12. First training at the end of the battle (2)

I simply swung my sword lightly. But the short swordsmanship demonstration from just now had ignited Reinhardt’s blood within me. As a result, my five senses became heightened.

Even the conversations of the cadets, speaking in hushed tones, sounded as if they were right next to me.

“Didn’t you think something was strange just now? That Count Yulian managed to swing his sword all the way to the end without faltering. Surely, the Count shouldn’t have that much stamina?”

That wasn’t wrong. A real sword made of heavy metal, not a wooden one. He swung that in proper form 50 times.

If it was just half-assed, it wouldn’t matter. But it certainly wasn’t an easy task.

“And it was a clean stance without any unnecessary movements. Even until the very end, there was no wavering of the sword. To be honest, every movement was better than mine.”

“No way! Reef, with your skills, you’re the best among us, right? What the Count demonstrated wasn’t the Imperial Swordsmanship but some bogus swordsmanship I’ve never seen before. Isn’t that why you’re mistaken?”

“Yeah. Reef, you must have seen it wrong. Anyone who has been properly trained can keep their sword from wavering.”

The cadets seemed puzzled by my swordsmanship. Whether it was good or bad, their opinions were divided.

Well, in fact, I myself had only picked up a sword again after several days due to various events since coming to the Imperial Capital. By the standards of the Combat Division, it might have been lacking somewhere.

‘Well, still, I don’t think it was absolutely bad. The accurate evaluation will have to come from observing Instructor Darren’s reaction.’

I glanced at Instructor Darren. He had the same stern expression as before. But upon closer inspection, his right eyebrow was slightly raised.

What could that mean? I waited for him to calm the cadets’ commotion. As expected, he shouted at the cadets.

“Everyone, quiet down. Focus!”

At those words, the cadets quickly quieted down. Darren, the tiger instructor. Everyone seemed to listen to him well.

“And Count Yulian, no, Yulian, I’ll ask you. What were you thinking when you demonstrated that swordsmanship just now?”

Darren asked me. I was momentarily puzzled but answered calmly.

“I demonstrated the basic movements of Chapter 1 of the Imperial Swordsmanship, as you instructed, Instructor-nim. Was there a problem?”

“A problem, you say. If it’s a problem, it is a problem. Because what you demonstrated wasn’t the Imperial Swordsmanship.”

At those words, the cadets buzzed.

“See? It was bogus after all. I knew it. No matter how much it’s the Imperial Swordsmanship, you have to learn it for a whole year to master Chapter 1. There’s no way Count Yulian, who hasn’t properly participated in training, could do it right.”

“I thought there were some movements I’d never seen before mixed in. Didn’t the Count just swing it around however he felt like it?”

Another cadet immediately denied that.

“That’s not it. A sword swung around haphazardly lacks power, so it would be obvious. But Count Yulian’s sword contained all the subtleties between Form 1 and Form 5. Moreover, the aura felt even greater than the Imperial Swordsmanship. There’s no way it could be bogus.”

“Aren’t you giving him too much credit, Reef? You always blindly believe in the Reinhardt family. It’s a swordsmanship with no pedigree that I’ve never seen before, so there’s no way it could contain those subtleties.”

Instructor Darren raised his hand again to stop that short commotion. And he rebuked them.

“You bunch of idiots! You only know one thing and not the other!”

The cadets paid attention to him. Darren raised his voice and continued.

“It’s certainly not the Imperial Swordsmanship. But saying you’ve never seen it before is also nonsense. Unless your eyes are just for decoration. Then Reef. Would you like to share your impressions as the representative student of the Combat Division?”

Darren pointed to a cadet. The gray-haired cadet named Reef was a commoner and the representative of the Combat Division’s second year.

“Yes! Darren Instructor-nim! The swordsmanship demonstrated by Yulian cadet was definitely different from the Imperial Swordsmanship.”

“How was it different?”

“The basics contained in the swordsmanship were the same as the Imperial Swordsmanship. The most basic thrusting and slashing variations from Form 1 to Form 5. There was definitely no difference up to the initial five repetitions.”

“Hoo. So you saw that far. What about after that?”

“The subsequent five repetitions were different from the Imperial Swordsmanship. Even the simple variations were filled with an extremely magnificent aura… It was definitely similar to the Imperial Swordsmanship, but it was a swordsmanship that seemed to have advanced even further.”

