“Huff, huff…”
Yuri collapsed onto the training ground, catching his breath.
“It’s time you learned the Mana Method,” Bernard said.
Typically, the Mana Method was taught only after secondary sexual characteristics began to develop. Introducing mana too early would cause the body to break down.
“You’ll teach me?”
“I could teach you my own Mana Method, but for a prince of Briol, it would be far too basic.”
“But you got stronger using that method, didn’t you?”
“That’s because I’m exceptional, not because the Mana Method is.”
Bernard habitually traced a sword in the air. True to his nickname, the Sword Ghost, he never let his sword rest.
“Learn the Briol Method.”
It was the name of the Mana Method passed down through the Briol royal family.
“Why?”
“It’s an excellent Mana Method. If I had to rank it, it’s top-tier—pure energy flow and highly efficient.”
Yuri had learned the Briol Method in his past life. After becoming a mercenary, he’d modified it slightly to hide his identity, but he’d seen something close to its full potential.
“Well…”
Briol was a land of knights, and the royal family had produced Swordmasters for generations. Whenever the continent’s strongest swordsmen were named, King Fiore was always mentioned.
Still, Yuri somehow felt the royal family’s Mana Method didn’t quite suit him.
“Are you going to learn something else?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
He recalled something—not a pleasant memory, but definitely another option.
“Bernard.”
“Yes?”
“Recommend someone decent from the royal guard.”
“You mean skill-wise?”
“No.”
“Personality?”
“No…”
How could he ask a sword-obsessed man like Bernard about personality?
“I mean potential.”
“Potential, not skill. That’s a tough question.”
“Skill is enough to get into the royal guard. What matters is future potential.”
“Hmm…”
In his past life, Yuri hadn’t paid much attention to the knights, so he lacked detailed information. Bernard, on the other hand, had sparred with most of the palace knights. The royal guard even tried to avoid him sometimes.
“Jarred stands out.”
“That guy?”
Yuri jumped up but clutched his side, still sore from a blow during sparring.
“Ugh… Jarred has potential?”
“Yes.”
“That guy…”
Yuri recalled his past life.
Jarred had stayed until the end, guarding the kingdom’s last stand. But he wasn’t a particularly outstanding swordsman.
“He’s just like you.”
“Me?”
“Lazy.”
“I train hard.”
“That was the old you.”
If Bernard’s words were true, Jarred was a tricky case. A lazy guy is useless, but if he had the skill to enter the royal guard despite that, he must have incredible talent.
Now that he thought about it, Yuri remembered a conversation with Jarred.
“I’m frustrated, Your Highness.”
“About what?”
“If I could turn back time, I’d train until I dropped dead…”
“Hey, cut the nonsense.”
When was that? After a brutal battle with the empire’s army? Many knights had died.
Jarred died in the next battle. He was skilled at running away, so maybe he didn’t seek death willingly.
The latter half of the war was just a desperate search for a place to die.
Only Yuri had broken his oath to Briol and survived.
“…”
As Yuri clenched his teeth in silence, Bernard continued.
“Besides him…”
He named some unfamiliar and some familiar names.
Yuri decided to see for himself.
“Good info. Thanks, Bernard.”
“It’s been years since I started teaching you, but I think this is the first time I’ve heard you say thanks.”
“Is that so?”
Yuri shrugged.
“Guess you haven’t done anything worth thanking me for.”
“So that’s how it is.”
“Step it up, Bernard.”
“Thank you for the encouragement.”
“For what?”
“Thanks to you, I can hit you tomorrow without any guilt.”
“Hey.”
“That’s enough for today.”
After training, Yuri roughly gathered himself and headed to the royal guard’s training ground—a place he rarely visited in his past life.
A knight recognized him and saluted.
“Your Highness! What brings you here?”
Yuri folded his hands behind his back.
“Inspection.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m here to check on the royal guard’s discipline.”
“Ah, understood. Loyalty! All is well during duty!”
Even in the past, the royal guard knights tolerated Yuri’s mischief. No matter what the young prince did, they couldn’t hold it against him.
It was the confidence that came from skill.
“Are the royal guards training?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“They’re training hard, I hope?”
“Of course. As hard as Your Highness.”
Rumors of his change seemed to have reached the royal guard.
“To say they train as hard as me, they’d have to spar one-on-one with Bernard.”
“That sounds scary. I’ll correct that to ‘a little less hard than Your Highness.’”
“Quick to admit it—that’s knightly. Now, show me around, Sir Rosso.”
“Oh! You remember me.”
“You lost everything at the card table and left right after.”
“Yes, that’s right…”
“Lead the way.”
“Yes…”
As they approached the training ground, the clang of steel rang beyond the walls.
Rosso opened the gate.
“Wow…”
Yuri was impressed.
Men, shirtless, flashed their blades as they sparred.
Every one of them was highly skilled.
“Impressive.”
“Not as much as Your Highness, but they’re all working hard.”
Yuri crossed his arms and scanned the knights with a sharp gaze.
“Where’s Jarred?”
“Who was that again…”
“A newcomer.”
At this time, Jarred had only recently joined the royal guard.
“Ah, a newcomer. You came to see the new face? I didn’t know Your Highness cared so much about the royal guard.”
“I’m always watching.”
“An honor. Jarred is that one.”
Rosso pointed toward a young man engaged in swordplay.
“I heard he doesn’t train much, but that doesn’t seem true…”
Yuri stopped mid-sentence.
