Standing in the yard, with my body firmly set in my standard sword stance, I closed my eyes as I went through the motion of a swing.
Usually, I would be focused entirely on my form, ensuring it was perfect and looking for any possible mistakes to correct.
But this time, I was focused on something else.
Battle aura.
With the training I had done with my father since I became an Intermediate swordsman, I had felt the energy come out during certain strikes… but it was still uncontrolled.
Unfortunately, since Rudeus was purely a mage, I had no previous knowledge from the books to help me out… but maybe that was a good thing.
With the mystical things like magic and mana, maybe it was better to form your own opinions rather than use someone else's, but alas… I didn't really have a choice here.
Of course, I had asked my father about battle aura and how to better control it, but he simply said that it came naturally as you got stronger and had better technique, and wasn't something you could control.
Honestly, I doubted that.
I didn't know much about battle aura, but I could tell that it was similar to mana.
And I could manipulate mana without a chant.
So… I could very likely do the same with battle aura.
My father probably did this without even knowing that he was, and since he had no experience with mana, he thought of it as nothing but 'natural' for swordsmanship.
He must be able to manipulate it.
I mean, how else would you explain how he could consistently break the sound barrier with his slashes, and cut boulders like they were made of snow?
So here I was, looking inward during each swing, trying to get an understanding of this weird energy.
"Hey! You!"
I heard an annoying, bratty voice enter my ears.
No… better to just ignore it.
"I'm talking to you! Don't ignore me!"
Haa…
Stopping my swings, I opened my eyes and looked over to the voice.
It was a girl around my age, with dark blue hair, similarly coloured eyes, and dressed in a leather coat with a small wooden sword strapped to her hip.
With her arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes narrowed in annoyance, she slowly walked towards me.
"You… you're named Vincent, right? Son of Jack?" she asked.
Jack… right, that was my father's name.
"That's right. What's it to you?" I asked, confused as to why this girl was talking to me.
Did she get lost or something?
"Hmph…" Her glare increased before she eventually dropped her arms. "My father told me… that you, a kid a year younger than me, already reached the Intermediate rank. Is that true?"
"Yes, it is," I answered. "And what's your name?"
Her head looked down to my sword.
"It's… Nina. Nina Farion," she said.
…Oh.
I knew that name.
The daughter of the Sword God, who Eris befriended during her time here in the main story.
Anyway…
"Did you… want something? Or did you just want to say hello?" I asked, tilting my head.
Her eyes widened momentarily before she suddenly looked away.
Looking so surprised… did she expect me to not talk to her?
"I… nothing!" she hastily replied.
Hmm… it obviously wasn't 'nothing'.
That anger… was she annoyed at me getting strong?
No, it didn't seem like it was just that…
Wait.
Nina… I didn't remember much of her character, as she wasn't too important to write down in my knowledge of the world and future, but from what I remember… she was a genius.
That was obvious, since she could keep up with Eris.
Being a kid who was already in love with the sword, evident from the blade at her side, it must have been quite… lonely here.
Sure, this place was a town filled with swordsmen, but swordsmen who were her age?
Or rather, those who were both her age, and could actually match her level?
No… I doubt there were many.
…Except for me.
Besides, my mother had been worried about me not having any friends my age, so this might be good for me as well.
"Say… would you like to train with me?" I asked.
Her back instantly straightened as she turned back to face me, a wide smile appearing for a moment before she masked it with a haughty smirk.
"Hah! I guess I can afford to spend some time with you! Just make sure you don't waste it!" she replied.
So childish… though, I shouldn't be surprised.
"Right… then, do you want to do it here?" I asked.
"Huh? No way!" she said, turning around with a huff. "Follow me, Vince! I'll show you a cool place!"
And with her walking away, I decided to follow along, the two of us marching towards the edge of the town and into the forest, before we eventually found ourselves in a small clearing.
"Behold! This is the training spot that Father showed me!" she said, spreading her arms out in a grand gesture.
But when it was such a small body doing it, I could only think of it as cute rather than anything amazing.
"I'm surprised… your father is the Sword God, right? I thought you would be using the main hall," I replied, looking around the secluded area.
"As if! The only people that can go there are those who are Sword Saints and better! So… not yet, but I'll get there eventually!" she said, clenching her little hand into a fist.
Wow… I guess the rule applied to the Sword God's family too.
Though it didn't seem that she was upset by it.
"Alright then. Do you want to do anything in particular, or would you rather spar to start off?" I asked, unsheathing my sword.
"A spar… that sounds perfect!" she replied excitedly, taking out her sword in turn. "Let's see what you got, Intermediate swordsman!"
