Ch.327108. Isn’t That Right, Master? (2)

“Are you saying I don’t need to learn swordsmanship or sword techniques separately?”

To this, the one-armed old man in the gray robe answered affirmatively.

“Rather, if you had tried to learn swordsmanship, it would have been uncomfortable, like wearing ill-fitting clothes. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes… that’s correct. Now that I hear it… it seems right.”

Many people had never understood or empathized with Rio’s feelings or impressions about this.

Rio had never properly learned swordsmanship, yet he handled a sword better than anyone.

However, to those who had mastered traditional swordsmanship, sword techniques, and sword arts, this was purely in the realm of talent.

In a sense, it was in the realm of cheating.

That’s why they would criticize Rio one-sidedly, calling him arrogant for relying on talent.

Even some of the Davas warrior commanders were no exception.

Only one person…

…The 3rd Warrior Commander Lyurik, who had maintained his position as Davas’s strongest for decades, showed some understanding.

“Then am I unable to learn swordsmanship?”

“That’s not the case.”

The one-armed old man, Raymond, gently closed his eyes and scratched his sparse beard.

“You can only learn a new sword technique that suits you, one that the current you can handle.”

“…Then can I become stronger than I am now?”

“At the very least, you won’t have to doubt yourself anymore.”

“Then…”

“It will be decided according to your wishes.”

If you desire teaching, I will give it.

If you don’t want it, I will stand aside.

Rio vaguely sensed that he had revealed such intentions even without saying it.

Therefore.

“I have something I must do.”

He bowed his head resolutely.

“Please help me… become stronger than I am now.”

“…”

Raymond looked down at him and answered softly.

“Don’t you have a long way to go?”

“…Even if it’s just a few days.”

“…”

Raymond told him to raise his head, then nodded slightly before his eyes.

====

“You already have a sword in your heart. I will only help you draw it out and wield it.”

“…In my heart?”

It sounded like nonsense.

He wasn’t discussing mana or magical power.

He wasn’t even teaching a specific technique.

“Always visualize victory without wavering. Overcome the obstacles placed before you and effortlessly repel all resistance.”

“…Are you telling me to recite that internally?”

“Yes. Every moment. Let those words and language dissolve into your soul.”

You are one who overcomes crisis, obstacles, trials, and resistance to move forward.

Therefore, you will be a hero, and thus a warrior.

In the end, you will become the embodiment of victory.

“It feels like some kind of spell.”

“You could see it that way.”

“Is that what it is?”

“Unless you’re going to accompany me for years, I have to awaken you somehow, don’t I?”

If you keep reciting that without forgetting, you will surely find the answer.

“You’re not trying to learn swordsmanship. Remember. A sword is already in your hand, and you just need to swing and thrust it.”

“…”

Rio scratched his white hair, looking perplexed.

“I suppose this is different from simply having a strong will.”

“How would you strengthen your will?”

“…Will?”

“People talk vaguely about strong will without knowing what will is or how it’s composed.”

Therefore, those who know the essence of will can grow based on it.

But for those who can’t even grasp what will is, it’s truly like grasping at clouds.

At this rate, neither growth nor development can be achieved.

“That’s where talent, aptitude, and innate nature come into play.”

“…”

“And if you want to build willpower, first establish a clear sense of purpose, and second, strengthen your core so that your will doesn’t waver. It’s like driving a stake into solid ground. A firm, unwavering stake.”

For that, the ground can’t be mushy mud but must be strong and solid.

“If the ground, the earth, is my body, and the stake is my will… ultimately, training the body to level and strengthen the ground, and then forcefully driving in a solid, unbreakable stake. That’s the secret to building willpower.”

“I understand… but it’s still confusing.”

“It will come to you naturally when the time is right.”

Raymond was neither impatient nor hasty.

Rio, on the other hand, was both anxious and impatient.

He hadn’t imagined the absurdity of becoming instantly stronger by learning something.

But it’s true that his expectations were high.

However.

What he learned here were very basic things like loosening up and training his body.

The key was to manage his mind and will throughout, ensuring they never scattered for even a moment.

“Hold onto your mind. Don’t let it leak out carelessly. Even if you fill a jar with water, if it has gaps or a hole in the bottom, filling it a hundred times would be in vain.”

Make yourself like a jar without gaps.

“Then mana and magical power will come to you naturally on your journey.”

In a sense, this teaching seemed to transcend conventional concepts.

In fact, Raymond’s previous disciple had been constantly swinging his sword, and one day, finding this curious, he asked:

“Master. Forgive my impertinence, but I was taught to swing my sword without rest. Even you, in your advanced years, continue to do so. Yet from my limited perspective, this person seems to have little attainment and enlightenment. Why don’t you tell him to swing his sword? Could you please enlighten your foolish disciple?”

