Chapter 214: New Routine (1)
The next morning,
Noah stood inside the Eldritch Household’s private training hall.
The hall was enormous, built to accommodate the family’s knights and guards. Rows of weapon racks lined the stone walls, filled with swords, spears, axes, shields, and bows. Several knights trained in the distance, their wooden weapons colliding rhythmically as instructors watched over them.
The ceiling rose several stories high, allowing enough space for large-scale combat training.
As one of the Four Great Ducal Houses of the empire, the Eldritch Family naturally possessed its own elite order of knights.
Noah wore simple training clothes—a plain black T-shirt, black trousers, and lightweight training shoes. His snow-white hair was tied into a short ponytail to keep it away from his eyes.
Standing opposite him was Julian Eldritch.
Unlike Noah, Julian wore a fitted white training shirt with black trousers. His posture remained perfectly straight, his expression calm and unreadable.
A wooden training sword rested loosely in his right hand.
Nathan stood several meters away with folded arms, silently observing the upcoming spar.
Father and son stood inside the marked sparring circle.
Noah held a genuine steel longsword.
Julian merely held a wooden sword.
"I will personally guide your weapon training while you remain here," Julian said calmly. "For magic, ask your mother. She is far more qualified than I am in that field."
"Yes, Father."
Julian slowly raised his wooden sword.
"Attack me with everything you know."
He paused before adding,
"However, do not use your Ice Creation ability or any ice magic spells. You may reinforce your body with mana and use your swordsmanship. Any weapon art you know is acceptable."
Noah nodded.
"...Understood."
Then he hesitated.
"My newest sword art relies heavily on my ice affinity."
"That is acceptable."
Julian nodded.
"You may use the technique itself. Simply refrain from casting spells."
"Understood."
Noah slowly lowered his center of gravity. His left foot slid backward.
His breathing steadied.
Mana surged from his core. It flowed through every mana channel before gathering around the steel blade.
A thin layer of mana coated the sword.
The edge immediately became sharper. Tiny crystalline particles gathered near the tip.
A single droplet of frost quietly formed.
[First Petal—Dewdrop Stance]
The surrounding temperature dropped noticeably. A faint frost-blue aura enveloped Noah’s body.
His silver eyes gradually turned into a pale icy blue.
Nathan raised an eyebrow. "So that’s the Frost Lotus Blade Art he told me about..."
Noah had told Nathan about what he had learned after leaving the house.
And of course, he simply told Nathan that he got the blade art from one of the dungeon he had visited. His brother also didn’t tried asking much in detail. No need to pry into unnecessary things. Afterall Nathan himself got more secrets.
While Julian’s expression showed slight interest.
"Interesting."
Noah bent his knees.
Mana exploded beneath his feet.
Boom!
His figure vanished from his previous position. He rushed forward with astonishing speed.
The blade traced a graceful arc through the air. Tiny snowflakes drifted behind every movement.
The sword descended.
Clang!
Steel met wood.
No, it felt more like steel had collided with solid iron.
Noah’s arms trembled violently.
"Urgh..."
His teeth clenched.
The impact nearly forced the sword from his hands.
Julian hadn’t even moved his feet.
His wooden sword, protected by a thin coating of mana, had effortlessly blocked the strike.
Despite being made of wood, it hadn’t received the slightest scratch.
Frost rapidly crawled across Julian’s wooden sword.
Thin layers of ice attempted to spread.
Julian merely pushed a little more mana into the weapon.
Crack.
Every trace of frost shattered instantly.
"So this is the freezing property of your sword art. Interesting, you were lucky to get such art."
Julian spoke calmly before lightly pushing Noah backward.
Noah slid several meters before stabilizing himself.
"Again."
Noah inhaled deeply.
This time he decided to use the second form.
He slowly closed his eyes. The sounds inside the training hall gradually faded.
The clashing of weapons. The conversations of knights. Even his own breathing. Everything slowly disappeared.
There had been lingering sadness. There had been determination. There had been excitement at finally training under his father.
One after another those emotions quietly sank beneath a perfectly still surface.
Silence remained.
Only the sword existed. Only the path of the blade mattered.
Noah opened his eyes once more.
They no longer carried emotion.
Only absolute focus remained.
The air around him grew even colder than before.
Nathan immediately noticed the change.
"...His presence changed."
Julian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
"Seems like you are using another form of your weapon art."
His father didn’t tried to attack Noah. Firstly, he wanted to see what his son could do.
Noah disappeared.
Slash!
His movement looked unbelievably simple.
No unnecessary motion. No wasted strength. Only one perfectly refined horizontal slash.
For an instant a thin white line appeared within the air itself.
Shhhh—
An invisible blade of compressed freezing force flew toward Julian.
Julian calmly lifted his wooden sword.
Clang!
The invisible slash struck.
A sharp wave of frost exploded across the wooden blade.
The surrounding floor froze.
Crack!
Thin layers of ice rapidly spread across Julian’s weapon before breaking apart beneath overwhelming mana.
Noah immediately closed the distance.
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
Each strike looked ordinary. Yet every swing carried invisible freezing force.
Julian blocked every attack effortlessly. He could feel the coldness that came out of each strike.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The sound of wood and steel echoed throughout the hall.
Nathan watched silently.
"...Father hasn’t taken a single step."
Meanwhile Noah had already launched over twenty attacks.
Every one of them had been blocked.
Finally Julian moved.
One simple swing.
Clang!
Noah’s sword was knocked aside.
Before Noah could recover.
Tap.
The wooden sword gently touched his chest.
"If this were a real battle..."
Julian looked at him calmly.
"...you would already be dead."
For Julian it was too easy, but he was impressed by Noah.
Noah let out a long breath before lowering his sword.
"I lost."
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