Episode. 03 Trance (3)
Battenberg is the strongest military family in name and reality that dominates the North Continent.
Both the kingdom and the empire took a step back from this family.
In addition, Ludwig, the current head of Battenberg, made a name for himself as the strongest knight on the continent.
But some deny it.
The strongest knight is not Ludwig.
The man who claims so… … .
Beep beep-
“Big!”
It was Ballack who drank the wine from the bottle.
He didn’t like the publicity that Ludwig was stronger than he was.
It was worth it. Ludwig and Balak were rivals recognized by each other.
Matches between the two always ended in a draw.
Of course, it was a story when Balak was young.
“Did you come here for a drink or something?”
“Damn, what are you talking about? I came here because of the damn bones.”
The sweet scent of holy wine lingered in Ludwig’s office.
Balak asked, frowning.
“Haven’t you figured out their location yet?”
Why did he come to Battenberg?
It was because of the three lyches he encountered while wandering the continent.
Those guys weren’t usually liches.
The aura that wrapped around the black bones was like looking at the black sun.
In fact, they were much stronger than most magicians.
“I never thought I would resonate magic power at that moment.”
The moment Balak’s sword was about to end their lives, a magical storm raged.
It was a magical resonance.
The wavelength of mana is different for each individual.
However, there were times when twins who trained magic had the same mana wavelength, so there were cases where they exerted more power than when they were each.
A resonance that can only be used in such special cases.
For some reason, the liches that Balak dealt with used that magic resonance.
After shaking off Balak with that explosive power, he escaped with a long-distance teleport.
“I have issued a wanted order, but there is no news yet.”
“Tsk, that’s useless.”
At Ludwig’s words, Balak muttered as he drank wine.
Right after he missed them, he headed straight for Battenberg.
I knew that a family head meeting was scheduled, so I came to warn the family heads.
However, I felt very uncomfortable about ending it like this.
Not the southern continent where magicians are located, but the appearance of unusual liches in the northern continent.
It was natural that this was not normal.
So even after the meeting was over, he borrowed the power of Battenberg to inquire about the whereabouts of the rich.
It’s already a week tomorrow.
Time was gold for the old self. What’s more, he still hasn’t decided on a suitable disciple.
In the end, Balak had no choice but to make a decision.
“I can’t waste time here forever. I will leave tomorrow.”
“You look good with your old body. Isn’t it time to settle down?”
How long will his disciple be looking for?
Ludwig was dissatisfied with Balak, who was his rival.
Unlike himself, who is still middle-aged, Balak is now an old man.
Even so, he was still wandering the continent, looking for someone to make a disciple.
“Damn it, there’s not a single good guy on this wide continent.”
“Your standards are too high.”
No matter how much it was because the Sword Master’s sword descended into one-man lore, Balak’s standards were too strict.
In the first place, he says he wants some qualities beyond himself and Ludwig.
Would such a person even exist on the continent?
Ludwig asserted that he would not be able to find it even if he washed his eyes and looked for it for the rest of his life.
“Tsk, I’m out of alcohol.”
“Are you going to see Richard again? You’ve become very interested.”
Ballack stood up waving an empty wine bottle.
As if he had already become unable to live without holy wine, he lived with holy wine in his mouth all these days.
“Who is that fool! I just liked the drink.”
Other than that, I had heard that he watched Richard practice from afar every day.
Ludwig swallowed his words, looking at Balak’s back as he left the office.
At the same time, I calmed down the anticipation that was wriggling deep in my heart.
There was no way that Balak would accept Richard as his disciple.
◈ ◈ ◈
Despite what he said, Balak couldn’t keep his eyes off of Richard.
Now, he doubted whether that guy was really the Richard he knew.
From noble mtl dot com
f*ck-!
Richard is having a confrontation with Aaron at the gymnasium.
It was the sixth day since Balak taught me basic swordsmanship.
“her.”
Balak, who was watching from a distance, let out a laugh.
The guy who couldn’t even hold his posture on the first day is now quite proficient in swordsmanship.
Of course, compared to mature knights, it was inevitable that they would fall behind in many ways.
‘Obviously there is no talent.’
If it was enough to show such an achievement in less than a week after holding the sword, that talent would also stand out in the confrontation.
However, Richard, who was currently engaged in a confrontation, did not show such an appearance.
He just swung his sword in an honest manner.
but.
‘If I could say that concentration is also a quality… … .’
Balak shook his head at the sudden thought.
It was dismissed as absurd.
A large part of the Sword of the Sword Master has now been lost.
Due to the characteristic of being handed down through one-person transmission, if the successor lacks the qualifications of the predecessor, the sword has no choice but to degenerate.
‘There are many talented people.’
Balak took a look at the many talented people who were highly praised for being able to entrust the future of the continent.
Of course, their talents were outstanding.
But Balak’s castle was not full. No matter how talented they are, who has more than Balak?
In Balak’s eyes, their limitations were clearly visible. To that extent, it was difficult to fully accept his own swordsmanship.
‘I must have been tired in the meantime.’
To such Balak, Richard kept coming into his eyes.
It’s just basic swordsmanship. It was a remarkable achievement in a short period of time, but the arrangement was nothing special.
However, there was something else that caught his attention.
“Whoa… … .”
That terrible concentration.
Richard was breathing heavily, but his eyes didn’t seem to let go of his opponent.
