First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 13

“The answer is Aura.”

“Hmm.”

Now that I heard it, it made perfect sense.

No matter how strong one’s power.

No matter how fast one’s speed.

No matter how sturdy one’s sword.

And no matter how excellently one maintains their center of gravity.

Before an aura user, they’re nothing but a field mouse before a cat.

The weight class itself doesn’t even establish at that level.

“First, we need to understand aura and the 9-tier ranking system.”

Zeroph continued with a slight smile.

“What image comes to mind when you think of aura users?”

“Really strong people!”

“Like fighting 100 people alone and winning!”

The twins answered cheerfully.

Zeroph chuckled.

“Hehe, I understand what you’re saying. However, such people are those who have reached the 5-star level or higher, namely Sword Expert level or above. Maybe one or two out of a hundred knights who handle aura? Such feats are impossible with the weak aura of 1st or 2nd star level.”

His explanation continued.

“In fact, classifying the strength of aura users into nine stages of achievement is a relatively recent development. Previously, we only divided them into four stages: Sword Beginner, Sword Runner, Sword Expert, and Sword Master.”

This was content I had read about in books too.

“However, even within each stage, skills varied drastically according to achievement, and it lacked intuitive clarity, so the current 9-tier classification became standard. It’s also easy to compare with mages’ Circles.”

Zeroph extended his fingers one by one.

“So 1st and 2nd stars correspond to Sword Beginner. 3rd and 4th stars to Sword Runner. 5th and 6th stars to Sword Expert. 7th and 8th stars to Sword Master.”

“Then what about 9th star?”

Seria raised her hand to ask.

“Among Sword Masters, there are those who show exceptionally outstanding strength. Previously, even such individuals were lumped together under the classification of Sword Master, but when reorganizing into the 9-tier system, we created a new title for them.”

I knew what would follow.

It was an expression I had seen in the historical records of the Argent Imperial House.

“Grand Sword Master…”

“Correct, Your Highness Cael.”

Zeroph looked at me and showed his white teeth as if pleased.

Grand Sword Master.

Masters of the sword who might not even appear once in a century. No, even in two centuries.

Hereis de Argent, the founder of the Empire, belonged to this level.

“Currently, there is only one swordsman in the entire world who has reached the Grand Sword Master level, that is, the 9th star. Whether you will be able to reach this level in the future is unknown… but for now it’s distant, so let’s focus on what’s in front of us.”

Right.

Learning to fly when you can’t even crawl is absurd.

“Then how strong are 1st and 2nd star swordsmen?”

It was Ilmbo Mac’s question.

Zeroph answered clearly.

“Beginner-level aura doesn’t manifest externally. It works inside the body, boosting vitality and slightly enhancing physical abilities. For instance, if someone who runs 100m in 13 seconds possesses 2nd star aura, they can complete it in 11 seconds.”

“Eh? That’s all?”

What an ignorant thing to say.

In actual combat, that 1-2 second difference determines life and death.

Well, it’s a natural reaction since they’ve never experienced real combat.

“To visibly manifest aura, you need to reach at least the 3rd star Sword Runner level. From this point, you can surround your body with aura like armor to protect yourself from impacts. The aura of a mature Sword Runner at the end of 4th star has strength comparable to plate armor.”

“Wow…”

The children listened to the explanation with concentration.

I also listened attentively and made my judgment internally.

‘The efficiency is better than I thought.’

From my standards it’s laughable, but being able to move freely while wearing a protective barrier equivalent to plate armor is actually not much different from being a strategic weapon.

In combat between non-aura users, you have to go through the trouble of targeting joint areas to penetrate the opponent’s armor.

But aura barriers have no joints.

In other words, no weak points.

No weight either, and no stiffness characteristic of plate armor that would hinder movement.

‘They’d be invincible when fighting those weaker than them.’

Aura users already have far superior physical abilities compared to others.

Assuming they don’t get tired.

If there are no skilled fighters in the enemy ranks who can break through aura barriers, they could easily handle ten or even a hundred opponents alone.

Of course, even that would be mercilessly cut down by a Sword Expert’s blade.

From 5th star, Expert level and above, you can go beyond simply surrounding your body and inject aura into the weapons you’re holding.

The technique commonly called sword energy could be used from the 5th star level.

‘Let’s take it step by step.’

Forget Sword Master, even Expert class is a distant mountain for me right now.

How long would it take to reach there?

Still, I should try hard once.

With the persistence to ascend to the divine throne in a demon’s body, what couldn’t I do?

“Let’s finish the theory next time and start proper training now, shall we?”

The children’s expressions brightened.

They were excited at the thought of finally holding swords.

I looked at them pitifully and shook my head.

It didn’t take long for their illusions to shatter.

“Now.”

Zeroph pointed at the garden with his index finger.

It was the Imperial Garden, easily spanning several hundred pyeong.

“From now on, you’ll run along the perimeter of this garden. Don’t stop until I tell you to.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

It took only a moment for the bright smiles on their faces to transform into bewildered despair.

The children stared blankly at the garden, denying reality as if they must have misheard.

“Stamina is the foundation of all martial arts! Those with weak stamina have no right to learn the sword.”

Zeroph gave a vigorous speech to the dejected children.

“Don’t even dream of touching a sword until your basic stamina is complete.”

Despair descended with the instructor’s confirmation kill.

‘I knew this would happen.’

There’s no way he’d immediately let these frail creatures who lack even minimal grip strength and stamina hold blades.

