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“Yes.”

Sheryl nodded, as if it were obvious.

“Isn’t the Heavenly Blade enough for it?”

“The Heavenly Blade exists to defend the house and the head of house. Its role is different from the other armed organizations.”

He did hear from Judiel that the Heavenly Blade swordsmen protected every important base of the house. In fact, the swordsmen protecting the annex building were also from the Heavenly Blade.

“Moreover, thirty percent of the division is currently away because of recent missions. I don’t have many people I can use right now.”

Sheryl’s eyes calmed as she said she didn’t have many swordsmen she could use. Despite what she said, she didn’t look like she needed him that much. Raon felt like she wouldn’t really care even if he declined the offer.

“Hmm.”

Raon licked his lips.

‘This could be an opportunity.’

Since the Heavenly Blade leader was a powerhouse at Grandmaster level, observing her would allow him to learn many things.

‘But it might be dangerous, too.’

A mission where the Heavenly Blade leader had to move personally was bound to be an extraordinary matter. He might end up dying or lose all of the reputation that he’d gained if he failed.

‘But I will gain even more if I succeed.’

He should be able to earn the Heavenly Blade leader’s trust, as well as plenty of rewards, from properly completing the mission.

There was a clear advantage and disadvantage in taking the mission.

“May I ask what kind of mission it is?”

“Of course. I shall tell you.”

Sheryl raised her index finger.

“This is an escort mission.”

“Escort? Then, is it about escorting the head of house…?”

“No. You are going to escort another important guest during this mission.”

“Why is the Heavenly Blade in charge of that?”

Just as Sheryl had said a moment ago, the Heavenly Blade’s role was to protect the house and the head of house, so it was strange for her to have a mission like that.

“That is because a debt has been called on.”

“Debt?”

“It’s a debt the head of house left when he used to be a successor. Since he left it under the name Glenn Zieghart, the Heavenly Blade has to take care of it.”

She strained her eyes, telling him it was her duty.

“Can you explain a bit further?”

“The daughter of a prestigious family is suffering from a mysterious disease. The priests, healers, and doctors have all given up on her. Our mission is to bring her to Retran, where the Ragged Saint is located.”

“Ragged Saint…”

“You are also acquainted with him, I believe.”

“Yes.”

Raon nodded. The Ragged Saint Federick was the one who visited him every year, from when he was a baby to when he was five years old, to check his condition and give him an elixir with fire attribute.

“That means the reason why you chose me was…”

“It was partly because your last spar was impressive, but mostly, it was because you are acquainted with the Ragged Saint.

“I see.”

He finally understood why Sheryl visited him despite being pretty much unrelated to him. She only chose him because of the small connection he had with the Ragged Saint.

“It looks like you also understood why we have to bring her to him.”

“Yes. It’s because the Saint doesn’t choose his patients.”

The Ragged Saint Federick wouldn’t care even if a king called on him and wouldn’t refuse a patient even if they were a slave. He healed everyone, regardless of whether they were an enemy or not, and the most important person to him was the patient in front of him.

Even for a prestigious family, it was pretty much impossible to call for Federick.

‘I still need to thank him.’

The way he visited him every year to check on his condition and give him an elixir was really exceptional. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Raon owed him his life.

‘That doesn’t sound bad.’

The mission itself didn’t sound dangerous, and the rewards should be sufficient, as they involved the daughter of a prestigious family.

‘And I want to see him, since it’s been a long time.’

Actually, he was more interested in meeting with the Ragged Saint to express his gratitude than the mission itself. He also became curious about what the Saint would tell him, since he almost finished overcoming the Curse of Frost.

“I’ll do it.”

“We will depart at daybreak in two days. You should bring six people with you, including the team leaders of the Light Wind.”

“Are six people enough?”

“Since we are also going to have the guards from that house, we don’t need that many people. Having too many people will slow down the journey and complicate matters. We only need six of you.”

“Understood.”

Sheryl nodded, expressing neither positive nor negative emotions.

“Can I ask you one thing?”

She was about to leave, but she turned back to stand in front of Raon.

“Please, go ahead.”

“You were practicing making astral energy just now, right?”

“Yes.”

Since he knew that Sheryl had been watching all along, he nodded honestly.

“Why did you give up and go back to basic training? You should be aware that you are right on the cusp of becoming a Master, right?”

“Of course, I do. However, I figured I don’t need to be too focused on astral energy.”

“Y-You don’t need to be focused?”

“I realized after trying a few times that I can’t achieve astral energy at this rate, even if I practice for ten years.”

