"Nina. Vincent. Come with me."
Hearing those words from Gal Farion was how I started the afternoon, and as the diligent students that Nina and I were, we didn't complain as we were led through the forest, the three of us dashing further east than we had ever been before as the sun set over the horizon.
Initially, I thought it was an exercise for us to improve our footwork by running through the forest, but as we eventually came to a stop… I doubted that it was a form of movement training.
"What… are we doing here?" I asked him, watching his eyes narrow as he stared through the treeline. "I'm guessing it isn't for a camping trip… is it?"
I heard the sound of men talking ahead, the noise too dulled by the trees to hear any specific words.
"Hah. Unfortunately not, kid," he said, glancing back to me. "I'm pretty sure I already know the answer… but you've never killed anyone before, have you?"
That was certainly a way to start a conversation.
"Uh, no… I haven't…" I said, feeling a bit awkward.
"As I thought… then this is definitely needed," he said, looking forward again. "I got a report of a bandit camp thinking that they could hang around our territory. And while I'm by no means a noble, I'm not gonna let some vagrants make mess around my turf. So as an assignment… you'll deal with them."
He said the last part as he looked right at me.
"I… will deal with them?" I said, feeling my stomach drop.
With what he said before about me not having killed anyone… it was obvious what it meant.
"Yeah… from what I heard, it's only a small group, and Nina and I can deal with any stragglers… but you'll be taking them out, Vincent," he said, looking into my eyes with unnatural seriousness. "So… can you do it?"
Nina looked at me with slight worry as I stared down at my sword.
Killing… I knew that I would need to do it eventually, and I expected that I could go through with it when the time was needed.
But to plan to go out and kill, rather than just use it as a method of self-defence… that held a different weight in my heart.
No… these were bandits… people that would gladly steal, kill, and rape anything that they wanted, for both value and pleasure.
They weren't people that deserved my sympathy.
They would gladly kill me and anyone I loved if they had the opportunity… and almost certainly already done so for others.
"Yes," I replied, my tone cool and confident. "I can do it."
No need to hesitate.
"Good… then get going. We'll be behind you," Gal said as I began walking forward.
"Wait, Father! Should he really go alone?" Nina asked, her eyebrows scrunched in worry.
"Yeah, we're just here to watch. This is something Vince has to do alone, so do not intervene," he said. "You'll get your first kill once you become an Advanced swordsman, but maybe earlier if one tries to run from him."
So Nina hadn't killed anyone before… but she didn't look disturbed at the idea.
This violent world was all she ever knew, after all.
"O-Okay…" she relented, her hand fidgeting with her sword handle.
I was glad to see her show some concern for me, but her father was right.
This was something I needed to do if I ever wanted to use my sword for more than just training and spars.
To protect… I would need to be prepared to end a life.
The snow crunched beneath my feet as I made my way forward, the distant sound of chatter slowly becoming louder as the woods ended with a clearing.
"Haha! Wait, you actually tried that?"
"Of course! It's not like it mattered in the end, right?"
"Still… you should know to treat a woman better in bed… pfhahaha!"
"Hahaha!"
They started laughing as what I assumed to be a vulgar conversation came to an end, the men all sitting around a fire with a bunch of tents behind them.
There were six of them.
No… actually, there was another by the tents, so seven.
The six sitting by the fire all had swords strapped to their sides, so I could guess that they were swordsmen, but the one by the tents… without a visible sword, they were either a mage, an archer, or a thief.
Right… let's do this.
"Hey… what are you doing here!?" a man said, having spotted me as I walked past the trees.
All six of them shot to their feet, hands on their swords, as the seventh grabbed a bow off the ground.
So an archer…
I slowly drew my sword, crouching down as I prepared to launch a Longsword of Silence.
But… I hesitated.
I had never used this move on a human before.
Well, not one where I would end up cutting them in half.
"Hey! I asked you a question!"
"Wait, Darrel. That kid… he doesn't look like a normal one. He might be from the Sword Sanctum."
"Huh? Then what's he doing so far from there?"
"Don't ask me! But we should deal with him sooner or later… our location might have been exposed."
Why couldn't I attack?
No… I knew why.
These people, even if they were bad, they were sons, possibly brothers, and maybe even fathers… though I doubt they were very filial.
Even if they killed people, what would that mean if I killed them?
Would that make me just as bad?
Would my morals still be correct?
Did my morals… did they even matter?
My thoughts were interrupted as I sensed a projectile soar towards me, and with a quick leap, I deflected the arrow as I continued rushing forward, my sword lashing out towards the attacker.
I felt my blade cut through flesh and bone, and as the world stopped blurring, I saw an arm fly through the air as a scream resounded a moment later.
