I Pull Out Excalibur

29 – City of Opportunities, Cambria (5)

“One year is enough,” said the boy confidently.

Merlin burst into laughter at the boy’s ambition to surpass even the records set by Arthur. She didn’t feel discomfort at the thought of erasing Arthur’s records; after all, aiming high was preferable.

-Yes. You should come out like that.

She would have been disappointed if he had made weak sounds of hesitation. Merlin let out a long sigh. With the basic funds secured, a place to stay found, and a stage ready for full-scale activities, the foundation had been laid.

In other words, the groundwork was complete.

Merlin was convinced that now was the time to look to the future and prepare for tomorrow, rather than frantically moving forward day by day just to survive.

-How much do you know about mana?

What the boy lacked.

Knowledge of mana and cultivation techniques.

Now was the optimal time to teach him.

* * *

Mana, the energy accumulated in the body.

Nagine didn’t know much about mana. No one had taught her about mana. She had simply understood it somewhat intuitively by observing those around her who manipulated mana.

“I almost know nothing.”

Nagine honestly answered Merlin’s question about how much she knew about mana. She couldn’t explain how the processes of handling mana and drawing the sword happened, even though she had started dealing with mana and drawing the sword by chance.

‘It feels like it should be done this way.’

Relying not on knowledge but solely on her intuition, Nagine manipulated mana. Merlin, who had observed Nagine for a little over ten days, was aware of this fact.

-Well, relying on your senses isn’t bad. It’s actually proof that you have innate talent. However, relying on intuition without precise knowledge has clear limitations.

Basic theories and knowledge.

“Knowing and moving with intention is crucial, whether it’s swordsmanship, magic, or mana.”

Merlin spoke, “If you understand that, you’ll be able to use mana more extensively and diversely.” Jin listened attentively to her story. What Merlin was sharing now was knowledge that no one else had taught Jin.

“And above all…”

Jin thought to himself.

Sometimes forgetting, but now, the one talking about ‘mana’ in front of him is none other than the Archmage Merlin.

The constellation with eleven stars.

A woman referred to as the Archmage in countless tales of heroes.

Jin recalled the countless titles bestowed upon her. The first sorceress to reach the realm of mystery, a true sage who touched the truth, an enlightened one who awakened to the essence of mana, and more. In history, no one delved as deeply into ‘mana’ and ‘magic’ as Merlin did.

Just as Arthur marked a stroke in the history of the sword.

Merlin was the figure who wrote the basics of magecraft.

“Such a person.”

She was talking about mana.

Even if there is a difference in how mages and swordsmen handle mana, the basic process of accumulating mana is similar. The difference lies in how you handle it.

“So, I’ll teach you mana manipulation.”

Mana manipulation.

The method of accumulating mana within the body.

“Originally, I was going to start by piercing a path through your body and absorbing mana, but…”

Merlin laughed as if incredulous.

“You already know how to handle mana?”

“Sensory-wise, yes. I know how to handle it.”

“Yeah. It’s absurd, but you’ve already pierced a path in your body. It’s more difficult than accumulating mana. Where did you learn that? Did you read a few whimsical lines and follow along?”

“Yes.”

“Unbelievable, really.”

Now, Merlin sighed as if tired of being surprised. In any case, a path for mana to flow through Jin’s body had already been created.

All that remained was to accumulate mana within the body.

The boy’s body, fashioned much like Arthur’s, appeared to Merlin as a perfectly prepared canvas for the road ahead. Though it was currently nothing more than a vast expanse of fields, from now on, a tower, sturdier and taller than anything else, would be erected here.

“Shall we start with the breathing technique?”

With that, Merlin laid the cornerstone, the foundation stone, of the tower he would build from now on, on the expansive fields.

2.

“Inhale deeply.”

“Absorb the flow into your body as you normally do.”

Following Merlin’s words, Najin moved.

Najin felt the flow settling into her body.

“Good job. Yes, you’re absorbing the flow into your body well. But why do you use it briefly and then discard it to the ground? How can I explain this?”

Merlin said.

“You’re pouring water from a bucket, letting it spill onto the ground right away. Of course, there’s no problem when you use it for a short time, but that way, there’s no progress.”

“Then, what should I do?”

“It’s simple.”

