Chapter 218
Chapter 218
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 218
Chapter Title: A Sharper Mind
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How does one become smarter?
It was a question he had never particularly pondered.
Throughout his life, he had rarely struggled to realize, know, remember, or understand something.
In fact, he was more the type to feel sympathy for those who couldn't grasp the obvious, and he focused his efforts on teaching and enlightening them.
Learning what you don't know is a simple matter of doing it, but how does one make their mind itself sharper?
Could it be that others were making special efforts in areas Loan had never cared about?
Thus, he decided it would be better to seek someone's help rather than trying to solve this problem on his own.
Loan solidified the Dark Priest's Convection around him, glanced inside the carriage, and confirmed that Sienna was awake.
He knocked gently on the door and spoke to Sienna.
“Sienna, may I come in?”
“…”
*It's not like he isn't allowed here. Why is he even asking?*
Sienna answered by opening the door just a crack.
Loan slipped inside the moving carriage.
“It was so quiet, I thought you might be asleep.”
“I was doing some research. It seems we haven't stopped at all. Any idea where we are?”
“Hard to say. I can't tell from the atmosphere outside. Administrator Berthelot said the situation in Le Dong is tricky, so we're deliberately taking a detour. We'll probably rest once we find a safe place.”
“I see.”
“What is it? You look like you have something to say.”
“Ah… well, there's something I'm curious about.”
“Go on.”
“What methods do people usually use to get smarter?”
The unexpected question caught Sienna off guard, leaving her speechless for a moment.
“…Are you messing with me?”
“What? No, of course not. I'm asking out of pure curiosity.”
“Why would you of all people need to get smarter?”
“So I can get even smarter.”
“…”
From Sienna's perspective, his words were utterly absurd.
“You know you're smarter than most people, right? Exceptionally so.”
“Yes.”
“And you, of all people, are asking me—someone less smart than you—how to get smarter, and you say you're not messing with me?”
“Why would you say you're not smart? You're brilliant. You've given me so many insights. It's like you taught me how to walk.”
“I did?”
Because Loan was so serious, Sienna couldn't get angry, nor could she laugh it off as a joke.
She let out a small sigh and said,
“I don't know any methods for getting smarter. I'm sure a lot of it is innate, but I suppose accumulating knowledge helps. That's why people study and read books.”
“Do swordsmen ever find their minds getting sharper when they practice mana cultivation or train hard in swordsmanship?”
“Hmm…”
Sienna hummed lightly, reflecting on her own experiences.
While it could be seen as an odd question, her small nod seemed like a positive sign.
“I doubt anyone trains with the specific goal of getting smarter. But it's also true that most of us do experience the effect you're talking about.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. The cause and effect might be reversed, but… anyway, it's hard to say they're completely unrelated. I've felt it myself at times.”
Having broached the subject, Sienna felt this might be a long conversation. She opened the window and glanced outside.
Just then, it began to rain.
Except for the area faintly illuminated by the night-light stone, the night was pitch black.
Despite that, Berthelot drove the carriage exceptionally well.
She wondered if it was okay to leave all the work to him, but then she remembered how he had insisted on driving, and she closed the window again.
Sienna began to recap the swordsmen's cultivation methods she had taught Loan before.
The goal for swordsmen and martial artists, who rely on their bodies, is to smoothly circulate their accumulated mana to assist necessary movements or to enhance their speed, strength, stamina, and destructive power.
Naturally, each sword style or martial art has an optimal way of using the body, and a corresponding mana cultivation method.
Swordsmanship requires deploying techniques appropriate for each moment, and since different techniques use different muscles and bones, mana must be circulated throughout the entire body to support them.
This isn't a condition limited to a specific sword style; it should be seen as a common prerequisite for most who use their bodies in combat.
“The basics are mostly similar, though they diverge slightly as you advance. But when you reach certain moments of enlightenment, you have similar experiences and can unleash similar powers.”
“I see.”
“That's why the stages of a swordsman are considered universal and applied to other professions. The Union's ranks are like that, too. You know our ranks are borrowed from terms describing the stages of swordsmanship, right?”
“Yes. Sword Runner, Sword Seeker, Sword Expert, and Sword Master.”
One is considered a Sword Runner when they can wield an Aura Sword that shimmers like a heat haze.
As the aura's density increases with continued training, one becomes able to use an Aura Blade, which is like a sword coated in light. This is the stage of a Sword Seeker.
“Right. Those names are usually distinguished by how much and how well a swordsman can handle their aura. A boundary of achievement, you could say. I'm a Runner in the Union, but in terms of swordsmanship alone, I believe I've entered the Seeker stage.”
Sienna seemed embarrassed by her own words and subtly averted her gaze.
Until recently, Sienna couldn't use an Aura Blade, the hallmark of a Seeker.
She was on the weaker side, even among Runners.
The faintness of her aura's shimmer had even upset Loan once.
But hearing her now claim to have reached the Seeker stage, it seemed she had made progress in the recent battle.
*Well, it makes sense.* Even if she fought while wrapped in Loan's whirlwind, after defeating so many people and a Seeker, it was hard to consider her a mere Runner anymore.
