novelraw Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Chapter 21
The sudden situation caused Feyr to let out a voice before she even realized it.
Leticia, who had grabbed him by the collar, yanked Feyr toward herself.
But Feyr lightly broke free of the hand gripping her collar and stepped back one pace.
Then she asked with a guarded tone.
"What do you think you're doing all of a sudden?"
"......."
Leticia said nothing.
She simply tried to hold Feyr's gaze.
Sensing something off about Leticia's behavior, Feyr narrowed her brow.
Why does she keep trying to make eye contact?
‘......Could it be.’
Has she already awakened the Mad Eye?
The Mad Eye.
An ability of the eye that, upon meeting another's gaze, can see every ounce of the other person's power without concealment.
No matter how skilled one is at hiding their strength, it is utterly useless against those eyes that pierce straight to the essence.
‘......So she was trying to gauge my abilities.’
Someone with talent on the level of Leticia would know it instinctively.
That the single strike he'd just landed on the instructor could not be dismissed as mere luck from a surprise attack.
Watching the guarded Feyr, Leticia slowly opened her mouth.
"How did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Just now."
Feyr was the first to shrug his shoulders and cut off the disjointed conversation.
The moment Feyr turned his back to leave after the conversation was cut short—
Leticia snatched a wooden sword from another trainee's hand and swung it at Feyr.
"......!"
The Senior Instructor spotted it and moved to stop Leticia immediately.
But Feyr turned around a single step faster.
Kwajik!
The moment Feyr turned, he deflected the sword Leticia had swung.
And then he subdued Leticia in the follow-through.
Everyone was stunned by what had unfolded in the blink of an eye.
Feyr too, under the weight of too many eyes, whispered just quietly enough for only her to hear, then released her hold.
"Know your limits."
After that, Feyr quickly left the Indoor Training Hall.
After Feyr departed, Leticia lay there face-down and muttered.
"......Found it. Real talent."
***
Back in his quarters, Feyr replayed the events that had just occurred.
‘Why was Mad Blade so fixated on me?’
That Mad Blade showed interest when she encountered the strong was the same even in her past life.
That was just the kind of person she was.
But something was different.
For some reason he couldn't quite pinpoint, it seemed that the girl wanted to know the extent of my strength more than she wanted to fight me.
The most puzzling thing was the reason behind it.
Was it because she had believed there was no one stronger than her at this age?
And had her pride been dented because of it?
He couldn't tell.
The one thing that was certain was that she felt quite different from the lunatic Feyr had known in his past life.
‘She doesn't seem to have gone mad yet.’
No matter how much he thought about it, no answer came, so Feyr tried to set aside all thoughts of Mad Blade.
And so he looked over the upcoming training schedule.
It was the most important thing for mapping out his direction of growth going forward.
"The 4 Principles of the Sword, the Essentials of Real Combat, physical conditioning, and Mana cultivation......."
There were many other various things on top of those, but what mattered most to Feyr at this point was physical conditioning.
Building up his body was the path to reaching the 4th Star Tier.
‘But.’
The Principles of the Sword, at that.
This too was perfectly suited for developing the finer muscles.
Feyr was satisfied—there was nothing on the training schedule worth discarding.
‘As expected, working up from the Beginner Class step by step was the right call.’
The next thing Feyr looked into after the training schedule was the details of the upcoming exam.
In the Crescent Moon Training Ground, exams are held roughly once a year.
Each training class has corresponding promotion criteria, and all of them must be met in order to advance from that level.
Through the Beginner and Intermediate Classes, all trainees take the exam simultaneously, but from the Advanced Class onward, individuals only need to take the exam at some point within the year.
If the promotion criteria are not met, one is expelled from the Training Ground without exception.
Ultimately, one must advance all the way to the Advanced Class in order to graduate as a proper knight of the Family.
In the end, if one's ability falls short, being left behind is the same no matter what.
This was an immutable law that held true anywhere within the Family.
‘The Family's foundations really are no different.’
Feyr set down the training schedule with a look of sheer weariness.
The immediate treatment had only gotten slightly better—in the end, nothing had changed.
To survive, there really was no option but to bring the Family to its knees.
And to do that, he would simply do what he could right now.
‘And what I can do right now.’
Is to face the next exam head-on.
And the time remaining until the next exam was......
‘2 months from now.’
It was a vague amount of time for reaching the 4th Star Tier.
But it wasn't insufficient.
He would just have to make it work, one way or another.
He had gathered all the information he needed, so starting tomorrow, it was time to drive his body again.
Feyr, thinking of the training that would begin the very next day, went to sleep early.
***
The first morning after the skip had arrived.
As always, Feyr woke earlier than everyone else.
Upon waking, he immediately changed into the issued training uniform.
As he was now a trainee of the Crescent Moon Training Ground starting today, it was necessary to wear the uniform of this place.
‘Far better than the Lunar Eclipse, at least.’
Not that it could be called good, of course.
It was truly awful, in every sense of the word.
But it was self-evident that it was better than the Lunar Eclipse Training Ground.
That place had nothing but tattered sackcloth that was embarrassing to even call clothing.
‘Winter there was truly brutal.’
Feyr smiled a bitter smile at the memory, straightened his clothes, and stepped outside.
The outdoor training ground had quite a crowd gathered, contrary to what he'd expected.
Unlike the unrefined trainees of the Lunar Eclipse Training Ground, the trainees here—even in the Beginner Class—seemed to know how to push themselves relentlessly.
‘This place is more useful than I expected.’
He had thought the Lunar Eclipse and the Crescent Moon were one and the same.
No—if he was being honest, he had expected this place to be worse.
The Lunar Eclipse was at least a place where survival was on the line.
But even a rotten fish still smells like fish—these trainees were more earnest about their own growth.
