Ch.29The City of Opportunity, Cambria (5)

A year will be enough.

Merlin burst into laughter at the boy’s ambition. She wasn’t displeased by his claim that he would surpass even Arthur’s record. It’s better to aim high, after all.

“That’s right. That’s how it should be.”

She would have been disappointed if he had complained instead. Merlin exhaled deeply. They had secured basic funds, found a place to stay, and set the stage for full-scale activities.

In other words, the foundation was laid.

Merlin was certain that now was the perfect time—when they no longer had to scramble just to survive day by day, but could look to the future and prepare for tomorrow.

“How much do you know about mana?”

What the boy lacked.

Knowledge about mana and training methods.

It was the optimal time to teach him these things.

* * *

Mana, energy accumulated within the body.

Najin didn’t know much about mana. No one had ever taught him about it. He had only understood it intuitively by watching others who manipulated mana around him.

“Almost nothing.”

Najin answered honestly to Merlin’s question about how much he knew about mana. Though he somehow managed to handle mana and draw out sword energy, if asked “how” this process worked, Najin couldn’t answer.

‘Just an intuition that this is how it should be done.’

Najin had been manipulating mana relying solely on his intuition rather than knowledge. Merlin, who had observed Najin for just over ten days, was well aware of this fact.

“Well, you’ve been relying on intuition.”

Merlin said.

“There’s nothing wrong with handling mana intuitively. If anything, it proves you have innate talent. But relying solely on intuition without accurate knowledge has clear limitations.”

Basic theory and knowledge.

“Knowing what you’re doing is important in anything—whether it’s swordsmanship, magic, or mana.”

She explained that understanding this would allow him to use mana more broadly and diversely. Najin listened attentively to her words. After all, what Merlin was telling him now was knowledge that no one else had ever taught him.

‘And above all else…’

Najin thought to himself.

Though he sometimes nearly forgot, the person talking about “mana” before him right now was none other than the great magician Merlin.

A constellation with eleven stars.

The woman called the great magician in countless heroic tales.

Najin recalled the many, many titles that described her. The first magician to reach the mysteries, the great sage who touched truth, the wise one who awakened the essence of mana, and so on. Merlin was the person who had delved deeper into “mana” and “magic” than anyone else in history.

Just as Arthur had made his mark on the history of the sword,

Merlin was the one who had written the fundamentals of magical studies.

‘Such a person.’

Was talking about mana.

Currently receiving for free a lecture that couldn’t be heard even for billions, Najin had no intention of missing this opportunity. He focused on every word Merlin spoke.

“Though there are differences in how magicians and swordsmen handle mana, the basic process of accumulating mana is similar. The difference lies in how you use it.”

Swordsmen strengthen their bodies and draw out sword energy with accumulated mana. Magicians create circles with mana and engrave circuits on their souls.

“So I’m going to teach you a mana training method.”

Mana training method.

The way to accumulate mana within the body.

“Originally, I was going to start by opening pathways in your body and drawing in mana…”

Merlin laughed incredulously.

“You already know how to handle mana, don’t you?”

“Intuitively, yes, I know how to handle it.”

“Right. It’s ridiculous, but you’ve already opened pathways in your body. Opening pathways is actually harder than accumulating mana, so where on earth did you learn that?”

That’s exactly the same method Arthur used.

At Merlin’s muttering, Najin tilted his head. Rather than learning it, he had simply followed what was written in a fairy tale book.

“You followed what was written in those few absurd lines?”

“Yes.”

“This is truly maddening.”

Merlin sighed as if even being surprised was tiring now. Regardless of the method, pathways for mana to flow had already been created in Najin’s body.

All that remained was to accumulate mana within his body.

To Merlin, the boy’s body, which had created pathways similar to Arthur’s, was a perfectly prepared canvas. Though it was still just a vast, empty field, from now on, they would build a tower here more solid and taller than anything else.

“Shall we start with breathing techniques?”

Merlin laid down the cornerstone, the foundation stone for the tower they would build on this vast field.

2.

“Take a deep breath.”

“Accept the flow into your body as you normally would.”

Najin moved according to Merlin’s instructions.

He felt the flow settling into his body.

“You’re doing well. Yes, accepting the flow into your body is good. But you’re only using it briefly and then immediately discarding it to the ground. How should I explain this?”

Merlin said.

