Artifact Investigation (2)
Artifact Investigation (2)
It was glaringly obvious that a massive amount of money had been poured into the knights' training ground beside the mansion.
A small, artificially created forest surrounded the training ground, completely blocking any view of the inside from the outside.
Even the weapons resting on the racks along one side of the training ground gleamed as if they had just been forged.
The rest of the place was no different.
Yet despite the training ground's immaculate upkeep, not a single knight or soldier was in sight.
Only one person was waiting for us in the center of the training ground.
He was a middle-aged knight clad in full plate armor.
He bore a resemblance to the Marquis, but the aura he exuded was entirely different.
If the Marquis looked like a merchant, the man standing before us looked every inch a knight, no matter who was looking at him.
I knew who he was without anyone having to say a word.
It was Sir Sergio, the Marquis's younger brother and the marquisate's head knight commander.
The sword in the knight commander's hand had to be the 'Divine Sword of Pisen'.
The Grand Archduchess greeted him on our behalf.
"I am Frida. Thank you for granting us permission."
"I am Sergio."
The knight commander returned the Grand Archduchess's greeting with a knight's etiquette. Yet he did not accept her gratitude.
"There is no need to thank me. It is only natural for a noble to keep his word once he has given it. Besides, this was a promise stemming from a duel. The party at fault will simply have to take responsibility."
It seemed the loser of the duel would have to take on far more responsibility than I had expected.
If he were an ordinary knight commander, things might have been different, but the one saying this was the Marquis's younger brother—Gael's own uncle.
It felt like Gael would receive a far harsher scolding from the knight standing before us than from the Marquis himself.
"Even so, I did not expect you to step forward yourself. Thank you once again."
At the Grand Archduchess's words, the knight commander shook his head.
"This fellow is difficult for others to handle. To demonstrate its capabilities properly, I must do it myself. But we need someone with enough skill to face me..."
As he spoke, he looked over our group.
He seemed slightly impressed when he saw the Princess holding her sword, then tilted his head in confusion when he noticed Joachim.
Finally, his gaze settled on me, and the knight commander continued.
"Ah, so there is someone. Don't tell me Gael dared to challenge that young man?"
Everyone nodded, and the knight commander let out a deep sigh.
"Gael has truly lost his mind. It seems taking responsibility alone won't be enough. I told him repeatedly to develop an eye for judging people, but it looks like we'll have to start by completely restructuring his attitude..."
With every passing minute, the punishment for the Marquis's son was piling up. At this rate, I wondered if he would even be able to return to the Academy.
It seemed we'd finished most of the small talk.
Since the spar was next, I took a step forward.
"As you may know, although this sword is called a divine sword, it is not a true divine sword. A true divine sword is the weapon wielded by the Holy Knight, who was said to have received the blessing of the gods as one of the heroes. As you know, that sword has been lost, and no one knows where it is now."
But the talking wasn't over yet.
I wanted to start sparring right away, but the knight commander had begun explaining the sword's origins.
Since our original purpose for coming here was an artifact investigation, I had no choice but to wait until he finished speaking.
"When this sword was first discovered, there was quite a stir over whether it might be that very divine sword, but unfortunately, it was not."
It was understandable that they had mistaken it for one. It did possess an ability similar to that of a divine sword.
"Even though it is not a divine sword, it is still an exceptionally magnificent weapon, even setting aside its similar ability."
It had been mistaken for a divine sword because of that similar ability, but it still couldn't compare to the real thing.
Since then, no one had mistaken it for the real thing, and I hadn't harbored any such expectations either.
But just then, a different voice echoed in my head.
The Ego Dagger had started to chatter.
[It's definitely not a divine sword, but somehow... it feels similar to one. It doesn't seem entirely unrelated...]
'Hey, even if other people mistake it for one, you shouldn't get confused.'
[There is definitely some connection. I swear it on my own body.]
The dagger even made a bizarre oath.
'What are you going to do by swearing on your body? You belong to me anyway.'
Setting aside the bizarre oath, the dagger's words left my mind in a tangle.
A sword unrelated to it, yet somehow connected—not a hero's artifact itself.
