The real thing is different (2)
The training room was still. Uncle was breathing in a relaxed manner.
I gripped my sword, switching it from the left hand to the right, as I hovered around him.
I took my breath carefully.
“Do you need more time?” He looked like he wanted to yawn. It was a clear provocation.
I gladly accepted the provocation.
Tak tak-!
I dragged the sword against the floor as I charged to him.
Uncle twisted his upper body, leaving my attack in vain.
“Ah, for your first attack, you were aiming for my throat. Dangerous.”
My second attack came as he was speaking. This time, it was a swing aimed for his shoulders.
Again, it was avoided easily.
I raised my sword again.
Poke, draw, swing, jab repeatedly, for a long time.
Half of my attacks have been avoided.
The other half was blocked.
“Your physical strength is not enough,” he said as he raised his sword vertically.
He looked like a predator lying down in the grass, waiting for a prey.
“Take out your mana,” he challenged.
Instead of answering, I looked around.
Adelia and the court knights, including other people who have arrived from the royal palace, were watching Uncle and me.
Perhaps, what Uncle wants to happen is for me to embarrass myself in front of them.
It would be a very miserable picture.
Stay calm; stay calm.
I shook my sword vigorously and stepped back.
Whoo.
I took a deep breath while letting my arms relax, letting the sword dangle.
“You’re already giving up?” Uncle teased.
“No way,” I replied quickly and stared at him.
I have to admit it. Uncle is strong.
Now, that strong Uncle is looking for an opportunity. He was waiting for me to use my mana heart.
To give me a more terrible defeat.
It could be a lesson he wanted to give to his nephew who made a wrong decision, or to an unruly man who ruined a genius. Maybe both.
He had a good motive.
What is important now is that as soon as I activate the mana heart, things will be going according to Uncle’s will.
I glanced down. The mana heart, sitting at my chest, is now quite heavy.
It had been gathering mana throughout my battle with Uncle.
But that was not enough.
Uncle said that he would only use one ring, but he’s not like the others.
Arwen Kirgayenne, who was as strong as common knights, used mana heart, but Uncle is leagues away from her in terms of strength.
It’s a crisis.
But I wasn’t worried.
“Oh, you’re smiling?”
Uncle laughed. It was disgusting.
“Isn’t it strange?” I asked him.
“400 years ago, numerous knights achieved unbelievable feats. They all had mana hearts. Even the founder of this country had it.”
“Oh, I don’t think you can prove yourself with your sword, so you’re arguing with your words.”
Despite his blatant mockery, I ignored him and continued.
“It’s not fair for a skill used by all the great knights to be treated like garbage.”
Uncle frowned. “Mana chains, the descendants of mana hearts, proved to be stronger.”
“That’s what everyone else thinks.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My thoughts are different,” I replied. “Mana hearts are gone not because chains are stronger, but because their owners are weaker.”
Uncle considered it and shrugged. I continued to explain.
“Their mana hearts were not the same as their ancestors. There are high-quality and low-quality mana hearts. None of the masters who were defeated by quad-chain knights had a mana heart of honor.”
There was indeed a division between mana hearts. However, the real criterion that distinguishes one from the other is not efficiency or power.
“Have you ever heard of Muhun-si?” I asked him.
Uncle’s face looked obviously annoyed.
“This is a place to test our swords, not a place where we talk about songs or poems.”
He didn’t understand what I was talking about, obviously.
“You said mana hearts were a low-class skill that only mercenaries use. You’d learn a lot from that song.”
As the saying goes, it’s better to show once than to explain a hundred times.
I raised my sword.
“Come on,” he murmured.
In response, I said a line from Muhun-si.
“One hundred victories are my pride, my strength.”
“What?”
“It sings of a hundred victories of a practitioner who dreams of becoming a knight.”
『[Muhun-si] was created.』
Achievements are being imprinted on the mana heart.
The imprinted achievements become martial arts.
