A Year Will Suffice
"Sss—"
"Hooo—"
Kaisent slowly closed the distance on the bare-handed knight, searching for an opening.
The moment he sensed the knight's eyes lose focus, he pivoted on his big toe and exploded forward in a sudden lunge.
But the knight had only feigned that lapse. A knee drove in hard and fast. Blows powerful enough to pulp a face if they landed even once came in a relentless chain, yet Kaisent poured strength into ankle and toes, cut diagonally, slipped past the knight's flank, and kicked the supporting ankle out from under him.
"Ugh!"
"Ha!"
Trained under Akina, the knight did not collapse from a single ankle kick, but his balance was gone. Kaisent dove into that opening, slipped past the guard, and drove an elbow up into the ribs.
"Gah!"
"That's enough!"
The knight crumpled. Akina, serving as referee, called the spar the instant the outcome was clear.
"Go get treated."
"Cough! Y-yes…"
The defeated knight limped off toward the fortress infirmary, where priests and mages stood ready.
"Isn't that the technique the lord just taught him?"
"What's with that kid? Did he learn it somewhere else and just pretend not to know?"
Once Akina had shown him how to pack mana into muscle for reinforcement, Kaisent had used the power of his toes to minimize movement and charge, snatching a clean victory. The knights therefore formed the reasonable suspicion that he had already known the technique and only pretended ignorance until she taught it.
Akina, who had personally transmitted the art and knew the truth, found herself sinking into troubled thought.
What do I do with this? At this pace, even if I hand over every secret I own, there will still be time left over.
His musculature was already at its peak; further physical drilling would only hinder growth. Every technique she taught was absorbed as his own the moment he learned it, and he was now stringing together wins against knights who had accumulated real combat experience under her command.
I thought it would take considerable time to truly digest a technique even after learning it.
She had believed five years would be enough for this boy to become a powerhouse whose name shook the world. Five years had been a complete miscalculation.
Five years? No. For this child, one year is enough.
Pivoting on the big toe to minimize motion and charge required formidable ankle and toe strength. Having never moved that way before, he should have needed time to grow accustomed. Kaisent had tried it twice and made the movement perfectly his own.
His learning speed is even faster than when I first saw him. It was already astonishing then—yet his talent has developed further still…
"Countess Akina. What should I learn next?"
"For the morning, let us simply repeat what you have learned and master it."
"I've only learned two techniques so far."
"Even so, repetitive mastery is necessary."
"Yes…"
Kaisent privately wondered whether such simple techniques truly required endless repetition, but these were arts Lillian and Priscilla could never have taught him, so he accepted it.
Akina, burdened with her duties as lord, announced she would handle territory affairs and make a patrol circuit, then left the training ground.
— Judging by Lady Akina's eyes and expression, she appears to be buying time because your talent exceeds her expectations. —
Artemis once again impressed upon the head-tilting Kaisent that his genius was far from ordinary.
— Still, what Lady Akina said is not wrong. Perfectly acquiring a technique and actually using it are separate matters. —
But it's boring.
— I shall relieve that boredom for you. —
She decided to transform the dull repetition into something far closer to real combat so that Kaisent would not simply grind the same techniques over and over.
— Please transfer control of your bio-device to me, Master. —
Okay.
Artemis seized control of the device and spun up an entirely new program in ten seconds.
— Complete. —
What is this?
— Run it. —
The moment the new program activated, numbers visible only to Kaisent began to count down. When they hit zero, a human-shaped figure—uniform in a single color from head to toe, a number floating above its head—materialized with a sword and lunged at him.
Knowing full well it was a device-generated hologram, Kaisent did not scream ungracefully, yet something attacking still made him leap aside on pure reflex.
— You must not dodge like that. Counter with Helix Flow. —
Ah.
— Master, when an enemy suddenly attacks, you have a strong tendency to simply evade. Evasion is fine, but if you allow pursuit the situation turns grave. With Helix Flow you need not merely dodge—you can defend and counterattack in the same motion. —
When the hologram closed again, Kaisent called up Helix Flow, parried the strike, and answered with a counter. The hologram vanished on impact, only for another to generate at once—this time armed with a spear.
