A Half-Baked Swordmaster
A Half-Baked Swordmaster
At first, Piel had prohibited the abuse of the Fentanyl medical kit, citing a shortage of supplies.
But at some point, those restrictions were lifted.
Knights and mana soldiers were now allowed to freely use the mandrake root and Fentanyl medical kit in their training.
They would chew the mandrake root, and with their body's full potential blossoming, swing their swords like madmen, tempering their mana perception to the extreme.
Then, just before the mandrake's side effects — dying in the excruciating pain of a body tearing itself apart — fully kicked in, they would inject the Fentanyl medical kit and receive the Healing Grace from a priest.
This way, they could enjoy the sweet sensation of a potential explosion without any loss whatsoever.
The entire army was now able to grow faster and more safely.
Thanks to this, there was not a single knight in Ainshuvan who hadn't achieved the rank of Sword Expert.
Among the mana soldiers, too, individuals at the Sword Expert level began to emerge with astonishing frequency.
"Is it really okay for us to get this strong so easily?"
"But in the mandrake potential explosion state, the clues to ascending to the next realm become so incredibly clear, you see."
The Healing Grace even perfectly erases any potential side effects, like damage to the neural circuits, that the Fentanyl might leave in the body.
So everyone had been doing the safe 4-set training (Glucose Biscuits + Mandrake Root + Fentanyl Medical Kit + Healing Grace)...
"Why on earth does Lord Deville push himself to such an extreme?"
"But that man's endurance alone is truly remarkable."
Dvil would push the pain of the mandrake's side effects to its absolute limit, and only at the very last moment receive the Fentanyl kit and the Healing Grace.
Unlike those who underwent pain-avoiding, safe training, he instead savored the pain to its saturation point.
"The pain that cannot kill me will only make me stronger. That is my conviction."
That was Dvil's belief.
He believed that within the deathly agony that arrives after the rapturous sensory acceleration of the potential explosion ends, a path to the next realm continues onward.
He gradually reduced the dosage of the Fentanyl he administered.
This meant he spent shorter and shorter periods with the stick-shaped kit clamped between his teeth.
The shorter the time, the more intense the pain he had to endure.
But it seemed as if a new path was revealing itself to him.
Amid the double-edged agony of the mandrake's side effects and the toll of the Healing Grace, he felt a new sense blossoming within him.
Finally, the moment he endured the side effects of the mandrake and the pain of the Healing Grace through sheer, unaided will, without the Fentanyl medical kit...
'I was torn to pieces, and then born anew.'
Within the pain of soul collapse, Dvil felt his body's mana circuits being entirely reconstructed.
Fwoosh!
He proved the fruits of his foolhardy discipline with his Aura Blade.
"Wow, I could absolutely never do that."
"I thought if you got the full force of the Healing Grace straight on top of the mandrake side effects, the pain was so bad you'd just die instantly?"
"Saying Lord Deville overcame it by gradually adapting to the pain is such a lie... that's something no ordinary person can do."
"It's a reckless feat only a madman could achieve."
Everyone offered their sincere congratulations.
Even as they berated Dvil's training method as foolhardy and admitted they could never bring themselves to do it, they still celebrated his advancement to the next realm.
However, Dvil's bright expression darkened.
"I am not a true Sword Master."
"Lord Deville? What do you mean by that all of a sudden?"
"It's merely a false achievement, begged for and grasped by cowardly overcoming the sensory training of the mandrake, the agony of its side effects, and the toll paid to the Healing Grace hundreds of times."
"...."
"Only now that I've achieved the rank of Master do I truly understand. Just how brilliantly incandescent a sun the talent is of our Commander-in-Chief, who became a Master at the mere age of 15."
Dvil sheathed his machete and declared solemnly,
"Therefore, I am merely a half-baked Sword Master."
***
When I returned after finishing the dishes with Yuzel, Luna made her report.
"It's an urgent communication from Lord Deville. The message says to please come find the dispatch unit alongside Hildea-nim as soon as possible."
"He didn't specify any details?"
"He said it's classified."
Long-distance shortwave communication isn't secure.
