“Is this how it’s done?”
A technique manual lay open in one of his hands, while with the other he imitated a blade. Tilting his head slightly to the side, Kun Zoldic lightly slashed his fingertips through the air. Curling his hand a little, he extended his index and middle fingers, forming a sword seal. His fingertips, as if transformed into a real blade, smoothly cut through empty space.
“Sss-ek!”
After repeating the motion several times, Kun stopped, studying the trail it left in the air, and twisted his lips into a crooked smile.
I understand the general idea.
At last, the contents of the book in his hand were beginning to make sense.
“Ripple Technique: Explanation.”
That was the title of the book. Originally, it had been a swordsmanship guide of the minor House Dorenheim, but during House Zoldic’s conquest of the North, that house had been annihilated, and its sole surviving legacy had ended up in the Lion Library. The level of the Ripple Technique was quite respectable. Although it was considered a mid-rank technique, the concept itself and the principles built into it definitely provided fertile ground for further development.
The Zoldics would never seize and preserve worthless trash in the Lion Library.
Kun needed to read as many books as possible to find the one book worth taking, but even the Ripple Technique was a fairly worthwhile catch.
A considerable amount of time had passed while he wandered among the shelves, absorbing knowledge from the books he had selected. Kun suddenly let out a low groan and rubbed his dry eyes with the back of his hand.
“Mmm...”
The shadows under his eyes had sunk so deep that he looked less like a person and more like that black-and-white bear said to live somewhere in the western part of the continent.
A panda.
Feeling around his eyelids, Kun let out a heavy sigh.
“Fu-uh.”
In his past life, there had been assignments when he had gone not one day without sleep, but two full weeks. Yet now he had been awake for only about twenty hours and already felt this level of heaviness. It seemed this current body did not tolerate sleepless nights so easily.
Even taking into account that this is an untrained child’s body...
Only the shell had changed, yet the difference was enormous. Kun let out an involuntary chuckle. It was not just a chuckle. Bitterness seeped through it. He gave a slight shrug and thought with a trace of self-mockery,
Still... if I think about it, there’s nothing strange about it.
Though his condition had improved a little compared to before, his body was still bound by the inborn curse of Dead Man’s Sleep. The only reason he could still train while cutting down on sleep was because he used Supernatural Power and Divine Madness to suppress fatigue. Objectively speaking, his physical condition was still miserable.
And with a body like this, I didn’t just stay awake all night. I kept devouring one technique after another without stopping...
It was obvious that both flesh and mind had reached the limit of exhaustion.
A troublesome body. Kun smiled bitterly again and roughly rubbed his face with both palms. Washing his face dry like that helped dispel some of the drowsiness. Feeling his mind grow clearer, Kun whispered to himself,
Dead Man’s Sleep.
The inborn curse that was gnawing away at his body even at this very moment. If he did not succeed with Supernatural Power and Divine Madness and solve the problem of this curse as soon as possible, bouts like this would keep recurring.
I’ll have to work like hell.
Muttering that, Kun slowly steadied his breathing. Thoughts of his worthless body, his fatigue, and Dead Man’s Sleep were pushed aside. Perhaps because he had shifted his focus for a moment, the dull pain in the back of his head began to recede.
The only consolation is that... thanks to this self-torment, I managed to test quite a few techniques.
Indeed, around fifteen or sixteen books were lying in a disorderly heap at Kun’s feet. They included not only swordsmanship methods, but also dagger techniques, throwing arts, hand-to-hand combat, and footwork. Around ten of them belonged to House Zoldic, while the rest were captured techniques from outside sources. In time, that knowledge and those new skills would become a tremendous source of strength for him.
But...
Kun frowned as he looked at the pile of books.
The problem is that despite all this effort, I still haven’t found the one book that truly appeals to me.
The sand in the hourglass the senior instructor had given him before he entered the section was almost gone.
Twelve hours per turn. Since I’ve already turned it once, this is effectively my last chance?
Judging by the remaining sand, he had a little over an hour left. Which meant...
If I don’t find anything worthwhile in that time, I’ll have to take something merely suitable.
Of course, he had already marked two or three mid-rank techniques for just such a case. But human nature always wanted to take the very best. Reflecting that state of mind, a trace of anxiety began to flicker through Kun’s eyes.
But it lasted only for a moment. Catching that change in himself, Kun quickly shook his head. His face became calm again.
“I can’t rush.”
Haste always clouded judgment. That applied not only to choosing a technique, but also to his future revenge. Kun swung his hand and slapped himself hard across the face.
“Ugh!..”
For an instant sparks scattered before his eyes, and a sharp pain lanced through his head. The change came a short while later.
“...?”
When Kun reached for one of the books, another that had stuck to it slipped loose and fell to the floor.
The cover tore slightly. Apparently something sticky had gotten between the books and glued them together.
Were they stored that badly?
Kun reached down to pick up the fallen book, and his heart suddenly gave a heavy thud. At the same moment, the mana of Supernatural Power and Divine Madness began to pulse violently.
Why so suddenly...?
Startled by the abrupt reaction, Kun picked the book up from the floor as if under a spell. The instant his fingertips touched the cover, an inexplicable feeling of peace spread through his whole body. It felt like unity, as though he had put on clothing tailored perfectly to him. At the same time, the mana of Supernatural Power and Divine Madness, which had been raging only a second ago, miraculously calmed down. Tension filled Kun’s eyes as he adjusted his grip on the book.
What was that?
He frowned and unconsciously pressed a hand to his chest, where his heart had been pounding wildly just moments ago.
Was it because of this book?
The cover was stained and badly damaged, so much so that the title could be made out only by focusing to the utmost. It seemed the book had suffered less from age than from having passed through countless hands. Narrowing his eyes, Kun slowly read the title, syllable by syllable.
“Ominous... Dream?”
“The Sword of Ominous Dream — [name erased] Zoldic.”
The author’s given name had been worn away by time, but the family name left no room for doubt. It was a technique of House Zoldic. As befitted an ancient folio, the title had been written in an archaic language.
But why did the mana of my technique react to this one in particular...
Supernatural Power and Divine Madness was a breathing technique passed on to him by an entity named Myung from another world. It had nothing to do with this world, which meant it should not have produced this kind of response.
And yet it had responded...
Kun narrowed his eyes and whispered as he looked at the book,
“Do you want me to choose this one?”
As if in answer, the mana in his body gave another brief, low hum.
“Uuung...”
Well, the contents of the book would give him a more precise answer. The fatigue and tension vanished instantly after that strange sensation in his heart. Kun slowly turned the page.
And...
His eyes widened in astonishment.
“Ominous Dream.”
Just as the title suggested, the Sword of Ominous Dream was the embodiment of nightmares born in utter darkness.
Twilight thickening the dark, the death of stars, the fall of a dead star...
The depth of the art contained within it was astonishing.
...What kind of swordsmanship is this?
It felt as though he were peering into a bottomless abyss. With every page he turned, a tremor ran through his hands and spread through his whole body. The depth of it was difficult to measure even with Kun’s eyes, eyes that had once reached the rank of Sword Master.
If this is a technique of this level...
The word outstanding was far too weak. Only one question remained. How had a book like this ended up here?
Was it a mistake during transport?
There was no other way to explain it. The level of the technique was beyond all measure. It was hard to believe something like this would be displayed for ordinary trainees to see.
In that case...
Whatever the reason, this was the one he would bet on.
At that very moment, a pounding sound came from outside.
“Bang-bang!”
A rough battering against the iron door. The hourglass had completely run out, and that pounding announced that his allotted time was over.