Chapter 5
Chapter 5
What would it be like if a high school student had to attend elementary school?
If they had to study together with young children?
“Man, this is so embarrassing.”
Mord was feeling something beyond that right now.
His body was that of a fifteen-year-old boy, and that alone would be enough to feel extremely embarrassed among elementary division trainees, most of whom were between six and ten years old.
Let alone the fact that his mind was that of a twenty-seven-year-old man.
“Why did I do that?”
A wave of intense regret washed over him.
Maybe he should have just ignored martial arts and combat techniques and gone straight to the advanced division?
“This is insane. I need to get out of here as soon as possible.”
But the choice had already been made, and now it was time to take responsibility for it.
Because there were so many elementary division trainees, they were divided into a total of twenty classes, with each class having about fifty students.
“There are even more people than in my elementary school class.”
As Mord recalled his childhood, it was then.
“Hey, just how incompetent are you to be part of the Bernas bloodline and still end up here at your age?”
A boy who was slightly larger than the other trainees approached and suddenly hurled an insult.
And he didn’t just stop at words. He was even kicking Mord’s shin with the tip of his foot.
“Look at this brat’s attitude.”
If it were just a nuisance kick, there wouldn’t be that much force behind it. A normal person would probably scream and collapse.
But Mord’s body was as solid as steel, so it only felt like a light tap.
“Who are you?”
Among the elementary division trainees, he was relatively large.
But even so, he was only a little over 150 centimeters tall, so to Mord, he looked no different from a tiny kid.
“What the hell! Don’t you lower your eyes? I’m the class leader here.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Mord replied indifferently, and the class leader’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“You big useless guy, don’t even understand your place just because you’re older—”
Mord didn’t bother listening to the end.
He threw a punch.
Whoooosh!
A chilling sound of air being split rang out.
“…….”
Silence fell.
It was truly a terrifying strike. Everyone thought the class leader’s head was about to be crushed.
Given the spectators’ reactions, there was no need to mention how the class leader himself felt.
The class leader swallowed hard and shifted his eyes to the side. Then he saw a massive fist right beside his head.
“Hey, kid.”
Mord opened his hand, grabbed the class leader’s head, and lifted him up.
His hands were so large that he could hold the class leader’s head with one hand and still have room to spare.
“Uh, uh……”
The class leader flustered and panicked.
But that only lasted a moment. Upon meeting Mord’s gaze, he stiffened.
“I won’t be here for long.”
Mord said, slightly irritated.
“I’m already annoyed as it is, so don’t provoke me. I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a kid.”
“…….”
“Are you not going to answer?”
“I, I got it!”
As soon as Mord frowned, the reply came out instantly.
Mord let the class leader go and took a seat away from the other trainees. As he approached, everyone moved away in fear, leaving him alone with plenty of space.
With just one punch into the air, Mord had established dominance over the elementary division.
“Ugh, this is embarrassing.”
But it had been necessary.
It was embarrassing enough already to be learning alongside a bunch of kids, so dragging out a hierarchy struggle with them would only be exhausting and irritating.
So it was best to settle everything in one move right from the start.
However, after showing off his strength in front of a group of young kids, he felt like he wanted to find a hole to crawl into and hide.
“…Can’t be helped. It’s a trial I have to go through.”
It was extremely rare for an illegitimate child of the Bernas bloodline to enter the elementary division.
For a bastard to come to the Bernas Grand Ducal House meant that they had awakened their divine blood at the age of fifteen and survived.
At that point, they already possessed considerable strength. There would be no reason for them to learn basics alongside young children.
Still, Mord believed his choice was not wrong.
“Basics are the most important thing. You have to learn what you need to know.”
It was March.
The elementary division had already been running its curriculum for over a month this year.
But Instructor Hayes began calmly teaching Mord from the basics of martial arts, just as he had requested.
“You’ve never learned martial arts before?”
“Yes. But I do have mana.”
“That’s expected since you’ve awakened divine blood. Since you have mana, what I’m about to teach will come to you much more intuitively.”
According to scholars, there exists a spiritual substance in nature called ether.
When the human mind perceives and resonates with this ether, it generates energy called mana, allowing humans to interfere with the structure of the world.
“First, through visionary substances and special breathing techniques, you elevate your mind to perceive ether and generate mana… but you’ve already passed this stage.”
The next step is storing mana within the body.
By repeating this process, the body becomes more mana-friendly, eventually transforming into a vessel capable of storing large amounts of mana that can be controlled at will.
This entire process is essentially the foundation required to use martial arts, and it naturally takes quite a long time.
