It's been a week since I arrived at the royal family castle. Although everyone treated me well as rumors spread that I kept Gloriana safe better than the same gentlemen, everyone greeted me every time I left the room, but that was the least inconvenient.
"You're not going to the gentlemen's academy. I'il train you myself and you'il become a gentleman in a year."
It was Oriana's words. According to her, knights have four ranks: Novice of the sword, Keeper of the Order, Captain of the sword, and finally the rank of the strongest knight, Master of the sword. There are four known ranks, but there is one that only a Master of the Sword knows, and this is "King of the Sword".
This rank is so large that only two gentlemen have it. When I knew who they were, I was so surprised I couldn't stop thinking about them. Who are these two gentlemen who own it?
The first is a gentleman who almost no one knows, but is so veteran that he is considered equivalent to a seventh-circle magician. His name is Beric Mengral, a member of the royal family. The other monarch of the sword is also from the royal family and is Oriana Mengral, Gloriana's sister.
That's when I couldn't say a word. But how strong are they compared to a magician? Basically, these two can defeat a seventh-circle magician, albeit with difficulty. And if the two of you came together to defeat an eighth-circle magician, you just wouldn't make it. An eighth-circle wizard is several tens of times stronger than a seventh-circle wizard.
"Shit, tomorrow begins my training as a gentleman."
The last thing Oriana mentioned was that tomorrow morning my training starts. But how can I be a gentleman in one year? And also, what rank do I need to reach to be a gentleman? I haven't asked Oriana those questions yet.
"What are you complaining about, boy? You're being trained by one of the two strongest knights on the continent."
"Though I may be one of the two strongest, who knows if I can be a gentleman in a year?"
Training isn't what matters to me. I had training in my past life that almost led me to the brink of death and even experienced the same death. Therefore, the exhaustion, fatigue and the rest of the training Oriana taught me did not bother me. But there was one concern: what if I don't become a gentleman in less than a year?
"Can I really be a gentleman? How do I get to be one? According to me, to be a gentleman I must achieve."
"That's right, training to be a knight doesn't mean you'll be a gentleman directly. It is the achievements you will achieve that will make you a true gentleman," Encrid said.
On the one hand, I was happy because I may become a magical knight or a magical swordsman, although the two are the same but with different titles.
"Sound deaf."
"Boom!"
I opened my eyes when a stream of wind came into my room. The door opened so tightly and a nightmare of headache came in.
"Asher Frostblade, follow me right now," cried Oriana.
Some windows stood out in my head. I was enjoying my quiet time while lying in the big bed, but now she had to come in.
"You, child, didn't you hear me?"
Something held my leg when I was thrown out of the room.
"Sound deaf."
"Hey, at least be a little nice."
"Boy, you talk to your elders like that?"
Although she's from the royal family, she wouldn't let me intimidate so easily.
"I sigh."
"Where are we going?" I calmed down and got up from the floor, had hit the wall in the hallway when she grabbed me and threw me out of the room.
"Follow me, I'il show you where you'il train tomorrow, with me."
A shivering smile was marked on Oriana's face. She definitely doesn't look like Gloria in any way.
***
— Change of scene.
We kept walking and I never saw the end of this castle coming.
"Let's go in."
We got to a big door, but this one was different from the others. We went in and there were guards everywhere. A blue light lit up the whole room. I looked at it and my eyes opened when I saw what it was.
"E—that's... a teleportation door. It's the same as in the light novels of my past life."
A teleportation door, something I knew because I read fantasy stories in my spare time. This is definitely a teleportation door, a way to move not only at great distances, but also to other kingdoms and even to very difficult places to reach by other means.
"Let's go in."
Oriana took the lead and entered through the teleportation door. I stood right in the front, but when I wanted to see more, a hand held me close to my neck and pulled me hard entering through the teleportation door. The sun shone brightly when I opened my eyes. A training camp with wooden houses, ironworks and more were in front of me. The floor we were on was some kind of concrete.
"This is the training camp."
"That's right. As you can see, it is far from the kingdom."
I looked around and you definitely couldn't see the kingdom around. We were so far away you couldn't even see the walls of the imperial city.
"Where are we?"
"North of the imperial city. It's not that far, but this place is perfect for training," Oriana mentioned.
"So this is where I'm going to spend a whole year..." I thought.
It would definitely be a headache to be in this place. Not only are there no places like food stalls and vendors near this camp, but rather a field, it seemed like a village. But what makes it different is something big that is further away.
"That... is a coliseum."
"That's right, that's where gentlemen's fights take place."
Far away was a round structure: a coliseum. This place housed sales posts and also some inns and several ironworks and sword sales places wherever I looked. It's definitely like a town made for gentlemen only.
***
— Change of scene.
I was in the middle of the training camp. Oriana was standing in front of me with two wooden swords while adjusting a garment called "training armor." This armor is made of leather and carries nothing of iron or metal, an armor especially for training.
