A boy with a large build lay on a quite ornate bed.
Andrei Linegrime spun a dagger enveloped in red energy with his right hand while muttering to himself.
"Hmm, no. I'm not angry at all. Just a little annoyed?"
The person he was thinking of right now was Luin Linegrime, whom he had just encountered.
"He's changed quite a bit in the meantime."
The guy he had faced at the sword ceremony in the past was nothing more than worthless trash not even worth a glance back then.
But three years later, when they met again at the training ground, the guy exuded a presence that was extremely irritating.
"He went and took the top spot in the first test all on his own."
Muttering that, Andrei soon looked down at the dagger in his hand.
"Right, Bloodsword?"
How much ridicule and criticism had he endured since obtaining this at the sword ceremony?
His father, Philip, had looked at him with utter pity, declaring that he no longer considered him his son because he hadn't lived up to expectations as the eldest.
After that, the people around him, relatives, and even his siblings began to openly mock him or treat him as a laughingstock.
Some even outright urged him to throw away such a thing, saying a dagger didn't suit a Linegrime swordsman at all.
But.
"I can't throw you away. You're such a precious treasure...."
Because only he knew the secret of the Bloodsword, he ignored the mockery and negative reactions from his father, siblings, and those around him.
"It'll take a bit more time, but you've gotten quite strong."
If the Bloodsword's initial form had been a dull, inky black, now it was impressive with a faint red glow surrounding the blade.
"Honestly, seeing that guy made my heart race. I wanted to unleash your power right then and drive the blade into his neck."
He let out a cackle as he muttered that, and the Bloodsword in Andrei's hand trembled slightly.
But soon, he stopped laughing abruptly and muttered again in a very serious and cold voice.
"But there really wasn't an opening. If I'd moved recklessly first, it felt like his sword would end up in my neck instead?"
Then, he started spinning the Bloodsword around again and continued his soliloquy.
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway. In time, they'll all become my prey. Luin, Seron, Selena, and even Maylin. I'll let you taste their delicious blood soon, Bloodsword."
With a sticky smile, Andrei murmured that and continued with eyes like a child in love.
"So let's be patient a little longer. A good opportunity will come soon."
This side of him was one of the deeply hidden secrets that no one in the Linegrime family could even imagine.
.
.
.
The sun slowly rose, gently warming the earth, and thirty-two children had gathered in the training yard to greet the early morning.
"Yaaawn, I'm so sleepy I could die."
"You must be tired after all that chaos last night."
"But it was kinda fun."
"Heh, fun my ass. Who was the one screaming like a girl?!"
"Who, me? I have no idea what you're talking about."
As they chattered about the surprise training from the night before, they soon shifted to another topic.
"I heard there was another fight yesterday?"
"Yeah, challenging Seron? Serves you right, Yurik."
"Shut up."
Yurik cut off the mockery from the others with a firm attitude.
At that, people turned their attention away from the prickly guy and looked elsewhere.
"But what's up with those guys? Did they have a scuffle among themselves?"
"I don't know, they were carried to the infirmary unconscious at dawn."
"Tsk. What the hell did they do?"
"It couldn't be that they talked back to the instructors and got beaten, right?"
"What.... Does that even make sense? You know from getting yours taken—they just took the epaulets."
"Yeah, fair point."
The trainees tilted their heads and muttered like that, then asked the one who seemed the most injured.
"Hey, Sheldon. You okay?"
"....I don't know, shut up."
Sheldon and his friends around him replied in voices full of wariness, standing with extremely tense expressions and eyes, glancing nervously at someone.
[Look at those bastards. Seems like yesterday's lesson sank in.]
At the sword spirit's giggling mutter, Luin nodded lightly.
'Of course. They couldn't do a single thing right and got taken down just like that, so they're probably still pretty confused.'
Certainly, education could involve endless repetition to instill fear.
But sometimes, a single overwhelming display of skill difference could make them too scared to even look your way.
Of course, Luin had chosen the latter.
"Tch!"
Thanks to that?
On the surface, they kept up a tough act, but deep in their eyes, Sheldon and his friends showed an inexplicable fear and dread.
To the point where they might not even dare meet Luin's eyes from now on....
"Hic!"
"Eek!"
The moment their eyes met Luin's, Sheldon and his friends let out strange noises involuntarily and stumbled backward.
"Huh?"
"What's wrong with you guys?"
