Blooming
Day by day, I began to grow accustomed to Master's sword.
Crack!
"Argh!"
But growing accustomed didn't mean I stopped getting hit. There was a reason she was counted among the strongest swordsmen on the continent. For a greenhorn like me to read her blade and block it was, frankly, impossible.
Still… I was improving, little by little. Only little by little. My reactions were a fraction faster than before, and that alone was enough for Master to lavish praise on me.
"You improve by the day. I've never seen a rate of growth this astonishing."
"…For all that praise, all I seem to do is get hit."
"The fact that you can even see my sword at your level is absurd to begin with."
"Well, fair enough."
Master let out a disbelieving laugh, as if to say, What did you expect?
"I was going all out within the limits of not using mana, and yet you've already started sensing the presence of my blade."
"Of course. It shows in your stance. Every subtle shift of muscle."
"It's almost frightening. Once you achieve Blooming, how far will that awareness expand…"
"Speaking of which—you said we'd begin training for Blooming starting today, didn't you?"
At my question, Master nodded.
"Yes. Blooming is a realm you can only reach once the body itself is complete. So you must push your flesh to its absolute limit in a place where the concentration of mana is as high as possible."
I'd figured there would be some training method like that. This might be a romance fantasy world, but it was still a fantasy world. Of course there would be places with an exceptional density of mana—and around Valeria, such places were plentiful.
The Boundary Lands had appeared in the Empire's north in the first place because that overflowing mana concentration had begun to warp living things. Of course, mana wasn't purely a blessing. Creatures touched by it often grew vicious, which was the real problem. Power that depended on how you used it, poured into animals left with nothing but instinct, only amplified their nature—and so they became monsters.
"Then follow me. No time like the present."
"Gladly."
I trailed after Master with a bright grin.
"Are you that pleased?"
"Of course. Moving forward always makes a person happy."
"Honestly. I've seen countless people in my time, but outside of myself, I've never met anyone as mad for the sword as you."
"That's a compliment, right?"
"It most certainly is. That said… you're going to suffer considerably. Are you still all right with that?"
"Yes."
Suffering was a given. I knew that for a person to grow, they inevitably had to pass through some kind of trial. When I shared that thought with her, Master's expression shifted in a curious way.
"In many respects, you are nothing like a noble young lady."
"I'll take that as a compliment too."
"Heh. Very well."
The place Master led me to was a snow-covered mountain. Just looking up at those towering peaks sent a distant chill through me, and I shivered without meaning to.
"This is it. The mountain range where mana gathers to an abnormal degree, dividing the Boundary Lands from Valeria. The Skadir Mountains."
Looking closer, it wasn't a single mountain at all, but a vast range sprawling out before us. The fog had been so thick I hadn't seen it properly at first.
…It was immense, no question.
And I could feel the presence of countless things, continuously.
"There are a lot of presences."
"You can feel them?"
"Yes. So I have to survive here."
"That's right. For someone starting later than most to reach Blooming quickly, you need to be driven to the extreme."
"It's exactly what I wanted."
"I'll say it again—there will be no help from me. Whether you live or die, I will not intervene."
That was better. A safety net in the back of your mind only dulled desperation. What I needed now was that desperation, and the keen senses required to survive in this brutal world. I had to hone those senses and cultivate the ruthlessness to take life. You couldn't expect a cradle from nature.
The monsters here would show me no consideration. Whether I was the young lady of Berce or anything else, here I was nothing more than one frail human being.
"Hold out until the sun sets. You'll repeat that every day from now on."
"All right."
"Not a trace of fear on you."
"If I can't even handle monsters, how am I supposed to reach the realm of Blooming?"
"Are you taking monsters lightly? There are monsters out there that even a Bloomed swordsman can't withstand."
"No. Of course monsters that strong exist. But the fact that you brought me all the way here means there are only monsters I can just barely overcome, doesn't it?"
As long as Master had called this "training," the harshness would still fall within the bounds of training. Master seemed pleased that I'd seen through that, and she smiled.
"Correct. Your ability to assess a given situation is excellent as well. The kind of monster I mentioned does not exist here. Even so, do not let your guard down. You never know when a monster's claws might tear out your throat."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"I'll come around sunset. Endure as best you can. For reference—the higher you climb toward the summit, the denser the mana becomes. Remember that."
With those words, Master left.
The moment she was gone, I gripped my sword and stepped forward. The closer I got to the summit, the higher the mana concentration?
That meant I would climb near the peak, no matter what. If I failed today, then tomorrow. If I failed tomorrow, then the day after. Keep challenging the summit, again and again.
My drive to improve surged wildly. Every step forward felt light. Just imagining what I would become after Blooming made it impossible to settle my body. If I took mana into myself and my view of the world widened another degree—how much of Master's sword would I be able to see then? And how much of my distant ancestor's sword would I be able to recreate?
All of that anticipation set my whole body alight. It felt like dopamine was spiking out of control.
Around me, the monsters—having sensed that Master's presence had vanished—were gradually closing in.
How to fight monsters? I didn't know. But that was the sort of thing you learned by colliding with them.
A wolf-like monster lunged at me. Its movements etched themselves into my eyes with perfect clarity—which muscles moved how, which parts were vulnerable. With my focus wrenched to its absolute limit, time itself seemed to slow.
I drove my blade straight into the maw of the creature charging me. Even that motion flowed by in slow motion, but I paid it no mind.
Crunch!
The next monster was bear-shaped. The white-furred beast of the snowfields came at me with a mane like blades, swinging a massive paw. The thought hit me that one solid hit from that enormous foot would shatter my body.
I yanked my sword free and dropped low at once. The bear monster's vast sole skimmed just over my head.
I felt a laugh rise unbidden. Bitter cold. A situation where my life hung by a thread at any moment. And even so, I found myself enjoying it. I could feel just how far gone I was—and I liked that so much I laughed.
Having chosen the path of the sword, of course I had no choice but to walk the edge of a blade.
I rose from my crouch and severed the bear monster's arm clean through with my sword. The instant its roar rang out, another monster charged me.
I'd never fought monsters before, and yet it wasn't difficult—probably because I had already faced Master's sword. Her blade was on a completely different level from these monsters' yawn-inducingly slow attacks.
After the bear, all manner of beasts began baring their fangs at me. A tiger-like monster. A lion-like monster… The fact that creatures like these shared the same mountain was absurd in itself. With species this different, shouldn't they be tearing into each other?
Apparently they were far more wary of an outsider who had entered the mountain. Whether they thought I was a threat to their harmonious little ecosystem, or something else entirely.
Swish—
I struck the neck of the tiger monster lunging at me and sent its head flying. Only a faint sound, and the severed tiger's neck. A satisfied smile touched my lips. Even I had to admit it had been a clean cut. Master would be pleased if she saw it—or maybe she'd just tell me to strive harder.
Either way.
"ROOOAAAR!"
Next came the bear monster, one arm gone, bellowing as it charged. Having lost an arm, its balance was slightly broken. That made it easy.
I slipped past the remaining arm as it flailed wildly, drove into its body, and leapt as if performing acrobatics to cut its head clean off. Twisting mid-leap to slash the throat of the lion monster that had aimed for the opening I left—that was just a bonus.
What was this, a zoo?
Clearing four monsters didn't take long. After moving so hard, the cold I'd felt until moments ago was gone. I climbed the mountain with light steps. Even after that intense exertion, I felt no fatigue at all. Without realizing it, I might already be under the influence of the mana.
I wondered what kind of horrors waited near the summit.
With light steps, I climbed on.