Hero answered first.
“I need to go to The Bog soon. I need a scout and a magician, but they seem difficult to procure with my current connections and funds.”
“I will personally ask Heroes for a scout. Will a director-level magician suffice?”
“That will be enough.”
“Director” was the magician rank right below “master.”
Directors were high-ranking magicians who could construct their magic tower in a city if they fulfilled a few conditions.
Hiring a magician of that level wasn’t a problem that could be solved simply with money, but the Lord of Blood and Iron had said that so casually...
“Do you desire anything else?”
“I do not.”
After the Lord of Blood and Iron nodded, he turned to look at Nero.“Nero.”
“Yes.”
“I heard you carried out a B-rank mission at Heroes by yourself. I also heard that your assessment within the organization is high.”
“It is.”
“Do you desire anything?”
Nero hesitated for a moment before she spoke.
“I feel like I’ve reached a wall recently and am having difficulty progressing to the next level. I ask if you can spare me some time in your schedule.”
The Lord of Blood and Iron nodded again.
“I will make time soon.”
“Thank you.”
“I have heard that you are learning the swordsmanship of the old fairies.”
“I am.”
“As a baseline, the swordsmanship techniques of old use a lot of mana. Although your mana capacity is greater than your peers, it will not be enough. I will send you an elixir soon, so take it.” ᚱ
“Thank you.”
A satisfied smile appeared on Nero’s calm face.
Finally, the Lord of Blood and Iron turned to me.
Although the conversations were short, the rewards he gave weren’t small at all.
How many Houses were there in The Empire that could grant rewards of this level without worry?
“Luan.”
“Yes.”
“I heard that you have created a martial art that can rival the secret martial art of the House.”
We had had this conversation before, in the forbidden area of Bednicker after Hariba was defeated.
Why was he bringing it up again here?
I felt Hero’s and Nero’s attention fall on me as I answered, “I can’t really say if that’s true since I’ve never learned the secret swordsmanship technique of the House.”
“So you’re saying that your martial art could be better than the secret martial art.”
I had answered in a vague way, but he still understood what I meant.
I didn’t reply to his statement.
Thankfully, the Lord of Blood and Iron didn’t ask anything further and instead changed the subject.
“You defeated the assassins of Hadenaihar in the mountain range, subjugated a gem beast, and defeated the rats that infiltrated our House. After that, you answered the questions of the Council of Elders to prove yourself and were victorious in your duel against Hector.”
“Yes.”
“Well done.”
Hero’s and Nero’s gazes became stronger as the Lord of Blood and Iron praised me.
I didn’t know why for sure, but I could make an educated guess.
Anyone could tell that the Lord of Blood and Iron was a man of few compliments.
He didn’t go into detail about what happened at the House.
It wasn’t unexpected.
Even Hero and Nero probably didn’t know about Rudbick’s infiltration.
“Do you wish for anything?”
“Uh...”
I had never expected an opportunity to come this quickly.
I gave an immediate answer.
“I wish to enter the House’s underground library.”
“The underground library?”
“Yes.”
“...”
The Lord of Blood and Iron stopped for a second before a rare furrow appeared on his brow.
What the.
Compared to what the two before me had asked, this didn’t seem like that big of a deal, but why was he reacting like this? So ominous.
“No.”
“...”
“That’s not enough.”
“...‘Not enough’?”
“Even ignoring the other feats, eliminating Hadenaihar’s lackeys is a great deed. Just giving you access to the underground library isn’t a fitting reward.”
So that was what he meant.
“What else do you wish for?”
“Hmm...”
What did I need right now?
The House’s secret martial art?
I was already busy with practicing the White Sun Form and Galactic Sword. It was also my principle that it was better to lack material than to be overwhelmed.
I wasn’t having trouble at a bottleneck and I didn’t need to ask him to personally teach me like Nero had.
In the end, there was only one thing I could ask for.
“I want an elixir as well.”
“An elixir?”
“Yes. If possible, it should possess an extreme yang attribute.”
“Hmm...”
The Lord of Blood and Iron’s brows narrowed.
“There should be a mystic bead in the House Vault. I will send you that.”
What’s a mystic bead?
I didn’t know, but since it was being given to me by the Lord of Blood and Iron, it was probably better than a regular elixir.
I quickly nodded my head.
“Thank you.”
“Take this as well.”
* * * * *
* * * * *
It was a ring.
A silver ring without any special markings or jewels embedded in it.
“What is it?”
“It’s a magic item. By feeding it your mana, you can return to this place at any time.”
“Ah.”
“It has only one use, so use it when in a dire situation.”
So this place was indeed a demiplane.
“Finally, when you visit the underground library, be careful of the librarian.”
