You got an idea for a new swordsmanship? While eating a freaking ice cream?
Wrath tilted his round head since he was unable to comprehend what he was hearing.
“I didn’t eat a freaking ice cream. It was just a normal ice cream.”
Raon smiled faintly at Wrath as he rolled his eyes.
What kind of swordsmanship did you come up with?
“A harmony between the illusion sword and the sound sword.”
During his trance, he managed to imagine a new swordsmanship that could harmonize the sound sword he had recently learned with the illusion sword that he’d been continuously practicing for a while.
Even though he only had an image, continuous practice should allow him to create a swordsmanship that only one person in the world was capable of using.
A harmony between illusion and sound…
“What you said about erasing weakness by using strength was extremely helpful.”
Raon raised his lips into a smile and tapped Wrath’s head.
‘He really is the Giving Wrath.’
Wrath wasn’t simply offering stats and traits. He was also giving away hints to help Raon’s growth through words and behavior.
He was exactly like the Giving Tree that offered fruits in its early stage, logs after it grew up, and eventually became a resting place once it got old.
“Thank you.”
H-How dare a mere human hit the King of Essence’s head! Such insolence!
Wrath’s face turned red like a volcano nearing its eruption.
The King of Essence shall take this opportunity to teach you who the King of Essence really is!
Wrath’s coldness pierced into Raon’s mana circuit like an awl. The wrath that was stuck to his soul like a leech also emerged at the same time.
Rumble!
The coldness was freezing his bones, and the heaviness of his wrath was crushing his body.
I shall take the ice cream sandwich’s revenge!
“The ice cream sandwich isn’t dead yet, though.”
Shut up!
Wrath must’ve been really angry from being unable to eat the ice cream sandwich. An extremely powerful coldness and wrath were pressuring his body.
‘He’s getting stronger and stronger, too.’
Though, it was pretty much pointless.
Raon resonated the Ring of Fire with a faint smile on his face. The serene pressure spread out from his heart to pierce through the wrath trying to oppress his soul, and the blue and red energies bursting out from his energy center pushed back the coldness that had pierced into his mana circuit.
Rumble!
Powerful energies clashed against each other inside his mana circuit, which had become as broad as an avenue after the Curse of Frost was lifted, but it was obvious who was going to win.
God damn it!
Wrath screamed and mustered all of his power, but he couldn’t win against the energies of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier.
He was gradually pushed back, losing his standing just like a beast who had lost its territory.
It’s not over yet! The King of Essence is the king of Devildom, and the monarch of wrath! Giving up is not an option!
Wrath mustered his wrath once again, shouting his determination to win.
‘He’s really helpful.’
Raon smiled. Thanks to Wrath’s attack, he was able to train the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Glacier, and the Ring of Fire at the same time.
‘Moreover…’
[You’ve successfully endured Wrath’s interruption.]
[Strength has increased by 1.]
[Energy has increased by 1.]
He was even giving away all those stats. Just like the Giving Tree, the demon king Wrath was useful in every single aspect.
Kuuh!
Wrath grasped his head and withdrew, then started grinding his teeth.
I’m not going to talk to you anymore! You are going to regret this one day!
His last words almost sounded like a curse before he returned to the bracelet.
“I was planning to go to the ice cream shop tomorrow, but I guess I don’t need to go there anymore since you aren’t talking to me.”
The flower bracelet violently twitched as he said that. It didn’t even take three seconds before Wrath's face slowly emerged from the bracelet.
I’m…
“You are?”
I’m canceling it.
“Hah!”
Raon burst into laughter. The ice cream sandwich must’ve been really delicious, since the demon king’s pride was bent in just three seconds.
‘I guess I should take care of him a bit more.’
Since he was the one who didn’t keep his promise to begin with, and Wrath didn’t even interfere during his trance even though he could’ve interrupted it on top of helping him before.
Doing everything he wanted to make up for his mistake was the correct course of action.
“Let’s go tomorrow, then. You should think about what you want to eat among the ones we saw today.”
That’s already decided! The King of Essence is going to try out everything, starting with the mint chocolate sandwich!
Wrath cheerfully waved his hand. His anger was gone so quickly.
“Alright, do whatever you want.”
But…
“Hmm?”
You aren’t going to enter another trance, are you?
“I’m not.”
Since he’d already finished drawing the new technique’s image in his mind, he wasn’t going to enter another trance for a while.
Probably.
You seriously entered a trance while eating ice cream. At this rate, you are going to enter a trance one day while pooping. You will be inside the restroom all day long!
