As evening approached, the utterly exhausted Rein bid farewell to the blacksmith Boris and returned to the Habsburg estate.
After hastily finishing a simple dinner, he fell into a deep sleep in the dormitory.
Early the next morning, after the servant boys were gathered together, a tall and robust man strode toward them.
This man had golden yellow hair that stood upright like boar bristles. He had thick eyebrows, large eyes, a rugged face, and an aura of steadiness as he walked, with a bastard sword hanging at his waist.
"I am your swordsmanship instructor, Humbert. This time, you will be learning the basic swordsmanship that all militia must master."
"Has anyone among you studied swordsmanship before?"
After saying this, Humbert's large eyes swept across the group.
Thick Brows excitedly raised his right hand and announced, "Reporting to Instructor Humbert, I have trained before!"
"What kind of swordsmanship, and for how long?"
"Also basic swordsmanship, about… two years or so." Thick Brows seemed to recollect his training process and estimated that he had practiced intermittently for roughly two years.
He had intended to downplay his training time to emphasize his innate talent in swordsmanship, but under Humbert's sharp, blade-like gaze, he ended up blurting out the truth instead.
Humbert nodded and asked, "Anyone else?"
There was no response.
"If no one else has, then you—step forward and demonstrate the basic swordsmanship you've learned."
"Huh? Me… demonstrate?… Alright!" Clearly, Thick Brows felt a bit nervous in front of the imposing Instructor Humbert.
After receiving an ironwood sword handed to him by Humbert, Thick Brows assumed a swordsmanship stance and began hacking away with gusto.
Rein and the other servant boys, having never studied basic swordsmanship, watched intently and found Thick Brows' demonstration to be quite impressive.
"Stop! Not bad! You can step down," Humbert said with a slight furrow of his brow, waving his hand.
"Oh… oh, alright, Instructor." Receiving the instructor's praise, Thick Brows beamed with joy.
However, Rein could tell that Humbert was not genuinely impressed with Thick Brows' demonstration of basic swordsmanship.
*Still, Rein internally acknowledged that in terms of strength and proficiency with the moves, Thick Brows was quite good—at least much better than himself.*
*Because he had never learned basic swordsmanship.*
Thick Brows returned to the lineup, all smiles. Clearly, receiving praise on the first day of swordsmanship training had made him quite elated!
Under Humbert's guidance, the group of servant boys was led to the central training yard of the outer fortress.
The young nobles weren't around today.
It was the first time the servant boys had entered the training yard, and they curiously looked around.
Under the awning, there were unsharpened two-handed swords, single-handed swords, shields, riding spears, and various training equipment like practice armor and thick cloth armor.
But none of that had anything to do with the servant boys.
The instructor led them to an area where only wooden short swords were displayed. Pointing at them, he said:
"There! One short sword for each of you. Once you've got yours, line up!"
Immediately, the group noisily rushed forward and grabbed a sword each.
"What is this? Using these wooden swords? They're children's toys! My five-year-old brother uses stuff like this," Freckles said, looking at the wooden sword with disdain.
"Thick Brows, your swordsmanship earlier was great! I feel like you're much better than me!"
"Oh? Freckles, have you trained in basic swordsmanship before?" Thick Brows asked in surprise.
"Of course! My uncle's a mercenary; I used to learn a bit from him when I was younger, though I've forgotten most of it," Freckles replied smugly.
After all, in his eyes, when it came to swordsmanship among the servant boys, he ranked only second to Thick Brows.
"Pretty impressive! Looks like you two, Thick Brows and Freckles, are going to shine!" said the baker's son, offering praise.
"Yeah, now someone can't rely on hoof repairs to steal the spotlight anymore. As a man, strength should come first!" Freckles sneered, shooting a sidelong glance at Rein.
"You…" George found it hard to hold back any longer.
But Rein shook his head, stopping George from voicing his objections. *After all, idle chatter didn't harm him in the slightest. Arguing with a bunch of faux nobility was utterly pointless.*
*Besides, who said that just because they had experience with swordsmanship, he wouldn't be able to surpass them?*
Rein glanced at the two unused skill points displayed on his panel, his eyes gleaming.
"Huh, this wooden sword isn't exactly what I expected!" Holding the wooden sword, Rein's eyes lit up immediately.
The wooden sword seemed to be made from oiled ironwood; not only was it tough and durable, but its weight was also not far off from that of a real iron sword. It was, without a doubt, an excellent training sword.
As expected, the others realized this as well when they held the swords.
"I knew it! How could the Earl's household use ordinary wooden swords? Turns out they're made of ironwood."
"…"
Once everyone had an ironwood sword, Instructor Humbert began speaking in a loud voice:
"Now, I will demonstrate the basic swordsmanship moves you need to master!"
"Basic Swordsmanship, First Move: Striding Thrust!"
"Basic Swordsmanship, Second Move: Striding Downward Chop!"
"Basic Swordsmanship, Third Move: Striding Upward Strike!"
The basic swordsmanship consisted of just these three moves, but Humbert's execution of them was far more swift and powerful than Thick Brows' earlier demonstration!
The difference in the effect of their movements was like night and day.
Each of the servant boys focused intently on Humbert's demonstration. Following his instructions, they quickly began swinging their ironwood swords and trying it out.
They had no idea how challenging it would be until they actually tried!
Although the three basic movements seemed simple, they posed significant difficulty for most of the boys, including Rein, who, in two lifetimes, had never practiced swordsmanship.
Not only did the swinging need to be precise, but the movement of their steps also had to be synchronized—hands and feet needed to be in perfect harmony.
*This level of bodily coordination was impossible to achieve without extensive practice in a short amount of time.*
And so, under the blazing sun, a group of teenagers sweated profusely, shouting as they swung their ironwood swords, diligently practicing the basic swordsmanship moves.
"Do you want to survive when faced with danger?" Instructor Humbert bellowed rough words of encouragement as he corrected their movements one by one.
He clearly seemed used to this style of training.
"Yes!!" The teens, who had never been subjected to such motivation before, felt their blood boil and shouted in unison.
"Good! Follow the key points I just explained—practice! Keep practicing! Train until these actions become instinctive for your body!"
Humbert encouraged the boys as he continued explaining the essentials of basic swordsmanship step by step.
"The Striding Thrust emphasizes transferring force from your legs through your waist to your sword arm. Pay attention to the coordination of your whole body muscles!"
"…"
[You have trained in basic swordsmanship. Related comprehension has improved!]
[You have learned a new skill—Basic Swordsmanship.]
[Your skill "Basic Swordsmanship" has leveled up. Experience +1.]
[Congratulations! You have unlocked the Profession Panel—Militia.]
*"Shouldn't it have been Swordsman or Guard? Why is it only the Militia profession panel?"* At that moment, Rein felt a mixture of joy and disappointment.
*He was thrilled because he had finally unlocked a combat-related profession panel, moving beyond being stuck with only the Ironsmith Apprentice's lifestyle-related panel. This marked an exciting first step on his path to gaining combat strength.*
*Yet the disappointment came from the name itself—it seemed weak just by the sound of it!*
*After all, the term "militia" implied a non-formal military force, with likely very limited combat potential.*
*"But…"*
*"For someone like me, completely lacking in experience, unlocking the militia panel might not be a bad thing.*
*"It could mean that leveling up the profession might not be so challenging."*
Having figured this out, Rein couldn't help but smile as the disappointment in his heart faded away!