In the end, I didn’t find the underground library and ended up returning to my room.
I considered spending a few more days looking for it, but there was no time to spare since I needed to prepare for the training camp.
Vwoong.
I saw the fist swing down toward me.
As the black-gloved fist approached in front of my eyes, it felt as if I was suddenly facing the night.
Fwoosh!
Before I was taken into the night, I quickly turned my head and returned to the light.
My opponent’s attack continued.
The fist swinging at me opened and grasped at my clothes.
Remembering the routine I had faced in the last few days, my body automatically put strength into the needed areas.This time, though, I wasn’t just flailing; I was using the strength my opponent had put into pulling me for my own benefit.
I somersaulted through the air and landed in a rather cool way.
“...”
A smile appeared on Kayan’s face.
“Excellent landing technique.”
“...It’s because you went easy on me.”
He had let go of my clothes at the end.
If he hadn’t, I would’ve landed in a much more unflattering way.
On my back or my butt, probably.
“It is only a mock battle. There’s no need to go all out.”
He wasn’t wrong.
This was a mock battle to improve my combat senses for a real fight, and its goal was to encourage growth.
It wouldn’t be too bad to fight even more realistically...
But neither Kayan nor I lacked real combat experience.
Since that was the case, it was more effective to instead train in a way that would iron out our weaknesses.
Ding, Ding.
I heard the sound of bells in the distance.
It was hard to believe, but this gloomy bell was the sound for lunch.
After looking at each other, we both lowered our guards.
“Good work. I learned a lot thanks to you.”
“Those should be my words.”
These words weren’t empty.
Over the course of this week, I had trained continuously with Kayan and eliminated the disharmony between my mind and my body.
It would’ve taken a few more weeks if I had trained with someone less skilled.
The smaller the changes, the greater the skill of the opponent needed to be.
In any case, my heart felt lighter. I felt like I’d completed a piece of homework.
“Tomorrow is the day,” Kayan said as he walked behind me.
“Yeah.”
He was talking about the training camp.
Since it was starting tomorrow, I needed to move this afternoon.
There wasn’t anything more I needed to do, so I was considering packing lightly after lunch and leaving immediately.
“It seems a total of 43 people will be attending this training camp.”
“Hm. Is that a lot?”
“A lot more than last time, and it seems to be a lot more than usual as well. Also, I heard that there are a lot more talented individuals among the candidates.”
“Really?”
“The third son of House Helvin, the youngest daughter of House Rubyeta, and—although he didn’t attend the Blessing Ceremony—even the sole son of Sir Ranger Hyde...”
I mentally filed away the names Kayan had mentioned.
“And the third daughter of House Goodspring as well.”
It was unexpected to hear that Sellen had chosen to stay behind.
I didn’t feel like there was a reason for the daughter of Goodspring to remain in Bednicker to attend the training camp.
Rather, considering the relationship between the two houses, attending could even be seen negatively.
It might make it seem like she was dissatisfied with the level of training she would receive at House Goodspring.
That wasn’t something her House would allow.
There’s no way she doesn’t know this.
Although she had a few quirks, she wasn’t stupid.
“The carriage that will lead to the site of the training camp will arrive in the afternoon.”
“Carriage?”
“It seems you can’t bring anything except your clothes and your weapon. Your basic toiletries and other necessities will be provided there.”
“Ah.”
It was nice how he told me all the necessary information without me having to ask him.
Having a butler who was good at his job was amazing. I understood why the other people at the mansion also wanted Kayan.
How many people within Bednicker were as universally capable as him?
Maybe I can take the Sword of Seven Sins with me.
I thought about it for a moment, considering whether I should leave it behind or take it with me.
I wasn’t planning to use it as a weapon, but it probably wouldn’t get vetoed anyway since it looked like a sword...
One thing I was worried about was the magic item given to me by the Lord of Blood and Iron, but since it looked like a ring, it would probably be fine as well.
My plan was to eat, wash myself, put on some light clothes, and leave for the camp, but I suddenly heard a knock on the door.
“You may enter.”
“Yes.”
The one who entered was someone I hadn’t been expecting.
“So you are...”
“It’s Jein.”
Right, Collector Jein.
