Lord Of High Manor

On the western outskirts of Ves-Dinas, black rocks block the deep blue waves, creating white foam on the shore.

Iris stands there, her long black hair fluttering in the sea breeze. In front of Iris, Nia holds a half spear purchased for 19 gold coins from Tardan's smithy, cutting out the eyes of a Nauian blue hermit crab—its blue shell riddled with holes—as requested by the Adventurer's Guild, and placing them in a small sack.

The eyes of the Nauian blue hermit crab are used in alchemy as a material for making excellent antidotes, which is why they are a major source of income for skilled adventurers, as Nia and Iris had heard from a guild employee.

"How is it, Nia? Have you gotten used to the new weapon?"

"I have gotten used to it, Master Iris."

"Good. Be careful not to loosen the mana reinforcement around the weapon like last time, or it might get damaged again."

"Understood, Master."

"But you shouldn't be afraid of the weapon breaking or getting damaged. Mana is greatly influenced by the mind. More than having a good weapon, you must be able to trust yourself no matter what weapon you hold."

Iris approached Nia and said.

"And an unwavering mind allows you to use equally strong mana."

Having come close to Nia, Iris drew her sword from its sheath. The blade, with its black wave patterns, reflected the sunlight, appearing as a deep black tinged with blue, similar to Iris's hair color.

The longsword Inardil. This famous sword, known as the Unbreakable((不破) Sword, was obtained by Gravel during the progression of Taut's story while acquiring his sword, the Sword of the East End.

Inardil, the sword of an unnamed master craftsman who believed that no sword should be more perfect than the one he made and thus sank it deep into the ocean. Since receiving Inardil from Gravel, Iris has cherished it so much that she has never let it leave her side, not even for a moment. Unusually, Iris held her sword in her left hand instead of her right, and in her right hand, she held Inardil's sheath.

"A weapon enveloped in strong, dense mana can accomplish such feats, even if it's not a sword but a sheath."

Iris brought the tip of the sheath close to the shell of the fallen hermit crab as she finished speaking. Then, where the tip of the sheath touched the crab's shell, a large hole appeared with a loud noise similar to a rock splitting from a lightning strike.

"WooWow... That's amazing."

"It's a technique where you not only envelop the weapon in mana but also emit more mana at the tip to concentrate it with higher density. I'll teach it to Nia later."

Watching Iris, Nia looked at Iris with wide, astonished eyes.

"Perfect timing. Today, we'll do Nia's sword training here."

"Understood, Master Iris."

"First, I'll tell Nia what my master told me. It will help if you repeat it in your mind while practicing swordsmanship."

"Do I have to memorize it?"

Nia asked, looking up at Iris with worried eyes and trembling pupils.

"That is, you don't necessarily have to memorize it. It's enough to understand the meaning the phrase conveys."

Iris reassured Nia with a smile in her eyes. Then, before reciting the phrase from memory, she cleared her throat with a small cough.

"Understand this: Above all, you must know that the words 'first and last,' 'weakness and strength,' and 'moment' are the foundation of all combat. If you correctly understand this, especially not forgetting the word 'moment,' and practice it in all swordsmanship, you will be able to become a master of swordsmanship and walk the path of true artistry."

"..."

"That was too long, wasn't it? When we return to the Tiabard Inn, I'll write it down for you separately."

"Thank you... Master Iris."

"Then, I'll show you the importance of the 'moment' mentioned in the phrase by using the sword directly. Pick up your weapon, Nia. It's much easier to understand by seeing it directly."

As Iris spoke, Nia adjusted the grip on the weapon. In the right hand, the half spear. In the left hand, a metal buckler with a diameter of about 1 cubit (50 cm), which was received when buying the half spear.

Although it had no decorative engravings, the buckler's surface was smoothly curved to deflect weapons and arrows.

Even though it was a buckler given as a bonus, Tardan had adjusted the leather on the back to fit Nia's hand, so it fit perfectly on Nia's arm.

As Nia took a stance, the figure of Iris walking away became gradually distant in Nia's eyes.

"Are you ready?"

"I am ready, Master Iris."

After walking about twenty steps, Iris turned around, raised her sword, and spoke to Nia.

"Let's begin."

"Understood."

At the same time as the reply, Iris was already in front of Nia. In that brief moment, where Iris had been standing, there was now a deep footprint in the sand, and before Nia knew it, the tip of Iris's sword, Inardil, was touching Nia's neck.

"The phrase speaks of the importance of a preemptive strike to gain the initiative in battle. And also about movements so fast that every instant becomes a 'moment,' and the physical training to achieve that."

