Chapter 30

The Swordsmanship Genius Possessed by a God — Chapter 30

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How many laps had they run around the training ground?

Blanc, the youngest member, who had long since given up counting, asked,

“Hah, how much longer, are we going to run? Huff.”

He was asking on behalf of the other members of the Second Squad running alongside him.

They had already been running for over an hour.

Their pace was fast, and Allen had even prohibited the use of mana.

“Until you collapse from exhaustion.”

“...Pardon?”

“Do you think you'll improve if you stop and rest whenever you feel like it? Training only works when you push beyond your limits.”

Several faces turned pale at Allen's words.

Some of those who had neglected their physical training were already reaching their limits. Whenever that happened, they tried to support themselves with mana.

But Allen noticed every single time.

“You there, with the pointy hair! Was it Calvin? Don't use mana just because you're tired! Your stamina won't improve!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“Paul! You're not even completely exhausted yet, and you're already falling behind? If you can't keep up, you'll be running this afternoon too!”

“Gaaaaah!”

Even while running, Allen continued urging the other squad members onward.

He watched for anyone slacking off, pacing themselves, using mana, or pretending to be exhausted when they still had stamina left.

Bigra, who was running directly behind Allen, felt as though he were dying.

‘Damn it! How can he run so well?’

Allen ran faster than anyone else. Even so, he kept an eye on the other squad members, and his breathing never faltered.

His basic stamina was vastly superior.

So much so that keeping up with him seemed impossible.

Once the run passed the one-hour mark, squad members began dropping out one or two at a time.

Even while running, Allen took note of who fell behind first and how each person ran.

‘The deputy leader has the most determination. Her stamina is good too. After her, Plio, Hamil, Flandre...’

In the end, only Allen and Mary remained.

Mary's face had turned almost completely white, and the run finally ended when she looked ready to collapse at any moment.

“It's finally over.”

“Haaaaaaa—”

About half the squad members sprawled out on the training ground floor, gasping for breath with dry, burning mouths.

They had barely begun catching their breath when—

“Next is this.”

Allen brought over an iron sword with a heavy iron bar attached to it.

As a demonstration, Allen swung the weighted sword.

Whooom—

A heavy sound cut through the air.

At that sound, the squad members lying on the ground sprang upright.

“You've all done this before, so I don't need to explain it, right? Let's get started.”

“Sw-swinging weighted swords?”

“This is insane...”

Complaints erupted among the squad members at the sight of the obviously grueling training.

Weighted sword swings.

It was an exercise that developed overall muscular strength, including the arms, shoulders, and legs.

Along with endless running, it was one of the basic exercises swordsmen found most difficult.

‘He wants us to do that right now?’

‘There's no strength left in my legs...’

‘Just kill me instead!’

The squad members had already reached their physical limits during the run.

But they couldn't complain.

Because Allen, who was making them train, had run faster than anyone else and hadn't stopped to rest until the very end.

Even now, it was the same.

After demonstrating the exercise, Allen began swinging his weighted sword without another word.

Even though his own stamina was clearly depleted, and his arms were visibly trembling.

‘Damn it.’

‘Let's do it.’

‘We can't show our new squad leader how pathetic we are.’

‘We might have lost in swordsmanship, but we won't lose at this.’

The squad members lying on the ground began getting to their feet and picking up the weighted swords.

The iron bars felt several times heavier than usual. Even for them, it was their first time performing weighted sword swings after completely exhausting their stamina.

But their pride had been thoroughly wounded by the previous day's Acceptance Ceremony.

With a few exceptions, most of the squad members stubbornly followed Allen's training.

Groans and cries of agony erupted throughout the training ground. Even amid all that, Allen maintained his stance and swung the weighted sword at a steady pace.

Whoooom!

A heavy force cleaved through the air.

Swinging a sword accurately while controlling the weight of the iron bar was by no means easy.

Furthermore, the iron bar attached to the sword kept swaying from side to side, forcing them to control the resulting wobble of the sword tip.

Allen was having just as much difficulty.

After all, the iron bar he was using was twice as heavy as the others.

‘It's been a long time since I did this training.’

It was an exercise he used to perform regularly.

Stamina, strength, and flexibility.

These three were the foundations of a swordsman, and developing them continuously was a lifelong task.

And Allen was someone who had lived a life in which those fundamentals were everything.

‘I've been too absorbed in swordsmanship lately. From now on, I need balance.’

Ever since his curse had been lifted and he became capable of accumulating mana, Allen's training had become one-sided.

He accumulated mana through cultivation, then used that mana to practice the swordsmanship and forms of the Celestial Star Style.

But he needed to accept that his current body was different from the one he had possessed in his previous life and train it accordingly.

After all, exceptional swordsmanship could only reveal its true worth when supported by a perfected body.

And so, the basic physical training that had continued throughout the morning finally ended.

“That's all for morning training. Good work, everyone.”

“Huff, huuuu.”

“Haaaaah.”

“Thank you for your hard— Bleeergh!”

Only Allen and Mary were not sprawled out on the ground. Mary's face was also pale, but she was somehow maintaining her dignity as deputy leader.

Allen addressed the fallen squad members.

“Accumulating mana and learning swordsmanship are important, but the foundation of both is physical training. In the end, you need a larger vessel before you can fill it.”

Those were the words of his master from his previous life.

If cultivation and enlightenment filled the vessel, training was what created it.

“From now on, morning training will focus on physical conditioning. Unless we have a mission, there will be no exceptions. I trust you can handle your swordsmanship training yourselves.”

