Chapter 22 Preparation
After the rain, the weather turned a bit chilly.
I put on an overcoat and headed to the training ground just like any other day.
Before starting the day’s training, Silveryn talked about magical energy.
She started by telling me the precautions regarding my sword. It was an explanation about the influence my sword could have on people.
Then she added more information about magical pressure.
“You have an exceptionally good resistance to magical pressure.”
Good as it may sound, I actually had no clue what that meant.
“What’s good about that?”
“For starters, your ability to wield that sword is thanks to your resistance to magical pressure. Plus, if your resistance is good, your ability to control magical energy will improve quickly with just a bit of training.”
Though it probably seemed very basic to Silveryn, she patiently continued to explain it without showing any signs of annoyance at my questioning.
“If you can control magical energy well, you can use it very efficiently. Magical energy is tricky; it can burst out unpredictably. A lot gets wasted going in strange directions.”
“I learn to control magical energy… to what end?”
It’s not like I was learning magic or anything.
“Hm, sword aura?”
“…!”
“Swordsmen with a name in the field don’t always wield a large capacity for magical energy. Some are average or even less so. Yet, they manage sword aura effectively because they use their magical energy efficiently.”
Sword aura, such a distant concept. I had heard of it in stories and books but had never actually seen someone wield it in real life.
But what would happen if I infused my sword with sword aura? I couldn’t quite imagine what that would be like.
“And then there’s…”
Silveryn tapped her upper lip with her index finger, pondering a moment.
“Artifacts can be utilized effectively too. Especially higher-tier artifacts which are better. The higher you go, the more you need both control over magical energy and resistance to magical pressure.”
It’s good to know I could handle them, but there was another issue.
“Will I ever get my hands on a high-tier artifact?”
High-tier artifacts are so costly that even wealthy nobles have to empty their coffers to obtain them.
“If you live diligently, opportunities are bound to come. Once you enter the academy, make sure to get along well with the kids from the magical engineering department. Most high-level artifacts are made by those from Eternia.”
Magical engineering?
Magic, alchemy, swordsmanship, I’ve gotten somewhat familiar with these disciplines after encountering them a few times. But magical engineering feels like a completely foreign territory.
Had I ever encountered someone proficient in magical engineering? No name came to mind, no matter how hard I thought.
Even when I lived in Haman, I heard about swordsmanship, magic, and alchemy, but never about magical engineering. It seemed to be a field not commonly encountered in everyday life.
I understood it involved crafting constructs like golems or enchanted gear using manastones, but beyond that, I was clueless.
“I’ve never met a magical engineer in my life.”
“That’s quite possible. Not everyone can pursue it. Besides, magical engineers like to hole up in their labs, so they aren’t easy to encounter in daily life.”
“Then how do I become friends with them?”
“It’s not that hard. Just give them something sweet every time you meet them.”
“Sweet things, like snacks?”
“Yes.”
Just like that? Surely she must be joking.
“Will that really work?”
“You’ll be surprised how well it works.”
Her tone was serious; it didn’t sound like she was trying to trick me.
Magical engineers, huh. Silveryn rarely emphasized anything as ‘must-do.’ If she stressed it that much, it’s something to embed in my mind without question.
***
After Silveryn’s lecture on magical energy, we resumed our training.
The footwork practice had evolved to a new stage, with a slight increase in difficulty compared to before.
It wasn’t a big change. The footwork training now included wielding a sword and deflecting stones, that’s all.
But even with a small change, it felt like my eyes were straining. I had to deflect pebble-sized stones with the thin blade of my sword. Even when I thought I saw the flying stones clearly, when I swiped my sword, it often missed by about a palm’s width.
As soon as I got a little comfortable and familiar with the training, it would move to the next phase. There was no room for complacency or smugness.
Caught up in the middle of training, a thought popped into my head, and I asked Silveryn.
“Teacher.”
“Hmm?”
“That test by Zeldan Hart, is there a next stage?”
This footwork training itself was said to be a kind of test created by Zeldan Hart.
And I was sure I had heard this was just the first stage.
Now that I thought about it, it was curious why someone who had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship would bother creating such a thing.
Silveryn, having just thrown the remaining stones, said.
“There is. As far as I know, there are five stages.”
I remember that for the first stage, the method was just written on paper. I wonder if the other four stages just follow the instructions written down as well.