So I had given a standing warning before: never directly mention non-urgent, classified intelligence over the shortwave.
It's unlikely anyone in this era could intercept us, but communication security is a matter of habit.
"It looks like I'll need to make a quick trip back to my hometown."
"I'll carry the palanquin using the wind! Then we can arrive in half a day!"
Rebecca decided to stay behind again to fill the void of the Commander-in-Chief's absence.
"Yuzel, you get on the palanquin too."
"Yes! Officer-nim!"
I instructed the clever Unicorn to go home, and under Rebecca's watchful eye, I boarded the palanquin.
The gently floating palanquin gradually accelerated southward, with Luna flying alongside it in a comfortable position.
'When I used to ride on Hildea's back, the wind used to sting my eyes whenever we ran fast.'
Luna covered us with an Air Shield, allowing us to travel even faster and more comfortably.
"What could this be about so suddenly?"
"I'm worried something might have happened to Sir Elenoa."
"That's not it. If it were, Elenoa would have contacted us directly."
"Could it be that Lord Deville has achieved Sword Master status?"
At my words, Hildea's facial muscles gave a slight twitch.
Surely she isn't viewing him as a rival now?
"There's no way... Lord Deville does not possess the vessel of a Sword Master.... If anything, I think Vice-commander Basel might be able to reach Sword Master faster...."
But there was no confidence in her voice at all.
"Are you perhaps worried about losing your position as the sole operator of the 105mm Howitzer?"
"Th-that is absolutely not the case...."
Hildea quietly turned her head away.
Amidst all this, Yuzel was diligently munching on her honey apple. Crunch, crunch.
***
We truly managed to arrive at the dispatch unit's barracks, comfortably, in just half a day.
"So this is the marvel of a 7th-class Wind Mage. But why do nobles travel around in cramped, uncomfortable carriages?"
"Do you know how prideful 7th-class Wind Mages are? Even if it were the Emperor, not a mere noble, if you ordered one to carry a palanquin, they'd probably defect to a foreign country on the spot."
"...Luna, are you okay with this?"
"When I think of the kindness I've received from Colonel-nim, and the kindness I will continue to receive, I can carry something like a palanquin happily, anytime!"
"...Thank you. Here, a Mint Choco Cake."
"Kyaaaah! Thank you!"
Since we had contacted them in advance, Lord Deville and his knights were already out in formation for our arrival.
But the atmosphere was quite solemn.
"Colonel Dvil, I have a report for the Commander-in-Chief-nim!"
"Report."
"I shall show you directly!"
Shiiing! Fwoosh!
At the Aura Blade blooming over the machete, Hildea gave a small stagger.
She barely composed herself and, biting her lip slightly, offered her congratulations.
"Congratulations, Lord Deville."
"...Thank you."
"You, sir, will also soon be promoted to Lieutenant General. A Sword Master starts at a minimum rank of Lieutenant General, after all. Your experience and age are both without flaw."
I was puzzled by the atmosphere, which wasn't entirely joyful.
And it wasn't just Hildea; Dvil was the same.
In a flash, I understood.
'I see. They can't station two Sword Masters in one unit.'
The entirety of Ainshuvan is currently split between Hildea and Rebecca. There was no territory for Dvil, who would have to establish a new family, to push his way into.
And with Ainshuvan not being in a state of unrest at the moment, the King would likely try to appoint Lord Deville to a post in the rear.
Meaning he would be leaving Hildea's army.
"However, I intend not to reveal my achievement of becoming a Master to the world."
"Lord Deville? What do you mean by that?"
"I am a half-baked Sword Master."
Lord Deville calmly explained everything.
In detail, the method by which he had raised his realm.
"We could likely block a resolution from the Noble Council with the veto power of the Upper House. But there is no way around a direct command from His Majesty the King. I would have to leave Count Balckenhardt's army."
"...That is true. There are no cases of two Sword Masters being concentrated in a single unit."
"That is why I intend to hide it. I am fond of Ainshuvan. The days I spend serving here in the Northern Garrison Army's dispatch unit are profoundly happy for me."
