Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: The Former Sword Saint and the Man-Hating Disciple (3)
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My sword strike toward Karin hadn't inflicted any actual damage on her, no matter what she saw or felt.
That was only natural. It was just a single blow from a wooden sword infused with sword intent.
"Was it that scary?"
Even after I withdrew my sword, Karin was still trembling in her legs, eyes wide with awe.
Well, even a top-tier swordsman would find that pretty astonishing.
"...Was that just now a technique of the Pinnacle Sword Arts?"
"No. The Pinnacle Sword Arts don't have specific techniques like that. What I showed you was the pinnacle of the Heavy Sword—and it's a realm you must one day reach."
Practicing the Pinnacle Sword Arts means mastering and perfecting every sword style—swift swords, phantom swords, heavy swords, and more.
Of course... it's incredibly difficult since it encompasses every field, but it's worth it.
"...The pinnacle of the Heavy Sword."
"Well, since this is a good opportunity, want me to show you the others too?"
Karin had already grown just from our brief spar.
Like when she faced the pinnacle of the Heavy Sword earlier, seeing the pinnacles of the other styles might accelerate her growth even more.
"Alright, now I'll show you the pinnacle of the swift sword you were using earlier."
The swift sword precisely targets the enemy's vulnerabilities in an instant.
Because it captures that fleeting moment with perfect accuracy, the swift sword is the sword of speed.
'Of course, speed alone isn't enough.'
I gripped the wooden sword in my hand again, facing Karin.
"Hup...!"
I drew in a breath and exhaled it all at once.
With the release of power that followed, I swung the sword.
—Paang!!
Unlike the Heavy Sword's focus on a single, devastating blow, the swift sword finds its true meaning in rapid consecutive strikes.
I slashed an X through the empty air, and a fierce whooshing sound echoed across the front yard.
A gale whipped up as if the sky itself were tearing apart, accompanied by a strange sensation of the air ripping open.
"...Is that the pinnacle of the swift sword?"
"Well, there's actually something more important than this, but I can't demonstrate it."
The swift sword requires pinpointing the enemy's weakness and striking it swiftly and accurately.
To do that, you must read your opponent and anticipate their moves.
In other words, the swift sword is both the sword of speed and the sword of insight.
'Insight comes with experience for Karin, so it'll grow naturally.'
You can't gain it just by hearing about it, so I held back my words.
"...Then, please show me the final sword."
"Ah, right."
This time, it was the phantom sword.
Unlike the raw power and speed of the heavy and swift swords I'd shown before, this was the coolest sword style of them all.
"First off, let me explain it differently from the others... The phantom sword is the sword of deception."
It uses feints to prevent the opponent from reacting, either slicing them directly or creating openings through confusion.
It's not overwhelmingly powerful, but its endless variations make it incredibly versatile.
In fact, it might be the most practical in real combat.
"The sword of deception..."
"It's a fancy way of putting it, but the core is just disorienting the enemy or catching them off guard."
I raised my sword toward Karin.
"...Eut."
"I'll attack slowly, so try to block it."
"Yes."
I swung the sword leisurely, slowly.
The blade cut through the air at a snail's pace.
It was so slow that no one could fail to react—heading straight for Karin.
And just as she moved to counter the gradually swinging sword...
"Het...!?"
My sword was now aimed at the back of her neck.
"Pretty neat, huh?"
"...What was that just now?"
"What else? The pinnacle of the phantom sword."
The sword that deceives and misleads the enemy.
That was the pinnacle of the phantom sword.
"Honestly, no need to overthink it... The phantom sword is all about variables and tricks."
"...I thought the phantom sword would be something more flashy since you called it that."
"Oh, really?"
Well, in wuxia tales, the Plum Blossom Sword of Mount Hua—famous for its beauty—is a type of phantom sword.
It blooms plum flowers to disrupt the enemy, after all.
Considering that, Karin's reaction made sense.
"Well, then I'll show you what you wanted to see."
"...Pardon?"
—Fwoong!
I casually swung the wooden sword through the air, and hazy yet intense blue flames erupted from it.
A type of phantom sword that Yuri Kaliyam had created long ago, inspired by a dragon's breath while battling dragons.
—Roooar!!
