Inheriting the Novel

Chapter 29 : Representative of the Kingdom (1)

Representative of the Kingdom (1)

[Let's have a big match, shall we?]

'That's just a figure of speech.'

I couldn't exactly say, let's have a small match, could I?

[Still, don't you think it's too few for someone who bragged you'd beat them all?]

'They picked and picked out the contestants, so isn't about eight enough?'

[What a sneaky guy you are.]

'Thanks for the compliment.'

Leaving behind Grancesia's admiring words, which were filled with flowery language, I slowly moved to the center of the training ground.

"All right, then, who's going to come out first and cross swords with me?"

As I asked, holding a practice sword with no sharp edge, the group of challengers eyed me with tense looks.

"Then, as we agreed, I'll step out first."

The largest man among the eight challengers strode forward.

He was a child of Marquis Viol's family and was a rather famous knight.

With a frame two heads taller than mine standing before me, there was a strange sense of pressure.

"Count, are we going to duel without using magic power, purely skill against skill, as discussed?"

"Yes. If the aim is to test our skills, we don't need magic power."

"Keke. As you say. Just don't regret it afterward."

Thud, thud.

Sir Viol turned his back and put some distance between us.

"Is it not dangerous to face Sir Viol without magic power?"

I could hear some nobles whispering.

If magic power isn't used, then of course the side with the stronger physique would have the advantage.

From the outside, I had no chance of matching up to Sir Viol.

Of course, that's what the nobles thought—Grancesia had a completely different view.

[... Did you ban magic power, too?]

'It's dangerous to use magic power in a sparring match.'

[Dangerous, my foot! How can someone be this underhanded?]

'I clearly obtained the opponent's consent. He allowed it, thinking it was to his advantage, so I see it as fair.'

[K-kind of, but no! That guy doesn't know your secret!]

'It's up to a contestant to figure such things out by themselves.'

Certainly, my pure physique ability might not be as good as Sir Viol's.

But what we were testing now was not physical ability, but swordsmanship.

"Oh my god..."

A gasp of astonishment tickled at my ear.

No wonder—the duel between me and Sir Viol was over in a flash.

"Next."

I said briefly and pointed to the next opponent.

Because the match ended so quickly, the challengers looked bewildered.

"What sword technique was that?"

"I've never seen that technique before... does House Vanhart have something like that?"

The nobles murmured among themselves, each trying to guess what swordsmanship I had used.

Naturally, no one knew the swordsmanship's origins.

'Of course they wouldn't recognize it. This swordsmanship doesn't even exist in this world.'

When I use Setting Addition, all information about the added setting is engraved into my body.

But what would happen if I add an ability I already know, rather than something new?

The answer was simple.

It's not like adding to a blank slate, but more like supplementing what's already there.

Even if it's an ability I was already learning, there's no problem adding it as a setting.

'I never thought that Dao Inscribed Sword could be used this way, though.'

Dao Inscribed Sword (道修銘劍).

A sword technique rooted in absolute basics, honed to the utmost limit and reaching the heights of mastery.

It doesn't have overwhelming uniqueness, but its strength is that it can effectively respond to any other swordsmanship.

However, when I grasped everything about Dao Inscribed Sword through Setting Addition—

Only then did I realize its true value.

[Pretty useful. Not bad at all.]

The swordsmanship I'd just used was neither Hidden Star Sword nor Dao Inscribed Sword.

It was a technique I created that combined the foundation of Dao Inscribed Sword with the subtleties of Hidden Star Sword.

That was what I had just displayed.

'It's still quite inferior to the original Hidden Star Sword... but there's plenty of room for improvement.'

The Hidden Star Sword is divided into the First and Second Half, each with distinct features. Their true power was displayed only when mixed together appropriately.

In other words, while the advantages are obvious, so are the disadvantages.

When I added the Dao Inscribed Sword setting, a thought occurred to me.

What if I could blend only the distinct strengths of Hidden Star Sword into Dao Inscribed Sword?

Because Dao Inscribed Sword itself lacks a distinct "color," layering on the subtlety of Hidden Star Sword wasn't all that difficult.

'Of course, it would've been impossible without the knowledge gained through Setting Addition.'

The challengers, facing a sword technique they'd never seen, fell one by one, helpless to react.

"The rumors were true."

"There's no way that's a mere Sword User's skill."

Knights with some experience could judge my skills with just a few exchanges and nodded in acknowledgement.

But even with such discernment, they still didn't seem to accept what they were seeing.

"D-damn it! What the hell trick did you use?!"

Before I knew it, Nior Bellen was the only challenger left.

His face had turned pale, apparently not expecting me to defeat the other challengers so easily.

"How can a guy who until recently was only a Sword User possibly beat Sword Experts?!"

"Nior Bellen."

I fixed him with a cold gaze and slowly raised my sword.

"Are you planning to fight with your mouth? And as I said before, I think you ought to learn some manners. I am no longer some title-less noble brat like you."

"Y-you bastard!"

He quaked with rage and shouted, but couldn't actually come at me. None of the knights who'd faced me had lasted more than ten exchanges.

Among them were even intermediate-rank Sword Experts superior to him.

"You're not even worth using my sword on."

Whoosh.

I sheathed my sword and tossed it to a corner of the training ground.

The spectators around me clearly didn't understand my actions and began to murmur.

Nior was no different. He glared at me with even more displeasure, seeing I was now barehanded.

"What is this? Are you saying you won't fight me?"

"That's not it. It's just..."

I clenched my fist tightly and took the now-familiar stance.

"I think I can beat someone like you with my bare hands."

"...!"

