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“What kind of bet do you wanna make so suddenly?”

“A bet to prove that the fifth training ground is really the best among Zieghart’s trainees.”

“Ah, you wanna bang out?”

“Stop talking so vulgarly as a Zieghart instructor.”

“Fighting and banging out, it’s the same thing. It’s just more intuitive.”

Rimmer grinned and finished drinking his beer. Metun remained stiff, like a stone statue.

Even though they were both head instructors, their personalities were the complete opposite.

“Oh, are Rimmer and Metun fighting each other?”

“It’s not them, but they’re making their students fight!”

“Then the fifth and sixth training ground? That’s huge!”

The people in the pub all stood up and gathered around Rimmer and Metun.

“I’m betting my entire fortune in Metun!”

“Hell no, Rimmer’s going to win this one! Martha, Burren, Runaan, and there’s also Raon, who won against those three!”

“That’s right. The sixth training ground has many collaterals, but there’s no members of the direct line. It’s pretty obvious the fifth training ground is going to win!”

“Your information is trash. Trash. Do you really not know that Sir Kein joined the sixth training ground recently?”

Hearing that a member of the direct line had joined them, everyone looked at him.

“Huh? Wasn’t he injured in a mission?”

“It’s already been a year and six months, dummy.”

“Oh, then it’s hard to tell. Sir Kein was famous for his talent, especially his senses and the purity of his aura.”

“It’s not just hard to tell, but the sixth training ground has the advantage. Sir Kein and the collaterals that follow him are already sixteen years old.”

“This is interesting!”

“Let’s go! Let’s gamble!”

People in the pub started taking out their money while shouting the fifth and sixth training ground’s names, as if the bet was already established.

“Wow, I’m going to get beaten to death if I refuse.”

Rimmer grinned. Despite what he said, he looked like he was enjoying it.

Metun’s expression didn’t change. It seemed he’d already expected that to happen.

“But why do you want to bang out all of a sudden?”

“It’s not banging out…”

“Don’t mind the details.”

“Do you really not know?”

“Is it because of the Owen Kingdom?”

Rimmer raised his beer glass while scratching his chin.

“Yes. Because the Owen Kingdom only asked for a spar at the fifth training ground after watching the sixth training ground, the children’s pride was trampled.”

“But that’s because they’ve been slacking.”

“You’re not wrong. It was because the trainees hadn’t been doing their best, and I was the same. However, it’s different now.”

Metun continued, watching Rimmer’s fuzzy eyes.

“Ever since Kein Zieghart transferred five months ago, the sixth training ground has changed. Everyone came out during the daybreak and trained until night, and we even passed Hell Week recently.”

“Eeh? Hell Week?”

Rimmer’s jaw dropped.

“Yes, there wasn’t a single drop out.”

“That’s amazing.”

Hell Week was part of Zieghart’s training, famous for its difficulty. There were dropouts among the regular swordsmen, it was pretty amazing that every trainee managed to pass.

“I thought it was about time to teach them the feeling of accomplishment.”

“And you are going to use the fifth training ground as the sacrificial lamb?”

“......”

Metun answered the question with his silence.

“I like it.”

Rimmer grinned and tapped the table.

“What about the method? Is it going to be one-on-one spars?”

“No, we can’t win against the fifth training ground yet with one-on-on spars.”

Metun shook his head.

“Hmm? Then how do you wanna fight?”

“One-on-one isn’t the only way.”

“Ah!”

Rimmer grinned and tapped the table.

“Is it a team battle?”

“Yes. The fifth training ground has forty-three people, so we will also prepare forty-three people. Let’s decide on a location and make them fight.”

“It’d be difficult to call it an all-out war. I guess it’d be a local war.”

Murmuring that it would be good, he touched once again the gold coin that Metun had put down.

“But I have a suggestion.”

“Suggestion?”

“Sixth training ground has over twice as many people as us, right?”

“Indeed.”

“Then it’s better to give more opportunities. Bring sixty people.”

“What?”

“Let’s fight with forty-three of us and sixty from there.”

“Are you looking down on us?”

Metun’s pressure flared up like dry straws. The table started trembling.

“I’m not looking down on you, I’m telling you the truth. You gotta admit they lack in power and experience.”

“Hmm.”

“And we have more direct line, vassal family, and upper collaterals. Nobody’s going to point their fingers at you for fighting with sixty people.”

After considering it for a bit, Metun nodded.

“Alright, let’s do that.”

“And you decide the date and location.”

“I do? What are you gonna do if I trick you…?”

Metun’s serious eyes wavered for the first time.

“I know you aren’t the type to cheat with something like this.”