Several faces turned pale at those words.

Just thinking about having to continue this kind of training from now on was already exhausting.

It was then.

Tap.

Allen, who had just declared morning training finished, began running around the training ground again.

“He's running again?”

“That lunatic...”

The horrified squad members looked at one another.

What were they going to do?

They didn't have to think for long.

Mary sprang to her feet and began running after Allen.

Watching her, the squad members could only sigh.

Now they had no choice but to start running again themselves.

* * *

By the afternoon, every member of the Second Squad was sprawled on the ground.

Now there truly wasn't anyone who could move.

“I can't even eat...”

“Who runs laps twice in one day?”

“I think I'm going to throw up ag— Bleeeergh!”

“Ugh, that's disgusting— Bleeeergh!”

The Second Training Ground had become a scene of utter chaos.

Even though it was mealtime, not a single person moved. Deputy Leader Mary was no exception.

Having followed Allen more diligently than anyone else, her face had turned deathly pale.

“Deputy Leader, are you all right?”

“Don't talk to me. I feel like I'm dying.”

“Why did you push yourself so hard? You should've just collapsed at a reasonable point.”

Mary frowned at Bigra's words.

She could barely remember anything from the middle of the run onward. She had followed Allen in something close to a state of complete selflessness.

She couldn't remember the last time she had pushed herself so far beyond her limits.

Nevertheless, there was only one reason she had continued chasing after Allen.

“Because I want to become like him.”

“Pardon?”

Bigra doubted his own ears.

Become like him?

Bigra's gaze shifted toward Allen, who was still running alone.

While everyone else had collapsed,

Allen was still running.

“Like that young... squad leader?”

Bigra hesitated as he was about to call Allen a brat. He simply couldn't bring himself to say it.

Allen looked as though he might collapse at any moment, but he didn't stop. He seemed to have reached his limit long ago.

Regardless of age, it was enough to inspire respect.

In the span of a single day, Bigra's perception of Allen was changing completely.

“If you all have eyes, you can see what kind of person our squad leader is, can't you?”

The squad members hesitated at Mary's words.

These were people who had stubbornly refused to acknowledge Allen even after experiencing the Acceptance Ceremony.

Yet even they couldn't deny what they had witnessed of Allen during today's training.

“Our defeat yesterday wasn't for nothing. Talent? When have we ever acknowledged the squad leader's talent in the first place?”

The Curse of Mana Deprivation was sometimes called the worst possible natural constitution for a swordsman.

The very reason the Second Squad had been dissatisfied with their new leader was that someone with such a constitution had become their superior.

And yet Allen was superior to them in every respect.

“That's why someone like him can surpass us at such a young age. Age? Talent? Our new squad leader possesses something that goes beyond all of that.”

“Urgh...”

“It's making me reflect on myself.”

“How embarrassing.”

Several members lowered their heads in shame and rose to their feet.

As long as they had even a little stamina remaining, they intended to try to keep up with Allen's training somehow.

But at that moment—

“What is this?”

Unlike the nearly dead squad members, a voice full of amusement came from the edge of the training ground.

“Lying on the ground, crawling around. What a complete mess.”

The fallen squad members turned toward the voice.

A tall man with narrow, snake-like eyes and long, flowing hair.

“First Squad Leader.”

“You should add ‘sir,’ Deputy Leader Mary.”

He was Kasar, the leader of the Flying Sword Division's First Squad.

Kasar was accompanied by three squad members. One was a deputy leader like Mary, while the other two were also influential members of the First Squad.

The First Squad had the best performance record, while the Second Squad had the worst.

There was an invisible wall between them. Although they belonged to the same sword division, the First Squad had always looked down on the Second Squad.

“...What brings you here, First Squad Leader Kasar, sir?”

“I heard the Second Squad had received a new leader, so I thought I'd come and offer my greetings.”

“Our squad leader is busy right now.”

“It looks like everyone is busy, not just your leader. What kind of training have you been doing? The smell of sweat and vomit... How vulgar.”

Kasar exaggeratedly frowned and covered his nose. He looked as though he considered the members of the Second Squad sprawled on the ground to be filthy.

“Deputy Leader Mary, why don't you just transfer to the First Squad? I can't offer you the deputy leader position, but I promise you won't be disappointed with how you're treated.”

“I'm sorry, but I don't have the authority to arrange personnel transfers.”

“I know. Transferring between squads requires the commander's approval. That's why I'm offering to put in a good word for you.”

Kasar smiled and looked around at the other squad members.

“If you keep mixing with these useless parasites, you'll eventually become just like them without even realizing it, Mary.”

“What did you just— Argh!”

Bigra, who had angrily tried to spring to his feet, fell backward.

He had tried to stand too quickly while his stamina was completely exhausted, and his legs had given way.

At Bigra's actions, the swordsmen of the First Squad accompanying Kasar burst into laughter.

“The Second Squad hasn't changed a bit.”

Bigra's face turned bright red at those words.

Of all people, he had ended up displaying his most humiliating side before the very people he least wanted to see it.

After snickering at the Second Squad for a while, Kasar turned away.

“It doesn't seem like a good time to offer my greetings. I'll come back another...”

“You must have plenty of time to spare.”

Kasar flinched in surprise and spun around.

Before he knew it, Allen, thoroughly exhausted from training, was standing behind him.

“Judging by the way you're wandering around at this hour without even breaking a sweat.”