Episode 178. Punishment (4)
A carriage running at high speed.
Damon looked back at Rubin, hanging on the carriage door frame.
“I’ll go down first. Follow me.”
“okay.”
Damon jumped out of the carriage, a leap so stealthy that it was difficult to notice even from the coachman’s seat.
Rubin then put on his mask. Next to him sat Tina, who had been summoned, with a proud expression. Her current appearance was Rubin, Tina’s role during training.
“I know it can’t be helped because it’s for the young master’s training… … .”
Virko glared at Tina. What Tina returned was a strange expression that the youngest lord would never make.
“Oh, how impertinent! Do you want to get your butt kicked and thrown out of the carriage right now?”
“This, this is… … .”
At that moment, Rubin, who had finished his preparations, also approached the carriage door. He estimated the landing point while facing the gusting wind.
“Tina, stay quiet. Kuze will make sure Tina doesn’t cause trouble.”
“What the fuss!”
“Understood, Young Master. Please train well.”
Rubin flung himself out, darkness engulfing his form in an instant.
“… … .”
As the carriage door closed, the sound of the wind that had been blowing stopped. Inside the quiet carriage, Kuze kept a close eye on Tina.
When even Virko and Charko openly glared at her, Tina closed her eyes in discontent.
“Later, when Rubin becomes the head of the household, you’ll all be dead, that’s it… Oops, mistake! My true feelings have come out.”
Meanwhile, Rubin gets out of the carriage.
He looked at the back of the carriage moving away, then looked around. The night on Pamuk Avenue was quiet. There were only plains on both sides of the wide road, and there were no people.
The current section was completely closed to traffic at night. It was the perfect condition for secret training.
However, there was one problem: the carriage was still moving forward without stopping. The two had a duty to cross the continent using the carriage.
“Please draw your sword.”
“A real sword?”
“Yes, you will have to use all your might. You may use your aura.”
Damon’s attitude was filled with a severity he had never felt before. It was a relief for Rubin, who had been worried about being treated as a young master.
“If you look at it strictly, you will know that this training is against the rules of the Assassin Swordsmanship. Even if you are the master of the main house.”
“I know. Because you are not my roynestor.”
Originally, the children of the Assassin Swordsman were only supposed to be educated by Roynenser. That’s why the ‘Second Choice’ was special. Because you got to choose the Roynenser who would help you grow.
“Still, the reason I am standing here is because of the will of the Lord.”
“… … .”
“The lord wants his son to grow up.”
To the vassals of the Roinen family, rules and regulations are secondary. The only thing that is absolute to them is the will of the head of the Assassin family.
When Siren gave Damon the task of bringing his youngest son, she briefly added that she wanted him to also guide his growth, although there were no specific instructions on how or how much growth he should guide.
‘It must be because the Lord of the House didn’t know the exact level of the youngest master. If he knew that he had already reached the 5th star, what would he say?’
It was then that Rubin began to manifest an aura around the blood-red frost he had pulled out. He was ready to give it his all.
Wooooow.
Aura fills the space.
Damon continued.
“As you know, darkness and aura are completely different.”
The aura is something that is manifested only after one has completely mastered the swordsmanship of one’s family. In other words, the aura can be said to be the perfect embodiment of the swordsmanship.
On the other hand, the darkness is the opposite. The constellation makes the examination possible. Only when you have that much darkness can you realize the examination that suits you.
‘My original plan was to present a 5-star swordsmanship.’
‘Shadow Ignition’, ‘Shadow Flame’, and other 5-star swords.
The plan was made purely on the assumption that Rubin’s maximum level would be 4 stars.
Although Rubin cannot embody it right now, the intention was for him to be inspired by his own examination.
But after watching the fight with Rosenthaler, I realized that my prediction was way off.
‘Honestly, I can’t help but get goosebumps.’
There is no precedent for a child who has reached the rank of 5-star in just two years of becoming a monk. This is a growth rate that even surpasses that of a siren.
‘And the fact that you can manifest an aura while holding a dark spell… I just can’t believe it.’
Damon’s gaze turned to the ‘Black Auror’. This was another matter. It was strange and profound.
Of course, it was impossible for him to judge. Only Siren could make a judgment on the young master who had the ability to manifest aura and magic.
In the end, Damon decided to present a 6-star swordsmanship, one level higher.
‘Six-star swordsmanship. This is a realm that requires destroying everything you have built up so far… I wonder if you will understand.’
Damon held the dagger half in doubt.
“I will perform a six-star swordsmanship. All you have to do is block it. If you block it from the first to the last stroke of the swordsmanship, it will take 15 minutes.”
“What if I can’t stop it?”
“Just stop and chase the carriage. I’ll catch up with it and take a ten-minute break. Then, you can block my sword strike in the same way again.”
The training method was set from the beginning. It seemed that the reason they came to see Rubin was not for escort but for special training.
Damon took a step forward.
“Let’s get started.”
He began to swing his sword, extending the dagger he was holding.
‘You’re telling me to measure what a six-star swordsmanship is by blocking it. I need to block as many as possible while remembering the beginning and end of the swordsmanship.’
Rubin was determined to figure out all of Damon’s swordsmanship in one go. He didn’t plan on counterattacking and just focused on defense. It didn’t seem like it would be difficult at all.
however.
Just seven sums.
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In that moment, the tip of Damon’s sword made full contact with Rubin’s skin. If he had wanted to, the sword would have passed right through his skin.
“… … .”
Rubin looked at Damon’s dagger with incomprehensible eyes.
“Chase the carriage.”
That was the end of it. Damon said nothing else. He walked up the road and started to run after the carriage that had gone ahead.
“what?”
Rubin bit his lower lip. He too was following the carriage down the road, but his mind was immersed in the situation that had just occurred.
