Chapter 93: Sparring Once More

“Huuuu……. Hup!”

Thump.

Muno lightly exhaled and took a heavy, swift step forward, slamming the massive sword down into the empty air.

Paaaaaaaaang!

A double-edged sword with a crude guard and no blood groove, seeming to completely disregard air resistance as it stretched out straight.

The only peculiar thing about it was the faintly glowing pattern of light that emerged on the entire blade.

It was a stark difference from his previous form, which had mimicked his father’s antique beloved sword, ‘Slayer’.

Paaaaaaaaang.

‘I’m definitely better off with this.’

Adding a gracefully designed blade, a fancy crossguard, or decorations on the hilt would consume that much more energy.

He had subconsciously imitated his father’s beloved sword before, but in reality, that had created a slight time lag and reduced energy efficiency every time he generated ‘Blade’.

Besides, since he could treat the sword summoned by Spirit Arts as a consumable, a simple and crude design would be more efficient in combat.

Just looking at the length of the mana blade flickering at the tip of the sword, it seemed to have grown by at least 1.5 times, reaching about 15cm.

And in addition to that.

‘Bend.’

Hwiririririk.

The moment he activated the second spell, the pattern engraved on the blade glowed a little brighter.

The massive greatsword transformed into a thin and sharp bladed whip, instantly slashing and coiling around a ten-meter radius in all directions.

A storm of a bladed whip, enhanced with a faint mana blade.

However, this time, there was one thing that bothered him.

“Tsk.”

But once more.

Thump.

“Ha!”

Kwaddeuk.

The arms holding the sword bent back behind his waist, and the muscles of his entire body were squeezed to their limit.

‘Wind Slicer.’

At the same time as a flash of light bisected the front.

A pure white light spread from the blade, and the sword itself exploded.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaang!

Kwakwakwakwakwakwa.

The fragments embedded themselves directly into one wall of the assigned training ground.

Kwadeuk, Kwadeuk.

The protective barrier surrounding the training ground spat the fragments back out, but a hole had already been pierced in the wall, and a considerable amount of the barrier's mana had already dissipated.

The power was as expected, with even better energy efficiency than expected.

“Am I going to get another earful for this……”

Surely the royal family wouldn’t be that petty.

He had enough stamina and mana to spare to even have such thoughts.

“Come.”

Wuuuuuuuung.

The moment he lightly moved his will, the fragments returned to his distant hand and merged back into one.

Jjeojeojeojeok.

Wuuuuuuuung.

‘My innate ability has also gotten stronger.

Is it about three times stronger than before?

This is good too, but that's not what's important right now.’

He glanced at the red gem embedded in his breastplate, then turned his gaze back to the ‘blade’ that was now floating perfectly restored in mid-air.

As expected, the first thing that caught his eye were the clear patterns of light reflected on the blade.

“I can’t give this up……”

Tsk.

One of the reasons he had a surplus of stamina and mana.

It was thanks to the method of improving Spirit Arts efficiency taught by his other heart, no, the artifact he had decided to call the ‘Red Heart’.

Indeed, the mana efficiency of the spells activated from the blade had improved by several times, but.

There was just one drawback.

‘It’s troublesome if it glows every time I activate a spell.

The enemy will notice.’

It seemed he needed more practice.

And fortunately, he still had energy left, and that wasn't solely due to the Red Heart.

He had succeeded in converting most of the cost of the Drasen Greatswordmanship into mana.

Moreover.

Wuuung.

“Yes. It’s thanks to you.”

The ‘Red Heart’ might not amplify his mana, but it was endlessly replenishing his 2-Class level of mana.

‘It would be great if I could pass this on to the family.’

However.

- I thought the Corporeal Arts of Gluttony couldn't use mana?

He was bothered by the fact that prominent powerhouses of the kingdom, like Count Enoch Trian and Anthony, spoke of his family’s Corporeal Arts as if it were common knowledge.

Furthermore, the Corporeal Arts of Gluttony was the fundamental secret art of Drasen, allowing one to slaughter even monsters of a higher rank in a short, decisive battle, so there was no reason to recklessly tamper with it, nor did he have the capability to do so.

Since he had no way of passing the Demon Devourer to his father, his attempts to improve the family's secret art had yet to even find a starting point.

But.

“Well, it’ll happen someday.”

He would leave the things he couldn’t do now to his future self.

For now, he would focus on what he could do right now.

“Alright. I’ll just try to control the glowing part and……”

It had only been two days since the competition ended. Muno could feel himself improving even in that short time.

That’s why he was enjoying his training, but.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of applause.

Clap, clap, clap.

He turned his head to see a beautiful female knight in red, elegant armor, smiling at him.

“Is that one of the famous Black Knight’s artifacts?”

Seeing her face, a small laugh escaped him naturally.

“I told you it was Spirit Arts. It’s my first spell, Blade.”

“Wow, it really looked like an artifact……”

He had already told her about his abilities.

Her feigned surprise seemed like a mere pleasantry.

“Sir Karina, but what brings you here…….”

“What do you mean, what brings me here?

The Black Knight of great renown wasn't coming out, so I had no choice but to come find you.”

“Pardon? I heard you were busy escorting the Grand Princess……”

“Pfft, just kidding.”

……Tsk.

Had she become more comfortable after their meeting three days ago? Karina's banter had suddenly increased.

“Why? Are you uncomfortable with me being here?”

……It has increased too much.

As if she had been coached by someone.

Of course, even so.

“Not at all. The honor is all mine.

So, what’s the date course for today?”

“Yek!?”

Seeing her face turn beet red at that one phrase, she still had a long way to go.

