Chapter 41: 41
Aside from Exceed Rain and El Tesoykve, all other Magic Swords wait in specific locations for someone qualified to find them.
A qualified individual senses a unique magical energy and is drawn to the place where the Magic Sword is hidden. This is how the Magic Sword meets its rightful owner, syncing with their energy and unleashing specific attributes.
‘The hero uses Nailing… and Hanette uses Brecht.’
Brecht is one of the seven Magic Swords and has the attribute of fire. As long as the user has mana, Brecht can convert it into powerful fire magic.
Hanette, with her innate vast mana and exceptional talent in magic, can release powerful flames just by wielding Brecht and unleashing her mana.
‘Magic Swords are great.’
Typically, casting magic involves various methods and consumes a set amount of mana, resulting in the final spell. However, using magic also drains mental strength and mana, making it somewhat inefficient.
Magic Swords simplify this process, reducing the time needed to cast spells, thus allowing quicker and easier magic creation.
‘It just takes some time to get…’
Brecht is hidden within the Alain Kingdom, making it hard to even encounter it once you leave. Moreover, bonding with a Magic Sword starts from a deep desire and emotion, but Hanette, traveling with the protagonist, rarely felt fear or urgency.
This slowed her growth, and she only encountered the Magic Sword much later.
‘Getting a Magic Sword is one thing, but learning magic is more important right now.’
Even without help, Hanette would strive to learn magic. However, she would have to learn in secret, avoiding her parents and guards, which would be quite challenging.
Zion wanted to ease this burden by indirectly helping her.
‘The Ice Magic Sword has an owner… the problem is the Wind and Earth swords.’
In the later stages, the Fire, Ice, Lightning, Light, and Dark Magic Swords would be held by humans. The remaining two, Wind and Earth, would fall to monsters, making them unusable by any human.
More crucially, these monsters holding the two Magic Swords would be part of the three Demon Lords and the four Calamities.
‘With my current power, I can’t take the Magic Swords. Fighting those monsters is even harder.’
To obtain the Wind and Earth Magic Swords, one must leave Alain Kingdom and battle monsters. Fighting these monsters without mastering Exceed Rain is nearly suicidal. Moreover, without proving one’s worth, acquiring a Magic Sword would be nearly impossible.
‘When the Shadow Dragon moves, the Magic Sword users will…’
“But we can’t learn elemental magic here.”
“That’s being greedy. I’m satisfied just using mana.”
“Then why train?”
“It’s better than doing nothing.”
“Are you just showing off your money?”
“If I wanted to show off, I’d go to the gambling den.”
“Or maybe the auction house.”
“You’re making more sense now. You’ve improved, sister.”
“I don’t need to hear that from you.”
Hanette chuckled, gathering her notes. Learning magic out of curiosity wasn’t a bad choice. It could enhance her understanding of mana or reveal hidden potential.
Even simple magic could be an exciting and interesting experience for both her and Zion.
“…Sister, why didn’t you say anything then?”
“When was that?”
“When Shchedrin got slapped and flipped out.”
“Haha! What could I have said? He deserved it.”
“That’s not it. I gave you an opportunity.”
“…Oh, that?”
Hanette’s face darkened, unable to find the words. Explaining her feelings and experiences to Zion wouldn’t be easy for him to understand.
People often overlook others’ suffering, but to the one experiencing it, the pain is incomparable.
“I couldn’t think of anything. It’s not like they always listen to me.”
“With me around, at least they’ll pretend to listen.”
“I appreciate the sentiment, but I don’t want help like that. It’s meaningless.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You and I are different. Who do you think Master favors more?”
“Of course… you, sister. No parent hates their child.”
“Hahaha! That’s nonsense. What parent loves a troublemaker? It doesn’t make sense…”
Hanette laughed loudly, then her expression turned cold. To Robbenz and Yenid, she was nothing but a nuisance. She never did anything right and always rebelled.
Could such a parent exist who would show warmth to a child like that?
“You’ve never harmed anyone. You just enjoy drinking and gambling.”
“Nobody sees it that way. Everyone likes things to be orderly.”
“I don’t think it’s bad. As long as you can control it, like you do.”
“…Are you comforting me?”
