Although he now owned Wynnyd, it was impossible for Eugene to summon a spirit immediately. No matter how little mana was consumed by spirit magic, it still required a certain minimum amount of mana in the first place. As Eugene had yet to start training his mana, not even a speck of mana could be found in his body.
Even for Eugene, this was a problem that he couldn’t help but be concerned about.
The Bloodline Continuation Ceremony was over. Now, Eugene was free of any restrictions on wielding real swords, and he could even start training his mana.
As descendants of the Great Vermouth, the Lionheart family possessed a mana training scripture far superior to any other scripture belonging to a martial family, knight, or mercenary. After all, it was a scripture developed three hundred years ago and continually refined over that time.
The Lionheart’s collateral lines were all families that had been split off from the direct line, and their mana training scriptures also originated from there. But needless to say, only the foundations of their mana training scriptures bore any similarities to the main family’s mana training scriptures. This caused the level of the collateral lines’ mana training scriptures to fall so low that they couldn’t even be compared to the main family’s.
This difference in quality further allowed the direct line to maintain its superiority over the collateral lines.
‘As for our family’s mana training scripture… although I haven’t learned it yet, it should be nothing special.’
Eugene was sure of this fact. His family had already split off from the main family hundreds of years ago and, during all that time, no one from their bloodline had been able to improve their family’s status.
‘And my father’s strength isn’t all that great either.’
After he had turned ten, Eugene and his father had stopped their spars disguised as child’s play. However, Eugene could easily recall Gerhard’s thick belly, sluggish movements, and how Gerhard would lose his breath after only swinging his sword a few times.
Gerhard had a habit of sighing that he didn’t have any talent. As the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony drew closer, the number of times his father had said something along those lines with a tearful expression on his face had only increased.
‘...Still, since it’s based on the one from the main family, our mana training scripture shouldn’t be that bad.’
If it really turned out to be so terrible that he couldn’t put up with it, it wasn’t like he didn’t have any other means available to him. Although it might have been three hundred years ago, hadn’t he still been strong enough to become the hero’s companion? The mana training scripture that he had learned during his previous life should still have some use in modern times.
‘If even it proves insufficient, I can try mixing it with our family’s training scripture.’
Since he had prior experience, it shouldn’t be too difficult to do so. Eugene was confident of this. Not to mention that his current body’s traits were so exceptional that the one from his previous life couldn’t even compare to it.
‘Even in my previous life, I graduated from using sword-light immediately and went around waving sword-force, so there’s no way that I won’t be able to catch up in my current body.’
Creating a layer of mana around your sword was called sword-light. Sword-force was a step above that. How long had it taken him to reach sword-force in his previous life, again? It felt like he had been in his twenties…. Eugene smacked his lips and fell into thought.
The mana training scripture that Hamel had learned in his previous life was a cheap scripture commonly used by mercenaries. He had lost his hometown to a surprise invasion from monsters when he was only twelve, so he had become a mercenary in order to get revenge….
It was a past that he didn’t really want to recollect. In any case, he had made quite a name for himself while diligently practicing that cheap training scripture. Of course, he didn’t practice it as it was and had instead modified the scripture to fit himself.
First, he met Vermouth. Then he met Sienna, Anise, and Molon. He had received all sorts of advice from them. In particular, Vermouth had given him various bits of guidance even though he had never asked for them, and as for Sienna….
—You paid actual money for this garbage? Are you an idiot?
—Don’t you think that your words are a bit harsh?
—Fool! Come here and sit down.
—Why?
—If I tell you to sit, then just sit! Now then, from the beginning, show me how you practice that piece of trash you bought. Because I’m going to tear it apart and fix it for you!
…He had received a lot of help from her.
He parted ways with Gilead at the main mansion. Gilead headed straight for Lovellian, while Eugene returned to the annex. Dezra, Gargith, and Nina were waiting for him in the annex’s gymnasium.
“Show it to us!” Dezra burst out as soon as she saw Eugene.
As she came leaping towards him, her eyes were plainly fixed on Wynnyd, which was hanging from Eugene’s waist.
“...Why didn’t you choose a spear?”
“It was my choice.”
“But you’re great with spears!”
