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Chapter 52: I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages
🕑 Added 2025-05-15 08:13:35 +0000 UTCSwordsmanship Training (2)
Beatrice diligently continued her swordsmanship training.
One would think she’d give up, but she never let go of her sword.
“You only apply impact at the moment of contact. If your body’s heavy from the start, you won’t be able to swing fast.”
Beatrice was an excellent student—passionate and quick to understand.
“Doing this also minimizes mana consumption while increasing speed, right?”
“Ah…”
By the third day of training, Beatrice had grasped the method of increasing her physical mass.
“You’ve finally gotten heavier.”
Cecilia was very satisfied.
And so, on the fourth day, she decided it was time to move on to the next stage.
Beatrice, half expecting another surprise attack, instinctively prepared to dodge as she regained consciousness, but Cecilia remained seated in place.
“No hitting today.”
“R-Really?”
Beatrice, who was now bandaged from head to toe, asked nervously.
“Yep. Today we’re doing discussion-based sparring.”
“…Discussion sparring?”
“I’ve seen enough of your swordsmanship now. I want to point out your weak spots.”
“Y-You’re really not going to hit me, right? This isn’t one of those ‘You really believed me when I said I wouldn’t hit you? What if I were a demon?’ kind of tricks, right?”
“…”
Cecilia gave her a flat, weary stare.
‘Do I really seem like some kind of sadist…?’
Well, if she had to pick, she did prefer that side over the masochist one.
“Betty, you use a pretty defensive style. Why is that?”
“Because the Blessing of Light is support-oriented…”
Her approach was to defend and delay as much as possible to squeeze in more buffs.
Cecilia sighed.
She thought Beatrice was adorable and lovely, but this was where the problem lay.
“Let’s take the Saintess in the Holy Kingdom as an example.”
“Yes, yes…”
“What weapon would be most fitting for the Saintess to wield?”
“Huh?”
Would the Saintess even wield a weapon…?
Beatrice hesitated and said:
“Shield…?”
“No!”
Cecilia sounded a bit offended.
“A giant mace.”
“A mace?”
“She heals herself while swinging a massive mace until her enemies drop dead.”
“…”
“The mindset of surviving as long as possible to be helpful is fine. But that approach has clear limitations.”
‘Just how cool is a melee saintess (physical type)?’
Cecilia couldn’t understand why anyone would abandon such a powerful role.
“I went out of my way to teach you how to build your body mass, and you’re using all that just to block my attacks?”
“B-But…”
Beatrice felt wronged, naturally.
Yes, her swordsmanship leaned toward the defensive. That was true.
But it wasn’t like she only defended. She would attack when there was an opening.
The problem was: Cecilia never gave her an opening. It was impossible to even think about offense.
“You were thinking, ‘she’s not giving me a chance to attack,’ right?”
Beatrice hiccuped.
Cecilia tilted her head.
“That’s weird. Doesn’t that mean I am actually the one using the kind of swordsmanship you’re aiming for? I’m completely shutting down your ability to attack.”
“……!”
Beatrice's eyes widened.
She hadn’t thought of it that way before.
“The same goes for Blessing. Why do you assume the Blessing of Light can only be used for support buffs?”
“Isn’t it because… light has no mass?”
In general perception, the value of a blessing was often determined by its overwhelming mass.
That wasn’t entirely wrong—but judging blessings by mass alone ignored too many exceptions.
Cecilia herself had categorized Light and Darkness as S-tier blessings, and neither inherently had mass.
‘A Blessing is the embodiment of an image. If you don’t associate that image with strength, you’ll never get stronger.’
If you ask modern people, “Is the Blessing of Light good?” the majority would say yes.
Because nothing is faster than the speed of light.
It’s a well-known scientific truth, and in many fantasy works, light powers are always portrayed as powerful.
But to people in this medieval world, it’s different. Even if they acknowledge the Blessing of Light as good, they don’t perceive it as strong.
Even Beatrice had been stuck using the Blessing of Light purely for buffing—like a newbie who mistakenly equips a sword in the helmet slot.
