Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The following day.

Shirone, with a tired face, went to work in the library. He couldnt sleep a wink due to what happened yesterday.

Due to having a lot on his mind, he couldnt speed up his work.

Lets calm down.

After struggling to calm himself down, Shirone was eventually able to regain his composure.

Im not dying now. I still have a month. Ill be able to figure something out.

First of all, background check.

According to the information he gathered, Lord Bischoff had three sons and one daughter.

The eldest son was a certified Grade 6 swordsman. The second son was also a genius swordsman who followed in his brothers footsteps.

The eldest daughter was also talented, but she chose music over swords and was working as a royal pianist.

And after figuring out all that, he noticed Rian was the only one who failed to stand out in the end.

The Lord even provided him an exclusive teacher, but the reports claimed he was not talented.

Haah, I shouldnt have done that. I should have just accepted the hits when he was adamant on beating me.

It was natural that Rian, who had been compared to his brother all his life, was angry at the Thunder Strike.

It seemed that not all nobles were born to excel.

Now what? Im in big trouble.

Agitated again, Shirone stared blankly at the real sword, which had been left unattended under the desk.

I dont have time for this.

Shirone jumped up and headed for the study.

Whether I fight or not, its always better to be prepared!

Since he lived in the mountains, Shirone was confident in his stamina and level of fitness, so if he were to learn self-defense, he would be able to at least save his life.

After putting aside the history books for the time being, he collected all the books related to swordsmanship.

While there were technical books like the Sword Textbook, there were philosophical books such as What is Sword? and Only Humans Are Afraid of the Sword.

Practical books such as Lets Win With Bluff and The Stronger Individual Is the Survivor were also seen.

Shirone opened a book with the simple and clear title of Swordsmanship.

It was a book that contained the history of swordsmanship as well as overall knowledge about it.

It was also an interesting book in the eyes of the aspiring mage, Shirone.

If mages had the Spirit Zone, swordsmen had something called the Schema.

Schema was both an imaginary body and a schematic of the human body.

Every human had their own body image, and the Schema was an extreme embodiment of it.

Masters of Schema would say that they could fully understand their body and be involved in how their cells moved as well as how their nerves sent signals.

Shirone put down the book and slapped his knee.

Its nearly identical to Spirit Zone.

A mage would erase their existence and assimilate with the world, but a swordsman did the opposite and further dug into themselves.

Shirone attempted Schema.

Feeling an imaginary self while maintaining the senses just before entering the Spirit Zone.

As expected, its not too difficult yet.

However, the imaginary body was dark as a shadow and could not be felt.

If I were to remove this dark curtain, it would become Schema. It's truly incredible.

Shirone picked up the book again.

It was written that the method of mastering Schema varied widely from family to family and that prioritizing specific parts to strengthen it depended on the method.

While there were families that unlocked Schema to simply develop the mind, there were also families that drove the body to the limit.

Some families focused on muscle strength, some speed, and some used Schema to strengthen nerves.

Come to think of it

Shirone recalled the red-haired girl from the alley three years ago.

At that time, the situation was hectic, but when he thought about it back at home, her movements were not something a normal human could do.

She unlocked Schema. She was about the same age as me What great talent.

Shirone closed the book and ruminated.

Rian couldnt have mastered Schema anyways, but Shirone wanted to try doing so, even if there was a barrier.

Schema is not exactly swordsmanship. Just like how Spirit Zone is not exactly magic.

Just like how knowledge was significant to a mage, a strong body was essential for a swordsman.

If ones body is not supported, the width of reinforcement is extremely narrow. I already have the Spirit Zone, so it would be faster to find a solution to swordsmanship rather than trying to accommodate two completely different concepts!

It was a strategy to learn some useful swordsmanship with the Spirit Zone as the base.

Good.

Shirone opened a beginners textbook in swordsmanship.

Knowing that his life was on the line, Shirones concentration was at its highest ever despite having to suddenly study swordsmanship, a subject he previously did not have much interest in.

* * *

ARGH! ARGH!

Dust rose in the Great Training Grounds. Rians legs were the culprit.

Well, I do know what I cant do.

Yes. Thats why youre not a genius.

Rian looked back at Kite with a ridiculous look.

He was adding fuel to the fire. He was a teacher who made both his arms and heart hurt.

Stop it. I already know that.

Looking at his pouting student, Kite smiled.

But Rian, do you know what a genius is afraid of? Theyre afraid of effort. Geniuses work hard, but their level of effort is different from normal people. They may experience setbacks and pain, but there exists no doubt as they only do what they can. So effort is a powerful weapon for those who arent geniuses. Youre trying because youre not talented? Dont even start with that. While talent guarantees you something, effort can grant you something talent cant. And that thing is will.

Kite grabbed Rian by the shoulder and squeezed.

You have the will to challenge the nigh-insurmountable. That will is something not everyone has. Simply put, will power is the natural enemy of a genius.

Rian liked that. It didnt matter to him if they were just words of comfort.

Yeah, he didnt have talent, but he knew that despite the fact he wasnt born with a road to success, he could pave it himself.

Ill definitely win.

He was determined to put everything he had into training.

* * *

Shirone knew clearly what he could and couldnt do.

And due to that, he began to study swordsmanship without hesitation when he realized the concept of Schema.

Selection and concentration.

Talent efficiently designs the shortest distance to a destination through these two.

Shirone set aside all the miscellaneous techniques and dug into the basics of swordsmanship.

* * *

A month passed.

During that time, Shirone trained in only two things: the eight ways of cutting and the eight ways of blocking.

This is my best!

Satisfied with his performance, Shirone finished his training.

And finally, he asked a question that would show what he had learned over the past month.

What is swordsmanship?

While It was a sport that was made with the purpose of taking lives, it was also a sport that required high-levels of wits and intelligence in order to come out alive.

Shirone aimed the sword forward.

He learned from the books that the enemy could move in every way imaginable, but he knew that was not the truth.

The sword that comes in to cut me is real. So there are eight places I need to block!

He responded with his imagination.

Eight blades that overpowered eight defenses turned to hundreds as one addition was made.

Urk!

It wasnt possible to calculate all the ways a sword could move.

Im not counting numbers. Im feeling as a whole.

Just like how you couldnt see the whole forest when staring at a single tree, Shirone needed to focus not only on the individual aspects of what he learned, but to look at them as a whole.

That was insight.

But it was easier said than done.

As various patterns spread out like fractals, he kept focusing on a specific spot.

Its okay if I dont make it. Lets observe for now. Im just fixing errors right now!

Free from tension, Shirone completely let go of his thoughts at some point as he delved into his mind.

Then the whole thing was visible and all kinds of possibilities began to appear at once.

What?

Shirones eyes were filled with astonishment.

Theres no end to it.

His sword and Rians were filling up the scenery around him.

Shirone, who dropped the sword, stumbled backward.

Haa.

Swords, too, were infinite. Shirone saw the infinity of their swords.

I see the swordsmen chose this kind path!

Shirone chose the infinite path of magic, so being able to relate swordsmanship to that made him feel good.

Mom, Dad, Im sorry. I might not be able to go back!

He had no regrets.

And the same was true for Rian.

Despite his life being on the line, Shirone was happy that he was able to see such a wonderful side of the world.

Ding Ding Ding

The bell rang signaling eleven oclock.

Rian, who wanted to have what he couldnt have, did what he could.

The clash between the two boys in stark contrast to each other was now just an hour away.