The azure flames took on the form of a sword strike, slashing through the empty air.
Perhaps because it mimicked a dragon's breath, the blue fire gave off an eerie yet powerfully striking impression.
"Karin, is this more like what you imagined?"
"......It looks like magic, even though it's not."
Her face was expressionless as always, but I could feel the awe radiating from beneath her mask.
Well, for someone who admired magic but couldn't use it, the phantom sword must seem like the magic she'd always chased.
"Want to learn it?"
"...Pardon?"
"If you do, I'll teach you the phantom sword."
Well, I would've taught her eventually even if she said no.
But seeing her, a total beginner, show this much interest—it was clear that using the phantom sword well would spark her passion for swordsmanship.
A perfect win-win.
Karin, who pursued magic, gets something magic-like, and I raise my heroine even stronger.
No one loses in this deal.
Absolutely no reason to refuse.
"P-Please teach me, Master."
Her expressionless voice carried a solemn weight as it turned toward me.
The word "Master" had never rung so sweetly.
It was a voice that made me think that.
"You got it. Of course I'll teach you."
There was no reason not to.
"But... can we eat lunch first?"
"Ah."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ As I mentioned before, Karin's talent was monstrous.
She'd already shown absurd growth, but after picking up the phantom sword and getting hooked, it accelerated even further.
So now, her level was at the peak realm.
The academy entrance was still far off, and she'd already stepped into the peak.
'The balance is totally wrecked.'
Even most academy instructors were only at the mature peak stage.
Those at the transcendent peak were rare elites.
"...Well, it's a good thing when you think about the future."
Sitting on my butt in the shade of the front yard, blankly watching Karin's training chased away my worries.
Things like the game story starting in a few years, or raising Cecilia and Karin.
"Yawwwn... Oh yeah, I need to head to the Fairy Forest too."
As I yawned and muttered lazily to myself, Cecilia—who was sitting right beside me—flashed her green eyes and turned toward me.
"The Fairy Forest? Are you going there?"
She asked with excessively high energy.
Well, I couldn't blame her. Above all, the Fairy Forest was home to the Green Village, her homeland.
For a girl who couldn't return because she'd become a slave, that reaction was understandable.
"Yeah, planning to go soon. Got some stuff to do there."
"Stuff to do? What kind?"
"Not telling."
In truth, it involved Cecilia, so it'd be good for her to know, but if I told her, she'd think I was crazy.
I mean... who goes to the Fairy Forest to meet the Fairy Queen?
Even as a former Sword Saint, it'd paint me as a lunatic.
Fairies were rare beings who appeared only once every thousand years.
"Well... Karin comes first anyway."
My eyes drifted to Karin swinging her sword through the air.
Her light purple hair fluttered as she wielded a blade that looked heavier than her own body.
That figure somehow overlapped eerily with someone from the distant memories of Yuri Kaliyam.
'...She looks like someone.'
I couldn't pinpoint who exactly, but I was certain there had been a girl like Karin.
Yet the harder I tried to dredge up the memory, the sharper the pain stabbing into my head became.
"Master? Are you hurting somewhere...?"
"Ah, no. Don't worry."
Cecilia asked with a voice full of anxiety and concern, seeing my face twisted in pain.
'Can't make my slave worry as her master.'
I endured the pain as best I could and shoved the resurfacing memory back down.
Peace and calm washed over me once more.
Yeah, better to just let it go.
"Huuu... Anyway, I guess I should start moving soon too."
Peace hadn't lasted long before another worry cropped up.
It was a necessary step to make Karin happy and ease my own future burdens.
Much like when I'd saved Cecilia from those criminal scum before.
Of course, fixing Karin's broken emotions and heart wouldn't end with just that one thing.
But it was the only thing I could do right now—what choice did I have?
"Haaa... How should I handle it..."
"...H-Handle who?"
"There's this demon bastard pretending to be human."
"Wh-What."
"Ah, don't worry about it, Cecil. It's something I have to settle myself."
Yeah. That was the problem.
A demon wearing human skin.
One who shared Karin's bloodline and bore the Clayman name.
Talentless like her at first, but one day suddenly awakened overwhelming magical talent.
Clayman's eldest son, Lucas Clayman.
How to deal with that little shit.
That was the irritating issue.