After realizing that his body was truly trash, he immediately headed straight towards his private training hall after doing a simple warm up. Although small, since it was only meant for a child to use, the fact that the training hall was private was more important. 

“The young master went to the training hall!” 

“What’s the big deal? Everyone goes there, you know.” 

A maid with freckles on her face replied to the shouting maid nonchalantly. It was not something new to them after all. But the other maid spoke hurriedly in frustration. She knew that the freckled maid did not understand her words at all.

“I’m talking about the first young master.” 

“For real?” 

“Yeah.” 

The freckled girl looked at the other maid in surprise when she answered with great resolution. 

Although all of the young masters with the exception of the youngest master had awakened their mana, the oldest son was not able to achieve his mana awakening. Even though he trained and breathed mana while he drank elixirs regularly, he was still not able to awaken his mana yet. This meant that he was not fit to be a Leonhardt. So why was he still allowed to stay in the mansion? The reason was simple. It was the head’s warning to others to not become such trash. Whenever everyone saw the eldest son, they would say that they should work hard if they did not want to be like that. And all of the smart and cunning young masters knew this fact.

The first young master had noticed this. So he fell into a slump as he locked himself in his room and withered away. 

“D… did he awaken his mana?”

“Everyone thought so, so I decided to take a peek too. But he did not.”

“How did you know that?”

“One of the knights secretly checked it out.”

“Ah…”

The freckled girl looked sad when she heard the maid’s words. Then, the maid that was just chatting beside her disappeared as she continued to chatter with the other maids. 

Rumors about Leonhardt’s eldest son rapidly spread in the mansion. They said that the eldest son began to train again. However, these rumors waned and died down just as fast as it spread. He was not someone that they needed to pay attention to since his mana still did not awaken yet. 

Just as the servants spread gossip about the dunce and went back to their work, Jaiden was also working hard in the training hall. He was currently swinging his wooden sword inside. His wooden sword was a special sword with an iron embedded deep inside. 

“As expected, the Lion Sword Technique does not suit me at all.”

Jaiden’s thoughts were all tangled up at the moment. He wiped his sweaty furrowed brows as he stopped training in the Lion Sword Technique.

“Maybe the elder’s advice was really correct?”

Before he became the head of the family, an elderly man looked at him with regret. He wasn’t a great master or something like that. He was just your run-of-the-mill retired mercenary. However, he left these words to Jaiden.

“The young master is wielding a sword that does not fit you. You would have been a lot better than you are now if you had just continued training with the Basic Swordsmanship”

Back then, Jaiden looked at the old man incredulously. He couldn’t understand why his tone was so lamentable. He was so dumbfounded that he investigated the old man’s identity later. 

Steel Mercenary.

He was once a popular mercenary but his talents remained common in the entire Empire. He was able to enter the 5th Stage in his later years but in the end, he just amounted to that much. The 5th Stage was not that common in Leonhardt but there were quite a few people who were on different stages. 

Nevertheless, his words continued to remain in his mind.

“Basic…”

He picked his sword again as he continued to ponder on the old man’s words. The Basic Swordsmanship was a swordsmanship that was learned by all the soldiers.

A wide slash.

A horizontal slash going from one side to the other.

A diagonal slash going from one side to the other.

A strike going up.

A stab.

A block.

These were the eight basic movements in Basic Swordsmanship. This was the first thing that he had learned when he joined the military back then. This swordsmanship would become the Basic Imperial Swordsmanship once mana and steps were added to its movements. 

Vwoong!

He lifted his sword up as he stabbed straight forward. He completely erased the Lion Sword Technique and other advanced and complicated swordsmanship from his head as he focused on simply repeating the basic movements of the sword. He continued to slash, stab and lower his sword. He removed all of the tricky swordsmanship that he learned for his survival as a talentless person. Right now, his head was filled with only this set of sword strokes.

Even without a status window or skills, he still gained plenty of experiences during that time. And all of the experiences and hardships that he had accumulated were slowly being melted into this Basic Swordsmanship.

Although he forcefully and artificially created the stepping stone to the 5th stage with the fragments of the heart of the fire dragon and the Imperial Family’s elixirs, all of his hands-on experiences remained in his head. So even though this body was left alone for quite a long time, his movements still came out pretty well. 