The one who had overseen the duel between myself and Hector.
I hadn’t forgotten him.
The mismatch between his name and his appearance had made an impression on me.
“What is it?”
“The family head told me to deliver this to you, young master.”
He pulled something out and handed it to me.
It was a very expensive-looking wooden box, and it seemed to have a mechanism in it as it automatically opened with a click.
Inside, I saw something like a red jewel.
“What is this?”
“This is the mystic bead.”
“Mystic bead? Ah...”
The elixir the Lord of Blood and Iron had said he would give me.
I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the mystic bead.
I know that elixirs come in many different forms...
But was this edible?
It was too big to just swallow, and it looked like I would damage my teeth if I tried to chew it.
“Then I shall leave this with you.”
“Wait.”
Jein turned back and looked at me as if to ask what I wanted. For some reason, he was exceedingly polite.
Were Collectors all weirdos?
“I need a bit more of an explanation. Did the family head not say anything else?”
“Nothing particular.”
“Hmm...”
I looked at Jein with a bit of a troubled expression.
He replied, “However, if you require an explanation about the mystic bead, I could give you an answer.”
“Oh. Please.”
“This is a mystic bead, also called a realized mystic bead, and it is an elixir. It is only obtainable from a certain type of spirit.”
“Spirit?”
“Of course, spirits don’t have any concept of physicality. And naturally, there is nothing you can obtain by defeating them either. That is normally the case... but a mad spirit is a little different.”
“What’s a mad spirit?”
“As the name suggests, it’s a spirit that has gone mad. Spirits that remain too long in the real world and end up materializing are called that, but from what I have heard, a spiritual being obtaining a physical body is the worst thing that can happen to it.”
Having a body was the worst thing that could happen...
Although it wasn’t a concept I could understand, since spirits weren’t categorized as living beings in the first place, I could move on.
“From its color, it seems this is from a fire spirit, and the highest-ranking one at that. I heard that the Lord of Blood and Iron went to the Tasmas Volcanic Area recently, and I suspect he obtained this there.”
“And how do I absorb it? Do I just eat it?”
The better the elixir, the easier its form is to ingest so it can also be absorbed more easily by the body. For example, liquids and soft jellies.
Although it looked like a gemstone, there was a chance it was actually good to eat...
“That might be the case for an ordinary mystic bead... but who knows? You may need to melt it slowly and digest it.”
“Ah. Like rolling a piece of ice in your mouth?”
“No, by using mana.”
Right. That was what I thought as well.
Even though my expression was serious, I had been making a joke.
I gave a nod.
“Thanks for the explanation.”
“Then I shall take my leave.”
Jein left for good this time, and I immediately grabbed the mystic bead and poured my mana—internal energy into it.
“...Woah.”
My hand felt hot.
The hard metallic shell started to shed a little when my mana touched it, and the extreme yang energy within started to be absorbed into me...
I instinctively understood what Jein had meant by “melt it and slowly digest it.”
This is pretty impressive.
The extreme yang energy flowing out from the mystic bead was of very high purity, so much so that even with my Strongest Fire Technique, I didn’t need to refine it.
I could just absorb it as it was.
Also...
* * * * *
* * * * *
The advancement I would experience by fully absorbing the mystic bead would probably do more than just increase my internal energy a little.
After infusing my mana and getting a feel for the internal structure of the bead, I noticed that it was denser closer to its core.
Meaning that the internal energy required to melt the bead would continue to increase...
In a sense, the process of melting the bead would itself be an exercise.
After I completely absorbed the mystic bead, wouldn’t my strength increase to the next level?
“...As expected of the family head.”
Giving me a reward wasn’t the end of it. He had also given me a clue to getting stronger.
As expected of the Lord of Blood and Iron, who so valued the growth of his children.
“All right.”
I would need to keep the mystic bead close to me for the time being.
I would need to fix the storage method, but for now, I could only carry it around.
What if someone has a problem with me taking it to the training camp?
“I’ll just have to tell them the family head gave it to me.”
***
After eating, washing myself, and donning the lightest clothes I could find, I left the mansion.
In front of the mansion was a huge carriage.
A knight standing in front of it noticed me and laughed like a horse.
