“Sword…? Ah, I see. Are you going to teach me Rowen Aleis’s swordsmanship?”
“Yes, I think you’ll be combat-ready. I believe Rustiara can probably master it.”
I won’t be able to convey everything. I myself can hardly claim to fully understand Rowen’s swordsmanship. However, as one who inherited Rowen’s sword, I believe I can teach certain things.
Rowen also wished for his sword techniques to spread, and Rustiara is very interested in Rowen’s swordsmanship. That’s not the only benefit of teaching her. Furthermore, it will also serve as training for me to draw out the sword’s power.
— The Aris Family’s Treasure Sword Rowen
A sword adorned with the magic stone of Guardian Rowen.
Attack Power: 19
Attack Power becomes equal to the equipped person’s Level.
The equipped person can recall Rowen Aleis’s swordsmanship.
Shape can change. Grants the equipped person Earth Magic +2.00
The Aris Family’s Treasure Sword Rowen comes with abundant special abilities. Among them is “The equipped person can recall Rowen Aleis’s swordsmanship.” If I utilize this effectively, I might be able to understand the intricate sword theory that Rowen couldn’t fully convey.
It’s truly a case of killing three birds with one stone.
“For starters, if I have ‘Fenrir’ as an instructor, will her comprehension improve? — Blood Magic ‘Fenrir Aleis’.”
Rustiara squeezes out her remaining MP, closes her eyes, and chants the blood magic. Her hair color changes slightly, and her sword stance loses its openings.
If what I was told is true, then standing here now is Fenrir Aleis, the former Sword Saint and current head of the Aris family, in her prime.
“Alright, let’s start with a light spar. See it, feel it, and remember it.”
When Rowen taught me, it was almost entirely through actual combat. I’ll try to emulate that.
“Okay, I understand.”
We both draw our swords and swing them at each other, stopping short of actually hitting.
I may have fallen behind in magical combat, but in sword combat, I had the advantage. Though my physical strength was inferior, my skill far surpassed hers. Plus, in a fight without magical assistance, the skill ‘Sensation’ activates, giving me an advantage.
After clashing swords for a while, I disarm Rustiara. Rustiara, panting, protests.
“Wait, wait a second. You’re supposed to learn by watching this…?”
“It would be easier for me if you did…”
“That’s too unreasonable!”
“Alright, I’ll try to go a bit slower then.”
Even with the aid of blood magic, it doesn’t seem to be going easily. I tell her that I’ll adjust the pace of teaching. However, Rustiara’s expression doesn’t brighten.
“Besides, Rowen’s swordsmanship is strange!”
“Strange?”
She wasn’t saying it was difficult to imitate; she was complaining about the technique itself.
“Normally, swordsmanship is about striking opponents about the size of a person. But Rowen’s swordsmanship is designed for monsters the size of this ship.”
“Isn’t that normal? Otherwise, we’d be in trouble if a giant monster appeared.”
“No, if an enemy monster-sized appeared, people would normally give up fighting with swords… But this swordsmanship relentlessly tries to fight with just a sword. That’s why I’m saying it’s abnormal.”
“Ah, I see. Rowen can’t use magic, so he tries to handle everything with his sword…”
“To understand this unreasonable swordsmanship and overcome this unreasonable training, I’ll need to push myself a bit more…”
Rustiara intensifies the power of her blood magic to its limit. Her hair glows in various colors before settling into a silvery white. It seems she has integrated even more experiences into herself.
“Slowly! Slowly!”
“I know…”
Once more, we cross swords.
The sharpness of Rustiara’s sword has improved. I can sense her focusing all her concentration to follow Rowen’s movements and absorb them.
Thus, our training continued until dusk. A delicious smell wafted from the ship’s interior, and as Snow and the others returned from the stern with fishing gear, Rustiara and I collapsed simultaneously.
“Haa, haa, haa!!”
“So tired! Sweating feels great!!”
While I struggled, exhaling with the scent of blood, Rustiara wore a joyful smile. She was in a kind of runner’s high.
Seeing our sweat-soaked selves, Snow called out to us.
“Hm, good work… On such a fine day, training must be for masochists. Both Kanami and Lady Rustiara.”