Angered sincerely by my taunt, Nior's eyes reddened with fury and his hand gripping the sword trembled.

At the same time, his sword began to shimmer with magic power.

"Clay Vanhart!"

"S-sir Bellen! You must not use magic power!"

"Stop Sir Bellen!"

Overcome by fury, Nior ignored the rules and charged at me using magic power.

The knights who had been watching tried to stop him too late, but he was already right in front of me.

'I'll crush you completely.'

Just as he was angry at me, I too felt anger toward Nior.

I hadn't forgotten how he'd brought up Monet at the banquet last night.

"Huuuu..."

I inhaled, stepped forward, and stomped hard with Stomping Step.

Then, while fiercely clenching my fist, I swung it horizontally, rotating my waist.

Grancesia's martial art exerts overwhelming strength against demonkin, but that doesn't mean it's not extremely effective against non-demonkin.

Bang!

"Guh-uh-uh!"

Unlike Nior, I didn't use magic power.

But that only helped me. My body still wasn't ready to utilize Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art's magic power.

Unlike the other skills I'd acquired through ability-addition, this was a power I'd learned myself.

And though it was still very lacking, it was more than enough to send Nior flying.

[You tried to use Heavenly Lord, didn't you? You put too much force.]

As I watched Nior, who'd flown off with a scream, Grancesia immediately pointed out my flaw.

Apparently, she hadn't liked my execution of the martial art just now.

[You'll never reach the plausibility of Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art like that.]

'Even if you say plausibility...'

I let out a hollow laugh.

Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art was on a different level from my other abilities.

And its plausibility requirements were the same.

Not only was meeting the plausibility requirements difficult, I honestly couldn't even tell what I had to do to satisfy them.

==

〈Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art (聖天武極)〉

Required Plausibility

1. No-Self Mastery

2. Five Aggregates Mastery

3. Only Mind Mastery

==

Even seeing them again, there was no way I could tell what these meant.

When I asked Grancesia, she said that once I mastered all three, I'd naturally master Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art.

'... I suppose I'll figure it out someday.'

For now, that was all I could think.

I clenched and unclenched my fist as I approached the collapsed and trembling Nior.

On his chest, my fist had left a clear imprint.

"......"

The training ground was silent.

Clearly, no one had expected me to subdue magic-wielding Nior with a single punch.

Especially a few knights, who'd burst out only to stop short awkwardly as if unsure what to do.

"Excuse me, do you know the time?"

I turned and asked one knight.

The knight, startled by my sudden question, stammered out a reply.

"I-it's almost three o'clock now."

"Oh my, I've got plenty of time left."

Originally, I'd planned to go at a suitable pace, taking breaks as I went, but as Grancesia noted, I'd beaten everyone too easily with all sorts of tricks.

'If I'd known, I could've let them use magic power.'

[At your level, you'd have won anyway.]

Grancesia muttered in disbelief, but I ignored her as usual.

"There's still plenty of time, so I'll be accepting more challengers. If anyone objects to me representing the kingdom at the Empire's tournament, please step forward."

Of course, there were no more challengers.

* * *

Afterward, during the period when the victory banquet was held, neither Monet nor I had anyone coming to pick fights.

If anything, nobles started avoiding me so much, we could hardly even have a conversation.

At first, I was puzzled by their reactions, but found out why only after everything ended, through Zelbin.

"Count Clay! I heard the news! You defeated challengers with a single punch! Truly, that's the Count for you!"

Zelbin Ribina had become one of the few people who grew close enough to call me by name even after the war ended.

I too called him 'Zelbin' rather than 'Sir Ribina.'

But more than that, what he'd just said caught my attention.

"The knights say you're being called the 'Unrivaled Iron Fist'. I admire you!"

Unrivaled Iron Fist?

Is that the terribly cheesy nickname people are calling me now?

"I used my sword more than my fists, though?"

"Oh, really? But everyone talks about your fists more than your sword?"

Zelbin cocked his head as he sat down in the parlor. Judging by his expression, it seemed the rumors about my swordsmanship really weren't spreading.

'I learned my sword skills through the ability, but the fist, I learned myself. Still, this feels strange.'

My swordsmanship was undoubtedly more complete, yet everyone was talking about my half-baked martial arts.

Except for that cheesy nickname.

'I'll just use the sword for a while.'

At least until the "Unrivaled Iron Fist" nonsense goes away.

"So, what brings you here?"

I was currently staying at a grand mansion in the capital, bestowed upon me by His Majesty Leogart.

I had planned to go down to my territory as soon as the banquet was over, but at Duke Gale's request, I remained.

Still, I couldn't leave Vanhart territory unattended, so I asked the duke to send people to help Dorian with estate management first.

"Oh, actually, a letter arrived from the Empire of Asktalin."

"A letter? But what does that have to do with me?"

I couldn't see why a letter from the Empire would bring Zelbin to me.

A letter from the Empire was surely about the Founding Festival, after all.

"Don't be surprised! The letter from the Empire of Asktalin had your name on it, Count Clay!"

"... What?"

"An imperial family member personally requested it! They want to invite you to the Founding Festival!"

I was already set to participate in the Founding Festival, but the Empire couldn't have known that.

So that was why they sent such a letter ahead of time.

'But why?'

Even so, I couldn't guess the reason.

Why would an imperial royal personally send an invitation to a mere kingdom's count whose name wasn't even known?

[I told you.]

At that moment, Grancesia's voice came, now laced with laughter.

[Dragons are very greedy, after all.]

That was the moment I truly realized what it meant to have your mind go blank.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Dragon waifu looking for MC...

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】