Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

“I’ll be back.”

Christian, having picked up his practice sword, walked lightly towards the center of the grand arena.

Garcia, who had already climbed up and was preparing, gave Christian a slight nod. His resolute appearance indicated that he was determined to give his best.

‘His physique is much better than I thought.’

It was clear that he hadn’t just grown his mana disproportionately but had also invested in swordsmanship and martial arts to train his body.

‘He certainly stands apart from the other knights.’

The reason the Worden Count family was famous for their swordsmanship lay in their family’s unique mana pattern.

Although their pure swordsmanship wasn’t severely lacking, it wasn’t entirely satisfactory either.

‘They’re all pale and feeble… Tsk.’

It was somewhat regrettable, but Garcia was a sizable man with tanned skin and solid muscles.

‘He’s quite to my liking, isn’t he?’

As Christian eyed Garcia up and down, he noticed the bracelet on his wrist and gave a slight smile.

“That bracelet looks nice, Sir Garcia. I thought you weren’t into accessories…”

“I’m not fond of such cumbersome things either, but if it’s for you, young master Christian, I must accept it humbly.”

“I shouldn’t be the one thanking you for that, right?”

“Of course not. But please remember that I wish to engage in this duel fairly.”

‘Yes, indeed. As you say.’

He seemed to be saying that he was honorably present and shouldn’t be blamed even if something went wrong. Christian frowned at the thought.

But there was nothing to be done.

A duel between Garcia, who had been immersed in sword and mana for decades, and Christian, who had just begun to store mana in his body, was illogical from the start.

As if acknowledging it couldn’t be fair, Garcia had already constrained himself as he stepped onto the stage.

‘That bracelet must be expensive. He does have plenty of money.’

Though it was a mana tool designed to bind runaway knights and criminals, when the intensity of the constraint was lowered, it could be used for friendly duels like this.

In this situation, it was mainly used for higher-level individuals to teach those at a lower level.

‘It was too gentlemanly for my liking, though.’

For the first few times, master also wore such mana tools during duels. As a result of constantly being threatened, I quickly improved my skills, and eventually, I dueled without such tools.

Master’s friends suggested that she was perhaps too fervent against a child and wore mana tools during duels, but…

When they actually crossed swords, they were all startled, smashed the mana tools, and unleashed their genuine power.

Hence, master would sometimes bet on how long it would take his friends to discard the mana tools in the duels.

‘Now all of that is just a memory.’

And…

‘This too will become a memory.’

Christian’s gaze at Sir Garcia softened.

This was a duel for a rightful evaluation, not a war for killing.

How precious this was—none of the people gathered here would know.

‘It’s peaceful. And warm.’

All the spectators were family members, and a few were secretly betting on who would win.

Cheers and encouraging remarks could be heard.

He could hear his mother’s shouts from behind, and beyond Sir Garcia, he saw Aunt watching intently and Aira contemplating who to support.

‘This is nice.’

For the moment, he wanted to enjoy this peaceful time.

But…

‘Alright.’

The peace faded from his mind the instant he grasped the sword.

As Christian extended his practice sword, Garcia also silently picked up his practice sword.

After that, their swords crossed.

“For the honor of each other.”

“For the honor of each other.”

As soon as those words were spoken, Christian moved as if he had been waiting.

“Whoosh!”

Taking a deep breath, he spread the mana throughout his body in an instant.

‘Mana Release.’

Due to his still immature physique, he had to rely on mana for now. So, he circulated the mana within his body to the limit that wouldn’t overburden it.

‘Activate.’

Body Activation. It was not simply storing mana within the body and using it.

It awakened the body’s potential with mana.

The power that surpassed the current physical limits was forcibly created using mana.

His vision cleared, and his hearing sharpened.

Strength that could easily lift heavy rocks surged, and even a single step stretched as if he took two. Such was the effect of body activation.

Those who could utilize mana learned this first.

And they became intoxicated by the exhilarating sensation of becoming superhuman…

‘And they cannot escape from it.’

It was an experience of a body never felt before.

The body felt lighter, as if it were a feather, and whatever blocked it could seemingly be shattered, with dynamic vision quickly grasping the movement of the sword.

Hence, all the past efforts to sweat over swordsmanship and train the body felt utterly futile.

‘And thus, one becomes more obsessed with mana, increasing its capacity to maintain this sense of omnipotence longer.’

