Amiel Brever.
This slum-born boy whom Aiden had picked up on his way to Elanore had spent the past few months in the Holy Nation living truly fulfilling days.
Unlike his time in the slums, he now led a thoroughly regimented life every single day.
He ate the meals provided at set times.
He rested for the designated amount.
Afterward, he drank the elixir sent by his employer from Elanore, Processed Yin-Yang Tea (A). It had an incredibly bitter taste, but upon hearing that it could rapidly increase his mana, he diligently took the prescribed dose every day.
Once his physical foundation was somewhat established, he learned the handling of countless weapons from Aiden’s master, Estriel.
Longsword, shortsword, strong wire, bow, hand axe, blunt weapon, spear, flail, whip, musket and other firearms, various throwing weapons… The types of martial arts he learned were too many to count on two hands.
At first, Amiel stubbornly insisted he wanted to focus solely on the longsword, like the Thousand-Man Slayer.
However, in the process of mastering multiple weapons, he instinctively felt that this path suited him better.
…Why have I been so obsessed with the sword until now? Other weapons feel so much more natural in my hands.
Amiel was greatly shocked upon feeling the power of his Weapon Genius (A) trait.
Having personally experienced the vast difference in efficiency between using only the longsword and alternating between various weapons, he let go of his attachment to the sword.
“It’s a shame I can’t become a cool swordsman like the Thousand-Man Slayer… but I’ll get just as strong in a different way.”
In the original history, his long period of self-training without a master had turned his fixation on the sword into sheer stubbornness, but having received systematic education at a relatively early stage, Amiel readily accepted new possibilities.
Afterward, he focused solely on mastering the Tranquil Heart Method (A) he learned from Aiden and Estriel’s weapon techniques.
“This is… astonishing.”
As Amiel’s mindset changed, Estriel’s attitude toward teaching him became correspondingly more serious.
Until now, he had devoted far more attention to caring for Albina Rubio, the younger sister of Camillo whom he had brought from Elanore. Although his disciple Aiden had asked him to train Amiel, honestly, since the boy wasn’t a possessor of Reverse Veins, Estriel couldn’t help but feel reluctant at first.
The current members of the Alsigima school totaled nine.
In Estriel’s judgment, among them, the only one who showed potential to follow in his footsteps—or even surpass him—was Aiden. But unlike Estriel, Aiden was closer to an orthodox swordsman than an assassin.
While feeling regret about this, Amiel appeared—though not a possessor of Reverse Veins, he possessed qualities that were second to none as an assassin.
Naturally, greed arose.
The greed to teach him in earnest.
Having made up his mind, he called Amiel and said.
“Amiel. To be honest, when I first brought you here, I didn’t have high expectations. To me, my Alsigima school disciple with Reverse Veins was more precious.”
“R-Really?”
Estriel quietly watched the boy, who seemed slightly shocked. Suddenly, all trace of a smile vanished from his expression.
“…So from now on, not as Estriel Mirvana, the vice-leader of the Alsigima school, but as the strongest executor of the Holy Nation, I will impart the secrets of the Circulation Church to you. Once we start, I won’t allow you to quit midway, so you’d better prepare yourself.”
Upon hearing that voice, so chillingly cold and low, Amiel felt goosebumps rise all over his body.
But for the boy who had pursued strength since his slum days, refusal wasn’t an option, and from that day, hell began.
Before departing for the south where the Quentaltin Clan was located.
We first visited the Caliroy Holy Nation, situated west of Elanore.
Upon arriving at the Alsigima school’s headquarters there, Albina, Camillo’s younger sister, greeted us with a 90-degree bow.
“Hello, senior brother.”
“You look healthy, Albina.”
A quick glance at her sheet showed that her level, which had been 0, had risen a bit, and her Frail Constitution (-) trait had disappeared.
“Here’s a letter from your brother Camillo. Take it.”
“Eek, another one?”
“Why the disgust?”
“My brother sends me a letter almost every single day. Honestly, it’s creepy. I wish he’d reduce the frequency a bit.”
One letter a day?
To a sister living a three-day carriage ride away?
What a doting fool.
But compared to the cold-blooded tyrant in the original who squeezed the blood and tears out of Elanore and the empire’s citizens, this version is a hundred, a thousand times better.
