Episode 434.

“Your time is up, Lord Rectar, never mind.”

“That’s when we’re talking about training. Raon hasn’t even had breakfast, so it’s only right that he gets a decent lunch.”

Glenn, who had brought Nadine bread, and Rectar, who insisted on going to the annex for lunch, clashed once more.

“Isn’t that child still growing up?”

“Ira….”

Glenn frowned, as if he didn’t like Rectar calling Raon a child.

“Raon is Siegfried’s servant, and I will see to his care.”

“I am aware of that, of course. But we’re not at war, and we’re not in the middle of a training exercise, so it seems fitting that we have a well-cooked lunch rather than nadine bread.”

Rectar looked at the nadine bread in Raon’s hand and pursed his lips.

“Someone who knows you so well would have you train without breakfast?”

Glenn lifted his chin as if to stare Rectar down.

“Umm, that’s….”

Rectar lowered his gaze, not sure he had anything to say about that.

“Anyway, eating that rubbery-flavored bread isn’t good for Raon, either, so you’ll have to make sure he has a meal.”

“Taste doesn’t matter to Raon, he prefers training to eating, so he’ll be glad to save time.”

Glenn took the second nadine bun from his arms and chewed on it himself.

His expression didn’t change in the slightest, even though the foul rubbery flavor must have spread throughout his mouth. He was leading by example.

“Besides, Nadine’s buns aren’t just for filling you up. It’s nourishing, which is why it’s called a staple for practitioners. Lord Rectar knows it well.”

“Of course, I’ve eaten a lot of it, which is why I want to stop it. It tastes terrible, doesn’t it, and it will affect your cultivation.”

Glenn insisted on eating the nadine bread and starting his training right away, while Rectar advised him to eat a meal with at least some nutrition and flavor.

The two began to argue, neither backing down this time.

“Well….”

Raon wiped his lips with his tongue as he watched Glenn and Rectar argue.

“My mouth is watering.

Glenn and Rectar continued their childish bickering in broad daylight, as they had done at dawn, and Raon was at a loss for words.

“Your time is over,” I said, “and you must go away without disturbing them.”

“Of course I’ll go if you feed me, I’m sure you’ve prepared a meal in the annex, so why are you trying to make me eat bread?”

Neither of them raised their swords, but their faces were red with genuine anger. I wasn’t sure where this had gone wrong.

“Whoa….”

Raon sighed, watching the sparks fly from the center of Glenn and Rectar’s gazes.

Neither of them seemed to be willing to back down, and a small surge of momentum began to build, creating a gust of sandy wind in the center of the arena.

‘Actually, I think you’re right this time.

Eating Nadine’s bread is nothing.

-He’s right, eating that horrible thing, blood doesn’t go anywhere, you tongue monster!

Rath tapped him on the shoulder like a drum, insisting that for once, he must follow fate, not blood.

“Raon!”

Glenn and Rectar turned at the same time.

“What are you going to do, go straight to training, or waste time eating?”

“We’ve been starving since dawn. We should eat properly.”

Eager to outwit their opponents, the two of them argued the pros and cons of eating and training.

-Rice, of course! Pineapple Girl must have laid out some delicious food, we should at least see it!

Rath’s eyes widened and she screamed, -Please eat.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t.

-Eh?

‘It’s my turn to take your side this time.’

Food and nadine bread aside, I had sided with Rectar this morning, and now it was my turn to side with Glenn.

There was no point in making him feel bad when he was supposed to be learning martial arts.

“I’ll take this.”

Raon took the nadine bread in his hand and swallowed it in one bite.

-Crunch!

At the taste of the thick rubber filling his mouth, Rath screamed and collapsed like a demon slain by a warrior.

“Not bad.

Nadine chewed and swallowed slowly, as casually as if she were eating a savory bread with sausage in it, and nodded.

“Let’s start practicing.”

The words brought a cool smile to Glenn’s face, and Rectar’s brow crinkled like a sheet of paper.

“Huh….”

Raon looked at the stark contrast between Glenn and Rectar and sighed heavily.

“My mind is more tired than my body….

* * *

Raon turned to Glenn, who was smiling triumphantly at him as he released Rectar.

‘I really don’t know what’s going on here.’

He still didn’t understand what was going on with Glenn, or Rectar, vying to teach him the sword, but he didn’t have time for such leisurely musings.

‘Because this is an opportunity that won’t come around again.

Both the Demon King and the Sword Demon were powerful enough to be recognized by Rath, the Lord of Wrath. Every minute must be saved to obtain the essence that these two martial artists have accumulated.

“Raon.”

“Yes.”

Raon heard Glenn’s call and stepped forward.

“Are the swordsmanships I am to teach you the transformation sword, the oil sword, and the kite sword?”

“Yes.”

“Simple ones, then.”

Glenn shot him an icy glare, saying that all three sword arts were not that difficult.

“They’re not simple….

Glenn’s gaze made my heart clench. He was ready to bury him in the ground if he was slower to realize the swordsmanship Rectar was teaching him.