Metun’s strength left the hand on the gold coin, and Rimmer took it without missing the opportunity.

“But you are mistaken about one thing.”

Metun turned his head around after taking his hand off from the gold coin.

“Mistake?”

“Kein Zieghart cultivated his aura and trained his senses every day during the year and half period where he couldn’t move his body from his injury.”

“Huh?”

“His senses and amount of aura doesn’t lose to a regular swordsman.”

He confidently looked upon Rimmer.

“You’d better prepare thoroughly. Because Kein might wipe them out all by himself. This is the down payment for the bet.”

Metun took out a gold coin pouch from his chest, placed it in front of Rimmer, then left the pub.

“Wow!”

“Can we also spectate?”

“Open the gambling place already! I’m betting my entire fortune on the sixth training ground!”

“I’m betting on the fifth training ground!”

“You are talking big with your meager fortune. I’m betting my house!”

Once the bet was established, the pub became so messy that the roof seemed to throb.

“Hmm.”

Tapping on the gold coin pouch, Rimmer smiled.

“Free money is great.”

He looked calm, as if he already knew it was coming.

“Then, shall I go to the gambling house?”

* * *

* * *

Dim daybreak, before sunrise.

At the annex building’s dark, empty plot, Raon was sitting with his eyes closed. A red haze, thinner than leaf, was shimmering on his shoulders.

Opposed to the heated sun rising up, the red energy coming from Raon’s body gradually subsided, =eventually disappearing completely.

Raon opened his eyes.

Blink.

Like the sun rising in the sky, his red eyes flared up with an intense heat.

“Haa…”

Once Raon exhaled the remaining impurity from his body, his burning eyes returned to normal.

‘Time really flows quickly.’

He stood up, watching the sun slowly rise.

Three days had already passed since he had returned from his first mission.

Thanks to training for those three days, his body and aura were somewhat synchronized.

Clang!

After spinning his wrist and ankle, Raon drew his sword. Using the ‘Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’, he practiced the \'Star-Combining Sword\' from beginning to end.

Aura was following behind his body, just like a shadow. It wasn’t perfect, but it had significantly improved compared to three days ago.

‘Let’s leave it here for now.’

After all, it was something to work towards for the rest of his life.

Complete synchronization between body and aura wasn’t something that could be done in a span of a few days.

Since it would lead to the ‘Sword-Body Unification’, he needed to train constantly.

After practicing Zieghart’s basic swordsmanship from the beginning to the end, Raon sheathed his sword.

When he looked up at the sky, the sun had risen pretty high.

‘I’m a bit late.’

Daybreak’s personal training time was about to end. He needed to arrive at the training ground before the regular morning training started.

Raon changed his sweat-drenched clothes and ran towards the fifth training ground. As he was about to open the door and enter, the trainees\' voices could be heard from inside.

“Why is he not here? This is so unusual.”

“Since he completed the mission on his own, he must not feel the need for the daybreak training anymore.”

“Tsk, anyone could’ve done it in his place.”

“I know right? It was just a bandit, after all. They said there was an aura user, but how strong a bandit can possibly be? He just got lucky.”

He could tell from the voice alone. They were collateral trainees, those that parted from Burren, unable to keep up with his changes.

‘Pathetic.’

Raon clicked his tongue. The loser’s chatter wasn’t worth his attention, since they were going to avoid his gaze and run away the moment he entered.

‘But the training ground is a bit cold.’

As he was about to enter, feeling the unusual temperature of the training ground, a familiar voice could be heard.

“Pathetic.”

It was Burren’s voice. The elegant sound of footsteps stopped in front of the trainees.

“Anyone could’ve done it? Then, did you manage to find the bandits’ tracks back then? Or did you manage to rescue the children? I guess you must’ve at least killed a bandit?”

“Th-that’s…”

“Sir Burren, we were just k-kidding…”

The trainees didn’t know what to say and just mumbled.

“Jealousy is an emotion that anyone can have. However, the moment you speak it out aloud, you become the most disgraceful human. I know all about it because I’ve tried it already. Get a grip!”

Thud!

As soon as Burren finished talking, someone jumped down from a tree.

“Hah, I would have broken your skulls if he wasn’t there.”

It was Martha. Her angry voice could be heard near the trainees.

“Know your place. If you’d met the bandit leader back then, he would’ve killed your punk asses already, or an instructor watching over you would’ve drug you out like a dog.”

“L-Lady Martha…”

“What did you do during the break after the mission? You must’ve been taking it easy since you felt like you needed some rest after the mission. You probably didn’t even train.”

“That’s…”

“Hmm.”