I shook my head slightly and asked Albina.
“Where’s Estriel?”
“Master is at the training ground.”
“Master? Members of the Alsigima school usually call each other by name.”
“He seems quite advanced in age despite appearances, so it feels burdensome to address him casually.”
I had jumped at calling him by name the moment Estriel said to, so this stings a bit.
Following Albina’s guidance into the school’s private grounds, I saw Estriel inspecting and maintaining various weapons. Upon spotting me, he waved cheerfully and approached.
“What’s up, Aiden?”
“I have to go on a long expedition, so I stopped by beforehand. There’s also a technique I personally want to learn from you, Estriel.”
“A technique you want to learn?”
“I want to learn more footwork like Spirit Step. I think I’ll need it soon.”
When my proficiency in Spirit Step (B) had reached the ‘Mastery’ stage in the past, a system message appeared before me.
[By mastering Spirit Step (B), you have obtained a clue to Silent Realm (A). Progress: 1/3]
That was the content.
The reason the progress was 1/3 was simple: besides Spirit Step, I needed to learn the techniques Shadow Travel (B) and Water Surface Walk (B) to advance to the next stage.
“You’ve completely mastered Spirit Step now, so the other two techniques shouldn’t be too difficult for you to grasp the basics. How long do you plan to stay in the Holy Nation?”
“I intend to handle some business and check my skills for about two weeks.”
“That’s enough time to summarize just the essentials.”
I nodded and asked Estriel.
“How’s Amiel doing?”
“…I’m not sure how to praise him. If taught well, he might become an assassin rivaling me in the future. Where on earth did you pick up such talent?”
“I got lucky. So where is the kid?”
At my question, Estriel pointed with his index finger toward the forest within the grounds.
“He’s been holding out in there for three days now.”
According to his explanation, the forest was filled with traps he had set up himself. He had confined Amiel inside and was occasionally ambushing him personally, pushing the boy to extreme situations.
“After this, I plan to have him learn about poisonous herbs and pharmacology as well.”
“You’re teaching him more intensively than I thought?”
“Well, somehow I got fired up.”
I smiled faintly.
Since Estriel seemed to be paying sufficient attention to Amiel’s training, I wouldn’t need to worry much about it going forward.
I looked at Epio’s sheet beside me.
<Epio>
[Level:24/81]
[HP:15][Strength:09][Agility:08]
[Mana:12][Spirit:03][Senses:06]
[Divinity:00]
[Traits: Primordial Ember(?), Incarnation(S), Infinite Regeneration(S), Weapon Genius(A), Precise Mana Control(A), Enemy Detection(B) and 2 more]
[Skills: Dragon God Cathedral Self-Defense Art(B), Pickpocketing(C)]
[Description: Age 12(?), The being qualified to wield the ancient demonic sword Plebelziam. A boy searching for his foster father Claire. Currently affiliated with Blispiel Clan.]
Impressive stats for such a young age.
But there’s still quite a bit of room for improvement; compared to his dazzling traits, his skills section is practically empty.
As you can see, Epio hasn’t properly learned any heart methods or arts.
With his high [HP] stat and outstanding traits, his durability is fraudulent, but in the current situation, to deal damage to strong enemies, he has no choice but to rely on the flame spells embedded in Plebelziam. Of course, Prometheus is tremendously powerful, but it’s not a spell he can fire indiscriminately, so relying too much on item power is problematic.
I said to Estriel.
“Could you possibly connect me with one martial arts school in the Holy Nation? There’s a technique I want to teach Epio.”
“That’s not a difficult request. Which school?”
“The Silas school.”
“Silas? I haven’t heard of it. If it’s your request, I could connect you with a prestigious one like the Rikium school—why that one specifically?”
Estriel mentioned the name of a renowned martial arts school around the Baskaya Knight Empire, but I shook my head.
The Silas Rampage Heart Method (A-) suits Epio in many ways. As a technique with a ‘-‘ suffix, it harbors immense risk, but considering this guy’s regeneration traits, those penalties are practically nonexistent.
Details about the Silas school were only mentioned once in the setting book, and in the main story, there wasn’t even the slightest connection to Epio. That’s why many readers expressed regret.