“The librarian?”
“Yes.”
Who was the librarian that the Lord of Blood and Iron was telling me to be careful of them in advance?
I wanted to ask for more details, but I ended up missing the opportunity as the Lord of Blood and Iron suddenly rose from his seat.
“Today was one of the most pleasing days I’ve had in a while. As a way to promote your growth, I will also show you something.”
Hearing this, the expressions on Hero’s and Nero’s faces changed.
They looked like children waiting to receive their presents.
What is he going to show us?
My question was answered in the next moment.
Schwing.
The Lord of Blood and Iron had risen from his seat and unsheathed his sword.
So he was going to show us swordsmanship.
Now I understood why those two were so excited.
This was the same as the Lord of Blood and Iron declaring that he would personally teach us.
This was an opportunity that the children of the Lord of Blood and Iron—no, any martial artist within The Empire would desire at least once.
I was looking forward to it as well.
Although the sword wasn’t my main weapon of choice, this was a personal demonstration by none other than the Lord of Blood and Iron.
Maybe I’d have a moment of enlightenment just from observing him.
The Lord of Blood and Iron moved past us with his sword in hand.
Crack...
The ground suddenly shot up before wriggling and folding in on itself like clay.
Soon, the clay rose to take on the form of monsters.
While I was thinking that the demonstration was getting pretty intense, the Lord of Blood and Iron calmly walked up and swung his sword.
Splash!
Five monsters standing at the front exploded with a burst of blood.
It wasn’t just a single attack.
In that split second, the Lord of Blood and Iron had slashed each monster at least five times.
The funny thing was that he hadn’t unleashed a sequence of attacks; each attack had been unique.
The marks left on the monsters’ bodies didn’t even look like they had been made by one person. Rather, they looked more like five knights had attacked at once.
The Lord of Blood and Iron usually seemed like a calm and quiet man, but in battle, he looked more like a beast.
He didn’t pant or unleash a roar, but he also didn’t react even slightly to being covered in the blood of his enemies.
This also showed the mindset the Lord of Blood and Iron adopted when he entered combat.
A human who didn’t care if he was covered in chunks of flesh and blood, only for the most efficient movements.
A man who would stay hidden under a corpse for three days and nights if it was necessary to kill his target.
“...”
After his display of swordsmanship ended, the Lord of Blood and Iron didn’t even think to clean the blood dripping off him as he turned to speak to us.
“Did you get a good look?”
We all quietly nodded as if we had agreed to do so.
“How was it?”
The first to answer The Lord of Blood and Iron’s question was Hero.
“...That swordsmanship was fierce and persistent. Most importantly, it didn’t seem to have a set form; it looked like the freest swordsmanship among those I have seen. I feel like it is a sword style that can better show its strength when outnumbered than it can in a one-on-one fight.”
As the Lord of Blood and Iron nodded, Nero added her thoughts.
“I feel that this swordsmanship wasn’t created with fighting humans in mind. Your attacks didn’t stop even after doing enough damage to kill a normal human. It seemed to me that this was created to battle immortals or even demons.”
The Lord of Blood and Iron nodded once more before he turned to me.
It felt like I needed to give an opinion as well, so I gave a generic answer.
“I agree with my brother’s and sister’s assessments.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
There was one thing I’d thought of, but I felt like it would be better to stay quiet about that.
I didn’t want to create any friction here.
My answer made Hero, Nero, and the Lord of Blood and Iron furrow their brows a little, but he didn’t question me further.
Hero asked, “Father, are you perhaps going to teach us the swordsmanship you just showed us?”
“That’s right.”
“To personally receive the sword art that you created...”
I could sense some excitement in Hero’s voice. Although Nero didn’t show any reaction, I could sense that she was the same.
However, even when I heard that I would be taught this, I didn’t feel that excited.
The Lord of Blood and Iron looked at me.
“Why is your expression like that?”
I hid my bitter expression as much as possible as I answered, “Family Head.”
“Speak.”
“I do not need this sword art.”
“Why is that?”
“There are two reasons. First is that the sword isn’t my main weapon.”
“I know well that you have learned unarmed martial arts. I heard it from Kayan, and you used your fists when you defeated Hector as well.” The Lord of Blood and Iron uncharacteristically continued speaking as he asked, “What is your second reason?”
I recalled the martial art the Lord of Blood and Iron had just shown me.
“I am still growing. As you must have heard from Sir Kayan, the martial art I am creating is also still incomplete.”
“I know that as well.”
“Then you should understand.” With a nod, I continued, “It is difficult for me to learn multiple incomplete martial arts at once.”
“...”
The Lord of Blood and Iron’s lips curled slightly.