Chapter 53
Chapter 53
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Greed Invites Poison (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I gripped my sword calmly and stared at Damian.
Even without circulating a shred of mana, not a single gap was visible.
‘Even if I use Insight Eye, it won’t make much difference.’
No matter how many times I charged at him with pure swordsmanship, it would be utterly useless against Damian.
‘That leaves only one answer.’
This was a test Damian had set for me.
The solution wasn’t defeating him. He knew well enough that I couldn’t beat him.
What he wanted to see was potential.
What I was capable of, and whether I had the bud of growth.
That was the purpose of this test.
“Huuu.”
I exhaled deeply, tensing my muscles.
After putting some distance between us, I dashed straight at Damian in one go.
“That footwork…….”
For the first time, Damian reacted.
It made sense—he might have recognized it since Meteor Step blended elements of Gransesia’s Holy Heaven Martial Extreme.
‘Silver Star Sword, latter half, third form: Meteor!’
A silver line stretched out long, thrusting sharply toward Damian in an instant.
Saaaaak!
But my attack was gently deflected before it could even reach his neck. It twisted away smoothly, without so much as a metallic clang.
‘I expected as much.’
I let go of the sword right then. It spun away in a wide arc.
Damian hesitated for a moment, clearly not expecting me to release it.
Seizing that opening, I swung my clenched fist upward toward his chin.
“Petty trick!”
Despite the sudden ambush, Damian snapped irritably and swung his sword vertically, striking my wrist with the hilt.
“Kuk!”
“If you think such sleight of hand will……!”
Pang!
The sound of compressed air rang out, shaking Damian’s helmet.
‘Attacks with the left hand were just bait.’
Of course, the fist carried some real power, infused with the principles of Holy Heaven Martial Extreme, so Damian had no choice but to fall for it.
But the real strike was in my right hand—the one that had released the sword.
A drop of blood gathered on my extended index finger and fell to the floor.
Blood Dagger.
Even Damian couldn’t easily block a close-range shot like that, I thought.
And my prediction hit the mark.
‘Wow, but he dodged that in the midst of it all?’
I’d aimed for the center of his helmet. Since it was mithril, I figured it could withstand the hit.
Yet Damian twisted his head at the last second and evaded.
Not perfectly— it grazed the side of his helmet with a solid strike.
“……A dangerous technique.”
Damian, who had been furious at my fist attack, now sounded calmer.
“I thought you’d abandoned your sword in desperation and swung wildly, but I was mistaken.”
“I’m not the type to give up that easily.”
“Indeed.”
Though hidden by his helmet, it felt like Damian was smiling.
After staring at me for a moment, he sheathed his sword.
“We’ll end the test here. You’re certainly qualified. Talent isn’t everything. You have courage, exceptional mental fortitude, and outstanding instincts.”
“Th-thank you.”
I hadn’t expected such high praise, so I felt a bit embarrassed.
‘Ouch, that hurts.’
Feeling good was one thing, but the throbbing pain in my arm was another. As I rubbed my forearm, Damian gestured lightly.
“I have some old medicine left from my living days. Follow me for now.”
I’d sensed it from the start, but Damian was surprisingly kind and diligent. Even as a Death Knight, he kept emergency supplies on hand despite no longer needing them.
After roughly applying ointment to my arm and wrapping it in bandages, Damian stared at it intently before speaking.
“Alright, let’s talk about that spar just now. The foundation of your movements—is it Holy Heaven Martial Extreme?”
He seemed eager to discuss the recent bout right away.
‘He saw through it, huh.’
No wonder they said he admired Gransesia.
I’d only used a tiny fragment of Holy Heaven Martial Extreme, yet he recognized it instantly. He must know it inside and out.
“Yes.”
“I noticed from the punch aimed at your waist. I thought it was just sloppy play, though. Who’d have thought it was all an act.”
He nodded to himself, convinced.
‘It wasn’t an act.’
I’d been a bit clumsy since I was focused on my right hand, but the punch had real intent behind it.
“I thought it was already lost to history…… So the Atel family secretly passed it down.”
He even guessed how I’d learned Holy Heaven Martial Extreme and seemed satisfied with his own theory.
“Clay Banheart.”
“Yes, Sir Damian.”
“You said you want to learn my Single Moon Divine Sword?”
“Yes.”
Among the prerequisites for obtaining Single Moon Divine Sword, the top priority was the first: fifty guided spars.
The second—mastering at least one ultimate technique—could be done gradually later, so it was less urgent.
‘And Rugal…… No point worrying about that now.’
I decided to table that issue for the moment.
Ultimately, I couldn’t add settings if I didn’t land the finishing blow on Dark Lord Rugal, but at least I could learn swordsmanship directly from Damian for a while.