I looked down at the crumpled form of the archer, blood pouring out of the stump of his left arm as he writhed on the ground in pain, his breathing quick and laboured as the snow beneath him quickly turned red.
My teeth clenched as my body froze.
I had taken his arm… and while it wasn't a death blow, it would only take a few minutes before it ended up being one.
The swordsmen were closing in, their faces stressed in rage and slight fear.
But out of the corner of my eye… I saw it.
There were three bodies laying at the end of the line of tents, right next to the hitched horses and cart.
Two men and a woman… no, seeing how two of them seemed like teenagers, it was a man, a boy, and a girl. Likely a family without their mother.
The man had a deep gash across his neck, dried blood caked across his skin, with his eyes closed.
The boy had his eyes wide open in fear with an arrow sticking out of his neck.
And the girl… her face and body were covered with numerous bruises and cuts, her clothes discarded for reasons I didn't even want to imagine, but could easily guess.
Were they adventurers? Merchants?
I wasn't sure… and I didn't care.
I felt an intense numbness flow over me.
It wasn't fear or guilt… no, it was a numbness of understanding and clarity.
A rush of realization… and a hint of rage.
Rage at these disgusting fucks for killing those three, especially the teenagers that had hardly even started at life before being brutally slaughtered.
Rage at the world for making something like this a natural part of life.
And rage at myself… for being so weak-willed.
My sword swung down, slicing the neck of the archer as his screams came to a gurgling end.
Why did I ever have a hint of compassion for these bandits… shouldn't I have already known?
Bandits were considered cruel even in this violent world. A scourge on society that deserved the harshest of punishments.
I would have to thank Gal for giving me this opportunity to grow out of my fragile, soft mentality.
I turned my head just as the first one closed in, my body moving on instinct as I deflected his blade to the side, using his forward motion to drive my sword into his chest, and slicing to the side a moment later to dislodge it.
Blood sprayed through the air as his organs began to leak out of his side, but thankfully, I didn't have the time to look at the disgusting sight.
Weak. Pathetic. Barely an Intermediate swordsman.
I went through the next one, and he was even worse. Attempting some odd movement that seemed to fit the North God style as I slashed his neck.
Another lost his arm as he attempted a lunge, their body being carved in two a moment later as I finished him off.
Leaving themselves completely defenceless against an Advanced Sword God Style swordsman… they must have underestimated me.
I created some distance as I lined up the last three, and in one smooth motion, I performed a Longsword of Silence that instantly decapitated the closer two, and weaving my sword at the end of my movement, it quickly found its target in the last one's thigh.
He released a cry of pain as he swung down his sword, thinking that with my blade lodged in his leg that I couldn't defend, but as soon as his arm reached the peak of its swing, my hand reached out to grab his wrist, crushing it with a strong grip as he instantly dropped his sword.
Completely exposed. What a joke.
Part of me thought that a quick death was too kind for these guys, but then again, it wasn't like the Sword God Style to be inefficient.
So, after pulling my sword free, the light soon dimmed from the last bandit's eyes as I drove my blade straight into his heart.
His body fell to the ground in a heap, and I remained standing over it as I released a long breath.
Nothing but silence passed for a few moments, simply calming myself after the sudden rush of adrenaline.
Then it hit me.
The overwhelming scent of blood… the red that stained my sword and body… the last sounds of struggle as life drained from my opponents…
It was enough to make someone sick, but thankfully, I seemed to have a strong stomach for this type of thing.
It might be due to the memory of my death, or maybe it was thanks to watching my mother work.
I slowly stood up, taking my sword out of the body and watching blood slowly drip down from the tip before I wiped the rest off on the corpse's clothes.
Okay… I just killed seven people.
That was new.
But oddly enough, I… didn't find myself caring about them right now.
No… instead, I could only think about my life here, or rather, my future life here.
This truly made me realize how cruel this world is, as well as how easy death could come.
I should know that more than anyone, considering how I left my last life, but still… death could happen easily.
Just one sword slash was all it took… no, even a bad fall could do it.
It was something that seemed obvious, but looking at it now, after causing seven people to come to grips with their mortality… it was honestly a bit scary.
But that's what I was training in the sword for, wasn't it?
It wasn't for fun.
No… training my swordsmanship was meant to protect myself and my loved ones. To help us survive.
A sword, as beautiful, fun, and fulfilling as it could be… ultimately, its sole purpose was to kill.
"So you did it," Gal's voice said, causing me to look over at him and Nina walked towards me. "It was a little tough to watch in the beginning, but you eventually figured it out… you're strong, kid. Be proud."
