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Chapter 3
The Havenberg swordsmanship was notorious for its extreme difficulty, even during the era before the ‘Divine-Demon War’—a time said to be filled with geniuses.
No one had managed to master it.
No one had even come close to learning it properly.
The Arzen family, famed for its numerous sword prodigies, was said to host more talent than any other.
Yet even they found Havenberg’s swordsmanship nearly impossible to learn.
Then, the Divine-Demon War broke out.
Havenberg suffered grave injuries during the war and eventually died.
After his death, the swordsmen of the Arzen family analyzed the Havenberg sword manual and, using it as a foundation, created the Arzen sword style.
It was an effort to make the technique accessible to the family’s younger generation.
It was only possible because they were Arzen.
Thus, Havenberg’s swordsmanship evolved into the Arzen style, passed down through generations.
“That’s how the story goes.”
I relayed to my ancestor what I had once heard during my time in the family.
His expression didn’t look pleased.
Was it because his swordsmanship hadn’t survived the passage of time?
— How could my bloodline be so foolish?
His face clearly showed disbelief.
‘I think I kind of get it, though.’
Either way, from his perspective, it was more than enough reason to be angry.
— Tch… does the Arzen family still exist?
“Yes.”
— So much time has passed… perhaps I should be satisfied the family still survives at all...
As he said, most noble families from the past no longer existed.
The same held true for the families of many heroes buried here.
Many had fallen into ruin, their names erased from the continent.
— It seems you’re the only one left who can learn my swordsmanship.
“…Excuse me?”
Learn his swordsmanship?
Surely he doesn’t mean—
[Sub Quest – Heir of Havenberg Arzen]
[Havenberg Arzen laments that his swordsmanship has not been passed down. Learn the Havenberg sword style and achieve results that would satisfy him.]
[Reward – Havenberg Swordsmanship]
Suddenly, a system message appeared in midair.
‘This time it’s a sub quest, not a main quest?’
What’s the difference between the two?
‘Still… learning Havenberg swordsmanship, huh.’
Even the greatest geniuses of the continent failed to master it—could I?
Then again, if he teaches me himself, it might be different.
— Havenberg swordsmanship. You’ll carry it on so it won’t be lost.
“Am I… allowed to do that?”
— It’s not about permission. It’s about whether you can or can’t.
He had a point.
“I’ll pay my respects to my master.”
— Forget that. I’m not your master. I’m your ancestor, and you’re my descendant. Just do as I say.
“Understood.”
My heart began to pound wildly.
The reason the Arzen family is still considered the continent’s finest sword clan is because of Arzen swordsmanship.
But even that exceptional technique is just a derivative of Havenberg’s.
If I can learn it, I might be able to prevent the continent’s fall—and take revenge on the father who abandoned my family.
‘Father…’
The Arzen family—once the finest sword clan on the continent.
And I’m the illegitimate son of its patriarch.
The abandoned son.
That man dragged our family into the clan only to neglect us.
My mother, my younger sister Resia, and I endured endless scorn and contempt until we could take it no longer and fled.
To me, my father and that clan are nothing but objects of hatred.
They’re not worth enough for me to learn swordsmanship and pass it on in gratitude.
“I hate the family. Even so, is that okay?”
I told my ancestor the full truth about the current situation.
That the Arzen family, once from the Brillant Kingdom, had defected to the Empire.
That Brillant had fallen after the Divine-Demon War and was later restored by the surrounding nations.
My ancestor’s face hardened momentarily upon hearing that Brillant fell and its noble families fled to other nations.
But his expression soon returned to calm.
— It doesn’t matter. I founded the family in the first place, and its true lineage lies in Havenberg.
He said it matter-of-factly, not as if he were trying to comfort me.
Didn’t seem like the type to do that anyway.
— If you learn the Havenberg swordsmanship, you become the true heir of the Arzen family. You are the Arzen family.
My grip on the sword tightened without realizing it.
‘I… am the Arzen family itself.’
My heart pounded like thunder.
Memories of past suffering flashed through my mind.
“I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”
— Good.
* * *
— …We’ll have to start from the basics.
The result of my training was disastrous.
It was to be expected.
I hadn’t held a sword in a long time, and the Havenberg style was absurdly difficult.
In fact, I never had much time to train with a sword in the first place.
At the family estate, I was constantly harassed and obstructed, never given a fair chance to learn.
Even the instructors were too afraid of the direct line to teach me properly.
‘At this rate, I don’t see a way forward.’