I intend to resolve that regret this time.
[You have acquired Shadow Travel (B).]
[You have acquired Water Surface Walk (B).]
[‘Novice’ stage. Effects are minimal.]
Afterward, I learned the two techniques from Estriel.
Shadow Travel, a silent walking method.
Water Surface Walk, which allows running across water surfaces.
Once I master the proficiency of these two techniques to the ‘Mastery’ stage, they will automatically combine with Spirit Step to evolve into Silent Realm (A). Linking that technique with the Formless Robe (S-) should allow me to move so stealthily that not even a mouse or bird would notice.
Linia, who possesses thief-class traits, also received footwork instruction from Estriel alongside me. Since she had already mastered Spirit Step, her acquisition was faster than expected.
I also additionally learned the usage of strong wire, a weapon similar to wire.
“If you attach a hook to the end, you can snatch an opponent’s belongings or weapons during a surprise attack. You’ll have fun using this against guys who rely only on high-performance magitech tools or weapons.”
Learning to handle strong wire in earnest was quite difficult. But since I saw Estriel in the original effectively using the second form of the resonance shattering art in conjunction with strong wire, I can’t not learn it.
[You have acquired Mirvana Strong Wire Art (B).]
[‘Novice’ stage. Effects are minimal.]
[Senses increased by 1.]
[Agility increased by 1.]
Two days after arriving in the Holy Nation.
A response came from the Silas school.
<Roship Metrotis>
[Level:36/38]
Roship, the head of the Silas school, appeared to be a middle-aged man in his mid-to-late 50s. Upon seeing Epio, he let out a chuckle.
“I called you here out of curiosity about what madman wanted to enter the rampage breathing method, but I never expected it to be such a little kid.”
“Madman… who are you talking about, mister? The only one here wanting to learn that Silas breathing or whatever is me.”
[It’s obviously you, you idiot.]
Roship furrowed his brow at Epio’s somewhat dim-witted response. He turned to me and spoke.
“I heard from a priest of the Circulation Church that you were the one who requested contact with our school. Did you properly explain the dangers of the rampage heart method to this kid?”
“No need to ask Aiden, mister. I’ve heard plenty of explanations.”
Epio stepped forward confidently.
Seeing this, Roship shook his head in disbelief.
“What a reckless kid. If that’s the case, I’ll teach you our school’s heart method. But I won’t take responsibility if you lose your life.”
His tone was indifferent, but that warning was no exaggeration.
The Silas Rampage Heart Method (A-) is a breathing technique that generates an intensely powerful energy incomparable to the ‘fierce energy’ derived from the Stroke Heart Method. The ‘rampage energy’ produced by this method possesses tremendous power approaching S-grade heart methods, but due to its excessive violence, a single failure in controlling the energy could cause all the blood vessels in the body to burst, leading to death.
It’s nearly miraculous that such a dangerous technique has been passed down to this day.
But Epio possesses the Infinite Regeneration (S) trait, and he even has Clara, a faith-based mage surpassing most popes, by his side. Even if something goes wrong by some chance, with the power of his Incarnation (S) trait, there shouldn’t be any issu…
“Ugh!!”
No sooner had I thought that than Epio, who had begun learning the rampage breathing from Roship, vomited a mouthful of dark blood.
Spurt!
Immediately after, a massive amount of blood burst from his left arm as well. During the process of circulating the rampage energy, he had made a mistake, causing an entire blood vessel to rupture.
Clara screamed upon seeing this.
“Kyaa! E-Epio!”
“Tsk! You’re quite lucky. If a blood vessel near your heart had burst instead of your arm, you’d have died instantly.”
Roship clicked his tongue as he looked at Epio.
He continued with a bitter expression.
“Do you get it now, Epio? The current members of the Silas school consist only of me, the head. Everyone else either gave up early upon entering the rampage breathing or pushed too hard and died from their hearts bursting. The only one who survived was me, who succeeded in the first circulation by sheer luck. If you value your life, you’d better quit right n…”
“Damn, that really hurt.”
“…!”
Suddenly, Epio stood up, shaking his mangled left arm as if it were fine. The severe wound was healing at a visible rate. Roship’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Hoo…”
After checking his condition, Epio took another deep breath.