“My original plan was to teach you a new sword technique, but that will have to wait. Let’s start with the basics.”

He stretched out his hand, and the water lily sword that had been embedded in the corner of the training hall floated up by itself and flew into his hand.

Cha-ak.

The water lily sword gently landed in Glenn’s grasp, as if he had reversed a sword technique that had reached its peak.

“What a miracle.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that his mana coordination had reached the level of a god.

Woof.

Glenn flicked his training sword lightly and turned to face Raon.

‘You’re going to give me a demonstration.

Don’t miss it.

Raon bit his lip and activated the Ring of Fire. The seven rings resonated with power, as if he were engaged in a life-and-death struggle with a powerful foe.

Slowly, as if he was ready, he raised his water sword to the top.

“Concentrate.”

With those words, Glenn’s water lily sword, which had been piercing the sky, plummeted to the ground below.

The blade twisted to either side as it descended so slowly that the wood grain was still visible. Waves rippled from the blade like a lake of stones, filling the air with an unfathomable array of colors.

It was different from the phantom swords Rectar had shown him. Rather than increasing in number, the blades appeared to be hundreds of them, with colorful and eerie changes on their blades. That seemed to be the ultimate in transmutation.

“Is it the wrist that makes the changes?

The amount of auras Glenn wielded was small enough that even a low-ranked Expert could handle it. To make such a change with such a small auror, it must be his wrist moving endlessly.

Pop.

Glenn’s wooden sword struck the ground, and the sword traces that filled the air disappeared as if washed away by rain.

“Ah….”

I groaned, regretting that I hadn’t gotten a closer look at the transformation sword.

“You see?”

Glenn gripped the hilt of the water lily sword gently, his eyes glaring. If she didn’t see it, he would kill her.

“I didn’t see everything.”

Raon let out a short sigh and shook his head.

“Tell me what you did see.”

“My lord’s wrist.”

“The wrist?”

“Normally, when you extend the Changeling Sword, you flick your wrist a lot, but your wrist only moved at a slight angle, whereas the sword has undergone an extreme change.”

It wasn’t the auror, it was the maneuvering of the body that the ring of fire spoke of. Glenn was wielding an unremarkable auror and was able to achieve an unbelievable level of change with just the right flick of his wrist.

‘I didn’t know this was possible….’

I had thought that once you reached Grandmaster or Transcendent, you didn’t care about your physical body, that your level of martial arts was determined by the use of your auror, but I hadn’t realized that physicality alone could make such a difference. I felt like I had a breakthrough.

“Can you follow along?”

“Not now.”

Raon shook his head resolutely. “Even if I had a fire ring, it would be impossible for me to imitate it in my current state. It would be beyond the limits of my current body.

“Is it ‘now’….”

Glenn nodded slightly, pleased with the answer.

“Still, try it. We’ll see how far you can go.”

“Okay.”

Raon cheerfully drew his celestial sword. He held it up to meet Glenn’s calm eyes through the cypheron blade.

“Your wrist was facing the opposite direction of the blade’s path.

It was a subtle change, almost imperceptible, but Glenn had moved his wrist and the hilt in opposite directions. Perhaps the gap held the secret to the colorful transformation.

‘Auror currents are as wild as waves.

I opened a mental picture in my head. I visualized the flow of auras that Glenn controlled and the movements of his body, and I slashed down with my heavenly sword.

Whoosh!

The sword rippled like tea with leaves. The blade flickered like blue moonlight, filling the air in front of him.

‘A little more….’

Glenn had accomplished so much with so little Auror. He couldn’t stop there, not after seeing it.

Raon made a short, sharp twist of his wrist, maximizing the change until the blade was pointing toward the ground.

Pow!

Unlike Glenn, Raon’s strength was stronger, and a violent sword wind exploded the moment the Heavenly Sword pointed downward.

Glenn nodded slowly as he watched the pole of the Heavenly Sword tremble slightly on the ground.

“Not bad for a first time.”

He put on a nonchalant face, but inside he was busy trying to keep his pounding heart down.

‘This kid is for real….’

I purposely made it a little more difficult to show him the sword, but I didn’t expect him to get the hang of it. It was clear that he was still a long way off, but the level of his talent was beyond even the word genius.

‘You are my grandson after all!

I chewed my lip slightly, holding back the words I wanted to spit out right now.

“Hmm.”

Glenn raised his sword, his expression hard.

“I’m afraid I’m not quite there yet. It’s my first time, I suppose.”

With those words, he brought the transformed blade down again.

“Look again.”

“Yes.”

Raon nodded, fire burning in his eyes.

Whoosh.

Glenn’s water lily sword transformed with a light breeze. The blade flowed in a direction that his current self couldn’t avoid no matter what, forming hundreds of lines that connected the sky to the ground.

It was faster than before, but the change was deeper. Even with the Ring of Fire activated, I felt like I hadn’t seen the half of it.

“Interesting.

