Yuri returned to the royal palace and devoted himself to training until the day he was to depart for the Empire.
His sparring partners kept changing—sometimes Bernard, sometimes Moyongchan. Occasionally, he even faced off against Jose.
By confronting a variety of styles, Yuri’s skills improved rapidly.
Bernard spoke up.
“The time has come when insight matters more than repetition.”
When a knight reaches a certain level, sudden moments of clarity that shake one’s worldview have a greater impact than endless drills.
Of course, reaching that level is difficult. And it’s almost unheard of for someone as young as Yuri to achieve it so early.
“Think deeply when you swing your sword. Don’t just move—think a hundred, a thousand times before you act.”
“Do you do that yourself?”
“Not always.”
Yuri swung his sword, Guilty, and Bernard’s blade clashed against it.
Before, Yuri couldn’t hold his ground even for a moment, but now they could exchange blows long enough to talk.
“Phew…”
Yuri focused his senses. He wanted to reach that mysterious state he’d felt when sparring with Moyongchan again, but it wasn’t easy.
“The power of chaos…”
Yuri toyed with Guilty and then spoke.
“Bernard.”
“Yes?”
“I’m going to use the Whirling Tornado Sword. Wait for it.”
It was the first secret technique Yuri had created himself.
The Whirling Tornado Sword.
But there was a problem. While he could summon it easily in the heat of battle, it took too long to prepare under normal circumstances.
It was like unleashing a super move—the opponent had to wait.
“Understood.”
Bernard folded his arms and waited.
Yuri closed his eyes, lowered his stance, and gathered his energy. A swirling wind rose around the blade of Guilty.
His mana spun rapidly, drawing in more mana to orbit. Fractal whirlpools appeared on the blade’s surface. Infinite spirals of rotation were about to awaken.
“This is taking way too long.”
Watching this, Bernard suddenly kicked Yuri, knocking him to the ground.
Yuri tumbled across the floor.
“While gathering strength to use Jeolcho, Yuri was caught off guard by Bernard’s sneaky attack and collapsed, coughing up blood. He had fallen victim to possession.”
“Want me to make you really cough up blood?”
“But as a prodigy of the realm, Yuri quickly reorganized his energy channels and escaped the possession’s grip. Even the villainous Bernard applauded in admiration.”
Yuri sprang up, grumbling.
“Why does it always take so long?”
“Don’t try to release all your power at once. If you channel your mana correctly, the rotation will accelerate naturally. Since you can’t, you’re forcing it, and that slows you down.”
“I don’t get it.”
“That’s why I say think.”
“It works fine in real combat.”
“You were just lucky your mana paths aligned during that long fight. That’s not truly your own power.”
“Fine.”
“If you can’t do it consciously, then…”
“Enough with the nagging!”
Cutting him off, Yuri suddenly charged.
Bernard met him as if he’d been waiting.
“…It’s fake.”
Their swords clashed dozens of times in midair. The mental battle between them was so fierce no outsider could keep up.
Bernard admired the trajectory of Guilty as Yuri’s skill steadily rebounded.
The third prince, who had grown rapidly after fighting with the allied forces, returned unrecognizable.
It’s common for skills to improve in real combat, but he’d never seen such a steep rise before.
Usually, one just gets used to the tension of life-or-death battles; the individual’s level itself doesn’t increase.
But the third prince came back completely changed. His stance was precise, his mana control refined. His fundamentals had improved.
That meant only one thing.
Even under mortal threat, part of his mind was searching not for survival, but for ways to grow stronger.
Did humans have an instinct stronger than survival?
“The instinct to become stronger…”
Bernard muttered.
It was a dangerous idea.
If something ranked higher than survival existed in the subconscious, such a person wouldn’t live long—they’d bloom briefly like a flower and wither quickly.
“Your Highness.”
“Yes?”
“Value your life.”
“I do.”
“More than you do now.”
“Got it.”
“Don’t recklessly charge in like you did with the allied forces.”
“I wasn’t reckless.”
“Still, it was dangerous.”
“I had no choice. It had to be done.”
“You’ll die that way.”
“Then so be it.”
Yuri smiled wryly.
“Everyone dies on the battlefield. There’s no rule saying it can’t be me.”
Bernard lowered his sword.
“That’s a relief. After all, you are the third prince.”
“That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”
Then Bernard’s blade shot toward Yuri’s forehead.
The speed was beyond Yuri’s ability to react.
The world darkened, and a silver streak arced through the gloom, descending on him.
He raised Guilty.
But it was already too late.
Instead of resisting, his mind focused on calculating the afterimage of the arc and Bernard’s movements.
At last, Bernard’s sword stopped.
Yuri opened his eyes wide and met Bernard’s gaze.
Bernard’s eyes dropped.
Though Yuri’s eyes were sharp and fierce, his sword hand was sweaty and stiff with tension.
“Hmm.”
Bernard smiled.
“That’s enough for today.”
He sheathed his sword.
The motion was so practiced it flowed smoothly.
Yuri slung his sword over his shoulder.
“Bernard.”
“Yes?”
He made a sudden offer.
“Want to come to the Empire with me?”
“Well…”
Bernard’s eyes flickered with interest but then he shook his head.
“That would be difficult.”
“Why? There are plenty of interesting opponents in the Empire. It’s a chance to meet them.”
“I spent a long time there when I was young.”
“You must know a lot of people.”
“That’s the problem.”
He added briefly.
“There’s a lot of grudges built up.”