‘I completely missed the trajectory.’
Damon’s swordsmanship was solid and elegant. Sometimes it was like a rock, sometimes like a stream. Its formation and unfolding were repeated countless times, making it impossible to gauge.
‘They say that the difference between 5 stars and 6 stars is like heaven and earth.’
It seemed like it wasn’t for nothing that the unique characteristics and curses emerged from the darkness of the six stars.
Then, I felt a certain emotion welling up inside me. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this way since I returned. The frustration that had been so distant was coming back to me.
I didn’t hate it. At least not until now.
After that, the class atmosphere was similar to the beginning.
Chase the carriage. Repeat this phrase.
Every time Rubin received a sword strike, it increased and then decreased. In other words, it meant that he was not able to grasp the thread of swordsmanship.
Saaaaah.
‘It’s difficult.’
Rubin was chasing the carriage again. It was getting confusing at the moment. He couldn’t get past the first part of the inspection, so he couldn’t put much distance between himself and the carriage.
The back of the carriage, rushing forward through the darkness, is visible. Damon, who had set off ahead, is riding on the back of the carriage.
Rubin also picked up speed and kicked the ground.
He hung on the back of the carriage.
During the ten minutes they rested in the carriage, they did not enter the cabin. In order to fool the coachmen and practice, it was better to hang on to the back rather than go in and out of the cabin.
“It will soon be daybreak. This is the last of our first training sessions. The next training session will not be possible until night again.”
“okay.”
During the day, there are many other travelers using Pamuk Boulevard. The practice was to be done only at night, when traffic was restricted.
‘I invested an entire night and still couldn’t get past the first step.’
I couldn’t even touch the 5-star wall, let alone get over it. The path to 6-star was like walking through a desert.
Of course, it is not just Rubin’s despair. Many collateral heads must have also had to kneel before the same wall. Only those who have overcome that will be able to have the will to challenge the position of ‘Black Shadow’.
In other words, in order to become the Roinen family head that even the Black Spirits would later respect, you had to pass through the 6th level. The 6th level was just one of many steps.
“master.”
Damon’s soft voice. The two of them were hanging on the back, looking at the path the carriage had passed.
“… … ?”
“You must forget what you have accumulated so far. Only then will the 6-star Dark Sword be revealed.”
“Should I forget?”
Damon omitted further explanation and gestured to Rubin, indicating that they should begin the last training session of the day.
Rubin also got off the carriage, following Damon who was leaping forward. The darkness was fading away as morning came.
Rubin repeated Damon’s words, trying to figure out what it meant to be seen only when you forget.
“Let’s get started.”
Damon grabbed the dagger. His eyes grew strong. He began to attack Rubin, drawing the trajectory of the sword that he had repeated countless times today.
‘It’s easy to say, but it can’t be easy to ignore the inspections that have been done so far.’
The core of the 6-star swordsmanship was that it broke away from the swordsmanship of the existing assassination swordsmanship.
The dark 5-star sword is ‘inherited’. However, it is different from the 6-star sword. From then on, all sword styles realized are newly created by the individual.
‘If the young master gets even a little closer to that truth, the number of sword strikes he can block will increase.’
Buck! Buck! Buck!
The sword fight continues. In the early part of the sword fight, there are still traces of the existing assassination sword fight. However, as the sword fight progresses, it becomes a unique sword of Damon that has shed the assassination sword fight.
The so-called sword divergence.
Buck! Buck! Buck!
‘Hoo… … .’
The swordsmanship was increasing. It had passed seven. It was holding up better than ever before.
Buck! Ta-at. Buck!
It’s already past twenty. Damon’s eyes are filled with anticipation.
“… … .”
Finally, after twenty-five strokes, the tip of the sword touched Rubin’s skin. There was still a long way to go before the swordsmanship was complete, but Damon knew it. The young master in front of him had finally experienced the realm of the sixth star.
‘I’ve got a clue.’
Rubin smiled broadly.
Afterwards, the two returned to the carriage. The sun rose just in time, and the Pamuk Avenue began to fill with travelers and imperial transports.
The carriage that had not stopped all night changed horses and started running again.
“I wish the sun would set soon.”
Rubin said, looking out the window.
Although he himself did not ascend to the sixth star, it felt as if another eye had been engraved that had not been seen before. As soon as his vision opened, he would soon be able to see the path up there.
“You are so confident.”
A word from the assassination leader, Grokal.
He knew that the training that lasted all night had not been easy, because every time Rubin hung on the back of the carriage after training, he could feel him completely.
They knew how Damon would train. By the time he hung on the back of the carriage, they could tell how much of Damon’s swordsmanship Rubin had blocked.
‘How long will it take for that confidence to turn to despair?’
Grokal thought so. He too had been unable to overcome the wall and rise to the sixth star, so he knew that feeling of despair better than anyone else. No matter how talented a young master he was, it would be no different.
-Daemon, how much progress do you think you will make during your journey?”
Grokal’s voice was directed at Damon, along with the expectation that a merciless response would follow.
-I don’t know exactly, but I think you felt the pulse and knot of the sword in the last episode.
-yes?
-Maybe you’ll be able to block all of my sword attacks before the end of the journey.
The evaluation continued while sitting across from Rubin. Since it was just the two of them, it wasn’t an attempt to cheer up Rubin who was frustrated. Damon’s words were sincere.
-Oh, no way.
Grokal looked at Rubin. Rubin had already closed his eyes. He was preparing for the training with Damon that would continue all night. He just seemed to be trying to keep his eyes closed and remain calm.
The reality was different.
Just two days into his training, Rubin had a clue.
‘Now I understand. The secret to learning Damon’s swordsmanship.’
