"It's not about the technique, but think about why you take that form."
"Focus on your willpower, not your posture."
"Spirit is more important than energy. Always temper your sword with your mind."
Glenn walked around the training ground giving necessary advice to the swordsmen. With each of his steps, the achievements of a swordsman who had reached the realm of the absolute unraveled like a ball of thread. Raon bit his lip hard as he watched.
'How frustrating.'
Two weeks had passed since he entered the Head of House's training ground. In that short time, the swordsmen had easily elevated their martial arts achievements under Glenn's guidance and advice, as if walls didn't exist.
But Glenn hadn't given him any advice for two weeks. No, advice wasn't the issue—he was being treated like an invisible person, as if he didn't exist here at all.
'Why is he acting like this?'
He knew better than anyone that Glenn cherished him, so he couldn't understand why Glenn was pretending not to know him.
'It can't be that he has nothing to teach me.'
Glenn gave precise and important advice to the Blade Queen and the Warlord as if they were far below him. It was strange that he had nothing to say to someone like himself who wasn't that different from those two.
"Sigh."
Raon sighed as he observed the Light Wind Palace swordsmen.
'Runaan and Dorian, who received the Demon King's Authority, of course, but also Karoon, Martha, and Krein are growing remarkably.'
It was natural for Runaan and Dorian to grow rapidly stronger after receiving the Demon King's Authority. But thanks to Glenn's teachings, Karoon, Martha, and Krein's growth had accelerated almost as much as those two.
-Isn't it good that those children are growing?
Wrath tilted his head as if asking why Raon seemed to dislike it.
'How could I dislike it? Of course it's good. It's just...'
Raon let out a short sigh.
'I feel like I'm the only one who's stagnating.'
At this rate, in just a month, everyone except the Transcendents and top-tier Grandmaster swordsmen would grow at least one level. Everyone was running forward while he alone was standing still—he couldn't help but feel frustrated.
'No, even the Transcendents are changing.'
Raon bit his lip slightly as he looked at the right sparring area. The Central Martial Palace Karoon and Warlord Yuber had abandoned their composure and coolness, unleashing savage attacks like beasts. It truly looked like wild animals baring their teeth and tearing at each other.
The endless battle between the two Transcendents was so chaotic that no one was training around them.
'And...'
Raon turned to look at the left sparring area. In contrast, the left sparring area was as quiet as a library. The Blade Queen and Alice, who should have been causing more commotion than Karoon or the Warlord, were simply observing each other with their swords raised, like enlightened monks. Suddenly, there was a sharp clash!
Unlike before, the Blade Queen and Alice weren't clashing swords every ten seconds, but instead searched for each other's openings and thrust their swords only once per minute. It was training completely opposite to that of the Warlord and Karoon.
However, whether that training was effective or not, all four Transcendents had grown stronger than before. Not just in martial arts, but they felt mentally stronger as well.
'Am I the only one not changing?'
For two weeks, he had been the first to arrive at the training ground and the last to leave, but his level hadn't changed at all from two weeks ago.
It seemed that with his current training, he could only maintain his state, unable to advance further without some special catalyst.
'At this rate...'
Raon tightened his grip on his sword.
'I might end up losing the level I worked so hard to reach.'
Currently, among the Transcendents belonging to Zieghart, he was the strongest after Glenn. He had surpassed Karoon and Alice before, and through his recent awakening, he had overtaken even the martial arts level of the Blade Queen and the Warlord. But if the current situation continued, he would certainly be surpassed again by the Blade Queen and the Warlord.
'I have to do something.'
Though his aura and abilities were growing slightly, making him marginally stronger, there was no growth in his martial arts, and he felt an urgent emotion digging into his chest.
'If grandfather won't speak to me, I'll have to find my own training method... Ah!'
Raon snapped his fingers while observing the swordsmen's training and sparring.
'Let's learn from the other swordsmen.'