The other trainees looked at them with puzzled expressions.
"Tsk, idiots."
Watching the scene from a distance, Andrei couldn't help but click his tongue and shake his head.
And then.
[Hahaha, look at those guys. They're totally intimidated by you, Luin.]
'Yeah, I know.'
Luin turned his gaze away from the trio who had met his eyes, at the sword spirit who was bursting into giggles as if something was incredibly amusing.
'This should be enough.'
Since they couldn't even meet his eyes anymore, they probably wouldn't harbor any unnecessary thoughts, and they'd keep the others in check on their own.
The immediate issue, though.
'Ah, it's been bothering me since yesterday.'
The one staring this way with eyes blazing intensely.
Seron Linegrime's gaze was really getting on his nerves.
'If he's gonna act like that, he should just come over and challenge me to a fight outright.'
After the running test ended, Seron had been glaring only at him from behind with a menacing look, and Luin inwardly clicked his tongue.
Just then.
[He's probably furious about losing to you.]
'Seriously, then he should just do better himself? Guys like him who are so self-centered never self-reflect and just blame others.'
[Heh heh. He's still young, after all.]
'What, so am I old? We're the same age....'
At Luin's incredulous expression as he argued back, the sword spirit chuckled and replied.
[It's because what you do is nothing like kids your age. Sometimes even I feel like I'm looking at a peer.]
'Whatever.'
Shaking his head and deciding to ignore the sword spirit's words, Luin turned his gaze toward Seron, who was staring at him.
"....!"
A slight hint of panic flickered in Seron's pupils as their eyes met.
But instead, he didn't avoid Luin's gaze and held it steadily.
As if turning away here would be a blow to his pride....
"Interesting."
Luin muttered with a smirk, and soon some information began to appear in his eyes.
Name: Seron Linegrime
True Name: None
Title: (Uninterpretable)
Race: Human
Traits: Swordsmanship Genius, King of Pride, Natural Leader, Battle Maniac, (Uninterpretable)
Current Abilities: Swordsmanship (Intermediate-Modified), Horsemanship, (Uninterpretable), (Uninterpretable)
Potential Abilities: Sixth Sense, (Uninterpretable), (Uninterpretable), (Uninterpretable)
Current Emotions: Competitive Spirit, Excitement, Anger, Injustice, Pressure, Desire to Win
Due to the limits of the Insight Eye, some or further interpretation is impossible.
Luin had raised the energy of
'Swordsmanship genius, natural leader, and king of pride.... Yeah, that explains his personality.'
The list of traits seemed to perfectly represent his character, and Luin let out a light chuckle.
But one thing caught his eye even more.
'A battle maniac trait on top of that? That's a bit unexpected.'
Come to think of it, at the banquet after the sword ceremony, Seron had abruptly challenged him to a spar.
Luin pondered that perhaps all of Seron's actions stemmed from his traits.
And then.
'If the ability I got at just 3-star
The fraudulent skill 'Insight Eye of Interpretation,' which allowed him to grasp information beyond what simple conversation or actions could reveal—Luin knew its utility better than anyone.
So, he soon turned his gaze to a girl standing on the opposite side.
Name: Selena Marcus
True Name: None
Title: (Uninterpretable)
Race: Human
Traits: Cold-Blooded, Practice Bug, (Uninterpretable)
Current Abilities: Swordsmanship (Intermediate), Flower Arrangement, (Uninterpretable), (Uninterpretable)
Potential Abilities: Taming, (Uninterpretable), (Uninterpretable), (Uninterpretable)
Current Emotions: Confusion, Jealousy, Competitive Spirit, Incomprehension, Anxiety
Due to the limits of the Insight Eye, some or further interpretation is impossible.
'She's pretty unique too.'
She had been acting like she was aware of Luin since dawn.
But to begin with, she didn't properly interact with anyone and focused solely on swinging her sword.
'With jealousy and competitive spirit, it seems like she definitely has rivalry toward me....'
Luin thought that the impact he had on them during the running test yesterday might be greater than expected.
As he examined her information in detail, Luin soon spotted something that caught his attention.
'Taming? Does she have talent in that area?'
The ability commonly known as beast taming was an innate talent for controlling and commanding wild animals or monsters.
Who would have thought that girl possessed such a special and unfamiliar talent?
'A Linegrime swordsman learning taming skills? That could lead to some pretty fresh developments.'
