Episode 38. The Rise of Such a Being
Sirius headed southeast on horseback.
He was accompanied by Alleon and Belleed.
“Darn it… Are we really going to continue just the three of us?”
Belleed grumbled.
Although Belleed had eventually followed Sirius, he still couldn’t come to terms with the situation.
“We don’t know when we might encounter the Agtas family’s forces…”
“Stop grumbling.”
“Hey.”
Alleon, who was at a loss, said a word, but Belleed narrowed his eyes.
“How long are you going to speak informally? By now, you should know that I am the second son of the Alvraim family.”
“…”
“A baseless lowlife being so insolent… Ugh!”
Sirius slapped the back of Belleed’s head.
“Who do you think you are to speak like you’re the ruler of the world to others?”
“S-Sirius, but…”
“Don’t think you can be treated well by Alleon. Consider yourselves equals.”
“I, the second son of the Alvraim family, equal to this guy…?”
At that moment, Alleon spoke up from the side.
“Master, I believe that statement is incorrect.”
Startled, Belleed looked at Alleon.
However, the words that came out of Alleon’s mouth were completely different from what Belleed had expected.
“Since I became your subordinate first, my rank is higher. We are not equals.”
“…!”
Belleed narrowed his eyes.
“Hey, am I supposed to be Sirius’s subordinate?”
“Wasn’t I?”
“No!”
“Then what’s my relationship with the master?”
“Well…”
With a vague tail to his words, Belleed glanced at Sirius.
And in a nonchalant voice, he said, “F-friends?”
“…”
Sirius simply smirked without saying a word.
This caused Belleed’s face to twist, and Alleon let out a chuckle.
“It doesn’t seem like that, does it?”
“S-Sirius…!”
Belleed raised his voice, but Sirius didn’t bother to respond.
“If you really want to establish a hierarchy between us, then let’s settle it once and for all.”
“What?”
In cases like this, when disputes arise, it’s most certain to establish the hierarchy by fighting once.
“The one who wins will be acknowledged as higher in rank, so let’s give it a go.”
“Just a moment, Sirius, that’s a bit…”
“Starting now.”
“Alright, just a moment!”
As Sirius raised his hand to signal the beginning, Valied urgently raised his voice.
“At the very least, we should position ourselves before starting… Oof!”
Caught off guard by Alayon’s sudden sword swing, Valied was thrown off his horse.
* * *
As the sun began to set, they decided to camp in the field.
Alayon, who planned to take the night watch, lay down first.
“Damn, who attacks like that?”
Valied grumbled while using healing magic on the bruise he got from falling off his horse.
Sirius sat by the campfire, watching the healing process.
Seeing how quickly the bruise disappeared, he felt that in that field, magic was definitely superior to martial arts.
“Hey, Sirius.”
After healing all the bruises, Valied approached Sirius.
“How can I become as strong as you guys?”
“Out of the blue.”
Sirius replied calmly.
“Isn’t it only through practicing magic? Didn’t you learn magic systematically at the academy?”
“No, it doesn’t seem to be the case.”
Valied shook his head.
“Watching you guys fight, I realized something. Just what I learned at the academy won’t be enough to survive in real combat.”
“…”
“Well… even a rogue like me who can’t use magic could probably take down a few. But that’s about it.”
With that said, Valied let out a sigh.
“Did you see just now? I fell from Alayon’s surprise attack. If it had been a real strike, I would’ve lost my head. Can’t even cast a single spell.”
Valied is a 5th circle mage.
Reaching the 5th circle at his age means he was an exceptional student at the academy.
But that doesn’t directly translate to his skills in real combat.
Recently, Valied keenly felt that.
“In the future, the East… I don’t know how this world will turn out. But significant changes will surely happen.”
“…”
“At my current state, I’ll taste a bitter defeat like Parriel Agathas. To prevent that, I want to become stronger.”
Watching Valied, Sirius once again recalled the story of the Noon Warrior of the Twelve Constellations.
Being from a prestigious family, he had a very strong pride. He often boasted to defeat the White Warriors.