“That sounds fun.”
Raon smiled cheerfully.
Hmph. So, what kind of swordsmanship did you come up with?
Raon unsheathed Heavenly Drive while looking at the mirror. He nodded, looking at the silver blade that stretched out without the slightest noise.
“A sword draw.”
Sword draw? But you already have that.
“It’s different from that. This sword draw will be able to cut through an opponent for sure.”
The previous sword draw consisted of disabling the opponent’s vestibular organ through sound, but the new technique he came up with was a sword draw to directly cut through the opponent.
The King of Essence thought you’d start committing genocide with sound.
‘Genocide?’
The old butler told you before that the sound sword’s advantage is that it can be used against multiple opponents. I thought you would wipe people out with the blade of sound, but you aren’t very fun.
‘Blade of sound…’
Raon licked his lips and started thinking about the blade of sound. The red color in his eyes started to turn pale once again.
Huh?
Wrath dropped his jaw as he saw his eyes.
No way? Tell me it’s not happening!
“What if I go even deeper than the vestibular organs…”
Raon murmured about swordsmanship without responding to Wrath.
Hey!
“I can reach the nervous system with a sound sword…”
Seriously! You are too crazy about swords!
* * *
* * *
One week later.
Raon went to a corner of the training ground as soon as he finished afternoon training. He unsheathed and drew his sword over and over with the full-length mirror in front of him that he’d brought in advance.
You’ve been doing nothing but draw your damn sword for the entire week.
Wrath sighed from on top of his shoulder. Since Raon had bought ice cream for him to his stomach’s content right after he came out of his second trance, Wrath’s appeased anger could be called mild.
Isn’t it boring for you?
‘It can’t be helped.’
Creating a new swordsmanship was similar to drawing a map. It was necessary to personally travel through countless routes to find the best path.
The harmony between sound and illusion swords that he was trying to achieve had never been attempted by anyone before. It was obvious that it was a difficult and time consuming task.
‘And I’m trying to learn two different techniques.’
He managed to imagine two different swordsmanships thanks to Wrath’s hint. The first one was a sword draw specialized in one-on-one situations, which would allow him to cut through his opponent in an instant through the harmony between the sound and illusion swords. The second one was a sword draw specialized in dealing multiple opponents, which would allow him to neutralize or kill multiple opponents at once. He didn’t even have time to sleep, since he wanted to complete both techniques.
‘And most importantly, this is fun.’
F-Fun? Are you really having fun when you are doing nothing but drawing your sword in front of a mirror?
‘I can feel my progress.’
Practicing a sword draw for the entire week had allowed him to freely control the speed, direction, and sound of his sword draw.
Since he managed to incorporate the illusion sword little by little, he would be able to create a technique that can be used in actual combat if he kept practicing it.
You are really crazy about swords.
Wrath scowled. He shook his head and returned to the bracelet.
Clap!
Raon chuckled, and as he was about to draw Heavenly Drive once again, a clapping sound could be heard. It was coming from Rimmer, who was lying flat on the platform.
‘Why is he still here?’
Since the Gambling Monster was around recently, Rimmer didn’t even wait for the end of training to disappear, yet he was still there for once. Though, his posture made him wonder whether Rimmer thought of the place as a training ground or his home.
“Gather, everyone.”
Since the swordsmen were all doing their personal training, every single member of the Light Wind squad gathered in front of the platform.
“What’s the matter?”
Raon looked up at the platform while standing in front of the Light Wind members.
“The Light Wind squad has received their second mission.”
“Hmm!”
“Mission!”
The excited breaths from the swordsmen could be heard from behind him.
Raon looked around. The glittering eyes—from team leaders Burren and Martha to every member—revealed their anticipation. Of course, Runaan seemed as blank as always, and Dorian looked slightly scared.
“Please tell us.”
Raon nodded at Rimmer.
“Anyone know about the Gazel River?”
“Gazel River…”
It wasn’t exactly a famous place, but it was known as the Blue Lugh tribe’s habitat, with pure and clean water that was almost transparent.
“Gazel River is connected to the Label River that runs across the continent, and the demi-human tribe Blue Lugh lives there.”
Rimmer mentioned the Blue Lugh tribe, which Raon was expecting.
“Apparently, the Blue Lughs sank a fishing boat and killed people recently.”
“But I heard the Blue Lugh tribe has never attacked anyone before…”
Burren frowned. Just like he said, the Blue Lughs have never been the first one to attack.
Since they were afraid of people, it was difficult to believe that they sank a boat and killed people.