"T-Thanks…" I said, finding my voice dryer than usual.
"Yeah… anyway, I'll deal with those three, so you don't have to worry about it," he said, nodding towards the three corpses by the cart. "Death is something you'll have to get used to as you get stronger and older… but at least you seem to take it seriously, unlike some people. That can be either a strength or a weakness, so just make sure to handle it right."
"Understood," I replied.
While Gal wasn't one to say many wise words, he definitely had the wisdom befitting a man of his strength.
Balancing my view of death… I would have to understand what that truly meant, but I think that today was a step in the right direction.
Even if it didn't feel like it at the moment…
"Hey," Nina said, walking up to me as her father tended to the civilians. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, thanks Nina," I said, smiling a bit. "I'm just… worried, I guess. And let's get away from this disgusting place."
I grabbed her hand to pull us away from the battlefield, the snow stained a deep red, the scent still assaulting my nose even after walking away.
Luckily, she followed without any protest.
"Worried? Did you have a problem with killing these idiots?" she asked, scoffing at the last dead body we passed.
She didn't even seem phased by the gruesome scene.
No, in fact, upon seeing her face after the battle, she was actually impressed with the display.
I was a bit worried that her sense of death was a bit skewed for a child, but then again… if it meant that I didn't have to worry about anyone taking advantage of her possible mercy, then I was somewhat glad.
"No. Killing them I can… accept," I said, deciding that 'accept' felt like the right word for my feelings.
Yeah… I wasn't happy about it, nor was I sad, and while my feelings on the situation were conflicted, my feeling about my decision and actions were not.
It was simply a part of life in this world, especially if I pursued swordsmanship.
And I could accept that.
"But I'm worried since I now know that this world… it's quite violent. It's cruel. Death is… quick, and it could end up happening to those I care about," I said. "Thinking of my mother getting hurt, or my father, or you… that's what worries me."
I looked over at her, only to be met by a stunned expression.
"Uh… Nina?" I asked.
What was up with her?
I watched as her face suddenly flushed with colour, but with a quick shake of her head, she got back to normal… although the tips of her ears were still red, and I don't think it was from the cold.
"That's why we're getting stronger! So we don't have to worry about that!" she said, lightly punching my shoulder with a confident smile. "I'm gonna get stronger! So strong that you won't even have to worry about me, and instead, I'll be w-worrying about… you… yeah!"
She fumbled her words a bit, but I was able to get the meaning quite clearly.
Nina really was a nice girl underneath all that ambition and competitiveness, and moments like these really showed it.
"Thanks, Nina," I said, squeezing her hand before she pulled it back. "I'm feeling much better now."
"Good!" she replied.
And so, with Gal taking the time to properly bury the three dead, as well as collecting their merchant identification to pass along to the guild, we then headed back home, arriving sometime around midnight.
It was difficult to sleep that night, as my thoughts were still quite scrambled from the entire encounter, but that's when my mother kindly walked in and rested beside me, comforting me with a warm hug before I eventually fell asleep.
Yeah… she really was a great mom.
—
A few weeks had passed since the bandit extermination, and since then, I had gotten over my feelings on the matter.
I wonder if my child body helped me get over my minor trauma very quickly… but regardless, I was over it.
The bandits were bad people, and I killed them. That was quick to come to terms with, and if I ended up in the same situation now, I would not hesitate like I had done.
And the fear about me and my loved ones' mortality… well, just as Nina said, I just needed to get stronger.
Gal seemed to notice the change in my mentality, so we got right back into training, but instead of doing the introductions to the Intermediate Water God and North God styles like we had been doing… today was something different.
With Nina sparring with other Intermediate ranked swordsmen in the town to get more experience, Gal had brought me to the familiar clearing, saying he wanted to give me my next training regimen.
"We'll be starting your path to becoming a Sword Saint today, Vincent," Gal said, resting his sword on his shoulder. "That means being able to perform the Longsword of Light. It's the foundation of the Sword God Style, and the reason our style is called the strongest. The ultimate technique."
Of course, I had learned about the technique, both in my past knowledge of the Mushoku Tensei story, and during my upbringing here in the Sword Sanctum.
It truly was the ultimate technique of the Sword God Style, as there wasn't anything better, and it could also be said to be the strongest sword technique in the world.
Becoming a Sword King, Sword Emperor, or Sword God was based only on how strong your Longsword of Light was, nothing else.
This was the peak of the style, and after I learnt it, I would learn nothing else… in the Sword God Style, that is.
