Chapter 5:
Swords and Sorcery
I was now five.
We had a small party to celebrate my birthday. Birthdays weren't a
yearly celebration in these lands. At ages five, ten, and fifteen, it was
customary for one's family to give gifts. You were considered an adult at
fifteen, so that made a lot of sense.
Paul gifted me with a pair of swords for my birthday. One was a real
sword, too long and heavy for a five-year-old to wield; the other was a short
practice sword. The real sword had been properly tempered and bore a fine
edge. It definitely wasn't something suitable for a little kid.
"Son, a man must always carry a sword within his heart. In order to
protect what's important to you, you…" My father started a long, rambling
stream of advice, and I just smiled and nodded.
His spiel had a friendly and energetic air to it, but in the end, even
Zenith chided him for going on too long. Admonished, he smiled and
wrapped up with, "Just remember to keep it put away when you don't need
it."
The man clearly wanted me to have the self-awareness and preparation
to be able to carry a sword around.
Zenith gave me a book. "Because you love books so much," she said,
as she handed it to me.
It was a botanical encyclopedia. "Oh, wow," I whispered instinctively.
Books in this world were quite expensive. They had the means to make
paper, but didn't yet have printing, so everything had to be handwritten.
The encyclopedia was a thick volume, complete with helpful
illustrations and easy-to-understand descriptions. I could only imagine how
much it must have cost.
"Thank you, Mother. I wanted something just like this!"
With that, Zenith drew me into a tight hug.
Roxy gifted me with a wand. It was a stick, roughly thirty centimeters
long, set with a small red stone at the tip.
"I crafted it yesterday," Roxy said. "It completely slipped my mind,
since you've been using magic this whole time. A master is supposed to
create a rod or wand for a pupil who can use elementary magic. My apologies
for forgetting."
As much as she didn't like being called "Master," Roxy sure seemed
reluctant to buck the traditions of the role.
"Thank you, Master," I said. "I'll take good care of it."
Roxy grimaced.
***
The following day, I began actually training with the sword, focusing
on practice swings and fundamental forms. We had a wooden practice
dummy in our yard that I used to practice my forms and my strikes. My
father helped me with my footwork, my balance, and the like. It felt really
good, getting into the real meat and potatoes of swordplay.
Knowing how to wield a sword was crucial in this world. Even the
heroes who appeared in books mostly wielded swords. Some used axes or
hammers, but they were in a distinct minority. No one used spears, because
the despised Superds made use of tridents; it was commonly thought that the
spear was a weapon of evil. When a spear appeared in a story, it was usually
wielded by the wickedest of villains, the kind who would devour friend and
foe alike, who would slaughter indiscriminately.
Given that background, the art of the blade was far more advanced in
this world than it was in my old one. A master swordsman could cleave a
boulder in a single stroke, or unleash a flash of the blade to strike a distant
foe.
Paul had enough skill to accomplish the first one. I wanted to know the
principles behind it, so he demonstrated it several times while praising and
encouraging me. He probably felt pretty good having his young, Advanced-
magic-using son clapping and cheering for him.
Still, no matter how many times he showed me the trick, I couldn't tell
how he did it. So I asked for an explanation.
"Take a step forward, like hngh, and then fwam!"
"Like this?"
"No, you dolt! That was a step forward like hmph, and then a wham! I said hngh and then fwam! Stay lighter on your feet!"
And so it went.
This was just conjecture on my part, but it seemed to me that, in this
world, magic was woven into the art of swordplay. It was visibly different
from the flashy magical effects created by spellcraft, and instead worked by
improving one's physical prowess and strengthening the metal of the sword
itself. How else would it be possible to move at such blinding speeds or slice
a huge rock in two?
Paul wasn't using magic consciously. That was why he couldn't
explain how he did what he did. It meant that once I was able to reproduce
what he did, I'd be able to use magic to give myself a physical boost. I had to
stick with it.
***
In this world, there were three primary schools of swordplay.
First was the Sword God Style. This style maintained that the best
defense was a good offense and focused on high-speed moves with the goal
of striking one's opponent first—ideally finishing the fight with a single
blow. If the opponent was still standing, the practitioner would continue to
strike and feint back until they were victorious. If I had to compare it to
something from my old world, the closest thing would be Satsuma Jigen-ryu.
Second was the Water God Style, the polar opposite of Sword God: It
was a defensive form, focused on warding off strikes and then countering. Its
core tenet was one of nonaggressive defense, which didn't allow the
practitioner many openings for attack, but a true master would be able to
unleash a counterstrike to any attack coming their way—and I do mean any
attack, including projectiles and magical attacks. Given its focus on
protection, this was the sword style of choice for royal guards and nobles.
