Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The Swordsmanship Genius Who Transcends Through a Pact Chapter 18

‘An ordinary noble.’

That had been Larissa's first impression of Ian.

Just another ordinary noble from the North. He looked fairly well-trained for someone his age, but nothing beyond that.

But after watching him speak with her younger brother, her opinion changed slightly.

‘My brother's friend?’

They were around the same age, and their levels didn't seem all that different.

So she thought of him as someone similar to her brother.

Thud-

But then what he presented was the head of a Frost Giant.

That was when the faintest spark of interest appeared.

At most, she'd thought he might be someone worth watching in the current North, where no one among her peers could truly rival her.

“Ian is different.”

And now.

Looking at Ian Rashid approaching with his sword drawn, she thought differently.

He had already surpassed the level of merely being promising.

Certainly, he still wasn't an opponent Larissa Vahen considered her equal.

But considering this Subjugation Festival was the first time his name had begun spreading, that changed the story.

“How long have you been learning the sword?”

“Only a few months.”

“Really?”

Pure curiosity.

How far had he come?

Only a few months.

Larissa looked at Ian, thinking there was absolutely no room to dismiss that fact.

“I'll begin.”

Ian stepped forward.

At the same time, freezing air swirled around him.

The mana that had increased through the Ice Crystal, and the energy given tangible form through Extreme Cold Art.

When that combined with Frostfang, strengthened by Blessing of Frost, the pressure he gave off naturally became incomparable to before.

‘He feels different every time I see him.’

Tarian unconsciously marveled as he watched.

Scenes flashed through his mind like a panorama: Ian surprising him, constantly training, relentlessly growing stronger.

His progress had been explosive.

But even compared to everything he'd shown until now, this was on an entirely different level.

‘I already knew he'd reached the level of a knight cadet.’

At this point, there probably wasn't another knight cadet who could rival him.

Tarian could only stare at the kind of presence one would expect from someone just before becoming a knight.

“This is fun.”

The corners of Larissa Vahen's lips rose.

She already knew he'd learned Extreme Cold Art.

Whether her father had taught it to him or he'd somehow learned it by observing Johannes was irrelevant to her.

The North belonged to the strong, and House Vahen stood at the summit among them.

Someone else learning Extreme Cold Art could never erase what she'd built with her own hands.

Still, she hadn't expected him to use it this skillfully.

Even Johannes looked stunned when a smile broke through his sister's normally expressionless face.

Booom-!

Swords infused with magical power collided.

‘Two levels? No, more.’

At the same time, Ian immediately understood the gap between them.

Even with Extreme Cold Art pushed to maximum output, it remained.

The only reason he could even contend with her was because of the raw specs he'd painstakingly raised.

‘A long battle is hopeless.’

Their attributes were similar enough for him to endure for a while, but there was ultimately a difference in their overall weight class.

Ian had no choice but to aim for a short decisive clash.

And that was something he was fairly confident in.

“Sss...”

The instant he inhaled, he began circulating magical power throughout his entire body.

The aura leaking outward soon took on a form almost like a wolf.

Even after wrapping Ian's entire body, enough mana remained to gather around Frostfang and form something resembling sword aura.

‘Not enough.’

Ian knew that better than anyone.

It wasn't the refined sword aura created by Experts who had reached enlightenment.

It was merely a mass of condensed mana.

But its sheer volume was overwhelming.

His efficiency and affinity had both been enhanced by the Ice Crystal's mana, Blessing of Frost, and Extreme Cold Art.

‘After only a few months with a sword...’

Larissa watched him for a moment.

Even someone as sparing with praise as her had to admit it was impressive.

It wasn't true sword aura, but intense cold was surging in from every direction.

“As expected. Interesting.”

Understanding what Ian was attempting only deepened the smile on her lips.

For nearly five years, she hadn't fought someone near her age head-on like this.

“Come at me with everything, Ian.”

The moment she tightened her grip on her sword.

The cold swirling around them suddenly stopped.

Then an enormous storm, incomparable to anything before, erupted.

What emerged while devouring everything around it was a massive moon.

‘Now.’

Even seeing it, Ian didn't retreat.

The instant he reached the limit of the mana he could control, he leapt forward.

Claaang─!

A single sword strike came down like a colossal moon hurtling toward him.

Ian swung with everything he had to stop it.

Craaaack-

House Vahen's state-of-the-art training ground froze solid.

The shockwave forced Tarian to hurry and protect Johannes.

“...”

Larissa stood perfectly unharmed despite being engulfed in the cold, while Ian could barely remain standing from exhaustion.

The victor and loser were obvious.

“As expected of Sister...!”

“No.”

Crack-

At that moment, a fracture appeared on Larissa's sword.