“…”

Raymond watched Rio focusing on loosening his body in the distance, and with his staff planted on the ground, he explained to his disciple:

“We don’t have swords by nature.”

“…”

“But he already has one. Since birth.”

“Isn’t that… too unfair?”

“This world is inherently unfair and unjust.”

But.

“That too is fate.”

Rather, having such a thing yet not even suspecting what he possesses, constantly stirring muddy water with bare hands…

How pitiful, how heartbreaking.

“Had his fortune not turned and had he not had the opportunity to realize what he possesses, he would have lived his entire life without knowing he held a precious sword.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. His path is different from ours. Similarly, your path differs from your senior disciples’.”

“…”

The disciple gained in his later years was essentially Raymond’s successor.

All the teachings Raymond had passed down would later be transmitted by this disciple to future students.

It was an honorable task, but one that could never be handled or entrusted to those steeped in worldliness, pursuing eternity, vulgar glory, and material pleasures.

Only those with the innate nature or aptitude to endure and accept arduous hardship and patience without lamenting or sighing, finding fulfillment and pleasure solely in self-discipline and self-cultivation, could be free from vainglory and petty materialistic tendencies.

Though all of Raymond’s disciples were extraordinary talents of the ages, each carried their own flaws.

One loved women too much, another had excessive ambition and desire for fame.

One enjoyed fighting and dueling too much.

Another had too much self-interest.

Yet another was so focused on the sword that he had become the sword itself, leaving no capacity to care for others.

“…”

In that sense, Raymond perhaps had an exceptional talent for purely learning, mastering, and passing on knowledge.

But even this was a talent and ability that bloomed only because he had swung his sword without rest for 20 years.

“I see.”

Suddenly, Raymond sensed that the time had come.

“Master?”

“I’ll be back shortly.”

Raymond immediately went to see Adrian.

The senior disciple and current head of their place of learning.

It had no specific name.

Ensia often used the easily pronounceable term “Black Star Cult,” but that was all.

Even that wasn’t its true identity.

There was no need to establish a name.

It would naturally acquire a name befitting those who desire and those who fulfill.

Adrian had once said so.

“Senior Brother.”

“I’ve been waiting.”

A small, modestly arranged altar.

Besides an incense burner and incense, there was only a flint for lighting fires.

The two walked barefoot inside their temple, training ground, and ceremonial platform.

“How much time is left?”

“At least a month, it seems.”

“Is that so.”

“Didn’t you know?”

“…I did.”

Adrian seemed somewhat calm yet regretful.

“Delica will be very disappointed when you leave.”

“…She still hasn’t let go of the past.”

“Don’t worry. She too has a path laid out for her. She may not resolve everything in this life, but the next will be different.”

“That’s not the path she wants.”

“But that too is her choice. And also our guidance.”

She.

“Will become a will that destroys the world, just as she desperately yearned for.”

“…I can’t even begin to imagine.”

“But there will be no wrong or misaligned paths. The master has already laid out the way forward.”

“…”

Adrian and Raymond’s master.

“How did you feel seeing him?”

“…I felt that I’ve grown a little too.”

Rio.

Being able to glimpse the essence and nature of that being was, in a sense, because he had reached a certain level.

And that was only recent.

That’s why Raymond had some idea of who he was.

“Is that the end… of that great warrior?”

“That too was his choice. Even if he didn’t want it.”

“…And he asked me for guidance, and our fates intertwined. Just in time, I became qualified to teach him. That would be a great merit for me, one that won’t come again.”

“…”

“Did you know?”

“I had some inkling.”

“…”

“Don’t you already know where you’re headed?”

Raymond took a small breath.

“If I wanted, I could ascend higher.”

“Do you desire it?”

“Long ago, Master spoke of freedom.”

Kariel.

“But for me, rather than freedom… I think ‘liberation’ is more fitting. For myself, that is.”

“If that’s the conclusion you’ve reached.”

Adrian said nothing more.

“Feel free to visit whenever you wish.”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

And so.

Though it was only a week.

In that week, Rio’s skills had grown unrecognizably.

To the point where neither he nor those around him could believe it.

So much so that he was on par with Raymond’s previous disciple who had honed his sword for over 10 years.

“I’ve heard many times that there are those born with extraordinary talent, but this time I truly felt it.”

The previous disciple expressed both admiration and a slight jealousy toward Raymond.

But feeling aggrieved was, in a way, natural.

It was because he had been sincere in his training and had exceptional pride.

Clearly, a week ago, Rio was no match for the young man.

Yet in just a week, he had achieved parity with him.

As if his body systematically incorporated countless sword techniques…

“That’s not it.”

“…?”

Raymond corrected his previous disciple’s impression.

“It’s not swordsmanship. It’s closer to a system for achieving victory.”

“…?”

“You too will understand someday.”

To Raymond, it was all clearly visible.

