Beatrix was hesitating in front of the guest room today. She was unsure whether to knock on the door or not.
'It's been three days already…'
The first prince had suddenly requested a meeting with the duke and locked himself in the guest room ever since.
It had been almost three days now.
She couldn't help but be curious about what had happened. The prince had endured the beating? from the duke with jokes and resilience, but what had they talked about that made him like this?
'I can't ask my father either.'
"Why? Are you worried about the first prince?"
If she did, her father would probably laugh out loud and plan some more nonsense.
'To go in or not?'
But her dilemma was interrupted by a sudden noise.
Bang!
"Your Highness!?"
"Hm? What brings you here, princess?"
The door opened abruptly and the prince, who had been secluded for three days, finally came out.
His eyes were dull and his face, which had been decent and neat for a prince, looked tired and weary.
"I was…"
"Perfect timing. I had something to ask you, princess!"
The prince didn't seem to care about her trailing off and dragged her to the reception room.
She had no choice but to follow him with a puzzled expression.
Thud!
…
"I have no clue!"
He was tearing his hair out and immersed in his thoughts until a moment ago. The duke had said that he had a lot of things to his advantage.
But what did that mean for breaking through to the next stage?
'Open help.'
[Force Control-Stage 4 is opened.]
[How to reach Stage 4-Stage 4 varies depending on the individual's personality, so there is no definitive answer. Find your own breakthrough!]
'Is this supposed to be advice?'
He had unlocked the next stage's help with his [Achievement], but it was no different from the duke's vague words.
Personality, own breakthrough, what he had, young age…
'Huh?'
A person flashed across his mind.
Someone who had reached the peak of superhumans at a young age was right next to him!
Beatrix!
She was a genius who had reached the peak of superhumans in her twenties with pure talent, unlike him who had received the system's help. She was still immature, but she must have had her own secret.
"I should ask her something."
He hurriedly opened the door and that was what happened just now.
…
"You want to ask me about swordsmanship?"
Beatrix retorted with disbelief. She had been subdued by the prince in a matter of days.
She was already asking for guidance from the duke, so what could he learn from her?
'Damn it! I chose the wrong words.'
He saw her expression sour slightly as if she felt mocked by him and quickly changed his words.
"Haha, no, not that. Come to think of it, you are unusually interested in swords for a princess."
He started to beat around the bush desperately as an excuse.
"Is there any reason why you are so devoted to training? I'm just curious."
He threw out a question that he had been quite curious about in his previous life.
The duke was not strict with his only daughter nor did he lack an heir.
There must have been something that made her interested in swordsmanship other than simple talent.
"That's…"
She lowered her head slightly and began to tell him about her past with embarrassment. It was a trivial reason now that she thought about it, but she couldn't just brush off the prince's question.
"When I was young, I used to play hide and seek with my father in the garden."
'Tsk, that old man is really childish. How old is he to play hide and seek with his daughter at that status? Geez.'
He clicked his tongue inwardly and listened to her story.
"I never caught my father once, whether it was playing or training."
She finished her last sentence with a blush on her face.
"My goal then and now is to make my sword touch him once. That's why I became interested in swordsmanship."
She seemed genuinely embarrassed and buried her head low.
"I see. He could have let you catch him once or twice. He has a surprisingly childish side…"
'Wait a minute? Hide and seek? Goal?'
He was listening to her story while thinking of the duke as a surprisingly funny old man when a flash of light crossed his mind.
"Your Highness?"
His expression suddenly became serious and Beatrix looked at him with bewilderment.
'Beatrix, Wilhelm Grand Duke, Nuada, Count Carlos …'
He slowly recalled the strong people of the continent and their abilities that he had seen so far.
The puzzle pieces fit together in his head in an instant.
"I got it!"
He grabbed Beatrix's hand with a surge of joy.
"Beatrix! Thank you so much. Thank you! Hahaha!!!"
