15

Id’s emotions, stirred up by Andrew’s long agonizing story, were consoled by the warm and gentle vitality of manna built up in his lower abdomen. Andrew continued.

“Although you have an unbelievable affinity for manna, your talent might stay buried if it isn’t nurtured. You would probably live the life of a hunter or farmer. So, I propose a contract to you.”

Andrew explained passionately.

“If you learn the entire swordsmanship that I, the former Knight Commander of the Icarus Empire’s Red Lion Order, have mastered and accomplish an extended aura blade simultaneously, you won’t find an opponent that can match you on this continent.”

Closing his eyes, Id started to meditate. Thanks to Andrew, Id realized the gentle energy that had been protecting him since he had been very young was Mother Nature’s manna force, although it had not been Andrew’s intention. Now that Id could constantly feel the manna in his body, he felt grateful for the current situation. Though Id’s meditation lasted quite long, Andrew just watched him, sitting in tranquility. At last, Id opened his eyes and said,

“I’ve never thought of becoming a Knight. All I wanted to do was live quietly and not be persecuted by anyone. But I think it’s my destiny that I met you now that manna has settled in my body. And the manna is telling me you are not evil. So, I’d like to accept your proposal with gratitude.”

“Great. Knight Andrew Adelian, commissioned directly by His Majesty, the Emperor, accepts Id as an apprentice. You’ll be the successor of my sword, so you’ll be handed down every sword skill I know, including the secret skills of the Adelian family.”

Andrew walked over to the wall and picked up the sword hanging on the wall. As he unsheathed the sword, a brilliant light flowed out from it.

“Will you fulfill your duty as an apprentice to Knight Andrew Adelian?”

Looking up at Andrew’s face, Id nodded.

“Yes, I will.”

“Do you swear on your life to train in my swordsmanship and to do your best to obtain the Aura Beam?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Do you swear to do your best to retrieve the gold mine of the Marquis Adelian family, making their long-cherished wish come true?”

“Yes, I do.”

Id answered, looking into Andrew’s eyes.

“Good. Then I’ll teach you everything from today onward. The oath of a Knight is indescribably heavy. You and I must both take responsibility for it.”

After speaking, Andrew tapped both of Id’s shoulders with the sword, completing the oath. It was the moment Id, an orphan living in a mountain village, became an apprentice to Knight Andrew Adelian, who had once been the Knight Commander of the Imperial Order.

“Even I don’t know if this is the right choice or not. But one thing I can promise.”

Andrew’s burning eyes were on Id.

“I’ll bet everything on you. It may be a gamble, but regardless of the outcome, I’ll never regret my decision.”

Listening to Andrew’s grim declaration, Id remained silent. After receiving an apprentice’s pledge from Id, Andrew told him all the secrets he knew about the Aura Beam. He had discovered the contents of the secret mainly through the Information Guild and the Thief Guild over the past twenty years.

*********************

It all started with a Wizard’s experiment. Mudria was a kingdom that bordered the southeastern edge of the Empire. Since the Wizard Tower virtually had complete control over Mudria, they called it the Magic Kingdom. Alexandros, an aspiring mage, became a disciple of Prometheus, a seven-circle Wizard. Prometheus discovered by chance that Alexandros’ affinity for manna was incomparably higher than the average person. As Wizard Prometheus wanted to experiment with magic using Alexandros’ intimacy with manna, the former accepted the latter as a disciple.

What sorcerers needed was control, not affinity for manna. They calculated, analyzed, synthesized, and rearranged the manna force surrounding them to manifest spells. The manna circles they carved on their heart just set off the magic realized outside their body.

Unlike sorcerers, spirituals constantly communicated with manna through their affinity for it. So they interacted with other beings who have a high affinity for manna, such as spirits. Many kinds of spirits exist, such as the earth spirit - gnome, the fire spirit - salamander, the wind spirit - sylph, and the water spirit - undine.