Loan was overjoyed.
“Sienna! Can you really use an Aura Blade?”
For Loan, this was an uncharacteristically effusive reaction.
Bathed in the carriage's interior light, Sienna's face flushed a deeper shade of red.
She pretended not to hear and continued her explanation.
“It's thanks to you, but anyway… when most swordsmen reach a certain stage or level, they not only experience a rise in physical ability but also a clearing of the mind. Usually when they first become able to wield aura. When they can manifest it outside their sword. And now, like this…”
Sienna drew her sword and channeled her mana. A mass of light coated the blade, brightly illuminating the carriage's interior.
“When you become able to manifest an Aura Blade.”
“It's real! Wow…”
Loan stared at the sword of light, seemingly unconcerned with Sienna's explanation.
Sienna, who had subtly shown off her aura, didn't feel too bad about it.
“Ahem, this might also be a case of reversed cause and effect. It's not that achieving aura manifestation makes you smarter, but rather that your fundamental abilities improved enough to allow you to achieve it.”
Loan asked, his eyes still fixed on Sienna's sword.
“In what way did you feel the improvement?”
“My vision cleared, and my thoughts seemed to expand. It's like experiencing my own subjective speed within the absolute flow of time.”
“So your opponent's movements seem slower?”
“Exactly. On top of that, things I couldn't understand become clear, thoughts I never had before unfold naturally, and my memories become sharper. Of course, I didn't feel all of that this time. Though my mind does feel a little clearer.”
“Yes. I've had similar experiences before.”
“Right. When you circulate mana, you sometimes feel a blockage clear up. I guess as your physical abilities improve, your brain, being one of your organs, gets better along with them. That's my theory, anyway.”
With that, Sienna retracted the aura and sheathed her sword with a very flashy flourish.
Loan's brief applause made Sienna puff her shoulders with pride.
“That's persuasive. I think Circles work in a similar way. By expanding the paths for mana to circulate in the body and smoothing the flow. As the rings increased, I definitely felt my mind get a little sharper.”
“Then you should be thinking about how to increase your Circles, not asking me.”
“I vaguely thought so. I managed to gain a fourth Circle thanks to you, but it didn't feel like this was the end. I'm just a bit stuck on what to do next…”
As he finished, Loan's face fell slightly.
Sienna felt her heart sink for some reason. It had been a while.
In situations like this, she often found herself getting pulled along by Loan.
*But Loan isn't a child anymore. I don't need to coddle him. As his senior, I need to be firm when necessary.*
She knew this in her head, but her mouth began to earnestly console Loan.
“So… you said you need to create a path of circulation to make a Circle, right? In other words, you've only established four pathways for your mana to circulate. Well, it's not exactly the same, but in a swordsman's case, we accumulate and control mana in our core and then circulate it as needed, and the pathways for that are incredibly varied. Let me first re-examine the circulation paths you're using, and then figure out how the next circulation… hmm?”
Sienna's long, placating explanation came to an abrupt end as the carriage suddenly stopped.
Had they arrived somewhere?
Loan, who had been listening intently to Sienna, opened the window and stuck his head out.
Fat raindrops bounced off his Convection.
Loan expanded his Convection, widening his field of view along with it.
The world was still dark.
No town they could enter had appeared nearby.
And the surrounding atmosphere didn't feel like a place to rest.
He asked Berthelot.
“Administrator, is there a problem?”
“Ah, yes. There is a problem.”
Puzzled by the low,沉 tone of his voice, Loan opened the door and climbed onto the driver's seat.
Berthelot leaned forward past the rain cover, squinting and peering into the pitch-black distance as if searching for something.
Loan followed his gaze, looking as well.
Even when he heightened his synesthesia and expanded his mana-sight, he couldn't see or sense anything out of the ordinary.
He had thought there was nothing to be wary of, or that they hadn't reached such a place yet.
“Lord Loan. Up ahead. Do you see that large larch tree?”
“So that's a larch. It's blurry from this distance.”
“We have now left the Le Dong territory. This is a road I familiarized myself with back when I was a junior administrator, traveling to every corner of the duchy. My plan from the start was to spend the night in the village with that larch tree.”
“There's a village there?”
“Yes. It's the only village for hours in any direction from here. As a result, the inn business thrives there, so they always keep lights on. For it to be this dark is extremely strange.”
It was late enough for everyone to be asleep, but hearing Berthelot's explanation, it did seem odd.
“Loan, what's going on?”
Hearing nothing from Loan, Sienna came outside and asked.
She quickly climbed onto the driver's seat, pressing close to Loan.
Sienna's Convection wasn't very sturdy and its range was narrow, so she was soaked by the rain in that brief moment.
Loan resonated with her Convection, using a 'life magic' spell to expel the moisture and dry her off as he explained the situation.
Now completely dry, Sienna said,
“That is strange. We can't just drive the carriage in blindly, can we?”
“No. I'll go check it out.”
“You're going alone?”
“Yes. You protect the administrator with your Aura Blade.”
Having said his piece, Loan leaped forward and vanished into the rain as if melting into it.