It wasn’t just a level where I could say I had strong concentration. Complete immersion enough to make even his opponent, Aaron, feel eerie.
It was like watching a trance.
“I’m sorry, this is the first time I’ve seen a guy like that.”
Seeing anything for the first time is a different way. Balak kept repeating to himself that it was just because of that that he was attracted to Richard.
“… … I’ll give it a chance though.”
Balak’s eyes sank deeply. It was when he was struggling for a while.
“Thank you for your effort.”
“Good work, Aaron.”
The sparring is over.
Richard tapped Aaron’s shoulder and looked at the status window.
『The rank of basic swordsmanship has risen.』
『Current proficiency rank B → A』
For the results of the 6th day of training, it was a great achievement. This is all thanks to faith and super concentration.
When you raised your proficiency with faith and trained using super-concentrated special skills, a tremendous synergistic effect occurred.
‘Should I say that the motion imprinted in my unconscious comes out on its own?’
When I was completely immersed in the training, I was showing better movements without knowing it.
“You got good at it really quickly.”
Aaron wiped the sweat from his cheek.
The knights who watched the match between him and Richard couldn’t hide their surprise.
“Has the Battenberg blood finally blossomed?”
One knight murmured, and most of them nodded in affirmation.
Richard was clearly reflected in their eyes.
Knights of Battenberg worship the strong. For them, Richard’s growth aroused expectations.
Meanwhile, Richard, who was receiving everyone’s attention, looked around.
“The time has come for you to come soon.”
You should have finished drinking the holy wine by now.
Sure enough, Balak was approaching him.
“Are you here, Master?”
Richard greeted me and handed over the holy wine that I had previously soaked in ice water. This time it was a special castle lord.
It is a rare drink that grants a whopping 30 Faith.
Today was a very important day, so I paid special attention to it.
“Hey, who said you were Master? However, my eyesight has increased. Soaking it in ice water.”
“hahahaha! It’s hot on me too, so keep drinking.”
Balak pretended not to be able to overcome Richard’s torch and uncorked the wine.
That was the moment.
“… … !”
A thick, sticky scent spread throughout the gymnasium, making the nearby knights swallow their saliva without even realizing it.
“Today is a special item.”
“Huh.”
Balak tried hard to control his expression, but he was particularly weak in front of alcohol.
Beep beep-
The special holy wine flowed down Balak’s throat.
The taste could be described in one word.
“… … This is the devil’s drink.”
“If possible, how about holy wine, holy wine?”
As if he couldn’t hear Richard’s words, Balak kept holding the bottle to his lips.
In the end, the special seongju showed the floor on the spot.
“… … Are there any more?”
“sorry. Because this is a special item.”
At Richard’s words that there was nothing more, Balak straightened his expression.
I’m sorry, but what can I do?
In this place where there were many eyes, it was impossible to brush up on Richard.
What is this wine and where did you get it? The clot of blood in front of my eyes didn’t think to let me know.
“Master, could you please look at my achievements?”
“It happened. I watched them fight.”
Then talk fast. Richard raised the corners of his mouth.
“Isn’t this enough for me to win the bet?”
“… … okay. Come to think of it, I made that bet.”
This is the story of the third day of training.
I agreed to grant Balak one wish as a condition of being recognized for his achievements in basic swordsmanship.
“Hey, did you make such a bet knowing how long I would stay?”
“I guess I was lucky.”
Of course, Richard knew why he had come to Battenberg and when he was leaving.
Richard was about to say his wish.
“Let’s move to your room for a moment.”
Ballack hit the ball.
◈ ◈ ◈
Ballack decided to give Richard a chance. I felt like I would regret it forever if I just left like this.
It was a ‘perception’ that saved Balak’s life many times on numerous battlefields.
keying-
Above his palm, blue mana took the form of a small sword. Then, without delay, he pierced the back of Richard’s hand.
“omg!”
Richard looked at his hand in amazement. Contrary to what I thought the wind hole had been pierced, the back of my hand was fine.
If there is one thing that has changed, it is that he has a small hexagonal tattoo on the back of his hand.
“It is called the imprint of the test. If you have the right qualities, you will be able to unlock the imprint.”
Balak continued.
“If that’s the case, I’ll accept you as my disciple.”
“ah… … !”
Only then did Richard let out an exclamation. He stared blankly at the tattoo on the back of his hand.
Of course, Richard knew that the descendants of the Sword Saints were handed down the sword through ‘engraving’ and ‘stigma’.
Even so, I never thought that Balak would come forward and carve his mark.
“You will have to train yourself to die. If the imprint judges you to be incompetent, it will disappear. Many people have already suffered bitterly.”
“… … All right.”
don’t say die
It sounds natural.
Richard clenched his fists.
I got a very big chance.
After all, it seems that the continuous stabbing of the castle lord had a great effect.
“I am leaving tomorrow. Before that… … I would like you to bring me some castle wine.”
It’s better if it’s a special product,” added Ballack, leaving Richard behind.
“Where are you going?”
“Shouldn’t we be preparing to leave?”
It didn’t sound right.
Richard still had some business to do with him.
“I haven’t told you my wish yet.”
Balak only played the drums and drums by himself. To give out what you want before you even say your bet’s wish.
You shouldn’t give me an excuse like this, said Richard with a smirk.