Episode 368

Episode 368

By nature, people didn’t change that easily.

If they did, why would Giselle have suffered so much at White Tiger Tower?

No matter how much they were beaten or thrown into the punishment room, White Tiger Tower students always chose outdoor fun over studying. Even wild animals obeyed better than that.

“Moradi. What do you think?”

“…They seem sincere.”

Unlike the very suspicious pair, the Beechwood Knights were truly sincere.

Though Lee Han didn’t realize it, the terror the knights felt when facing Duke Ikaldoren’s wrath was on another level.

It was a fear that made them think they might actually die here.

Such terror had the power to make one look back on their actions and repent.

The knights, having barely escaped a crisis, were truly ashamed of their previous behavior.

“Well… it was nothing. I’m just glad everyone’s okay.”

Unable to read their true intentions, Lee Han responded casually for now.

He intended to play along and then put some distance between them.

“The knight who was struck and went flying… no, the one who fell back pretty far—are they alright?”

“Some bones were broken, but he’s alright.”

‘Doesn’t seem alright.’

Lee Han quietly moved behind Giselle. It was just in case something happened.

“That was impressive magic. I’d heard Einrogard students were skilled, but…”

“No…”

“That’s…”

Lee Han and Giselle both stepped up to deny it.

They’d cast all their enhancement spells before the duel even started, and for something like Yumidihus’ Water Prison Bullet, they’d dragged out the preparations right up until the match.

Honestly, if Lee Han hadn’t cheated, it wouldn’t have been allowed, yet now they were praising it as magical skill.

“There’s a backstory behind that…”

“Let’s be modest.”

“Magic that takes that long isn’t recognized as well-learned…”

“Let’s show true modesty.”

“……”

There were limits, even if these were knights who didn’t understand magic.

Lee Han tapped Giselle’s shoulder, signaling her to speak instead. Of course, Giselle ignored him.

‘Wait. When did he move behind me?’

Noticing Lee Han had shifted behind her, Giselle frowned.

This guy…

“We want to return the favor.”

“What favor?”

“We will teach you swordsmanship!”

“……”

“……”

Lee Han and Giselle stared at the knights in utter shock.

• * *

Knights teaching nobility swordsmanship was more common than one might think.

Many nobles learned swordsmanship as a pastime, for self-defense, or as a matter of decorum, and knights were naturally the ones able to teach them.

No matter how skilled an adventurer or mercenary might be, only a few nobles would learn from anyone with dubious social standing.

It was a mutually beneficial arrangement—the noble learned swordsmanship, while the knight made connections—but…

…Lee Han’s case was a bit different.

He’d learned swordsmanship beyond decorum or self-defense, through harsh, real combat training.

Possessing the top-level skills among Einrogard’s swordsmanship students meant that he rivaled apprentice knights of his age from all over the Empire.

To help Lee Han grow his skills, light-hearted or defense-focused instruction wasn’t enough.

He needed a teacher willing to dig deep and help him break through barriers.

‘No way they’re prepared to make that kind of commitment.’

Lee Han thought just like Giselle.

It just felt like they intended to teach him lightly.

If they ended up sparring, and his skills were revealed, they’d end up embarrassed.

Lee Han decided to rely on his friend instead.

“You turn them down, Moradi.”

“What the hell are you—turn them down how?!”

“What if I say I’m too weak and sickly for sword lessons?”

“……”

Giselle looked Lee Han up and down as if he was crazy.

If she called this kid sickly, rumors would soon spread that Giselle was blind.

“You’re so quick to lie about everything else… Can’t you come up with another lie?”

“It’s not like I can come up with one on the spot. You’re closer to knightly families than me—please turn them down.”

“You can’t be serious right now.”

It was tricky to flatly refuse such a genuine offer from the knights.

Lee Han wasn’t from a knightly family, but Giselle was. If she refused, rumors might spread: ‘The blood of the Moradi family repaid a favor with ingratitude…!’

“…We must have made another rude request. In our effort to repay your kindness, we must have overstepped…”

Having overheard Lee Han and Giselle’s whispers, the knights seemed to pick up on their discomfort and suddenly looked dejected.

“Of course, you wouldn’t want to learn swordsmanship from knights like us. We understand.”

“N-no, it’s not that. It would be nice to learn swordsmanship. I’d like to.”

“Really?!”

“Yes.”

Lee Han gave in.

It was better to let the Beechwood knights be embarrassed than to be the bad guy himself.

“All settled then. I’ll just be—”

“Moradi will be joining in, too.”

“……”

• * *

As expected, not even 30 minutes had passed before the knights got embarrassed.

“Ahem.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Your swordsmanship… is excellent.”

Lee Han nodded quietly.

He’d done his best.

The Beechwood knights’ embarrassment was their own fault.

“Perhaps you know how to imbue your sword with mana…”

“I haven’t mastered circulation, but I know how to imbue it, at least.”

“……”

The knights looked at each other, feeling even more awkward.

Their eyes seemed to say, ‘What are we even supposed to teach now?’

• Isn’t there nothing left to teach? What do we cover now?
• Beyond this point, what we’re teaching today can’t get him any farther…
• Should we teach a different style?
• But if he’s already mastered and dug deep into one style, what meaning is there in teaching another…
• Besides, wasn’t he supposed to be a mage? Why swordsmanship…?

