Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Episode 002 (3)
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Whoosh, shwaaack—.
The swords held by the trainees continuously sliced through the empty air.
Each time, sharp whooshes rang out without cease.
The training ground was filled with piercing sounds of sharpness.
These were wooden swords reinforced with iron cores inside, heavier than ordinary practice blades.
Perhaps because of that, threatening whooshes occasionally erupted from the sword tips of some trainees as they shouted their kiais.
Whoosh, paang!
The Senior Instructor, having caught sight of this, slyly curled up the corner of his mouth.
‘Not bad at all.’
Compared to three months ago, their improvement was almost unbelievable.
This wasn’t just about broader shoulders or larger builds—visible physical changes.
It was a sensation as if countless swords were densely arrayed before his eyes.
‘Of course, they’re still crude, not even properly sharpened yet—…’
Even so, a sword was a sword.
Considering the Lion’s Den had only been running for less than a year, this was growth at an astonishing pace.
It also hinted at just how grueling the training in the Lion’s Den truly was.
‘And among them, the one that draws the eye the most is…’
The Senior Instructor subtly turned his head.
He stared at a single boy mixed among the trainees scattered across the training ground, each swinging their swords, and muttered to himself.
‘That kid, of course.’
Reddish-brown hair and crimson eyes.
The boy’s identity was none other than Kuhn Jordic.
‘When the Lion’s Den first started, I thought he wouldn’t last and would quit the training or lose his life soon enough—…’
Yet who would have thought such a child would survive unscathed even now, as nearly a year drew to a close.
‘His stamina, which was at the bottom of the pack, has now climbed to the lower-middle ranks?’
That wasn’t the only surprising part.
On top of that, reports from various Regular Instructors noted his bizarrely rapid acquisition of swordsmanship.
‘It’s like he’s reviewing sword techniques he already knows.’
Recalling a line from a report submitted a few days ago by a Regular Instructor from the Third Den, the Senior Instructor slowly moved his gaze.
Then, with eyes sunken deep beneath his mask, he intently observed Kuhn’s movements.
‘Hm.’
Whoosh, whooosh—.
Compared to the other kids, his breathing was rougher, and his movements seemed a bit slower.
The wooden sword with its iron core apparently still felt a little too large and heavy for him.
‘But…’
Regardless, the completion of the swordsmanship he displayed stood out even among the trainees.
‘Swordplay as straight as if measured with a ruler.’
If not for the slight slowness, it was textbook swordsmanship through and through.
He could almost understand why such a report had come in.
‘Even if he’s weak, blood is blood, huh?’
The thought briefly crossed his mind.
The Senior Instructor faintly wrinkled the bridge of his nose.
‘But it’s strange.’
With an expression of incomprehension, he cocked his head alone and muttered.
‘Despite displaying such outstanding sword movements, there’s not a trace of mana or aura to be felt.’
Already, nearly thirty dropouts had occurred in the Third Den alone.
One in six... exaggerating a bit, nearly one in five trainees hadn’t lasted a year and had either died or been expelled.
Considering that more than half of those dropouts came not from training but from fights between trainees—
‘Enduring that hell without an Aura Breathing Method? That’s impossible.’
That left only two possibilities.
Either the kid’s skill had reached a level that could evade his eyes... or the Aura Breathing Method he practiced was one that didn’t show outwardly.
‘Of course, there are a few Breathing Methods with such traits, but…’
Were they skilled enough to fool his eyes?
It was a natural conjecture from a Senior Instructor unaware of the traits of Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits.
Soon, the Senior Instructor shrugged and muttered.
‘Well, doesn’t matter.’
He’d naturally find out what Aura Breathing Method the kid was practicing soon enough.
“As instructed...”
At that moment, one of the Regular Instructors reported that all preparations were complete, and the Senior Instructor slyly curled his lip.
Averting his gaze from Kuhn, he drew a low arc with his mouth and commanded.
“In ten minutes. Assemble the kids.”
Thus, he failed to notice.
The instant he looked away—
Kuhn’s gaze had precisely turned toward him.
“...”
As if he’d sensed the eyes scrutinizing him.
6.
Feeling the Senior Instructor’s gaze recede, Kuhn slowly regulated his breathing.
“Hoo.”
He withdrew the extended sword slightly, stared at the air he’d just been cleaving, and muttered.
‘Lion Tempering Swordsmanship—Basic Edition.’
It was the name of the sword art he’d received from the instructors along with the iron-cored wooden sword in the past.
It was also the swordsmanship Kuhn had just been demonstrating from his hand.
Once one grasped its essence, a small lion’s roar poured out ceaselessly with every swing, and its versatility made it compatible with virtually any martial art one might learn later—
Yet despite such grand reputation, as the “Basic Edition” name suggested, the Lion Tempering Swordsmanship Kuhn had learned wasn’t all that remarkable.
‘Among the many sword arts of the Jordic Family, it’s the most fundamental one that direct and branch descendants, indeed anyone under Jordic command, learns when building their foundation.’
That was Lion Tempering Swordsmanship—Basic Edition.
