"It is an honor to receive your guidance, Sword Saint. I am lacking in many ways, but I will do my absolute best. I ask for your tutelage."
Lucian bowed to Eisen with the utmost respect.
At this gesture, the old knight waved his hand dismissively, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"Please, do not be so formal. Though I am called a Sword Saint, I am merely an old man waiting for his time to come. Furthermore, you are a candidate to be the next family head, Third Prince. You should not lower your head so easily."
Despite the old knight's humility, Lucian could not relax in the slightest.
'Sword Saint' was a title granted only to a superhuman who had reached the limits of Circulation, completed their awakening, and then honed their swordsmanship to the absolute peak.
Even looking back through the long history of the Empire, there was only one instance where more than one Sword Saint existed at the same time. Even then, it was said to be only a few years before the previous Sword Saint passed away from old age. In other words, it was rare for even one to appear in a single era.
To Lucian, who had been obsessed with the sword in his past life, the weight of that title was bound to be different.
"I cannot disparage the House of Valdek, but how could I treat a knight who has reached the level of Sword Saint with anything less than respect simply because he is a retainer? Regardless of status, Sir Eisen, you are a man worthy of the respect of every knight."
"Ho-ho."
As Lucian spoke again with sincere conviction, a glint of interest flashed in Eisen's eyes.
The other princes had also shown Eisen great respect. However, that was strictly the respect shown by candidates for the succession of a Grand Ducal House. The name of a Sword Saint carried enough weight to overturn the succession race in an instant.
In contrast, the respect Lucian showed was closer to the pure admiration of a fellow knight.
'How strange. Usually, children of noble families perceive martial power as nothing more than a tool to be used.'
It was only natural, in a way. These were young people raised in a peaceful world, watching mediocre knights and countless soldiers. To them, a hero who was a match for a hundred men would seem like an exaggerated legend, or merely a commoner who could be crushed by sheer numbers.
Yet, the Third Prince's attitude was like that of someone who had walked the path of the sword himself.
—I thought he was a hopeless case, but looking at him again, he is quite an extraordinary fellow. Was his talent great? Rather than that, his mindset was what surprised me. You'll understand what I mean once you see for yourself.
Eisen recalled what the Grand Duke had said before he came here. He felt he finally understood the meaning behind those words.
However, he couldn't give Lucian special treatment just because of one unusual reaction. For now, he intended to gauge the boy's potential through the same training the other princes had undergone.
"I understand. If you insist, it would be rude of me to keep refusing your courtesy. Do as you find comfortable, Third Prince."
"Thank you for your understanding."
"Then we shall begin training immediately. Run around the training grounds."
"Yes, sir."
Lucian answered immediately and began to run. He didn't ask why, nor did he show even a moment's hesitation. His stoic attitude actually flustered Eisen, who had ordered the run.
"Uh, Third Prince. Wait a moment."
"Yes? Is something the matter?"
"Do you not have any questions? Like why I told you to run, how long you have to run, or what the meaning of this training is?"
"I am curious, but I assume you ordered it because it is necessary for me. If you did not explain it in detail, I'm sure there is a reason for that as well. As one receiving instruction, I simply follow my master's words."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lucian started moving his legs again. Eisen watched him blankly, a hollow laugh escaping his lips.
It was easy to say, but was it really that simple to do? As long as one was human, they tended to avoid meaningless labor. Nobles, in particular, calculated profit and loss as naturally as they breathed. Yet, he ran without a hint of hesitation or even a single doubt.
'The Third Prince is certainly different, Your Grace.'
A look of anticipation settled in Sword Saint Eisen's eyes. Unlike when he taught the other noble young masters, he felt that this time, he might be teaching a true knight.
Lucian ran across the wide open space of the training grounds in silence.
In truth, his answer to Eisen's question had been partially a lie. The reason he hadn't hesitated wasn't so much out of faith in Eisen, but because he already knew the purpose of this test.
'To an outsider, it looks like simple physical conditioning, but in reality, it's to gauge various things about the disciple.'
How obediently they followed orders, even when told to run instead of practice swordsmanship. How much their current stamina could support them before the actual training began. How long they would run without resting if not told to stop.
Running was a way to grasp everything from a disciple's personality to their physical condition and grit. In fact, excluding the most important factor—talent—it included everything needed to judge a disciple.
'Well, if they have no talent, most are filtered out by their personality and grit... but since he's the Grand Duke's son, Eisen would have to teach him regardless.'
A bitter smile touched Lucian's lips. Power was certainly a fine thing. A master might be forced to teach a disciple they didn't want to.
However, looking at it another way, this was an opportunity to score points with the Sword Saint. No matter how good their personality or grit, a noble young master who enjoyed every luxury would likely show a predictable level of endurance.
In that regard, Lucian could show a performance that surpassed anyone else.
'I've proven my mindset; now is it grit? It can't be helped. I'll just have to prepare to be bedridden for a few days.'
His body had recovered, but he was still out of shape. It was obvious he would tire quickly, so if he wanted to leave a deep impression, he had to show himself running until he literally dropped.
Fortunately, this wasn't just any noble family; it was the House of Valdek. Even if he collapsed and his breathing became erratic, they would surely have medicine to restore him.
