Silvia narrowed her eyes at Roman Dmitry. She looked carefully at her prey, who popped up here unexpectedly.
'Oh!'
He was more handsome than she expected. Even though his face was messed up due to the dust from the mine, the solid frame gave out a manly scent. Also, her admiration didn't end there. When her gaze, which was looking at his face for a long time, went to the body, a momentary exclamation came out, seeing the body frame revealed through the clothes.
"Wow."
It was magnificent. As if it was a well-carved statue, Roman's body was flawless in Sylvia's eyes. She couldn't see them clearly because of the clothes he had on, but the gleaming muscles with sweat showed her an incredible scene.
Honestly, she was regretting her decision of coming to Dmitry. She came to Lawrence due to her uncle's request, but she didn't expect Roman to be any good.
Therefore, she had prayed that he was at least average. However, now that she saw him, it wasn't just that the appearance of the Roman was refined, but he was in absolutely perfect condition.
'The eldest child of the Dmitry family and the man who defeated the 4-Star Aura Swordsman, Homer. There was a rumor that the second child had a high chance of taking the position of the heir, but after today, I don't think that will happen. What noble family would let their son work in a mine? Baron Romero must have ordered him to do this in order to bring favor onto Roman's status.'
Well, it was worth coming down to Lawrence.
Silvia, done with her analysis, encouraged the noble women.
"Let's go meet Roman Dmitry. It will be nice to greet him before the banquet."
"You think so?"
Everyone had smiles on their faces. They, too, had the same purpose for coming here. Their mission was to win over Roman's heart, so they all encouraged each other to make a move.
"Hello."
"Are you Roman Dmitry?"
The women who were frowning until the last second were now smiling. Now, it didn't matter if the dust flew into their eyes or their dress got dirty; they all smiled like spring blossoms to Roman.
However, Roman didn't answer. Then, Silvia, who was staring at him, said, "I am Silvia of the Lawrence family. I wanted to express my sincere gratitude to you for helping out our family this time. Without the help of Mr. Roman, the Lawrence family wouldn't have survived the attack of the Barco family. However, as the rumors say, you are a wonderful man. There is a saying that a hero was born in the Dmitry family, and I can see why they refer to you like that."
She was a sly fox. She spoke softly without the slightest hint of a frown to try and appeal to Roman. Nevertheless, the problem was that it was Roman she was dealing with.
"Ah, yes. I understand." That was what he said. It wasn't even an answer. It was more like, 'don't bother me.' Without even giving any attention to Silvia, Roman only turned and looked at Hans.
At that moment,
"Pfft."
Flora, who was in the distance, burst into laughter. Truly, Roman was quite consistent with his attitude. Knowing that she wasn't the only one going through a tough time, she approached Silvia to comfort her. And Hans followed Roman.
"Young master. They are people who will be coming to the banquet later. Can't you be a little kinder to them?"
"I would if they were worth it. However, I do not want to smile looking at them, right from the start."
"Sigh."
Naturally, Hans sighed. If only Roman was a bit kinder, he could possibly have gained allies as he encouraged the women who came to greet him. However, Hans thought Roman was acting a little childish, seeing him draw a clear line right from the beginning.
Hans said, "I see. But how long do you plan to work in the mine? Even though the lord didn't give any orders for you to do it, you have been suffering there for days already. Everyone is worried."
Recently, there were a lot who discussed Roman's actions. In particular, Baron Romero and Rihanna were concerned about Roman's health. Thus, Hans asked the question on their behalf.
Roman didn't stop walking and said to Hans, "Do you remember the farmer we met in the slum?"
"Of course."
He could never forget it. That was the day Roman began to change, and the impact of it was so strong that the memories were clear as crystal in his mind.
"The man who lived for 90 years told me the history of Dmitry. Dmitry was originally a commoner's family, but it was said that we were able to rise to the present position with the iron that came to the blacksmiths. From then on, I kept pondering it—Dmitry's roots are the forge and metal, then shouldn't I know more about them?"
In his new life, Roman had already accepted reality. He allowed new people into his circle, and the name Roman Dmitry was something he was now getting used to. Thus, he fully wanted to understand Dmitry. It wasn't even closely related to thoughts of being the heir. Just as he climbed to the apex of the Demonic Sect from the bottom, he wanted to feel the breath of this place right from the bottom. And that is why he went to the iron mine. Most people thought that the blacksmiths were the foundation of Dmitry, but Roman believed that it was the miners. He didn't even bother asking his father for permission; he suddenly went to the iron mine by himself and said he would work. The master of the mining doubted Roman's words but then accepted him. From then onward, Roman would spend his entire days mining the iron ore and taking in the dust. He tried to do as much work as he was assigned without even the slightest irritation.