“Hoo…” 

Jaiden wiped his sweat as he tilted his head up. 

“I felt something…” 

Jaden couldn’t help but frown when he felt something familiar so he continued to swing his sword.

He was still young so he needed to take plenty of breaks in between. Objectively evaluating his performance in this child's body, he could still give it a pass. He knew that the simple repetition of these movements was already meaningful enough.

Let’s do some stretching.

Running.

And sword swinging. 

Then eat.

And sleep.

Just repeating these five things alone gave him a completely different feeling than when he was practicing the Lion Sword Technique. Somehow, he could feel that the sword that he was holding was attached to his hand. It was a different feeling from when he was training in the complex movements of the Lion Sword Technique. Although it was just a simple swing of the sword, for some reason, he felt comfortable and in place. 

It was a bit ironic that someone like him, someone who had seen plenty of complicated and high level sword techniques ever since he became the head, was only fit for Basic Swordsmanship.

However, he felt that it was better for him to be simple. It was because he did not need to think too much about it. Besides he also felt that the more he swung his sword, the more he felt the movements being imprinted on his body. 

“This feeling?” 

It was the same wide slash but compared to before, he felt like the quality of his swordsmanship had gone up by quite a bit.

Jaiden focused on his entire body as he continued to wield his sword. He did not just repeat the movements but he also tried to grasp the subtle feeling that flowed in his body. As he continued to do this, he felt like he was getting better at grasping and holding his sword.

Although the feeling was subtle, he tried his hardest to grasp it so he swung his sword like crazy. He continuously and obsessively swung his sword like a drug addict exposed to strong drugs. 

He also made sure to exercise to improve his stamina just so he could swing his sword more. 

A month had passed since he started this routine. His body, which had been stuck in his room for quite a long time, had almost completely recovered. And since he was training so hard, his physical recovery progressed faster. 

With this quick progress, he finally confirmed that Jaiden’s body should be trained on Basic Swordsmanship. And as if to drive the nail further, he could feel a flow of mana running through his body. This was something that would have never been there if he continued to train in the Lion Sword Technique. 

“The elder’s words were right.” 

Jaiden smiled bitterly when he was finally convinced that the old man’s words were right. In fact, Jaiden would have been hailed as a genius if he just took the time to swing a few basic swordsmanship movements but unfortunately, he did not do something like that.

He didn't even do anything special to awaken his mana. The only thing that he did was find the right swordsmanship for this body. 

The lump of mana that he had accumulated in his body remained unresponsive because he stubbornly used the Lion Sword Technique in the past. However, the mana finally reacted when he found the right sword art. In the end, it led to his mana awakening. 

“It seems like there are more reasons for me to leave this family.” 

There was no more reason for him to stay here especially since he did not fit the Lion Sword Technique. This also proved that his choice to go to the Northern Military Training Camp was correct. He knew that the Northern Military Training Camp was a training camp that taught Basic Imperial Swordsmanship in the most systematic way.

The Basic Imperial Swordsmanship was a swordsmanship developed from Basic Swordsmanship. It was a swordsmanship that was divided into  Beginner―Intermediate―Advanced levels and as the swordsmanship progressed further, it would become as complex and as complicated as other advanced swordsmanship from noble families. However, it’s form had always been based on Basic Swordsmanship.

Perhaps this was the reason why it fit him. 

If I follow this simple form of swordsmanship then I will probably be able to have my own sword art someday.

It was a stage that he could never reach in his past life. A stage that he could only touch in his dreams. 

“Can I challenge it this time?” 

The only way for his mana to gain special characteristics was to have his unique sword art after the 5th Stage before moving towards the 6th stage. Even in his dreams, he couldn’t dare to challenge the 7th Stage or the master level. But right now, he thought that perhaps he could challenge it if he included the experiences of his past life. 

‘I don’t know yet but perhaps it’s possible in this life.’ 

Jaiden checked his physical condition as this thought flashed in his head. 

“Hoo… I think this is enough for the moment.” 

Now that he had built up his body to some extent and awakened his mana, he thought that he could slowly go and meet with his youngest brother. 

