Chapter 50
In the training ground of Green Pine Hall…
Kraush stood alone, quietly with his eyes closed.
Since returning from Danpelion, he had significantly increased his training hours and was now concentrating deeply within himself.
Thanks to the greater total amount of aura, it was essential for him to become even more proficient in handling it.
‘Now that I’m at Advanced Expert, I’m finally at the level of Belokin.’
In Valheim, this was just right in the middle.
Kraush wanted to reach at least the threshold of Master before entering the academy.
This made aura training indispensable.
“Master Kraush.”
But his concentration was abruptly interrupted.
Because Aliod had appeared in the training ground.
And Kraush understood perfectly well the reason for Aliod’s visit, even if it interrupted his training.
“The Grand butler has arrived.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
The Grand butler had come to conduct another test for Kraush.
The Grand butler’s exam was essentially one that would determine the future treatment of Valheim’s direct line.
And Kraush had a compelling reason to pass this test.
“Bring him here.”
“Yes, I will fetch him.”
Aliod bowed his head and left.
As Kraush resumed checking his aura, he turned to see two figures at the entrance of the training ground.
A woman with white hair and a wrinkled face.
While she was undoubtedly an old lady, the intensity emanating from her deep blue eyes was fiercely powerful, irrespective of her age.
And that eye color looked just like Kraush’s.
It was no surprise at all.
She was none other than Kraush’s grandmother.
Keselin Valheim, to be precise.
“It’s been a while, Kraush.”
Keselin greeted Kraush with a warm smile.
However, Kraush knew that her kindness was a façade.
Behind that smile, she would be evaluating his worth, start to finish.
“You must have heard about it from Aliod.”
“Yes, you’ve come to take another exam, right?”
“I’m glad you understand.”
She said this as she approached Kraush, tapping her cane.
“I heard about your recent activities. You defeated the execution hound that caused problems in the Empire.”
“It was just luck.”
“Luck is a form of skill in itself. You know that best, don’t you?”
That statement was spot on. Kraush was someone who was born just barely on the line of ‘average’ due to that stroke of luck.
She had an unyielding tendency to dig into people’s vulnerabilities.
“I won’t drag this on.”
Her cane angled slightly as she stared at Kraush.
In her presence, Valheim’s direct descendants would involuntarily shrink back.
But Kraush merely stared back into her eyes.
“If you cannot stand on the same level as Charlotte, then give up your position as head.”
And at that moment, Kraush blinked in surprise.
Before long, he began to chuckle slowly.
Hearing that laugh, Keselin wondered if he had lost his mind.
“What’s so significant about the head of Valheim that you would give it up?”
But as she listened to him, Keselin’s eyebrows twitched.
“The position will come naturally as you grow stronger.”
Just like Arthur, who had been crowned emperor despite not having royal blood.
In the end, in this world, power equated to position.
“Isn’t it too early to discuss that?”
Kraush had a relaxed smile.
Seeing that, Keselin realized.
‘The report wasn’t false.’
Kraush had changed.
He was now someone completely different from the person she had seen a year ago.
What had brought about this transformation, she didn’t know.
But one thing was undeniable: a new storm might brew within the ranks of Valheim’s direct descendants.
“Let’s begin the test.”
His proud response indicated readiness at any time.
Keselin snorted lightly and twirled her cane.
“Just one step.”
In that instant, a sword slowly emerged from her cane.
“Try to make me take just one step back.”
Hearing that, Kraush made a peculiar expression.
“…Is that really all right?”
“Are you scared now?”
Keselin threw out a taunt.
She was a powerhouse at the Master level.
Though age had made her less capable of directly facing the erosion of the world, her ability was still formidable.
To Keselin, Kraush was just barely at the level of Advanced Expert.
It was something to be frightened about.
‘She shouldn’t allow me any time.’
But regrettably, Kraush’s thoughts were entirely different.
His response stemmed not from fear but from the fact that a single blow was precisely his forte.
Kraush briefly rubbed the back of his neck.
“I believe that will be fine.”
His opponent was Keselin.
There should be no issue.
Although he had a feeling that it wouldn’t end merely at the level of one step back.
Kraush drew his sword from his waist.
Then, he slowly retreated one step back and extended his front leg.
Maintaining the sword in its sheath position, he held his stance.
Seeing that, a glimmer of curiosity appeared in Keselin’s eyes.
‘Gohap Technique?’
Gohap was a technique for drawing a sword swiftly whenever necessary.
There wasn’t really a reason to implement it at this moment.
‘Is he trying to pull off a trick?’
Intrigued, Keselin eagerly awaited Kraush’s attack.
But for some reason, Kraush stood still without drawing his sword.
Having closed his eyes at some point, he began to breathe deeply.
Keselin wore a puzzled expression.
What exactly was he planning?
That moment arrived.
Boom!
Keselin’s eyes snapped towards Kraush’s sword.
The aura emanating from the sword that stuck upright in its sheath was felt by her.
Boom!
A massive surge of aura stormed into the sheath.