"The roots of Dmitry might lie in the forge, but furthermore so in the iron mines. The origin of Dmitry is that the miners worked hard in the mines, and then we managed to use the ores over the flame and turn them into our power. I just want to experience and empathize with it. Only then can I truly understand their plight. In order for me to live in the name of Roman Dmitry, I cannot just coexist with the people of this land through simple understanding."
"…Young master."
Hans stopped walking as tears welled up from within.
'Just when did you grow up this much?'
Truly, Roman had suddenly grown up. Roman's walk now signified dignity and a different image. Hans was so proud to be under Roman.
Despite Roman not waiting for him, Hans didn't care and caught up to him as he said, "From now on, I will take full responsibility for the young master's attire from morning to evening! I will clear this dust right away! As always, I will clean it all up! I, Hans, am ready to dedicate myself to you!'
Even if it was till the end of time, Hans followed Roman.
Finally, the place Roman arrived at was the training ground. On the massive training ground, dozens of men were already sweating.
"One."
"One!"
"Two."
"Two!"
They were swinging their swords at the command.
Chris walked in front of the soldiers and pointed out their forms, and the soldiers focused on wielding their swords by adjusting their forms.
The war with Barco was an experience that aroused a blind loyalty within them. Didn't Roman simply defeat a 4-Star swordsman? And didn't Chris also defeat a 3-Star swordsman?
After seeing that, their perception changed. They no longer thought Roman and Chris were at a level around them, much less the same as them.
"Chris."
"Yes?"
Chris ran at the call, and the soldiers continued to train regardless of that.
When he arrived in front of him, Roman asked, "How is the training going?"
"I am teaching them what the liege has taught me. Everyone is quite enthusiastic about learning it, so I think we can quickly develop our strength."
The war was already over, but Roman felt the need to expand his power. Thus, through Chris, he taught them the basic training of the Demonic Sect. He was teaching the Retribution Cultivation for the internal qi1 and how to effectively defeat the opponent with the Retribution Sword Technique. In fact, in the Demonic Sect, it was a mere basic technique. However, in Roman's world, it can be counted as one of the greatest treasures to ever exist.
Roman rewarded those who followed him to the war by allowing them to learn the Retribution Sword Technique and walk on the path that would lead them to become Aura Swordsmen. Thus, even 30-year-old swordsmen could encounter the miracle of entering the path of Aura Swordsmen.
'This alone will not be enough.'
This war had variables—The Flare and Homer. It was information that Roman failed to get, and the lack of information made him almost fall into a trap. Fortunately, this time, strength solved the problems. However, his past life experiences have taught him that problems cannot be solved in that way forever.
'I need my own information force. An information force that can analyze every detail of my opponent from head to toe. The only problem is that one needs money and manpower to create such a force, and I cannot afford it yet. So I have to find a way to make the most of it with my status and situation.'
The mine was just an extension of his plan. As he told Hans, there was the purpose of wanting to experience the roots of the family, but Roman wanted to see the true source of the Dmitry family. He wanted to see the reality as only when one understands the raw reality can they find a way to use it to their advantage.
The man now known as Roman doesn't simply move. He always has a clear purpose; even in a situation where there are a lot of hazy things, he doesn't say anything and stays faithful to his role.
And finally, Roman had one more thing to do.
"Chris, I will teach you a new sword technique now."
Hearing Roman's words, Chris felt his heart skip a beat.
'…Teach me a new sword technique?'
Chris felt dissatisfied when he taught the soldiers how to move their swords. It wasn't that he didn't trust Roman, but he couldn't understand Roman's intention as he didn't teach him anything. Well, he did learn the Retribution Sword Technique and Retribution Cultivation Technique; however, while teaching it, Roman told him to only learn it as a teacher and not practice or make it his main sword technique.
And finally, Roman told him why he did that.
"You have a different starting line as compared to the others. Unlike people who didn't learn anything till now, it isn't easy for you to build your own world and accept new things. Thus, I hoped to stimulate flexibility in your thoughts and broaden your mindset—To help you develop the ability to change your thoughts according to what you see and hear instead of being chained down to fixed thoughts and stereotypes. If you hadn't shown the courage to accept the new changes, you wouldn't have survived the battle with that 3-Star Aura Swordsman."
The fight with Janson was a simple test. And in that test, Chris overcame his limitations and beheaded a 3-Star Aura Swordsman. Now, he was ready to be taught new things.
Seeing Chris looking at him with burning eyes without answering, Roman said, "The name of the sword technique I will teach you is 'Lightning.'"
Lightning Sword Technique—A technique so great that it once commanded the Murim. That technique, which was known as one of the Great Ten Techniques of Murim, was now being learned by Chris.
This was initially written as ki. We will be using qi here onward because that's how it's written in most Murim novels, and that's what most readers are familiar with. ↩️