Chapter 303

Chapter 303

Chapter 303

Salko was very hospitable. It was the complete opposite of his usual demeanor at the academy, where he would frown and refuse to interact with the students from the Blue Dragon Tower.

"Are you trying not to borrow money from your family?" Salko asked.

"That's right," Yi-Han replied.

"Wardanaz, you are a true noble."

Although Salko meant it as a compliment, it didn't sound like one to Yi-Han.

'If I could borrow money from my family, I wouldn't be doing this, you fool,' he thought.

For Yi-Han, who was trying to raise funds separately and make a profit, the family name wasn't of much help. If it wasn't something necessary for his studies, he wouldn't receive support, and if he asked them to find him a lucrative job, they would likely react with, "Huh? Why would you want such a job?"

"By the way, Salko, don't you work at the guild? Shyles seemed busy," Yi-Han asked.

"Unlike the transportation guild, our stonemason guild has an off-season," Salko explained.

"I see. So you took advantage of the time to find another job."

"That's right."

Yi-Han and Salko exchanged glances. It was a sense of kinship that only those obsessed with work could feel.

"Come, Wardanaz. I'll explain how it works," Salko said as he turned around, and his gang members chimed in.

"Wait a moment, Tutanta," one of them said.

"What is it?" Salko asked.

"I need to pay back the silver coins owed to Wardanaz."

"Me too."

"Me too..."

"..."

Salko looked at his friends in disbelief. Just how much had these guys begged from Wardanaz without him knowing?

—

Sitting on a chair, opening a box, and detecting the amount of mana in the materials inside the box. If the amount or quality of mana differed from the original material, or if there were any other issues, that material would be excluded.

It wasn't a particularly difficult task. It was just a tedious job that required persistence and patience.

"This could be quite a good training, don't you think, Gainando? It's also great for developing the ability to distinguish materials," Yi-Han said.

"..."

Gainando thought his friend had gone crazy. So instead of answering, when Yi-Han briefly left his seat at Salko's request for help, Gainando desperately whispered to his other friends.

"He's crazy! I think Yi-Han has gone mad! He's enjoying this!"

"Huh? Isn't it pretty decent?" Yonaire said as she tossed a material into the box.

From Yonaire's perspective, who wanted to run a few businesses on her own later, there was nothing wrong with collecting silver coins like this.

"...What about you guys?!" Gainando asked.

"What? We should be grateful to work so easily and get paid that much," Nillia said, dumbfounded by Gainando's question.

When she was in the northern mountains, even if she chased and caught a beast for three days, she would only get a few imperial copper coins after dividing the spoils among the hunters. But in this warehouse, she could earn silver coins just by sitting for a few hours and sorting materials.

'This is why you should become a mage,' she thought, considering the conditions to be good enough.

"I agree. It's a pity that we won't be able to receive any more silver coins once we finish organizing here," Ratford said.

"That's right. I'm also very disappointed about that," Nillia nodded repeatedly.

It was a shame that such a good job would end after doing it once.

"But it can't be helped, right? There's no way such a good job would continue," Ratford said.

"You're right. They're probably paying us well because it's an urgent task," Nillia agreed.

"You... You've all gone crazy... Dargard! Dargard!" Gainando called out to his last remaining friend, Asan.

However, Asan replied with a serious expression, "This is a good opportunity."

"...Have you gone mad too?! Why are you like this! Come to your senses! Why are you doing this too?!"

Gainando didn't know, but Asan had already been persuaded.

-Asan, think about it. If you earn silver coins with your own strength? How would your older brother and sister think of you?-

-Indeed... If I give them a gift with the silver coins I earned on my own, even if they are my older siblings, they will have no choice but to acknowledge me.-

-...I wasn't telling you to give them a gift, but anyway, that's the point.-

"Gainando, how long are you going to rely on your family's power?" Asan asked.

"What are you talking about! My family's power is my power!" Gainando shouted, jumping up and down.

Yi-Han paused for a moment. Then he asked, "Do you happen to know of any short-term jobs where I can earn a lot of silver coins as a magic academy student and a mage?"

"Pardon?"

Arlong was taken aback. He asked again, "I apologize, but... why do you need such a thing? If there's anything you need for magic, we can support you as much as..."

Yi-Han nodded as if he had expected this. "Let's go clash swords."

"???"

Arlong was still confused and followed Yi-Han.

In the training yard of the mansion, Arlong drew his sword. Usually, he had the face of a kind old knight, but the moment he drew his sword, a huge rock revealed its presence.

Yi-Han also drew his sword. Although there was no chance of winning against Arlong, a knight who held the title of Master, given only to the most renowned swordsmen in the empire, by clashing swords...

'Let's make the most of what I've learned,' Yi-Han thought.

There were mainly two things Yi-Han had learned about swordsmanship at Einroguard.

One was the technique of infusing mana into the sword.

...To be precise, that technique involved maintaining a stable flow of mana inside the sword, even in the heat of a chaotic battle, merging the sword and the body into one. Yi-Han’s approach was more crude, just forcefully releasing and wasting mana, but it was still technically infusing the sword.

And the other was the principle of absorption.

By altering the nature of the mana infused into the sword, swordsmanship could become as versatile as magic.

"Then, I shall begin," Arlong said.

And an hour later.

Thud-

Yi-Han collapsed on the training yard floor, having lost his wooden sword. His mana was still overflowing, but his physical strength was exhausted.

Arlong wiped his sweat and exclaimed in admiration, "That was excellent."

"It doesn't seem... that great," Yi-Han said, enduring the aching pain throughout his body. However, Arlong was serious.

"I didn't expect you to be able to infuse mana to that extent in such a short time. It's a level that ordinary swordsmen usually have to train for decades to reach. Perhaps you are as talented in the utilization of mana as you are in magic. But I have a question..."

"What is it?" Yi-Han asked.

"Did you use any special method when utilizing mana? The power..."

Arlong asked, spreading his aching palm. If he hadn't protected himself with mana, the sword wielded by the young master in front of him would have turned his hand into a bloody mess.

As his mentor in swordsmanship, he had to stop Yi-Han if the enlightenment he gained was a method that harmed his body, even if it was good to gain insights on his own.

"Ah, that... So..."

Yi-Han hesitated, trying his best not to sound like a madman.

"..."

Arlong's expression turned into one of disbelief after hearing the whole story.

"So... you're not infusing mana into the sword, circulating it, and maintaining it... but just releasing it?"

"Well, I don't usually do that, only when necessary."

"..."

Arlong pondered whether he should stop this or not. Other swordsmen would spit blood from mana exhaustion after swinging once or twice, but Yi-Han had ample mana, so he said it was fine...

"I have faced countless swordsmen in the empire and experienced all sorts of secret techniques and extraordinary methods, but I have never encountered a swordsman who uses a method like the one you just described, Young Master Yi-Han."

"Is it that rare?"

Yi-Han was slightly discouraged. He thought there would be at least one or two...

"For now, it's alright, but please be careful. No wonder the sword keeps... Ah, there's one more thing I'd like to ask."

"Go ahead."

"Earlier, you clearly changed the nature of mana... Wasn't it an absorption sword? Where did you learn the absorption sword technique?"

"Ah, I once competed against a swordsman from the Engge family."

Arlong was surprised.

"Are you saying a swordsman from the Engge family taught you their family's sword technique? Why on earth would they do that?"

"No, they didn't teach me. After clashing swords, some time passed, and I became able to change the nature. So I've been trying to make use of it since then."

"..."

Arlong almost collapsed.

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