Ch.9Prologue (9)

After the shocking incident on the first day of training, Leon seemed to have difficulty dealing with me, but regardless of that, he diligently taught me what I needed to learn.

For instance, techniques like using magical power to strengthen the body.

“Young master, do you know what magical power is?”

“Yes. The librarian told me it’s energy that physically manifests a person’s spirit or mind.”

“Correct. Then if you wanted to use that energy to strengthen your body, how would you do it?”

“Umm… materialize the desire to strengthen my body with magical power…?”

“That’s not entirely wrong, but that’s the method used by magic users. For those of us without magical aptitude… we strengthen our bodies by circulating magical power within.”

I already had a rough understanding of how mages cast spells from asking the librarian before, so I understood what Leon was saying.

However, what puzzled me was actually something else.

“…Huh? Wait, why does circulating magical power inside the body strengthen it?”

I raised this question because I couldn’t find any causal relationship between magical circulation and physical enhancement, but it seemed Leon didn’t really know the answer either.

“The scholars say that human instinct naturally uses magical power that spreads throughout the body for enhancement… but honestly, I don’t know exactly either.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. Perhaps mages from the Magic Tower or elves, who possess more knowledge about magical power than we do, might know the principle. Well, for warriors like us, isn’t the fact that our bodies are strengthened more important than understanding the principle?”

“I… see. Yes, I understand.”

For a moment, I almost said that understanding the principle would allow for much more efficient body strengthening, but I suppressed the urge and set that opinion aside.

People in this world aren’t fools. The reason they don’t understand the principles behind phenomena is probably because they think it’s more efficient to train their body enhancement rather than waste time obsessing over something they can’t understand.

So I chose to simply acknowledge Leon’s words without arguing, and this kind of social tact is probably what maintains my… social functionality as a human being.

“Now then, I’m going to move the magical power that exists within your body. Feeling and recognizing this is the foundation of everything.”

“…Alright. I’m counting on you.”

As he spoke, Leon extended his hand, indicating that I should give him mine. I stretched out my arm, firmly grasped his outstretched hand, and concentrated my nerves.

And then, in the very next moment.

“Whoa, it moved! Something wriggled inside my hand!”

“What? You felt that already?”

“Yes. No doubt about it! This is… this is magical power…!”

Sensing this magical power in just one attempt must be unusual, as Leon was looking at me as if I were some strange and marvelous curiosity.

But even though I recognized his reaction, I didn’t feel the slightest inclination to mention his potentially uncomfortable gaze.

Magical power—that mysterious energy I had been vaguely aware of moving throughout this world.

For me, who had been conscious of its existence but never directly contacted it until now, experiencing this mysterious energy firsthand was almost ecstatic.

Of course, I couldn’t immediately control this energy freely to strengthen my body after feeling it for the first time, but nevertheless, having clearly sensed it, I was excited by the possibility of wielding supernatural power with my own body.

And this is what happened while I was receiving instruction from Leon.

※ ※ ※

That day too, I was continuing my training in the courtyard with Leon, who had taken on the role of my instructor, as I swung my sword.

“Young master! You must think while you swing! That method of relying only on instinct—”

“—is meaningless against opponents of equal rank! Hup!”

Since that first day, Leon had been dealing with me not just cautiously but in full combat readiness, and to match his approach, I was swinging my wooden sword according to my clear intentions rather than relying on instinct.

As it turned out, the reason I had no memory of swinging my sword until now was because my body’s talent somehow prevented any extraneous thoughts from entering my mind.

And while this tendency might be beneficial for now, to truly excel in swordsmanship, I needed to learn how to control it to some extent.

Leon said there was nothing more dangerous than falling into a trance and being controlled by power without even knowing where your sword is pointing, just as dangerous as wielding talent without truly understanding it…

And as I listened to Leon’s words, I couldn’t help but find some truth in them.

Anyway, during a break after training, while I was catching my breath, a question that had been on my mind suddenly surfaced, and I asked it right away.

“Hey, Leon.”

“Yes, young master.”

“I’ve been wondering for a while, why did Father choose you as my instructor? Couldn’t he have just assigned a knight to me instead of you, who’s already busy training new recruits for the guard?”

“Ah… that question?”

“Oh, I’m not saying you’re a bad instructor at all. In fact, you’re the best instructor I could have right now. I just suddenly became curious.”

“Yes, I understand. I know you asked without any ill intent. Well… where should I begin?”

After showing a briefly pleased expression at my desperate explanation, Leon seemed to ponder for a moment to answer my question, and only after organizing his thoughts did he carefully open his mouth.

“Young master, first of all, knights are mid-tier, unlike us lower-tier individuals. You’re aware of that, right?”

“Yes, I know that well.”

In this world, there exists a globally recognized combat power classification system similar to how martial arts novels categorize levels of mastery, divided into three tiers: lower, middle, and upper.

The lower tier, where most humans belong, encompasses a relatively realistic range—from ordinary people to those with super-soldier level combat abilities—but the tiers above are on a completely different scale.

Mid-tier individuals are like walking armored vehicles. They’re superhumans with seemingly impossible durability and physical abilities, while upper-tier individuals are monsters among monsters.

If a mid-tier fighter can single-handedly face an army, an upper-tier individual possesses military might and influence equivalent to an entire nation—a living strategic weapon.

And since such beings appear with some frequency in this world, the nobles of this world are those who “protect” their communities from such external threats.

In this world, humanity can never be in an equal position.

Anyway, as Leon mentioned this world’s combat classification system and I was about to question him, he gave a bitter smile while lowering his wooden sword and began to speak.

“Yes. And those mid-tier knights strengthen their bodies through a special magical power called ‘Aura.’ You know about that too, right?”

“I know. The librarian taught me about it…”

Aura, the criterion that distinguishes mid-tier warriors (knights) from lower-tier warriors, is a unique magical power that awakens when one reaches a certain level through physical training and martial arts practice.

Aura cannot be processed into magical spells; it can only be used to strengthen the body, be emitted from the body, or envelop weapons and equipment to enhance performance, just like ordinary magical power…

But in exchange, aura is at least dozens of times superior to magical power in both efficiency and performance.

If using magical power for body strengthening is like attaching a battery and electric motor to a bicycle, using aura for body strengthening is like rebuilding that bicycle into a motorcycle.

With both output and efficiency increasing incomparably, I was finally able to deduce the answer to my question.

“Is it because lower-tier combat is… different from mid-tier? Are martial arts used with mid-tier physical abilities different from lower-tier martial arts?”

“Yes, how perceptive. That’s correct. The martial arts performed by superhumans who have awakened their aura and reached the mid-tier realm are completely different from those of the lower tier.”

In my previous life on Earth, most cold weapon martial arts converged into similar forms, but in this world where supernatural powers like magical power and magic exist, things are evidently different.

Mid-tier warriors, who have transcended the limitations of the human species, can handle techniques that seem more like magic than martial arts…

“At the mid-tier level, martial arts forms vary tremendously depending on individual preferences, but at the lower-tier level, it’s different. The forms are somewhat stabilized and established, and the range of martial techniques that can be performed with those bodies is limited.”

“…I see.”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

Having completely resolved my questions through Leon’s explanation, I stood up and picked up my wooden sword to resume training.

“Are you ready to continue?”

“Yes. Please.”

I still had a long way to go before reaching the mid-tier realm that I vaguely aspired to.