She attacked straight away, her form sticking low to the ground as she struck.
Of course, I was easily able to block it, but still… that was impressive for a kid that was only six years old.
Her balance, the way she used her entire body for a strike, and her footwork… it was much better than I ever thought a child could be.
I didn't count, for obvious reasons.
But regardless of her impressive skill… it was still quite a bit below mine.
She left openings during every strike, and she telegraphed every attack without having the speed for it not to matter.
So, in but a few movements, her sword was flung out of her grasp as I rested my own against her side.
"You did really well, Nina. You'll definitely become a great swordswoman," I said as I reset. "So, do you want to go again?"
Her widened eyes slowly came back into focus as her cheeks began to flush, and with a grand pout, she picked up her sword with a snarl.
"You… you beat me! This… this sucks! Unfair! Dumb! You're dumb, Vince!" she said, clenching her fist as her tone turned from angry to sad. "Why… when I'm only the Beginner rank… and Father praised me so much…"
I see… so she was jealous.
And with me beating her so easily, she must have been feeling quite inferior as well.
At least she didn't start crying.
"I've been training for a while, but you're very good for your age," I said, smiling. "And if we train together, you'll get stronger much faster. So… would you like to keep training with me?"
While we had only talked for a little bit, I had to say that I liked this girl.
She was a kid, so not in that way, but rather in a way I would view a friend… or maybe a sister?
Anyway, she seemed to be similar to Eris in temperament, but without the unneeded violence and pride, as most of her frustrations seemed to be directed inward rather than outward.
Besides… she had reached the rank of Sword Emperor by the end of the story, if I remembered correctly, so she definitely had the talent to keep up with me.
And I could use a good training partner that wasn't my father.
"T-Together? Well… okay," she said, her frown morphing into a smile. "Just don't get angry when I eventually catch up, okay?"
"I would never," I replied, feeling a smirk form on my lips. "Because that isn't going to happen."
"Wha-!?"
I see… she was also fun to tease.
I would definitely be making use of that.
"Tch! Whatever! Let's go again! Just… after I get my water," she said, wiping the sweat from her brow as she walked past me, only to stop a moment later. "Oh… I… forgot it."
What a child.
"Here, you're thirsty, right? Just hold open your hands," I said, causing her to lift an eyebrow in confusion before doing what I asked.
While I didn't think I could use my magic for any combat purposes, if it was for utility, I was more than good enough.
And so, I simply generated some water above my hand, before letting it stream out into her palms, the girl's eyes wide in amazement the entire time.
"Drink before it goes through your fingers," I said with a smile.
"R-Right!" she stuttered before taking a big gulp, wiping off her mouth before looking at me. "You… know magic too?"
"Yeah. My mother is a healer," I replied easily.
"I see… that's awesome!" she said, pumping her fist in excitement before she quickly calmed down. "Uh… yeah… you're definitely a worthy training partner, Vince! So let's go again!"
"If you say so, Nina," I said.
And thus, that was how I gained my first training partner in this world… and also my first friend.
—
I narrowed my eyes as I faced down the tree before me, holding my new sword in my hands.
This wasn't like my previous wooden practice sword.
No, this was an actual sword, with a sharp edge.
A weapon meant to kill.
Other than the weight, there wasn't much of a difference, though I was certainly more careful during the first few training sessions I had with it.
But that didn't matter right now.
A few months had passed since I became an Intermediate swordsman, and since then, aside from my regular training and spars with Nina, I had been focusing on learning about the new energy I had discovered.
Battle aura.
Ever since I first discovered it, I had been trying to consciously control it. Trying to bring it out with each movement.
And my progress had been… mediocre.
I was still nowhere near being able to control it like mana, and the energy itself was still a big mystery to me, but I was slowly getting better at bringing it out.
My father was the biggest reason for this, both with our spars, and also his examples.
The requirements for becoming an Advanced Sword God swordsman and Sword Saint were being able to perform the Longsword of Silence and Longsword of Light respectively.
And for those techniques, you needed control of battle aura… kind of.
My father, despite being a good teacher, had a difficult time explaining it, but essentially, while the ranks were officially judged by strength and techniques, it could also be roughly estimated by one's control of battle aura.
At the Intermediate rank, battle aura should begin to reveal itself during some movements, but they weren't able to control it.
That was where I was now, where a perfect strike could cause a surge of the energy, but nothing consistent, and nothing controlled.
At the Advanced rank, battle aura should be a common part of the swordsman's movements, but not every one, nor with perfect control.
