Chapter 32
At Wolfgang’s declaration, Ruth felt somewhat dazed.
What Ruth had demanded as the price of their bet was simply to demonstrate the forms of <Frost Fang> right in front of him.
That was all.
‘I didn’t expect direct instruction.’
There was a clear and significant difference between ‘demonstration’ and ‘instruction.’
Demonstration was limited to simply showing the techniques.
How well Ruth could comprehend and internalize the sword art after watching was none of Wolfgang’s concern.
But direct instruction?
That was essentially a promise.
The promise that ‘I will take responsibility and teach you.’
Naturally, it would bring far greater enlightenment than a simple demonstration.
<He’s personally teaching his family’s secret sword art to an outsider like you? As expected of this body’s apostle. His ambition is impressive.>
‘Indeed. I didn’t even expect this much.’
The reason Ruth had originally asked only to be shown the techniques instead of requesting to be taught was simple……
He still had some sense of shame as a reasonable person.
Wolfgang was not some wandering ronin; he was the lord who governed an entire territory.
How could he possibly ask such a man to become his personal sword instructor?
Yet here Wolfgang was, offering to do exactly that.
And he had brought it up first, even though Ruth hadn’t asked.
“By direct instruction… am I correct in understanding that you will stay by my side and watch over me until I master the your family’s secret sword art?”
“Yes. However, only for one week.”
“One week…….”
“There will be a lords’ conference in the Ulpen Empire in two weeks. Considering various matters, one week is the maximum time I can devote solely to you.”
“To me, this one week is worth seven years, Lord Wolfgang.”
“Haha! I’m glad you understand.”
It wasn’t empty words.
Learning swordsmanship from a supreme martial artist who had reached the 9-star realm.
It was a golden opportunity that could never be obtained unless one was born as a direct descendant of the Demian Abel family.
It was a clear sign of how much favor Wolfgang held for Ruth, so Ruth decided to gladly accept the goodwill.
“However, even if I teach you personally, one week is short. And our family’s sword art is extremely complex and profound.”
Wolfgang swung his sword and clicked his tongue.
“I will do my best to teach you everything in seven days, but the depth of understanding you can achieve won’t be that great. Refining the martial knowledge you gain, even if only briefly, will ultimately be up to you in the future.”
“If I can gain even that much in one week, it will be more than enough for me.”
Even a single flash of insight would be fine. In fact, it would be sufficient.
With the genius talent of a Blood Mage comparable to Demian, he would be able to grow even that flash into something as bright as the sun.
When Ruth nodded with determined eyes, Wolfgang slowly began raising his momentum.
“Good. Enough with the small talk—let’s begin the lesson. <Frost Fang> consists of five forms in total. However, in my opinion, <Frost Fang> has only one real form.”
“What do you……”
“It is the first form, <Dance of Snow Flowers>. The remaining four are nothing more than variations of the first form. The only difference is whether you swing it heavier or faster.”
In short, the entire foundation of <Frost Fang> was concentrated solely in <Dance of Snow Flowers>.
“In other words, if you can perfectly execute <Dance of Snow Flowers>, mastering the other four forms won’t be as difficult as you think. Ah, except for the final form, <Dongbaek>.”
“That is welcome news. I already know how to use <Dance of Snow Flowers>.”
“Yes, I know. Didn’t I tell you last time that I watched your spar with Walter?”
He had been utterly shocked the first time he saw it.
Seeing Ruth instantly copy Walter’s sword art, he had wondered what kind of monster this was.
But.
“As I said on the day we first met, the <Dance of Snow Flowers> you displayed back then was not perfect. To be honest, it was crude. For today and tomorrow, you should focus solely on refining the deficient parts.”
“There is no need for that.”
“What?”
“After that day, I corrected the flaws on my own.”
“…….”
Wolfgang was left speechless, wondering what kind of insane nonsense the boy was calmly spouting.
He had emphasized it multiple times—<Dance of Snow Flowers> was the origin of all the forms.
In other words, precisely because it was the origin, it was the most difficult to learn and took the longest time to master.
Claiming to have perfectly refined it through self-study was impossible.
However, Wolfgang did not know.
‘The system authenticated it, yet he still looks like he doesn’t believe me.’
What Ruth had gone through in <Trial of Entur>.
During his fierce battle with the drakes, he had gained enlightenment and succeeded in executing a flawless <Dance of Snow Flowers>.
It wasn’t just Ruth’s own assessment—the system had even displayed a message declaring it a perfect sword technique.
“Your confidence is excessive. Well, with your talent, a bit of overconfidence is acceptable, but wrong is still wrong.”