Rustiara got up and invited Snow.
“It’s fun, you know? Want to join, Snow?”
“N-no, I’ll pass. I don’t like getting tired, so… See you!”
Snow grabbed Reaper’s hand and fled the deck. Rustiara watched them go, looking puzzled.
“Huh, that didn’t work. That’s strange, it’s so much fun.”
“…No, only you would call this fun.”
I moved my exhausted body and retorted to Rustiara.
“Eh? Well, it is a bit tiring, sure. But isn’t it fun to become stronger? How should I put it—isn’t it a pleasant feeling to become sharpened?”
“I like it, but that’s subjective… Still, sword training provides many benefits. You’re right, Rustiara, Rowen Aleis-style swordsmanship is indeed abnormal when you look at it again.”
“Let’s train regularly from now on.”
“Yes, of course. Let’s hone our swordsmanship together.”
The swordsmanship inherited from Rowen is precious. However, I have no intention of merely preserving it preciously. Rowen also would have wished for his inherited swordsmanship to be further nurtured and strengthened. Above all, as someone who cherished others, I am convinced he wanted me to become stronger.
So, how should I evolve my ‘Swordsmanship’? I need to make it more practical and compatible with Aikawa Uzunami’s dimensional magic. Thinking about that new ‘Swordsmanship,’ I head back inside the ship.
After that, we all ate dinner, handmade by Maria, and the second day of our sea voyage towards the homeland concluded.
***
The day after finishing my training with Rustiara. As I had become accustomed to short periods of sleep, I found myself alone on deck in the early morning.
Yesterday’s training was fruitful. There’s no doubt about that. However, I am unsatisfied in terms of drawing out the power of ‘The Aris Family’s Treasure Sword Rowen.’ While it’s true that the sword facilitated Rustiara’s instruction, its true value is not just that. Compared to Palinkron and Maria’s drastic transformations after absorbing Guardian magic stones, it still feels insufficient.
I jump from the deck into the sea.
“—Magic ‘Freeze’.”
Upon landing, I cast ice magic at my feet. Freezing the surface, I run across the water. A small island is visible not far away. Reaching the island’s shore, I retrieve a large bag from my ‘Inventory.’ Then, I gather sand and stones from the vicinity and place them into my ‘Inventory’ one after another.
After acquiring over ten kilograms of sand, I return to the ship. With the necessary items in hand, I head back to the ship’s deck, beaming. It’s then that Reaper spots me.
“Huh? What are you doing, big brother…?”
She’s wearing fishing gear again and seems to be heading towards the stern. Snow is with her, so they might be planning an early morning fishing trip.
These two… They’re truly enjoying their everyday lives.
“…I just went to get some sand.”
“Huh? Why sand?”
“It’s practice for drawing out the power of Rowen’s sword. I still can’t fully utilize it.”
“Wow, that sounds interesting… Snow, let’s take a look.”
Reaper tugs at Snow’s hem, stopping her.
“Rowen’s sword… I might be a little interested in that…”
Snow puts down her fishing gear and begins to observe.
“Don’t get in the way…?”
I spread the sand I collected onto the deck and hold ‘The Aris Family’s Treasure Sword Rowen’ with both hands. Then, I close my eyes and focus all my attention on the sword. However, all that floods my mind is ‘Swordsmanship.’ Before and after, it’s unequivocally ‘Swordsmanship.’ Smiling at my friend’s nature, I mentally plead, “Something else.”
I envelop my body’s magic power around the sword and focus on a new attribute magic. The image is already complete. The basic Earth attribute magic, ‘Earth,’ which manipulates soil.
The sword lets out a slight sigh of protest.
“—Earth Magic ‘Earth’.”
I slowly trace the sand with ‘The Aris Family’s Treasure Sword Rowen.’ Then, like iron filings attracted to a magnet, the sand begins to cling to the sword. And the sand starts to dance like a living thing. Like fish against a countercurrent, clumps of sand rise into the air. This is neither dimensional magic nor ice magic. It’s earth attribute magic that I shouldn’t be able to use.
“Ugh, my mana is draining incredibly fast!”
