Chapter 8

Part 8: I Received Training... (2)

“I only saw the training of the commoners, but the speed of growth is incomparable. I don’t know where the growth will stop, but if it continues like this, you will become an excellent knight...”

As he finished speaking, Miguel’s expression became quite ambiguous.

It was certainly a superior ability compared to commoners and sufficient to become a powerful knight, but for a noble with such abilities, the position of a knight was not particularly valuable.

Of course, it wasn’t a bad story for me.

‘Hmm, maybe I could become a manor knight?’

I briefly considered it, but the idea of being tied to a duke’s family didn’t seem like a good one.

Well, a six-year-old doesn’t need to worry about such things yet.

Moreover, I needed to quickly figure out why the duke was paying attention to me.

To do that, I needed to maximize my rapidly growing skills.

After training for a while, it was time to rest.

Just then, a servant from the mansion came to call Miguel.

“Captain Miguel, you’re being called.”

“Yes.”

“Got it. I’ll be right back. Rest here.”

Sure enough, the FM drill instructor wouldn’t just let it end there.

As he walked towards the mansion, I sat under a tree with Flora.

Flora took out tea and snacks.

“Good.”

The warm drink seeped into my body, and my muscles relaxed.

‘Indeed, being rich and noble is the best.’

I was a bit sad. When I grow old and leave the mansion, I won’t get such service anymore.

I asked Flora, who was sitting next to me,

“Are you bored?”

“No, not at all. I’m not bored at all.”

Flora shook her head vigorously, showing a strong determination not to lose her position.

After all, it was a sweet job, even for me.

“It looks comfortable, but there are many things to pay attention to. I have to prepare food according to the young master’s taste, and I need to have a wet towel ready in case he gets tired...”

Flora explained enthusiastically why she was needed.

I listened to her voice while focusing on the sounds of the forest.

The wind rustling through the branches.

The grass caressing each other.

The chirping of insects and birds...

Wait.

I couldn’t hear anything.

No bird sounds, no insect sounds.

That’s strange. I could hear them even when I was moving vigorously in the training ground...

A chill ran down my spine. My expression turned cold, and my relaxed body stiffened.

“No, no, it’s not that hard!”

Flora quickly changed her words, perhaps noticing my changed expression.

But I wasn’t in a position to listen to her.

When did the sounds stop?

A moment ago?

Or a while ago?

Damn, I was too relaxed.

I reached out and grabbed the wooden sword lying next to me. It wasn’t a very reassuring weapon, but holding the sword made me feel a bit better.

Phew.

I took a deep breath as quietly as possible and spoke in a normal tone.

“Shall we start training again?”

“Huh? The knight hasn’t returned yet. Let’s rest a bit more.”

Flora looked at me with a puzzled face, but

“Then, Flora, can you go get the knight?”

At my words, Flora got up. Despite being a child’s command, she followed it immediately, probably due to my image.

“Then rest here. I’ll bring him back quickly.”

She crossed the training ground and headed towards the mansion.

Just as she was about to leave my sight,

Someone blocked her path.

“Who are you?”

She looked up at the person blocking her.

He was dressed entirely in black, with a black scarf covering his face.

“Flora, run!”

Damn. I shouted, and the moment she opened her mouth in surprise,

Thud.

A black blade protruded from her back.

And the blood splattered on the ground.

“A...”

She let out a gasp like the wind escaping, and her body collapsed.

The blade was pulled out, and the blood pooled on the muddy ground.

I bit my lip as I watched Flora fall.

I couldn’t move a single step from the moment the masked man appeared and stabbed Flora.

I didn’t even notice when he appeared, and I didn’t see clearly when he stabbed Flora, but I still couldn’t move.

Training to get stronger? What could a six-year-old change in a month of training?

Freezing at the sight of a murder for the first time.

Moreover, I was too complacent.

I thought too easily that getting a mediocre ability was enough.

Having a dedicated knight, training alone in the family training ground.

And the duke appeared.

It was enough to make someone suspect that they wanted to kill me.

A mediocre illegitimate child receiving the duke’s attention.

‘Is he really receiving attention? Or is he just checking if I’m a useful tool?’

I recalled the duke’s face from the awakening.

His eyes, like a predator stalking its prey, were not those of a father looking at his son with hope.

Thud. Thud.

Damn, now wasn’t the time for such thoughts.

The man in black was slowly approaching me.

He had crossed the fallen Flora and was now crossing the training ground.

The slender man, still masked, was approaching me as if on a leisurely walk.

Damn, I was frozen in fear.

What good were all the thoughts running through my head?

For a moment, I wondered if I could think so clearly while being so afraid.

Clearly, no matter how hard I tried, my arms and legs wouldn’t move.

But my mind and eyes were moving according to my will.

Then.

Could it be.

I wasn’t frozen in fear?

I bit my lip hard.

Crack.

Fortunately, my jaw moved.

Blood trickled down my throat from my split lip.

“A, ah.”

My tongue started to move.

“This is the training ground of the Grecia Duke’s family. If you kill someone here, you’re not even thinking about the consequences?”