Dvil clenched his fist tightly, his eyes full of earnestness.
"Serving in a unit without the supply of Commander Marshall, the Chief Supply Officer! It is a hell I refuse to even imagine!"
"Lord Deville, wherever you are dispatched, I will personally ensure that—"
"Even so, I would still be a stranger in a foreign land! To have achieved the rank of Master, only for my meal situation to worsen! What kind of paradoxical hell is that!"
Only then did Hildea's expression brighten as she nodded.
"I will respect your choice, sir. I shall not forget this dedication."
"Now that I have become a half-baked Master through such underhanded methods, I can feel with new clarity just how brilliant a sun the talent of our Commander-in-Chief-nim truly is."
"You call it half-baked. Anyone who can wield an Aura Blade is equally a Master."
Before we knew it, several tables and chairs had been set up outdoors.
Hildea and Dvil sat down facing each other and calmly began a discussion on the realm of the Master.
I, too, sat at a table some distance away with Yuzel, watching the two of them.
"Yuzel, this place is the Count Anbelrum territory...."
"I'm sorry. I don't really know all the rural areas of the kingdom...."
She sounds just like a silver-spoon kid from Cheongdam-dong saying, 'Pangyo? Isn't that the countryside?'
"It's my hometown."
"Waaaaah! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Now that I look again, it's not exactly rural, it has the qualities of a major city with infinite potential for future development...!"
***
I knew that the mandrake root training was rapidly making the soldiers and knights stronger.
That was why, once the budget allowed, I had been actively supporting it.
But I never imagined it could forge a Sword Master.
After finishing their discussion on the Master's realm, Hildea and Dvil came over to our table.
"It truly was an insane act. Lord Deville succeeded only because his endurance for pain is exceptionally strong; there is a very high probability that any other person would die attempting it."
Even Dvil himself did not want others to recklessly imitate him.
Not as a case of pulling up the ladder behind him, but because the likelihood of death was too high.
So it was decided that, for safety, restrictions would be placed on that aspect going forward.
Within the limits of not completely barring the training itself.
"Officially, you will remain a Colonel externally, but internally, you will be treated with the respect befitting a Lieutenant General. Consider yourself Senior to Vice-commander Basel."
"Heh heh, now I'll be able to tease the Vice-commander-nim every time I see him. I find this very satisfying."
Dvil was, in fact, feeling a great sense of happiness at remaining in the Ainshuvan army while hiding his achievement of Masterhood.
"Colonel Marshall."
"Yes, Lord Deville."
"Am I now qualified?"
Only Yuzel, who was busily munch, munch, munching on her apple, had no idea what he meant, her eyes darting around nervously.
She looked flustered by the sudden solemnity in the air, having been happily enjoying her snack.
Of course, I knew exactly what Lord Deville was asking.
"Absolutely. Now that you are a Master, you have certainly earned the qualification."
"Is it a 105mm? Or a 155mm?"
In that moment, under the table, Hildea grabbed my hand, giving a faint tremble.
'If only I could order just the tank's smoothbore gun separately and mount it, that would be truly wonderful.'
A 105mm Howitzer costs 30,000.
However, the M777B1 155mm Lightweight Howitzer, made of titanium, costs 1 million for the cannon alone, with the initial purchase requiring 4 million.
This is because of the mandatory recon drone package included.
'4 million....'
Should I just close my eyes and splurge on the 155mm?
Or should I go for the 105mm that costs 30,000?
【Remaining Budget: 29,508,950】
Right, isn't this month's budget still quite ample?
【You have requested the supply of 1 M777B1 155mm Lightweight Howitzer.】
【Budget: 4 million / Includes Observation Drone Package】
【After this, separate requests for the howitzer alone can be made for 1 million.】
I went for it!
"As luck would have it, a new weapon will soon be completed. The Commander-in-Chief-nim will use that one, and Lord Deville shall use the 105mm howitzer until the second new weapon is completed."
The joy and disappointment between the two Sword Masters was vividly split.
Hildea desperately suppressed a smile of sheer delight, while Lord Deville looked deeply regretful.