"But I don't expect you to learn it right away. Actually, as you are right now, it would be impossible. So instead, we'll be building your battle aura first," he said, slowly bringing his sword into a ready position. "Take this demonstration as a goal to aim for. The peak of the Sword God Style, and the strength you need to reach in order to take my mantle of Sword God."
Uh, I'm not sure that I even wanted to take the title of Sword God… but it seems that he already thought of me as his successor.
I narrowed my eyes as I focused on his form, a pressure descending from his body as I instinctively gripped my sword.
His battle aura truly was terrifying…
A moment passed as he held his sword at his side, and then, in less than a moment… he appeared at the other end of the clearing, a tree falling down as his sword was held outward, having completed his slash.
And the resulting sonic boom… didn't appear.
What?
There wasn't even a gust of wind!
It just seemed like he had teleported across the land, with the only sign of his movement being the divot dug into the ground where his feet had been.
"So… did you notice anything?" he asked, looking over at me.
"Y-Yeah… there was no sound, or wind pressure, or… anything," I said, scrunching my eyebrows in confusion. "How… how did you do it?"
"Hell if I know, but you got it right in one," he said, taking a few casual swings of his sword. "The sound is caused by your sword cutting through the air, and the gust of wind is as well… but if you're cutting through it, that means you're wasting energy and speed. So, I just don't cut it."
Right… that made sense… kind of.
Not cutting through the air… I wasn't really sure how he did that, but I understood that the friction and air resistance would slow your sword.
"But that's my Longsword of Light. The fastest sword slash in the world. So don't worry about replicating that just yet," he said, getting into another crouch. "Instead… you should aim for this."
He flashed across the clearing once again, stopping in the middle as he finished his sword swing, cutting at nothing but air as his sword pointed outward.
A crash resounded through the forest, and a gust of wind blasted from his path, blowing up snow into the air as a clear line stretched from the start of his attack to where he stood now.
Yeah… it had been a while since I saw the anime, but that was more like the example I saw of the Longsword of Light, that being Ghislaine's attack against those kidnappers in Roa.
Unlike this one, she was able to attack twice, and was able to swerve along her path… but I could only guess that was due to her refining the base Longsword of Light, with her being a Sword King and all.
But seeing the effects of this attack, and compared to the 'perfect' one Gal had performed just before… I wonder how exactly did that work?
It must have to do with removing air resistance with his battle aura.
I wasn't sure how, but that was the only way I could see it happening.
"So… do you want to try, kid?" he said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Sure," I replied, unsheathing my sword.
Okay… don't focus on the perfect example of this slash. Instead, focus on the base Longsword of Light he had just performed.
What was different between that and the Longsword of Silence?
Was it just going faster, or was there an actual technique I needed to refine?
It… must have something to do with refining my control with battle aura, but… how?
Wait… maybe, even if I couldn't aim for Gal's technique, I could still learn from it.
Making my battle aura remove air resistance, across my entire body and my sword… or maybe not remove it, but at least limit it.
Okay… I had always thought of battle aura and mana as similar energies, and I could transform mana into elements… so what's to say I couldn't change what battle aura did as well?
It already naturally enhanced my defences, speed, and strength… so now I just needed to have it do something else.
With that image in my mind, I crouched low and held my sword at my side, taking a few deep breaths before I launched forward, the world blurring before I completed my slash.
That… felt good.
It felt better than before, but still… it wasn't near Gal's example of the Longsword of Light.
That was a technique that even I couldn't see with my eyes, while this one… wasn't quite at that level.
"Heh. You're already getting better at transforming your Longsword of Silence," Gal said, causing me to sheath me sword and look back at him. "Learning just from seeing that… your growth is terrifying, kid."
So it had done something… but obviously not enough.
"Thank you… but I'm still not there yet. What am I missing?" I asked.
"Well, from what I saw, you already have the right idea of transforming your battle aura," he said, crossing his arms. "For the Advanced rank, you just need to know how to move it, as the battle aura itself enhances you naturally. But for this, you can't just move it. You need to be able to consciously activate it, forcing it to make you stronger more than it already does."
I see… no, actually I was still confused.
Activating battle aura?
"And how… how do I do that?" I asked.
"That's what you're going to learn," he answered. "To do it properly, you need to not only have conscious control of your battle aura, but you need to be able to use it with every movement. That's when you're at the level to complete the technique."
He then walked over to the edge of the clearing, beckoning me over with his hand.
"But don't worry, I have a couple of exercises that'll help you along," he said, looking back as he reached the edge of the forest. "So, follow me."
We then ran up the side of the mountain, following a very rough path that didn't seem to have been used for a while, before we eventually reached a small pool, with steam billowing off the water as a faint scent of sulphur entered my nose.
