Linia widened her eyes.
“My goodness, the young master had a prophetic dream? Is that true?”
Prophetic dream.
In modern times, bringing up something like this would get you treated like a quack, but in this novel, it’s a relatively realistic ability. After all, there are quite a few historical figures known to have possessed precognitive powers during their lifetimes.
“Yeah. I followed the swordsmanship I saw in the dream exactly, so it somehow stuck well, and I also learned through the prophetic dream that the master who will teach me is staying at the Golden Apple Inn. Above all, I roughly saw the calamity that will soon befall this Prima continent in the near future. I’m moving to stop it.”
“But does the young master absolutely have to do it? If you tell the higher-ups about the future you saw in the prophetic dream…?”
“What I can see is only fragmentary futures. It’s hard to prove to others that a calamity is actually coming. If I speak honestly, I’ll only be treated like a fraud.”
Even if the empire’s emperor or the masters of the five great clans believed me, that would be a problem.
The more people share future knowledge, the more unnecessary information leaks there will inevitably be. Naturally, among those in power, there are quite a few who would exploit it for personal gain, and that would cause an enormous butterfly effect.
With my current self, a mere level 9 scrub, revealing my hand would only get me used by the influential. So, until I build enough power and authority, I need to lay low as much as possible and solidify my foundation.
Six years until the original story begins.
Plenty of time.
In the meantime, I plan to select an extremely small number of individuals as allies and share the fruits I’ve gained as a possessor.
By borrowing the power of allies who unleash potential beyond the original, I’ll recover the major MacGuffins of this work, and ultimately, I plan to split the head of the Demon King, the boss of Part 4.
Compared to the allies I intend to recruit, Linia has relatively lacking potential, but she has the advantage of high loyalty. She’ll be useful in the future.
“You’ve served my mother and me for a long time. When everything is over, I promise you at least wealth and glory, so I’d like you to continue following me.”
“You don’t have to offer such conditions; I’ll always serve by the young master’s side!”
Linia answers without a moment’s hesitation.
Suddenly, her eyes sparkled.
“More importantly, precognitive ability. It’s the same power that the hero from the Arielti clan, ‘Tiamia,’ possessed! Could it be reawakening in the young master, her distant descendant?”
Hearing the name she mentioned, I slightly hardened my expression.
Fairy Queen, Tiamia Lapiru Arielti.
In the distant past, she was one of the ‘heroes’ who left behind countless adventure tales. Among the fairy tribes living in the Great Forest, she is revered almost as a demigod.
But in reality, she’s an irredeemable personality wreck. How do I know this? Because in Part 3 of the original, Tiamia kicks open her coffin and revives alongside the other five heroes.
As enemies of the protagonist’s party, no less.
I’m curious what kind of expression Linia will make when the moment comes to oppose Tiamia and the five heroes.
While talking with her and advancing through the ruins, we soon arrived at a heterogeneous space. Mechanical parts resembling cogwheels were scattered in every corner, and there were also automatons that seemed destroyed by Estriel.
“Is this a ruin from the Magic Empire era? It looks really fascinating.”
As she said, if you isolate this place, it feels closer to SF or steampunk than medieval fantasy. It’s not wrong, since artifacts of over-technology level by modern standards occasionally appear here.
Normally, around this point, automatons armed with firearms and golems with killer backshots would wake up to welcome us, but fortunately, those obstacles were all smashed to bits by the prior visitor, Estriel.
Thanks to that, Linia and I easily reached the deepest part of the ruins.
There, empty tables and already-opened treasure chests were scattered about. At a glance, it looked like the ruins had already been looted by someone.
Without panicking, I took out a sheet of parchment I had prepared in advance from my pocket. This wasn’t ordinary parchment but a one-time magic scroll. I held it toward the ceiling and tore it.
<Flame Ball>
Fwoooosh!
A flame magic that burst out as the paper tore!
A fireball the size of a human head flew out and, astonishingly, passed right through the ceiling. Soon, the stone ceiling vanished like a mirage, revealing the passage behind it.
“Just as described in the novel.”
The reason Estriel, despite investigating the ruins multiple times, couldn’t find the secret door in the deepest part is simple.
The ceiling’s secret door has concealment magic from the Magic Empire era, which can only be dispelled using an attack with fire-attribute power. Since I hadn’t learned magic, I used a spell scroll I bought separately from the black market.
“W-What? The ceiling suddenly disappeared?”
I ignored the bewildered Linia and leaped toward the secret passage.
After passing through a short passage of a few meters, a space about five pyeong appeared. In its center was a small altar.
Drip, drip!
On the altar lay a grotesque lump of muscle, twitching as if it were a living heart.
The novel’s description didn’t hit home, but seeing it in person, it was truly disgusting.
Appraisal.
[Firebird’s Heart (S)]
- Greatly increases fire attribute dominance upon ingestion
- Greatly increases fire attribute resistance upon ingestion
- Grants Infinite Regeneration (S) trait upon ingestion
- Increases mana upon ingestion
- Increases potential…
- Upon ingestion・・・
- Ingestion…
Damn, there’s too many to even read.
The effects are tempting enough to want to chew it raw right now, but the one who can maximize the potential dwelling in the Firebird’s Heart is none other than the protagonist of this work, Epio.
Moreover, I already have an S-grade elixir reserved for myself. I can’t ruin my long-term plan over a momentary impulse.