“Ah…”
Yuri momentarily forgot that this man was nicknamed the Sword Demon. Though he’d settled in Briole now, he’d once been a troublemaker.
“Alright. I’ll be going then.”
Bernard looked at Yuri, wanting to offer advice.
But he realized it wasn’t necessary. Yuri always exceeded expectations.
So he said something else.
“If you ever get into trouble, find Sparrow at the Swordsmanship Guild and ask for help in my name.”
“A friend?”
“Actually, the opposite. But he’ll help you once.”
“Got it.”
Yuri smiled.
Every time Bernard offered personal help, it warmed his heart.
In their past lives, their relationship had been dry and distant, but this time, they were building something entirely different.
He felt he was doing well.
If that was true for Bernard, could he also build proper relationships with others he’d clashed with before?
“The Empire, huh…”
There was Graham, for example.
In their past lives, Yuri and Graham had met at a moment when their fates were diametrically opposed.
They were bitter enemies.
But in this life, their relationship was completely different.
If he could turn former enemies into friends, it might help prevent future tragedies.
Recalling memories from his past life, Yuri asked,
“Is Sparrow any good with a sword?”
“Better than most, but from your perspective, he probably just imitates.”
“For a Swordsmanship Guild member?”
“If he had real talent, the Empire would have taken him.”
“I see…”
Since the Empire recruited promising talent, most guild members were ordinary people learning swordsmanship for self-defense.
Sparrow was one of the few exceptions. He held the position of instructor at the guild.
“He should get along well with Your Highness.”
“Sounds like a decent guy.”
“If he were, I wouldn’t have told you.”
“Uh huh…”
Yuri traced a sword stroke in the air.
“Hmm…”
As he talked with Bernard, swinging his sword, something felt off.
Lately, this feeling had been growing.
“Why do I feel so dissatisfied lately?”
“Are you talking about your swordsmanship?”
“It feels clumsy.”
If another knight heard that, they’d think it a joke.
Yuri’s movements were so clean it was hard to believe his age. Bernard considered his swordsmanship already masterful.
Yet he felt a thirst.
Bernard smiled.
“You’re dissatisfied because you can see beyond. If you keep honing your skills, you’ll improve, but even then, you won’t be satisfied.”
“Do you dislike your own swordsmanship?”
“Yes.”
“Does your father feel the same?”
“Of course.”
“Some guys admire their own moves in the mirror.”
“They’re amateurs.”
“I should tell Saned.”
“You can.”
Yuri laughed.
Then sheathed his sword and sat down.
Training with Bernard drained him completely. It felt like pushing himself to the limit, but it was satisfying.
Yuri spoke softly.
“Anyway, we leave tomorrow. Take care, Bernard.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Be careful. The Empire is a long way off.”
“Yeah, it’s a long and treacherous journey. I hope we arrive safely.”
“Wow!”
Yuri spread his arms wide.
“The Imperial Capital!”
They had finally reached their destination—the capital of the Empire. More precisely, they stood before the gates of the Imperial Castle.
At the end of a long road stretched massive walls. The Empire’s distinctive red flags fluttered atop the towers.
At the gate, the Imperial Castle Guard, clad in black armor, inspected visitors.
Jared stood beside Yuri and sighed.
“It really was a long journey.”
“It was.”
On their journey from Briol to the Empire, they had to endure countless hardships. It was an indescribably grueling ordeal.
Laurent, who followed behind, nodded wearily in agreement.
“I never imagined anything like that would happen.”
Jose laughed heartily.
“There were so many thrilling incidents, they’re worth recording. I’m glad I came with Briol. It was truly exciting.”
Hernando shook his head.
“I wouldn’t want to go through that again. I wish we could’ve just taken the carriage comfortably and played cards or something…”
Cory, Hernando’s apprentice, leaned heavily on his cane and quietly gasped for breath. Small and unsteady, he struggled to keep up on the long walk.
Simon and Guiness, who were trailing behind, patted Cory’s back.
“You holding up okay, Cory?”
“Y-yes…”
“Have some water.”
“Thank you…”
Simon and Guiness, brought along by Yuri, carried an enormous load like seasoned porters. Despite sweating profusely, they didn’t seem overly strained—a testament to their training.
Simon spoke up.
“They say everyone gets a magical moment in their life. Maybe the adventures we had on the way to the Empire were just that.”
Guiness nodded in agreement.
“It’s a shame only we experienced it. If someone wrote a novel about this journey, it would top the charts for a long time…”
“I disagree. If the writer isn’t skilled enough, they wouldn’t even be able to capture the adventure properly. In the end, only the departure and arrival scenes would remain.”
“Don’t tell me you think that’s likely?”
Simon and Guiness exchanged amused glances.
“Well, whatever happened, happened. Let’s just bury the past in our hearts.”
“Agreed.”
While they chatted, Yuri had already sprinted far ahead.
He called back over his shoulder.
“Thanks for all your hard work getting here. But forget about the past adventures. From now on, we focus on what lies ahead. Got it?”
“Yes!”
Yuri pointed toward the checkpoint and shouted.
“Alright, charge!”
He dashed toward the Imperial Guard clad in black armor. After a forward roll, he sprang up and flashed his identification.
Name: Yuri Briol.
Status: Third Prince of Briol.
Purpose of Visit: Invitation from the Emperor.
The Imperial Guard saluted crisply and opened the gates.
“Welcome! Please enter!”
And so, after an incredible journey, Yuri and his companions finally arrived at the heart of the Empire.