“What’s the second stage? Is that what we’re doing now?”
“No, it can’t be done here.”
“…Why not?”
Silveryn chuckled.
“You’re too early for that. It might be even harder than the Masters class examination.”
“It jumps up that much in difficulty?”
“There’s no need to hurry, my student. Whether you want to or not, the time will come when you have to pass all of Zeldan Hart’s tests.”
Why does she sound so ominous when saying the time will come?
“If you don’t master the previous stage perfectly, you can’t pass the next. So, just keep working hard on what you’re doing now.”
Silveryn picked up a stone from the ground and tossed it to me. As expected, the stone soared past my sword.
***
Returning to the estate, I gulped down a specially formulated potion as usual. Thanks to taking the potion every day, my body was becoming more robust, and I was developing a resistance to fatigue.
While reading an alchemy book on my bed, the head butler, Ezra, came to deliver the items I had requested.
“Here are the items you asked for, brought from the village smithy.”
They were materials necessary for metalworking. Along with them were lumps of meteorite iron, processed into the shapes I had requested.
He had taken a lump of raw meteorite iron, removed the impurities, extracted pure meteorite iron, and cast it into thin, rod-like shapes.
The rods could be tailored to my specifications, engraved with patterns, then curled into a circular shape and joined to form a ring.
I took the twenty meteorite iron rods and the tools the butler had brought and said.
“Thank you very much.”
“Madam Silveryn instructed to provide you with whatever materials you need. Please let us know if you require anything else.”
Silveryn was ever so generous to me, and I sometimes wondered if I even deserved such luxury.
“Oh, and do you remember the young girl who was injured by ghouls and had been resting in the infirmary?”
“Of course.”
“She wishes to see you, Master Damian.”
“She does?”
She wants to see me at this late hour? This was unexpected.
“Yes, she’s been waiting outside your door.”
“Oh… please let her in.”
Signaling with his hand, the butler allowed the girl to enter the room, then quietly excused himself.
I gazed at the girl who hesitated, seemingly about to speak but pausing as tension overcame her.
An awkward silence followed.
“What brings you here?”
“Ah, well… I heard that you defeated all the ghouls. You avenged my grandmother. I came to thank you for that.”
“Someone else would have done if not me.”
I didn’t do it for thanks so there was no need for her to feel indebted.
“Still, it was you who did it. It’s important to me. Thank you very much.”
“You shouldn’t have troubled yourself, coming here with an injured body.”
“I’m not in pain anymore.”
It’s a relief that her body is healed, but wait – what happens now?
“I’m glad you’ve recovered. But does this mean you’re going home now?”
“No! Actually, I spoke to Madam Silveryn a little while ago. I asked if I could stay here as a maid, and she agreed to let me stay.”
A wise choice. Silveryn’s estate is safer than anywhere else for this young girl. Not many people live here, and there are hardly any visitors, so it’s unlikely the work will be too demanding.
My heart was troubled when I heard her crying this morning, but she’s a smart girl who can find her own way. I needn’t have worried.
Seeing her reminds me even more about the special treatment I’m getting from Silveryn. I get everything I want without lifting a finger.
The girl seemed to remember something else and continued speaking.
“And there’s another reason I came to see you. Madam Silveryn asked me to assist you. That’s my job now. To assist Master Damian.”
“Assist me with my work?”
“Yes. She said specifically, ‘Join Damian in the secret task he is currently undertaking.’”
“…”
As my expression soured, the girl became restless, thinking she had made a blunder.
“That secret task… um, did I say something wrong?”
“Do you know what task I’m supposed to be doing?”
“No, but, you see, my grandmother was an alchemist. I helped her and learned a bit, so I’m confident in my alchemy, even if I don’t know much else.”
I slapped my forehead.
Silveryn must know that I intend to create potions using Zverev’s recipe. There wouldn’t be a need for this girl’s assistance with ordinary potion-making.
She knows too well what I need.
It seems I’m always in the palm of Silveryn’s hand.
I let out a light sigh and then spoke.
“It seems that exactly the kind of person I need has come.”
My words conflicted with my sullen face; the girl hesitated before responding.
“Oh, that’s good. Um, my name is Liria. Please take care of me from now on.”
And then she bowed in my direction. I ignored the gesture, as if she were bowing to a superior, and instead approached to offer a handshake.
“I’ll be counting on you as well.”
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