A tiny crack.

Yet that alone was enough to shock everyone present.

“...”

Larissa simply stared blankly at her sword.

One could have blamed the difference in weapons.

But Larissa Vahen had no intention of making such a soft excuse.

When the difference in skill was so obvious, allowing her sword to be damaged was practically the same as losing.

At least to her.

“Again.”

“Pardon?”

“One more time.”

Ian, lying on the ground, let out an incredulous laugh at the stubbornness in her voice.

‘Was this how Tarian felt?’

The thought crossed his mind.

That last strike had poured out even the mana gained from the Ice Crystal, leaving not a single drop within his body.

“Very well.”

But he didn't want to refuse.

The desire to work endlessly and prove oneself through that effort.

Ian understood that feeling better than anyone.

* * *

The following spar ended in Larissa Vahen's victory, but she wasn't satisfied at all.

“Next time, when you've grown stronger, let's do it again.”

“Promise?”

“Yes. Promise.”

From Ian's perspective, that was more than welcome.

Fighting strong opponents had always driven his growth forward.

“About the wager...”

“I liked what I saw.”

Ian's lips curled upward when she admitted it cleanly despite the frustration in her voice.

“Then you'll help me?”

“Yeah. With forming the alliance, right?”

“No.”

Confusion entered Larissa's expression at the unexpected answer.

He'd clearly said something like that before, yet now he wanted even more.

While she was still caught off guard by his sudden response.

“I want the North to remain unbroken no matter what invasion comes.”

Enemies would continue appearing in the future.

And it wasn't only the massive northern invasion.

He had to prevent the Central Empire's indiscriminate war.

Stop the southern fanatics from summoning their evil god.

And deal with the uprising of corpses caused by the western necromancers.

He had no intention of stopping after merely asking her to help establish an alliance.

There was no way he would waste a Sword Master-level talent who had practically walked into his grasp on something so small.

“You think something big will happen to the North?”

“...Yes.”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“Could you grant my requests for the time being?”

Larissa stared at Ian for a moment.

Originally, she'd planned to leave the North within half a year.

She had already learned everything her family could teach her.

She had examined the swordsmanship of nearly every knight serving the family, and there was nothing more for her to learn there.

All that remained was gaining more experience, honing her mastery, and breaking through the wall ahead.

“Fine.”

She didn't know what those requests would be, but there was no particular reason to refuse.

To Larissa, Ian was a gift box she hadn't fully opened yet.

She could leave the North after seeing everything inside.

“Thank you. Oh, and I'll return Winterbane.”

-What? Seriously?!

“Why?”

Even as two voices burst out at once, Ian continued without changing expression.

“In exchange, could you allow me to use the weapons in the training grounds?”

It came completely out of nowhere.

The weapons in the training grounds? From Larissa's perspective, it was an incomprehensible request.

But for Ian, it was impossible to resist.

‘I already formed Pacts with most of my family's weapons.’

Rapid growth required many Pacts.

For Ian, who completed several Pacts a day and sometimes more than ten, every new weapon meant skills and stats.

“That much is fine.”

“Then that's more than enough.”

“W-Wait, you're really giving it back?”

-I'm finally going home! Johan, I miss Johan!

Ian sighed quietly as owner and sword alike started making a racket.

Winterbane's constant noise had already given him more than enough trouble.

“Have you ever seen me lie?”

“No. You're my second mas—”

“Second?”

“M-My rival, I mean.”

Johannes hesitated mid-sentence as though he'd almost said something else.

Then he took Winterbane back, and his grin stretched practically from ear to ear.

“A-Ahem. I gratefully accept your generosity.”

“Just treat your sister well.”

“I always do!”

Ian laughed at his shout.

“Then will that be all for today's training?”

“Hmm. I should rest a little longer first.”

Ian looked toward Tarian, who had approached to ask.

“Once my mana recovers, I could keep going.”

“Then I'd like to ask for a round later.”

“S-Sir Tarian? Didn't you say you'd teach me?”

“Ah, that's right.”

As though only now remembering, Tarian walked toward Johannes.

Johannes looked slightly displeased.

“This reminds me of the old days. Learning the sword from you was truly enjoyable...”

“House Vahen has many fine knights besides me.”

“That may be true, but still.”

“Then I suppose I'll have to help you relive those memories. Come this way.”

And after Ian returned Winterbane.

Johan's training, delayed by Ian and Larissa's spar, finally began.

“By the way, Ian.”

“Yes.”

“You should prepare.”

“...?”

Ian looked confused at those words.

‘It can't be about combat.’

While Ian thought about what she might mean, Larissa, now back to her usual expressionless self, continued.

“Father likes you.”

“What should I prepare?”

“Titles, territory, things like that.”