The trainees could only lick their lips because Martha had nailed it.

“That damn bastard, the one that single handedly completed the mission, came out to the training ground and practiced while you were sound asleep in your homes. He even did that on the day he returned.”

“R-really?”

“Ask him yourself if you can’t believe it.”

Martha smiled coldly and jeered at the trainees.

“You know too well about what he did. Did you stalk him?”

“What? What the hell is this son of a bitch saying!”

Martha punched the wall at Burren’s joke.

“Am I right? How do you know if you didn’t see him yourself?”

“I think shackling that mouth of yours would allow me to know.”

Burren and Martha started exuding pressure like they were about to start a fight.

“Haa.”

Raon felt an unknown emotion, similar to tapping his chest with a finger, and opened the training ground’s door.

The noisy and bustling training ground fell silent. Burren and Martha, who were about to fight, turned their heads.

“Raon.”

As he was watching those two, Runaan approached him with shining silver eyes. White frost was shimmering from her shoulder.

‘It was her.’

He was wondering why the training ground was cold, but apparently it was because Runaan was emitting a serious amount of frost.

“You must be out of your mind because you completed a mission on your own. You’re even late for daybreak training!”

Despite standing up for him earlier, Martha was now taunting him.

“I trained at home, don’t worry.”

Raon simply answered, then went to the center.

“The regular training starts soon. Everyone, line up!”

The trainees gathered behind Raon with slightly dissatisfied expressions.

“Warm up until training begins.”

An nearly invisible, faint smile appeared around Raon’s mouth as he turned his head and told them to warm up.

***

Two months had passed since they completed their first mission.

People were looking at Raon differently, but he only focused on the synergy between the \'Star-Combining Sword\' and ‘River Footwork’, not caring about anything else.

This is boring. How can you keep repeating the swordsmanship and footwork that you’ve already learned? Does boredom not exist in you?

‘Of course not.’

Raon chuckled.

‘I’m bearing with it since it\'s important training.’

Everyone knew that the basics were important, but most people made the mistake of focusing on advanced techniques, giving up on basic training.

The reason was simple.

Competition.

‘Because it feels like I’m falling behind.’

While one was repeating the plain sword technique and footwork, if others were using the sword aura and creating the sword wind, one would naturally be dispirited and uneasy.

‘And it\'s seriously boring.’

The basic swordsmanship and footwork were simple and plain. Even a trainee with average talent could learn the form in a single week.

Nobody would’ve found it fun to keep practicing that for several months, or years, over and over.

Raon was the same. Repeating the basic swordsmanship and footwork was painful to him, as well.

‘But I have to do it.’

Diligently training the basics was like making ladders on a cliff.

Those who climbed with their hands and feet would advance faster, for instance, but the one with a ladder would become faster and reach a higher place in the future.

Since he was confident in his patience more than anyone in the world, Raon kept practicing his basic swordsmanship, footwork, and the ‘Ring of Fire’ during the personal training time.

“Wow, doesn’t he ever get bored?”

“How can he keep repeating the \'Star-Combining Sword\' over and over?”

“He’s crazy. Really crazy…”

“I can’t live like that. I really can’t.”

The trainees were amazed at Raon, who kept repeating that basic technique. It wasn’t mockery or jeering, they were simply amazed.

“I know, right? How is he just repeating that? I think he’s probably gone crazy.”

The trainees turned around, hearing a pleasant voice.

“Eek!”

“I-instructor!”

“How come you’re here so early?”

“Hello.”

The head instructor Rimmer grinned and waved his hand.

“Basics being boring is a fact, but he is going to reach higher. I’ve never seen anyone not reach the high ground among the swordsmen that have worked hard on their basics.”

After saying that, he went up to the platform.

“Everyone, attention!”

Rimmer clapped his hands and drew everyone’s attention. The trainees stopped their personal training and ran up to him.

“What’s the matter?”

Burren raised his hand. He was tilting his head, curious about why he came out early during the daybreak independent training time.

“Ah, I should’ve told you about it before, but I forgot.”

“Pardon? You forgot?”

“What did you forget again?”

The trainees asked lightheartedly, believing it must not have been a big deal. However, his response surpassed their expectations by far.

“We are going to beat up those sixth training ground guys.”

“Beat up? Sixth training ground? Are you perhaps saying that we are going to spar with them?”

“Rather than spar, it’s more like an all-out war. Forty-three of you and sixty of them will be fighting at once.”

“When is it?”

Burren’s face stiffened like a tree, and the other trainees also swallowed.

Enjoying those expressions, Rimmer grinned.

“Tomorrow.”