Anyway.
'Wait, why are you glaring at me too?'
Following Seron, Selena was also shooting Luin subtle but intense looks.
[Why do you think? Naturally, she's feeling competitive toward you.]
'Again?'
[Yeah. Some unexpected guy suddenly takes first place in yesterday's test. And he's out here swinging a sword from the crack of dawn. How do you think the ones below feel? Especially those who were leading the pack.]
Luin inwardly smirked at the sword spirit prattling on as if he understood human psychology better than anyone, despite being a sword spirit.
'Maybe it's for the best?'
Right now, Luin didn't have any particular feelings about Selena or Seron burning with rivalry.
If anything.
'If you guys can get stronger because of me, that wouldn't be bad.'
And finally.
Ding.
With your current achievement level in 'Insight Eye of Interpretation,' you cannot interpret the desired character's information.
Following the dagger, Andrei's character information was completely blocked too.
'This is the first time the Insight Eye doesn't work....'
He didn't know why this alert popped up only for Andrei.
But the more it happened, the more his interest in the dagger Andrei possessed grew.
Luin nodded with a smile, eyeing Seron, Selena, and the mysterious Andrei.
'Things should get pretty interesting from here on out.'
Reminding himself of the reason and purpose for coming here in the first place.
Just then, a familiar voice approached from the side, asking in a friendly tone.
"Luin, did you sleep well?"
"Maylin."
"I heard from the kids you were out swinging your sword from dawn? After all that chaos yesterday, aren't you tired? I passed out as soon as I got back."
"Well, you got eliminated early...."
"Shh, quiet. Or you'll get hurt."
Luin had come out to swing his sword from the pitch-black pre-dawn hours.
The reason he moved so early was actually very simple.
'To send a check-in through Aerial.'
The Linegrime training ground was completely cut off from outside communication.
Aerial, the intermediate wind spirit contracted with Sylvia, allowed conversation over long distances as long as they were connected.
Thanks to that, he could send simple messages to connected individuals.
Moreover.
'The training yard doesn't have surveillance artifacts installed.'
Having already clashed with Andrei and Sheldon's group, he had discovered eyes monitoring the trainees' every move around the area.
He judged that there were no places free from the instructors' watch in the dorms or surrounding areas.
Not wanting to reveal his ability to communicate with spirits, Luin had come to the training yard at the crack of dawn.
Afterward, he heard news about his parents and conveyed his well-being to Sylvia.
Of course, with the remaining time, he had just lightly swung his sword to loosen up.
"It's basic."
"Basic?"
"No matter the training, not being bound by time is basic."
At Luin's firm response, Maylin wore a slightly dazed expression but soon nodded with a smirk.
"Well, you're not wrong. Alright, then maybe I'll start doing dawn training too...."
Just as Maylin was about to make her new resolution.
Creak!
The sound of the training yard door opening again.
Familiar faces appeared.
The devil instructor Harken and the others who would lead the trainees through hellish training.
Thud thud.
The instructors approached silently and surrounded the thirty-two trainees in a circle.
Harken alone ascended the platform.
"...."
With a very calm expression and gaze, he looked down at the trainees from above.
[That bastard, his eyes have been pissing me off since yesterday. I just want to rip them out.]
Even the sword spirit reacted with an irritated voice, and Harken's eyes were coldly sunken, giving the impression he was scrutinizing each trainee.
And then.
"Did you all rest well last night?"
At his light-toned question, the trainees answered simultaneously.
"Yes!"
"Yeah."
"We rested well."
The voices weren't unified, but they were fairly energetic and spirited.
Of course, someone's dissatisfied voice mixed in.
"Rest? What rest? After causing all that ruckus, hmph!"
Harken's lips twitched slightly at Maylin's grumbling.
"Good, then let's start right away."
Nodding, he muttered that and signaled the other instructors with his eyes, shouting.
"What are you waiting for? Run!"
With his firm command.
Tap tap tap.
Seron moved first, just like yesterday.
"Tch!"
Tap.
Selena, who had been keeping an eye on Luin, followed right after.
"Huh, wait. Let's go together!"
"I'm coming too!"
Maylin and the others grimaced with very dissatisfied expressions.
Tap tap tap.
But without hesitation, they started running after them.
And.
Pat pat!
Luin lightly dusted himself off and began running from the very back, wearing just a light smile.
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T/N:
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