“Same goes for me, but this is a fact that has been directly investigated by the Shadow Agents.”
Rimmer slowly shook his hand. His careful voice implied that he also thought the incident was unexpected.
“They were only trying to intimidate at first, but they turned more and more aggressive and ended up destroying the fishing boat crossing the Gazel River three days ago, drowning the occupants of the boat.
“Hmm…”
“Oh no…”
Since the victims were just fishermen instead of warriors, the Light Wind member’s gazes turned stiff.
“Our mission is to determine the reason the Blue Lughs have turned violent and return them to their original state. However, we will have to eliminate them if it ends up being impossible.”
Rimmer declared simply, then stood up. He looked down at everyone with his cold green gaze.
“The Blue Lughs are powerful. Their physical abilities are even better than those of a monster, and they are capable of using blood sorcery. Since every single one of them is as powerful as an Expert under water, you will have to be careful. However, there are other people that you need to be even more cautious about.”
He interrupted himself, then frowned.
“The South-North Union that rules over the Rable River. Those thieves have been passing by the area recently.”
“Th-The South-North Union!”
“Indeed. The Rable River is their territory, after all!”
“Hmm, the South-North Union from the five demons…”
The swordsmen groaned upon hearing that the South-North Union was involved. They were bound to be nervous, since they weren’t common thieves. They were a huge organization with a proper system and martial arts.
“Even though the South-North Union is rather neutral and can be spoken with, they are still one of the five demons. You should be careful, since we might end up fighting them.”
“South-North Union…”
Raon narrowed his eyes. The mention of South-North Union reminded him of the young leader Raptor that he met during his first mission as trainee.
‘He must’ve become even stronger.’
He was curious about what level he would have now, since he was already at Master level back then.
“One more thing! Doran Village, which is our destination, is outside Zieghart’s domain.”
“Why are we going all the way out there?”
Burren tilted his head.
“Because Yuin Village, located right behind Doran Village, is our domain.”
“Ah…”
“We need to stop the incident before it spreads to Yuin Village, and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to expand ourselves up to Doran Village on this occasion.”
The Gambling Monster came forward instead of Rimmer.
“It must be your first time fighting at a river, but the recent training should allow some decent movement on top of a boat.”
“That’s what all those training sessions were for …”
Raon nodded. He thought it was strange that the Gambling Monster made them practice keeping their balance. It must’ve been in preparation for the mission.
“Everyone should gather here at daybreak tomorrow, after you pack wherever you will need during the mission.”
Since Rimmer finished saying everything that he had to say, he simply waved his hand and left the training ground.
“Hmm.”
Raon turned around and examined the Light Wind members’ eyes one after the other. Some of them were filled with anticipation, while others were nervous, and some looked slightly afraid.
“Encounters on the river shall be inevitable, although our opponents could be either the Blue Lughs or the South-North Union. You should think about how you will deal with all sorts of situations to thoroughly prepare yourselves.”
“Yes!”
The Light Wind members nodded, then left the training ground one after the other.
“I’ll get going, too.”
“Please wait.”
As the Gambling Monster was about to leave, Raon stopped him.
“I have a request I’d like to make.”
“Are you talking about protecting the annex building?”
He nonchalantly replied, as if he already knew what he was going to ask.
“Did you know about it?”
“I’ve already investigated everything you’ve been doing. You’ve created so many enemies from inside and outside.”
The Gambling Monster snorted because of how ridiculous that was.
“I understand why you appointed me as the annex building’s general administrator.”
“Hmm, actually…”
“Don’t worry. I keep my promises.”
As Raon was trying to explain himself, the Gambling Monster turned around.
“You’d better return with good news, because I’m going to leave immediately if I don’t like what you did.”
He raised his hand while walking towards the training ground’s exit.
“Thank you.”
Raon stared at the Gambling Monster’s reliable back, then bowed.
* * *
One week passed since they departed for the Gazel River.
Since they were using a mountain road instead of the usual path, nothing special happened except hungry monsters who’d been starving during winter trying to attack them a couple times a day.
Raon kept drawing the image of his two swordsmanships in his head during the journey.
He kept polishing the sound sword and illusion sword in his mental image and harmonized the two to strive towards creating a new technique.
Because he was so focused, the sun had already set and risen again before he knew it.
“Hmm?”
Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the dim sky. It was already evening while he was drawing the swordsmanship’s image in his technique.
“We will rest here for tonight!”