Having steeled his resolve, Lucian kicked off the ground and increased his speed.
An hour passed.
"...."
"...."
Patter, patter.
The sound of Lucian's running still echoed through the training grounds. His breathing hadn't become labored, nor had his pace slowed. Sword Saint Eisen's eyes widened at the unexpected result.
But the one more surprised than Eisen was the runner himself.
'What? Why am I not getting tired?'
According to his expectations, he should have collapsed long ago. Or, even if he didn't collapse, his pace should have slowed or his breathing should have become heavy. Unless one was a superhuman, that was the natural human response.
Yet, strangely, Lucian's body didn't feel tired at all.
"Young Master, are you alright?"
"That is... for some reason, I feel fine."
At Eisen's bewildered question, Lucian answered with an equally stunned expression.
He ran for another thirty minutes, but his body still felt light and full of energy. Eisen, seemingly having grasped Lucian's physical state, gave a wry smile.
"It seems there is no point in continuing this. Please stop and come here for a moment."
"Yes, sir."
As Lucian approached, Eisen took hold of his wrist. He placed his hand over the faint blue veins.
"I will check your condition for a moment. Do not move, even if you feel something strange."
As soon as Lucian nodded, a refreshing energy surged through his wrist and into his body. Lucian flinched at the sensation, which he was experiencing for the first time.
'Is he using his mana as a sense of touch to scan my interior?'
He couldn't help but be impressed. It was extremely difficult to manifest mana externally, yet Eisen was handling it with such delicacy. Even as it permeated every part of his body, Lucian felt nothing more than a slight foreign sensation. Eisen must have synchronized the properties of his mana with Lucian's as much as possible to minimize any side effects.
Lucian realized once again just how high the realm of a Sword Saint truly was.
"This is...!"
Eisen's eyes trembled as he scanned the body for a long time. After a moment, Eisen withdrew his mana and looked straight at Lucian.
"Young Master, I must ask you a few things. Have you recently practiced Circulation on your own?"
"Yes, I have."
Lucian answered without hesitation. The previous owner of this body had already learned Circulation, so it wasn't strange for him to do it. Unlike swordsmanship, it didn't require physical training and was easy to learn if someone assisted from the outside.
Eisen knew this as well, so he moved past the first answer easily. The real questions started now.
"Then, during Circulation, did you ever feel any blockage, pressure, or pain?"
"No."
"You mean you didn't even feel a slight hitch?"
"Not at all. It flowed as smoothly as a waterwheel."
"Ha... Haha. Hahaha!"
A myriad of emotions flickered across Eisen's face. Disbelief, joy, regret, relief, contemplation. There were other complex and subtle emotions that Lucian couldn't quite identify.
Lucian couldn't fully grasp his state of mind, but he had a rough idea of why Eisen was acting this way.
'He must have realized that my mana pathways are already completely open.'
Come to think of it, wasn't the reason he hadn't tired earlier also related to this body? As someone who hadn't achieved greatness as a swordsman in his past life, Lucian could only guess that much.
In contrast, Eisen was a Sword Saint, a realm reached by only a handful in the continent's history. He might have realized something much deeper about Lucian's body.
'I'd like to ask, but...'
It would be strange for a prince who hadn't even mastered basic swordsmanship to pinpoint and ask about such difficult concepts. It was better to stay quiet until Eisen spoke, rather than rouse unnecessary suspicion.
After thinking for a long time, Eisen finally let out a sigh.
"I see. I understand well now."
"Is there something wrong?"
"No, quite the opposite. Your body, Young Master, is more suited to learning the Lion Heart Sword than anyone else's."
"Pardon? What do you mean by that...?"
"Third Prince."
Eisen wiped the smile from his face and spoke in a serious tone.
"Instead of becoming the successor to House Valdek, would you consider aiming for the position of the next Sword Saint?"
"...!?"
Lucian was so shocked that he couldn't regain his senses for a while. Give up the succession and become the next Sword Saint?
To the bewildered Lucian, Eisen explained in a calm voice.
"You brushed off the fact that your Circulation has no blockages, but in truth, that is a tremendous blessing."
Circulation was the process of gradually purifying a human body filled with impurities. Even if one repeated Circulation every single day without rest, the process of clearing and widening blocked paths was dauntingly long. It was said that even if one started in their youth, they would be past middle age before they saw the end of it.
And that was only possible when the process of growing mana through swordsmanship was accompanied. If one neglected training even slightly or became distracted, their paths would remain blocked until the day they died.
"But you, Young Master, have all your paths open from the very start. Do you understand what this means?"
"Does it not mean that I am naturally decades ahead of other swordsmen?"
"It is more than that."
"Pardon? What else is there?"
Lucian asked with genuine curiosity. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't imagine any effect beyond that. At most, he thought it might mean that any elixirs he took would be several times more effective.
As Lucian tilted his head in confusion, Eisen spoke in a trembling voice.
"The moment all paths are open, the body is already completely purified. There is nothing higher than that. Yet, in your case, the effects of Circulation are still minutely continuing. It means you still have room to go even higher."
"...!"
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