“No need for long explanations. Now then, start!”

A resounding command.

I was the first to dash forward.

Stamina?

Wondering if it might help reduce the backlash of magic even a little, physical training was something I’d been doing every day with anxiety since my reincarnation.

This kind of child’s play was like lying down and eating soup.

“Huff! Haaa!”

“S-save me!”

Pitiful screams came from behind me.

It would be very difficult since it’s their first time, but well, they’ll have to overcome it themselves.

Grow strong.

“Ahhh!”

The flowers blooming in the garden sparkled annoyingly in the sunlight.

* * *

The physical training continued for a full two months.

For children who had lived luxuriously in the Imperial Capital their entire lives, the process of building stamina was incredibly grueling.

But as a result of the blood-vomiting training.

Now they could be said to have acquired the minimum basic stamina needed to wield a sword.

“From today, we will begin swordsmanship education in earnest.”

The physical training had been conducted with all four gathered together under Zeroph’s supervision.

However, swordsmanship education would be individual tutoring for each person separately.

A knight was assigned to handle my education as well.

“It’s a pleasure. We meet again.”

It was Zeroph Gamilan, Captain of the Imperial Guard, whom I had seen to the point of being sick of it over the past two months.

“Count Gamillan will be instructing again?”

“Haha, do you perhaps dislike me?”

“Of course not.”

If I’m going to learn anyway, it’s better to learn from someone strong.

If Zeroph, a 7-star Sword Master, is the instructor, I welcome it greatly.

“Originally, a different knight was scheduled to be assigned to Your Highness, but I pleaded with His Majesty and barely managed to be assigned as Your Highness’s instructor.”

“It’s an honor.”

“Rather, the honor is more mine. Your Highness has sufficient potential to aim for the position of world’s greatest swordsman in the future.”

“Aren’t you praising me too much?”

“Looking at the results of the past physical training, it doesn’t seem to be just that.”

The past two months had been a continuous hell for the other children.

I couldn’t even count how many times a day they dry-heaved.

But for me, it was as comfortable as taking a walk.

This was partly because I had been steadily training since childhood to reduce the backlash of magic.

It was also because I had absorbed all the magic power of the Magic Spirit Corps, making my physical performance far superior to my peers.

“From now on, I will teach you the basic swordsmanship of the Argent Imperial Family.”

I gripped the wooden sword.

Zeroph was also holding a wooden sword larger than mine.

“Since it’s basic swordsmanship, the difficulty should be manageable. However, you must never learn it carelessly.”

He explained with a serious expression.

“All the advanced swordsmanship techniques you will learn in the future are based on the basic swordsmanship forms I will teach you now. If you don’t master the basic swordsmanship, you will never be able to learn the Imperial Family’s advanced techniques.”

Zeroph raised his sword high.

The sword fell vertically from top to bottom.

Not stopping there, this time he stepped back with one foot, turned his body around, and swung horizontally.

Zeroph cleanly demonstrated a series of consecutive swordsmanship techniques in the connected movements.

“What I just showed you is Basic Swordsmanship Form 1. Would you like to try following along?”

As soon as he finished speaking, I followed the exact movements Zeroph had shown.

This wasn’t child’s play, and I didn’t have the luxury to waste time on such things.

“Done.”

When I spoke calmly, Zeroph’s pupils trembled and shook.

“Just now… did you follow along after seeing it once?”

“Yes, but was there a problem?”

“No, not at all. Rather, it was extremely clean.”

“That’s a relief.”

Zeroph took a deep breath for a moment, then demonstrated the next form.

Unlike Form 1, which consisted only of simple vertical and horizontal cuts.

This time it included thrusting and diagonal upward striking sword paths.

After performing several additional movements, Zeroph straightened his posture.

“This is Basic Swordsmanship Form 2. Would you like to try this as well?”

“Understood.”

This time too, I cleanly executed the movements Zeroph had shown.

I could follow basic swordsmanship precisely without even an inch of error.

“…”

Zeroph stared at me silently with his mouth open.

Soon coming to his senses, he cleared his throat and said.

“Once more, please do it once more.”

What does he want me to do again? This is annoying to death.

Still, since he asked, I couldn’t refuse, so I demonstrated Form 2 once more.

An unmistakable smile appeared on Zeroph’s lips.

“You did really well. It was a perfect sword path without any flaws.”

Zeroph enthusiastically clapped and praised me.

A strange excitement was evident in his voice.

He opened his mouth with a trembling voice.

“…Please try following this as well.”

Zeroph executed a new swordsmanship technique with his fingertips.

This one was clearly much more difficult than the previous ones at first glance.

While Forms 1 and 2 consisted of only four or five movements, this one had dozens of different movements mixed consecutively.

Cutting, breaking, striking, thrusting.

Different simple sword paths flowed together precisely like water.

It seemed to encompass all the basics of swordsmanship.

Zeroph straightened his posture only after demonstrating the forms for about 5 minutes.

“This is Basic Swordsmanship Form 10. It’s the final version that combines all movements from Forms 1 through 9. In other words, if you can perform Form 10, you can be considered to have mastered basic swordsmanship.”

Even while speaking, he seemed half-doubtful.

His expression showed he was agonizing over whether it was right to teach this already.

Yet his desire to gain even stronger conviction was clearly revealed without filter.

“Please try following along as much as you can remember. I’ll help you with the parts you’re lacking.”

I gripped the wooden sword tightly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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