I wore it, too. The weight was very light, so the weight of the armor was not felt at all.
"Do you know what this is?" asked Oriana.
I looked at his hand when he put it out near my face. It was the handle of the wooden sword she was holding, a sword completely made of a dark wood and a length of almost a meter long.
"Yes," I answered.
"Hold him, watch what I will do and watch carefully. You will have to learn these movements."
I walked away a little, about 20 meters long. I looked at Oriana, who was preparing to give some lessons. He hid his right arm behind his waist and held the wooden sword very accurately.
I stared at her when she started moving. They were continuous and fluid movements, it seemed like he was dancing, but when he looked at the sword, he moved as if he were fighting an imaginary opponent. His legs moved fast and every step he took was so well calculated that he didn't lose his movements. His sword swung with a clear lightness. He made fluid movements for a few more seconds while analyzing the patterns of his movements.
Every movement and breath, every swing of his sword and concentration, as well as his slight movements and every step and position he took, I analyzed them clearly without blinking even once. It was a great show. I looked at each movement in such detail that I did not close my eyes, I kept my expression cold and emotionless as I watched every movement of Oriana.
Finally, she's finished. Although he showed no fatigue, he was sweating; little, but definitely drops of sweat came out. She looked at me when I approached her.
"You have six months to learn all this," she said as she dried the sweat off her forehead with a white handkerchief.
"…"
I continued in my thoughts, calculating every second of every step, breath, fluidity and precise movements she showed. I recorded everything in my mind as if it were a cell phone camera. I recorded every part of every move.
Finally, I gave up my thoughts and, when I looked up, she was frowning.
"What?"
"Did you hear what I said?"
I moved my head, there was no need to lie. What's the point of lying when I was really in my thoughts analyzing the movements she showed me?
"I will tell you for the last time: you have six months to learn these movements. You must train all the muscles in your body."
"All the muscles in my body..."
"You're afraid of getting hurt..."
"It's not that, the pain is nothing to me, but what training will I receive?"
Pain is definitely nothing compared to death itself, but I kept thinking about it.
"Pain is nothing, I will make you feel the real pain then," thought Oriana.
***
— Change of scene.
— Perspective of Oriana Mengral.
He's definitely a stupid kid. What gentleman says pain is nothing? Pain creates the gentleman in itself.
Someone who doesn't know about pain isn't a real gentleman. It wouldn't do any good to be a gentleman if you've never felt the pain. Then why do you say pain is nothing to him?
"Why do you speak as if you knew death?"
Someone who has really felt death... that's impossible. Escape from death is inevitable, just as avoiding pain is inevitable. Every living thing will always feel pain no matter how much you try to avoid it.
"I sigh."
"Why are you like this?"
Beric, the other knight in rank monarch of the sword... Although I hate to admit it, he's stronger than I am. Not only does he have experience, but his strength is so great.
"It's nothing."
"Why is it nothing? You're thinking about that kid named Asher Frostblade, aren't you?"
"..."
"If that's it..."
"Why don't you shut up? You're very annoying."
"I hope that boy can stand you. I can't even stand you."
"Fucking bastard..."
Beric Mengral is not my brother, but he is of my own lineage. He is certainly highly respected among the gentlemen, but when he leaves the castle no one recognizes him. Why? There are only two Knights of the Order of the Sword, Beric and I. Our fame is not known, but why?
We are the strongest of the knights of the kingdom, but we must remain neutral, which means not having fame or being recognized by others. Our job is simply to maintain the final order on the continent, an order led by the previous king, my grandfather.
"Why did you decide to teach that child? He's a commoner, you know?"
"I'm simply paying you because you kept my sister safe. Those gentlemen who brought her in didn't do any good."
"Are you not curious how he kept your sister safe?"
"..."
I pressed my fists against the question. Why hadn't I thought of that before? How the hell did a kid protect my sister from bandits and even keep her safe when they were in that slave market? There must be something behind this.
"If I was lying, my sister wouldn't protect him."
"..."
"Wait, you're saying your sister protected that kid?"
I looked at Beric's red eyes when he spoke. He is someone already old to me, at the age of forty.
"That's right, why do you say that?"
"Doesn't your dear little sister fall in love..."
I quickly grabbed a fork that was on the wooden table and threw it towards Beric.
"Okay, it was just a joke."
Reaching my teeth, I held back. Then I sat down again. We were in the kitchen of one of the houses in the training camp. Currently, Asher was running around the training camp.
"I sigh."
I got up again and got out of the kitchen.
"See you later, Oriana."
I stared at him as I left the place and headed for the training camp. When I arrived, I opened my eyes in surprise.
"How the hell did he do it?"
Asher, he was just making the same moves he had shown him. Normally, this movement that I had shown him should take at least five years to learn. It took me a whole year of hard work, even though I had the best talent.
"E—He, how did he…?"