— Unlike reality, you cannot feel the hologram's force, so I have displayed combat power on the face. As difficulty rises, stronger opponents wielding more varied weapons will appear. You should be able to hone real combat sense with this. —
Yeah. Thanks, Artemis.
Kaisent gripped a wooden training sword, knocked aside the thrust of the combat-power-2 spear hologram, and counterattacked. Thereafter holograms of random combat ratings kept spawning; he used Helix Flow to parry or block, then struck back. The higher the difficulty climbed, the steeper the jumps in combat power became, and the numbers multiplied until enemies were attacking from both flanks at once.
"Hey, that kid."
"What is it? Shadow training?"
"He's moving as if real enemies are standing right in front of him."
Shadow training meant conjuring imaginary foes inside the mind and sparring against them. Those unskilled at the method could only produce stiff, simple phantoms. Kaisent's movements were so vivid that even onlookers felt the presence of enemies.
"You can see the Helix Flow currents distorting the air around him."
"To control that much power while doing shadow training…"
"Has he already practiced shadow training somewhere? How else could the movements look so real?"
Even knights who had performed shadow training themselves could only marvel. Unaware that Artemis's virtual program was responsible, they were forced to admit that Akina's eye for talent had not been wrong—watching him wield Helix Flow so close to actual combat left no other conclusion.
"Tch. I don't like it. Some bug-like otherworlder…"
"Hey, keep that talk out of the Countess's hearing."
"I know!"
Yet jealousy still surfaced among some knights: an otherworlder of unknown origin monopolizing Akina's favor and, worse, displaying talent that justified it. Ordinarily Kaisent would have wilted under such open hatred and envy; right now the training program held his entire attention.
Helix Flow demanded ever greater concentration the more mana was poured into controlling its force. Even so, rather than dialing his inner energy up or down to match each opponent, Kaisent released a strong flow from the outset, locked the currents under control, and pushed Artemis's program into the higher difficulties.
Time enough for ordinary knights to lose focus and watch their currents collapse had already passed when Akina returned.
With this I can buy time… Hm? What is that?
She had been devising ways to train him while also buying herself breathing room. What she found was shadow training so vivid it looked as though enemies truly stood before him.
That is not shadow training.
From the precision of his movements and the tracking of his eyes she understood: real enemies were appearing and vanishing in front of him again and again. The problem was that none of them could see those enemies.
"You."
"Yes, Countess."
"How long has that child been training without pause?"
"He has continued without rest since you left, Countess."
"Until now…"
She had been gone roughly an hour. In that span he had controlled currents of that strength while training?
His concentration is outstanding, but more than that—his body already remembers how to control the currents. A technique he learned less than a day ago…!
Learning a technique and having the body know it are entirely different matters. She had ordered repetitive mastery simply to buy time, yet he had already reached this level!
As expected—if I train this child by ordinary methods, even the family's secret techniques will be stripped bare.
One might argue she could simply refuse to teach him further. Her own greed would never permit it. Watching him move and swing as though facing ever-higher difficulties, Akina found herself looking forward to whatever result would emerge once this training ended.
"Was lunch tasty?"
"Yes."
Having sweated through the morning and made both Helix Flow and the toe-pivot charge fully his own, Kaisent sat with Akina. She made no attempt to hide her affection for him in front of everyone present.
"Unfortunately I cannot spare you time this afternoon—I must train the captain and vice-captain."
"Then it can't be helped."
Preferring that everyone grow stronger together rather than himself alone, Kaisent began considering how to spend the afternoon.
"So I thought you might pass the time here."
She led him to a building set somewhat apart from the rest and opened the door.
"Wowww~!"
The moment he saw the interior he cried out as though he had discovered a mountain of treasure. A library holding what looked like several thousand volumes stretched before his eyes.