Jaiden changed out of his sweaty clothes as he made his way to the room where his youngest brother would be in. He needed to find out if the rumors about his talents were real as well as find out about the extent of his potential. 

“Yo… young master?” 

The maid that was cleaning the youngest’s room was shocked to see him enter. 

“Where is the youngest?” 

“That…” 

“I asked you where he is.” 

The maid was startled when he heard Jaiden’s firm tone. She hurriedly led him to where his youngest brother was. 

“He’s here.” 

“Here?” 

Jaiden glared at the maid when she told him that his brother was inside a small closet. No matter how much the others treated him like a fool in this mansion, the maid was still not in a position where she could make fun of him. 

“I… I’m not lying. He really is here.” 

“So you guys are treating the youngest like this, huh?” 

The maid was suddenly scared when she saw the look on Jaiden’s face. She hurriedly shook her head to prove her innocence. 

“No, not at all! The youngest master wanted this by himself.” 

“What kind of ridiculous nonsense?” 

Jaiden glared at the maid as he opened the door to the closest. When the door opened, he could see his youngest brother crouching inside. He looked at his brother incredulously as he asked him…

“What are you doing there?”

“Hyu… hyung-nim?”

His youngest brother was startled at the sight of light pouring in the small space. He was shocked to see Jaiden outside the closet. Jaiden looked at his brother with disapproval as he signaled for the maid to go out of the room. 

Then, he closed the door of the closet. Once the door closed, the light went out. This meant that Jaiden could not see his brother at all. 

“What are you doing in a place like this?”

The youngest did not answer Jaiden’s question. 

“I asked you what you’re doing here.”

Jaiden should not have awakened his mana at this point in time but right now, his mana was well and fully awakened. This body could now let his vitality flow out of his body and express it outside, an achievement that he couldn’t do back then. Mimicking his past experiences, he let a thick and strong force of vitality spread out in the room.

“Come out.” 

“I… I don’t want to!” 

Jaiden opened the door as he tried to drag his brother out of the closet. However, when he was already halfway out of the closet, his brother fiercely resisted and struggled against his hold. Jaiden looked at his brother strangely. Then, he tried to drag him away again. But the youngest resisted again, showing a great power that no ordinary boy could have. 

“You…” 

He realized that his youngest brother had his mana awakening. Jaden couldn’t help but look at his brother incredulously. But the brat just struggled free of his hold as he crouched down in the corner of the closet with a frightened look on his face. 

Jaiden noticed his strange behavior so he closed the door again before asking him calmly.

“You have already awakened your mana so what are you doing in a place like this?” 

“That…” 

“If you’re scared of something, you can just tell the knight to protect you. Or you can also build up your own strength. What are you staying here for?” 

“I… I can hear ghosts.” 

Jaiden tilted his head in thought when he heard the youngest’s tearful voice. 

“Is it some kind of spirit…” 

“No!” 

Jaiden was shocked when the youngest firmly shouted ‘No!’. He couldn’t help but ask him curiously.

“How can you be so sure?” 

“I asked the Spirit Ahjussi. I also checked it with a book. It’s also not a divine beast.” 

Jaiden looked at the door of the closet with a frown. He thought that it was a mental problem but based on his words, it did not seem to be the case. If it wasn’t a divine beast or a spirit talking to him and it was simply a ghost or a spectre monster, then it did not make sense at all. He knew that the family would not allow any ghosts or spectre monsters to roam around in the heart of the Leonhardts. 

‘Don’t tell me!’ 

Jaiden looked at the closet where the youngest, Aiden, was with an unbelievable expression on his face.

“Aiden.” 

“Yes?” 

“Come out. I need to check something.” 

“I… I don’t want to. If I get out of here then I will hear them again…” 

When Aiden refused to leave the confines of the closet, Jaiden spoke to him with a firm and confident voice. 

“If you’re good and you come out then I think I will be able to fix your problem.” 

Aiden’s eyes widened when he heard Jaiden’s words. He was trying to determine if he was telling him the truth or not. 

“I have a hunch so come out. If you don’t then you’ll be haunted for the rest of your life.” 

Tears welled up in Aiden’s eyes when he heard his words but the brat still slowly rose from his seat.