Chapter 9: Soul’s Revelation (1/2)

Alan was catching his breath.

“Young Master… What was that just now?”

“What do you mean?”

“No, how did your skills suddenly…”

Even after experiencing it himself, Alan couldn’t believe what had just happened.

His attacks had been completely blocked—and he had almost been countered.

Evan had fought on equal footing using nothing but pure swordsmanship, without any mana at all.

There was no logical way to explain it.

It was like he had become an entirely different person.

Evan hesitated for a moment.

It didn’t seem reasonable to stay silent any longer.

‘Maybe I should just tell him now.’

Originally, he had planned to say something later.

But after gaining the “Swordsmanship Talent” ability, his thoughts changed.

He could push his plans forward a little.

Evan took a deep breath, building a heavy atmosphere with deliberate slowness.

Then, he spoke in a short, firm sentence.

“It’s talent.”

Alan tilted his head in confusion, clearly not understanding Evan’s unexpected answer.

“…Talent?”

“Yeah. A family trait. I guess you could call it the power of the bloodline.”

At those words, Alan’s eyes widened.

“Could it be? Young Master, has your bloodline power awakened?!”

Evan played along with Alan’s assumption.

“Right after I came back from the brink of death, I could feel it.”

It was the most believable excuse he could offer.

Unless someone could confirm otherwise, they would have no choice but to believe him.

“Then… Young Master, does that mean you can use mana again…?”

Evan didn’t respond with words—he simply nodded.

Seeing that, Alan’s expression shifted between joy and astonishment.

“Now everything makes sense. So all your recent actions were because your power returned.”

To hear that the master he served had regained his strength—it was only natural for Alan to feel overjoyed.

Especially since he had spent years watching the pitiful state Evan had once been in.

Alan had always hoped Evan would find hope again.

To keep Alan quiet, Evan gave him a firm warning.

“You’re the only one who knows this. You understand what that means, right?”

“Ah.”

Alan’s joy quickly faded as reality set back in.

He realized what Evan was implying by telling him.

“Understood. I’ll take this secret to the grave.”

He recalled the poisoning incident—and how Evan had nearly died.

Watching Alan’s determined expression, Evan gave a satisfied nod.

“Good. Then help me out while I build up my strength.”

Alan looked at him with a serious gaze and nodded.

“Leave it to me, Young Master. I’ll give everything I have.”

“Great. Then let’s get moving right away, while we’re at it.”

“Huh? Do you have somewhere to go?”

“What’s the point of sparring a hundred times? I need real combat experience. Also, get me a real sword.”

He was beginning to think this situation wasn’t so bad.

There was no need to convince Alan anymore.

Even if Evan acted recklessly, Alan wouldn’t report it to Count Clyd.

That meant he could now pursue sub-quests freely.

“But, Young Master…!”

Alan suddenly hesitated and looked nervous.

“What is it? Just say it.”

“Well… I’m not sure if you remember, but… The Count banned you from using anything other than a wooden sword, worried you might cause trouble…”

“What? He banned real swords?”

Evan stood frozen in disbelief.

***

Back in his room, Evan was deep in thought.

‘He really banned me from using real swords? Just what the hell was this guy doing to deserve that?’

Originally, he had planned to go into the forest today to complete a sub-quest.

But now that he found out he couldn’t use a real sword, he had to adjust his plans.

‘Looks like I’ll have to make do with a wooden sword.’

Even if he went outside the mansion, Count Clyd had already made a strict announcement.

Evan wouldn’t be able to find a real sword anywhere.

Even if he tried to get one in secret, there was a high chance he’d get caught.

‘Well, it’s not like there’s no way around this. I could use the system shop to get one…’

But he needed to solve the fundamental issue first.

As long as he remained unrecognized, the Count’s restriction wouldn’t be lifted.

‘Yeah, unless I get acknowledged, I probably won’t be allowed to use real swords at all.’

Evan let out a deep sigh and stood up.

He needed to find a solution.

His eyes naturally wandered to the decorations around the room.

Gold-plated armor. Jeweled ornaments.

‘So many useless trinkets.’