He suddenly understood what Bernard meant.
“That guy…”
Yuri frowned.
That wasn’t training.
Training should have a purpose—to improve one’s skill. That was missing.
He muttered, “No wonder he’s rusty.”
The fact that Jarred could get by with such half-hearted training was proof of his exceptional potential.
No wonder he managed to survive countless unfavorable battles.
“Why do you say that?”
Rosso tilted his head, not noticing anything unusual.
“Nothing.”
Jarred had fooled the senior knights well, but Yuri’s eyes, honed by mercenary life, couldn’t be deceived.
Yuri looked away from Jarred and observed the other knights.
Bernard’s assessment was accurate but also flawed.
He only saw physical potential, ignoring mental aspects.
Most knights Bernard named didn’t improve much over time. Those he didn’t mention advanced further.
Those with great potential had abandoned it.
Yuri was no different.
“I see. The royal guard’s level.”
“Impressive?”
“Boring enough to make me want to lie down.”
“Pardon?”
Yuri lifted his chin.
“Give me a sword.”
“Ah, you want to get hit and lie down, is that it?”
It wasn’t uncommon for royalty to train with the royal guard.
Cedric, whom Yuri respected, had trained with them in the past.
Rosso eagerly asked, “Who will you spar with? Who’s the easiest? Who looks the weakest? Just say the word!”
Yuri pointed at Jarred.
“That lazy one.”
“Oh? Since a newcomer’s here, the prince should set the discipline himself.”
Rosso quickly prepared the space.
Wooden practice swords were handed to Yuri and Jarred.
The senior knights whispered among themselves, probably warning Jarred to take it easy.
“Good.”
This was the privilege of a prince.
While the opponent had to hold back, Yuri could strike freely.
Jarred looked startled by the sudden challenge.
“I’m Jarred.”
“Sir Jarred.”
“Yes.”
“I’ve heard about you.”
“Oh? Rumors?”
“They say you have exceptional potential. That’s why you joined the royal guard at such a young age.”
“Th-thank you for the kind words.”
Yuri raised his wooden sword.
“Sir Jarred, show me what kind of knight you are.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t disappoint me.”
Without another word, Yuri stepped forward.
The knights cheered.
“Come on, Your Highness!”
“Newcomer! Do your best!”
“His thigh is wide open!”
Jarred kept his distance stubbornly.
He seemed determined to end the sparring without getting too close.
There were many ways to do that.
Suddenly, Yuri’s eyes widened as he glanced behind Jarred.
“Your Majesty?”
Jarred reflexively turned around.
The watching knights’ gazes all shifted toward the entrance.
In that moment, before Jarred could realize what was happening, Yuri’s wooden sword flew toward his side.
Clang!
But Jarred blocked it.
Yuri was a little surprised.
His reflexes were beast-like.
Jarred stepped back, swinging his wooden sword.
The distance grew again.
“What’s going on?”
“Your Highness?”
“It was a trick.”
“Wow…”
The knights laughed wryly.
Their mischievous prince was even more unpredictable and competitive than they thought.
“Good.”
Rosso, who had brought Yuri, smiled with satisfaction.
If you’re a boy—especially a spirited one in the throes of childhood—you should have that kind of fighting spirit.
He clasped his hands together and shouted out.
“Prince, stay strong!”
Ignoring Jared’s attempts to hold him back, Yuri pressed forward once more.
The knights murmured among themselves.
Though this was a sparring match without mana methods, the battle was evenly matched.
“The prince is better than I expected.”
“Right?”
Yuri always followed the most efficient trajectory—a habit formed from rolling across battlefields.
“No wasted moves.”
“Bernard must have trained him well.”
“When I was his age…”
Unlike the knights watching with lighthearted amusement, Jared felt a growing unease.
It wasn’t because Yuri’s talent was overwhelming, nor because he felt pressured.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ah, nothing.”
The spacing was too precise.
Whether dodging or striking, the distance between sword and body, between attack and attack, never wavered.
Of course, Jared himself kept some gaps for the prince’s safety.
But the space Yuri maintained was closer—and just as consistent.
Which meant one thing.
“Is this fun for you?” Yuri asked.
As Jared stared blankly into Yuri’s eyes, their wooden swords clashed again.
From the sidelines, it looked fierce—but to them, it was anything but.
Even without mana methods, they reacted with the speed of predators, measuring distance with surgical precision.
This sparring was a performance.
Pretending to fight, their blades slicing through empty air.
“Boring, isn’t it?”
Jared was a genius.
His senses were sharper than most, his sense of distance exact.
He could get stronger without effort.
That’s why no one ever noticed when he trained half-heartedly.
Others simply didn’t have his instincts.
But this prince was different.
He saw right through Jared’s laziness.
A genius equal to—or even surpassing—himself.
“I think I’ve seen enough.”
“Huh?”
“What kind of knight you are.”
“I…”
Jared tried to come up with an excuse.
But the prince wasn’t waiting for him anymore.
“Now it’s my turn, right?”
Yuri raised his sword.
That alone told Jared everything.
The steady distance between them began to shrink.
Closer.
Closer still.
When Jared took a step back, Yuri took two forward.
Now, barely a hair’s breadth separated them.
Frowning, Jared’s expression tightened.
Zero.
No—less than zero.
Yuri charged.
They were already colliding.
“This time, I’ll show you what kind of guy I am.”