Inheriting the Novel

Chapter 53 : Greed Brings Poison(1)

Greed Brings Poison(1)

I calmly gripped my sword and looked at Damian.

Even though he wasn't using a trace of magic power, not a single opening could be found.

'Even if I use the Eye of Insight, nothing will really change.'

No matter how many days I fought with just swordsmanship, it would do me no good against Damian.

'Then there's only one answer.'

This was a test Damian gave me.

The answer wasn't to defeat Damian—he surely knew that I couldn't defeat him.

What he was looking for was potential.

He wanted to see what I could do, and whether I had the potential to grow.

That was the true purpose of this test.

"Huuuuu."

I let out a deep breath and tensed my muscles.

After creating a bit of distance, I dashed toward Damian in an instant.

"That footwork is..."

For the first time, Damian reacted.

Of course, since Meteor Step was mixed with Grancesia's Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art, he might have noticed that fact.

'Hidden Star Sword, Second Half, Third Technique—Meteor!'

A silver line stretched out and in an instant lunged sharply toward Damian.

Saaak!

But my attack was smoothly deflected before it could even reach his neck.

There was no metallic sound; the sword was softly twisted aside.

'I expected this much.'

I immediately let go of my sword. Thanks to that, the blade spun through the air in a wide arc.

Perhaps he hadn't expected me to let go of my sword, as Damian momentarily hesitated.

And I took advantage of that gap, bringing up my tightly clenched fist toward Damian's chin.

"What a petty trick!"

Despite the sudden surprise attack, Damian shouted in an irritable tone and moved his sword vertically, striking my wrist with the pommel.

"Keuk!"

"If all you're capable of is these little tricks...!"

Pang!

With the sound of compressed air, Damian's helmet shook.

'The attack with my left hand was just a decoy.'

Of course, since the punch contained a touch of the subtlety of Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art, I put quite a bit of strength into it.

Damian was bound to be fooled.

But the real trick was in my right hand, the one that had let go of the sword.

A drop of blood that had formed on my lightly extended index finger dripped to the ground.

Blood needle.

No matter how skilled Damian was, he wouldn't be able to easily block an attack shot from such close range.

And my prediction proved correct.

'Wow, but he dodged it even in that situation?'

I had originally intended to strike the center of his helmet.

Since it was made of mithril, I thought it could withstand such an attack.

But Damian managed to twist his head aside just in time to avoid it.

Though he didn't evade it completely, the blood needle struck and grazed the side of the helmet.

"... That's a dangerous technique."

A moment ago, Damian had been angry at my punch, but now his attitude had calmed.

"I thought you'd given up and swung your fists out of desperation, but I was mistaken."

"I'm not someone who gives up so easily."

"Indeed."

Though his face was hidden by the helmet, it almost seemed like Damian smiled.

After watching me for a moment, he soon sheathed his sword.

"Let's end the test here. You're definitely qualified. Raw talent isn't everything. You have courage and remarkable mental fortitude. And your instincts are exceptionally sharp."

"Th-thank you."

Honestly, I was a little embarrassed; I hadn't expected him to praise me this much.

'Man, that hurts.'

Being praised felt good, but my arm that had been hit still ached. Damian lightly gestured as I rubbed my forearm.

"There's an old salve I used long ago. Come with me for now."

From the beginning, Damian had always been quite kind and sincere.

Even though he had no need for medicine after becoming a death knight, he'd kept emergency supplies stored properly.

After applying the medicine to my arm and wrapping it in bandages, Damian, who had been quietly observing, spoke.

"Alright, let me ask you about our recent spar. The basic form of your movements—was that Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art?"

It seemed he was eager to discuss the sparring match.

'He saw through it, after all.'

As expected from someone who revered Grancesia.

The form of Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art I used was only a very small fragment.

For him to recognize it immediately, he must have detailed knowledge of the art.

"That's correct."

"I noticed it from your strike to my waist. It looked so careless I thought you were joking, but that was all an act, wasn't it?"

He nodded as if convinced.

'But it wasn't really an act.'

I'd been a little clumsy since I'd been focusing on my right hand, but that punch was infused with genuine intent.

"I thought it had already died out... Was it secretly passed down in the Atell Family?"

He guessed how I'd learned Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art however he liked and then seemed satisfied with the explanation.

"Clay Vanhart."

"Yes, sir Damian."

"You said you wanted to learn my Moon Severing Divine Sword, didn't you?"

"Yes, sir."

The very first and most important requirement for the plausibility of obtaining the Moon Severing Divine Sword was to spar 50 times under instruction.

The second condition—learning at least one technique—could be handled with time, so it was less urgent.

'And as for Lugal, there's no point agonizing over it right now.'

I decided to just worry about that for later.

In the end, if I couldn't land the final blow on the Dark King Lugal, Setting Addition would be impossible.

But for now, I could learn swordsmanship directly from Damian.

"Good. Then let's begin right away."