“Greetings! Young master Luan.”
“Good afternoon.”
“Haha. The day hasn’t ended yet. Going to the training camp, are we?”
“Yeah.”
“You just need to get on.”
I nodded and climbed aboard the carriage, where I saw an unexpected face.
“...Ugh.”
It was Hector.
He looked like he had just seen something disgusting, and he rolled his eyes slightly when our eyes met.
“What is it?”
“...What do you mean?”
“That’s not the face someone should have when seeing their baby brother.”
“B-baby...?”
Hector quickly turned his head away.
Thinking about it, it wasn’t that unexpected that I would meet Hector here.
He was also of Bednicker blood, and that meant he also lived in the main house.
There was nothing weird about us taking the same carriage that was parked in front of the mansion.
In any case, I sat in front of Hector.
Thankfully, it was a high-quality carriage and there was a lot of room.
It’s a strange carriage.
The seats were comfortable, and there was a good scent coming from somewhere inside.
But in contrast, there were no windows.
There was no way to check the outside situation, and if my senses weren’t wrong, outside sounds were blocked as well.
It was like a carriage that would be used to transport criminals.
Of course, I understood the purpose. It was probably to hide the exact location of the training camp.
As I was silently sitting there thinking, the door opened slightly as the knight from before poked his head in.
“We shall soon depart. Is there perhaps anything the two of you have forgotten to retrieve?”
We both shook our heads.
“It has been confirmed. The trip will last about three hours.”
“That’s quite a bit.”
I didn’t know the exact size of the Forest of the Butterfly, but if a good carriage like this still required three hours, it wouldn’t be weird to imagine that we were at least a town’s distance away.
Meaning if one didn’t know the exact distance and direction back to the main house, it would be impossible to return on their own.
“Please tell us if you become hungry during the journey. A simple dish shall be prepared for you.”
“Okay.”
The knight bowed his head and left.
Are we moving now?
Probably.
I couldn’t feel the carriage shaking at all, so I couldn’t tell for sure.
As I sat there in a daze, Hector started talking to me.
“...It seems you’re close with Sir Valter.”
After thinking for a moment, I realized that the knight just then was probably named Valter.
“A little.”
“How? It hasn’t been long since you came to the main house.”
“Elder Brother, are you making fun of me?”
Hector shook his head.
“N-not at all. Sir Valter is a member of the Iron Blood Knight Order, and he has a strong sense of pride. He’s someone who could be picked out for Uncle’s special operation unit.”
By “uncle,” he was talking about the knight captain of the Iron Blood Knight Order, Rook Bednicker.
“Ah, so that’s why.”
“What do you mean?”
“I fought him once, and he fought better than the other knights.”
“Fought him?”
Hector looked confused.
For the past week, as long as the sun had been in the sky, I had been at the training grounds.
However—obviously, in fact—I wasn’t the only one who had been using the training grounds.
The knights had watched me spar with Kayan, and a few of them hadn’t been able to overcome their curiosity and had requested to spar with me as well.
There wasn’t anything bad about fighting many different people, so I’d accepted... and Valter had fought particularly well amongst the knights.
After providing Hector with a summary, he wore a bitter expression as he mumbled, “So you were accepted by the Iron Blood Knight Order.”
“Don’t take it too far. We just sparred a few times.”
Hector looked at me.
“That is being accepted by them. They wouldn’t try to fight someone they didn’t acknowledge. Luan Bednicker, although I lost in the duel, the training camp will be different. I will definitely get a better mark than you,” he declared with a serious expression on his face.
I suddenly thought back to the Lord of Blood and Iron telling me to aim for first place.
Him too?
Although it seemed that way, I ended up not asking.
The conversation ended with that and I was able to fall back into my thoughts.
I thought about my eldest senior brother, my time on Spirit Mountain, and finally, my master.
—Do not let your guard down.
Those words Master had said from beyond the mirror...
—Know this, Youngest.
—If we hadn’t met today, you would have died next month.
It had been a week since I’d heard those words. In about three weeks, there was a high chance that grave danger would befall me.
The training camp would last for six.
...I could die during this training camp.
I looked at the walls of the carriage.
For some reason, I wanted to at least look at the scenery outside.