"What? Are you all just whining even though you’ve done this kind of training before?"

I-han, the only one not from a knight family, looked at his friends.

“No, Wardanaz, you lunatic. Sure, we’ve done training camps, but not like this.”

“Exactly. At Enroguard, they just throw us out there with nothing but our bare hands.”

While knight families were often stereotyped as simple-minded, that was far from the truth. In their areas of expertise, they were quite strategic and methodical.

Training camps were no exception.

When knights did mountain survival training, it was with at least dozens of people, and they always came prepared with enough supplies and equipment. Most knight families didn’t train for scenarios where they’d be dropped in the wilderness alone and unarmed; that was more the kind of situation wandering mercenaries faced. A knight led a group of squires and guards, not struggling solo in the wilderness.

*Wait, what?*

I-han suddenly recalled Alarong taking him into the mountains with nothing but himself for company.

Wait, was that... not normal?

“Wait, you guys don’t…?”

“No, we don’t.”

“Look, Wardanaz, we know you’re good with a sword, but we’re the ones from knight families. Why are you questioning us?”

“Oh, right… sorry.”

Realizing his friends might look at him weirdly, I-han decided not to press further.

Back in the group, Dergyu and Giselle were already forming a plan.

“Let’s stash some supplies in advance.”

“Right. Knowing the professor, he’ll probably limit what we’re allowed to bring. We should hide things up in the mountains beforehand.”

“But isn’t that breaking the rules?”

“Choi, what kind of nonsense are you talking? This whole school operates outside the rules.”

“Moradi’s right,” I-han agreed, joining the conversation. “We should set up a few caches around the mountains. And with only two weeks left, the weather could get even worse. Remember when the King of Frost Giants appeared? What if another one shows up?”

“There’s… a king of frost giants?” Dergyu asked, surprised. I-han shrugged.

“Who knows? There could be. Either way, the point is we need to be prepared. Let’s set up some shelters in the mountains.”

“Not a bad idea.”

Giselle agreed. She might not always get along with Wardanaz, but they saw eye-to-eye when it came to survival planning.

“Moradi, do you think the professor will release additional monsters for the exam?”

“Hmm… maybe…”

“What’s all this interesting chatter about?” Professor Engeldel approached, looking curious.

I-han quickly replied, “We were just saying how excited we are for the final exam. Can’t wait for it to start!”

“Really?”

The professor seemed pleased.

“I wasn’t sure if everyone would be up for it, but hearing that makes me happy. I was worried it might be too difficult, but if you’re all excited, we should definitely go ahead with it.”

"......"

The other White Tiger Tower students shot daggers at I-han, but he didn’t even blink.

*Even if I’d said it would be hard, he’d still go through with it.*

I-han knew that professors often said things like that, but they would ultimately do what they wanted regardless. He didn’t feel guilty in the slightest.

“By the way, Wardanaz, I noticed a change in your swordsmanship. Have you had any breakthroughs?”

“Oh, yes. I’ve gotten more accustomed to the absorption technique you taught me last time.”

The elven swordsman looked delighted, as if it were his own achievement.

“Really? That’s excellent! It couldn’t have been easy.”

I-han thought about mentioning how he’d learned it while surviving a wrestling match with giants but decided against it—it sounded too bizarre.

“How many techniques of the Stone Cliff Sword have you mastered now, Wardanaz? Five?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Professor Engeldel seemed remarkably well-versed in I-han’s sword style, but I-han wasn’t surprised. Engeldel was close with Alarong and practically knew every sword art in the empire.

“When you first learned the Stone Cliff Sword, didn’t it strike you as unusual?”

“Pardon?”

I-han didn’t quite understand.

He’d just figured Alarong was incredibly skilled at cutting through wood and stone, and he’d better stay out of his way.

“The Stone Cliff Sword is deceptively simple, isn’t it?”

“Ah.”

The Stone Cliff Sword was part of the empire’s heavy and powerful sword styles. Each strike hit like a massive boulder, so its techniques were simple and not at all flashy.

Swordsmanship enthusiasts might mistake its simplicity for being a lower-tier style.

But I-han felt differently.

*I was learning it for self-defense...*

For him, this was just training to stay in shape and learn some self-defense; he couldn’t care less about how “flashy” or “profound” it was. Only someone insane would be looking for that.

“I just practiced it.”

“Remarkable.”

“?”

I-han felt awkward as the professor looked at him with an unusual amount of admiration. Had he said something worthy of that?

“They say swordsmen choose their sword style, but I believe it’s the other way around. I think the sword style chooses the swordsman, Wardanaz. Just as Enroguard chose you.”

*To say something that disturbing with such a heartfelt expression…*

I-han was put off, though Professor Engeldel didn’t notice.

“The Stone Cliff Sword may seem simple, but it grows more profound the deeper you go. That kind of understanding isn’t accessible to those who only seek beauty or grandeur in swordsmanship. Only those who quietly commit to steady effort will find it.”

Having picked up the sword with little thought and continued swinging it without a grand plan, I-han felt increasingly sheepish.