“If you don’t believe me, please watch and judge for yourself.”
“That would be faster.”
The moment he finished speaking, Ruth took his stance.
Lowering his body like a beast about to charge, he held the sword straight and, the instant he exhaled,
Crack—.
White currents began to flow and coil around the real sword like snowflakes clinging to smooth glass.
A frost mixed with a faint pink hue, intertwined with Ruth’s ‘blood ki.’
“Hmm…?”
Wolfgang narrowed his eyes at the cold air flowing along the blade, even though Ruth hadn’t even executed the form yet.
Because it was clearly different.
It was different from the frost energy he had shown when exchanging swords with Walter back then.
Soon after,
The real sword, tinged with a cherry blossom-like pale pink, moved silently.
“…….”
A soft sword path, as if a brush were strolling across white drawing paper.
Since it was the foundational form, the movements were simple.
Yet Ruth’s seemingly casual downward slashes contained deep and profound martial principles.
Principles of the sword that those who had not gained enlightenment could never reach.
To Wolfgang, a 9-star martial artist, it was clearly visible.
“Stop.”
He had almost lost himself like an idiot.
Now that he had mastered all forms of <Frost Fang>, he had nearly been captivated by the basic form once again.
That was how lethal and perfect the <Dance of Snow Flowers> Ruth displayed was.
“Huu…….”
Ruth, having stopped his movements, let out a long breath.
The night wind was bitterly cold, and the time he had spent executing the form was less than ten seconds, yet beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.
He had poured everything into showing Wolfgang the enlightenment he had gained without holding back.
“What do you think?”
“What do I think?”
Wolfgang burst into a chuckle with an expression that seemed to say, ‘Don’t you already know better than anyone?’
“It makes me want to skip the lords’ conference.”
***
Somewhere in the southern part of the continent.
In the middle of a desolate plain resembling a desert, a single black magic tower stood alone.
Whoong—.
At the very top of the magic tower, so tall it seemed to pierce the sky, a red crow folded its wings and quietly landed.
Then,
Flicker—.
The red crow, whose entire body had been flickering with flames, instantly transformed into a woman with red hair.
“Haa…….”
As she descended the stairs at the top and entered the interior, the woman hurriedly caught her breath.
She had flown all the way here from <Argon> over three days without eating or drinking, maintaining her transformation magic the entire time.
She felt like she would collapse at any moment, but she couldn’t right now.
In front of ‘him,’ whom she would soon meet at the end of this corridor……
Even if one of her arms had been severed, she could not show any sign of disarray.
Fwoosh—!!
At the end of the long corridor, what the woman faced was
The sun.
No. More precisely, a massive orb resembling the sun was pouring out ferocious flames.
The woman knelt on one knee toward the sun and spoke.
“Patriarch.”
“…….”
No answer came from the man within the sun.
He simply sat cross-legged with his back turned, silently generating mana.
Fwoosh—.
The murderous heat and flames produced by the sun did not harm the man in the slightest.
Instead, they harmonized perfectly with the mana he emitted.
It was as if he were dominating the sun from within it.
The woman thought, as always, that it was an incomprehensible yet awe-inspiring training method, and continued speaking.
“I bring news of Young Master Edan.”
“Edan?”
The man, who had seemed as though he would remain silent forever, reacted.
It was only natural—his son’s name, who had left the family temporarily to challenge the trials, had been mentioned.
From the moment Edan arrived at the lord’s castle, the woman had transformed into a crow and secretly observed his every move.
“Young Master has completed the trials and is currently recuperating at the lord’s castle in <Argon>—.”
“That’s not what I want to hear, is it? Scarlet.”
“…….”
“How far did my son climb?”
The woman called Scarlet’s shoulders twitched slightly.
Her plan to first emphasize that he was recuperating and that an unexpected accident had occurred during the trials had gone awry.
In this situation, she had no choice but to deliver news that the man she feared would dislike.
“He… he reached the ‘Leg’ trial.”
“……Say that again.”
“He reached the ‘Leg’ trial— keuk!”
The man had not done anything directly.
The nature of the mana he had been raising since earlier had simply grown a little sharper due to his anger.
Yet that alone changed the air.
Unable to withstand the terrifying pressure, Scarlet gasped for breath, veins bulging on her neck.
“Not the third. Not the fourth. He gave up at merely the second stage? Edan? I’ll give you one more chance to verify whether you truly brought the correct information.”
“T-that is… there w-was an accident! There was an accident during <Trial of Entur>!”
“Yes, an accident. It must have been quite a big one for my son to disappoint me this much.”