“You’re filling a bucket with water, then immediately pouring it onto the ground. Of course, there’s no problem during the brief moment you use it… but that way, there’s no progress.”

“Then what should I do?”

“It’s simple.”

She smiled.

“Don’t immediately pour out what you’ve drawn in. Let it slowly seep into your body. Can you try to endure as much as you can?”

Until now, Najin had used mana in short, momentary bursts. But Merlin was telling him to maintain that state for a long time.

1 minute, 3 minutes… and then 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, cold sweat ran down Najin’s spine. His body ached and his nose stung. After another minute passed, drops of blood flowed from Najin’s nose. Pain like being slashed all over his body with knives overwhelmed him.

“Stop.”

Merlin warned, and Najin exhaled the breath he had been holding.

“Kuh, kuhuk!”

His throat burned.

There were drops of blood mixed in his cough. Unable to withstand the pain, Najin sprawled out on the floor of the room.

“The longer you hold mana in your body, the more it seeps into you. That’s exactly what you just did. Of course, it’s going to hurt like hell.”

“It feels like… I’m going to… die from the pain…”

Najin barely squeezed out the words, finding it difficult even to breathe properly. Merlin snickered at his voice.

“Of course it hurts. This isn’t how people normally accumulate mana. Usually, they focus on not letting the pure mana that enters the body through spirit medicine flow out…”

Or if not that.

“Or they swallow properly refined mana from hidden mana springs or sacred grounds that families or groups keep secret. They don’t do it like this. Trying to accumulate raw mana from the wild will completely shatter your body from the inside.”

Najin, who had been listening to Merlin’s words, widened his eyes.

“Wait, so this is the wrong method…?”

“For someone who has neither money to buy spirit medicine nor the background to use sacred grounds or mana springs, this is the best option. Besides, you can afford to have your body a bit shattered, right?”

What kind of nonsense is that?

This person is talking about someone else’s body like it’s nothing. Before Najin could ask that, Merlin answered faster.

“You’re holding Excalibur, aren’t you?”

“…Yes?”

“Since you don’t have stars, most of Excalibur’s functions are probably locked… but you still have its recovery ability, right?”

The recovery ability that Excalibur provides.

Najin understood what Merlin was talking about. He had already received much help from that recovery ability while escaping through the underground city.

“You might not be able to immediately recover external wounds, but you should be able to quickly recover internal injuries, right? Arthur was like that too.”

The method Merlin was teaching Najin now was the mana training method that Arthur had originally used. A raw, incredibly crude training method that Arthur, who had nothing, built up while destroying his body.

“Tear, recover, tear, recover. In that process, your body is reconstructed to be optimized for holding mana. Thinking about it again, it’s incredibly crude…”

Merlin smiled mischievously.

“But its efficiency is unmatched.”

“It hurts like hell though?”

“You have to endure the pain. What else can you do?”

That’s how we all learned in our day.

Kids these days are so weak, relying on convenient things like sacred grounds and spirit medicines. Merlin muttered before continuing.

“Training should be hard and difficult. If it’s comfortable, is that even training? That’s just freeloading.”

Najin frowned.

“I can’t believe I’m seeing such an old-fashioned person…”

“What did you just say?”

Groaning, Najin turned his body over. After a few minutes, he was able to move his body enough. Leaning his back against the wall, Najin slowly regulated his breathing.

“So I just need to keep doing this?”

“Do it briefly every morning. For things like this, it’s more important to do it consistently over time rather than trying to build it up in a short period.”

And, Merlin said.

“Just accumulating mana doesn’t make you stronger, right?”

Najin caught on to what Merlin was trying to say.

“You want me to go out and move my body?”

“Yes. That’s how it seeps in faster.”

“Even breathing hurts all over my body?”

“Pain is part of training, isn’t it? If it doesn’t hurt, is that even training?”

This damn…

“Urgh.”

While groaning, Najin stood up. His legs were trembling, but Najin followed Merlin’s words and moved his body.

Arthur must have trained like this too.

And he needed to surpass Arthur.

Reminding himself of his goal, Najin pushed his body. Gripping his sword, Najin went outside the inn and took a stance in an empty lot where no one was around, then swung his sword. As he continued swinging his sword, Najin’s expression became complicated.

It reminded him of old times.

