Inheriting the Novel

Chapter 141 : The Last of the Seven Swords Under Heaven (1)

The Last of the Seven Swords Under Heaven (1)

After the small commotion, the place we went to was the gigantic training ground of the Dreistler family.

The soldiers and knights who had been training froze at Marvin's sudden appearance.

"W-what brings the head here...?"

"Is there a lesson from the head today?!"

"But he doesn't seem to be alone, though?"

The murmuring around us grew louder, and by the time Kaden, half-dragged, appeared, the commotion reached its peak.

Despite all that, not a single flicker of change appeared on Marvin's face.

"We don't need to pay attention to them."

He said it so everyone could hear, but honestly, who could ignore it just because he said so?

"Clay, Clay. But why am I here?"

Mersaya, looking rather unfamiliar with the situation, tugged at my collar and asked.

"I thought since you like throwing punches, it'd be good for you to try learning, too."

"... Excuse me, you haven't forgotten that I'm a dragon, right?"

At Mersaya's reluctant expression, I squinted my eyes and looked at her.

Mersaya immediately shrank back, letting out a screechy little yelp.

"N-no, I'm not saying anything, but..."

"I'm not saying anything, either. Why are you scared?"

"Usually when you give me that look, you make me do something weird..."

[You know me so well.]

Maybe it was because she'd been hanging around me so much lately, but her instincts had become impressively sharp.

But this time, I hadn't brought Mersaya along for my own sake.

"As I said earlier, I just thought this would be a good opportunity for you to learn martial arts from Marvin, too."

"But I..."

"Because you have magic or Dragon Tongue? Even if you know Dragon Tongue, you're not good with magic, right?"

"...!"

At my words, Mersaya flinched and stared at me.

I guess she never imagined I'd know that.

But how could I not know?

From the very first time I'd fought Mersaya, I'd felt it: she was far less skilled with magic than other dragons.

It may sound harsh, but the reason Mersaya wasn't good at using magic was simple.

'Because she's stupid.'

It really was as simple and straightforward as that.

Mersaya just wasn't smart enough to use magic with precision.

[... But can a dragon even be stupid?]

'Anomalies happen in all things.'

Dragons, called the mightiest species, were wiser than anyone and possessed the greatest intellect among all intelligent beings.

Not only that, born receiving nearly infinite magic power through their dragon hearts, dragons naturally possessed a strong affinity for magic from birth.

Out of such dragons, Mersaya was an anomaly—a near-mutation.

'Compared to humans, her intelligence wouldn't be considered bad, but among dragons, it's a different story.'

She could use magic, but she was anything but skilled.

Even at her best, she couldn't surpass the accomplishments of an average human mage. Other dragons looked down on her, and in the end, even her mother disowned her.

Originally, familial affection between dragons wasn't very deep, but, as Grancesia once explained, it was still rare for a dragon to go so far as to cut family ties.

'That must be why she obsessed more with amusements than other dragons.'

Because among humans, she could become a superior existence.

That was how she became unable to endure being ignored, quick to anger, and so thoroughly delinquent in character.

Also, her tendency to easily submit to those stronger than herself and cower was all because of that.

But lacking knowledge did not mean she lacked other abilities.

Mersaya's dragon heart was as good as, if not better than, other dragons', and she had both talent and a good sense for moving her body when using Polymorph.

[She was much stronger and swifter than other dragons even in her true form, so that must be influencing her now.]

Even Grancesia had said so, so Mersaya's physical talent was clear.

It was my intention that, in this training with Marvin, I would awaken that talent lying dormant in Mersaya.

'A dragon learning human martial arts.'

The thought excited me a little—after all, there was no precedent.

Mersaya herself still looked reluctant, of course.

"You still want to be stronger, don't you?"

"Well..."

"Does a dragon have to become stronger only with magic? Even if you can't use magic, your body's already strong enough. I don't see why a dragon needs to obsess over magic alone."

