The Song of the Knight (4)
The Song of the Knight had always carried a gentle, almost nostalgic atmosphere. The book was aimed at children who were not yet adults, and it contained many passages that felt overly sentimental or even a little childish.
Overall, the story followed a pickpocket’s son from the back alleys who suffered endless hardships and trials only to rise to become a true hero. Yet as I turned the final pages, something truly strange began to take root in me.
With each step deeper into the second half, I sensed a peculiar truth. It was not a mere coincidence of the plot. During the scenes where William the protagonist executed his martial arts, something inside my mind shifted.
Without warning, the swordplay of the young wanderer from the novel began to unfold right before my eyes. Even with my eyes closed, the images remained crystal clear. It was as if I had been swallowed by the book itself, and the training sequences felt so vivid that they seemed to be happening in real time.
…This is just too much.
I had not deliberately stretched my imagination. This book held something genuine. Though I could not explain the cause, my instincts had already told me the truth.
Filial energy? Absorption? No, it is something completely different.
My entire consciousness was being drawn into the book. I had never experienced anything like this in my life.
Meanwhile, the story raced toward its conclusion. After ten full years of battles, William finally returned to his hometown. But the welcome that awaited him was nothing but the graves of his dead family, friends, and lover.
“William gripped his sword. For vengeance against the man who killed his beloved, he circulated mana. From the wounded knight’s blade burst a dazzling radiance. Those around him stared in disbelief. Sword qi! It was no ordinary sword qi. William’s sword qi carried the fury of a broken heart, its color pitch black like midnight.”
Slashed in the night air with a sound like tearing silk, the two blades met. Sparks flew. The clash of William’s dark light against the white light of his opponent lit up the sky like a cosmic painting.
Thud.
The battle ended in William’s victory. His sword had pierced through the enemy’s abdomen.
Yet afterward, beneath the pouring rain, William simply stood and looked up at the storm clouds. The boy who had once struggled to survive in the alleys had become a hero. For ten years he had lived with fierce determination, trying to change the world.
But now, no one remained beside him. So what exactly had he been running toward all this time?
“Did you see it?”
He startled.
In the illusion that felt so real it was like actually experiencing the novel’s battles, William was looking straight at me.
…Insane.
Thought? Hallucination? Was the book itself an artifact that Lancelot carried around?
William gave a bitter smile and spoke to me.
“I have placed everything I gained here.”
…
The light in William’s eyes had already dimmed. The wounds on his body were not fatal, yet his life itself seemed to have lost all hope.
“From the greatest swordsman of the Western Continent to the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult at the far eastern edge of the continent, I have lived a life drenched in blood.”
His footsteps were heavy as he walked away. He did not even glance back and whispered softly.
“This tale is a vision, a secret manual. The sword I wield… is the Nameless Sword.”
Goosebumps crawled across my entire body.
Nameless Sword?
Countless secret arts existed in Silvering.
The best examples were the secret swordsmanship of the Heinz family that had produced swordsmen for generations in the Western Continent and the Heavenly Demon Divine Art of the Eastern Continent—items that were practically impossible to obtain even if one had money.
Then what about the Nameless Sword?
It was inferior to the two arts above, yet it could still be called a secret technique. A martial art that money alone could never purchase.
Even with a Sword God talent, one still needs supreme swordsmanship and internal energy cultivation methods to defeat the stronger opponents I will face later…
That thought had barely formed when.
Sssshhh!
…!
My consciousness began to fade. I instinctively understood that the space William had created was collapsing.
“The route to obtain the Nameless Sword had never been revealed.”
I sat in the barracks and slammed the book shut.
In Silvering, players obtained magic, swordsmanship, and internal energy through countless different methods. The surest way to learn magic was to stack every possible debuff—illness, short lifespan—and dump all remaining points into a talent, then head straight for the magic tower.
Mages tended to focus more on magical talent than physical ability. This was the royal road through the Magic System.
But swordsmanship? It was far harder to master than magic.
One had to join a knight order or enter a noble house that trained knights. For someone without a background, the odds of acceptance were slim.
Which meant… I had obtained an enormous stroke of fortune.
Of course, mastering the Nameless Sword would still require a very long time, but the difference between a one-percent chance and zero percent was like heaven and earth.
But how exactly do I learn it?
Thump.
At that thought, I slowly opened the book again and began turning the pages.
Most secret manuals in the original story recorded the essence and key points of martial arts in meticulous detail. But The Song of the Knight, the secret manual of the Nameless Sword, was nothing less than an actual novel.
Well, it is not a demonic art, blood magic, or dark magic anyway.
Those kinds of techniques required inherently inhuman and criminal methods from the very beginning. I had no desire to learn them.
I turned the pages while thinking that way. In William’s combat scenes, the changes in sword stance, angles, lower-body movements, mana circulation, and release were described in exquisite detail.
…Umm.
The difficulty level was absurd for a secret manual.
The good news was my Genius talent helped. Ordinary people would have given up immediately, but my mind could clearly recall William’s every movement.
— Genius —
Grade: Mythic (UR)
Effect: You are one step closer to the ultimate truth of all creation than anyone else.
The Genius trait in Silvering was the final boss of all unfairness. Its acquisition condition was possession of the Prodigy trait, and it could only be obtained on a random day in the early game.
Of course, the difficulty was the worst of the worst. It might even be higher than traits like Sword God or Supreme Overlord.
Sssshhh!
Frey! Wake up. Morning has already broken… hmm? You were already awake?
What the… already morning?
The person who had broken my concentration was none other than Lancelot, who had told me yesterday he was going to request a mission from the deputy captain of the knight order. He had only just arrived now.
Where did you come from?
I slept in the barracks of a mission partner. It would be uncomfortable for the two of us to sleep in the same bed here.
That was true. I had no taste for sleeping with a muscular man in one bed.
Oh, and I prepared a reward.
Well, tell me. I will do my utmost within my ability.
It is nothing special. Just give this to me.
I answered briefly and held out the Song of the Knight.
Lancelot’s pupils trembled at that moment.
One should at least remain somewhat noble.
…What?
It is embarrassing to say, but I am a knight who honors honor. I cannot call this reward for simply receiving a personal favor from you.
Why is this guy imagining things like that?
Lancelot said with a face that had stiffened completely.
That is why, Frey, you keep it. That is not something that can be called a reward.
Really? Thanks a lot.
This was exactly what I had wanted. I had worried that Lancelot might have noticed the hidden swordsmanship in The Song of the Knight, but it seemed he had not. This naive guy.
After that, the preparations for departure proceeded without a hitch. Thanks to Lancelot’s insistence, I received warm water for bathing and even new clothes as a gift.
It looks a bit expensive.
Well, the style is a little different… but it is fine. This level is no problem at all.
The clothes Lancelot handed over were a crisp, old-fashioned uniform. The top and bottom looked like a single set, and the design was exactly the kind a noble family’s son would wear.
The size fits perfectly.
I discarded the prison-issued rags and exhaled in admiration at the new uniform.
It was rather handsome. I wondered how many players with an eye for looks in the original story must own one.
Tsk, this guy is giving me wings.
…Who the heck?
Lancelot clicked his tongue at my appearance. The clothes he had given me with the excuse that they were nothing special showed a faint trace of reluctance.
Let’s go. Time is life. The time we have been given is only one week.
Only a week?
My brows furrowed at the shorter-than-expected mission.
I did not know exactly where this knight-order outpost was located, but traveling from here to the Fortress City Roben would take a full day. Only now did I understand why Lancelot was hurrying so much.
Well then.
The capital of the Northern Empire, Fortress City Roben, and… Lancelot’s mother.
Let us go meet them now.