Flap!
I took out a pre-prepared magic cloth and carefully wrapped the Firebird’s Heart. Touching it bare-handed would surely cause burns.
Done.
“Shall we continue farming then?”
With the Firebird’s Heart secured, other items around the altar caught my eye.
There were plenty of valuable gold coins and jewels, but what first drew my gaze was a pair of rings.
[Eternal Snow Ring (A)]
- Greatly corrects mana control ability
- Adjust: Emits strong chill
- Increases water attribute dominance
[Glacier Ring (A)]
- Spell: <Pure Freeze>
- Adjust: Emits strong chill
- Increases water attribute dominance
An A-grade in Reca Chronicles means value encompassing a nation. In short, these two rings were national treasure-level equipment.
Though they were items with extremely poor compatibility for Epio, who specializes in fire attributes, and were quickly sold off in the original, they would be incredibly useful for me.
Why items with attributes opposing the Firebird’s Heart were placed near the altar is simple. To suppress the fire energy leaking from the heart as much as possible. Without the two rings, this ruin would have become a sea of fire centuries ago.
I packed up the Eternal Snow Ring, the Glacier Ring, and various other valuables without regret and left the ruins.
***
As always, I ran the training grounds.
Linia joined me.
“Huff, y-young masteeer, huuuff, it’s too haaard, heeelp…”
“Endure it even if it’s tough.”
“Y-Yes, sirrr!”
For all that, Linia’s potential level reaches 40. If I boost her growth quickly with the doping effect of the Yin-Yang Tea, she’ll definitely become usable manpower.
The surrounding knights watched me training with my exclusive maid as if it were novel, even surrounding the running course to spectate. The difference from before was that their gazes held no contempt. They were simply looking because my eccentricities were intriguing.
After training Linia, I sparred in many-on-one matches with the apprentice knights.
“Come at me all at once.”
“Apprentice of the Stroke 2nd Knight Order, Rakan Biltor, please guide me!”
“Apprentice of the Stroke 2nd Knight Order, Max Cross, likewise!”
“Stroke 2nd…”
Thanks to getting the hang of facing multiple opponents, I can now handle up to four at once.
In the daytime training grounds with many eyes, I accumulate practical experience against apprentice knights or train my body, and when the sun sets, I move to the personal training room to hone the techniques learned from Estriel or the Stroke family’s secrets. This has been my routine for the three weeks since the duel with Julio Bass.
[Spirit Step (B) is at the ‘proficient’ stage. Efficiency increases.]
Fortunately, today bore some fruit. By actively using footwork in every spar, the proficiency of Spirit Step rose.
In contrast, Resonance Shatter Art and Alsigima Heart Method remain at the ‘initiate’ stage.
Those with Reverse Veins can certainly learn the Alsigima school’s secrets easily. But that’s limited to entry, and because the techniques themselves are so alien, reaching a mature realm like Estriel is extremely difficult.
With no progress in training Resonance Shatter Art, I began focusing on Stroke Swordsmanship, where a path was at least visible. I wanted to bring Stroke Swordsmanship, now entering the ‘specialized’ stage, as close to ‘mastery’ as possible, even a day sooner.
Done.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
I swung the sword.
Suddenly, I continued this flow into the sword forms.
The Stroke Swordsmanship forms are divided into a total of ten, each drawing rigid and swift sword paths.
I fell into a trance and moved my body following the image in my mind.
The fourth form of swordsmanship should be heavier. Yet your four swords are as light as a child swinging a wooden stick from the Stroke—
“Tch! Have you been letting my advice go in one ear and out the other? At this rate, you won’t see the pinnacle of Stroke Swordsmanship even after a hundred years.”
Why am I receiving pointers from my great-uncle?
Having unfolded all the forms of Stroke Swordsmanship, I asked Ebel in bewilderment.
“This is my personal training room. Didn’t the guards at the entrance say anything when you came in?”
“Do you think there’s anyone in the Stroke Mansion bold enough to block my comings and goings?”
Ebel, who receives the admiration of northern knights as one of the Continent’s Twelve Heroes. His influence is equal to or greater than the Grand Duke’s. A mere guard couldn’t possibly stop such a figure’s movements.
The problem is that this old man, for whatever reason, has been staying in this mansion for three weeks already. The Stroke family members seem quite uncomfortable.
While swinging my sword through the air, I asked Ebel.
“If the border’s commander-in-chief has this much free time, does that mean we don’t need to worry about the kingdom and duchy’s security regarding Liperta for a while? Just when do you plan to return?”
“Hmph. Drop the pointless provocation.”
“What’s the reason you personally visited my personal training room? Even if you come crying and begging now, I won’t return the struggle seal.”
The seal was already handed over a week ago. I wondered if he still had regrets about it, but suddenly he brought up a disjointed story.
“The Stroke family is fundamentally a martial house. Two hundred years ago, for unbelievably well blocking foreign invasions, His Majesty the King of Croa Kingdom bestowed the grand duchy title, promising autonomy as a vassal state and independence.”
“So?”
“Since the family’s roots are like that, I consider martial talent or military genius more important than political acumen as virtues for the Stroke duke. The grand duchy title should naturally be inherited by one who wins the hearts of knights.”
I stopped my swinging sword abruptly and looked at Ebel.
I wondered what this old man, suddenly appearing, was blabbering about, but he’s saying something that would cause big trouble if it leaked outside.