It was late in the evening when Asher finally returned to the estate. He didn't even bother to go back to his living quarters and just went right back to the training camp. To no surprise, Van Ester was there waiting for him.
"Where's Reika?", Asher asked.
"She's already gone. She really does admire you, you know."
"Have you been talking with her?"
"Yeah, it's quite fun actually."
"I don't know why she's like that.", Asher grumbled.
Reika was talented. If she really did use all the means around her, she would most definitely become a swordmaster like Van Ester, he just couldn't understand her still.
"What's wrong with her admiring you?"
"You know well that I'm not talented."
"Isn't there any kind of law that says one can only admire the talented?"
Asher paused at Van Ester's words. Van Ester smirked at Asher.
"A child will often respect their parents, a respectable king will often seek advice from a beggar. Sometimes even a swordmaster will be enlightened by a snoring dog on the side of the road. There is nothing that defines us to think the way we think.."
"...."
"You are just like him, he also had the same characteristics as you. He was too pessimistic about himself despite working harder than anyone else and following his sword stubbornly. The gift of swordsmanship is appreciating one's talent? Don't make me laugh, that doesn't make a difference."
"But…"
He wanted to be a swordmaster, a true swordsman. He wanted to walk the path of those great ones before him who had found enlightenment at the pinnacle. But Asher had no talent. He couldn't even make a step onto the road. But he was someone else's target of admiration. Van Ester shook his head.
"I don't know what happened to you, but you don't have to push her away. Even if you do, that child's respect for you will not change."
"...."
Asher was silent. His head felt complicated. Van Ester spoke bitterly.
"Let's stop talking about this. I told you a few hours ago that I have something for you."
"Yes, but I've told you many times, I don't have talent to receive any kind of lesson or the sorts."
What a Swordmaster gave him wouldn't mean much to someone talentless with the sword. That was an undeniable truth. It was the equivalent of putting pearl's on a pig's neck. Van Ester had talent, but Asher didn't, so what was the point? Van Ester waved his hand.
"Don't worry. Thanks to him, I know people like you down to the bone. I said one thing after the other, but nothing would stick due to a lack of so-called talent. That much is for sure. All you can learn is the imperial swordsmanship, and it's highly doubtful that will change."
The swordsmanship in the world today, was made by heroes of the past. Every swordsman and adventurer wanted to learn those styles of swordsmanship or magic and be like them.
But Asher wasn't like that. He had no talent. Therefore, only ordinarily made swordsmanship by people that were not transcendent heroes could be trained. Van Ester grinned.
"Hey, you can't just use swordsmanship, can you?"
"Well.. I can use the spear, dagger, shield… you know, this and that."
Imperial swordsmanship was just to lay the groundwork. There was no mystery in it, since the footwork and style was minimalistic. Due to this, the swordsmanship could really be applied to other blade arts and weapons. That was why Asher was so versatile with his range of weapons.
"Of course. That's your strength as a swordsman who trains in the imperial style of swordsmanship. The thing is, that kind of variety though is typically hard to bring out as a strength in battle since it's not like you can just bring multiple weapons with you into battle."
"So what are you trying to say?"
"Well, it's simple. If you can use multiple weapons, you definitely should."
Van Ester then, threw something. When Asher caught the item and checked it, he saw that it was a black-colored armament that was equippable on the wrist. The material was made of a sturdy iron.
"A wrist guard?"
"Try it on."
Asher was wondering exactly what was so special about, but decided to first attach the armament on both arms like Van Ester had told him. Except for the somewhat heavy weight, there was no real problem in his movement.
"So, you gave me this to train with? I think I'll need more weight than this in order to do that."
"No, it's much more interesting than that. Put some strength into your arms and imagine a weapon of any choice."
"What's the point of…"
Asher closed his eyes and tightened and flexed his arm muscles regardless.
He thought of a weapon, then more specifically a dagger.
At that moment, a dagger popped out of the wrist brace and flew in the air.
Snap!
Asher hurriedly snapped his wrist and grabbed the falling dagger. He then blankly lowered his hand that caught the dagger. Van Ester chuckled.