The man, who had been slowly approaching, stopped and tilted his head.

He stopped, but he didn’t answer my question.

I gripped the trembling sword and spoke again.

“I don’t know who hired you or which organization you belong to, but if you kill the duke’s son, you, your family, and whoever hired you will all have to prepare for death!”

He didn’t answer even after my shout.

His eyes, visible above the black mask, stared at me as if I were a curious object.

Indeed, my attempts at intimidation and psychological probing had failed.

The black leather outfit, the mask covering half his face, the black blade.

He had killed Flora first, but he clearly came to kill me.

‘Damn, I’m sorry, Flora. I’ll do better next time.’

I silently apologized to Flora’s corpse, visible behind the masked man.

The masked man moved again.

The masked man, exuding a grim atmosphere and showing great skill, looked like a professional assassin.

But from his eyes a moment ago, I could tell he didn’t know much about me.

An assassin who doesn’t know his target well?

‘Is he lacking information? Or is he so confident in his skills?’

Even without an answer, small details about him were revealed as he approached.

A well-trained body. Right-handed. A subtle confidence.

Skills with the sword that were hard to see with the naked eye.

But an assassin who didn’t know his target well, yet knew where I was.

And an assassin who knew he wouldn’t be disturbed.

Wait? How did he know? How did he know when Miguel would be away?

Was his stealth so good that Miguel didn’t notice? Or could he call Miguel away?

If he called him, did he bribe the servant who called Miguel?

The more information I had, the more questions arose, but unfortunately, I couldn’t answer them immediately.

The masked man got closer.

The closer he got, the more my body trembled.

Why was I trembling?

Was it fear?

But my mind was still clear.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

As my body trembled, the sword in my hand shook.

Perhaps because of that, my body, which had been frozen, started to move a little.

‘Please, just stop!’

I forced my other hand to move and gripped the trembling sword with both hands.

Damn, it wasn’t that my spirit was broken or that I was afraid. But my body wouldn’t move properly, and now I was trembling uncontrollably.

Why won’t it move?

This isn’t a psychological issue.

Then what? If it’s not psychological, is it like in martial arts novels where a killing aura is emitted?

Wait?

Hold on, this world is different from my previous one.

A world with healing priests, proper alchemists, and even a second brother who can make sparks with his fingers.

So, maybe there was an energy I didn’t know about, preventing my body from moving.

‘Wait? Energy? Bound by energy?’

At that moment, something clicked in my mind. It felt like a switch had been flipped in my head.

And I felt something around my body, an energy I couldn’t sense before.

This energy was enveloping my body and even penetrating it, causing it to tremble.

And this energy was flowing from the masked man standing right in front of me.

The energy from the masked man was also in me, in the grass, in the trees, and in the air.

‘What is this?’

As I was overwhelmed by this new sensation,

Thud.

The masked man’s footsteps stopped.

He was standing right in front of me.

“You were interesting for a kid, but why can’t you say anything now? Say something.”

A low voice came from the mask. His eyes were smiling at my trembling sword.

Indeed, the one making my body stiff and trembling was the masked man in front of me.

“Your skills aren’t bad, but do your family know that you take money to kill people?”

The masked man’s brow furrowed at my words.

“I don’t know if you’re married, but what do your children think of their father? What would your dead mother think of such a son from the afterlife...”

“You bastard, talking about someone else’s mother...”

Indeed, insults about family were the most effective. The calm masked man immediately lost his temper at my words.

At the same time, he raised his blood-stained sword.

A sword not in control.

As expected, the energy enveloping my body was slightly disrupted!

‘Please! Please! Move!’

I pushed the energy I had into the gaps of the disrupted energy.

I don’t know how I did it. I just knew it was possible the moment I sensed the energy.

And as the sword came down again,

Crack.

I was able to throw my body to the side, breaking through the energy enveloping me.

Swish.

As I threw my body, blood spurted in front of me.

Damn, with a six-year-old’s body after a month of training, it was impossible to fully dodge.

Thud.

I flew about 2 meters to the side and tumbled to the ground.

Blood was gushing from my chest.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to have cut my heart or major blood vessels.

‘But, I’m losing too much blood!’

If I didn’t get proper treatment immediately, this would be a fatal wound.

Moreover, the pain was starting to set in.

The masked man, who had swung the sword, was looking at me with surprise.

He clearly hadn’t expected me to dodge.

Seeing his widened eyes, I felt a bit relieved, but the feeling was quickly overshadowed by pain.

“Aah!”

Hearing my scream, the masked man muttered,

“To dodge my sword. And the words you said earlier, were they to unsettle me? You seem to be good at enduring pain. Hmm, it would be a waste to kill you like this. You seem perfect for the organization...”

He looked at me with a regretful expression.

But he raised his sword again. The regretful words seemed to be just talk. Or maybe he was a professional who always kept his promises once hired.

‘Am I going to die after all?’

I clicked my tongue at the raised sword.

At that moment,

A shout came from a distance.

“Young master!”

It was Knight Miguel’s voice. The effort of shouting was worth it.

Miguel was running towards us.