“So you weren’t chosen as the year’s representative for nothing. Reef saw it accurately. Then this time, I’ll explain.”

Darren pointed at me with his instructor’s baton.

“The swordsmanship Yulian demonstrated was not the Imperial Swordsmanship but the Lionheart Sword. So it’s understandable that it would be unfamiliar to you.”

At the words Lionheart Sword, the cadets’ atmosphere immediately changed.

“Lionheart Sword? Are you perhaps talking about the White Night Knights’ regulation swordsmanship?”

“There’s no way. The Lionheart Sword is the highest-level swordsmanship that you can only learn by joining the White Night Knights.”

“Even if it’s the Reinhardt family, that doesn’t make sense. Until last year, the Count couldn’t even properly swing a wooden sword. How could he know the Lionheart Sword that only the sword demons of Essenmund learn?”

Darren shouted at the cadets who still couldn’t understand.

“You bunch of idiots. It seems like only Reef knows how to see swordsmanship. Listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

Darren explained simply. The most dangerous gate on the Islan continent, the Permafrost. The swordsmanship that has been constantly improved against high-level magical beasts in its vicinity is the White Night Knights’ Lionheart Sword.

That swordsmanship created by the Reinhardt’s previous head of the family.

The Lionheart Sword was of a higher level than any knight order’s swordsmanship on the continent at the time of the Great War 20 years ago.

“So, the current Essenmund Frontier Lord, Frontier Lord Wilhelm, improved the Lionheart Sword so that even ordinary swordsmen could learn it. That swordsmanship is the Imperial Swordsmanship. In other words, the basis of the Imperial Swordsmanship is the Lionheart Sword. So it’s only natural that the subtleties of the Imperial Swordsmanship are contained in the sword that Yulian swung just now.”

In other words, the Imperial Swordsmanship is a lower-level version of the Lionheart Sword. In an instant, all the cadets’ gazes were focused on me.

‘Damn it. I tried to demonstrate the Imperial Swordsmanship. But was the Reinhardt’s blood stronger than the general swordsman trait?’

The Imperial Swordsmanship, as Darren said, is a regulation swordsmanship that has been improved so that ordinary swordsmen can also learn it. So, I could easily grasp that swordsmanship with just the system’s traits.

So, I tried to demonstrate the Imperial Swordsmanship that I had learned in advance. But it seemed that the Lionheart Sword came out without me realizing it in a state of concentration.

“Of course, the swordsmanship I instructed was the Imperial Swordsmanship. But since its roots came from the Lionheart Sword, it’s something to be praised.”

And he scolded the cadets severely.

“Clearly, Yulian didn’t waste his vacation. He didn’t just rest like you guys. How is it that there are even guys whose movements have gotten worse than before the vacation!”

The traits helped, but I had frequented the training grounds to prepare for the parade, so it wasn’t wrong.

“At least only Reef accurately recognized the difference. If you’re not an idiot, memorize all the swordsmanship that Yulian showed you just now. And everyone except Yulian and Reef will repeat the swordsmanship up to Form 5 ten more times. Execute!”

“Execute!”

The cadets had to repeat the 50 swings because of me. I didn’t feel any sympathy.

‘Well, even if they didn’t know well. Anyway, they’re guys who ignored me.’

I happily watched Darren Instructor-nim glaring at the cadets.

And an unexpected reward came in from using the Lionheart Sword just now.

——-

「A new title has been unlocked.」

* Formal Cadet of the Pantheon at the Holy Academy

: You have been recognized by a true instructor who is strict, serious, and solemn. You are now a proud formal cadet of the Pantheon!

* Acquisition Reward

+ 50GP / 150MP

——-

The title was a game system related to my status, such as the Successor of the Demon King, the Son of the Saintess, and the Successor of the Reinhardt Family.

In other words, I could acquire more game currency by performing tasks related to this title. In this case, it would be related to the Pantheon’s lectures or training.

‘Wait. So, I wasn’t a formal cadet until now?’

Well, considering what Yulian did in his first year, it was strange that he wasn’t expelled. He just wasn’t expelled, but the faculty wouldn’t have recognized Yulian as a formal cadet.