‘If the Lunar Eclipse Training Ground is a place that follows a fixed sequence, then this place, by contrast, is one that changes based on individual effort.’
While Feyr looked on at the other trainees with interest, they gradually began to gather into the outdoor training ground.
As the trainees assembled, Feyr likewise blended among them and fell into formation.
After a short time, an instructor stepped up onto the platform.
"Good morning. As always, morning laps are 100 circuits. Begin!"
"Begin!!"
At the instructor's words, the trainees answered in a roaring chorus and began running around the training ground.
Feyr too naturally blended among them and ran.
And so, as they ran along at a steady pace—
the formation that had started out neatly together gradually fell apart.
It was because the speed of those at the front did not increase gradually but surged ahead by leaps and bounds.
And the cause of that was none other than—
‘They were using Mana.’
Using Mana produces the effect of dramatically boosting one's physical abilities.
Of course, as the number of Mana Rings increases, one can experience the effects of Mana even without directly using it.
But as far as Feyr could see, there was no one here who had reached that level.
They simply didn't know any better, and so they were using Mana.
‘Because they don't know that using Mana slows growth, they're relying on it.’
It couldn't be helped.
He himself had only come to know that information back in his days as an instructor at the Lunar Eclipse Training Ground.
And so Feyr controlled even the Mana he had, and ran on nothing but his own physical strength as much as possible.
And that controlled Mana......
Saaaaa—
The Eater of Mana.
He was channeling it into the newly acquired Artifact.
The reason for deliberately channeling Mana into the Artifact.
If he stored Mana in it in advance, he would be able to use it however he wished at a later time.
If this routine continued every day, enough would accumulate to be of decent use.
‘Building up stamina and channeling Mana into the Artifact at the same time—killing 2 birds with 1 stone.’
Nothing was being wasted in this situation.
At length, Feyr cleared his mind and began running ahead.
Time passed, and by the time the sun was rising—
the morning laps had ended, and the majority of the trainees were sprawled across the training ground floor, gasping for breath.
Even with the aid of Mana, among those who had completed all 100 circuits, few were left standing without a scratch.
The instructor shook his head at their state and said.
"The promotion exam is 2 months away, and you're still dragging yourselves around like this?"
"No, sir......."
"Speak up. Are you still going to act like children?"
"No, sir!!"
"Tch."
The instructor clicked his tongue and continued.
"After breakfast, gather at the Indoor Training Hall. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!!"
The instructor who had given them word of the schedule left first, and one by one the trainees made their way to the mess hall.
After breakfast.
The trainees gathered in the Indoor Training Hall.
Once headcount was complete, the Senior Instructor stepped up onto the platform and began to speak about the morning's training.
"The morning's training will cover the Principles of the Sword."
The Principles of the Sword.
At those words, the trainees' reactions shifted with every passing moment.
On some trainees' faces tension appeared, while on others an expression of keen anticipation took shape.
And rightly so.
Learning the Principles of the Sword was also a crossroads that determined what kind of sword art one would cultivate going forward.
But by the same measure, it meant one's fundamentals had to be properly built to absorb it fully.
The Senior Instructor continued, looking out at the trainees.
"Of course, I don't expect the trainees to succeed. But the reason for explaining the Principles regardless is to give everyone an equal opportunity. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!!"
An equal opportunity.
Indeed.
Regardless of whether one had talent or not, at the very least giving the opportunity.
That was the sole mercy offered in this place.
The rest was simply each person thrashing about on their own.
Feyr understood exactly how humane it was to offer the opportunity of learning here, in a place bound by the law of The Strong Are Respected.
‘Now I see why that isn't an act of charity.’
What was more, this was none other than the Principles of the Sword.
Considering that this place was the House of the Sword, it was no different from handing over a piece of the Family's essence.
‘Though of course, since most are from the collateral line and children of Vassal Families, that's to be expected.’
Those of slave or orphan origin like Feyr or Leticia were exceedingly rare.
Close enough to say they were practically nonexistent.
That was precisely why they could receive the Family's teachings like this.
The Senior Instructor drew the sword from his hip and began his explanation of the Principles of the Sword.
"The Principles of the Sword refer to the fundamental attributes one possesses while cultivating swordsmanship. The basics cover 4 attributes: Swift, Shift, and then Dominance, and Yielding."
Swift was speed, Shift was the use of feints and misdirection.
Dominance was concentrated power, and Yielding was concentrated softness.
These 4 were the widely used standard attributes.
But beyond them, there existed far more varied Principles.
‘Most won't know that, though.’
Well, it was only natural.
It was no coincidence that the instructor had described the 4 as fundamental.
The Principles of the Sword had originally been far more diverse.
But most of the other Principles had been erased by the Empire—the very Empire that used those 4—and were now all but lost arts.
Even Feyr had only come to know that information during a top-secret mission to collect lost secret texts in his past life, so there was even less reason for others to know.
‘If there's anything still surviving, it would be with the foreign tribes.’
Even as Feyr was recalling memories of the past, the instructor's explanation continued.
"First is Dominance Sword. The essence of the Dominance Sword lies in its concentration of power. However, it is not something accomplished by simply striking with brute force. If you were to ask what that means......"
The Senior Instructor let his words trail off, then threw his scabbard into the air.
Out of nowhere, what is this......?
That question bloomed on everyone's faces.
And then, the very moment the scabbard that had been hanging in the air came plummeting down—
Paaang—!!
Before it could hit the floor, the scabbard shattered into pieces and exploded outward in all directions.
Not only that—the floor where it had landed was cracked from the impact.
And yet it had not been touched directly.
What had created this sight.
It was none other than a single sword.
"Even without using Mana, this level of power can be achieved. This is the essence of the Dominance Sword."
The instructor sheathed his sword and said.