Namgung Se-ga, the warrior, was reincarnated in Romance

Last week, we focused on physical conditioning during the beginner swordsmanship class, so this week it was time to refocus on the form and technique of the sword.

I was grateful and thought it was excellent to be taking both beginner and advanced swordsmanship classes alternately. In the beginner class, I could refine my skills, and in the advanced class, I expanded my vision. I could clearly see my swordsmanship progressing rapidly.

Having already reached the peak of sword mastery in my previous life, my eyes were accustomed to looking toward higher levels, but my young body often didn’t follow through.

As I mixed various sword techniques, I occasionally lost my balance. But thanks to my instructor, who never missed an opportunity to correct me and show me the proper sword path, I didn’t lose my way.

Had I met such an instructor in my previous life, I would have greeted him daily and taken care of him, but now, without a way to repay the favor, I resolved to at least express my gratitude at the right moment.

For this reason, after class, I followed Professor Maelro Sanson and bowed deeply. Professor Sanson scratched his graying hair with a proud expression.

“Well… If it helps with your progress, I’m glad. If you have any questions in the future, feel free to come by anytime. I’ll be here waiting.”

“Thank you. I will.”

“It’s fine for you to come to the training grounds early in the morning. But training until near midnight is not advisable since your body is still growing. It’s best to stick to the training hours.”

“Understood.”

I fully understood the meaning of his kind advice. I bowed once more and left to join my friends for dinner.

* * *

In Professor Jurgen Kaiser’s Artifact class, we briefly reviewed the previous lessons before moving on to new material. Thanks to the voice amplifier around Professor Kaiser’s neck and his clear explanations, the lesson wasn’t difficult at all.

Just as we learned about explosive combat artifacts in the last class, this time we learned about target-hitting combat artifacts. Like explosive artifacts, target-hitting artifacts were divided into four categories: fire, ice, electricity, and other. These were further divided into small, medium, and large sizes, totaling twelve types.

They were also classified into three types based on how they reached their targets: linear, arc, and homing. Drawing diagrams to represent this felt a bit complicated.

However, since the names of the artifacts were standardized based on their functions, it was convenient as I only had to focus on learning a few special cases.

Artifact class was assigned four hours on Monday afternoons, so we had two breaks during the lesson.

Professor Kaiser didn’t wander far. He sat behind the lectern and rested. Though his small body was hidden behind the lectern, the fact that the professor was still in the room made it so that no student was noisy during the break.

Students mostly used the break to stretch their stiff bodies, run to the bathroom, or have a quick snack, like water or small pieces of chocolate.

“Hello, Ernhardt Young Master.”

“Ah, hello. Long time no see, Senior.”

“Do you remember me? It’s me…”

“You guided me on the first day of orientation. I remember.”

The small, glasses-wearing boy approached cautiously to greet me, and I warmly responded.

Looking at my friends, Damien and Shayden, who seemed puzzled, I realized I was the only one familiar with this young man.

The problem was, while I remembered his face, I couldn’t recall his name. However, since he seemed overly delighted, I didn’t have the heart to ask him. I decided I would ask someone else later, but for now, I answered his various questions earnestly.

When he asked how I ended up in this class, I introduced my friends, Damien and Shayden, and mentioned I could provide summary notes if he needed them. He gratefully accepted, and it amused me to see Shayden’s expression brighten suddenly after looking displeased before.

Professor Kaiser stepped out from behind the lectern as class resumed.

Shayden lightly tapped my arm with the feathered end of his quill, and when I turned to look, I saw he had written several things on the last page of his notebook. The first line read:

– How do you know Hershey Milton?

Below that were various speculative comments, but they didn’t seem relevant, so I reached out and drew a line to cross them out.

Shayden, realizing that wasn’t the right approach, underlined the first line again.

I silently replied with a gesture, mouthing the words:

– Work-study student. Guided incoming students.

– You probably shouldn’t get too close. There are rumors he’s involved in suspicious activities with dark magic.

– Dark magic?

– “Oh, they say he sells strange potions.”

– “Don’t you want to take the summary notes?”

Shayden looked seriously troubled.

I wasn’t the type to believe in baseless rumors circulating among the younger kids. If there were any suspicions in the summary notes, I decided they weren’t worth worrying about. Leaving Shayden lost in thought, I focused on the class.

