Chapter 4

1. Preparations for Running Away (2)

Perhaps because of his trash-like body, after a brief warm-up, he immediately headed to the private training ground. Though it was quite small, as befitting a space for a child, the fact that it was a private training ground was what mattered.

"Master has gone to the training ground!"

"What's so special about that? Everyone goes there."

In response to the maid's words, a maid with freckles around her mouth replied as if it were nothing new. The first maid, frustrated that the other didn't understand, said:

"I mean the eldest master."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh."

At her answer, the freckled girl's eyes widened in surprise.

Despite all the masters except the youngest having completed their mana awakening, the eldest son, the oldest, had not managed to awaken his mana.

Even after breathing and training daily in the mana accumulation array and taking elixirs regularly, his failure to awaken his mana meant he was an unsuitable existence for the Leonhardt family.

Yet, why was he still kept in the mansion?

The reason was simple.

It was the head of the family's warning not to become such trash.

Everyone understood that looking at the eldest son meant they should work hard if they didn't want to be eliminated, and the wise masters all knew this.

The eldest son, having realized this, had fallen into a slump and remained locked in his room, making no effort.

"Hmm... Could he have awakened his mana?"

"I secretly checked because everyone thought so, but that's not the case."

"How do you know?"

"The knight secretly confirmed it."

"Ah..."

The freckled maid looked disappointed at the other maid's words. The other maid, with a similar expression, chatted with her as they disappeared into the mansion.

The rumor that the eldest son of the Leonhardt family had started training again spread throughout the mansion but quickly died down.

Since he hadn't awakened his mana, it wasn't something to be overly concerned about.

Thinking it was just the dunce acting out again, everyone returned to their own tasks. Meanwhile, Jaden, in the training ground, swung a wooden sword with an iron core.

"Indeed, the Lion Sword Style doesn't suit me."

Feeling something was off, Jaden frowned, stopped the Lion Sword Style, and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Was that old man's advice correct?"

Before he became the head of the family, an old man had looked at him with pity and said:

"Master is using a sword that doesn't fit his body. If he had just practiced basic sword techniques, he would be better off than he is now..."

At the time, Jaden had looked at the old man, who spoke with pity, with disbelief.

Finding it so absurd, he later investigated the old man.

A Steel Mercenary.

Once a somewhat successful figure, but a common mercenary on a continental scale.

He had reached the 5th stage in his later years, but that was all.

While the 5th stage was rare in the Leonhardt family, many people had reached that level.

Still, it continued to bother him.

"Basic techniques..."

Mulling over the old man's words, he raised his sword.

Basic sword techniques that any soldier would learn:

Vertical slash.

Horizontal slashes on both sides.

Diagonal slashes on both sides.

Upward strike.

Thrust.

Block.

Eight basic sword movements.

Basic martial arts, like spear techniques, were so fundamental that they were the first things taught upon enlistment.

With the addition of mana usage and footwork, this became the Imperial Basic Sword Technique.

Whoosh!

He raised his sword and drew a straight line.

Erasing the Lion Sword Style and advanced sword techniques from his mind, he simply repeated the basic movements of slashing, cutting, and thrusting.

Deleting all the miscellaneous techniques he had learned to survive and focusing solely on swordsmanship in his mind.

His self-achieved level, without status windows or skills, began to blend into the basic sword techniques.

Although his 5th stage was artificially created by embedding the royal secret elixir and the Heart of the Dragon, his extensive combat experience still shone through, and despite his long break, he showed considerable form.

"Huff..."

Jaden stopped, drenched in sweat, and tilted his head.

"Something feels different..."

Frowning at the familiar feeling, Jaden swung his sword again.

Although he was still young and needed to rest occasionally, it wasn't bad even considering that.

Repeating simple sword movements had its own significance.

Stretching.

Running.

Swinging the sword.

Eating.

Sleeping.

By repeating these five things, he felt a clean, different sensation from when he practiced the Lion Sword Style.

He could feel the sword fitting comfortably in his hand.

It was a stark contrast to the complex Lion Sword Style. Simply swinging the sword felt comfortable.

Ironically, these simple basic techniques suited him better than the high-level techniques he had seen after becoming the head of the family, but he liked them for their simplicity.

The more he focused on simply swinging the sword, the more it seemed to imprint on his body.

"Is this the feeling?"

Even the same vertical slash felt better in quality than before.

Jaden focused on each swing, making subtle adjustments, and the more he did, the better the sword felt in his hand.

Driven by this feeling, he swung the sword like a maniac, obsessed like a drug addict, and exercised to improve his stamina to swing more perfectly.

A month passed.

His body, which had deteriorated from being cooped up in his room, mostly recovered.

Given his once diligent training, his physical recovery progressed quite quickly.

