Chapter 25: Ludwig’s Right Hand (2)

Batenberg was abuzz after the story of Moritz, who confidently challenged Richard to a duel but ended up utterly defeated.

And that had just happened yesterday.

The sight, witnessed by many knights, was enough to turn an unauthorized duel into an official hierarchy shuffle.

“The unshakable rankings have finally changed.”

Moritz was on the verge of a downfall.

“Has Young Master Richard’s talent finally bloomed?”

Richard, who had trampled over him, drew everyone’s attention.

The Batenberg family was one that strictly upheld meritocracy among its bloodline.

The weak were weeded out, and the strong were praised in this survival-of-the-fittest environment.

“I heard Young Master Richard used radiant mana.”

“Does that mean he has a mana trait? My goodness!”

Even the attendants whispered about it.

The label Scoundrel Richard was quickly becoming a thing of the past.

Meanwhile, a more intriguing rumor began to circulate:

“The First Knight Commander, Leon, has begun personally training Richard. Doesn’t that imply support for him as the next heir?”

“Haah…”

A dry sigh escaped.

After all, the heir was still widely believed to be the second son of the family head, Sieg Batenberg.

Ignoring Aaron, who wore a strange expression, Richard began warming up.

The injury he sustained from Leon yesterday had been healed thanks to a rare potion.

Although he never wanted to experience the pain of broken bones again, the benefits gained were too sweet to ignore.

“He should be here by now.”

Leon, who had promised to begin training him today, was nowhere to be seen.

“Surely he didn’t just run away?”

Suppressing his rising suspicion, Richard began stamina training.

Leon appeared at his private training ground two hours later.

“You broke my collarbone. What took you so long?”

Naturally, his tone wasn’t pleasant.

Leon gave an awkward smile and made an excuse:

“Haha… Given my position, I have quite a few responsibilities.”

In short, he was late because he had to finish his duties first.

Then he should have at least said so.

With a time limit of two months, every second mattered for Richard and Aaron.

“Just seeing you, Sir Leon, is making my collarbone ache again.”

Richard extended his hand as a sarcastic greeting.

Leon hesitated, then eventually took his hand.

“I can only assist with your training for three weeks, at most.”

Three weeks. Just one more would’ve been nice.

As Richard thought that, Leon preempted him:

“No more than that.”

“Why?”

“It’s by order of the family head.”

That was non-negotiable.

“But I will do my utmost during that time. I’m still curious about many things regarding you, young master.”

His eyes briefly sparkled—like someone determined to uncover everything about Richard.

“Ahem” Leon cleared his throat and continued.

“First, I’ll tell you what I noticed during yesterday’s duel.”

Richard straightened his posture and listened.

“Your basic swordsmanship seems well developed. Your focus is also extraordinary.”

Well, of course.

His basic swordsmanship had reached S-rank, and he had a “hyper-focus” trait.

Those more than compensated for any lack of natural talent.

“Moreover, your mana trait seems to enhance your physical abilities. Am I right?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then your foundation is already solid. What you now need is more advanced swordsmanship, but…”

Leon glanced at Richard’s hand.

“With Sir Vallach’s imprint, learning another sword art isn’t ideal.”

“You’re familiar with the Trial Imprint?”

“There are many sword arts, some passed down in special ways.”

Though Leon didn’t know Vallach was a descendant of the Sword Saint, he did understand the nature and depth of his swordsmanship.

“That man was as great as the family head. Fighting beside him always gave me chills.”

Leon emphasized unlocking the imprint—something Richard was already planning.

“Back to the main point: what you need to work on most is mana control.”

He extended his hand.

“I’ve heard your mana insensitivity was only recently cured, so let’s put total mana volume aside.”

Whoosh—

Mana enveloped Leon’s hand.

It took the form of a thin, cloth-like layer.

Without any tremble or disturbance, the mana wrapped around his hand, forming a pale-blue glove-like shape.

His control was extraordinary.

