Chapter 35
In an instant, silence fell over the crowd.
The outer wall of the training hall, cleanly sliced in half.
True to its cutting-edge facilities, the repair engravings began restoring the wall, but that didn't erase what just happened.
Everyone's gaze naturally converged on a single point.
The top-ranked freshman with suspiciously delicate features. He awkwardly scratches the back of his neck, seemingly uncomfortable with the attention.
A strange atmosphere formed in the silence.
Though everyone hesitated, unsure what to say in this situation, the silence didn't last long.
Cain, unable to contain his curiosity, took the plunge.
"...How did you do that just now?"
He voiced the question everyone wanted to ask.
Expecting some profound answer like 'As I focused, eventually I disappeared and only the sword remained.'
"Huh? Weren't you paying attention? Professor explained it all carefully."
But that expectation was quickly betrayed.
The incomprehensible response made his head hurt.
Infuse magical power into the sword, solidify its form, stabilize the sword force. Connect the inner and outer worlds to maintain the aura's form externally.
After reaching a realm countless warriors couldn't achieve in a lifetime, that's all he has to say?
It was so absurd it seemed like mockery.
"If you just do what we were taught, it's pretty easy."
But Ciel's expression was completely serious.
He didn't seem to be making excuses to avoid sharing insights gained through solitary contemplation.
'...That ridiculous lecture actually worked?'
Belittling martial arts honed over lifetimes, needlessly tormenting students, sipping coffee alone while watching students suffer through grueling training.
There seemed to be nothing worth learning.
Yet Ciel spoke with conviction in his eyes.
"Even someone like me who's never learned swordsmanship and was born unable to sense magical power could do it."
Magic Power Insensitivity. The boy's congenital defect.
His face filled with shock as he recalled this.
Come to think of it, he had always just covered for his lack of technique with brute magical force. He was only half a swordsman, unable to even channel magic into his own blade.
Unable to sense magic, naturally he couldn't improve.
How could one handle energy they couldn't even detect?
For him to suddenly gain enlightenment on his own, master magical manipulation and become a Swordmaster without any help - that should be impossible by common sense.
Therefore, only one possibility remained.
'When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'
Though still hard to believe...
The professor really did teach how to handle sword energy through his lectures. Even to someone with Magic Power Insensitivity.
Like teaching landscape painting to a blind person.
Yet Ryan went beyond teaching art to the blind - he turned them into a master of hyperrealistic landscapes.
'Come to think of it, something seemed off from the start.'
A professor who only knows magic looking down on swordsmanship.
That certainly seemed plausible at first but...
This was Professor Ryan we're talking about.
A true educator of this age who cherishes his students dearly and doesn't hesitate to risk his own life.
Such a person wouldn't meaninglessly insult students.
There must have been some hidden intent.
"...I'm ashamed. Professor was surely teaching us the principles of the Heart-Sword, but I couldn't grasp it."
He failed to fully understand the professor's teachings.
Getting everyone's attention as if he'd accomplished something makes him feel embarrassed.
Ciel's words from beside him provided a major hint.
Cain slowly reviewed Ryan's statements, trying to understand their profound meaning.
-I know what swordsmanship is.
Swordsmanship is simply swinging a weapon forcefully.
Though it seemed at first to mock martial artists, it precisely captured the essence.
To swing and cut.
That was the origin and foundation of all techniques.
-I have no intention of teaching you swordsmanship.
Therefore, he wouldn't teach swordsmanship itself.
He would only teach its underlying essence.
-You're only thinking about receiving some mystical swordsmanship and achieving instant results, so how could your skills improve? You fail because you only try to take the easy way out.
He wouldn't stand by while they forgot the essence, captivated by flashy forms. I'll fix that rotten mindset of yours.
-Swing your sword ten thousand times.
It's impossible to swing a sword ten thousand times in one day.
Therefore, the sword must be swung with the heart, not the hands.
If you don't know how, exhaust your body. Until your mind grows hazy and you can no longer distinguish between yourself and the sword, until you truly understand the sword's essence.
...This was, without doubt, profound insight.
Precious teachings passed down by a warrior who had reached heights far beyond them. A fortuitous opportunity that might come once in a lifetime with heaven's blessing.
This truly was a lecture devised by a genius professor who would go down in Imperial history.
The students had simply failed to recognize its value.
'Now I understand why the professor said he felt hurt.'
Please at least pretend to take this lecture seriously - when Cain had said that, Ryan's bizarre response:
-In my heart, I was sweating alongside my precious students. How disappointing that none of you understand my sincerity.
Words that seemed to mock the students at first glance.
But they contained the man's true feelings.
Though appearing to doze off nodding his head during class, Professor Ryan was surely swinging his sword alongside the students in his mental realm.
What it means to swing a sword with your heart.
He demonstrated the Heart-Sword technique himself, yet students only complained despite seeing it.
It would be stranger if he wasn't hurt.
'I've wronged Professor Ryan.'
He cursed when he should have been grateful.
An act tantamount to repaying kindness with enmity.
When you've done wrong, you must apologize. Just as Cain was about to turn toward Ryan with this thought...
Something keeps nagging at his mind.
Though all questions seem perfectly answered, he feels he's missing one crucial fact.
'...Come to think of it.'
Why couldn't the professor properly swing even a wooden sword?
His attainment of the unprecedented Heart-Sword realm was now established fact. He should have possessed sword skills befitting that, but didn't.
While pondering why this discrepancy existed, the recent incident suddenly comes to mind.
When the evil Acting Director nearly killed the professor.
At the time they overlooked it due to lack of context, but thinking about it now, how could someone like him fall to a mere con artist?
This was Professor Ryan, who easily overwhelmed even demons.
If he was defeated, there weren't many possibilities to consider. Either the opponent was hiding their strength, or for some reason Professor Ryan couldn't use his abilities.
Cain's face turns pale as this thought strikes him. The puzzle pieces start falling into place.
Why can't he handle a sword?
Why did he fall so easily to a con artist?
Because he sacrificed himself for his students.
The battle with demons. He suffered severe internal injuries from repeatedly casting archmagic to protect everyone.
Why did he open this lecture now of all times?
Even if he could no longer wield a sword himself. To pass on his teachings to future generations.
And finally. Why did he use such complex metaphors to convey his teachings? Why hide that he was a warrior who had reached the Heart-Sword realm?
...The answer was all too obvious.
A broken body. Even though every breath brings pain from wounds that have seeped in, even though a lifetime of martial arts training has become useless, negating his entire life's work.
It's still better than seeing his students' sad faces.
The fact that he can no longer properly hold a sword because he sacrificed himself to protect them. He couldn't allow everyone to know this and feel guilty.
He had been hiding his pain for everyone's sake.
"Ah..."
His eyes hurt. His chest grew tight.
He could barely see through the flowing tears.
His legs gave out and he collapsed helplessly to the floor.
What finally broke the young knight who had sworn to never fall no matter what hardships came...
...was the infinite love of a master, as vast as the ocean.