"Your Highness!?"
'I need to resume my training as soon as possible!'
He had unconsciously reacted to Beatrix as he had in his previous life, which was too friendly, but he didn't have time to care about that now.
He rushed downstairs to find the duke.
Beatrix stared blankly at his back and then.
"Pfft!"
She let out a small laugh. He was a person who showed an interesting reaction. She didn't mind being called by her name and having her hand held. It wasn't unpleasant.
'He's not like a prince and his personality is weird, but he's kind of friendly.'
That was Beatrix's evaluation of him so far.
…
Soon after.
"It seems like you have realized something."
"I'm not sure yet. Please be more merciless than usual."
He faced the duke in the training hall with a faint smile.
The duke silently raised his wooden sword and aimed at him.
And he had to suffer twice as much as usual that day.
It seemed like there was no progress at all.
But he didn't show any sign of disappointment, and the duke just repeated the usual training as he asked.
One day…
Two days…
Three days…
But from the fifth day on, something clearly changed.
"The wound is healing!"
Beatrix exclaimed in surprise as she wrapped the bandage.
That's right. The bruises that he had shown from his training were gradually fading as time passed.
After a week of resuming his training, his wounds had halved.
After two weeks, even the duke bit his tongue.
'It seems he has grasped the knack at that age. Truly amazing.'
It wasn't that he had reduced his attacks. The duke's wooden sword couldn't accurately target Urius anymore.
As they entered the third week, his wounds were barely noticeable even after the sparring was over.
And finally.
"Congratulations. It seems you have entered the realm."
Exactly a month later, Eurius was able to withstand the duke's wooden sword without a single wound for three hours.
"It's time to test your achievements so far."
The Duke of Dios called Beatrix with a stern expression.
"Rize, go to my room and bring my sword."
Beatrix flinched.
The duke rarely asked for his sword except for maintenance. And that was only when he wore it for official events.
How often would the duke, who was one of the strongest in the continent, need to draw his sword?
A few minutes later.
Eurius, the Duke of Dios, and Beatrix were standing in a large hall in the basement of the duke's mansion.
"This place is a training ground that only our family's lords can use."
The duke winked at Beatrix to make her stay away, then drew his sword.
"You can use your full strength here without any problem."
"That's what I hoped for. Today, I'll try to give you a proper blow."
To be honest, Eurius had been sharpening his sword against the duke for nearly two months, even though it was training. He had been beaten mercilessly without any mercy.
"Hehe, it won't be easy."
'He goes full force from the start.'
He wasn't an opponent who would fall for a clumsy probing attack.
The duke didn't let his guard down either.
'I don't know what kind of ability he has gained, but I have to be careful.'
At least, judging by the fact that he had dodged all of his attacks so far, it might be a speed or defense type ability.
The duke took a defensive stance first, as if inviting him to come. But at that moment, the duke felt a cold sensation on his neck.
Kwaaang!
A loud noise erupted as the swords clashed.
The duke hastily defended his neck. Eurius's attack had started without any warning.
"!?"
The astonished duke retreated a few steps. Even though he was one of the best among superhumans, he had been pushed back momentarily even though he had allowed him to attack first.
And it wasn't just one attack. Invisible attacks flew at him from all directions, relentlessly targeting him.
Eurius also bit his tongue inwardly.
'Huh, he blocked it without knowing my ability? He's really a monster-like old man.'
Eurius's attack was an invisible slash!
But it wasn't just invisible.
The condition for him to manifest the breakthrough that broke through the fourth stage wall was as follows:
'Everyone's personality is expressed according to their environment, goals, and paths they have lived!'
"Speed that can catch anything."
Beatrix's ability in her previous life was a swift attack faster than sound.
"I saw a flood when I was young and the dam in our territory collapsed. That memory is the most vivid for me."
Duke Carlos's case was a sturdy wall that could block anything.