“You’ve already completed that as well. What the elementary division requires is the next step: basic mana control and sensory enhancement. Once you learn those, move on to the intermediate division.”
“Do I not need to learn combat techniques?”
“Combat techniques… do you want to stay here long enough to properly learn those?”
“…….”
At that question, Mord fell silent.
Honestly, he didn’t want that.
Hayes snorted.
“I’ll teach you a few basic movements, so repeat them and train on your own. If it’s not good enough, they’ll correct it in the intermediate division.”
“Understood.”
Mord didn’t bother asking why Hayes was giving him special treatment.
“He probably just sees potential since I’m of Bernas bloodline.”
Even as a bastard, the Bernas bloodline held great value.
If they were capable as warriors, they would be treated far better than others.
That wasn’t merely because the Bernas bloodline had strong potential.
In this world, there were things only those with divine blood could do.
Dealing with a disaster known as demonic world transformation.
Only those who had awakened divine blood could suppress this disaster without suffering any damage.
Without the power of divine blood, one could only watch helplessly as the disaster approached, unable to stop it until it began causing real harm.
And the damage it caused was immense.
At times, it could determine the fate of entire nations.
The Five Kingdoms of the western continent had attempted to obtain the divine blood of the God of War by forming blood ties with the Bernas Grand Ducal House. Yet even after a long time had passed since such attempts began, only the Bernas Grand Ducal House itself could fully inherit and manage the divine blood of the God of War.
That was the reason why the Five Kingdoms kept the Bernas Grand Ducal House, such a peculiar and powerful martial faction, in a neutral position.
Normally, elementary division classes lasted quite a long time.
Three hours in the morning and four hours in the afternoon, subjecting children to training that felt more like torture.
But that day’s atmosphere was strange.
Less than ten minutes after the class began, everyone had fallen into a vague, indescribable mood.
“Uh… Mord. You’ve completed the elementary division. Starting tomorrow, move on to the intermediate division.”
“…….”
All the elementary trainees looked at Mord in disbelief.
Even Instructor Hayes, who had offered congratulations, was no different.
That was because Mord had mastered sensory enhancement, the requirement for advancing to the intermediate division, in less than ten minutes.
“I shouldn’t have come to the elementary division……”
Mord regretted his decision.
If he had known this would happen, he wouldn’t have bothered coming here and enduring the embarrassment.
He had even asserted dominance over the kids, showing off his strength, only for it all to become meaningless in just ten minutes.
“Damn it.”
Mord looked up at the sky and cursed the unknown entity that had thrown him into this world.
In the end, Mord advanced to the intermediate division without even staying in the elementary division for ten minutes.
Although the Bernas Grand Ducal House’s warrior training system allowed for rapid promotion at any time, this was, without a doubt, the shortest record in history.
But the record-setting Mord returned to the lodging he had stayed in for the past two days and let out a deep sigh.
“Damn it. Who would have thought it would be this easy?”
The moment Hayes began teaching mana control, Mord was able to execute it immediately.
Not only that, but whenever Hayes explained methods for application and training, Mord followed along and mastered them instantly.
Within less than two minutes, Hayes had declared there was nothing more he could teach at the elementary level.
“Fine, I’ll accept that awakening divine blood explains it, but sensory enhancement is purely a technical skill, so shouldn’t that normally be difficult?”
There were many trainees who spent years trying to master it, yet why had Mord learned it in under a minute and fully grasped its application in about five minutes?
Talent differences were said to be cruel, but this seemed excessive no matter how one looked at it.
“Damn it. It’s already in the past, so let’s forget it. Sensory enhancement… it really is incredible. If I could use something like this on Earth, I’d dominate any sport.”
To escape his negative thoughts, Mord shifted his focus.
Sensory enhancement was indeed remarkable.
He could control the sensitivity of his five senses at will, and even accelerate his thoughts, effectively stretching his perceived time severalfold.
If an athlete had such an ability, they would easily become the best in any competitive field.
“But in this world, this level is something anyone can do.”
Mord was still a beginner in martial arts.
From here on, the challenges he would face would not be ordinary.
“The intermediate division won’t be easy. Physical strengthening is the essence of martial arts. Since I had such an easy start, even minor difficulties will feel significant from here on. I need to brace myself.”
Mord resolved again and again not to become overconfident.
It was a bright spring day with warm sunlight.
Since summer was approaching, clear days with few clouds felt somewhat hot. That was even more so for those training outdoors while sweating.
But now, everyone in the intermediate training grounds felt a chill.
The atmosphere was cold.
No, rather than cold…
“This is just awkward.”
Mord resisted the urge to cover his face with his hand.