What should I do about this?
Just then, the Grand Archduchess spoke up.
"May I take a look at that sword?"
Ah, there was that method.
Just as with the dagger, I would be able to tell once I held the sword.
"Of course, you are welcome to examine it."
The knight commander readily handed the sword to the Grand Archduchess.
After the Grand Archduchess had inspected the sword, I took it from her so I could return it to the knight commander.
Before handing it back, I gripped the hilt and channeled my mana into it, but I saw no illusions and heard no voices.
It didn't react like the dagger.
Instead, I had to listen to the dagger chatter away in my head.
[I said it was connected, I didn't say it was a divine sword. Did you really think that would work?]
I had to shut the dagger up once again.
Still, channeling my mana allowed me to grasp the sword's capabilities.
Despite being called a difficult sword to handle, it accepted mana exceptionally well and seemed remarkably easy to wield.
After returning the sword, we were finally able to begin the spar.
Joachim also wanted to fight, but the knight commander turned down his request.
Though his demeanor was entirely that of a knight, his calculations were precise.
As I held my sword and faced him, I could sense the knight commander's true strength.
The claim that he was the strongest expert in the marquisate was no exaggeration.
He was one of the most skilled noble knights I had ever encountered.
He was stronger than the knight commander of our Gracia Dukedom and the senior knights of the Royal Knights.
Though an exact comparison was difficult, he seemed even stronger than Vid, the imperial knight I had killed.
Without a doubt, he was one of the strongest knights in the entire kingdom.
But he was not as strong as the Twenty-Year-Old Hero.
Nor was he stronger than the Duke of Gracia or the Duke of Ceuta.
And I felt I could definitely put up a good fight against him.
"Strange. The more I look at you, the harder it is to gauge your depth. This has rarely happened to me before. Surely, you can't be on par with me."
Standing before me, the knight commander tilted his head in puzzlement.
I didn't bother answering him. I only needed to show him during the spar.
I couldn't afford to fight half-heartedly this time.
There was no telling when I might get another opportunity like this. I had to draw out my opponent's full capabilities.
Fortunately, Knight Commander Sergio didn't seem to have an eye as keen as the Duke of Ceuta's.
Since I was fighting with an ordinary longsword this time, I could only hope he wouldn't catch on during the spar.
"The reason the sword of the hero known as the Holy Knight was called a divine sword was partly that he was a Holy Knight, but also because of the sword's unique ability."
Still talking?! I thought he was just a kind knight who explained artifacts well, but he was actually an incredibly talkative middle-aged man.
"A sword that ignores defenses made of mana, a sword that pierces through the mana barriers of powerful monsters—seeing that, everyone called his weapon a divine sword."
I knew all about the Divine Sword, too.
I still had an embarrassing memory of shouting out loud, 'This is just a defense-ignoring, def-ignore sword!' the moment I first heard about it.
"This sword possesses a similar ability, so I advise you to be careful during our fight."
Ah, he wasn't just a talkative middle-aged man. He was a kind knight, warning me about the sword's ability beforehand to prevent any accidents.
But I had already figured that out when I channeled mana into the sword. I knew its limits and exactly how to use it.
The talking was finally over. He offered me the first move.
"Come."
This time, I followed his lead.
I infused my longsword with mana, and—
Thud.
I lunged forward.
My vision shifted, and I swung my sword instinctively.
"Fast!"
A startled exclamation brushed past my ear.
Regrettably, my blade met no resistance.
I hadn't expected him to fall for an attack of this level anyway.
Swish.
This time, the opponent's sword came flying at me. Although it was infused with mana, it was difficult to track with the naked eye.
I had to perceive it through mana and pure instinct.
Throwing myself to the side, I swung my sword to deflect his blade.
Clang!
Though I managed to deflect the strike, the impact rattled my entire body.
I quickly retreated.
Fortunately, he didn't pursue me.
"You are far beyond what I expected... No, 'beyond' doesn't even begin to cover it. At any rate, your skill is unbelievable. Where on earth did a knight like you come from?"
He stared at me with wide, astonished eyes.