"I had a goal that I wanted to break since I stood on my own two feet! And I was able to turn it into dust!"
Nuada's case was pure destructive power.
But what about him?
He wasn't a warrior, but an emperor. He didn't have a wall that he wanted to overcome as a warrior. He just lived a regretful life in his previous life and wanted to reverse it.
So he couldn't figure out what he wanted. The path of a warrior was not his goal but a tool!
At first, he thought that the goal he had set while training as a warrior was all there was to the condition. But after talking with Beatrix, he realized that it wasn't.
'Even a childish thought from childhood can have a great influence on one's values!'
He looked back on his life from his previous life to this one.
"Your Highness Eurius, I trust you. You must become a great emperor."
It was Marius's voice, who always tried to educate him properly.
"Eurius! You are the first prince of the empire. You must never disgrace yourself!"
It was his father's voice, who always scolded him harshly.
His father was the Iron-blooded Emperor.
He often scolded him harshly for being immature.
"Your Majesty, you must survive and plan for the future."
It was Beatrix's voice, who died protecting him until the end.
Eurius in his previous life always suffered from that pressure.
'It's too heavy for me.'
'I'm not talented enough.'
That's right! Eurius always wanted to escape from the pressure of being the emperor of the empire.
He wandered when he was young, and when he became the emperor, he came to his senses, but he shivered and agonized every time he lost his loyal subjects who entrusted their lives to him.
What Eirius wanted was freedom from oppression.
The ability he manifested at the fourth stage was the ability to be undetected by anyone!
"Ding!"
[The fourth stage of force control has been opened.]
[The trait force master has evolved into 'Intangible Sword'.]
[The player's unique skill has been created.]
[Unique skill 'Reversal Ghost Blade' created]
The Duke of Dios was astonished. It wasn't just that Urius's attack was invisible.
'It's invisible, silent, and barely detectable by the superhuman's sixth sense.'
He had devoted his life to the sword, but this was the first time he had faced such a difficult attack to defend.
"Ah!!"
Beatrix, who was watching from afar, also opened her mouth wide. She had never seen her father, the duke, being pushed back so one-sidedly.
And Eurius's sword didn't even show up in his sight, but there was a loud noise in the training ground.
'Ah! This monster-like old man doesn't take a single hit!'
But Eurius was pressing the duke with countless invisible slashes, but he couldn't land a hit.
He was indeed one of the best superhumans in the continent.
He could barely feel it, but the duke defended himself with only his superhuman's sixth sense. He was like an iron wall.
He felt that it was time to gamble.
His ability, which had just awakened, didn't last long.
"..."
At some point, the noise of the swords colliding stopped and Urius's presence disappeared from the training ground.
"...!?"
The duke also watched carefully where the attack would come from. After a brief standoff.
The duke smiled triumphantly as he felt a very faint presence behind him.
'He may have reached the realm, but he still lacks experience. I can block this perfectly.'
The duke quickly defended his back with his sword and prepared for any possible attacks by surrounding himself with a sturdy force barrier.
Peeoong!
As expected by the duke, Urius suddenly appeared and swung a blow that barely missed his back.
But because of that, he couldn't detect Eurius again, who hid his presence momentarily.
It was only for a moment, but that was enough.
"...!?"
'Just one hit, just one hit is enough!'
Eurius dropped his sword and punched the duke's face as it was.
Puck!
Thud!
He didn't expect much from his first attack. What he aimed for was what they called a cross counter!
Eurius's fist hit the duke's face precisely and the duke pierced his shoulder with his sword.
The duke's cheek swelled up and blood flowed from his mouth.
Of course, the duel was Eurius's defeat, but he was satisfied with just that today. He had avenged himself a little for two months!
'How about that? Father-in-law! You took a hit this time, right?'
He looked at the duke and smiled slyly.
As he watched Eurius fall down with no strength left, the duke touched his bleeding mouth and chuckled.
'What a monster, he's really a monster.'