Last was the North God Style. This was less a sword form than a
general battle strategy. It didn't focus on specific moves, but allowed the user
to adapt to different situations on the fly. According to Paul, this ad hoc
approach involved a lot of cheap tricks and clever ploys, but mastering the style yielded truly fantastical results. The image I got was of a sword-
wielding version of Jackie Chan. Because this style taught one to treat
injuries and allowed for fighting even with imperfect posture, it was the
favored school for mercenaries and adventurers.
Together, these were known as the Three Great Styles, and each had
adherents the world over. It was said that a swordsman who wanted to push
their skill to the ultimate limit would knock on the door of each school and
continue training until they were dead—though few people actually did this.
The "quick" way to attain martial strength was to pick one of these styles to
train in until proficient.
In reality, while Paul chiefly practiced Sword God Style, there was a
smattering of Water God and North God elements included in there. It
seemed that most people didn't head out into the world deciding to
exclusively adhere to one style or another.
As with magic, swordsmanship was broken into the following levels of
skill: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Saint, King, Imperial, and Divine.
The "God" part of each style's name came from the epithets given to the
founders of its school; the first swordsman of the Water God School, for
example, was able to use Divine-level water spells. Having a Divine rank in
both sword expertise and magical competence made for an obscenely
powerful warrior.
Also, it was typical when referring to swordsmen to address them as
"Water God" or "Water Saint" or whatever their level of proficiency was. For
magicians, it was tradition to add "level" to that descriptor. Roxy, for
example, was a "Water Saint-tier Magician."
***
Paul decided that I would learn both the Sword God Style and Water
God Style: the former to get a good handle on offense and the latter for
defense.
"But Father," I asked, "based on what you've told me, it sounds like
North God Style is the most balanced of the three."
"Don't be ridiculous. It's not even a style—it's just using a sword to
fight with, really."
"Oh, I see." North God Style was clearly the odd one out of the Three
Great Styles. Either that, or Paul just wasn't fond of it personally. Though he
was rather good at the style for someone who didn't like it.
"You've got a knack for magic, Rudy, but it doesn't hurt to learn the
sword as well. You want to be a magician who can fend off an attack from
someone who can use Sword God Style."
"So, you're saying I'd be, like, a mage knight?"
"Hm? No, a mage knight is a swordsman who can also use magic.
You're the opposite of that."
I wasn't sure what the difference was, really. Whether you started as a
warrior who picked up magic or as a magician who did it the other way
'round, a mage knight still knew how to use both, right? At any rate, if I
worked on my swordplay, I could adapt it to my use of magic.
The issue was that Paul couldn't teach me how to magically boost my
physical prowess because he wasn't consciously aware of how he did it. I
either needed to acquire the ability myself or attain it via the right physical
training. I needed to figure out the principle at work.
For a moment, Paul was lost in thought, an uneasy expression on his
face. "You don't like swordplay, do you?" he finally asked.
Was he saying that just because I had an aptitude for magic? He must
have been worried that I didn't want to train in the sword. Don't get me
wrong: I had no problem practicing how to use a sword. I just preferred time
alone with Roxy studying magic over getting dirty and sweaty with another
guy in the yard.
I was an indoors sort of guy.
But hey, personal preferences couldn't get in the way of things. I'd
decided to put my best effort into my second shot at life, and that meant
trying my best at magic and the sword alike.
"No," I said, "I want to be as good at swordplay as I am at magic."
Paul flushed with pride and nodded happily as he brought his wooden
practice sword to bear. "All right, then. Let's get to it. Come at me!"
He was a simple man.
Swords and sorcery. I wasn't sure which I'd ultimately come to rely
on. Honestly, I'd be cool with it either way. But it was also my duty to
establish a good bond with my parents while I was young.
"All right, Father!" I called out.
In my past life, I'd been a burden to my parents till the day they died. If
I'd been nicer to them, maybe my siblings wouldn't have kicked me out of
the house.
I needed to be better to my parents this time around.
***
While I was taking my first steps in sword training, my magical studies
were taking on a more technical and practical bent.
"What would happen if you cast Waterfall, Heat Island, and Icicle
Field in that order?" Roxy asked.
"You'd create mist."
"Correct. And how would you go about clearing up that mist?"
"Umm…cast Heat Island again and heat up the ground?"
"Exactly. Now, please demonstrate, if you would."