And even though I was still just an Academy student, he was already treating me as a fully fledged knight.
I wasn't using my dedicated sword, and many of my abilities were sealed. But unlike my encounters with the two Dukes or the Twenty-Year-Old Hero, this was a fight I could actually handle.
The problem was that sword.
"I almost want to fight you with a different sword. But after all, the point is to demonstrate this sword's ability."
A degraded version of the Divine Sword.
"Though it falls short of the true divine sword, this blade can also alter its master's mana to pierce through an opponent's mana barrier."
"It was a disappointing sword that only worked against monsters, but after many years of using it, I found a way to apply it against humans as well."
Another explanation?
I decided to look on the bright side and take it as him giving my body time to recover.
"Since humans do not possess mana barriers, they block attacks with shields, blades, or armor instead. So I decided to use this sword to pierce those armaments rather than a mana barrier."
Having experienced it firsthand, I didn't feel as though he had pierced through my sword to attack me. Rather, it felt as if the mana imbued in his blade had flowed backward and struck my body.
It was like the 'Penetration Qi' that attacks the internal organs, which I had read about in martial arts novels in my past life.
If so, then perhaps the true divine sword's ability wasn't actually to ignore defense, but rather to reverse the flow of mana.
But the true divine sword's ability wasn't something I needed to worry about right now.
Now that I knew my opponent's ability, I had to find a way to counter it.
And I already had one method prepared.
'I really hope he doesn't notice.'
"If it becomes too difficult to endure, speak up immediately. If you suffer internal damage, even potions will have a hard time curing it later."
As I raised my sword again, he stopped talking and raised his own.
The sword he held seemed to emit a brilliant radiance.
And in my eyes, my own blade was glowing red as well.
I dashed forward once more and swung my sword.
Seeing me swing so recklessly, the knight commander clicked his tongue softly.
He raised his sword to block mine.
Clang!
Our blades clashed, and mana began to flow in from his sword.
But I kept my sword moving.
"How?!"
I saw the knight commander's eyes widen in shock.
The knight commander was astonished, but to me, it was only natural.
My longsword was thinly enveloped in an invisible sword aura.
It was the ability Katrin had passed down to me, 'Mana Materialization'.
It was the act of transforming mana into a completely different physical form.
Just like fireballs and lightning created from mana, it had already been physically manifested.
Even if his sword could pierce through raw mana, it couldn't pierce through this manifested form.
[So that's why the Holy Knight avoided sparring with my first master every single time. Now I finally understand.]
'If you knew something like that, you should have told me beforehand. As expected, you're a useless sword.'
I joyfully continued the battle.
Since my dedicated sword was sealed, I had no choice but to fight using my current mana cultivation technique and swordsmanship.
And since he was fighting on equal terms with a mere youngster, he couldn't afford to hold back either.
'Now, come on, spit out your family's hidden secrets.'
Just as I expected, the knight commander swung his sword desperately, and I eagerly showed off my skills.
We were so absorbed in our clash that we didn't notice my teammates, who had come with me, watching the fight in absolute awe.
Nor did we notice the butler and the other knights who had gathered to watch as time passed.
Unaware that the crowd of spectators was growing, the knight commander and I continued our battle.
The spar continued for over an hour, until the knight commander finally lowered his sword in exhaustion.
Once the spar ended, the knight commander and I were both astonished to see so many people watching us.
I thanked him first.
"Thank you for sparring with me. Even though there is a vast difference in our skills, you were very considerate. I learned a great deal."
At my greeting, he hesitated.
It was only natural.
While it was true that I had learned a lot, there was no real gap between our skills.
"How did my ability not work on you?"
"It was because of an artifact."
I used an artifact as an excuse.
"Does such an artifact exist?"
"Yes, but it has a time limit, so I cannot use it for long."
When I said that, he let out a sigh of relief.
Only after I spun a tale about a non-existent artifact and added a time limit did the knight commander finally feel at ease.
It had to be that way.
Both he and I knew.
Who the true winner of this spar was.
With the Divine Sword's ability effectively sealed, he was no match for me.