Prometheus had long worked to apply the spirituals’ method of summoning spirits with his magic but failed, owing to his lack of affinity to manna. So he started the same experiment through Alexandros. Prometheus set a magic diagram that could draw the surrounding manna into the magic circle to increase its density and let Alexandros communicate with the manna on the diagram every day. But in this experiment, an entirely unexpected and bizarre outcome resulted. A lump of manna was placed in Alexandros’ body, who had been meditating for a long time in the magic circle for manna concentration.

“What an interesting result! How could this happen?”

Prometheus had never even heard of this happening to spirituals or warlocks. Of course, they didn’t interact with manna in a magic circle. Inspired by the result of the experiment, the master and disciple made efforts to increase the amount of manna accumulated in the body and simultaneously were immersed in research to find a way to control the manna force in the lump.

It was a long and complicated procedure to find a method to control the manna force concentrated in Alexandros’ body. The procedural details had never been released outside the Wizard Tower. Thirty years after the first settlement of a lump of manna in Alexandros’ chest, walked out of the Wizard Tower neither a great Wizard nor a great Spiritual but a great swordsman. Alexandros called himself a Sword Master.

Alexandros defeated top-notch Knights of almost all countries except the Empire, traveling across the continent with Wizards. He did not visit the Icarus Empire because he worried about the pressure the Kingdom of Mudria would face from the Empire if he defeated Imperial Knights. Strange as it sounded, many aspiring swordsmen visited the Wizard Tower of Mudria.

People who visited the Mudria Wizard Tower to learn the way of the so-called Sword Master had to sit around and wait for years doing nothing. Prometheus had died years before Alexandros perfected his sword. Alexandros had been traveling across the continent for several years.

Duke Cronos, who was in charge of imperial diplomacy, was among the first in the Empire to grasp intelligence about Alexandros.

*********************

“Several families, including Duke Cronos’ family, sent secret emissaries to the Mudria Wizard Tower. I don’t know how the subsequent process went, but judging from William’s sword, it seems clear that they have gleaned the necessary information from Alexandros.”

Andrew, who continued to speak with a lonesome expression, was regretful. If Marquis Adelian, Andrew’s father, had obtained the information around the same time as the Duke of Cronos, he might have been prepared. Their inability to acquire crucial information had terrible consequences.

“The information on how many owners of the Aura Beam exist and which families they belong to is currently unknown. William Cronos is the only publicly known owner of the Aura Beam in the Empire.”

Duke Cronos has made the most of his brother, William, for the benefit of the family. However, no other family has revealed themselves to own an Aura Beam user because they were the most valuable secret weapons in the face of crisis.

If the gold mine had not been taken away, Andrew would have used all of his family’s capabilities to raise Aura Beam users. However, it took too long to figure out the secret behind William’s sword. More than twenty years after the gold mine was stolen, the family could not have had enough capacity for that. There was a longing glow in Andrew’s eyes as he looked at Id.

“If I had met you ten years earlier, I would have been able to raise you in my family’s capacity……”

“But ten years ago, I was not in this world.”

“That’s right. Relationships don’t lead to things that easy. Anyway, I’ll do my best. I’ve already entrusted you with the family’s long-cherished desire.”

Id looked at Andrew with a calm look.

Id’s life changed dramatically from the next day.

He stopped everything he had been doing and focused on sword training. Andrew was an excellent teacher, experienced with teaching numerous Knights during his time as the Knight Commander of the Imperial Order.

Id’s body reeled back as his wooden sword recoiled.

“It is foolish to deal with the opponent’s power with your own power. By letting your opponent’s sword slip by at a slight angle, you can break the opponent’s stance and seize an opportunity to strike back. It’s not an easy skill since your opponents will control and adjust their angle of attack constantly. So you have to make the skill yours through repeated practice.”

Id was quite different from the Knights who learned sword skills from Andrew. He constantly questioned many details of the swordsmanship. He wanted to know the purpose of every motion, movement, step, and stance. Id gradually transformed his sword skills with the enlightenment he gained from the conversations and sparring with Andrew.

Andrew acknowledged that Id was a gifted genius not only for his affinity for manna but also for swordsmanship itself.