Raon stared at Heavenly Drive. What had appeared on the blade was nothing but concentrated aura, which couldn’t be called martial arts. Something like that was bound to be meaningless, even if he practiced it for years.

“I figured I would naturally reach the area beyond as long as I slowly train my martial arts, just as I’ve always done.

“Seriously, you are…”

The Heavenly Blade leader frowned, gripping her left wrist tightly with her right hand.

“Sorry?”

“No, nothing.”

She quickly hid her surprise and turned around.

“Since we are departing in the morning two days from now, make sure to be on time.”

“May I ask a question as well?”

“What is it?”

“Which house is our escort target from?”

“Yonaan.”

“Yonaan…”

Yonaan wasn’t famous for their might, but they were a house that specialized in crafting, competing with Balkar in artifact crafting.

“Our mission is to escort the youngest daughter of that family to Retran, where a war is currently ongoing.”

The Heavenly Blade leader turned around and smiled slightly.

“Since the mission isn’t really going to be difficult, you should rest assured.”

* * *

The Heavenly Blade leader went straight to the audience chamber and stood in front of Glenn.

“Raon accepted the mission.”

“Did he accept immediately?”

Glenn tilted his head while smoothing his hand over his chin.

“He accepted after confirming the contents of the mission and giving it enough thought.”

“How was the condition of his body?”

“He’s completely healed. His internal aura and body were both stable.”

“I see.”

Glenn slightly nodded, satisfied with that answer.

“You should already be aware, but this mission isn’t going to be smooth. Make them work hard for it.”

“Of course.”

Sheryl nodded, her hand on her chest.

“Since I need to make my preparations as well, I’ll take my leave.”

“Wait.”

As she was about to turn back, Glenn raised his hand.

“What happened? You don’t look well.”

“Hmm…”

Sheryl let out a small sigh and looked at Glenn.

“Raon… That boy isn’t normal.”

“What do you mean?”

Glenn raised his voice for once and suddenly stood up from his chair.

“When I went to visit him…”

Sheryl told him about Raon deciding to give up on practicing astral blade, instead returning to basic training.

“My common sense can’t understand that.”

Astral energy was the dream and objective of all warriors, and the ones that were about to become Masters were bound to chase after that brilliant light all day long.

‘It’s often referred to as being bewitched by astral energy.’

They normally trained to achieve astral energy every day without listening to other people’s advice, and only realized that it wasn’t the correct path much later.

Even she had wasted almost a whole year on that stupidity, but Raon gave up on forming astral energy after a few tries, returning to basic training.

‘I had goosebumps.’

Raon’s eyes were as calm as the lake in the middle of the night. She had unconsciously grabbed her wrist because she had goosebumps from his decision to return to the basics and forget about astral energy.

A warrior who was about to become a Master should be extremely desperate to achieve astral energy. It was her first time witnessing someone giving up on it so easily.

“I can only describe him as a monster.”

Just as Glenn had said, she had a feeling that Raon would surpass the Grandmaster wall before he reached forty.

“Ahem, w-was that what you meant?”

Glenn awkwardly cleared his throat and leaned back against the throne.

“I keep telling you that he’s special.”

“There’s a limit to how special he can be. That’s too excessive. I’m more amazed by his mind, rather than his talent in martial arts.”

Sheryl sighed deeply. Raon’s first impression was average, but she got more surprised the more she saw him. It was her first time seeing a boy like him, despite having seen countless swordsmen in the past.

“It’s regrettable, but Raon should be a Master by the time we return, even if I don’t do anything. He will achieve it with his own power.”

“You don’t need to do anything. Just show him the martial arts you’ve accumulated in various ways. If the Light Wind children don’t realize it, that’s their problem.”

Glenn emphasized that she was to help the Light Wind, rather than Raon.

“Understood.”

Sheryl nodded and stepped back.

“I’m leaving, then.”

She left the lord’s manor right after.

“Hmm…”

A strange sound could be heard inside the lord’s manor, where Glenn was the only one left. It was as if he was trying to hold back his laughter.

* * *

* * *

Raon went to the fifth training ground, where every Light Wind member was gathered. Since their individual training time was over, they were already gathered in the training ground.

“Are you okay now?”

Runaan came running at him before anyone else. Her expression was blank, but her voice was filled with worry.

“I’m completely healed.”

Raon gave her a small smile, and Runaan nodded with an unnoticeable smile.

“Also, thank you for the ice cream.”

It was great!