Essentially, their use of battle aura wasn't random, and they could perform a complete technique with it, such as being able to cut through a boulder.
At the Saint rank, while they didn't have absolute control over the energy like I did with mana, they could still easily draw it out with every movement they needed. So they could cut through a boulder with every slash, not just one they focus on.
And higher ranks… that probably needed conscious control of battle aura to perform such unbelievable movements.
Yeah… difficult to understand, but basically, to reach the next level, I just needed to use it for one entire technique, and have it flow through most of my movements.
If I wanted to become an Advanced swordsman, all I had to do was continue training as I was doing, and constantly try to draw my battle aura.
But I didn't want to go down that common path.
Instead, I wanted to be in control of my battle aura, and I knew that my mana control could help… I just didn't know how to connect the two skills yet.
And that's why I was here, facing down this innocent tree with my blade drawn, and breath steady.
Time to focus and think.
Battle aura… it was similar to mana, but with one main difference.
Instead of creating magical effects out of the body, it instead strengthened the body… and your weapon.
Enhancement, not creation.
This didn't involve science like magic visualization.
It was simply my own strength, but… stronger.
I felt a heat spread through my chest as I took a step forward, the heat crawling up my arms and into my sword, creating a layer of battle aura around my arms and sword.
And as I launched the slash… it suddenly faded, my body jerking as my sword struck the target.
"Not enough…" I muttered, looking at my sword that was half-lodged into the tree.
Damn… this was going to be tough to get out of.
I pulled a few times, and seeing how it didn't budge, I released a sigh of annoyance.
Yeah… training sometimes sucked.
—
It was now the year K411, and as a result, I had become a six-year-old boy.
My abilities were, as always, slowly progressing with my constant training.
My main achievement of note was that I was now an Advanced healing magician, and with my detoxification magic having already reached the Intermediate rank, I was now on par with my mother.
That didn't necessarily mean I was better than her, of course.
She had a big edge in experience, practical judgment, and intuition, but with my ability to cast silently, larger mana capacity, as well as my modern medical knowledge… well, maybe we were equal in the end after all.
And as for my battle aura… it was slowly coming along.
Hell, I was even able to cut down that tree with one slash.
The only issue… was being able to do that consistently.
Besides, while I know the Advanced rank didn't require complete control of battle aura in order to perform the correct techniques… it just didn't feel right to not try. Especially when it felt so close.
Anyway, for my swordsmanship itself, as in my technique and general combat ability, it had begun to get a little more well-rounded, primarily due to my father increasing the intensity of my training, as well as the introduction of Nina as an opponent.
And speaking of that Nina…
"Vince! Vince, guess what!? Vince!" she shouted, running over to me with a wide smile.
Pausing my practice swings, I looked over at her from my yard, instantly noticing the smile on her face that was even wider than usual.
"Nina… did something good happen?" I asked.
Though, from her expression, I already knew the answer.
"Yes! Father tested me this morning, and guess what!" she said, not even giving me time to answer a question. "I'm an Intermediate swordsman now!"
I see… so she had grown.
"That's good, Nina. But I already knew you could do it," I replied.
I had sensed that some of her strikes carried more power than usual during our recent spars, and her technique had gotten a lot smoother, so it was obvious that she was close.
"Hah! Of course I could!" she said, crossing her arms haughtily.
Right. She was the genius daughter of the Sword God, after all.
"Still, I'm proud of you," I said, walking over to pat her head.
Thankfully, even though she was a year older than me, we were both the same height. So there wasn't any awkwardness in me reaching to her hair.
"Uh, t-thanks… and stop that!" she said, swatting my hand away.
Despite the rejection, from how her smile grew even more, I was pretty sure she appreciated the gesture.
Yeah… that was one thing that sucked here.
Swordsmanship was such an integrated part of everyone's lives that being an Intermediate rank was just something natural, even if it was a child reaching that level.
With everyone being reserved in their praise, and the warmth of a home often being replaced with the cold steel of a blade, it was a tough place to grow up as a child.
Thankfully, with my circumstance, it didn't matter to me.
But for a girl like Nina, who always loved attention and praise?
Well, I just hoped that my compliments were enough.
"So am I guessing you want to train then?" I asked, giving her head one last pat before I backed away. "Let's head to the clearing and get started on becoming Advanced swordsmen."
"R-Right! But… not yet," she said, acting a bit more demure than normal.
I guess head pats were super effective.
But still, not training? That was nothing like the blue-haired girl I knew.
"Not yet? Why?" I asked, confused.
"Because I wanted to see you."