But after experiencing several defeats, he sobered up and grew as a martial artist.
As time passed and the White Warriors became the leader of the martial world, he became the most trusted subordinate of the White Warriors.
From Valied, Sirius felt a similar temperament to that Noon Warrior.
Moreover… It’s faster to come to your senses than a monkey.
“Sirius, you’re probably using some kind of unique magic. It must be boosting your combat power.”
“…”
Unique magic.
It refers to original magic created by a specific magician, not the universal magic known in the world.
While “Jukgi (絶技)” refers to a specific technique, unique magic signifies a whole magic system.
“Originally, unique magic can only be created by becoming a ‘Grand Magician’ of the 9 Circles… Did you learn the unique magic passed down in the Canisroot or Rigel lineage?”
“…”
“Ah, I’m not asking you to tell me. After all, unique magic isn’t something you just teach anyone.”
Belleed bowed his head.
“Still, I’d appreciate a hint, even a small one. How can I… become as strong as you?”
“Hmm…”
Sirius pondered for a moment.
Then he spoke slowly.
“There’s nothing I can’t teach.”
“What? Really?”
Belleed’s eyes widened.
“If you do as I say, I’ll teach you how to get stronger.”
“Uh, alright. I’ll do as you say.”
In front of Belleed, whose eyes sparkled, Sirius picked up a piece of firewood he had brought to use as a sword.
And he split it once and sharpened it with a knife.
“This should do.”
“A wooden sword?”
“Watch closely.”
Sirius swung the wooden sword from left to right.
Then he swung it from top to bottom.
Finally, he thrust it forward.
It was known as the Three-Cut Sword Technique.
“Horizontal cut, vertical cut, thrust.”
“Yes?”
“Repeat.”
“Ah, horizontal cut, vertical cut, thrust!”
Belleed repeated eagerly.
After demonstrating once more, Sirius handed the wooden sword to Belleed.
“Repeat this a thousand times.”
“A thousand times!?”
Surprised, Belleed looked at Sirius, who pointed at the sleeping Alayon.
“They do it a thousand times a day.”
“Th-they do? So, would ten days be enough?”
“Doing a thousand times a day with your current body is too much. You’d be exhausted after just a hundred swings.”
“So, really? But if you keep at it, you’ll get used to it eventually…”
Vellid started to calculate diligently in his mind.
“Is this like basic training?”
“Yes, once you repeat it ten thousand times, you can move on to the next level.”
“Alright then, let’s give it a try.”
Vellid thought that by completing this training and shaping his body, he would be able to receive top-notch skills from Sirius.
However, that was a huge misconception.
Sirius intended to make him repeat this at least a hundred thousand times.
“Like this?”
“Focus on your center.”
Sirius adjusted Vellid’s posture with his hands.
After a few corrections, a plausible posture emerged.
“Alright, give it your best shot.”
“Oh, got it!”
Leaving Vellid to swing his wooden sword, Sirius turned over his blanket and went to sleep.
***
How much time had passed?
Sirius woke up to Alreion’s voice.
“My Lord.”
“Is it my turn already?”
“No, it’s… “
Alreion, who was standing guard, turned his gaze into the darkness.
“There are people lurking around here.”
“Thieves, I assume.”
Judging by the footsteps, they didn’t seem to be regular troops of the Agtas family.
They were probably bandits attacking travelers in the vicinity.
In that case… they were Sirius’s targets for punishment.
“Alreion.”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“We won’t head straight towards the Agtas family.”
Sirius gazed towards the south, where the Agtas family was located.
If his sole purpose was to sneak in and attack the Agtas family’s weak point, Sirius would have rushed there using his agility alone.
“Whether bandits or whatever they are, we’ll take down anyone we see along the way.”
“That will surely spread rumors.”
“Yes, it will. It’s a different story from the rumors spread in Entroville.”
There was a figure moving decisively, taking down villains in the southeast.
The Agtas family would soon realize that this figure was Sirius.
“Alreion, we’re not invading the Agtas family.”
“…”
“We’re going to establish a new order in the east. We’re inviting the Agtas family to join that new order.”