He remembered learning the swordsmen's techniques while sparring with them at the fifth training ground. Now, not only the Light Wind Palace swordsmen but all of Zieghart's talents were gathered at the training ground, so it should be even more effective.
'By any means necessary...'
Raon nodded firmly as he drew the Heavenly Drive.
'I will become stronger.'
***
"Hmm..."
Burren swallowed a groan as he watched Raon desperately swinging his sword next to Void Sword Division Leader Serena.
"Is that guy really okay?"
He frowned, addressing Raon not as the Palace Master but as a friend, as he usually did.
"He seems to be using a new training method, but I don't see any changes."
Burren scratched his chin, saying it didn't seem like a good situation.
"Raon's condition is pretty bad."
Martha let out a brief sigh.
"The Head of House isn't saying anything to him. Must be frustrating."
She nodded heavily, saying she understood how Raon felt.
"Yeah..."
Runaan smacked her lips as she opened her eyes.
"He's having a really hard time..."
Despite her worried words, she yawned deeply.
"H-he's definitely not okay, right?"
Dorian approached behind the three, his eyes trembling slightly.
"I'm telling you, this time it's really strange!"
He lowered his eyebrows, saying that Raon's condition hadn't been good since two weeks ago.
"I can see it now too..."
Krein also sighed, saying he could now feel Raon's condition.
"But you know..."
He rolled his eyes slightly.
"Doesn't our Palace Master not need to get any stronger? Honestly, it would be strange if he got even stronger!"
Krein shook his head, saying he couldn't understand why Raon was acting that way just because of a little stagnation, when he had grown without limits until now.
"It might seem that way to you. Look at it that way: you and the others are riding a carriage pulled by two horses. But..."
The Gambling Monster approached, drinking water instead of alcohol.
"Raon has always been a four-horse carriage. No, he's been driving an eight-horse carriage alone. I understand why he's frustrated about not growing now."
He nodded slowly, saying he seemed to understand Raon's feelings.
"W-why isn't the Head of House giving advice only to Raon? He surely knows how Raon could become stronger..."
Dorian looked at the Gambling Monster with desperate eyes, asking for an answer.
"That's..."
The Gambling Monster narrowed his eyes as he glanced at Glenn.
"I don't know either!"
He snorted, asking how he could possibly know the thoughts of the Head of House who stood at the peak of the continent, then returned to his place.
"Let's just not worry too much."
Martha waved her hands dismissively.
"Rather than worrying about that monster, we'd better swing our swords."
She raised her sword, suggesting they resume training.
"That's right."
Burren chuckled, saying he couldn't argue with that.
"Who am I to worry about him?"
He said he was talking nonsense and swung his sword again.
"Yeah..."
Runaan watched Raon practicing his swordsmanship before slowly closing her eyes.
"Just believe in him."
She fell back into sleep accompanied by the power of Sloth, with a faint smile on her face.
"Y-you say to believe in him and then you just go to sleep?"
Dorian shook Runaan's shoulder incredulously, but only the sound of quiet snoring came from her.
***
With a thundering sound, Raon drove the Heavenly Drive into the ground and ground his teeth audibly.
'No change.'
He had continued training to learn other swordsmen's techniques for two weeks, but still there was no change. It had been a month now. During that month, a time when others had broken through one wall, he remained in the same place.
'Damn it!'
With the war against Derus Robert approaching in a year, realizing he hadn't achieved anything made him feel so nauseated he could vomit.
'I don't have time for this.'
He needed to grow quickly and enter the absolute realm where Glenn and Derus Robert stood, but he felt incredibly stupid for only walking in place.
'Damn it all.'
Raon felt impatience burning in his chest as he grabbed the Heavenly Drive again.
-You look impatient.
As he was about to draw his sword, Wrath approached from the side, yawning.
'Because I can see others developing quickly.'
Raon shook his head, saying it was natural to feel urgent.
-Are you out of your mind?
Wrath let out a hollow laugh as if in disbelief.
'What?'
-Look carefully. You are now close to touching that sun.