“A black mage presumed to belong to the <Dark Blood Society> summoned an evil god inside the remains!”
“…….”
At the unexpectedly serious news, the man slightly eased his furious momentum.
Scarlet, finally able to breathe properly, seized the moment and detailed everything that had happened during the trials.
Among them, one name caught the man’s interest the most—neither Belgious nor Wolfgang.
It wasn’t even his own son, Edan.
“……Ruth Fried?”
“Yes. That boy named Ruth received spiritual power from Entur—.”
“No, before that. He broke through all the way to the final stage of the trials? Are you certain it was Ruth Fried?”
“I-it is certain. I didn’t believe it at first either, but I personally saw the castle’s adjutant delivering the news to the Young Master.”
“A nameless boy reached the end of the trials designed by the ancient dragon.”
Kugugugu……!
The man snapped his fingers, instantly extinguishing the violently surging flames of the sun.
It had been interfering with his thoughts.
Now was not the time for training.
‘Unbelievable.’
Even that Wolfgang had failed to see the end of <Trial of Entur>.
Of course, Wolfgang at that time had not yet earned the title of Tyrant, but that did not mean the past him had been weak.
On the contrary, because he possessed unparalleled potential, he had been the first to conquer the ‘Neck’ trial and been acknowledged as the ancient dragon’s apostle.
Yet.
A mere boy had surpassed even his record.
That meant—
‘He possesses even greater potential than Wolfgang in his youth. This Ruth Fried.’
It was a truly astonishing story.
The man asked Scarlet, who was standing tensely,
“You said he’s a boy. How old is he exactly?”
“I recall he was… seventeen.”
“Seventeen. So he’s only two years older than Edan?”
Within the orb of blazing flames, the man slowly rose to his feet.
The man, who had kept his back turned the entire time, finally turned to face Scarlet.
“……!”
A chill—.
Upon seeing the man’s expression, Scarlet felt her spine freeze solid.
“Excellent.”
The man, who had not smiled even once in the past ten years, was now grinning so widely it seemed his lips would tear.
Like a predator that had found its prey.
“Scarlet.”
“Give me your command.”
“From now on, watch over every single move that boy Ruth Fried makes and report it all to me. Without missing anything.”
“Understood.”
“You may withdraw.”
It was an order to return to <Argon> right after she had just come back from there, but Scarlet could not voice even a single complaint.
Left alone, the man remained deep in thought for a long time.
“Ruth Fried… with such outstanding potential, his heart might just make it possible.”
Edan’s ‘awakening.’
Warrick Vilroct, the Patriarch of the Vilroct family, could not stop smiling, overwhelmed by surging anticipation.
***
Wolfgang had never been this busy since becoming lord.
During the day he devoted himself to governing, and when night fell he poured all his energy into teaching Ruth swordsmanship.
Then, when dawn broke, he would finish training, catch two or three hours of sleep, and return to his lord duties.
Sword instruction, work, sword instruction, work, sword instruction……
<Isn’t this elder abuse?>
“He’s a 9-star martial artist, so he’ll be fine.”
<My poor apostle……>
Thanks to this, every single day for Ruth was a continuous stream of enlightenment and growth.
He didn’t even need to feel guilty about it—the one suffering from overwork, Wolfgang, actually seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit.
And in truth, during the tedious daytime administrative work, he eagerly looked forward to nightfall.
After all, teaching Ruth was incredibly rewarding.
The boy would take one thing and comprehend a hundred on his own. How could a teacher not feel proud?
No. It went beyond pride—it was astonishing.
He wondered what kind of shock the boy with that monstrous talent would bring him tonight.
‘My time teaching Ruth the sword is finally coming to an end. How sad.’
Had the sun rising over the horizon ever felt so cruel?
The sun, signaling the last day of the promised week, cast a lonely light on Wolfgang’s face.
Slice—.
A piece of cloth was softly cut away.
Wolfgang glanced down at the cloth sliced by the sword, then looked around.
The training grounds had been turned into a complete mess.
As if a savage storm of blades had swept through.
It was a scene created by Ruth.
“I didn’t let my guard down for even an instant, yet you still cut my collar. This is proof that you have mastered everything in <Frost Fang>.”
Wolfgang twisted his lips into a crescent smile and waved the piece of cloth in his hand toward Ruth.
“Does it feel refreshing to shatter my expectations until the very end?”
[You have been acknowledged by an opponent of high realm!]
[<Authority of Growth> increases your Rank value!]
He had learned everything.
His business in <Argon> was now complete.
It was time to obtain the ‘strongest weapon.’