Of course, being a Jordic sword art, it was still at least twice as superior as the common ones circulating on the market...
‘If it were the Intermediate or Advanced Edition, maybe.’
But a basic was still a basic, and in truth, Kuhn himself knew several sword arts superior to Lion Tempering Swordsmanship—Basic Edition.
‘…Like Iron Reinforcement Sword Method, Blue Rose Swordsmanship, or Agran Style Swordsmanship, and so on.’
However... despite that, Kuhn had reasons for dutifully practicing the Basic Edition of Lion Tempering Swordsmanship.
And the first among them was...
‘There’s no need to reveal that fact.’
As a direct descendant of Jordic, knowing various sword arts wasn’t particularly strange.
Still, it was always better to have more hidden cards.
With his inherently weak body, he needed to conceal his claws to some extent to survive in the Lion’s Den.
Of course, he had no intention of blindly hiding his claws and strength indefinitely—
‘And the second.’
Ironically, the second reason was that Lion Tempering Swordsmanship made for a fairly stable foundational sword art.
Longswords and broadswords, swift swords and illusion blades, and even chain swords, curved swords, spears, staffs, sabers, whips, shield arts, etc.
‘A swordsmanship that appropriately tempers the muscles needed to wield virtually every type of weapon…’
Broad and shallow mastery and conditioning of martial arts.
That was precisely the goal this Basic Edition of Lion Tempering Swordsmanship aimed for.
A foundational sword art befitting a family that pursued only strength, regardless of school, lineage... martial arts or magic.
It explained why Jordic was said to master every weapon.
‘Then again—…’
He was about to regrip the wooden sword he’d lowered when—
“Ugh, whoa!”
Just then, a trainee passing near the bushes startled, fell on his butt, and tumbled over.
Nearby, a snake that had suddenly popped out slithered across the ground and vanished back into the bushes.
Hiss, hissss—.
Its vivid colors and triangular head made it obvious at a glance that it was venomous.
“S-Snake!”
“I-It might be poisonous! Don’t go near it!”
The sudden appearance of the viper caused several kids to stiffen and make a fuss.
“D-Doesn’t it seem like there’ve been way more snakes lately?”
“P-Poison toads and weird birds too...”
It was too contrived a change to chalk up simply to winter passing and warmer weather.
‘Who’d have thought choosing “Winner Takes All” over “Survival of the Fittest” held such meaning—’
Kuhn was just about to let a wry smile slip as he grasped the implication hidden in that change when—
“—Assembly!”
“Everyone, assemble!”
The instructors’ voices boomed out.
It was the day exactly three months since they’d begun practicing Aura Breathing Methods, as the Senior Instructor had forewarned.
.
.
A short while later.
A small bowl was placed before the trainees. It contained something with a texture like soup, scooped from a bucket moments ago.
Its murky color and foul odor made it clear at a glance that it was no ordinary substance.
‘This is…’
Before Kuhn, who recognized the contents, could even frown, the Senior Instructor spoke up.
“Some of you seem to have already figured it out, but what’s in front of you is poison.”
The kids erupted in shocked murmurs at his words.
“P-Poison?”
“W-Why this? D-Do we have to drink it?”
Undeterred, the Senior Instructor continued.
“And not just any poison—it’s called ‘Witch’s Garden.’”
His voice was calm, as if he’d anticipated this level of commotion.
‘…Witch’s Garden.’
A substance made by blending countless toxic herbs, spiritual herbs, and medicinal herbs—literally evoking a witch’s garden.
Poison, yet not quite poison. That was Witch’s Garden.
It didn’t have effects like expensive elixirs or reagents that increased mana capacity.
However, if one could overcome it, it built resistance to a wide array of poisons and even expelled some waste buildup from the mana circuits.
‘A poison that perfectly proves the old saying that the line between poison and medicine is razor-thin, depending on how it’s used.’
Undoubtedly poison, but overcome its toxicity, and it became medicine.
‘Of course, only if you can overcome the toxicity.’
It was brewed from hundreds of toxic herbs.
Thus, Witch’s Garden was infamous for inflicting diverse agonies on those who ingested it.
From minor stomach pains, convulsions, temporary paralysis... to major issues like blindness or permanent physical damage from parts of the body melting away.
‘Since it’s for training, they’ve probably diluted it somewhat.’
But even so, to see effects, one had to ingest it steadily every three days for at least half a year.
It carried significant risks in many ways.
Having finished explaining the poison, the Senior Instructor opened his mouth again.
“Then drink up.”
His tone was firm, brooking no refusal. Besides, Kuhn had no intention of whining over mere poison.
Swoosh—.
As if baring its fangs at the bubbling poison, the mana of Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits reared up.
A fiercer reaction than usual.
Like a beast salivating at the sight of prey.
Tilting his head at the response, Kuhn slowly brought the poison bowl to his lips.
And—
—Gulp, gulp.
What happened next was something even Kuhn hadn’t anticipated.
The mana of Monstrous Strength and Chaotic Spirits gaped wide! And chomped down on the poison spreading through his body, swallowing it whole.
—Crunch!