I woke up to the sound of my alarm. After quickly putting on my clothes, I headed toward the training area. Snow had fallen all night, and the cold bit into my skin with every step. On my way, I saw a few guards patrolling the mansion. In the center of the arena stood Tev, practicing with his sword. The moment he heard my footsteps, he stopped and turned toward me.
"You're five minutes late," he said in a serious voice.
"Oh, I slept late because I couldn't fall asleep. It's just five minutes," I replied casually.
But as soon as he heard that, Tev walked straight toward me.
SLAP!
The strike was so strong it almost knocked me off my feet.
"First lesson: never forget that you are a commoner and I am a noble. Don't talk casually to me. And when I say you made a mistake, you accept it," he said coldly, his eyes sharp.
"Understand?"
Enduring the pain, I answered, "Yes, sir."
"Good. Start with a 10 km run."
Just that? I thought. With my stamina at rank E, it didn't feel impossible.
"Yes, sir," I replied, then started jogging.
It was barely a warm-up, but Tev suddenly came beside me.
"What are you doing? Run as fast as you can. We don't have all day."
Hearing that, I forced myself to speed up.
After 2 km, my breathing already felt uneven, but I kept running. Two more kilometers passed, and my legs were shaking. Tev shouted again, "Don't stop!"
I wanted to collapse. Five kilometers still remained, and I felt like I could faint any moment.
No I can't fall .
Somehow, I finished the 10 km. My heart was pounding like it wanted to burst out of my chest. I lay flat on the ground until Tev walked over and offered me his hand. The sun had begun to rise, and the cold didn't feel as harsh anymore.
I grabbed his hand and stood up. "Thank you, sir."
"It's not time to thank me yet," he said. Then he called over two soldiers who had been training nearby.
"Spar with him. Hand-to-hand."
The soldiers hesitated, but before they could speak, Tev added, "Don't worry about hurting him. He's the same rank as you, and none of you are allowed to use mana."
I was shocked. Not only had I not recovered from the run, but now I had to fight two trained soldiers.
I wanted to protest, but fear of angering Tev kept my mouth shut.
Taking a fighting stance, I watched the soldiers prepare themselves.
I attacked the one on the right—he looked slightly weaker—but he easily countered with a kick aimed at my chest. I blocked it, but the second soldier rushed in and punched me hard. The pain was intense, though nothing compared to what I'd felt in the forest. Still, Tev was nothing like those monsters. If he hit me, I would definitely be done for.
I stepped back and waited for them to come. My body already hurt from the run, and fighting two at once put me at a clear disadvantage.
I wasn't afraid of fighting—back in my previous world, I could handle three opponents easily. But here, these soldiers were beating me like a stray dog.
I tried counterattacks, but they broke through everything. After fifteen minutes, I was lying flat on my back, bleeding and bruised.
Tev dismissed them and walked toward me.
He summoned a potion from his storage ring and handed it to me.
"Your fighting style is like that of a thug," he said. "I thought the Church of Light sent warriors to train the children from your orphanage, but apparently you learned nothing. You don't have a proper combat style."
As the potion settled, some pain faded.
"It's just a minor pain-relief potion. It won't fully heal you. I could give you something stronger, but if I do, your body won't grow. Let it heal naturally," he said.
"You have many flaws, kid. But I think you can improve within two months. Take this basic sword-art book. Train with the sword for one hour, then spend another hour learning the breathing technique. If you can master the breathing, running won't be so difficult. I'll be back in two hours."
He left. I stood up slowly. Some soldiers nearby glanced at me, whispering things I couldn't quite hear. During the fight earlier, I clearly heard them call me trash demon and piece of shit.
And that bastard Tev—he didn't even properly teach me anything. He expects me to figure everything out on my own.
I opened the book and sighed.
'System, can you scan this book?'
Ding.
[Scanning completed.]
[Basic Sword Art (No-Star) ready to transfer to host.]
No-Star. In the world of Lumariya, weapon arts were divided by star rank: from 1-Star to 5-Star. There was supposedly also a mythical 6-Star, mentioned only in legends and eventually obtained by the main character. But a No-Star art… it was just basic knowledge.
Still, I accepted the transfer.
A sharp pain hit my mind, but this time it was bearable.
[Transfer completed.]
Sword knowledge filled my head.
The sword had four basic purposes:
Cutting, Thrusting, Deflecting, and Controlling Balance.
Where cutting is using the edge to slice, thrusting using the tip to stab, Deflecting redirecting an attack and controlling balance staying close enough to hit but not be hit.
There were basic stances and three fundamental attacks.
I picked up a wooden sword and walked to a training dummy. Taking a proper stance, I swung—a vertical slash. Then a horizontal slash. Then a thrust.
I kept repeating the moves, striking with full force until the wooden sword snapped. I grabbed another and continued.
For an hour, I swung nonstop. My hands went numb, and I broke several practice swords.
For the final strike, I tried mana-coating.....something Tev had taught me. I focused, unleashed a vertical slash, and the sword shattered again. The recoil stung my arm, and I sat down, exhausted.
I needed to practice breathing next.
Sitting in the lotus position, I focused on my breathing. I felt the flow of energy around me and noticed my body slowly healing. Mana surrounded me, and sweat poured from every pore. I felt refreshed, though maintaining the technique was extremely difficult.
Then I heard Tev's voice.
"The number of wooden swords you broke… looks like you practiced hard. You're not disappointing me."
I opened my eyes.
"The mana surrounding your body shows you're doing the breathing technique properly," he said. I stood up, feeling much better.
"It's really hard, Sir Tev. I can't maintain the technique consistently," I said, frustrated.
"It's a difficult technique. You got it as a reward for winning the competition, but I only obtained it when I reached Rank B. Even for me, it was hard. Only when I reached S-Rank did it become as easy as normal breathing."
He continued, "Training session is over. Go wash yourself then my servant will take you to the family library."
I was stunned.
Tev noticed it.
"Don't make that face. You need knowledge about the knight, and our history so go ".
"Yes, sir," I said.
"After the library you can continue your training."
"Okay, sir." i say
I went back to my room and entered the bathroom. Sitting in the bathtub, I looked at my numb arms and the lingering pain.
I knew I'd face far worse if I couldn't endure even this. My goal was to face the monstrous characters in this world… and eventually win the God Trial from the main character himself, the so-called Genius Prodigy.