The drain on my magic power is tremendous. The feeling of forcing something I cannot normally use makes my body scream. And most of all, the lack of the sword’s consent is likely the main cause.
“Rowen, lend me your strength…”
Acting purely on instinct, I activate the skill ‘Sensation.’ The fluctuation of earth magic is joined by the fluctuation of a new power that grasps principles. My bangs float slightly, and the two power fluctuations mix. I feel a sensation like my consciousness being sucked into the sword.
I thought I heard a voice from the sword. “I dislike that too,” it said. I catch a fleeting vision of a young man with reddish-brown hair, puffing out his cheeks slightly. I offer him a bashful smile.
— “There’s no helping it.”
With that voice, the world shifts. On the deck of the ‘Living Legend,’ tiny grains of sand dance. In the center of it, my magic power inverts.
“—Crystal Magic ‘Quartz’—”
My overflowing dimensional magic power is converted through ‘The Aris Family’s Treasure Sword Rowen.’ It becomes the magic power of a ‘Thief of Earthly Principles’ that manipulates crystals, and it erodes the dancing grains of sand. I gain a portion of the power to ‘steal principles’ that can even warp the world. The sand transforms into crystals. No, not just crystals. Mere stones become jewels, sand becomes gold dust—it can change into all sorts of minerals. Everything is up to my discretion.
As soon as I end the magic, the sand dancing in the air falls onto the deck. A river of sparkling jewels is born.
“Wh-, whoa!? They’ve become shiny! Are these all jewels!?”
Reaper excitedly picks up the transformed sand and stones. However, Snow was even more excited.
“Sand turned into jewels…? Is this alchemy? Amazing, as expected of Kanami and Rowen Aleis. With this power, I’ll be invincible. I won’t worry about money. I can live a life of endless decadence, forever—!!”
“Hey, wait.”
I glare at Snow, who looks ready to dance with joy.
“I-I didn’t say anything…”
Snow, who is overjoyed with her materialistic aspirations, averts her eyes and picks up the jewels. They start playing with the glittering sand on the deck as if it were a sandpit. However, I can understand what Snow means. I pick up a single jewel and examine it. It is completely solidified as a different mineral. Even though the value of jewels in this world is low, this is a broken ability. If I spent all my time on alchemy, I could easily cause a collapse in market prices. Depending on the minerals I change, I might even be able to influence the price levels of an entire country. With the right application, it’s a magic that can become a strategic attack.
As the financial situation of this ship reaches a national level, my anxiety grows. If just a slight affinity between a Guardian’s magic stone and its user yields this much power, then I can assume that Maria and Palinkron, under the same conditions, can do something similar. Both of them possess the power to undermine the world’s economy individually. Sensing the unfathomable depth of those I will soon fight and those I will seek help from, I shiver.
“But, big brother. What are we going to do with all these crystals and gold?”
Reaper asks me, having grown tired of playing in the sand.
“Ah, yeah… Even with this much, we can’t handle it. So, I’m thinking of going to consult someone. Do you two want to come?”
This is beyond our capabilities. Even if we take it to an exchange office, it’s unlikely we can cash it all in under individual contracts.
“Um, does that mean we’re going to the Allied Nations?”
“Yes.”
Through ‘Connections,’ a direct passage to the Allied Nations has been established. I can return anytime.
“I don’t want to go there, the Walker family is nearby…”
Snow shakes her head, her eyes darting around. She probably doesn’t want to return to Laura Via now that she’s finally enjoying her freedom. Reaper, patting Snow’s trembling head, picks up her fishing gear.
“We’re going fishing. My fishing match with big sis isn’t over yet!”
It seems Reaper is staying to look out for Snow. She’s a kind child, even though she must want to see what’s happening in the Allied Nations.
“I see. Well then, I’ll be back shortly.”
I put all the sand from the deck back into my ‘Inventory’ and cast a spell.
“—Magic ‘Connection’—”
I change the destination linked by my imagination. Instead of facing a labyrinth, it leads to the Epic Seeker headquarters. A faintly purple door that destroys the concept of distance appears. Guardian magic stones are a cheat, but I think I’m pretty formidable myself as I step through the door.