— Try swinging again.
“Yes.”
I tried to recall the sensation from when my ancestor had possessed me and wielded the shovel.
A diagonal slash.
Among all the sword techniques, it’s the most basic move.
But that doesn’t mean you can just swing diagonally without thought.
‘Right… he did it like this.’
I stepped forward with my left foot, grounding my center, and swung.
Whoosh—
The blade cut through the air with a slicing sound.
Didn’t feel right.
This wasn’t it.
— Pathetic.
As expected.
His cutting remark rang in my ears.
I saw it coming, but it still stung.
— Open your chest. Your gaze must not waver.
“Yes.”
Following his instructions, I opened my chest and fixed my gaze on one point as I swung.
— Are you joking right now?
“…I’m sorry.”
My body just wouldn’t move the way I wanted.
“I’ll try again.”
I gripped the sword with renewed resolve.
Closing my eyes, I focused all my senses on the blade.
“Hyaaaah!”
Whoosh—
This time, something clicked.
Definitely better than before…
— Why are you yelling like that?
…Or maybe not.
“Sorry!”
Feeling awkward, I clicked my tongue and readjusted my stance.
Then, I swung once more.
—So this idiot was hiding here.
The way he refers to me is getting more and more degrading.
At this rate, I’ll be reduced to a pebble rolling on the roadside.
—This isn’t swordsmanship, it’s a clown show.
"……I did try my best."
—Do it again.
"Yes."
I composed myself and swung again.
—Even a goblin would do better than this.
"……Still, better than a goblin—"
—Silence.
"Yes."
I swung again.
Whoosh—!
This time, the wind made by the swing sounded a bit stronger than before...
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—With those skills, your arm would dislocate slicing pork. Tsk tsk.
…Was that the sound of a pig getting slaughtered?
My head was spinning.
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Whoosh—
Again. Again. Again.
With the repeated swings, my arm felt like it was going to fall off.
Though I was slowly improving, there was no way I could impress my ancestor with swordsmanship when I had never wielded a sword before.
‘Am I going to fail this sub-quest…?’
This won’t do.
‘He did say that without spiritual power, my body would experience heavy recoil.’
I gained spiritual energy as a reward from the previous main quest.
It was even reflected in my status window.
‘It’s worth trying.’
[Descent – Havenberg Arzen]
Something began to seep into my body.
Before, it had felt vague.
But now, it was much clearer.
I could feel it — my ancestor had taken possession of my body.
“What are you trying to do?”
My ancestor spoke through my mouth.
I answered his question.
—Please show me your swordsmanship. Wouldn’t I learn faster by experiencing it firsthand?
"…Right, this was your ability. Fine. Knowing how to make use of your own powers is a skill too."
He held the sword.
Just from taking the stance, I could tell he was nothing like me.
"Watch closely, and feel it well. This is the swordsmanship of Havenberg."
His sword began to move.
The blade sliced through the air, creating smooth, flowing arcs that seemed to linger in place.
It was like watching a painting being drawn.
Time itself felt like it had stopped as I watched his swordsmanship.
Could just swinging a sword be this beautiful, this captivating?
Whoosh—
As the sword returned to its original position, it felt like time resumed all at once.
Goosebumps rose all over my body.
I felt a shiver, as if I were the one wielding that blade, becoming one with him.
[Spiritual Energy Insufficient]
[Descent Deactivated]
When I came to, my ancestor was floating mid-air, staring at me expectantly, as if waiting for me to say something.
But I couldn’t easily speak.
How could I describe what I had just witnessed?
My meager vocabulary couldn’t do it justice.
“This is the path of swordsmanship I should pursue…?”
—That’s right.
I held my sword in a daze.
Every muscle in my body ached.
But my concentration had never been sharper.
‘Was it… like this…?’
I moved the sword.
Recalling the sensation as clearly as I could, I let my body follow the flow.
A sword path that extended naturally.
As if the sword were gliding along an invisible stream.
Whoosh—!!
The wind created by the blade sliced through the air.
In my hand, I felt a sensation distinctly different from before.
[Stamina increased by 0.1]
“Huff… Huff…”
I was out of breath.
I didn’t know exactly what I had just done, but I knew for certain I had made meaningful progress.
—Tsk… Is that all you can manage?
My ancestor's face was stiff.
Still, a harsh critique returned to me.
‘Damn it… So I failed the sub-quest after all?’