He pulled up his horse in an open space where all directions were clear. Since Rimmer had gone limp on his horse in order to sleep, Raon needed to do the squad leader’s job even though he was focused on training.
“Each team should prepare for camping!”
“Yes!”
The Light Wind members dismounted from their hoses at the same time. Since the team leaders had learned about camping from the Heavenly Blade swordsmen, they managed to quickly set up the tents and start a fire under their command.
“Aww, is it already night?”
Rimmer walked up to him while yawning. He apparently managed to sleep soundly on top of a running horse.
“A day passes so quickly.”
“It’s because you keep thinking about swordsmanship all day long. Isn’t it boring?”
He shook his head, sounding like Wrath.
“It’s pretty fun.”
“You are a born swordsman.”
Rimmer chuckled, looking at the forest on his right side.
“There are a lot of annoying things in this direction.”
“Indeed.”
Raon nodded and tapped his scabbard. A red gaze sparkled from the dark forest soon after that.
“Grr!”
“Grrr.”
The monsters’ growls and the scent of blood were being carried by the wind that was blowing towards them.
“But the ones this time are relatively worth fighting.”
Rimmer whistled and looked back.
“Whose turn is it this time?”
“It’s our third team’s turn.”
Burren raised his hand. He had just finished setting up the tent.
“Then, you…”
“No. I’ll do it, since I have something I’d like to test.”
Raon shook his head, then went to the forest. He placed his hand on Heavenly Drive’s hilt, looking at the forest.
Red eyes were revealed under moonlight once they finished probing. The monsters were a group of huge ice trolls, covered from head to toe in silver fur.
‘Eight ice trolls.’
That was pretty good.
It was a perfect number and level to try out the second technique.
“Grrr!”
“Gwaah!”
The ice trolls came running at Raon while showing their yellow teeth. Because the ground was covered with snow, they were as fast as seasoned swordsmen.
“Cover your ears, everyone.”
Raon gave his warning, then slightly lowered his posture. He lightly grabbed the hilt with peaceful eyes. The moment ice trolls came close enough to be within ten steps of him, he unsheathed Heavenly Drive.
Cring!
The resonance was different from before. The sword resonance seeping into the atmosphere was elegant and creepy at the same time, as if a devil were playing a violin.
“Grr…”
“Gr…”
Even though the ice trolls were running at him, their eyes rolled back the moment they heard the sword’s outcry and they collapsed, rolling up to Raon’s feet.
Dead.
Even though the trolls’ eyes were filled with madness just a moment ago, vitality was leaving them. Their lives had been severed from a single sword resonance of his sword draw.
“Huh…”
Rimmer gasped as he saw the dead ice trolls. It looked like the blade had cut through their necks.
‘What is this…?’
He was aware that Raon was capable of causing harm to the auditory organs through sword resonance, but he didn’t expect him to straight up sever the nerves. He was unable to close his mouth because of how ridiculous that was.
“Uhh!”
“Th-The sound just now…”
“Kuh…”
However, it seemed to have influenced the Light Wind members behind him, as it wasn’t a perfect technique yet. Everyone was on their knees while grasping their ears. Once they collected their wits a moment later, their lips started to tremble upon finding the dead ice trolls.
“What the…?”
“Wow!”
“That guy, seriously…”
Burren was shocked, Runaan was honestly surprised, and Martha bit her lip.
“Huff!”
“D-Did he just kill the monsters with sound?”
“It’s not just sound. It was a sword resonance.”
“What a crazy technique…”
“Is this the sword draw he’s been practicing all along at the training ground?”
The Light Wind members swallowed nervously while looking at the dead ice trolls and thinking about the sword resonance they’d heard. Their faces looked like they’d witnessed something that shouldn’t have existed in the world.
“It’s still not enough.”
Rimmer licked his lips while coming up next to him.
“Indeed. I can hardly differentiate between enemies and allies, and controlling the power is also difficult.”
“Mental image is usually different from reality, after all.”
“True.”
Raon nodded and sighed. Just like Rimmer said, drawing the image in his head was certainly different from using it in an actual fight.
“But weren’t you practicing something else in the training ground?”
“Have you been watching me? I thought you were just sleeping.”
“I keep my eyes open even when I sleep.”
“Hmm… I’m currently trying to create two techniques. The first one is specialized in one-on-one situations, and this one is for when I have to fight multiple enemies…”
Raon quickly explained the two swordsmanships.
“Hmm…”
Rimmer scratched his chin and nodded.
“Then, try using the first technique on me.”
He chuckled, then stepped aside.
“I’ll complete your technique for you.”
