what could I do?
She had a perfectly understandable backstory for her man-hating ways.
'Guess I'll have to handle her with care from now on.'
My goal was a bed ending, not a bad one.
Helping the heroines was a given.
But Karin needed even more support than Cecilia.
Maybe it was the difference between main and sub heroine...
It wouldn't be as quick a fix as with Cecilia.
'Above all... Karin becomes a huge asset later.'
In-game, Karin had her man-hating flaw, but talent that more than compensated.
A once-in-a-century sword genius.
That was Karin Clayman.
"Alright, let's start simple today—forming your dantian."
"Dantian...?"
"Ah, you don't know much about it."
Of course not. Born into a magic noble house, she'd have no interest in swordsmanship.
It was natural, nothing strange.
"Do you know the first step to becoming a mage?"
"...Creating a mana circle. Right?"
"Correct."
Martial artists accumulate and use energy from their dantian, while mages store mana power in rings called mana circles.
Warrior or mage, it's all about creating an internal energy reservoir.
"Most warriors, like swordsmen or spearmen, form a dantian first, just like mages form circles. Same role: energy storage."
"...So it's like a warrior's circle."
"Exactly. Though there are some differences."
As I said earlier, circles and dantians are very similar.
They store power, and elixirs boost them explosively.
But there are subtle differences.
"A circle can regenerate with enough money and time, even if shattered."
"...And a dantian?"
"Sadly, no. But the risk comes with superior efficiency over circles."
Stability versus instability.
That's why high-circle mages outnumber peak warriors.
"So cherish the dantian we're making now."
"...Yes."
I had Karin sit cross-legged, then moved behind her and placed my hand on her back.
She flinched hard, instinctively radiating hostility.
...I got it.
First time meeting, and physical contact with a man-hater.
"It's a necessary step, so please bear with it."
"Ngh... I know."
Taking her response as the cue, I drew out and released the ki condensed in my dantian.
An immense amount, equivalent to nearly six arm spans' worth.
Fitting for a former Seven Star overbalance.
—Hummm!!
I shaped the released ki into thin, long threads like strings.
One by one, they multiplied until there were too many to count.
Like tentacles from my body, I channeled them through my hand into Karin's.
"Nnhat...!?"
Her first time feeling foreign energy invading her body—natural to freak out.
"Too much?"
"...No."
She looked reluctant but was determined to endure.
'...She's a tough one, as expected.'
I'd sensed it during gameplay.
The more I taught her, the tougher she'd get.
As her master, I wouldn't hold her back.
Just support her from the side to avoid self-harm.
"Accept it. The more you take, the better for you."
I maneuvered the countless threads inside her, condensing them near her lower abdomen.
From single threads to a spherical mass.
All tangled like a ball of yarn—I just needed to refine it.
—Rumrumrumble!!!
Slowly refining the sphere in her lower abdomen.
The more evenly and purely I shaped it, the more her personal dantian took form.
"...Ngh! Uwaaah."
Her suppressed groans burst out, sweat soaking her back and trickling onto my hand.
That eternal agony for both of us didn't last long.
"Huuu... Cleaner than I expected. Mine wasn't this pure at first."
".............."
Too exhausted to speak, so I offered encouragement.
"Congratulations on your initiation."