"Thank you, sir Damian!"

"But you'd better be prepared."

Damian spoke, patting my shoulder as I bowed deeply in gratitude.

"Lady Grancesia once said—no one grows strong without pain. Now, I'll become your pain."

Just hearing those words was terrifying. Grancesia, who had been silent until now, spoke up with joy.

[Wow, he still remembers that? I used to say that all the time.]

'... Is that so?'

Unlike Grancesia, who enjoyed this, I couldn't smile.

Damian's words sounded entirely sincere.

* * *

Nior Bellen was in quite a foul mood.

He had never imagined that the Timmons Merchant Guild would be able to repay their debt to Count Bellen so quickly.

'Did the Vanhart have that much money?'

Impossible. If they had, their retainers wouldn't have left them.

While Nior was lost in thought, it was a servant's report that provided the answer.

"House Vanhart and the Timmons Merchant Guild have been coming and going from Kiten Forest lately."

"Kiten Forest?"

"They say there's a mine there."

Nior had never heard that there was a mine in Kiten Forest.

But even if there was a mine, so what? Thanks to the fairies' magic, no one ever got past the entrance anyway.

"The Timmons Merchant Guild has recently been recruiting workers. They're specifically looking for people with experience mining mithril."

"M-mithril?!"

If it was a mithril mine, one could instantly make a fortune.

It was only natural that Nior was so shocked.

"Yes, I'm sure. There must be a mithril mine in Kiten Forest."

"If that's true..."

If it was, then it would be worth burning the whole Kiten Forest down just to claim it.

'But it's the Vanhart's territory... Besides, the Timmons Merchant Guild seems to have already left our domain.'

Nior rested his chin on his hand and fell deep into thought.

How could he screw over that Clay brat and get the mine at the same time?

'There's only one answer from the start.'

According to the servant, Clay and Ravin had been going in and out of Kiten Forest regularly.

In other words, if he wanted to act, now was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

'The only one left in House Vanhart is Clay. If he dies, the territory will be empty.'

Bellen, the nearest count family, could simply absorb it.

Even if he had to cede most of the land, if he could just get Kiten Forest...

"Summon the knights."

"Pardon?"

"Call Jack Vile too."

"J-Jack? You mean him?"

"This job is perfect for him."

Nior licked his lower lip with his tongue.

Just thinking about what he would obtain made his mouth water.

* * *

"A-are you alright, my lord?"

"... I'm fine."

At Ravin's concerned question, I forced a smile despite the throbbing pain.

To be honest, I felt like tearing up if I took even a few steps.

'That crazy old man.'

Forget what I said about Damian being diligent and kind.

That was all an act. Otherwise, how could he have turned so merciless?

'My body isn't complete yet? I lack basic stamina?'

It was the first time I'd heard such words since I just became a knight.

People used to say that I had strong basics.

Both Eaton and Grancesia had said so too.

- To learn the Moon Severing Divine Sword, trained legs are crucial. If your foundation crumbles, nothing else matters! Watch my posture and follow it.

That's what Damian said as he had me put on mithril armor.

Even if mithril was lighter than normal metal, it was still heavy when worn all over.

- When I say one, you say two. That's all you have to do.

Damian had me repeatedly do lower-body exercises together.

I lost count after about 500 reps.

If he hadn't told me I could use mana, I would've collapsed long before.

- To tire out so easily... you still need more training.

Damian clucked his tongue.

- Now that lower-body training is finished, next is swordsmanship. Take up your sword.

Only after the basics were finished was I allowed to start learning the Moon Severing Divine Sword's technique and how to manage magic power.

But saying "learning" was a stretch—I was so exhausted that I didn't remember half of what I did.

[Damian... He's actually a better teacher than I thought.]

'All the good teachers are dead!'

I was about to curse at Grancesia's words, but then a realization struck me.

'Wait, did you teach Damian this way?'

[Of course. This is basic training. The lower body is incredibly important.]

Well, it wasn't wrong.

It wasn't wrong, but... did it have to be this mindlessly simple?

[You've got magic power and Divine Blood, so you'll be fine. Muscle contraction and relaxation comes from blood flow anyway, right? And with Divine Blood, you'll recover in no time.]

Just as she said, the muscle aches were completely gone after just one night.

'Right... I guess this is a blessing too.'

Going through this kind of ordeal to master the Moon Severing Divine Sword was only natural.

I'd just gotten used to learning techniques so easily that I'd forgotten the importance of hard work. Yeah, that's it.

"Anyway, my lord. The mining should begin soon. We already extracted some ore, and the purity is excellent."

Ravin pulled a piece of mithril ore from his jacket and showed it to me.

Still warm and freshly mined from the ground.

"No other problems?"

"No, none at all."

I brushed my chin with my thumb at his words.

'Strange. It should be about time for a response.'

He should have heard the news and done something by now. We publicized the recruitment of workers—he couldn't possibly be that clueless.