Runaan paid him a visit with bead ice cream while he was bedridden, and Wrath enjoyed it more than him because they were all mint chocolate flavored.

“You’ve returned rather quickly.”

Dorian came up to him while eating snacks. It looked like he ate a lot while resting, since his cheeks had become plump.

“You’ve gained weight. It looks like you are taking it easy.”

“E-Easy? Not at all!”

He freaked out and shook his head.

“H-He said he took it easy.”

“No way, is he about to start it again?”

“That can’t be it. The spars are already over!”

“There’s no way! It can’t be!”

“Hmm…”

The Light Wind members stepped away from him while trying to read his intentions, as they couldn’t forget their hellish three months.

“Have you already recovered? Are you an iron man or something?”

“What a stupidly healthy body.”

Burren and Martha’s manner of speech was brusque, as if they were not welcoming him—but they had a small smile on their faces.

Slam!

As he was about to call those three over to tell them about the mission, the training ground’s door burst open, and Rimmer entered wearing a golden coat.

All kinds of jewels were dazzling on his fingers, wrist, and neck.

“Huh…”

Raon exclaimed. He’d never seen anyone who looked more like an upstart than him.

“S-Squad leader, why are you…”

Burren’s jaw dropped.

“I had nowhere to spend my money because I had too much. That’s why I started by buying some jewels.”

He violently shook his hands and fingers to show them off.

How annoying. Trample upon him and burn them all up!

Wrath also growled in displeasure at him. Rimmer was truly a peculiar person. While he was pitiful when he didn’t have any money, he looked irritating now that he had become rich.

“Are you training again? Just take it easy. We are just trying to make a living here.”

Rimmer grinned, looking at the swordsmen one after the other. His voice was softer than usual, probably because his mind had become more laid back. Though, that wasn’t something a squad leader should be saying.

“Oh, Raon! My lucky charm is here! Have you completely recovered?”

“Yes.”

“Nice, nice. I’ve been praying for your fast recovery.”

“But it looks like you’ve been so busy that you wouldn\'t have any time for prayers.”

He pointed at Rimmer’s clothes and jewels with a cold smile.

“I’ve been busy, and I prayed each time I spent money. I prayed for Raon’s long life, since he allowed me to earn all the money!”

“Long life…”

Raon fell speechless. He apparently went as far as praying for his long life instead of his fast recovery.

“I have something to tell you.”

“I’m listening. I’ll grant you any wish!”

Rimmer immediately nodded. It looked like he would do anything for him—except for giving away his money.

“A moment ago…”

Raon told him about the Heavenly Blade leader visiting him and asked him whether he could go on a mission with the team leaders and two additional members.

“The Heavenly Blade Division leader? Of course! You should go!”

Rimmer clapped his hands.

“She knows all of the different characteristics of swordsmanship. I’m sure you will learn a lot from her if you follow her.”

He said it was a great opportunity for him, and he definitely should go.

“To begin with, I mentioned we will be reinforcing others a lot when I first made the squad. You should go.”

“A-A mission with the Heavenly Blade leader? This is a great opportunity!”

Burren shouted with joy once Rimmer gave his permission.

“The Heavenly Blade Division leader?”

“Hmph. I heard she’s the strongest swordswoman in the house, but let’s see if she really deserves that title.”

Runaan looked like she didn’t really care as she tilted her head. On the other hand, Martha couldn’t hide her trembling fingers, despite snorting on the outside.

“You have four people, including you. Who are the two other people you are going to bring?”

Rimmer asked, pointing at the remaining Light Wind members.

“For now, I’ll take my pouch.”

“Pouch?”

“Ah, I mean Dorian. I think he needs to lose some weight.”

Raon smiled faintly while looking at Dorian.

“Hiee!”

The pouch—or rather, Dorian—freaked out and dropped his snack. His plump cheeks were trembling.

“Then, what about the last person?”

“Hmm…”

Raon looked around at the rest of the Light Wind members. Most of them were rolling their eyes, pretending they couldn’t hear them. It seemed they didn’t really want to go.

“Krein, come forward.”

He bobbed his hand at the long-haired swordsman, who was hiding at the very back.

“M-Me? Why me…?”

Krein’s eyes widened so much they looked like they would explode.

“I saw during the spar that you had many complaints about me.”

Raon tapped his scabbard with a smile.

“Let’s have a heart-to-heart talk during the mission.”

“Ah…”

Krein fell back, remembering that he had called Raon a demon and a crazy bastard at the arena.