The golden sword.

Victory.

The undefeated one.

The power to crush resistance and break through obstacles.

And one of its foundations and underpinnings.

Indomitability.

Victory begins with an unyielding heart.

As long as one doesn’t give up, there is no defeat.

From then on, truly, there is only victory.

Therefore, as long as neither body nor mind is defeated.

He will not be defeated under any circumstances.

…The golden sword Rio possessed was exactly that.

Therefore, his ability to wield a sword is tantamount to saying he achieves and seizes victory itself.

‘Is he a hero, a warrior from stories?’

The chronicles of heroes where even defeat becomes the foundation for victory…

Are these truly just fanciful tales from stories?

‘Perhaps the master too…’

Had such qualities.

“I’ve learned a lot.”

Rio bowed his head deeply.

The day of departure had finally arrived.

“I hope there will be a day when we can meet again.”

“…”

Raymond encouraged him without further words and saw him off.

Belde’s disciple, with an unsteady face, volunteered to guide the way.

Delica’s disciple followed behind, maintaining a dispassionate expression, ready to guard against any unforeseen incidents.

“…”

Eventually.

A day passed.

Ten days passed.

Another ten days passed.

“It seems it’s time for me to go.”

“Master?”

Raymond sensed it.

After today, I will no longer be able to stand completely upright.

Thinking about it brought a mix of emotions.

Lingering attachment, or melancholy?

‘No.’

It’s neither.

I still desire.

The sword, the sword, the sword.

The staff in his hand.

That is the sword he now possesses.

Now, just holding it is enough.

For with that alone, he was conducting training more intense than what others would achieve swinging their swords for hundreds or thousands of days.

“This will be our final duel.”

“Master?”

“This is as far as I go.”

The previous disciple’s face showed incomprehension.

If there was any lingering regret, it was not being able to pass on more to this child.

‘Ah, so that’s what it was.’

Raymond smiled faintly.

Now he could somewhat understand the mindset with which his master had bid them farewell.

I will depart with dignity.

Even if I don’t groan lying down, passing away in bed would leave a different kind of sadness.

So in the end, like a true swordsman…

An intense exchange of moves unfolds.

One-sided yet with intricate moves going back and forth, again and again.

In the midst of this, the previous disciple unknowingly delved into a state of immersion.

Raymond guided his previous disciple’s intense concentration and composed his mind anew.

What he was about to demonstrate was the culmination of a lifetime of contemplation and refinement, a once-in-a-lifetime revelation.

‘At the very end.’

I must show it.

I must awaken it.

Raymond compressed and displayed everything he had learned and mastered in his lifetime into the first strike, engraved it in the second exchange, and compressed it in the third.

In the fourth exchange, he embodied heaven and earth, in the fifth, he contained the life and death of humans, and in the sixth, he suspended the beginning and end of all emotions.

And reaching the seventh exchange.

He imbued it with the will of creation and extinction.

Reaching the eighth exchange, he swung with the concept of creation.

Finally, reaching the ninth exchange.

Heaven and earth, and the living beings that exist between them.

He contained and released all their harmony and adversity at once.

And.

Somehow, the previous disciple began to follow and execute what he could never reach or display on his own.

‘This is…?’

Perplexed yet sensing this was a rare teaching, the previous disciple entered a state of immersion.

From his body, all the energies of creation and extinction began to seep in, engrave, and form at once.

It was the foundation and format that forms the basis of the world, originating from chaos and derived from order. The foundation and principle.

Order.

Fusion.

Harmony.

Division.

Chaos.

Everything in this world can be classified into these five.

Further subdividing them would be up to one’s capacity and choice.

Initially, there was chaos.

Later, order was born in pairs.

Good and evil are merely residues of this.

Eventually, merging and scattering, splitting and dividing, spinning round and round…

Finally.

Only completion and incompletion remained.

“Ah…”

It felt like he had been in a long dream.

He tried to convey his gratitude to his master repeatedly with delight, but.

“M-Master! I think I’ve discovered something! No, I think I’ve realized… Master?”

The one-armed old man stood still, leaning on his staff.

With his eyes closed, a serene smile rested on his lips.

Like a bird flying freely after putting down all burdens, like a donkey running joyfully.

A deep, profound smile settled on his face.

Around him, Adrian and others had gathered.

He had neither forewarned nor requested it.

Yet naturally, everyone prayed not for his end but for another beginning.

……

……….

And then.

“Well.”

The one-armed old man stepped into an exotic space enveloped by countless stars.

As he took a step, clear lines spread widely in circles, like walking on water.

In the sky, infinite stars were beautifully spread out.

Even the stars seemed like nothing within it.

Eventually.

“…It’s been a long time, Master.”

“…”

And there.

With a master who seemed unchanged from the old days.

And a first disciple now too old, they met again.