“Where the hell were you looking back in the labyrinth? Didn’t you see that I’m great with a sword as well?”
Dezra put on a sulky expression at this answer. She really felt that he was rude and annoying, so she wanted to somehow refute his words; but as the image of Eugene defeating the minotaur flashed through her head, she found it impossible to do so. Eugene definitely was just as good with using a sword as he was with wielding a spear.
“It looks way too light,” Gargith spoke up while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “With your strength, a larger and heavier sword would have been a good fit. A weapon like a hammer or an ax would also have been good.”
“Like I said, it was my choice.”
“Well, it’s not like it’s going to be a bad weapon, just because it’s light. Since it’s not just any weapon, but one from the main family’s treasure vault…. So, how about it?”
“What do you mean, ‘how about it?’” Eugene asked.
“I’m talking about our family’s muscle-growth supplement. Since the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony is over, you should come back with me to my family’s home. I’ll talk you up to my father, so that he’ll provide you with as many muscle-growth supplements as you need.”
“No, I don’t need any.”
“It has the best effect if you take it during your growth period. If we add your barbaric training on top of that, you’ll definitely start seeing results soon. No, wait, instead of training on your own, let’s train together.”
Gargith wasn’t just saying all this on a whim. He genuinely wanted to build a deep friendship with Eugene. After all, this was the first time in the history of the Lionheart clan that someone from the collateral lines had defeated those from the direct line during a Bloodline Continuation Ceremony.
“After all, didn’t you say that none of the knights back at your home in Gidol are able to teach you. However, our family has a lot of exceptionally skilled knights. Of course, the best among all of them is my father. So, if you come with me, my father will also offer you guidance,” tempted Gargith.
“It’s fine,” Eugene insisted.
"Instead of talking with that pig-bastard, hurry up and draw your sword,” Dezra butted her way into their conversation.
“...Nina,” Eugene called out with a sigh as he gripped Wynnyd’s hilt. “Go tell the chef to prepare some food for me.”
“I’ve already given the order to do so,” Nina replied.
“What about the bathwater?”
“I have arranged for that as well.”
“Amazing job.”
While nodding his head in approval, Eugene drew Wynnyd. The smooth metallic sound it gave off as it slid out of its scabbard made the corners of Eugene’s lips twitch upwards. Eugene stared down at the thin, silvery-blue length of the blade.
Its edge was so sharp that it felt like one could cut themself with even the slightest touch, and as long as one inserted mana, this sword would allow them to summon spirits of the wind. Eugene was well aware of how powerful this sword was.
Even without wrapping it in sword-light or sword-force, if one had the support of a wind spirit, they could create a blade of wind around the sword. When the sword was swung in this state, almost anything could be cut as if it were just a piece of paper. Not only that, it could shoot blades of wind at a distant foe and could even be used to block most attacks.
Of course, without being able to summon a spirit, he couldn’t currently use these functions.
“Which sword is it?” Dezra asked with sparkling eyes.
“It’s called Wynnyd,” Eugene replied. “The Patriarch told me that this sword is imbued with the protection of the Wind Spirit King. Once I’ve started training my mana, I might be able to summon spirits.”
Instead of relying on his own memories, Eugene relayed the explanation that he had received from Gilead. Dezra pouted and looked at Eugene with eyes full of envy.
“...It’s an impressive sword, but… there should have been a lot of spears even more impressive than that. I was sure you would choose a spear,” Dezra threw in her selfish opinion.
“Well, there were quite a lot of spears,” Eugene teased.
“Hey, did you see that one? The Dragon Spear Kharbos! The one that shoots out a dragon’s breath attack with just a single stab. They say that it can even wipe out a mountain!”
“I don’t know what it even looks like.”
“What about the Demon Spear Luentos? Was it there? I like that spear the most. After all, it was the strongest one amongst all of the Great Vermouth’s weapons.”
Dezra’s eyes grew hazy with desire. Perhaps because she wielded spears as her primary weapon, she held a lot of fascination for Vermouth’s spears.
“I’ve heard of Luentos as well. Wasn’t that the spear used by the Demon King of Cruelty?” Gargith said, nodding in appreciation.
Remaining silent, Eugene returned Wynnyd to its sheath.