“I’m so dead…”

He closed his eyes while drooling from his mouth, as if he had already been beaten up.

“Since it should take some time, please take care of the squad members in the meantime.”

Raon told the other five members going on the mission the schedule, then bowed at Rimmer.

“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you, since I’m the squad leader?”

“Do you even have the intention of doing the job of a squad leader?”

“Nope.”

He proudly shook his head.

“That’s why I said that. You should stop gambling, too, since you’ve earned a lot now.”

“I won’t. Don’t worry.”

Rimmer shook his two hands, gesturing that he took his hands away from gambling.

“Try learning a lot from Sheryl. It’s not just her swordsmanship, but also her postures, footsteps, breathing techniques that are all worth learning, so steal everything from her.”

It had been a long time since the last time his voice was so serious.

“Okay.”

“I’ll tell you the magic word that you can use if there’s ever a problem.”

“A magic word?”

“Yes.”

Rimmer continued with a grin.

“Tell Sheryl…”

* * *

Two Days Later

Daybreak

Raon was holding Heavenly Drive with two hands in the annex building’s open area.

It was the middle posture, which was the most basic posture. Holding the hilt in front of his energy center, he pointed his blade forward and spread his pressure without any movement.

Whir!

Raon’s energy wave flew as slowly as a cloud floating in the sky, engulfing the open area at an extremely slow pace.

When approximately ten minutes had passed, Raon’s pressure had filled the entire open area, and the entire space vibrated with his breath. The space was in Raon’s hand.

“Haa…”

Raon scattered his pressure, which was dominating the open area, in an instant. He caught his breath.

You are so damn slow. I almost died from boredom.

Wrath clicked his tongue at his pathetic performance.

“That’s because this is a heavy technique.”

Are you trying to swallow the space with the heaviness?

“Yes. During the last fight against Garon…”

Who is Garon?

“You know, the man who fought against me recently.”

Ah, that insect?

Considering Wrath couldn’t even remember him despite it being a recent incident, Garon must’ve been mere riffraff to Wrath, even though he was still a Master.

“Anyway, he used a quick sword that could block the space, and I figured heaviness would be better than speed to dominate the space.”

Garon’s sword was certainly powerful and fast, but it had many flaws when it came to dominating the space.

Raon felt like it would be better to make sure to engulf the entire space by sacrificing speed instead of forcibly increasing the speed.

That’s true, but I wonder when you will ever reach your enemy at your snail’s pace.

“I should reach it one day, as long as I keep working hard.”

He understood the space sword to a certain extent, thanks to witnessing Garon’s sword. Constant practice in the future should allow him to harmonize the heaviness and space dominance.

Raon opened the status window for the last time before leaving.

Looking at the stats and the trait ranks, which had grown a lot since the last time he had looked at them, was enough to make him smile.

‘I’ll be there soon.’

He clenched his fist, resolving to change the title into something related to Master and achieve harmony between heavy sword and space sword by the time he returned to the house.

‘I’m curious.’

He was already filled with anticipation about how his swordsmanship would change once he became a Master with those inhuman stats.

‘I should get going.’

As Raon was about to leave the open area after picking up the backpack he had left on the side, Judiel approached him.

“I didn’t manage to investigate much because I didn’t have much time.”

She spoke as she handed over a thin booklet.

“What is this…?”

It was information about the youngest daughter of the Yonaan family and the Retran province, where the Ragged Saint was located.

“Ah!”

Raon opened the booklet. The name of the youngest daughter of the Yonaan family was written in the most recognizable size.

“Encia Yonaan, a genius artifact crafter?”

It was written under her name that she was an excellent crafter even among the members of House Yonaan.

“She’s supposedly unmatched when it comes to accessory-type artifact crafting, despite being only in her mid-twenties. Considering the fact the Central Martial Palace isn’t aware of her case, her illness seems to be top secret.”

‘Exactly’, Raon thought. Since the mission came to Sheryl directly from Glenn, he could guess there would be an extremely small number of people who knew about her illness.

“Since her name is rather famous in the central area, many people will target her once she leaves House Yonaan.”

“I agree.”

Despite what Sheryl said, escorting someone as talented as her couldn’t possibly be a comfortable journey.

‘That’s even better.’

Something like a comfortable journey was nothing but a waste of time. He was ready to even walk down to hell if it meant he could advance faster and reach a higher place.

After all, it was obvious that he would get stronger from hardships and difficulties.

‘It will be interesting.’

Crimson flames shone in Raon’s eyes.