He checked them, just in case—but nothing looked useful.

Then something caught his eye.

A sword hung like a frame in the corner of the room.

“What’s that?”

Evan walked up to it.

The glass-covered frame was covered in dust, clearly left untouched for years.

Inside the case was a crude sword made from monster bone.

Evan took the frame down from the wall.

There was an inscription on the bottom.

“Knights’ Order Founding Hunt Commemoration?”

He guessed it was some sort of souvenir from a ceremonial hunt.

‘The craftsmanship isn’t too bad… Was it a gift?’

But it looked too shoddy to be a proper gift.

No related memories came to mind.

‘Why does this bother me so much?’

Without hesitation, Evan called for Alburton.

***

Moments later, Alburton arrived.

Evan showed him the sword.

“I found this in my room. Ever since I collapsed and woke up, my old memories have been hazy. Do you know what this is?”

Alburton looked at the sword in Evan’s hands.

His expression suddenly turned sorrowful.

“This is…”

He paused for a moment, then slowly continued.

“This is the sword you made after first learning swordsmanship, Young Master. You caught a fox during the Knights’ Founding Hunt and crafted this weapon from its remains. I remember you used to make your own swords because you were so eager to use real ones.”

Hearing Alburton’s explanation, a distant memory flickered in Evan’s mind.

‘So I made it myself.’

He was surprised the former troublemaker had this kind of skill.

“Young Master…”

“I get it. You can go now. I need some time to think.”

“Yes, sir.”

With a bittersweet look, Alburton quietly exited the room.

Once he was gone, Evan focused on his memories.

He recalled the moment the former Evan participated in the Knights’ Founding Hunt.

And the first time he started crafting weapons.

‘So he wasn’t always a delinquent.’

Evan could now see the pure, youthful version of himself from the past.

A boy who admired his father and dreamed of becoming a great knight.

Eager to wield a real sword, he began crafting them on his own.

He turned it into a hobby.

His hands were surprisingly skilled, and the weapons came out fairly decent.

He started with wooden swords made from simple materials.

Then moved on to using monster parts to make better weapons.

Of course, many around him felt pity seeing how hard he tried.

All the weapons Evan made back then were still stored in a closet in the room.

‘If this memory is real, then the problem’s solved. Actually, it’s even better than before.’

In his past life, Evan used to forge his own weapons and armor.

And not just at a beginner level—he reached an advanced level of mastery.

Even dwarves came to him for advice.

But in this life, he hadn’t been able to showcase that ability.

‘If I suddenly claimed I was good at smithing, people would definitely get suspicious!’

But if Evan had already had that hobby since childhood, things were different.

Clack!

He opened the closet and saw a pile of bone-made swords.

All of them were ones Evan had made himself.

Now he was sure.

He had a way to get a real sword without raising suspicion.

“I’ll just make one myself.”

A smile slowly spread across Evan’s face.

***

‘I’ll need one more person.’

While Alan was enough for hunting, he wasn’t much help as a support.

Especially since Evan had to craft weapons, he needed someone nearby to assist him.

Evan took Alan with him and headed to the knights’ training grounds.

He chose the Second Public Training Field.

“This place is huge…”

Alan added a comment from the side.

“Yes. Among the knights’ facilities, this is probably the largest. Though… the number of people is kind of a problem.”

The Kerthen family’s knight training grounds were divided into five main areas.

First, there were Training Fields 1 through 3.

There were specialized training grounds prepared for each rank of senior knights.

In addition to those, there were two shared training grounds: the First Shared Training Ground, which could only be used by 4th to 7th-rank knights, and the Second Shared Training Ground, open to all knights.

Because the Second Shared Training Ground was open to everyone, knights below 7th rank had to face more intense competition to use it.

‘If you’re not a promising noble’s child, you’re bound to be looked down on even more.’

Alan pointed toward the knights and spoke to Evan.

“It looks like the ones using the facility now are 9th and 10th-rank knights.”

All the knights in the training ground wore emblems with either a blue or white rose on their left chest.

It was how one could identify a knight’s rank.

‘Most of them are wearing white. That means… 10th-rank knights.’