He raised his chin to point at the sun floating in the sky.
-Meanwhile, the others are still crawling on the ground or have just barely started running. Since your positions are different, it's only natural that there's a difference in growth rate!
Wrath frowned, saying his greed was excessive, too excessive.
'That's true, but...'
Raon smacked his lips and pointed at the Transcendents.
'Those people are growing quickly too.'
-No matter how quickly they grow, they can't catch you!
Wrath struck the back of Raon's head with his round, bread-like fist.
-You enter awakening when you're bored, after going to the bathroom, while eating ice cream—how could they possibly catch up to that!
He ground his teeth, telling Raon to stop exaggerating.
-Raon Zieghart! The emotion you're feeling now is what others always feel when they look at you!
Wrath looked down at him with a serious gaze, unlike a moment ago.
-I know better than anyone that you've worked harder than others. Enough to keep me from sleeping.
He continued speaking while looking at the other swordsmen still swinging their swords.
-But even with that effort, your growth was too fast and excessive thanks to me and various strokes of luck. How do you think others felt looking at you?
Wrath wrinkled his eyes, saying the other swordsmen had always lived with hundreds of times the empty feeling he was experiencing now.
'That's...'
Raon couldn't refute and lowered his gaze.
'You're right.'
People who had been watching his growth had felt beyond emptiness—they'd felt despair. Until now, he had pretended not to notice, but finally he could understand their feelings a little.
-Let me tell you again.
Wrath deeply furrowed his brow.
-Even if you gain nothing while you're in this training ground, that's not strange.
He nodded, saying that since Raon was in a completely different realm from them, it was right to accept that he might not grow.
-Just don't do anything and rest! That's the answer!
Wrath left those words about not swinging his sword and resting, then went into the ice flower bracelet. With a sharp sound, Raon pulled the Heavenly Drive stuck in the training ground. Dust was shaken off along the silver blade. No, it wasn't dust, but the mental demons embedded in his heart seemed to wash away.
'Should I take a break?'
During this month, he had swung his sword more than ever before. Though he still felt frustrated inside, resting as Wrath suggested didn't seem like a bad idea.
"Sigh..."
After sheathing the Heavenly Drive, Raon slowly exhaled while watching the swordsmen in the midst of training. The swordsmen were not missing this opportunity, blooming their martial arts more brilliantly based on Glenn's advice.
'They've developed so much.'
While he had been struggling in vain for a month, everyone else had grown and looked different from before. It looked as if a month—no, half a year—had passed.
'No, let's not think about that anymore.'
As he sensed the swordsmen's growth, impatience returned, so he emptied his mind and closed his eyes.
'Let's just sleep while listening to the sound of sword winds.'
Though he wasn't swinging his sword, listening to the sounds of others' swordsmanship strangely made his heart feel at ease. Gradually his thoughts faded away, leaving only the sound of swords and Glenn's advice.
"Lower your stance, raise your sword. Think of attack and defense simultaneously."
'Ah, he's giving advice to Dorian.'
Just by hearing the sword wind sounds and Glenn's advice, he seemed to know who was swinging what kind of sword. With his eyes closed, Raon visualized the situation unfolding in the training ground and relaxed his tired mind. When dawn came and no more sword wind sounds could be heard from the training ground, he slowly opened his eyes.
"Whew!"
Raon curled his lips upward as he exhaled refreshingly, not the stuffy sighs he'd been making for a month.
'Resting quietly actually makes me feel better.'
He should stay still tomorrow too. He'd always been training his swordsmanship without even taking time to sit down, but truly emptying his mind and resting made him feel like all the negative thoughts had been washed away.
'Thank you, Wrath.'
Raon gave Wrath a thumbs up, saying he felt better thanks to him.
-Huh...?
But Wrath's expression was strange.
-W-what? Why are you...
He trembled his chin with eyes like he'd seen something unbelievable.
-Why have you gotten stronger! You just rested! This isn't what I wanted at all!