“Right, light has no mass. So, what’s the ultimate buff you can cast using light?”
‘The problem is, I can’t explain this scientifically.’
Not that Cecilia had deep scientific knowledge, but bringing modern science into this world was forbidden.
‘If I do that, someone might start suspecting I’m not an NPC.’
That would be a huge problem!
If she started using modern knowledge now, someone was bound to go: “Wait, is this a player?”
Absolutely unacceptable.
Cecilia couldn't do that.
And yet, she wanted Beatrice to grow stronger.
She was a promising… graduate student material (?), in a sense.
So Cecilia planned to teach her in a way that wouldn’t raise any suspicions.
“The ultimate buff…”
“You kill them all.”
Beatrice looked at her with a blank face.
“Pardon…?”
“Kill them all. With your sword.”
‘First, let’s change cute Betty’s mindset.’
Any Blessing user spends a lifetime thinking about how best to apply their power.
Beatrice had only ever used her light-based blessing for support. So naturally, her thoughts revolved entirely around buffing.
That loser’s mentality needs to go.
If she could start thinking differently, she’d be halfway there. If she ever got lost, Cecilia would nudge her in the right direction.
‘Maybe one day she’ll be able to trigger a neutron burst or something? Hehe.’
Cecilia stood up, her mind full of hopeful visions of the future.
“What I’m going to teach you from now on—”
Beatrice swallowed nervously.
“—is a sword technique designed to kill.”
“……!”
“It’s called Flash Cut (一閃, Issen).”
A technique meant to slice down an enemy in a single motion.
It was a technique that matched the Blessing of Light user Beatrice perfectly.
‘Though technically it’s my move. But I don’t really use it, so it’s fine.’
Cecilia had developed the technique herself, originally under the Blessing of Wind, which was well-suited for Flash Cut.
And the reason she didn’t use it often?
It was simply too broken.
Flash Cut required the user to envision the act of “cutting through everything”—making it nearly impossible to hold back.
However, when used without a blessing—just as a pure sword technique—its power could be moderated.
“I’ll leave the method of combining it with your blessing blank, for now. I’m really looking forward to how you’ll use it.”
Cecilia smiled softly. She already felt like she had 50 different variations popping into her head.
Beatrice, crackling with electricity like Pikachu.
Beatrice shouting "Lightning Flash!" as she slashed at the speed of light.
Beatrice steadying her breath and sheathing her sword after the strike.
Overflowing with style!
Cecilia, at some point, had even put on a monocle, resting her hand on her hip.
“...L-Lady Cecilia?”
“Professor Cecilia.”
“...Sorry?”
Cecilia sharply turned her head.
No matter how many times Beatrice called her, the response was the same.
With a desperate expression, Beatrice finally tried:
“...Professor Cecilia?”
“Yep.”
‘That monocle really doesn’t suit her.’
Beatrice held back that unkind thought, which would’ve crushed Cecilia if she’d heard it, and asked seriously:
“You called it a sword technique for killing… but aren’t we a knight order that slays demons?”
“Humans are easier to kill than demons.”
The way to kill demons wasn’t much different from killing people.
Slice the neck.
Pierce the heart.
Crush the lungs.
Make the body explode.
The key was imagery. And which target was easier to imagine doing that to?
Undoubtedly, humans.
If you can do it to a human, you can do it to a demon.
“Also, sometimes… you have to kill people.”
“......”
Cecilia didn’t say anything more than that. And Beatrice didn’t try to find out more either.
She just nodded, a determined look settling on her face.
“The way to use Flash Cut is simple.”
Cecilia lowered her stance.
The wooden sword rested by her left hip, slightly drawn—mimicking a half-unsheathed pose.
“The image you hold is this: Whatever is in front of me, I will cut through it. No matter what it is.”
Beatrice found herself entranced, watching Cecilia’s movements.
“Your right foot will be the pivot.”
Boom—
A crack ran through the wooden floor.
She could feel intense mana gathered beneath Cecilia’s right foot.
