LMOFSF 05

Chapter 5 – Sword and Magic

“Can’t use other magic?”

A sudden sense of déjà vu.
I thought I could finally use the magic knowledge I learned from Arwen.

“It’s not that you can’t use it at all, but human-style magic doesn’t suit you well.”

“Not a good match, huh…”

Come to think of it, those fanatics never used any magic except black magic.

“Heh. Since you have my sorcery, you don’t need such petty tricks.”

…Only this woman would call magic—something humanity spent ages developing—mere petty tricks.

“Then, black magic… no, you called it sorcery? How do I learn it? I’ve fought it on the battlefield, but I don’t really know the theory.”

If I had known, I would have hung around more when the mages in camp were studying.

Aris chuckled softly.
“That’s not something you study. If you offer payment, I give you a part of myself.”

“Give… like how priests receive revelations from their god?”

Aris rubbed her chin as if I’d said something slightly wrong.
“Not entirely wrong… but how dare you compare me to those hypocrites.”

Hypocrites?

“Think of it like a locked path. Payment is the key that opens it.”

“A lock and key…”

“After that, how you use it is entirely up to you.”

So you pay a price, and in return you gain power.
I guess that makes sense.

“I’ll explain in detail later…”

Aris smiled faintly and touched her lips.
“With your current capacity… I could give you three techniques, just barely.”

“Three? Not bad. What are they?”

“It’s better if you experience them directly.”

She held out her hand.
I placed mine on top.

A surge of energy filled my body. My muscles felt as if they had been trained for years.

This feeling…

It was like using aura!

“That’s Fortify. The basic sorcery for strengthening the body.”

“You just used mana to strengthen me?! How is that possible?”

In magic, mana can’t be used to strengthen or heal the body—that’s only possible with a knight’s aura or a priest’s holy power.

“The power of my sorcery makes such petty rules meaningless.”

Annoying smirk or not… she wasn’t wrong.

I could now use my mana like aura.
That meant I could wield a sword again, just like in my past life—and strengthen my body much faster.

Plus, I could use sorcery itself.

My heart was pounding like when I first learned magic from Arwen.
I might even become stronger than when I was Howard.

“No, you will,” Aris said, reading my thoughts again.
“Stop reading my mind.”

“Heh.”

She continued, “Fortify can also delay strain on the body and greatly increase healing speed.”

That’s just like aura.

“Not bad.”

“Of course. Your first sorcery should be something useful. I picked it carefully.”

I did want to learn it right away, but… the price.
I wasn’t going to sell my soul like those lunatics.

“Right now I have nothing to pay with—”

“You misunderstand. I said I give it to you, not that you learn it yourself.”

She stepped closer.
“The other two besides Fortify are also already yours. I’ll give them whenever you wish.”

“I thought sorcery always required a price?”

A sudden chill ran down my neck into my heart.
“This time… I’ve already taken it,” Aris said, moving away with a faint smile.

The next morning.

“The training grounds?” Emma asked.

“Yeah. And bring me some light gloves too.”

She nodded, and I left early.

That damned Duke had said we’d meet again at the Festival.
It was an annual event between Tindalos and allied noble houses—held in the capital, now controlled by the main branch of Tindalos.

In the past, my sister—acting as family representative—was forced to attend alone with only Emma as an escort.
She never said it, but I could guess how poorly she was treated there.

This time, I’d go with her.
Not just to watch the capital branch, but to get close to Knightgon and gather intel.

But first—I needed to rebuild my body. Time was short.

I called up Fortify.
The method appeared naturally in my mind, just as Aris had said.
I couldn’t wait to wield a sword again.

[You seem excited,] Aris’ voice echoed from my shadow.

“Stop reading my thoughts.”

She stayed there to conserve her own energy, since being outside without a body constantly drained her.

“Sir, let’s go together!”

Emma followed me to the training grounds, where five knights were practicing—four older men, one young, just past twenty.

These were the ones loyal enough to follow us to the frontier.

Hector, the captain, had served since before I was born.
But when I sensed his level… I was surprised.

Was this the current state of aura users?
At best, he was mid-Expert level. The others were about the same.

And their sword style—wrong.
The twins’ swordsmanship had seemed odd before, and now I knew why.

This wasn’t Yug’s Sword.
It looked similar, but lacked its depth and proper breathing method.

“Lost the sword style, huh…” I muttered.

The young knight, however—he was stronger than Hector. Mid-Expert, and skilled.
Yet, oddly, he was hiding it.

“Sir Young Master, what brings you here?” Hector asked.

“To train. Don’t mind me.”

He looked doubtful, as if wondering if my sister had approved. Emma confirmed it for him.

I grabbed a wooden sword and moved away.

The twins came running.
“Brother, can we train with you?”

“Of course.”

But then a voice cut in.

“Young Master, the two of you should train with me,” the young knight said.

Barus. That was his name.

He sneered at me.
“You haven’t been properly trained, have you? You’d be of little help to these two.”

The twins immediately defended me.

Barus remained cold.
“You shouldn’t lie to yourselves if you aim to be knights.”

I finally spoke.
“If you don’t believe them, test me yourself.”

I tossed him a wooden sword.
“If you win, I won’t interfere with their training. If I win, I train them my way.”

His eyes lit up at the challenge.

“Fine.”

Hector immediately tried to stop us, worried for me.

I ignored him and stepped into the center of the field.
“Watch closely. I’ll show you what real Tindalos swordsmanship is.”

Hector was confused—real Tindalos swordsmanship?
But his concern grew when he saw something else.

When Barus readied his aura… I let out my mana.

A thick, dark violet energy surged around me, so dense it was visible.

It pressed down on the air itself.

Hector’s aura rose instinctively, resisting it.
His heart pounded with a strange, primal fear.

That… was mana. But unlike any he had seen—cold, deep, and terrifying.

Even Barus straightened, realizing this was no ordinary match.

“I’ll let you attack first,” I said.

He gripped his sword tighter.
This was going to be interesting.