Heh heh.

Karina, who couldn’t find a place to put her eyes and was flustered, cleared her throat unnecessarily.

“……Ahem, ahem. You know the party is tomorrow, right?

The Grand Princess sent me to check if you had forgotten your promise to attend the 3rd Prince’s party.”

Changing the subject. Tsk.

But even I didn't have the courage to get closer to her for real.

There was the issue of those evil cultists, and the problem of a new enemy, presumed to be Aslan.

‘I’m too busy taking care of myself for now.’

He tried to comfort himself that way, but.

- Yes, we heard the cowardly excuse of a man who's been single since birth.

For some reason, it felt like he could hear the mocking voices of his friends from his past life.

“Ahem, of course I remember.”

Muno nodded, trying his best to ignore the voice.

If he attended the party while already under suspicion, there was a high possibility he would be completely branded as part of the 3rd Prince's faction, but he had made a promise, so he had no choice.

‘Well, I can just go to some of the other princes’ parties later.’

If he distanced himself from the 3rd Prince's faction's activities after the party, he probably wouldn't get involved any further.

“……Of course I have to attend.”

“That’s a relief. Then the confirmation of the command is complete, so is it time to keep our promise now?”

“……Pardon?”

What promise?

He was momentarily bewildered.

Suddenly, Karina’s expression hardened.

“The sparring, the sparring!!”

Ah…….

“O-of course I remember. Haha. But I didn't know it was today…….”

He tried to make an excuse, but Karina's hardened face didn't relax easily.

“It's highly speculated that His Highness will declare the end of the Contest of Intellect at the party tomorrow. If so, we'll have even less time after that.”

So, how am I supposed to know that!

It was unfair, but he couldn't argue.

Karina glared at him with resentful eyes, but then.

“Ah. Was that too sudden?”

Belatedly realizing they had never set a date, she feigned indifference with a slightly flushed face.

“Well, it’s alright. But what do you mean by not having time, ah……”

Instead of protesting to her, Muno remembered something else important.

Information about the next contest, whose name and content didn't match at all.

“……Is it because of that Contest of Virtue?”

“That’s right.”

The moment he heard the answer, he could feel his own face stiffening.

He had planned to back out anyway, so he wanted to let it pass moderately, but since the method was the way it was, he was naturally curious.

“Which family will participate from the 3rd Prince’s faction?”

“It's still difficult for me to tell you that.

Unless Sir Muno pledges allegiance to the 3rd Prince, that is.”

Karina didn't answer readily, but frankly, that didn't matter.

There was only one thing he was most curious about.

“What do you think Count Trian will do?”

“That is our side's biggest concern, and also our hope.”

If Count Enoch Trian sided with the 3rd Prince and participated in the Contest of Virtue, it was highly likely that Drasen, as a vassal family, would also be dragged in.

Of course, it seemed likely that Count Enoch Trian would remain neutral.

But the thought that the worst-case scenario could happen made him furious.

“Why are the follower nobles having a power struggle among themselves to decide the next king? And in a way that’s almost like a real war.”

Even though he knew it was useless to complain to Karina.

“It’s just a mock battle at the level of knights.

Modeled after famous battles.

Officially, surrender is possible before or after, and taking a life is forbidden.”

“But I heard that many knights end up disabled each time.”

At that, Karina, who seemed to be defending the contest's method, also gave a bitter smile.

“Actually, this is a measure by the royal family to weaken the periodically strengthening nobles…… or so the Grand Princess said.”

Heh.

‘What a fine state this country is in.’

This was the reality of the Contest of Virtue, the final stage of the succession war that essentially decided the outcome.

A culling of noble factions that took place every 20 to 30 years.

However, if the prince they followed won, they could seize the initiative in future state affairs and take all the benefits related to national projects, so it was a peculiar culture in which almost all nobles participated.

Well, whatever about that contest.

Clang.

“Isn’t our immediate situation not one where we can worry about that?

If not now, I don't know when we'll get another day to spar, Sir Muno.”

Karina was right.

Once the Contest of Virtue began, Karina might be even busier taking care of herself than he would be.

This was because the few knights who had directly sworn allegiance to the prince could be deployed to the Contest of Virtue at any time.

Because he knew that.

‘The distance between us now is up to here…….’

Just right.

- Yes, we heard the excuse of a man single since birth…….

Shut up!

Thump.

“Hmph. Well, alright. Let's have a go then.”

In truth, his desire for a revenge match was sincere.

At his words, Karina’s blue eyes began to burn again.

“If I had my way, I’d want us to use our artifacts and go all out, but……”

“That would be a big problem. It would affect the party tomorrow too.”

“Weapons will be practice swords……”

“……Let’s wear our proper armor.”

“Since Sir Muno will be sealing the weapon made by your Spirit Arts, you should use your artifact as is.”

“A fitting penalty. I accept.”

A meeting of the minds.

A natural smile emerged when they realized they had both been itching for a sparring match.

‘Wait, is this strange?

Am I not the only one who needs a revenge match?’

The strange thought that briefly crossed his mind vanished as soon as he saw his opponent’s fighting spirit-filled eyes.

As expected, before being a man and a woman, we are.

- Knights!

That thought made him feel an even greater sense of kinship.

“Still a greatsword?”

Thump.

“Of course. A sparring rapier would just break on impact. Be careful.”

Swish.

“Will you be able to hit it, I wonder?”

Even the smiles they exchanged as they passed each other the practice swords from the training ground were welcome.

“Shall I go first?”

“I’ll yield the first move.”

With a final thrilling and deadly smile, the black and red knights began to charge towards each other.