A rough voice entered the fray, and turning to the side, I spotted a man.
He had a stern face, short blue hair, two prominent scars etched across his face, and a muscular body that couldn't be hidden by his leather jacket.
But more importantly, as soon as I saw him… I froze.
Not in shock or surprise, but rather at my screaming instincts that had flared up at his entrance.
"Oh? So you sense it… you're definitely interesting, kid," he said with a smirk, as the pressure suddenly faded.
Not completely… but enough where I could think again.
Wait… the blue hair… that indescribable pressure… and the sword at his side…
This was the Sword God, Gal Farion… and Nina's dad.
"S-Sorry for that," I said, nodding to him.
"No need for that, kid," he said, waving his hand. "Anyway, I came to see just who pushed my little girl to improve so fast. To think she already reached that level… it even impressed me."
Nina's chin tilted up in pride at that.
"W-Well she's helped me a bit too…" I replied.
"I bet. But still… you're an Intermediate-ranked swordsman, aren't you? I heard about a little toddler getting there last year, but I didn't think you could actually back it up…" he muttered as his smirk grew. "Hey, kid. Draw your sword."
Oh… oh shit, I knew what was about to happen.
At the Sword Sanctum, that could only mean one thing… a spar.
And with real swords this time.
Well… I've been here long enough that I might as well get this over with than to complain.
Let's just hope it didn't end in me dying.
I mean, he was strong enough to control himself against a kid, right?
Yeah… definitely.
Unsheathing my sword, I set myself in a ready stance as Nina backed away, her eyes narrowing in concentration as the Sword God readied himself.
His stance was casual, but his eyes… his eyes were sharp.
As I already knew, he was not someone to mess with.
But in this instance, I… did not have a choice.
I closed in with a leap, a burst of battle aura erupting from my feet as I crossed the distance in an instant.
My sword struck fast.
Honestly, faster than I ever had before.
And right as it approached his drawn blade, I focused inwards, willing a flash of mana to my sword.
Thankfully, it listened, and a sharp clang rang out across the yard as our swords met.
The Sword God's eyes widened for a fraction before he smirked, twisting his blade as I was flung back.
I didn't let that stop me.
As soon as my feet touched the ground, I crouched low, my toes digging into the ground as I shot to the right, pivoting on my foot as I reached his unarmed side while I twisted my body, launching a horizontal strike with all my power.
This time, my battle aura seemed to move on its own, without any input.
Rolling through my legs, across my back, and into my arms before spreading across my sword, and with this surge of power… I struck.
But yet again, his sword appeared seemingly out of nowhere, the blade turning as he easily deflected my to the ground.
"Damn kid, I honestly didn't expect this. That's some crazy technique for a brat," he said, casually smirking as I leaped back to give me some distance. "Yeah, I already have high hopes for you… so, to give you an example, this is what level you need to reach to enter the main hall."
He disappeared.
Literally disappeared.
But an instant later, my instincts screamed at me as I turned to the side, widening my eyes as I raised my blade as fast as I could.
It wasn't fast enough.
A pressure descended on my body, locking me in place as the Sword God appeared in my vision, his sword already stretching towards me as his gaze focused on my chest.
But right before it could cut me in half… the blade stopped, hovering just over my chest.
A wave of wind pressure flew past me as I stumbled backwards, my legs trembling as I unintentionally dropped to the ground.
I had just been an instant away from death.
Sure, he was always in control, but still… now that the adrenaline was beginning to fade, I only felt the lingering fear from his bloodlust and speed.
My head snapped upward as the Sword God sheathed his sword.
"Ah, shit. Didn't mean to scare you that much… but still," he said, his gaze meeting mine as his teeth began to show. "You know where you stand, right?"
Yes… I definitely did.
Sure, I had seen the Longsword of Light before from my father, but I had never faced it… and my father was nowhere near the Sword God.
That speed… That perfect control of the blade… That bloodlust and focus…
"Anyway, I'll leave you two for now since I got some stuff to sort out, but from now on, you'll both be training under me when I'm able to," he said, waving his hand as he started walking away. "Outside the dojo, of course. I would usually leave the promising kids to Timothy until they reached the Saint rank, but for you two… I'll make an exception."
"O-Okay," I said with a hasty nod.
"G-Got it, Father!" Nina exclaimed before she turned to me and ran over. "Vince, you okay?"
"Yeah, Nina… thanks," I murmured, taking her hand as she pulled me up to my feet. "Your father is quite terrifying, you know."
"Yeah… but he's cool too!" she replied, smiling at me.
Right… I suppose so.