Although I didn’t have the chance to learn Sword Mastery before since the option didn’t show up the previous time, it appeared the next time. However, it took six months… and in all this time, the guard only taught me the basics, no real techniques or a fighting style. Maybe my body wasn’t strong enough for that… then again, perhaps fighting using a style that was commonly known wouldn’t benefit me.

  It was a passive skill… This made things difficult, but it was something that I would have to deal with, eventually. After some experiments, I confirmed that I could change the skill from a slot with a single thought. Changing Languages Understanding to Sword Mastery didn’t make me unable to understand words… It only made me unable to learn new ones and increase the proficiency of the skill.

  Name: Aizen Apollonius

  Level: 10 (50/1000)

  Current Treasure: Mind of Steel (Lv 30 - 1250/3000)

  Health: 50/50

  Mana: 850/850

  Stamina: 650/650

  Strength: 05

  Dexterity: 05

  Magic: 05 + 60

  Vitality: 05

  Willpower: 25 + 60

  Endurance: 05 + 60

  Luck: 05

  Free Points: 90

  Active Skills:

  [Discharge Lv 15]

  [Empty]

  [Empty]

  [Empty]

  [Empty]

  Passive Skills:

  [Sword Mastery Lv 01]

  [Focus Mastery Lv 25]

  [Enhanced Vision Lv 23]

  [Enhanced Hearing Lv 23]

  [Lightning Affinity Lv 20]

  ‘Lightning Affinity reached level twenty, so I should have some extra freedom on how to use it. I have some ideas on how to apply that, but it might be a bit dangerous considering my body… I guess I should increase my health just in case.’

  I increased my vitality a bit and then did some visualization training… I didn’t know how many times I could try to do this, so it was better to do it when it matters and then make a skill out of this.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  The moment I chose was the next morning, when the guard showed up to train me. This time around, I showed up without a shield, and that made him raise his eyebrows.

  “Do you seriously think that this is a good idea? Focusing on offense only?”

  I didn’t respond… I just focused on what I wanted to do and saw myself succeeding on it. The guard let out a sigh and then charged and swung down his sword. Thanks to Focus Mastery, I was able to see the movement clearly. However, until now, I was unable to react, but this time was different.

  The guard didn’t even see me swinging down my sword, he only saw his wooden sword breaking apart and then a sharp pain in his hand.

  “Ugh!”

  The guard groaned in pain and then he saw my wooden sword after it smashed his hand a bit. Anger and shock took over his mind, but soon he calmed down when he saw me dropping to my knees as well. My arms were read and my hands were swollen like all the bones had been smashed as well…my arms were shaking as well. All because I decided to use discharge on my arms to increase the speed of my attack.

  ‘... This hurt. It has been a while since I felt something this annoying.’

  The plan worked, but I lost one third of my health… if I hadn’t increased it, I would have fainted, if not something worse. I could control my lightning now inside my body, but it seriously hurt… I was hoping that I could get some sort of resistance skill the next time I can obtain a new action.

  “How did you do that?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Of course I knew, but obviously I wasn’t going to share that. Even for a moment, I could become much faster than even an adult, so it was the kind of ace up my sleeve that needed to remain hidden. Still, I needed to improve the technique and strengthen my body to be able to withstand the speed of the attack and avoid hurting myself in the process.

  “Ah! How did this happen?”

  Mom found it weird the lack of noise outside and then came to check on us when she found my arm… the guard couldn’t say anything in his defense. Losing a spar against someone of my age was something that he didn’t want to say out loud. Although I felt that I suffered more damage, it was a fact that I disarmed him. If it were a real fight, I would still be defeated with just a punch or a kick, though.

  “I will call a healer to fix him up.”

  He sure was trying too hard to act like he wasn’t in pain, even though he was sweating a fair bit. Mom decided to help me treat my hands a bit until a healer came and she asked me what happened, but I just played dumb. It was hurting, but I didn’t show it on my face, after all. Still, after a while, I began to sweat a bit thanks to the pain. The pain that I felt in the white room wouldn’t last this long most of the time, after all.