"As an otherworlder you are critically short of information about this world. Even what you hear from others has limits."
"Yes, that's right!"
"Therefore spend the afternoon accumulating knowledge here. The first floor holds information close to common sense, the second floor novels, the third floor various forms of knowledge that are not easily obtained."
"Then can I learn magic as well?"
"Of course. What you choose to study first is up to you, but I recommend learning our world's knowledge as thoroughly as possible. Your appearance is nearly identical to ours; once you master basic common sense, people will no longer think of you as an otherworlder."
To Akina it was heartbreaking that a child of such genius should face discrimination simply for being from another world.
"And if you wish to find the woman named Dang Seol-yeong, you will need to know which magic realm she is in."
"Thank you so much, Countess Akina. I'll repay this favor no matter what it takes later!"
The sight of the small, adorable boy who barely reached her waist clenching his tiny fists was already more than enough for her.
Ahh~! Why is he so cute! Should I just forget the son-in-law plan and adopt him outright!?
Her daughters had grown too old to cling to her affectionately anymore. Kaisent, though—even after he matured—would keep that cute face and probably still act spoiled, calling her "Mother~."
"Ah, my second daughter sometimes visits the library. I have already introduced you to my daughters, so if you happen to meet her, talk with her."
"Yes~ But can't I just meet the sisters properly?"
"Well… the eldest is far too timid, and the second has far too wild a personality… Besides, each has her own duties, so finding free time would be difficult."
Still unable to speak of her plan to take him as a son-in-law, she offered a convenient excuse.
If I tell him I intend to make him a son-in-law he will feel pressured. The girls are still angry as well. Once their tempers cool I will introduce them properly.
"If reading grows dull you may tour my castle. The card you carry will open every door except the most critical facilities."
"Thank you. But I like reading books."
"Is that so? I shall return around evening."
"Yes~"
Unable to restrain her desire at Kaisent's bright smile, Akina bent her knees and stroked his head.
"Hehe. It tickles."
Even though she—larger than an ordinary adult—was the one petting him, Kaisent smiled as though the touch felt pleasant. Memories of children who had flinched and cried whenever she approached had long been a quiet trauma; now Kaisent's smile drew an answering smile from her without her noticing.
No matter how coldly I try to treat him, I simply cannot manage it with this child. Even my own daughters never affected me quite this much…
She reined in the longing to dote on him forever, left her regret behind, and went to train Lillian and Priscilla.
Alone in the vast library, Kaisent could not hide the excitement of standing inside a true treasure house of knowledge.
First—information on the magic realms!
— You seek the woman named Dang Seol-yeong. Honestly, I am quite looking forward to meeting her. What sort of person could have changed the timid, introverted Master into what you are now? —
You'll be satisfied when you see her too, Artemis.
The books were arranged by shelf; he searched for those dealing with terrain. Reaching the world-geography section, Kaisent began flipping pages at high speed.
Artemis. You're recording everything, right?
— Yes. No problem. —
Had he been acquiring knowledge at leisure he would have read each volume carefully. With limited time and the need to locate anything related to Dang Seol-yeong, he had the device scan the contents instead. After scanning hundreds of books in moments, he carried a chair into the dimensional warehouse and began reading the scanned texts one by one inside.
— Master. Finding Lady Dang Seol-yeong is important, yet acquiring this world's knowledge is equally so. —
"I know. The information I already have about that forest is fragmentary anyway, so I have to read carefully, piece by piece."
Because time inside the warehouse flowed ten times slower than reality, he could read without urgency. Possessing far greater memory and comprehension than ordinary humans, he employed speed-reading that discarded ornamental phrasing and extracted only the core of each text, rapidly making this world's knowledge his own.
Wait for me, Noona. I will definitely come find you.
Now stably training under Akina and steadily acquiring knowledge, Kaisent was certain that everything he learned here would serve him for a lifetime. While hunting for any clue that might lead him to Dang Seol-yeong, he diligently absorbed the knowledge of this world.