『[The ordinary poem] was created: [Dalian Poetry] 』
『The effect of [Dalian Poetry] was activated.』
The small achievements that I have built up over the past half-year have been imprinted on the mana heart.
I hit the ground and lowered my sword.
As I ran, my wooden blade gathered mana, and Uncle frowned as he raised his sword.
Woo woo woo woo-!
The peculiar sound of a mana-filled blade rang in the room.
Bang-!
Our swords clashed with an intense impact.
“I endured a thousand waves while competing a hundred times.”
At the same time, a line from the song rang in my head. The shockwaves from the impact that swept through my limbs disappeared in an instant.
This is nothing.
I smiled.
In order to obtain this poem, I needed to fight more than a hundred times and suffer attacks a thousand times.
I flew towards him again. Mana flowed through my sword without any break.
Bang-!
In an instant, I’ve slashed at him with a dozen times more power than before.
“Ha!”
Uncle’s expression betrayed his admiration. I hovered around him, scheming my next attack.
Bang-!
A small question arises on his face.
Bang-!
He looked more confused.
Bang-!
It turned to disbelief.
“How…?”
“Why? Did you think that I’d vomit blood again?”
Our swords clashed once more.
Kwajik-!
The collision was more intense than before. However, I didn’t feel the impact on my limbs. I cannot get hurt by the shockwaves.
Uncle stared at me.
“How…”
“I told you. Mana hearts are not all the same.”
“You’re getting lucky.”
Perhaps, my words have touched a nerve.
He took an offensive position.
In a quick instant, I had to block his blade from hitting my nose.
Bang-!
With the help of Muhun-si, I can keep using mana without the pain of regurgitation, but Uncle is still a tough opponent for me.
In a moment, our swords clashed a dozen times.
Bang-!
He kept coming again and again.
Bang-!
The light in his eyes was slowly fading. At a certain point, it became as cold as when we started fighting.
Bang-!
As it did, his swordsmanship got more intense.
Kwajik-!
His sword hit my shoulder. I felt the impact through my gear and jumped back, grabbing my shoulder.
As one of our conditions is that he would not take his feet off from their position, he did not chase me.
“Okay…”
“You have done well, so far,” he said, with little admiration.
I stared at his face as I endured the pain in my shoulder.
Muhun-si raises my power against powerful enemies and allows my body to exceed its limits.
“400 years ago, the knights made a big mistake. They wiped out their enemies and did not leave some for their descendants. Hence, their descendants didn’t learn.”
Knights of 400 years ago had enough poetry to reach [Mythic] or [Hero] ratings.
Poetry is learned and developed through swordsmanship, kindness, honor.
However, the advancements in metallurgy made people forget.
Dragons? Giant Kings?
Their faith disappeared.
They treated poetry as terrible songs or endless stories.
For anyone, Muhun-si was just a cheap song.
Those who believed must have attempted to create new poems. However, the only thing they can fight against were other humans.
For example, the victory won by the Knights of the Heat or the achievement of defeating a hundred soldiers alone.
No one would have achieved [Mythic] or [Hero] ratings with those.
Soon, all the mana heart-users would have been wiped out or given up.
“You’re talking about what happened a long time ago. You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Uncle said with obvious annoyance.
“Let’s finish this futile battle,” he said as he raised his sword
Alas! He had good technique, but with mana chains, he cannot reach Transcendence.
Bale Balahard. Arrogant and ignorant.
“You have to know… how great it is that you have lost.”
My sword let out a sharp cry as mana covered it.
Woo woo woo-!
Why don’t I take out that magnificent skill?
I took a step and sung a line.
“I cut the scales of the dragon that cannot be cut by any sword, and drink its hot blood.”
『Sings [The Poem of the Dragon Slayer]. 』
『You can’t handle the poetry with your current abilities. 』
『Part of the poem is omitted.』
『Part of the poem is omitted.』
『Part of the poem is omitted.』
『You can only use one verse of the poem. 』
A short song rang in my head.
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