“Whether it’s comfort or the truth, I think you’re a good person. You just have different goals from other nobles.”
Of course, frequenting gambling and drinking left a negative impression. Moreover, there were fixed notions about noble ladies, making Hanette’s actions seem worse.
Hanette behaved oppositely to break free from these prejudices and conventions.
“You’re saying things out of character again. Do I look that pitiful to you?”
“I’m just saying what I feel. Why do you think that?”
“Feels like a lie.”
“Why would I lie?”
“Is there anything worth praising?”
“Well… your strong will is impressive. You look good in formal attire too.”
Zion replied honestly, feeling at ease. While her habits of drinking and gambling were concerning, he understood there was a reason behind them.
Her strong will was more about self-defense than stubbornness. Given her looks, she looked beautiful in any attire.
“Can you stop acting strange? I can’t stand it.”
“Should I call you a deviant noble and tell you to wear a dress?”
“Sigh… Do you enjoy teasing me?”
“You’re the one teasing me.”
“When did I… Sigh… Why am I arguing with you about this?”
“That’s what I’d like to know.”
“Just speak normally like you usually do!”
“I always speak normally. You’re the one reacting sensitively.”
“I’m not sensitive, just stating facts.”
“That doesn’t match the facts I know.”
Hanette, frustrated, stood up first. Zion chuckled and quickly followed her.
“Going alone?”
“You’re following well. Now lead the way.”
“What do you want to do?”
“See the magic. You’ll need to spend money for that, right?”
“You only make sense at times like this.”
Zion quickly found the path. Watching the training cost money, but it wasn’t wasteful.
Robbenz had given plenty of funds, and spending it on Hanette would be worth it.
‘Now… about a month left until the protagonist arrives.’
* * *
At the indoor training hall of the Marquis Frandique estate.
Halfnon, armed with a wooden sword and protective gear, looked at his opponent. A master swordsman capable of using sword energy stood before him. While he wouldn’t be hurt, the intimidation was hard to shake off.
‘If he wanted to broaden his swordsmanship, he could have asked Barhen. So why…’
Barhen Laird was renowned among young swordsmen for his exceptional skills. He sparred regularly with knights and had even fought monsters in the outlands.
His efforts and talent had reached a level where even the royal knights were interested in him.
‘Has he sparred with Barhen enough to be bored?’
As Barhen’s younger brother, Zion could spar with him anytime. If he had been training with Barhen since childhood, he would be familiar with his swordsmanship.
It seemed he was now trying to experience various sword techniques after revealing his true abilities.
‘If he’s looking to broaden his skills… I should move diversely.’
This wasn’t a duel to the death or a test of strength. They were just here to learn from each other.
‘Before leaving, I must hone my senses…’
Even with Zion’s help, it wasn’t guaranteed that Halfnon would be able to use sword energy. It was more about personal enlightenment and mastery.
However, facing a swordsman who could use sword energy would be a valuable experience.
“Shall we begin?”
“Yes, please start.”
Zion felt awkward with Halfnon’s formal tone but raised his wooden sword. He had mentioned it from their first meeting. Despite that, Halfnon continued to speak formally, and Zion reluctantly accepted it.
“Then I’ll go first.”
Halfnon moved slowly, then suddenly dashed forward. Zion instinctively followed his movements and swung his wooden sword.
He blocked Halfnon’s strike but was quickly countered as Halfnon targeted his left leg.
Zion stepped back and aimed for Halfnon’s shoulder with a swift swing.
Halfnon dodged lightly and aimed for Zion’s leg again.
Zion pulled back his sword to block the attack.
Though not slow, Zion quickly grasped the direction of the attacks and their follow-up movements. Halfnon seemed to be pacing himself, possibly because it was their first sparring session.
‘Hmm… He’s going easy on me.’
Zion lightly pushed Halfnon’s wooden sword aside and leaned forward. His sword, following the motion, was now pointed at Halfnon’s chest.
“Oh…”
Halfnon was slightly taken aback but managed to dodge the sword by shifting his shoulder. Although he had moved lightly, he found himself already caught in Zion’s rhythm.
Even though Zion was also taking it easy, why was he being pushed back?
‘His sense of handling a sword is different. Is this why he can use sword energy?’