Among the target-hitting artifacts, the one that intrigued me the most was the Type 5 Tracking Electric Shock Artifact.

This artifact consisted of two parts: the main body and the tracker. The main body was quite large, but the tracker used for target tracking was tiny, about the size of a thumbnail. The tracker was attached to the target in advance, and when activated, the main body’s magical formula would trigger.

Once the formula was activated, the temperature around the tracker would rapidly decrease, and an electrical shock would be discharged toward the target, which became slower due to the cold.

Although the drawback was that the tracker had to be attached in advance, it was particularly useful for locating monsters that weren’t very smart.

The way the temperature dropped by drawing in surrounding heat and cold to maximize the electric shock’s effect was also fascinating.

I mentally noted that if I studied the elemental affinities in advance, I could discover more efficient combinations for using artifacts.

After class, on the way to find Benjamin with Shayden, we talked more about Hershey Milton.

To me, Hershey Milton seemed like a shy, awkward young man, but I heard there were many rumors about him.

He was one of the people the Ministry of Magic was cautious about, especially because of his talent in alchemy and artifact creation.

He was quiet, spoke little, and had few friends his age. He was close to professors, often running errands for them.

When I mentioned the work-study program, Shayden nodded and agreed.

“There are three types of students who apply for the work-study program at Cieran Academy.”

“What are they?”

“Either the children of high-ranking nobles who need to manage their image, or the children of merchant families who want to form connections with those nobles, or commoners who truly need the scholarship because they’re poor.”

“And Milton?”

“He’s the second type. The Milton family is involved in silk trade, so there’s no way they’re short on money. We business-minded people have to be careful with merchants. They often make uncomfortable requests, relying on connections, so we’re taught to be cautious.”

“Hmm.”

But I was skeptical of Shayden’s view.

How much could a family request of him? If the shy boy simply hoped for casual greetings, there was no reason to be hostile.

If he made unreasonable requests later, I could cut ties then, so there was no need to worry in advance. Besides, I was just a knight from a noble family, not a businessman.

As I thought quietly, I asked another question.

“What do you mean by the rumors about him being involved in dark magic?”

“Uhm… do you know what dark magic is?”

“I do.”

In any world, white was associated with light and goodness, while black was linked to darkness and evil.

It was the same in Cieran. Among magic, the harmful and sinister types were referred to as dark magic.

Dark magic involved using the corpses of animals or humans in experiments.

Even in the fairy tales children read and the rumors passed around, dark magic was considered evil and something to be fought against.

However, the curiosity of mages was immense, and since medical advancements required dissecting real human bodies, dark magic had persisted as a controversial practice.

That was why, at Cieran Academy, there were some classes that gave students a basic understanding of dark magic.

Not many students attended, but they would compare white magic to dark magic or learn how to use dark magic properly.

However, due to the nature of the subject, those who regularly attended dark magic classes were easily looked down upon, so only curious students would attend a few introductory classes.

But Hershey Milton, now in his third year, had taken at least one dark magic class every semester since his first year.

As a result, his interests seemed suspicious, and many students avoided him.

They didn’t openly exclude him, but they didn’t want to keep him close, thinking he wasn’t someone to be trusted, just because his subject preference was unusual. Shayden had scolded me, saying I shouldn’t be so harsh on a young boy for simply liking a different subject.

Shayden quickly waved his hands, insisting that wasn’t the case.

“He’s only in his third year at the academy. If he were truly doing something vile, it would be far worse than just attending some classes. There’s no reason to avoid him just for attending.”

“But it’s Milton.”

“Milton?”

“Do you not remember from the Imperial History class?”

“He’s involved in silk trade.”

“Right, with Floyd! And Floyd is connected to the First Prince.”

“Oh.”

That was when I understood why Shayden was so wary of Milton.

But since I had no personal issues with the First Prince, and Milton seemed to be only distantly connected to him, there was no reason to antagonize the boy.

I didn’t think it was right to speak ill of him without a clear reason, so I calmly shared my thoughts.

Shayden, after a long pause, agreed with me, saying I was right.

Seeing his sincere expression, I praised him several times for his honesty and good heart, but Shayden pouted, saying not to treat him like a child, which made me laugh for a while.