Even when he was in the underground city, Najin would go out to an empty lot every morning and swing his sword. And there was always a master who offered advice while holding a bottle of alcohol.

“That’s not how you swing a sword.”

“Watch the tip of the blade until the end.”

“You can’t just swing it any way you want. Focus on your posture. Pay attention to your breathing.”

Ofen’s voice echoed in Najin’s ears.

Although there was no master here to watch him swing his sword and give advice, Najin silently swung his sword. Recalling the advice Ofen had left behind.

Swoosh.

In the empty lot where no one was around, only the sound of the boy’s sword cutting through the air quietly echoed.

3.

Najin noticed the change on the fourth day.

Following Merlin’s instructions, Najin had been drawing in mana every day and training with his insides turned upside down. He noticed that his body had changed.

His body felt lighter and moved faster than usual.

The speed of his sword swings had noticeably increased, and each step he took was full of power. Even without drawing in the flow to strengthen his body, Najin was amazed at how much faster his body moved compared to a few days ago.

‘The effects are definitely real.’

The growth was visible. Thinking that there was value in tearing his body apart and coughing up blood for the past four days, Najin swung his sword even more diligently.

“Huff…”

After finishing his training, Najin washed away his sweat with water he had prepared. As he was washing himself, Najin glanced at the mirror. Come to think of it, should he disguise himself? The Order’s pursuers would know his appearance.

While Najin was pondering this.

Looking at Najin’s upper body reflected in the mirror, Merlin was thinking of something completely different. Najin’s upper body reflected in the mirror was covered with small scars. Especially on his shoulder, there was a long scar that looked like it had been made by a sword.

Small scars.

Lean muscles visible between those scars.

These were muscles developed in actual combat. Something that those who relied solely on their talent could not obtain. Looking at them, Merlin was inwardly impressed.

To be honest, she had been worried.

Najin possessed talent and a growth rate that was on a different level from ordinary people. And, as is often the case with such geniuses, Merlin had thought that Najin had jumped up to this point without properly building a foundation.

But what was the reality when she looked closely?

The foundation was sufficiently built.

Merlin smiled with satisfaction at Najin’s body, which was trained enough to endure harsh training. Because the foundation was well-built, the effects of proper training methods were immediately apparent.

With all conditions and foundations in place.

A boy who was only waiting to take off.

Gauging Najin’s steeply rising growth curve, Merlin pondered. While she could teach him how to handle mana and basic training…

“Swordsmanship is the problem.”

Swordsmanship. That was precisely the issue.

Merlin was, after all, a magician, and although she had closely observed the swordsmanship of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, she didn’t have enough martial talent to teach it.

The boy is not a magician but a swordsman.

A swordsman who will wield Excalibur.

Accumulating and utilizing mana alone is obviously not enough to reach the level of a Sword Seeker. To reach that level, one must understand the weapon that is the sword and also grasp the subtleties of the sword.

“I have something in mind for that part.”

Wiping away the moisture and changing his clothes, Najin said.

“I’ve been going back and forth to the guild a lot lately, right?”

Najin had not yet been recognized as a proper mercenary. Since he needed to fulfill minimum achievements to receive proper requests, Najin had been carrying out small errands given by the guild for the past three days.

Perhaps thanks to scoring big points for sweeping up a group of goblins, the guild dyed Najin’s nameplate black last night. It meant he had become a black-grade mercenary, and now had the qualification to carry out proper requests.

“I still can’t take on many, but…”

Najin arrived at the guild.

“I can now accept personal requests.”

Requests posted by individuals, not the guild.

Among them, there was one request that Najin had his eye on. A request that others rarely chose because the compensation wasn’t particularly lucrative. But to Najin, it was an attractive request.

“Looking for a porter to move monster corpses.”

A simple request to follow a hunt and move corpses. But what was important was the personal information of the person who posted the request.

“Sword Expert from the Order of the Sword.”

“Middle Priest Volkman.”

The Order of the Sword. A group of sword seekers who pursue only the path of the sword, a place where those who have sworn to dedicate their lives to honing their swordsmanship gather.

In other words.

‘It means people who are skilled in swordsmanship.’

Najin smiled.

He reached out and grabbed the request. Of course, there wasn’t a single word in the request saying that this ‘Volkman’ priest would teach swordsmanship, but…

Well, what did it matter?

He could somehow imitate it if he saw it.