Upon Luin's sudden confession, the Sword Soul exclaimed in a startled tone.
[What, what did you say? Are you really serious?!]
"Yes."
[Oh, finally! At last, you've come to your senses. Yes, you've thought well.]
The Sword Soul, deeply moved by Luin's completely unexpected words, muttered in a trembling voice, then continued in a very serious and low tone.
[Alright, Luin. From now on, I'll personally take you...]
But before he could finish, Luin quickly dashed toward the house.
At the same time, he shouted loudly.
"Father, are you there?"
[Wh-what are you doing right now?!]
'I said I'd learn the sword. So I should learn from Father. He's properly inherited the Linegrime bloodline.'
[No, that's not right!]
'Huh? Why not?'
Luin feigned ignorance and asked back.
[Th-that's...]
The Sword Soul trailed off, sounding flustered.
He had reacted vehemently against Luin's words in the moment, but upon reflection, it was hard to say Luin was wrong.
After all, his father, Kabel Linegrime, was one of the children who had inherited the North Sword Duke's bloodline and was a fairly skilled swordsman.
However.
[No, it still won't do, Luin! I'll teach you swordsmanship. Even if our current situation happened unintentionally, it's still fate ordained by the heavens. As Bellion's descendant, you must receive my teachings.]
'Is that so?'
[Of course! From now on, learn swordsmanship from me. You don't need anyone else.]
'But then Father might be sad...'
[Nonsense! In time, when he sees you, your father will realize that following my teachings was the right choice. So you just have to follow my guidance unconditionally, got it?!]
Now even getting angry and insisting that he must learn the sword from him alone, the Sword Soul's demeanor made Luin nod with a meaningful expression.
'Hmm, if you insist that much, I guess I have no choice.'
Then, smirking faintly so the Sword Soul couldn't hear, he whispered softly.
'Perfect, everything's going according to plan.'
From the beginning, Luin had no intention of learning the sword from anyone else.
The swordsmanship teacher he had chosen was solely the 'Sword Soul.'
'He's the one who was with the first family head. It'd be hard to find a better teacher than that.'
Therefore.
'I look forward to working with you.'
[Kukukuk, so you've finally realized. Yes. Understood. I look forward to it, my disciple!]
Luin simply flashed a grin at the Sword Soul, who burst into laughter and rambled on as he pleased.
.
.
.
After achieving the 3rd star of
No new figures appeared, and no special situations arose.
It was just the same routine repeating every day.
Training, practice, and education.
Hunting, daily life, and meetings.
But if there was one thing added to that.
[Close your eyes already, Luin!]
Luin nodded in response to the Sword Soul's shout, who had volunteered to be his swordsmanship teacher.
'Alright. Don't rush me.'
[Hoo, rush? Time is of the essence! At your age, you should have already mastered the basic sword forms, not to mention at least the Soft Binding Technique. Bellion had perfectly completed the Seven Star Sword Forms by your age.]
'That's because he was the first family head.'
[Tsk. You or him, learning from me is the same!]
Hearing the Sword Soul's story about how the first family head had completed the Seven Star Sword Forms at barely ten years old, Luin thought that the founder of the Linegrime family was indeed on another level.
But he wasn't impatient at all.
If Luin had merely ordinary talent or was simply connected to the Sword Soul like Bellion Linegrime.
He would have had to start learning, training, and striving in swordsmanship right away.
'But I have
Muttering that to himself so no one could hear, Luin's resolve remained unshaken.
The supreme insight left by the millennium master Ganel,
As long as this existed, learning the Linegrime family's swordsmanship and grasping its essence would never be difficult.
'I don't know how great the first family head's talent was, but
Luin had stronger faith and trust in
[Close your eyes already.]
'Yes, yes, I got it.'
Soon, following the Sword Soul's instructions, he closed his eyes.
At the same time.
Ding.
The Sword Soul is attempting to infiltrate your mindscape.
Along with the familiar sound ringing in his ears.
[Luin, focus your mind. Don't resist the power approaching you now; entrust your body to it. Understand?]
Luin nodded at the Sword Soul's urgent shout and quietly muttered to himself as if repeating it.
'Accept it. Don't resist.'
Ding-ding.
Following the directive, resistance is ceased.
The resistance from
The Sword Soul has infiltrated the mindscape.
With the following alert sounds, Luin felt his mind growing hazy for a moment.
Then, at that instant.
[Get a hold of yourself! You can't lose consciousness until the end.]
'Easier said than done, damn it!'
Luin tried harder to concentrate and not lose his mind at the Sword Soul's firm shout.
But along with the haziness, an insane drowsiness began to pour over him.
[We're almost there, Luin. Just a bit more!]
Following the Sword Soul's encouraging voice, Luin steeled his mental fortitude to the end against the sleep demon's relentless temptations.
Finally.
Whoosh, boom!
With a massive explosion sound, Luin felt a familiar sensation.
And soon after.
"It worked!"
The Sword Soul's voice, not echoing from afar but shouting right beside him.
"Luin, open your eyes."
Slowly opening his eyes at the subsequent instruction, a very familiar figure stood before Luin.
A man with a massive build like the forest king ogre and impressive red eyes.
"Sword Soul?"
"Yes, that's right. I'm the Sword Soul. Kukukuk."
Luin turned his head to look around and asked at the Sword Soul's chuckling reply.
This place seemed a bit different from when he first encountered the Sword Soul.