It was a foolish thing to do.

In the world, leaning extremely towards one side brings nothing good.

Especially when a swordsman, who uses the body, relies solely on mana like mages, it’s as if they are rushing faster towards their doom.

Swordsmen are those who wield their bodies, not mana.

People didn’t know that, nor did they try to learn. Because it was only natural.

‘The absence of external threats was the problem.’

In the present era, threats existed only outside of monsters. Or perhaps human wars should be included as well.

Thus, in a world where the struggle for survival disappeared, progress for survival inevitably slowed.

‘Let us match wits, Sir Garcia.’

And now, in front of the newly beginning Christian was a knight living in a world where that struggle had vanished.

“Chaat!”

Garcia shouted loudly as he thrust his sword.

Swooosh—!

With the sound of cutting through the wind, Garcia’s sword, rushing to the shoulder, was swift and strong.

In terms of proficiency, Garcia might have been superior.

‘That would have been the case if it were the old Christian.’

But because the sword was too honest, Christian only needed to slightly twist his body to evade it easily.

“This is not the end, young master Christian!”

“Yes, well. It seems so.”

Garcia, as if this spar was indeed a teaching session, continued to graciously reveal his sword path.

The descending sword, just as he announced, instantly redirected toward Christian’s side…

Clang—!

Yet before Garcia’s sword could even fully extend, Christian had simply raised his sword to block it in advance.

“Oh! Sir Garcia! You’re no joke, right?”

“They said they’d match the level of Young Master Christian, but he’s soaring, isn’t he?!”

The spectators were thrilled by the unexpectedly fierce match, though Christian himself was far from satisfied.

“Haha! I said it’s not over yet!”

‘…… What is this?’

A tingling sensation was felt in his hands. The transformation was nothing more than a minor trick to momentarily deceive the eyes.

Garcia’s footwork on the ground was precarious enough that a misstep could send him face-first into the ground.

The thrusting and transforming wrist movements could result in disaster if not executed perfectly.

It was unclear whether he relied on his physical vitality, or found it acceptable to take such risks without issue… but…

‘There’s no substance. This is just about moving quickly.’

The only redeemable factor seemed to be his proficiency in utilizing mana. The faint mana pattern infused in his wooden sword.

‘Is this a wave (波動)?’

There were several mana patterns to be learned following the mastery of basic bodily activation, one of which was the wave.

Fundamentally, it involved infusing the sword with mana to push the opponent back.

Wave was a versatile mana pattern that Christian frequently employed.

Hence, he gazed at Garcia’s wave-infused sword in disbelief.

Even with the restrictions imposed by mana tools, this wasn’t how a wave was supposed to function.

When one spoke of wave, fundamentally…

Thud—!

“Uh…?”

As Garcia’s sword clashed with Christian’s, a loud noise erupted, and Garcia’s arm jerked back.

Simultaneously, his body slightly lifted off the ground, exposing his chest—leaving him vulnerable.

‘The purpose isn’t merely to push back, but to disrupt the opponent’s stance and exploit openings.’

Although it could have ended by driving the sword into his heart, Christian refrained from doing so.

Fortunately, Garcia wasn’t completely incompetent and quickly adjusted his stance, retreating.

However, Christian released a wave from his sword, covering the distance Garcia had retreated.

Thud—!

It gave Christian’s sword incredible speed.

‘A point of impact that endlessly propels with explosive power.’

Garcia’s eyes widened as he realized he had no way to evade Christian’s relentless attack.

In a hurry, he raised his sword, blocking Christian’s strike from the side.

Clang—!

But due to his sudden change in stance, he couldn’t completely absorb the impact.

“Ugh?!”

The wave coursing through his sword struck Garcia internally, delivering a significant shock.

“This, could it be?!”

Realizing it was more than a mere shock, Garcia’s expression changed drastically.

‘The wave isn’t restricted to the sword alone.’

To be truly effective, it must be employable throughout the whole body and capable of completely neutralizing the opponent.

However, without a ‘body’ resilient enough to endure such a wave, it would result in one’s own damage.

‘One must be willing to push beyond limits.’

Thus, Christian also suffered considerable impact. Pain surged from his hands up to his wrists.

Using the chained wave on his still-developing body significantly burdened his physique.

“It’s not over, Sir Garcia.”

As Christian smiled, the realization of something amiss became evident on Sir Garcia’s tense face.