"For this afternoon, you could train me instead, Sir Rolf."

In fact, even Reivan felt ashamed to ask this of someone who was obviously busy guarding Aizen against other Transcendents — who could come at any time. But he felt like this was an opportunity he could not let go of.

The man before him was the Sword Star. Aizen's strongest guardian.

His uncle Viktor may have been the country's strongest knight, but he would be obliterated in an instant if he ever went up against Rolf. Heck, even his mother could beat his uncle!

Of course, that did not mean that his uncle was weak. It was just that Rolf was that strong. Even the man's might was impossible to calculate according to [Supreme Insight].

It went without saying that any training Reivan could get from such a man would be worth its weight in gold.

'Oh wait. That expression doesn't really work since training doesn't have weight...'

In any case, he could not resist the temptation of needling this old man for some yummy candy called "wisdom", "knowledge", and "technique".

So that was why Reivan knelt down on the ground and begged. In fact, he almost wanted to grovel. If that was what it would take to obtain such a rare opportunity, then so be it!

Looking down at him with a smile, Rolf waved his hand and an invisible force righted Reivan back into a sitting position. After sighing in exasperation, he shook his head and chuckled. "I can't believe you'd ask for the same thing in the exact same way as your uncle when he was young."

"My uncle...?"

"Yes." The old warrior nodded. "Viktor ran up the mountain for days just to reach me. He then knelt on the ground just like you did, begging me to give him guidance. Even when I refused because I was observing a Transcendent Nightmare at the time, he kept on begging at the entrance to the Sanctum for days. In the end, I succumbed and told him I'd train him after I dealt with it."

'Uncle... you're so good at begging.'

If it was ordinary begging, Reivan wouldn't have been impressed. But the warbeast man had begged for days without rest and probably without food or water either. When it was begging done at that level, it became something to be admired instead — that was what Reivan thought.

'Uncle. Please lend me your powers as I follow in your footsteps.'

Reivan put his hands together and looked at the Sword Star imploringly. "Please, Sir Rolf?"

Rolf shook his head with a smile, making the young prince's heart drop for a second, before he eventually said, "What else is an old man like me to do when a child begs like this?"

"Then you agree?"

"Yes, I agree."

'Let's fucking go!'

Reivan pumped his fist while restraining the urge to cuss in excitement. He stood up and jumped around in happiness.

'I did it, Uncle! Thanks for lending me your strength!'

He wasn't sure if he'd really gotten some help from his uncle, but it wouldn't hurt to thank the man anyway. Now, Reivan would be able to get some training from the most powerful man alive.

'I don't even have to worry about suffering emotional damage if it's with him!'

Reivan thought they would move to a more open area, but Rolf said that their current location would be enough. Reivan didn't trust in himself enough to refute the incredibly powerful gentleman, so he naturally agreed.

Squatting on the grass with his Soul Armament resting on his lap, Reivan directed every ounce of his attention to whatever the Sword Star said or did. His eyes were like a hawk as they stared at the old warrior sharply, expressing his overwhelming hunger and enthusiasm for getting stronger.

Rolf nodded in apparent satisfaction while standing in front of the young prince. "It seems like you can summon your Soul Armament without any problems."

"Yes, sir," Reivan answered immediately and with great respect. But then his brows furrowed in confusion. "Isn't summoning it supposed to be the easy part though?"

"That may be true for most, but there are a few people who have a bit of trouble doing it at the start. We don't understand what causes it, but they eventually learn to do it with ease after about a week, so the kingdom has never been too worried."

"I see..."

"Anyway." Rolf clasped his hands behind his back, looking like the definition of a wise elder about to impart words of wisdom to some youngsters. "Let's begin. Shall we?"

"Yes, sir!"

"I like your enthusiasm."

"Yes! I am ready for anything! Even if you tell me to run down the mountain barefoot, I'll do it, sir!"

"Okay... maybe, that's too much enthusiasm..." Rolf frowned in thought for a moment before he shook his head. He gazed at Reivan with a serious expression. "For now, a question. Young one, combat has three main factors. What do you think these are?"

Faced with a sudden question, Reivan was stunned. He racked his brain, but the seemingly simple question had numerous possible answers. In the end, he still couldn't come up with something he could be confident in so he picked the ones he deemed most likely to be correct. Hopefully, they would be close enough to avoid embarrassment.

"I think they're..." Reivan took a deep breath before he continued. "Strength. Skill. And the tools at one's disposal...?"

"Hmm..." Rolf hummed in thought while smiling. "A very good answer. But not what I was looking for."

"Please enlighten me, Master."

"Hoho. Did your mother tell you that I like being called that? You little brat." The old warrior chuckled good-naturedly before putting up three fingers. "The main factors in battle are your side. The other sides. And..."

"And...?" Reivan hung onto every word.