"You're serious?"

"I am. With a body that tough, relying only on magic seems wasteful."

Dragons typically don't like using their bodies.

Their nature is slothful, and since they live for so long, they make minimal use of their own bodies.

That's why, despite having tough bodies, they don't know how to use them.

... Or so Grancesia said.

According to Grancesia, dragons are sluggish but tough-bodied, so hitting them feels pretty good.

"Well, I don't really get it, but... fine. Whatever, I'll give it a try!"

Maybe realizing there was no escaping the situation, Mersaya burned with a reluctant but growing motivation.

'Alright, that's settled with Mersaya.'

Only then did I finally turn my gaze to Marvin.

He nodded once the area settled down.

"I think we're ready."

"Yes. I apologize for making you wait. So, shall we first—"

"Let's fight."

"So... We're going to spar... Wait, what?"

I'd thought he'd offer to warm up and talk about Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art, but Marvin cut straight to the chase.

"First, Clay, I need to know your level. Everything else comes after."

With that, Marvin unfolded his arms at last.

When I looked around, I realized that aside from me and Mersaya, no one was left nearby.

Even Kaden, who'd come with us, was now being dragged away to the outskirts.

[Actions speak louder than words!]

Grancesia seemed to like Marvin's straightforward demeanor.

I didn't really understand, but apparently both of them were on the same wavelength.

"... Understood. If that's easiest for you, so be it."

It was practically my first time truly fighting one of the Seven Heroes, so I was a little nervous, but my expectations outweighed my anxiety.

Just how strong would Marvin Dreistler, said to be the second strongest among the current Seven Heroes, be?

I signaled for Mersaya to move to the outskirts and slowly took my stance.

Ordinarily, I would have drawn my sword, but I'd come here to advance my mastery of Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art, after all.

"Impressive. You've gotten much more skilled than before, Clay."

"I've been through a lot lately."

By acting as the martial artist 'Ray' and using only my fists, I'd been able to rapidly improve my mastery.

The speed was much faster than learning the sword had ever been. It was a little sad, but I had nothing to complain about.

"Wait... is that guy about to spar with Marvin with his fists?"

"I heard Clay Vanhart uses a sword though... isn't his nickname Swordmaster?"

Even in the sudden silence, whispers could be heard.

With my sharp hearing, I clearly heard every word.

'Swordmaster? Is that nickname from being the master of the sword?'

Compared to nicknames like Unrivaled Iron Fist, it sounded much more plausible—I quite liked it.

Especially since this time, I was using a sword-related skill.

"I'll give you the first move."

Marvin took a basic stance very similar to Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art, with not a single opening to be seen.

Just from his posture alone, I could tell he was clearly operating at a much higher level than me.

"Then... I won't hold back."

Until now, I'd only used Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art when I had a favorable matchup or was going for a finishing blow.

The fact that I could finally verify both its limits and its potential in this scenario made me secretly excited.

"Hooo."

I took a deep breath, moving my magic power.

With my first step, I darted toward Marvin in a flash.

The crowd around me faded from my view. Only Marvin remained vividly in sight.

I stomped powerfully and unleashed Heavenly Lord, throwing my punch.

Heavenly Lord was fundamentally a move with the subtlety of a palm strike, but its speed was overwhelmingly faster than a normal palm strike, and its range broader.

There was nothing better for taking the initiative and putting the situation in my favor.

"Excellent."

Marvin gave a small nod, easily deflecting my Heavenly Lord with the palm of his hand as if brushing it aside.

The moment my face hardened at how effortless his response was, Marvin's hand blade sliced down from above my head, like a bolt of lightning.

It wasn't hard to sense the attack since I had Only Mind constantly active.

Just as Marvin had done, I used my wrist to deflect and redirect the hand blade, though not quite as smoothly.

Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art forms could be used with any weapon, but their highest efficiency was when performed by the human body.