With the many rocks surrounding the small pool, and the background of forest and a mountain, it made quite the beautiful picture.
But I had a feeling this wasn't going to be very tranquil and calm, like the scenery suggested.
"Is this… a hot spring?" I asked.
"Maybe for a dragon," he said with a chuckle. "Put your hand in it, and you'll understand."
I did as he asked, crouching at the edge as I hesitantly dipped my hand in the water-
"Hot!" I shouted, immediately pulling back as I felt a searing pain.
I instinctively began healing my hand as I felt the skin tighten, the pain being quickly replaced by an uncomfortable numbness.
The skin had already begun to form blisters, though they soon fell off as newly healed skin replaced it.
I got burned that bad just from touching it?
That was… very hot.
Practically at the temperature of boiling.
"Yeah, it is hot," Gal said, resting against one of the large boulders. "And you'll be bathing in it for as long as possible."
I looked at him with my mouth agape.
"Uh… what?" I asked dumbly.
That water was hot enough to cook meat in. What the hell was he talking about?
"Yep! You'll be forced to use your battle aura across your entire body to handle it, and you'll need to maintain it for as long as possible," he said, dipping his arm into the pool, his expression not showing any sign of discomfort or pain. "Once you can do that easily, you'll know you're at the right level to become a Sword Saint."
That… made more sense, but still… wasn't that dangerous?
"Still not convinced?" he questioned.
"No, I get it, but… what will happen when I can't do it? I won't be able to do it right away, right?" I asked, worried.
"Well, there's no good training that doesn't come with pain," he said with a shrug. "You're right that it's dangerous, but that's the reason only you can do this training, since you can heal yourself when you mess up. Pays to be a genius at healing magic, huh?"
'When I mess up'... yeah, this was going to be painful.
On one hand, it was good to find a way for my healing magic to help with training, but seeing this… it might have also cursed me to endure quite a bit of pain.
"Fine… I'll do it. But I don't think I can even get in right now," I said, pouting a bit.
"Well, obviously not. You'll need to make sure you can stand in it first before you end up trying with your whole body," he said, shaking the water off of his hand as he pulled it out of the water. "But don't worry. I wouldn't suggest this unless I thought you could do it."
"Right… thank you," I said.
"No worries. In fact, I expect you to curse me for this pretty soon," he said, walking over to a bunch of boulders. "As for your second exercise… you'll be carrying these."
…
"Hey, what's with that expression?" he asked.
"They're… boulders, Sir Farion," I said blankly.
"First, drop the 'Sir' shit," he said with a mock frown before it turned into a teasing grin. "And you're right. They're boulders. And you'll be carrying each of them around this pool, starting with the smaller one, and going all the way up to the big one."
So weight training, but to an insane degree.
"I… don't think I can even carry the lighter one," I said.
While I did have the strength of a grown man thanks to my exercises, and what I could only assume to be the use of battle aura passively amplifying my muscles and their growth… carrying something like that was still an impossible feat.
"No, you can't. And that's the point," he said, tapping the largest of the boulders. "It'll force you to use your battle aura just to pick it up, and you'll need to use it continuously to carry it around. It'll build some muscle, sure, but more importantly, you'll need to constantly use your battle aura and consciously have it enhance your strength past its normal limits."
So when he mentioned activating my battle aura… it must have been leading up to this exercise.
But calming down to think for a moment, this all made sense.
Both exercises would make me use my battle aura across my body constantly, not the short period of usage like with the Longsword of Silence.
The hot pool would make me enhance my defences and manage my battle aura with perfect consistency across my entire body, and on the side… it would probably end up being another good way to train my healing magic, as much as I hated to admit it.
I did not want to end up a masochist just because I could heal myself back to full health.
And as for the boulder, it would make me train my ability to push my battle aura further, specifically to enhance my strength, and it would also help me build muscle to accompany it.
So a super hot bath to build my battle aura control to the level of a Sword Saint, and the boulder to build my body and strength to be able to perform the Longsword of Light.
Yeah. Cool.
…That is, if it wasn't submerging myself in near-boiling water and carrying a rock that could crush me with one wrong move.
I sent a small glare to the Sword God, only to be met by a hearty chuckle.
Seriously, asking a seven-year-old to do this… he was lucky that children didn't really have rights here.
But then again… this would certainly make me stronger.
And while I had gotten over the bandit attack, the fear and worry still remained.
The fear of not being strong enough.
In the future, I didn't want to regret of not taking my training seriously and having a lack of power lead to tragedy.
So… of course I would do it.
"I look that look in your eyes," Gal said, having noticed my decision and determination. "So, you ready?"
"Naturally," I replied.
And so, a new, gruelling training method began.