This reinforced Jaden's belief that he should train based on basic sword techniques.

As proof, he could feel a flow of mana in his body, something he hadn't felt before.

"The old man was right."

Jaden smiled bitterly, confirming the old man's words.

If he had awakened his mana just by swinging a sword a few times, he would be a genius, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

He had simply found the right sword technique.

The elixir and the mana accumulated in his body, which had been dormant due to the unsuitable Lion Sword Style, naturally reacted, leading to his mana awakening.

"I have more reasons to leave the family."

There was no reason for him to stay here if the Lion Sword Style didn't suit him.

His decision to go to the Northern Military Academy was also proven correct.

The Northern Military Academy was the place that taught the most systematic Imperial Basic Sword Technique.

The Imperial Basic Sword Technique, which evolved from basic sword techniques, was divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.

While it became more complex like noble family's high-level techniques as it progressed, its foundation was always the basic sword techniques.

Thus, it suited him better.

The hope that by pursuing simple sword techniques, he could eventually develop his own unique style.

A dream realm he couldn't reach despite his efforts in his previous life.

"Can I challenge it this time?"

Passing the 5th stage, where one's mana characteristics bloom, and reaching the 6th stage, where one acquires a unique sword technique.

While becoming a 7th stage Master was beyond his wildest dreams, with the added experience from his previous life, he might be able to reach it.

'Maybe it's possible in this life.'

Thinking this to himself, Jaden checked his body condition.

"Huff... This should be enough."

Having awakened his mana and built his body to a certain extent, he thought it was time to meet the youngest.

To assess whether the boy's talent was real and to gauge his potential, Jaden changed out of his sweat-soaked clothes and headed to the room where the youngest would be.

"Ma... Master?"

A maid cleaning the youngest's room looked at him with surprise.

"Where is the youngest?"

"That's..."

"Where is he?"

At Jaden's question, the maid, startled, quickly led him to where the youngest was.

"Here."

"Here?"

When told it was a small, cramped room, Jaden glared at the maid.

Even if he was treated like a cripple within the mansion, he wasn't someone to be toyed with by a mere maid.

"It... It's not a lie. He really is here."

"Then you treated the youngest like this?"

Jaden looked at the maid as if she were insane, and she hastily waved her hands.

"Absolutely not! The youngest master wanted it this way."

"What nonsense?"

Jaden, unable to understand, opened the door and went in. There, he saw the youngest curled up.

Looking at the youngest, Jaden asked with disbelief.

"What are you doing here?"

"Br... Brother?"

The youngest, startled by the sudden light, looked at Jaden with surprise.

Jaden, displeased, frowned and motioned for the maid to leave, then closed the door.

In the pitch-black room, he couldn't see the youngest.

"What are you doing in a place like this?"

The youngest didn't answer Jaden's question.

"I asked you what you're doing."

Jaden, who had awakened his mana, couldn't do something he had never experienced in this body: the killing intent gained through actual combat.

Imitating it from past experiences, a thick killing intent slowly spread in the room.

"Come out."

"Nu... No!"

As Jaden tried to drag the boy out, he resisted, struggling.

Jaden, surprised by the strength the boy displayed, which was beyond that of an ordinary boy, looked at him strangely and tried to exert more force.

"You..."

Jaden, who instantly realized the boy had awakened his mana, looked at him in disbelief. The boy, frightened, freed himself and crouched in a corner of the room.

Jaden, finding the boy's actions strange, closed the door again and asked calmly.

"Why is a boy who has awakened his mana doing this?"

"That's..."

"If you're afraid of something, you can ask a knight to protect you, or you can grow stronger yourself. Why are you hiding here?"

"I... I hear the voice of a ghost."

At the youngest's trembling words, Jaden tilted his head.

"Perhaps a spirit..."

"No!"

The youngest's immediate denial made Jaden ask curiously.

"How can you be so sure?"

"I asked the spirit master and checked in books. It's not a spirit or a divine beast."

Jaden, puzzled by the youngest's words, wondered if it was a mental issue, but it didn't seem to be.

If it wasn't a spirit or a divine beast, it must be a ghost or a ghost-type monster, which didn't make sense.

The Leonhardt family wouldn't allow a ghost-type monster to roam freely in the heart of their territory.

'Could it be!'

Jaden looked at the youngest, Aiden, with a doubtful expression.

"Aiden."

"Yes?"

"Come out. I need to check something."

"No... I don't want to. If I go out, I'll hear that voice again..."

Jaden, frowning, said:

"I might be able to fix it. Come out."

At Jaden's words, Aiden's eyes widened, trying to judge if he was telling the truth.

"I have an idea. Come out, or you'll suffer from ghosts for the rest of your life."

The boy, with teary eyes, slowly got up.

The Duke's Eldest Son Runs Away to the Military (4)