Freely moving my body, I blocked and parried Marvin's continuous attacks splendidly.

'He really is on another level.'

Marvin's movements resembled Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art but were simultaneously different.

At first, it was hard to spot the differences, but as our fight went on, those differences became more and more apparent.

'He's amazing.'

The Dreistler family's martial arts, rumored to have originated from a fraction of Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art, had developed into a completely unique discipline.

It was no copy of some other martial art.

I moved my fists.

Moved my legs.

Tracked his gaze and clashed with him multiple times.

By the time I snapped back to my senses, my breath was uneven, and sweat poured off my entire body like rain.

"Haa, haah."

As I staggered back, Marvin, too, stopped his pursuit without insistence.

Though there were signs of fatigue on Marvin's face as well, he was much less worn than I was.

"This should suffice."

"Hoo... I think so, too."

If I kept going any longer, I'd probably collapse.

At my exhausted appearance, Marvin nodded.

"Let's talk about what we felt during this match after we catch our breath."

"Understood."

For now, I was too spent to even listen properly.

Exhaling in fatigue, I plopped down on the ground and looked around.

'Huh?'

Only then did I notice the absolute silence that had settled in the area.

In that odd tension, Mersaya—who'd puffed up her shoulders—stuck her chin out and strode over to me.

"Hmph. Looks like these lowly humans have been completely spellbound by your martial arts, Clay. I overheard them, and apparently, none of them imagined you could fight that man so fiercely with martial arts alone!"

"... Really?"

"Yes. Some even said, 'He must be full of himself for becoming a Seven Hero at such a young age. The head should teach him a lesson while he can!' ... Hahaha. See all those dumbstruck mouths?"

Having become even more proud than me, Mersaya stood by my side, laughing at the humans and acting like my loyal retainer. She was like a fox strutting around with the might of a tiger at her back.

"But you'll have to fight, too, you know?"

"Huh?"

"I'm not the only one learning martial arts from Marvin, am I?"

"... Me? Against that guy?"

"Yeah."

Marvin would probably want to gauge Mersaya's abilities, too—he'd want to fight her himself.

"You'd better give it your all. He seems to be holding back somewhat, but don't expect it to go easy."

"..."

Mersaya's face went deathly pale.

And moments later, a frail girl's scream echoed in the training ground.

* * *

"There's not a single unbruised spot on my body."

Our training with Marvin ended only when the sun was setting.

By the end, Mersaya was half-unconscious, and I wasn't much better.

'I'd like to rest, but...'

Unfortunately, there was no time.

I had to glean as much as I could during my limited stay here.

"Where did I leave off yesterday?"

After training, I spent the remaining time perusing the shelves in this section where the 'History of the Stars' was stored. There might be some setting or information I didn't know yet that I needed.

'There's plenty about calamities and the Seven Swords Under Heaven, but nothing useful.'

I'd already skimmed through the volumes flagged by their profiles, but they contained nothing I didn't already know.

There were no detailed explanations; most books simply said that the world would end when a calamity arrived, and that the master of the sword would use the Seven Swords Under Heaven to stop it.

'This is probably the same.'

Thinking that, I absentmindedly opened one of the preselected books.

At first, it only repeated things I already knew or was filled with speculation by the historian recording it.

Who created the Seven Swords Under Heaven, and why did they foresee calamity?

That was the main theme.

"Hm?"

But then I spotted a particular passage that caught my eye.

It was about the Seven Swords Under Heaven.

I already knew the details about them from the book I received earlier from Ban Sylvest.

The descriptions and abilities of the currently known Seven Swords Under Heaven.

But there was one important piece missing from those volumes.

The location of the Seven Swords Under Heaven.

"This is..."

Right here, in this book, was the location of one of the Seven Swords Under Heaven.

Just one sword—but that single sword was as important as the first, the sword Genova.

The last of the Seven Swords Under Heaven, the Sword of the End.

The Guiding Sword, Ragal's location.