"Fortunately, I was able to get pretty much anything that you would need stored inside. I didn't think of anything weird when I put them in though."
"…what is this?"
"What do you think? It's going to be fun to see you use it. We made it for him. But he died before it was successfully crafted."
Asher looked at the dagger in his hand. It was double-edged and had luxurious red and gold patterns engraved onto it. The thing was not just for show though, as it was sharp and deadly as it was beautiful.
"Is it magic?"
"Yes, spatial magic."
Van Ester replied with a smile. He nodded his chin.
"If you want to put it back in, just imagine putting it back in. Then tada- it'll go right in."
Asher closed his eyes and formulated the thought as instructed to him. At the same time, the dagger quickly disappeared. Asher frowned.
"This is…."
"It's your first time using it, and you're already good at it. I've had a pretty hard time adjusting."
"…is it an armory of weapons stored in here?"
"Well, what do you think? It's gonna be useful, right?"
Asher did not answer and reimagined a sword. At the same time, the sword popped out on the wrist brace. Asher caught the sword in the air.
"For now, almost every type of weapon should be stored. Oh, you can't put anything other than the weapons a soldier would use. It's hard to make a space without that kind of restriction, even if that would be useful."
"…It's alright."
It wasn't alright. The sword disappeared when Asher thought of putting it in. It was no exaggeration to say that the speed of appearance was fast, and the speed of disappearance was immediate. He groaned.
'This.'
If he used it well, he would have incredible efficiency in practice and in battle, for someone like him, it was an understatement to say it was useful. There would be no opponent who wouldn't be surprised if Asher swapped weapons mid-battle.
To him, it was a great gift. But, it wasn't practical to anybody in the entire Empire.
"Why did you make such a grand and useless thing?"
The majority of swordsmanship styles were useless, in fact to master a weapon was no easy task, hence why there were only 10 swordmasters in the entirety of the Empire. Mastering more than one weapon was unprecedented and impossible.
It was surely a meaningful gift to anyone who received such a thing, but the recipient of the gift would also be confused as to why they received it.
Eventually, Van Ester spoke up
"Asher, most will surely have no use for such an item. Anybody can see that…. But it'll definitely be useful to you won't it? Are you obsessed with the form of a weapon when it comes to battle?"
"No way."
He had no talent. He could barely survive by using the weapon available to him. He only chose the sword since it was the easiest to handle, but he was not held or bound strictly to the form of a weapon.
He was said to walk the path of the sword, but that was just one thing. If anything Asher, was someone who used all weapons possible and was headed towards a much higher plane than a simple swordmaster, if only he had the talent though.
"Yes, you are different from us. That's why we made it in the first place, but it was made for him originally."
"… Were you two close?"
Asher was frankly embarrassed. He considered him close to Van Ester, but he didn't ever show much emotion towards him. Not only that, but it was also true for all of the heroes, too.
He had no talent and there was no value for untalented people in the Empire. That's what Asher thought, and was thus how he acted. But Van Ester's expression was awkward. Asher saw this and had never seen such a reaction out of Van Ester in all their time together.
"Well, I thought we were close, but… I don't think he felt the same. I always kept myself at a distance from him. But… yes I truly did consider him my friend."
Van Ester murmured with a longing face.
"He didn't complain. He accepted that he had no talent, but he also never gave up. He just walked his own path calmly. He was that kind of person, so how could one possibly hate that?"
"...."
Van Ester had the wrong impression of him. It was sad, since Asher did not walk his own path calmly. It hurt every time he was given such stares or words of contempt. It hurt when others shoved him down and called him trash. But he hid his emotions deep within him and never acted out.
It was sudden but it was sad. Asher sighed lightly. Ever since he had reincarnated, his emotions felt more out of control than before. Asher reached out his hand and a spear appeared on the palm of his hand.
"Then let's practice."
"How's your wrist?"
"I just need a little time, but I'll get used to it."
Asher made a posture. Van Ester grinned and held the sword.
Then they kicked the ground with their feet, rushing at each other.
***