"Ah... I understand."

"Now, try to attack me with a slash."

"Understood."

As Iris moved the sword away from Nia's neck and spoke, Nia gripped the handle of the half spear more tightly, raised it high above the head, and brought it down towards Iris.

-Clang-

The sound of metal blades clashing rang out.

"Counter a slash with a slash; attack me more strongly."

"Eeyah!"

-Claaang-

"Against a strong attack, even stronger!"

Nia's stance collapsed due to Iris's sword, and feeling a tingling pain in the wrist, Nia stepped back and shielded with the buckler in the left hand.

"How was that? When the opponent makes a preemptive strike, rather than defending, you attack together to intercept. Quickly and strongly. It's easy to say and obvious, but hard to achieve."

Iris said as she sheathed Inardil.

"Hmm. I think I understand, but maybe not."

Nia replied to Iris while lowering the buckler that was shielding the body.

"It's okay. It's not something you can accomplish or understand in a day. Next, I'll teach you about the sword techniques and stances you can use with the half spear you're holding now. It's quite different from the long two-handed sword you used before, so you'll need to adapt."

"Understood! Master Iris."

Joy was evident on Nia's face because the time for sword training, which was much easier than difficult phrases or mana training, was about to begin.

"Don't get too excited. We'll also do mana training together."

"Ugh... Mana training makes me tired. It makes me sleepy."

In front of Nia, who had bowed the head in disappointment, Iris stood with her sword and took a stance.

"This is the Bastion stance. After swinging the sword vertically downward, maintain that position. With the tip of the sword pointing diagonally downward towards the ground, emit as much mana as possible to envelop your body and the weapon in your hand."

"Understood, Master Iris."

Following the stance shown by Iris, Nia began to emit mana.

"Aaaah!"

Nia's loud battle cry echoed, and from Nia, who was frowning intensely, a powerful surge of mana burst forth.

"You've increased the number of mana veins you can connect and utilize, Nia. Is it about five now?"

"Ughhh! Yes! Five mana veins!"

"You can already connect five mana veins to emit mana. That's excellent."

Looking at Nia, Iris smiled slightly, moving her eyes and mouth gently, laughing silently.

"Before winter ends, you need to double the number of mana veins you can connect and utilize, Nia."

"Ah... Understood, Master Iris."

"And you must train to maintain the maximum emission of mana, like now, for at least one hour."

Since Nia decided to follow Gravel, Iris has devoted a lot of time to Nia's training. Even while guarding Diara's wagon on the way to Ves-Dinas, Iris taught Nia the basics of swordsmanship and mana whenever there was a chance.

At first, the purpose was simply to train Nia to have the skills necessary as a vassal following her lord, Gravel.

But as time passed teaching Nia, it became interesting to see Nia's rapid growth.

Nia quickly imitated and mastered the sword techniques demonstrated, and in learning the sword, there was a pure joy in wholeheartedly absorbing new things and making them part of oneself, without any distractions.

Thus, training Nia became a daily routine.

It also made Iris realize that she should not be satisfied with her current skills and should strive to improve further. She thought that without Nia, a sense of complacency might have eventually arisen within her.

"Oh, and if you do the mana emission training for a long time, it will be tiring."

"No, Master Iris..."

"Instead, like the mana training method that Lord Gravel taught Nia the other day, I'll also teach you one training method. Use the mana vein of Aquilia to see my mana clearly and watch carefully."

Iris brought her right hand close to the eyes of Nia, who was exhausted and sitting on the ground, unable to emit mana any longer.

"Watch closely."

-Whoosh-

Suddenly, a tremendous amount of mana extended from Iris's hand. Iris's long hair fluttered as if in a strong wind, and the force was strong enough to push Nia, who was sitting in front, backward and knock Nia over.

"As you can see, the mana convulsion that you emit from your body and wrap around yourself protects your body. But the mana that extends out is difficult to control and maintain, as Nia knows well."

"Huff... huff... Yes."

Still panting and unable to calm the breath, Nia answered while fixing the gaze on Iris's hand.

"Therefore, as important as enveloping your body with a large amount of mana is the density of the mana."

As Iris finished speaking, the fierce mana energy extending from her hand subsided, and her fluttering long hair also quietly settled down.

"More precisely, it's about controlling the mana you send out of your body by bringing it back and compressing it close to your body."

Iris said, withdrawing the hand she had extended towards Nia.

"So, you also train the method of controlling the mana that surrounds your body simultaneously with emitting it."

Thus, another training task was added for Nia, and Nia's endless training continued until the sun set.