She laughed.

“Don’t pour what you’ve gathered directly onto the ground. Let it seep into your body slowly. Can you endure as much as you can?”

Until now, Najin had been using mana for short-term, instantaneous purposes. But Merlin was saying something different. Maintain that state for a long time.

1 minute, 3 minutes… and so 5 minutes passed.

When 5 minutes had passed, cold sweat ran down Najin’s spine. Her body tensed, and her nose sniffled. When one more minute passed, a drop of blood dripped from Najin’s nose. The pain of knives stabbing her entire body attacked.

“Stop.”

Merlin warned, and Najin exhaled the breath she had been holding.

“Cough, cough!”

Her throat felt dry.

In the cough she let out, drops of blood were mixed. Unable to overcome the pain, Najin collapsed in the room.

“The longer you hold mana in your body, the more it seeps in. What you just did was part of that process. Of course, it will hurt terribly.”

“It hurts so much, it feels like I might die…”

Najin, who could barely speak due to the difficulty of breathing properly, managed to force out words. Hearing her voice, Merlin chuckled.

“Of course, it hurts. Normally, you should never accumulate mana like this. Usually, focus on gathering and storing the clean mana that enters your body by sucking in potions without letting it flow out or…”

Unless.

“Each family or group has a hidden spring of mana, like a sacred place, where properly purified mana is swallowed, not like this. Don’t gather raw mana from the wild, or your body will be completely destroyed from the inside.”

Listening intently to Merlin’s words, Najin opened her eyes wide.

“No, that’s the wrong way to go about it…”

-You don’t have the money to buy the medicine, and you don’t have the background to use the sacred spring. This is your best option. Besides, your body can afford to get a bit ruined, right?

What nonsense are you talking about?

Merlin’s response was quicker than Jen’s question about whose body it was.

-You’re holding Excalibur.

“…Yes?”

-Since you don’t have a star, Excalibur is only half-functioning… But you still have regenerative abilities, right?

The regenerative abilities that Excalibur provides.

Jen knew what Merlin was talking about. The regenerative abilities had already been of great help when she had been escaping in the underground city.

-Even if you can’t recover trauma immediately, you should be able to recover internal injuries quickly, right? Arthur was like that too.

The method that Merlin was now teaching Jen was Arthur’s original mana-exercise technique. It was an ignorant and crude method that Arthur had developed by training his body even though he had nothing.

-Ripping and recovering, ripping and recovering. In that process, the body is optimized to store mana. It’s really ignorant when I think about it…

Merlin smirked mischievously.

-But it’s amazingly efficient.

“It’s really painful, though.”

-You have to endure the pain. Is there another way?

That’s how we were all taught.

These days, the weak and decadent rely on convenient things like fortresses and medicine. Merlin grumbled while speaking.

-Growth comes from hardship and difficulty, not from comfort. If it’s easy, is it really growth? It’s just devouring as it is.

Jen furrowed her eyebrows.

“Do I have to put up with this old stubbornness?”

-What did you say?

Jen mumbled and turned her body around. After a few minutes, she was able to move her body to some degree. Leaning against the wall, Jen slowly regulated her breathing.

“Do I continue with this?”

-Break it up in short intervals every morning. It’s more important to do it consistently over time rather than in a short period of time.

And, Merlin added.

-Just accumulating mana doesn’t make you stronger, you know?

Jen caught on to what Merlin was trying to say.

“Do I go out and move my body?”

-Yes. That way, it’ll seep in faster.

“Even just breathing makes my whole body ache.”

– Is pain considered training? If it doesn’t hurt, is that training?

This is so frustrating…

“Ugh.”

With a groan, Najiin hoisted herself up. Her legs were trembling, but still, Najiin moved her body as Merlin instructed.

Arthur must have trained like this, too.

And she had to surpass Arthur.

Reminding herself of her goal, Najiin whipped her body. Holding her sword, she stepped outside the inn and took a stance in the empty field, swinging her sword. As she continued to swing her sword, Najiin’s expression became grim.

It reminded her of the old days.

When she was in the underground city, Najiin would go out to the field every morning and swing her sword. And there was always one master who would offer advice, holding a bottle of alcohol.

“It’s not about swinging the sword like that.”