By using spells from different schools in succession, it was possible to
create other phenomena. This was known as Combined Magic. A Textbook of
Magic included a spell for making rain, but had nothing about creating mist.
Therefore, magicians had to use spells from multiple schools in sequence.
This allowed for the reproduction of various natural phenomena.
This was a world without microscopes. They probably hadn't
discovered all of the principles that governed the natural world. Combined
Magic contained all the creative genius of the great wizards of old.
Well, I didn't need to bother with that kind of nonsense. If I wanted to
create a cloud, I'd just use a spell that made rain fall and cast it as close to the
ground as possible. The idea of intentionally creating a natural phenomenon was simple enough to understand. With a little outside-the-box thinking, you
could do all sorts of things.
For me, personally, that was a bit easier said than done.
"Magic can do anything, right?" I asked Roxy.
"It can't do anything," Roxy admonished. "You mustn't rely on it too
much. Just keep a cool, level head and hone your abilities to do what you're
able, and what you should." Despite her words, my head was filled with
images of things like railguns and active camouflage. "Moreover, if you go
around proclaiming how you can do anything, you're going to get hit with
something you can't."
"Are you speaking from experience, Miss Roxy?"
"I am, yes."
Well, this was a lesson I needed to take to heart, then. I didn't want
problems I couldn't deal with getting dropped in my lap.
"Do magicians get hit with a lot of problems in their line of work?" I
asked.
"Oh, yes. There aren't that many users of Advanced magic around,
after all."
They said that maybe only one in twenty people could learn to fight.
And to find a magician among them had the same twenty-to-one odds. So,
four-hundred-to-one odds of finding a capable magician, then.
Magicians themselves weren't particularly rare, though.
"Only one in a hundred magicians are able to properly learn the art and
graduate from magic school, becoming Advanced-tier magicians," Roxy said.
That meant that Advanced-tier magicians were a one-in-forty-thousand
deal. If we included Beginner and Intermediate spells in the mix, the number
of things Combined Magic could do increased dramatically—which in turn
made it so popular. To be a magic tutor around these parts, one needed to be
at the Advanced tier or higher.
Steep requirements, but they yielded powerful results.
"So, there are magic schools?" I asked.
"Yes. There are magic schools all over the place in the major kingdoms."
I'd assumed as much, but still—magic school? Huh. Should I give that
a try? Move on to my schoolboy arc?
"Though the largest," Roxy continued, "is the Ranoa University of
Magic."
Whoa, they even had universities for that sort of thing?
"Is this university different from the other magic schools?" I asked.
"They have excellent facilities and a faculty to match. You'd have
access to more modern and advanced courses there than at other schools, I'd
imagine."
"Did you go to the University of Magic, too, Miss Roxy?"
"I did. Magic schools have very strict rules and regulations, so the
University of Magic was the only school I could get into."
It sounded like these other Ranoan magic schools would allow a child
of noble birth like myself to attend, but could deny entry on the basis of
someone not being human. Discrimination against demons was lessening in
modern days, but strong prejudices still lingered.
"The Ranoa University of Magic doesn't lean on any strange
regulations or misplaced pride. As long as you adhere to proper theory, they
won't kick you out for being on the eccentric side, and they accept students
of all different races. The different races even carry out individual research
on their own particular kind of spellcraft. If you're interested in taking your
magical education further, Rudy, I can highly recommend the University of
Magic."
Way to talk up her own alma mater. I was getting ahead of myself
anyway. If I enrolled in university at age five, I'd probably get the crap
bullied out of me.
"I think it's a little early to make that sort of decision," I murmured.
"Indeed. You could also fulfil Sir Paul's hopes of you becoming a
swordsman or a knight. And there are people who've attained the title of
knight who have also attended the University of Magic. Don't think your
choice is an exclusive one between swords or sorcery. You could always
become a mage knight or something, after all."
"Okay."
Well then. It sounded like Roxy felt the opposite of Paul, worried that I
didn't like magic enough. Lately, my magical reserves had been increasing,
and I'd come to understand much of the theory behind the art. As a result, I
was frequently restless and distracted during our classes. And besides, I'd
been forced to take classes starting at age three. She probably figured I'd
grown sick of it over the last two years.
Paul saw in me a talent for magic; Roxy saw in me a passion for the
sword. With these differing ideas, they were pointing me toward a middle
path.
"We're talking about stuff well into the future, right?" I said.
"For you, Rudy, yes." Roxy flashed a forlorn smile. "Pretty soon,
however, I'll run out of things I can teach you. Your graduation is coming up
very soon, so this sort of conversation isn't too premature."
Wait—graduation?