“Good. Then let’s begin immediately.”
“Thank you, Sir Damian!”
“But steel yourself.”
Damian patted my deeply bowed shoulder and said,
“Lady Gransesia once said it: strength without pain is impossible. From now on, I’ll be your pain.”
The words were chilling just to hear, but Gransesia, who’d been silent until then, spoke up cheerfully.
[Wow, he still remembers that? I said it often.]
‘……Really?’
Unlike the delighted Gransesia, I couldn’t smile.
Damian seemed dead serious.
* * *
Nior Bellun was in a foul mood.
He never imagined the Timons Merchant Group would repay their debt to the Bellun Count family so quickly.
‘Did the Banheart family have that much money?’
Impossible. If they did, their retainers wouldn’t have abandoned them.
As Nior brooded deeply, a servant’s report provided the answer.
“The Banheart family and Timons Merchant Group have been going in and out of Kitten Forest lately.”
“Kitten Forest?”
“They say there’s a mine.”
He’d never heard of a mine in Kitten Forest.
Even if there was one, what of it? The fairies’ magic would have them circling the entrance endlessly, never reaching it.
“The Timons Merchant Group has been recruiting laborers recently, so it must be true. They’re even seeking experienced mithril miners.”
“M-Mithril?!”
Finding a mithril mine meant instant riches.
Nior’s shock was understandable.
“Yes, it’s certain. There’s definitely a mithril mine in Kitten Forest.”
“If that’s true…….”
If so, he’d burn the whole forest to the ground to claim it.
‘But it’s Banheart territory…… And the Timons group seems to have left our lands already.’
Nior rested his chin, deep in thought.
How could he screw over that Clay bastard and seize the mine?
‘The answer’s simple.’
According to the servant, Clay and Rabin visited Kitten Forest regularly.
Now was the perfect opportunity to strike.
‘The Banheart family has only that Clay left. If he dies, the territory will be vacant.’
The neighboring Bellun Count family could naturally absorb it.
Even if he had to cede most of the land, securing Kitten Forest would make it worthwhile.
“Summon the knights.”
“Yes?”
“Call Jack Bale too.”
“J-Jack, you say?”
“He’s perfect for this job.”
Nior licked his lower lip.
Just thinking of the gains ahead made his mouth water.
* * *
“A-Are you alright, my lord Count?”
“……I’m fine.”
I forced a smile at Rabin’s worried question, enduring the throbbing pain.
Honestly, a few steps made tears well up.
‘That crazy old coot.’
Scratch what I said about Damian being kind and diligent.
It was an act. How else could he turn so brutal?
‘My body isn’t complete yet? Lacking basic stamina?’
It’d been ages since anyone said that—not since I first became a knight. My fundamentals were supposedly solid.
Eaton and Gransesia had said so.
-First, to learn Single Moon Divine Sword, you need trained legs. Lose your center, and nothing works! Copy my stance from now on.
Damian said that and made me wear mithril armor. Even if mithril was lighter than normal metal, it was still metal.
Covering my whole body, the weight was immense.
-I say one, you say two.
Damian repeated lower body exercises with me endlessly.
I lost count around five hundred. I gave up then.
If he hadn’t allowed mana use, I’d have collapsed sooner.
-Exhausted already? Your training’s lacking.
Damian clicked his tongue.
-Lower body done? Next, swordsmanship. Draw your sword.
Only after basics could I learn Single Moon Divine Sword forms and mana circulation.
“Learning” was generous—I was too exhausted to remember what I did.
[Damian…… You’ve turned into a surprisingly good teacher.]
‘All good teachers are dead!’
Cursing Gransesia’s words, a thought struck me.
‘You didn’t train Damian like that, did you?’
[Of course. That’s basic basics. Legs are crucial.]
True, not wrong.
Not wrong, but…… Did it have to be so brutally straightforward?
[You have mana and Divine Blood, so you’re fine. Muscles expand and contract via blood flow, right? With Divine Blood, you’ll recover fast.]
As she said, soreness vanished after a day’s sleep.
‘Right…… This is all part of the blessing.’
Enduring this for Single Moon Divine Sword was natural.
I’d grown complacent, forgetting effort’s value. Yeah, that’s it.
“Anyway, my lord. Mining should start soon. I tested some ore—it’s very pure.”
Rabin pulled out a piece of mithril ore.
Freshly mined from the site, still warm.
“No other issues?”
“No, none in particular.”
I rubbed my chin with my thumb.
‘Strange. They should be reacting by now.’
That guy would’ve heard by now and made a move. We’d advertised labor recruitment openly—he couldn’t be that incompetent.