"Where is this?"
"Where else? It's your mindscape."
"My mindscape?"
"Yes, the mindscape deep within your heart. What on earth are you thinking, living like this at your young age? I knew you were peculiar, but this is a bit much."
At his following words, Luin hurriedly scanned every part of his view at high speed.
Indeed, as he said, an endless, hazy grayscale world stretched out.
Not a single proper object, form, or existence was visible.
'Is there no trace of No. 1872?'
Luin checked more carefully, wondering if there might be traces of his past reincarnation.
But nothing particularly stood out.
"Is this all of my mindscape?"
The Sword Soul smirked and shook his head at Luin's question.
"Of course not."
Then, he began to swim swiftly through the grayscale world, the only one with vibrant colors.
"The size of a human's mindscape is infinite. We're in your mindscape right now, but somewhere far away, there might be something hidden that even you don't know about."
Muttering that, the Sword Soul soon stopped in place, looked at Luin, and continued.
"But I was just saying that a world like this isn't something a kid like you should have. No desires or dreams typical of children are visible at all, jeez..."
Luin had various complex thoughts at the Sword Soul shaking his head and muttering.
'An infinite mindscape, and something hidden within it...'
But soon, he shook his head firmly to shake off the useless thoughts.
'That's not what's important right now.'
What was the purpose of entering the mindscape following the Sword Soul's instructions?
"Enough with the greetings; let's get right to it."
"No, usually kids have all sorts of dolls and ridiculous monstros... Huh? Ah, yes. Good. That's the mindset I wanted!"
Stopping mid-sentence at Luin's firm request, the Sword Soul nodded and asked again with a serious gaze and expression.
"You're ready, right?"
"Yes, let's begin."
"Good. From now on, I'll personally teach you the swordsmanship that made your ancestor Bellion the strongest in the world. Keep your eyes wide open and watch!"
"Luin, hurry up!"
"Yes, Dad."
His father Kabel, still advancing with more enthusiasm than anyone despite his unchanging poor hunting skills.
"Did you finish today's homework? Did Mr. Renovan say anything?"
"Yes, Mom."
"Then always be careful with your body. Come back safely."
"Yes!"
His mother Daisy, who always worried about him but took care of him.
However.
"Oh, right, that child from before. Are you still in touch with Adorno's granddaughter?"
"...No, not really."
"Okay, got it."
Luin couldn't help but lightly shake his head at Daisy's satisfied smile and nod.
'Come to think of it, it's been pretty quiet?'
Recalling Kabella, who had run away on her own, Luin shrugged and set out on the hunt with his father Kabel.
Recently, the results of Luin and his father Kabel's hunts had reached quite an impressive level.
"Wow, what's all this? Did you really catch all these today?"
"Of course! Luin and I caught them ourselves."
His father Kabel replied proudly with a smug expression.
Of course, the majority of the prey was mostly caught by Luin.
'This rhythm technique isn't bad at all.'
Luin recalled the repetitive sound hunting method of the old hunter, which had been quite helpful when growing to the 2nd star of
At the same time, a small hologram window floated before Luin's eyes.
Name: Veteran Hunter's Special Herding Method.
Rank: D
Trait: Attracts nearby wild beings.
Description: Emits a special rhythm that stimulates the hearing of wild animals and beasts, drawing them to the desired location.
Proficiency: 70
Due to the limits of the Mind's Eye, further interpretation is not possible.
As
Skills he was learning, showing an absurd capability.
At the same time.
Advice: By spacing out usage with slight intervals, you can evoke a stronger effect.
It even suggested more effective methods for using the skill—an insane feature.
'No wonder the millennium master was called the greatest of all time.'
It only displayed heavenly, otherworldly aspects that left one speechless.
Of course, thanks to that.
"Hah, it feels like our skills and coordination are improving more and more. Right, Luin?"
His father Kabel, who had harvested at least twice the usual amount of prey, still hadn't grasped the hidden truth.
He thought his own skills were gradually improving.
"Yes, Dad."
With an invisible smile, Luin replied, and he and his family were enjoying a truly happy and ordinary daily life.
And the power of this
.
.
.
Facing the Sword Soul again in Luin's mindscape.
"Y-you. What kind of guy are you?"
"What? I just followed what you showed me."
"...Didn't you say you've never learned the basic sword forms?"
"Yes, today was the first time I've seen them."
"Really? Swear to the heavens without a shred of lie, that this is really the first time you're learning this?"
"Ah, seriously. Have you been deceived all your life? It's the first time. Both learning and seeing the Linegrime family's swordsmanship."
"Ha, hahaha."
The Sword Soul burst into hollow laughter at Luin's words, sounding incredulous.
Then, in a deflated tone, he muttered softly.
"You really memorized... no, replicated it all after seeing it just once?"
"Yes, it was easy?"
"E-easy?"
The Sword Soul wore an expression of disbelief, and Luin simply smiled inwardly, invisibly.
While looking at the small hologram before his eyes.
Name: Linegrime's Basic Sword Forms - 7 Forms
True Name: Iron Blood Basic Seven Forms (鐵血基礎七式)
Rank: D
Trait: Basic Swordsmanship
Description: The seven sword forms that serve as the foundation for all swordsmanship in the North Sword Linegrime family.
Proficiency: 10
Due to the limits of the Mind's Eye, further interpretation is not possible.
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T/N:
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