After confirming the system, I leisurely watched the cadets’ repetitive training. As I grasped their weaknesses with the swordsman trait, my proficiency continuously increased.

I felt like I was getting closer to the Reinhardt’s blood.

***

The repetitive training was all over. Darren Instructor-nim, who had gathered the cadets again, conveyed important information this time.

“You guys probably heard last week that the preliminary squad was formed faster than in previous years. The division meeting has instructed that the details can be revealed to the preliminary squad members.”

Due to the nature of the Combat Division, most of the cadets belonged to the preliminary squad of the Imperial Guards. So, Darren Instructor-nim told the cadets the truth without hiding it.

“A large-scale conscription order is scheduled to be issued from the Imperial Palace this fall. In other words, there will be a Nest raid.”

At those words, a great commotion arose from the cadets. Darren Instructor-nim didn’t stop the cadets’ commotion, as if he had expected that reaction.

‘Nest. So the information is being revealed at this point.’

Gates and magical beasts that appeared on the Islan continent 100 years ago. Those magical beasts absorbed a part of the human system not long after their appearance.

In other words, they created a hierarchy among the magical beasts and formed groups. A vertical structure ranging from kings, knights, to soldiers.

Among them, the magical beasts that turned the surrounding area into a dungeon based on a giant gate. The giant gates that became the bases of those magical beasts were called Nests by the Empire.

The king of the magical beasts that settled in the Nest evolved into a more dangerous magical beast than its original rank, using the fear and obedience of its subordinate magical beasts as nourishment.

“A Nest… is it real? There shouldn’t be any magical beasts that dangerous near the Old Imperial Capital recently.”

“Why the Old Imperial Capital of all places? It’s not an Empire-grade, is it?”

“Empire-grade? No way. There hasn’t been a grade that high recently. Maybe a Kingdom-grade.”

Fear crept onto the cadets’ faces. Then Darren Instructor-nim reassured the cadets.

“However, there’s no need to worry too much. The number of heads unique to the Nest is the only problem. As you guys said, the Nest that will be raided in the fall is Kingdom-grade. That level of Nest is not a difficult task with the current power of the Holy Empire.”

Usually, a king with a Kingdom-grade Nest was evaluated as one level above a Type 1 magical beast. And it was rare for a Nest to evolve to the Empire-grade.

‘Usually, they’re subjugated before they reach that level. The most recent case of an Empire-grade was also the Nest that appeared near the gate of the Old Imperial Capital 20 years ago.’

The reason why the conscription order was issued. The reason is obviously because a Kingdom-grade Nest has occurred in the Old Imperial Capital, which is not far from the Imperial Capital.

Darren Instructor-nim continued speaking.

“However, since the location of that Nest is the Old Imperial Capital, thorough preparations are necessary. So, you preliminary cadets will also be quickly put into missions and gain experience before that. In other words, it’s a kind of rear-guarding.”

Darren Instructor-nim’s words were correct. Also, this Nest raid event was the most important event in Part 1 of the Demon King Slayer scenario.

‘If the protagonist doesn’t play an active role properly, the genre will suddenly turn into a depressing one from Part 2 onwards.’

In fact, the Nest that Darren Instructor-nim mentioned is underestimated. As a result, many people in the subjugation force die.

Especially the cadets who get caught up in that event. There are casualties even among the main characters, including the heroines.

The damage can be reduced depending on the play results. But I had never succeeded in completely conquering it even with 1000 hours of play. That’s how difficult the event was.

But now that this place is reality. I was planning to perfectly succeed in the raid in the fall no matter what. This is something that only I can do in this world.

“So, today is the first training after the start of the semester. But we’ll start sparring right away. The sparring partners will be balanced according to the first year’s grades. Fight properly enough to crawl out of the training ground!”

Darren Instructor-nim checked the documents he had brought and called out the cadets’ names. Since I had also become a formal cadet, my sparring partner was decided.

“Yulian von Reinhardt. Your sparring partner is Lucia May.”

At those words, a cadet flinched and looked at me. In an instant, the two people’s eyes met.

A female cadet with long pink hair. It was a very familiar face to me.

Yulian, the protagonist of Demon King Slayer. And Lucia May, a playable character that you can choose when you don’t choose Yulian.

As another protagonist, she was a person who would play a very important role in the Nest event in the fall.