*I wasn’t aiming for anything that deep…*

Professor Engeldel pointed to a distant cliff.

It was a steep drop, easily several dozen meters high.

“Alarong likely taught you only the first five forms of the Stone Cliff Sword because he believed you weren’t ready yet. To go further, you’d need to learn aura manipulation. But given your rate of progress, I’m certain it won’t take much longer.”

“You flatter me, Professor.”

“When we were on the ship last time, I should have done whatever it took to get you over that breakthrough…”

"..."

A chill ran down I-han’s spine as he hurried to change the subject.

"Seeing that cliff makes me realize how far I still have to go. I’ll keep training hard.”

“That’s a good attitude, but I didn’t point it out for that reason. Wardanaz, I wanted to share a story about how Alarong once beheaded a monster of that size in a single slash with the Stone Cliff Sword.”

“I… see.”

“You’ll surely be able to do the same one day.”

“Yes…”

Though he’d been a bit nervous at first, I-han relaxed, realizing it was just a normal pep talk.

“Now, let me give you detailed instructions on how you can reach that level.”

“??”

“Lucky for you, you’ve already made progress with the absorption technique.”

Engeldel sat I-han down and began explaining meticulously, with an intensity that made it seem like he genuinely believed I-han would achieve aura mastery within a few years.

“Just like on the ship, I can see this is the path for you, Wardanaz.”

How could a swordsman reach the ultimate level?

While wizards advanced with structured knowledge from predecessors, the path of a swordsman was deeply personal and solitary.

Thus, the realization needed to reach mastery often followed a similar path.

A swordsman who wielded their sword exactly as they were taught, without deviation, would never reach mastery.

To truly advance, they had to evolve their learned swordsmanship by incorporating every experience and realization.

And for I-han, Professor Engeldel believed that the key lay in mastering the absorption technique.

He had delved deeply into mana transformation, improving to a level where he could maintain balance even under intense pressure. During the ship ordeal, he’d used absorption so continuously that he’d come close to breaking through the barrier to mastery.

“By focusing on absorption and integrating all your newfound skills into the Stone Cliff Sword.”

“I-I see.”

I-han thought, *If I could actually do that, shouldn’t I be in the Imperial Knights, not Enroguard?* but nodded in agreement.

“What skills come to mind aside from absorption? No hesitation, just name them.”

“The technique you taught me for channeling intent.”

“Excellent. What else?”

“Uh, the trick techniques I learned from some knights?”

“Hmm. I’m curious to see how that would fit, but it’s worth a try…”

Without giving him any breathing room, Professor Engeldel pushed I-han to voice all his ideas.

“Alright. Now we just need to blend them together.”

“Um… is there a way to do that?”

“There’s no shortcut, but you’ll have help.”

Engeldel called over Giselle and Dergyu.

“Wardanaz, try only defending against their attacks.”

Placing someone in an unfavorable position often brought out untapped potential. As an exceptional swordsman, Engeldel knew how to push his students to improve.

“Professor, can’t we do this one at a time at least?”

“One at a time wouldn’t apply enough pressure, especially with the Stone Cliff Sword being defensive by nature.”

Giselle raised her hand and asked politely, “Professor, how about we blindfold Wardanaz?”

“Good idea, Mor

adi. If Wardanaz handles this well, we’ll try it with his eyes covered next.”

Engeldel nodded, pleased with Giselle’s thoughtful suggestion, reflecting a heartwarming camaraderie among the students—despite how they’d initially kept each other at arm’s length.

---

“Hello, Professor Flewwork.”

“Hello, everyone. Good to see you.”

“Greetings, Prosecutor Oryphulas.”

The demon following Professor Rosiné winked and offered advice, “Hello, young mages. Remember, be cautious about signing contracts. Avoid my fate if you can.”

In their *Imperial Language and Logic* class, focused on the dangers of magical contracts, nothing could be a better visual aid.

While Gainan-do eagerly waved his wand to dye his pants, he looked around and noticed something odd.

“Wardanaz, why do the White Tiger students look so cheerful? Did they find some secret snacks?”

“No, there’s another reason,” I-han muttered, rubbing his sore arm.

It was the first time he’d seen the White Tiger Tower students looking this happy all year.

If a single blow had this effect, what would they do if he hit them twice? Throw a festival?

“All set, everyone?”

Professor Rosiné waved her wand and handed each student a thick stack of papers.

“What’s this?”

“These are standard contract requests you might find around the Empire. I’ve gathered some real examples for you.”

“!”

Intrigued, I-han skimmed through one.

Urgent!

Monster hunt, southwest outskirts of Granden City. Payment negotiable…

“Ugh, garbage.”

He sneered at the paperwork with disdain.

The fox-eared professor clapped in admiration at his reaction.

“Well spotted! As you can see, there’s no detailed information about the monster, nor any description of the area. A contract like this is very risky. Everyone, give him a hand!”

Amid his friends’ applause, I-han thought privately, *I only scoffed because they didn’t specify the pay.*