“Look all the way to the tip of the blade.”

“Swinging it randomly won’t do. Focus on your stance. Pay attention to your breathing.”

Open’s voice echoed in Najiin’s ear.

There was no master here to watch her swing the sword and offer advice, but Najiin continued to swing her sword silently. Remembering the advice left by Open.

Swish.

In the empty field, the sound of a boy’s sword slicing through the air echoed faintly.

3.

Najiin felt a change on the fourth day.

Following Merlin’s instructions, Najiin absorbed mana every day and trained with her stomach in knots. She noticed a change in her body.

Her body felt lighter, and she moved faster than usual.

The speed of her swinging sword noticeably increased, and every step she took was full of strength. Without consciously harnessing the flow, her body moved faster than a few days ago, and Najiin couldn’t help but be amazed.

“The effects are definitely working.”

Growth is visible. Najiin thought to herself, feeling a sense of accomplishment for the past four days of pushing herself to the limit and tearing her body apart. She swung her sword with even more determination.

“Whew…”

After finishing her training, Najiin washed away the sweat with the water she had kept. While washing her body, Najiin suddenly glanced at the mirror. Did she have to disguise herself? The pursuers from the sect must know her appearance.

While Najiin was contemplating, Merlin looked at Najiin’s upper body reflected in the mirror and thought of something completely different. Najiin’s upper body reflected in the mirror was covered in small scars. Especially on her abdomen, there were long scars that seemed to be created by a sword.

Small scars.

And between those scars, were the clearly defined muscles.

These were the muscles that he had cultivated in real battles. Things that those who relied solely on their talents could not obtain. As Merlin looked at them, he couldn’t help but be amazed.

Honestly, he had been worried.

Najin had talents and a growth rate that surpassed ordinary people. And, like most prodigies, Najin had also made it this far without laying a proper foundation, Merlin thought.

But when he examined it closely, how was it?

The foundation had been sufficiently built.

Merlin smiled satisfactorily at Najin’s well-trained physique, which could endure rigorous training. Because the foundation had been well established, the effects of proper training were appearing immediately.

With all the conditions and foundation in place.

The boy who was only waiting to make a leap.

Merlin pondered as he tried to gauge the steep curve of Najin’s growth. He could teach him how to manipulate mana and the basics of training, but…

– Swordsmanship is the problem.

Swordsmanship. That was the problem.

Merlin had been a sorcerer to some extent, and he had seen the swordsmanship of Arthur and the knights of the Round Table up close, but he didn’t have the martial talent to teach it.

The boy was a swordsman, not a sorcerer.

A swordsman who would wield Excalibur.

He couldn’t reach the level of Swordseeker only by accumulating and manipulating mana. To reach the level of Swordseeker, one had to understand the essence of the sword and awaken its mastery.

“I have something in mind for that.”

As he wiped off the moisture and changed his clothes, Najin spoke.

“You’ve been going to the guild often these days, haven’t you?”

Najin, who was still not recognized as a proper mercenary, had to fill in at least some achievements to receive proper requests. For the past three days, Najin had been performing odd jobs assigned by the guild.

Perhaps it was thanks to sweeping away a goblin horde. Last night, the guild had awarded Najin the black hue on his nameplate. He had become a black-ranked mercenary, which meant he had obtained the qualification to perform proper requests.

“There aren’t many that I can still receive.”

Najin stepped forward and arrived at the guild.

“But now I can take on individual requests.”

Individual requests, not from the guild.

Among them, there was one request that Najin had marked. It was a request that wasn’t particularly popular due to the meager reward. However, it was an appealing request to Najin.

“Looking for a carrier to transport monster corpses.”

A simple request to follow the hunt and transport corpses. But the important thing was the identity information of the person who commissioned the request.

“Sword Expert affiliated with the Sword Sect.”

“Lieutenant Priest, Volcman.”

The Sword Sect. A group of individuals who pursued only the path of the sword, a place where those who dedicated their lives to honing swordsmanship gathered.

In other words.

‘Those skilled in swordsmanship.’

Najin smiled.

Reaching out, Najin clenched the commission letter. Of course, the commission did not contain a single word about the priest named ‘Volcman’ teaching swordsmanship, but…

Well, who knows.

If you look, you can somehow mimic it.