The knights were feeling exactly what White Tiger Tower’s students had felt.

…Why is a noble-born mage so obsessed with swordsmanship?

As the knights exchanged awkward glances, Lee Han kept his composure and waited.

It was awkward for both sides, but if there was nothing left to say, he figured they’d send him on his way, equally embarrassed.

Then Lee Han could say, ‘Had a good time today,’ and leave…

“If there’s no other way, I’ll have to teach you my secret technique.”

“A secret technique?!”

In the Empire, there were countless sword styles, and among them, quite a few boasted famous techniques.

For example, Lee Han’s Wall Rock Sword included the -Rock Slash-, a renowned skill known to anyone who’d properly studied the style.

The more famous the swordschool, the more famous its fencers became—and thus their techniques spread far and wide.

But fencers didn’t reveal everything.

To share all your techniques was practically to ask people to exploit your weaknesses.

The more veteran the swordsman, the more likely they’d keep a few skills reserved unless absolutely necessary.

Such techniques were called secret techniques.

‘Can I really learn it just because he teaches it now?’

It was surprising that they’d offer to teach one in the first place, but Lee Han doubted he’d pick it up so easily.

For example, Allarlong, who taught him swordsmanship, didn’t teach Lee Han any special or complicated skills until he was fully proficient in the Wall Rock Sword.

Allarlong believed that a swordsman who mastered the basics was far stronger than one flailing about with poorly handled, complicated skills.

“I’m not sure I’m skilled enough to learn it. Are you sure it’s alright?”

“You’re more than capable. With your genius talent…”

“…I doubt I’m that talented.”

He appreciated the gratitude, but the overwhelming praise was hard to endure.

The knight took Lee Han out to the inner courtyard.

It was a move he hadn’t even shown his own colleagues. He couldn’t teach this in public.

The knight’s cautious manner piqued Lee Han’s curiosity.

Even if the Beechwood Knights didn’t have a reputation for prowess, they were knights nonetheless.

For such a knight to cherish a skill this much…

‘What is it?’

Lee Han felt a surge of anticipation.

Maybe it was a skill to help with mana circulation, or when imbuing mana into the sword, or concentrating power…

“Watch closely.”

Swish!

The knight drew his sword and thrust it quickly. On the surface, it seemed like an ordinary thrust.

But in that moment, the tip of the sword became longer.

Lee Han, startled, shouted.

“Did you form a blade with aura?!”

Once you could not only imbue but stably circulate and even concentrate mana, the force in your sword became a deadly weapon in itself.

Just as a mage’s will-bound mana could become the miracle of magic, a swordsman’s will-bound mana became an invincible spear known as aura.

But to take it a step beyond aura and disguise its appearance as a blade was truly astonishing.

To a dueling swordsman, it was shocking.

Aura that could pierce most armor like butter—and now it could even disguise itself as a physical blade.

It might seem simple, but that was an incredible skill.

When aura was plainly visible, you could at least recognize and prepare for it. But if it looked like an ordinary blade, there’d be no room for complacency.

Facing a sword that could appear to get longer or shorter, an opponent would struggle not only with distance but also worry whether aura was in play or not. Among evenly matched masters, that could be fatal.

‘What? Was he really a great swordsman after all?’

“N-no, it’s not aura.”

“…It’s not?”

“Right.”

The knight, perhaps embarrassed by Lee Han’s outburst, cleared his throat and stabbed the sword into the wall.

Incredibly, nothing happened. If it had been aura, it would have made a hole easily.

“…An illusion?”

As a mage, Lee Han realized what the blade at the end of the sword really was.

It wasn’t aura; it was just an illusion.

A very limited illusion, realized not through magic but through swordsmanship.

From a magic perspective, it was nothing special, but in swordsmanship, it was a different story.

Even Lee Han almost fell for it.

“That’s correct. Of course, compared to something like aura, this may seem rather paltry. But it’s a pretty useful…”

The knight, feeling self-conscious, began to justify himself.

Of course he would want to use aura if he could.

But there were things in the world one simply couldn’t do, no matter how much one wanted to.

Rather than give up, he’d mastered this trick-like technique instead…

“This is truly a great technique!”

“…You really think so?”

The knight’s face brightened a little at Lee Han’s reaction.

The response was more enthusiastic than he’d expected.

• * *

“Thank you so much. To teach me something like this…”

“I didn’t think it was worth much, but to hear you say that is a bit…”

“No, it’s a truly excellent skill. Thank you.”

Lee Han spoke sincerely.

It wasn’t hard to learn, and could be applied in creative ways to confuse an opponent.

It was a skill perfectly suited to Lee Han’s tastes.

Feeling satisfied, Lee Han decided to offer the kind of praise his counterpart would enjoy.

“I already knew Beechwood Knights were skilled, but I had no idea you were this impressive. Truly superb.”

“……”

The other knights nearby glanced at their comrade with a tinge of jealousy.

He was getting more praise than anyone had expected.

Imagining how this story would spread among the order and bring him more praise, they felt a bit restless.

“W-wait a moment…”

“?”

“There’s another secret technique you might be interested in.”

“…Are secret skills really supposed to be taught to outsiders like this?”