“Use the entire weight of your body. Step forward with your left foot, transfer that weight into your hips, and rotate.”
Then the key point.
“The moment your sword begins to accelerate, concentrate all your mana into the blade. And speak the name aloud to manifest the image.”
Shhhk—!
Cecilia swung her sword through empty air, just as she described.
“Issen (Flash Cut).”
To Beatrice’s eyes, the movement itself wasn’t even visible.
Only a faint afterimage remained.
And by the time Cecilia’s sword returned to her hip—
In that fleeting moment, the result of Flash Cut appeared.
Rrrrummmble—!
“W-What…”
Beatrice looked up, stunned.
A diagonal crack had formed across the ceiling.
And then—
Crrraaaack—!
The roof split cleanly in two and collapsed.
Only the space where Cecilia and Beatrice stood remained untouched.
Cecilia looked at the trembling Beatrice and calmly asked:
“You can do it, right?”
“Professor… we’re moving too fast…”
Beatrice was crying.
***
“You taught her Flash Cut?”
Kairon rubbed his aching head.
He looked down at Cecilia, who was visibly sulking after being scolded, and let out a deep sigh.
“You could’ve taught her something else.”
“But it suits Betty the best…”
The completely destroyed training shed.
And not just that—about 5 nice-looking trees outside had also been cleanly sliced in half.
But that part wasn’t the real issue.
After all, it happened during sword training. If anything, it was something to be praised.
The cross-sections were so clean that Kairon actually found them quite satisfying.
The real problem lay in the technique itself.
“Flash Cut is a Secret Art worthy of being passed down as a family legacy. Who just casually teaches something like that?”
A Secret Art had to remain secret to be meaningful.
To demons unaware of it, it could be devastating.
That’s why he had sternly warned Beatrice: under no circumstance was she to reveal that technique to anyone.
“But… but…”
Cecilia looked like she was about to cry.
She had come expecting praise, and instead got scolded.
Kairon couldn’t bring himself to say more, and simply let out another sigh.
“The demons are stirring.”
Cecilia cautiously looked up.
‘So… it’s starting already?’
The beginning of a war.
But a war that would end almost as quickly as it started.
“This incident has likely reached Her Majesty’s ears as well. Even if you are the Sword Princess, slicing an entire training hall in two with just a wooden sword—and without invoking your Blessing—is no ordinary feat.”
“......”
“So please, keep your head down.”
Worry and concern—those emotions were clear in Kairon’s eyes as he looked at Cecilia.
At the same time, he felt utterly frustrated.
To have such a talented and capable daughter, and yet, rather than honor her achievements, he had to keep her in the shadows.
But with Vice Commander Edward’s schemes, and the Queen constantly pressuring him to assign her to even riskier missions, he had to shield her somehow.
“...After my vacation, I’ll go on a mission with Betty.”
“I’ll make sure it’s a safe one.”
“Give us something on the front lines.”
Kairon’s eyes turned sharp and cold.
“Cecilia. Don’t you understand what I’m trying to say?”
“But…”
Cecilia glanced slightly off to the side as she replied.
‘To kill the Demon King, I need to be nearby. I can’t suddenly disappear either.’
“I’m cute and pretty, after all.”
“……”
“It can’t be helped if the Vice Commander or Her Majesty act that way.”
A convenient excuse.
But Kairon heard something different.
A blade in a sack will pierce through.
(낭중지추 / nangjung jichu)
—A proverb meaning: True talent reveals itself, even when hidden.
‘So that’s how it is, Cecilia.’
Saying such a thing at this timing meant she didn’t intend to avoid anything.
That she was ready to face any hardship head-on.
And so, there was only one thing left for Kairon to do—
Trust her.
It felt like his insides were burning, but parents can’t win against their children.
“...Alright.”
‘Yes! Once I get rid of the Demon King, I can goof off with Betty all I want!’
Cecilia smiled brightly, already imagining her blissful future of lazing around to her heart’s content—
—completely unaware that she had just kicked that very future away with her own two feet.