"And luck."

"Luck...?" The young prince tilted his head with his brows knit in confusion.

"Don't look down on luck, my student. For without luck, there would be no Sword Star." Rolf smiled sadly for a moment before he returned to a more solemn expression. "The other two are self-explanatory. It is your side — which includes yourself and all of your allies — and anyone not on your side, which pertains to hostile and neutral parties."

"What about luck, then?"

"Luck can manifest in plenty of ways. A sudden squall would slow down the cavalry chasing you as you flee; an ally's arrow just so happens to land on the head of an enemy preparing to skewer you with a spear; perhaps a fallen enemy's sword would just so happen to land right next to you just as your own weapon started to feel dull."

Rolf rubbed his chin in thought as Reivan listened.

"It can even be something more subtle. Like the weather being just the right amount of warm and cold, allowing you to wake up in the best condition; the food may be seasoned better than usual, putting you in a much better mood; or a particularly good night with a woman— ehem, excuse me, ignore that last one... In any case, fortune can manifest in plenty of ways, and sometimes we never even realize that we are under its influence. That does not change the fact that it is there, though."

'I really want to ask him to be more detailed about that last example...'

Rolf cleared his throat. "Now, of the three factors, two of them are things you can do little about. They are luck and the other sides. Obviously, it is impossible to affect one's luck. Now as for the other sides, you can do little about them once combat begins."

"Yes, sir." Reivan nodded in agreement.

Of course, you could sabotage your enemies to weaken them, but that would have to be done before the battle starts. There was nothing else to do but fight or run once combat commenced.

"What you can affect, is your side. And your side can be divided in two." Rolf pointed at Reivan. "Yourself." He then spread his arms wide. "And your allies. In other words, Aizen — or so I would like to say, but no country can ever truly be united. There will always be people who wish to be special by disagreeing with everything the majority agrees to, no matter how illogical it is. Your ancestor, my friend, also said the same. He'd accepted that he'd never be able to create a country like that because it was impossible. And he did not expect that of his descendants either."

'My senpai is surprisingly a realist, huh?'

"But I can speak with confidence when I say that every member of the royal family is your ally. The same can be said of the entire knight's order." The Sword Star placed a hand on his chest. "And me as well. I am also your ally."

"Yes, you are." Reivan grinned. "And I am your ally as well, Master. No matter how incapable I may be."

"Indeed." Rolf also smiled. "Now, of those two, you can do little about your allies. You can urge them to train more. If you can, perhaps you could train them yourself. There is also the option of cheering them on or advising them. Little things, but there is something you can do."

The young prince nodded along.

"That leaves 'yourself'. It is the factor that you can most easily change. Changing, or more specifically, improving oneself is — for the majority of people — the most efficient use of one's time."

"Yes, sir."

"And so that is where one's focus should be focused the most. On oneself. Despairing over your opponent's vast strength, being frustrated over your allies' lack of it, and lamenting your misfortune... all of those will change nothing. It is better to focus on changing the things that you can change."

Reivan nodded at the old warrior's words.

It was indeed easy to fall into the trap of getting demoralized by the gap between you and your enemy, blaming your teammates, or cursing your luck. He'd played a number of online games where he did exactly those things, after all.

'Focus on changing myself instead...'

The Sword Star's words resonated with Reivan.

"It seems you understood a lot from those words." Rolf cupped his chin and looked at the young prince with an expectant gaze.

"Yes... They were great. Thank you, Master."

"It's just words. No need to thank me. I have plenty of them." The ancient warrior chuckled. "Now as for 'oneself', that can be further split into two. Try to guess what those are."

"We sure are doing a lot of splitting..." Reivan unconsciously let slip.

Rolf merely smiled at this. "Most things in this world are simple. But simple things can also be abstract, my student. And it is only when we fully understand that abstract nature can things truly be 'simple'."

'That's so profound, I can't really wrap my head around it anymore... as expected of a man who looks like he might be a sect master from a wuxia novel.'

In any case, he still had to give the question a try. He thought for a bit, and surprisingly, an answer came to him almost immediately.

"The mind and the body?"

The Sword Star's eyes widened. "Correct."

'Woah! Let's go!'

Reivan pumped his fist and rocked back and forth. A hint of pride filled his face while he beamed at the old man.

"A lucky guess, it seems..." Rolf shook his head in exasperation. "But luck is a valid way to succeed, so I suppose it matters little. You are correct. The self can be split into the mind and the body. Donovan is in charge of training the latter, so for this afternoon, I will attempt to temper your mind."

"Yes, sir." Reivan nodded attentively but then tilted his head. "Uhm, but how will we do that...?"

The ancient warrior pointed at the Soul Armament on the young prince's lap. "Try to hit me with that sword of yours."

'Huh? I thought we were training the mind...?'