“If you can’t freely control mana, you won’t be able to form aura. Many knights hit that upper-tier wall and despair.”

Richard glanced sideways.

Aaron was staring grimly at Leon’s hand.

Aaron was one of those knights—unable to cross the wall due to failure in forming aura.

“Especially for you, young master, training mana control from now on is essential to avoid the same misfortune.”

Leon then dispersed the mana.

“Do you know a suitable training method, Sir Leon?”

“Would I bring it up if I didn’t? Haha!”

Leon laughed confidently. It was exactly the training and teacher Richard needed.

Richard jabbed Aaron in the ribs.

“Aaron, hurry up and introduce yourself.”

Why was he just standing there?

If he wanted to learn too, he should be clinging to Leon’s leg and begging.

***

A week passed since training began.

Leon looked at the two seated figures with closed eyes.

“Forcing mana in doesn’t solve anything.”

In both Richard and Aaron’s hands were dozens of threads.

This was Leon’s invented mana control method.

Step one: infuse mana into every thread simultaneously.

It was difficult, especially since they were made of Creeph fur—a monster with high mana resistance.

Naturally, both were drenched in sweat.

“Focus.”

Leon’s sharp gaze swept over them.

Normally all smiles, during training he was like a tiger.

Swish~!

Ten of Richard’s threads lifted into the air, but soon fell as sweat trickled down his cheek.

Richard frowned, unsatisfied, and dove back into concentration.

‘…His progress is faster than expected.’

Leon nodded.

“I was told his mana insensitivity was only recently cured.”

The difference between someone who’s used mana since childhood and someone just starting out was massive.

That’s why Leon taught him this seemingly daunting method.

But Richard’s growth far exceeded expectations.

“Is it due to his mana trait?”

Richard’s mana, holy energy, was gentle and easy to handle—like a tame lamb.

A perfect match for him.

A blessing, even.

‘Compared to that…’

Leon glanced at Aaron—the sly young master who’d dragged in a mid-level knight of the 3rd Order.

Initially, Leon only intended to teach Richard.

As a knight commander, it hurt his pride to teach just anyone.

But after one glance, he saw that Aaron’s mana was wild and savage beneath the surface.

Another trait holder.

‘Who would’ve thought…’

Leon’s curiosity flared again.

‘Aaron’s trait will likely shine when his aura manifests.’

That’s what Richard had told the speechless Leon.

So Leon took an interest in Aaron too.

But Aaron was struggling.

Even after a week, he couldn’t control five threads, let alone ten.

A look of pity crossed Leon’s eyes.

‘Once you overcome this wall, you’ll grow leaps and bounds.’

Just then—

Swoosh—!

A sharp sound came from Richard’s side.

Fourteen threads floated in the air.

“Heh…”

Only moments ago, he was sweating bullets over just ten threads.

Now, he was calmly infusing mana.

Leon’s lips curled at the rapid progress.

While Aaron was promising, Richard was the one who truly captivated him.

“Control it more precisely. If the threads shake, your mana is unstable.”

Richard pouted silently.

The threads dropped.

“I told you to focus.”

“…I suddenly lost my concentration for some reason.”

Opening his eyes, Richard muttered in frustration.

In front of him, a system window popped up:

[Skill – Mana Control proficiency has increased.]

[Current Proficiency: F ->E]

He had acquired the Mana Control skill on the fifth day of training.

His growth spurt was thanks to that.

‘It’s efficient.’

Richard thought while looking at the threads.

It seemed simple at first, but it was far more grueling and difficult than it looked.

That made the rapid progress all the more rewarding.

By investing faith, he might even reach A-rank soon.

He turned to glance at Aaron, who was gritting his teeth and soaked in sweat as he worked on the threads.

Plop—

The threads collapsed just as he lifted four of them.

They had only two months to achieve aura.

The pressure Aaron felt must be immense.

After watching him for a while, Richard turned to Leon.

“Sir Leon.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s change locations for a bit.”