  “Aizen, I need you to tell me exactly what happened.”

  She was angry… she always called me Ai when my father wasn’t around, after all. Perhaps this was for the best. That pet name bothered me a bit. Still, keeping my mom angry all the time wasn’t a good idea.

  “I went ‘whoosh’ with my sword, then ‘bam’ with his sword, and then ‘whack’.”

  “... What? Did you learn a new language while I wasn’t aware of?”

  Although Mom kept asking me about it, she eventually got tired of hearing the weird explanation. Truth be told, the explanation wasn’t completely off, so I didn’t feel so bad about it. It wasn’t like telling the truth would actually change anything.

  One hour later, the guard returned, and he already had been fixed and then another guard also checked my wounds and healed me. He had to use it a few times since the bones in my hands were broken in many spots. Aside from that, the damage the Discharge caused to me was minimal, probably because my magic was on the same level of my willpower.

  “What happened here, exactly? One of the Captain’s sons was hurt, and I had to heal him a few times. I need to report this properly.”

  The second guard glared at the first and then he let out a sigh before he explained what had happened. At least from his perspective, I just suddenly got stronger and faster enough to break his weapon and hand.

  “Is that the truth?”

  “I didn’t see it, and Aizen can’t explain what he did either. I know that training isn’t a joke, but you shouldn’t push him so much.”

  The first guard furrowed his eyebrows. There was no reason for him to be scolded this much. Regardless, it looked like my father was going to hear about this sooner than later. I expected that the first guard would keep it a secret, but it couldn’t be helped.

  In any case, the test had been a success, but I couldn’t stop there. I needed to get more skilled and then improve from there. Truth be told, I didn’t even see the attacks myself. Forward it felt like I suddenly became a video that skipped a full second of frames. That was the power of that technique.

  While I was still thinking about what my next step should be, my father showed up again. It was almost uncanny how he always managed to appear right after things like this happened. I knew he was a busy man, his position as the Captain ensured that.

  It wasn’t that I hated him, not yet at least, but he wasn’t exactly making it easy for me to feel otherwise. His timing, his tone, even the way he carried himself. it all screamed opportunistic. Like he saw these moments as the only times worth stepping into my life. And even then, it wasn’t like he was here to understand me or help. It always felt more like damage control or how to direct me to a path that was beneficial to him…

  I tried to ignore the rising irritation and keep my expression neutral as he approached. The last thing I needed was for him to think I was sulking or being ungrateful. But deep down, a part of me wondered: Was this really the only way we could connect? Did he only see me as a report waiting to be filed, just like everything else in his life?

  “I heard what had happened. I thought that it was a joke, but the ashamed face of Kainan confirmed that this indeed happened.”

  It looked like the guards were people that Arislan trusted. He even knew their names, after all. In any case, I already knew what I was going to do here. If he was going to give me a chance to break his hand, I would accept it as well. Perhaps a wooden sword with that much weight and speed was too much to hit him in the head, but a broken hand was fine.

  “Have you two adapted to life here?”

  “Yes? Things are going well. Aizen is also learning things that I taught him pretty fast as usual. He is a bit slow when it comes to writing, but at everything else he is pretty much self sufficient.”

  “I see…”

  Arislan was acting a bit weirdly. He sat down and then got up while walking to one side and then the other. If a person tried, they couldn’t try to look even more uncertain of what they should do.

  “Is there something wrong?”

  “Well, it’s a complicated matter.

  After hearing my mother’s question, my father showed a difficult look and then sighed. It looked like he wasn’t that much of a selfish prick that I imagined that he was. He was considering our reactions after he told us what he wanted to say.

  “Right now, I have seventeen sons and fifteen daughters.’

  What the heck… the man is faster than a rabbit. Was he trying to repopulate the planet by himself or had he no self control whatsoever? Despite my frown, my mother didn’t react that much. Did she expect that or did she already know that much already?”

  “Aizen is the sixteenth boy… actually, even before he was born, my father had already decided for me who would be my official wife.”