I liked Rectar’s method of calmly explaining things one by one, but Glenn’s method of demonstrating and asking me to follow was just as good.

Cheesy.

Raon smiled, the same color in his eyes as the red that burned on his celestial sword.

“Next time.”

* * *

Rectar stood on a rock right next to the hill of North Mang Mountain where Glenn was standing, and looked down at the five-stage training grounds.

“Hmph, such training….”

Glenn’s teachings were more esoteric than he had expected. It wasn’t the kind of teaching where he would demonstrate once and then ask you to follow along.

“It’s a lesson that would be poison to the average person, but….

The child followed along.

Even if it was Muston, who was said to be the best talent in Lian except for Lian’s disciples, it would have been a waste of time without any meaning, but Raon understood the flow of Glenn’s swordsmanship, and he was lowering his sword accordingly.

“Crazy talent is the only way to describe it.

He knew he had good observation skills, but he didn’t expect to be able to follow the flow of a martial art once he saw it, even faintly. It was a talent that could never be called insane.

“Whoa….”

Rectar stroked his beard and sighed in frustration.

“Edgar. Your son is even better than you.

His son’s talents were remarkable, but his grandson was far beyond him. He was said to be the next Greatest Man Alive, and the rumors were not untrue.

“I’m a little jealous.

Something burned in his chest as he watched Glenn demonstrate swordsmanship, expecting Raon to follow along, and Raon follow along, understanding his mind.

“Hoo-hoo.”

Rectar chuckled hollowly behind him.

“I can’t blame Muston for this one.

He’d counseled his apprentice not to be jealous of Raon, to walk his own path, but the sight of Glenn and Raon had sparked a hot jealousy in him, an emotion that even a lifetime of swordsmanship could hardly suppress.

“It’s okay, though.

We’ll make up for it in the future.

What we didn’t have in the past, we’ll have in the future. If he could get out of Rune, he would devote all his remaining time to his daughter-in-law and grandchildren.

Rectar curled his lip as he watched Glenn teach Raon, feigning bluntness.

“I will not lose.”

In-laws.

* * *

Raon spent the next day studying under Rectar’s calming tutelage from dawn until lunch, and then under Glenn’s vicious tutelage from lunch until dinner after he ate his nadine bread.

After a full day of being pummeled by the two monstrous swordsmen, Raon was dizzy with physical and mental exhaustion by evening, and it felt like he was discovering his limits.

‘Plus….’

I don’t know if I’m getting stronger.

Both Glenn and Rectar kept telling me I wasn’t good enough, so I didn’t feel like I was improving.

‘This is killing me….’

Both Glenn and Rectar don’t want to lose to each other, so they give it their all, and the pressure is intense. It was mentally exhausting just to withstand the momentum they exuded.

I didn’t think my life as an assassin could get any more hellish than that, but these two days were nothing compared to that.

-Pudding!

Lars gritted his teeth as he glared at Glenn, who had fed him nadine bread for the second day in a row. Mad dogs weren’t just for the rabble, they were here too.

Boom.

Glenn clicked his tongue briefly as he finished his work for the day and watched the sun sink.

“That’s all for today.”

“Thank you.”

Raon sighed inwardly as he bowed to Glenn.

“Another day gone by.

It was a timed bet, but with Rectar watching from the hillside, Glenn ended the lesson promptly.

Neither Glenn nor Rectar did their own work after the lesson, but watched from a distance. It was unspoken protocol not to watch training, but these two didn’t seem to care.

“Raon.”

Raon was dusting himself off when Rectar and Yuu walked into the training room.

“Master!”

Yu Yu ran up to him, waving both hands and her shaggy hair.

“I thought you said you were having a promotion party today, why are you still here!”

She scrunched up the bridge of her nose, wondering why she hadn’t come if she was all set.

“Sorry.”

Raon smirked and waved a hand.

“The food’s cold, and I have your favorite pineapple pizza!”

“Oh, I actually like that….”

“Oh?”

The toddler pouted, then his eyes widened at the sight of Glenn, who was standing behind him.

“Hi!”

She smiled broadly at Glenn, whom the entire clan feared, and ducked her head.

“Um, yeah.”

The toddler greeted him so brightly, Glenn couldn’t help but nod.

“Hmm….

Raon looked at Glenn as he sheathed his celestial sword.

“You don’t seem to be in your usual mood.

The man of steel, who seemed like he could be stabbed and not draw a drop of blood, suddenly had a lonely air about him, like an autumn breeze. It was similar to what I’d felt with Rectar the other day.

“Shall I ask him to come with me?

No, he’d say no.

I thought about asking him to the party, but then lowered my hand.

There was no way he’d want to come to a party like this. It would make a lot of people uncomfortable, not just Glenn, so it was better not to mention it at all.

“My lord. Thank you again….”

Raon bowed to Glenn and turned to go back to the annex.

“Would you like to come with us, Patriarch?”

The toddler grinned, grabbing Glenn’s finger.

“We’re partying tonight!”