Sirius was contemplating a frontal visit to the Agtas family.
It wasn’t just about toppling the Agtas family through sheer force, but about truly making them kneel before him.
“Will the Agtas family surrender easily?”
“I doubt it.”
The investigation was already completed.
From Noble mtl dot com
Cayenne Agtas may not seem very threatening, but there was a formidable figure behind him.
Only by bringing down that figure… could he finally bring the Agtas family to submission.
“First, let’s deal with those petty thieves over there. Since they’re not many, we should finish quickly.”
“Understood. But…”
Alleon lowered his voice and glanced in another direction.
“I tried switching positions after the night watch, but couldn’t sleep, so I got up and came here.”
“…”
Sirius also looked in the direction Alleon was staring.
Valeed was swinging his wooden sword alone in the distance.
“Two hundred thirty-one… Two hundred thirty-two….”
Valeed’s muscles had already reached their limit.
But he was swinging the wooden sword with sheer mental strength.
Eager to complete a thousand strikes quickly, driven by the desire for the next stage of training.
“Alleon, I have an eye for people.”
Chunrangmooje Baekmoo rang had observed many people in the martial world.
Thus, he had an eye for seeing through people’s nature.
“Such a person will rise to greatness.”
“…”
“To avoid being caught, you must strive, Alleon.”
At Sirius’s provocation, Alleon’s gaze sharpened.
Alleon, too, needed to grow further.
Knowing there was someone chasing from behind would be a good stimulus.
***
“P-Parriel… suffered like that?”
Cayenne Agtas felt dizzy.
The news from Entrovil was shocking.
The elite soldiers of the Agtas family were ambushed and annihilated, and Parriel reportedly suffered a serious injury, losing his right arm to Sirius.
“How could this…!”
Thud!
Cayenne struck the wall with his fist.
Losing an arm was a serious matter for a mage.
It was uncertain how many years it would take to recover his magical abilities.
Parriel, who had graduated from the academy with excellent grades, going through such an ordeal, was a heartbreaking matter as a father.
“Didn’t they say Sirius was at the Albraim family? What on earth happened?”
“Upon gathering information, it seems true that Sirius stayed with the Albraim family. However, he seems to have disappeared suddenly…”
“Did they predict our movements? But even if the person who stayed with the Albrime family has reached Entrovil, no matter how quickly they talk…”
No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand.
Could all of this be Sirius’s scheme?
“What does Entrovil plan to do with Pariel?”
“They say they’ll treat his injuries and send him back…”
“Ridiculous. They probably plan to use him as a hostage.”
Kaien gritted his teeth.
“Send someone. We’ll take care of his treatment and ask for Pariel in return.”
“Understood.”
“They won’t just hand over Pariel willingly though…”
If Pariel had lost his life, it might have been possible to march with the entire army to the northeast for his son’s revenge.
But as long as Pariel was alive and held as a captive, they couldn’t act recklessly.
“Wait, they’re not spreading false documents again, are they?”
“Well, I’m not sure.”
This time, they even captured Pariel, the son of the Agtas family.
The possibility of spreading fabricated documents, true or false, across the continent to corner the Agtas family was high.
The more I thought about it, the more my mind seemed to drift away.
“Why on earth is this happening…”
Until now, Kaien had experienced various battles in the southeast.
There were times when he clashed with other minor families and even suppressed the Black Society.
But he had never experienced a situation like this before.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen someone fight like this. That Sirius guy… What is he up to?”
“My lord… What should we do now?”
“Ugh…”
After pondering with his lips bitten, Kaien stood up from his seat.
“There’s no choice now…”
“My lord, you don’t mean…”
“I will visit the Ancestral Shrine.”
“…!”
The Ancestral Shrine.
It was the cemetery where the ancestors of the Agtas family were enshrined.
But Kaien wasn’t going there to pay respects.
He needed to seek help from the person residing there.
“I will go meet my father and return.”
The former head of the Agtas family who handed over the reins to Kaien a decade ago and retired.
He was currently the only 8th Circle Mage in the east.