Just as I gritted my teeth in frustration—
[Sub-Quest – Successor of Havenberg Arzen completed.]
A quest success message popped up.
But his reaction hadn’t been good, had it?
‘Huh…?’
Looking more closely now, the corner of my ancestor’s mouth was twitching slightly.
‘What the… Is he satisfied?’
His face was stern to the point of being frozen, but the corners of his lips were slightly raised.
That tiny dissonance made me tilt my head.
[You have learned "Havenberg Swordsmanship."]
I received the reward: the Havenberg swordsmanship.
I quickly called it up in the air.
[Havenberg Swordsmanship – Beginner]
The ultimate essence of Havenberg Arzen's swordsmanship, fully condensed. As your proficiency increases, your understanding of the sword will deepen.
-Proficiency 0%
Proficiency increases each time you swing your sword.
It was a painfully simple explanation.
But the meaning behind it was far from simple.
By simply swinging the sword, my proficiency and understanding would grow.
How overpowered was that?
‘The people of the past who failed to master Havenberg swordsmanship would cry if they saw this.’
Not that it’s any of my concern.
Finally, I had laid the foundation for my growth.
—That’s enough for today. Your body’s in no condition to train further.
My ancestor shook his head with a disapproving expression.
—With a body like that, it’s no wonder you’re exhausted from this much training.
“I’m sorry.”
My stamina was lacking, yes, but it was also due to the possession.
—Still, you show some promise. Remember this — Havenberg swordsmanship is not a style that makes you strong quickly. You’ll need to endure a long period of tedious training.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
—Good. You've done well.
After finishing my training, I led my weary body down the mountain and entered the royal capital.
As the manager of Decaine, I am responsible for regularly submitting management reports to the capital.
The ceremonial aide in charge of this task accepted my documents half-heartedly again, setting them aside while focusing on his own work.
Last night, grave robbers broke in.
It was an extremely dangerous situation—if not for me, the relics would almost certainly have been stolen.
That's why I strongly requested the ceremonial aide to send soldiers to protect Decaine.
But whether he truly heard me or not, he merely said he'd look into the papers and waved me off with a flick of his hand.
If I actually believed he'd review them properly, I wouldn't be this frustrated.
I'm sure he'll just make excuses about being busy and toss my report to the back, only to check it much later.
"Damn it..."
I should have finished off that grave robber that night.
Because I lacked spiritual power, I couldn't land the final blow, and now it's difficult to leave Decaine unattended.
Since the robbery attempt failed, he’ll no doubt be lurking around again, waiting for another opportunity.
With Decaine's weak defenses, it's not hard to break in.
I can’t stay in Decaine all day, and if he strikes while I’m gone, it’s all over.
"Tsk."
Since I had come down from Kinish Bluff, I stopped by home.
My mother and Resia greeted me.
Since it wasn’t working hours for either of them, we were able to eat together.
"I think I’ll have to stay in Decaine for a while."
"What? Why?"
Resia asked with a worried expression.
"Something’s come up. I’ve got a lot to take care of. I’ll need to stay there for a few days."
"Will you be okay? You won’t be able to eat properly."
"That’s why I stopped by—to pack some food and supplies."
"Is something wrong?"
My mother’s sharp gaze quickly scanned my face.
She was trying to see if I was hiding something.
In the past, I would have been helpless and let my true feelings show.
But not anymore.
"There’s a problem with the soil. If I don’t keep an eye on it while managing things, the soil could start to rot, so I need to stay at Decaine for a few days."
"What? Holy-infused soil can rot?"
"The soil we brought in last time isn’t the same as the one we used before. This time, we were testing a new kind that’s supposed to last longer, but it might be causing the issue. The ceremonial aide told me earlier."
It was a hastily made-up excuse, but they seemed completely convinced and nodded their heads.
"Don’t pack too much. I’ll come by in the middle and bring you food."
"No, it’s okay."
"Tsk! I’m just worried about you. You focus on your work, alright?"
Reluctantly, I nodded at my mother’s words.
In the past and even now, I’ve never been able to win against her.
"Then, I’ll be off."
I packed a bunch of supplies and slung the bag over my back, then climbed the mountain once more.
Spending a few nights at Decaine was something I’d done plenty of times before.
It wasn’t particularly hard for me.
Though tiring, my heart was pounding with excitement instead.
I could spend all day learning the Havenberg swordsmanship from my ancestor—how thrilling is that?
I need to grow stronger as quickly as possible.
To be ready for the demons that will come in a few years.
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