The aura was expanding rapidly, crashing against the insides of the sheath, making it puff out so much that even Keselin felt a chill running down her spine.
The problem was that she had seen this flow of aura somewhere before.
“Eh?”
A sound of disbelief escaped her lips.
It was undoubtedly slower than before.
He had completed that process in an instant before and drawn his sword.
But exclusion of the slowness, the method was entirely identical.
‘The Sword Demon’s Gohap Technique?’
The master who had inflicted the scar on her left neck.
It was the Sword Demon’s Gohap Technique.
Keselin’s eyes trembled inadvertently.
She never expected Kraush to use the Gohap Technique of the Sword Demon.
‘Where on earth did he learn that?’
While she was stunned, Kraush didn’t stop.
His mindset pushed him into extreme concentration, and he sketched an image.
The Sword Demon’s Gohap Technique exploded with destructive force as soon as the sword was drawn.
And this process wasn’t much different from the Shin-Gum Unification.
The Gohap Technique was a technique that could only unfold if the sword is one with oneself.
So, Kraush added one more trick to the Sword Demon’s Gohap.
His most powerful destructive sword technique.
One Strike (一劍)
Plop!
The moment the falling drop of water resonated distinctly in Kraush’s mind, the spiraling aura surged within the sheath.
Keselin’s eyes widened as she sensed the gathering aura.
The air around Kraush began to swirl erratically.
Gah!
At that moment, Kraush’s jaw clenched tight.
It felt heavy.
The weight of the two combined techniques made the sword feel unbelievably heavier than before.
Heck, I can barely draw it!
A fleeting crimson hue flickered in Kraush’s eyes.
The moment faint vapor escaped between his clenched teeth.
Kraush’s muscles and nerve endings absorbed the flowing erosion, exhibiting explosive momentum.
The very moment that made even Keselin gasp.
At last, his sword was drawn like lightning.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Bam!
The storm of black flame sparked forth, swallowing the aura as the sword cut through the air, revealing its fangs towards Keselin.
In front of the strike that had become much stronger than when aimed at Charlotte through the Gukgok Yonghwa Dan, aura erupted from every part of Keselin’s body.
The Master-level aura encapsulated her entire being, wrought with the depth of her accumulated experiences.
Was that the reason? Facing Kraush’s strike, Keselin felt somehow larger than she had ever before.
Her eyes gleamed brightly as she gripped her sword tightly.
It was nothing she should show against a mere 14-year-old boy.
But she felt it might not be something she could merely block.
“Whatever miracles you managed to grasp during your journey…”
With a breath drawn, blossoms fluttered around Keselin’s sword, reminiscent of petals scattered in the air.
Those blue petals quickly wrapped around Keselin’s sword and extended towards Kraush’s onslaught, which was approaching rapidly.
In a split second, the amusement on her lips met Kraush’s strike.
“Seems like you really are intent on becoming a dragon.”
Boom!
With those words, a thunderous roar erupted.
The thick smoke boiled upwards, simultaneously numbing the senses of sight and sound.
In the chaos, Kraush stood, barely managing to catch his breath.
As the smoke slowly dissipated, Keselin was revealed, now quite a distance from her original position.
At the same time, her sword, which had met Kraush’s attack directly, trembled in response.
It couldn’t absorb the impact fully.
Crack!
In that instant, tiny fissures began to appear on her sword.
Clang!
Finally, with a last clang, the blade broke, rolling across the ground.
Keselin reached out to pick up the shattered blade.
‘Though it was old, and my reaction was a bit delayed from surprise, who would have thought it would break?’
A moment of disbelief slipped from her lips.
Though her aura was still far from reaching the Master level, that one strike could well be classified as a Master-level attack.
“Regarding the test…”
Keselin glanced back to where she had been standing.
She’d been sent more than ten steps back.
The result was clear.
“Passed.”
In her tenure as the Grand butler, was there ever someone from the direct line who had pushed her back this far before reaching adulthood?
Sadly, even Charlotte had only managed to inch back seven steps.
Kraush had made her step back three more than that.
Keselin turned towards Kraush.
That strike was undoubtedly one that could only be executed when using all of his might.
Honestly, it was akin to self-destruction.
But a result was a result.
“Rest comfortably.”
“Wait a moment.”
As Keselin prepared to leave for reporting, Kraush, still panting, called out to her.
“I want to belong to Valheim’s Holy Knights assisting the Red Mage Tower.”
As the Grand butler, she could send a direct message to the captain of the Valheim knights.
“…Why the Holy Knights, though?”
The Holy Knights were merely a mid-level knight order in Valheim.
If he intended to build a reputation among higher knight orders to secure support for ascending to the head, it would be understandable.
But Keselin found herself puzzled.
“Yes, for sure.”
Since he had said so, she reluctantly nodded.
The Grand butler’s role included helping direct descendants grow.
“Understood. I will relay that.”
“Thank you.”
With that, Kraush sprawled out flat on the ground.
He was at his limit, barely managing to stand on his own.
‘Good grief.’
Keselin thought this youngest member of the direct line was quite the peculiar fellow as she left Green Pine Hall.
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