Chapter 13
"I'll teach you the most brutal, goddamn method I've ever known in my entire life."
Hendrickson's words stirred up anticipation I hadn't even felt before.
In my first life, all I learned from him were quick-and-dirty techniques.
This time, I would learn something new and entirely different.
Gulp—
The sound of people swallowing nervously came from all around me.
The knights could only swallow, their faces taut with tension as they wondered what kind of brutal training awaited them.
"You all have at least one coin in your pockets, right? Those who don't, borrow one from the person next to you and make sure you have one in hand."
At those words, the knights hesitated.
He hadn't told them to draw their swords or even assume a posture conducive to concentration.
I had no idea what he was talking about either, but I took out a coin for the time being.
Hendrickson tapped the training-ground floor with his toe.
"Flick your coin with your fingertip and make it stand upright on the ground. Anyone who manages to make it stand perfectly is finished. You can return to your barracks and snore yourself to sleep."
"...Yes?"
"You want us to make a coin stand?"
A stir broke out in every direction.
"This is supposed to be grueling training? Just making a coin stand?"
"Is it even possible to make it stand by flicking it? Isn't that purely a matter of luck?"
"This feels less like training and more like pointless busywork...."
They couldn't openly voice their complaints, but doubt and disappointment clouded the knights' faces.
"Try it yourselves before you flap your jaws and bark, you brainless fools!"
His thunderous shout put an end to the commotion.
"Do you think handling the fire of a ring requires nothing but mental strength? It requires precise control of power, extreme compression, the concentration needed to bind your energy sense to a single point, the ability to become one with the flow of the wind and your surroundings, and an unshakable composure that will not waver even if the heavens split in two. Only when all of these mesh together like the gears of a machine can you barely weave a single ring."
I nodded quietly at his words.
You hear only as much as you know.
Control of power and extreme compression. Concentration that bound the energy sense in my body to a single point.
If the flame slipped beyond my control while weaving a ring, it would burn my organs away.
And if I failed to compress it, the heat would cool.
The ability to become one with the flow of the wind and the surrounding environment.
A flame trapped in one place will either go out or explode.
Only by breathing in rhythm with the flow of the air and using the external environment as fuel could a ring circulate endlessly.
Unshakable composure.
That much was obvious.
Control and compression of power, single-point concentration, and the sense of becoming one with one's surroundings all depended on composure.
Above all, only composure could overcome the inner demons.
"It is easy to swing a sword a thousand times like a doll without thinking. But can you gain any true understanding from that? It's pointless busywork. Everything you fools have been doing was pointless busywork."
Hendrickson's eyes blazed fiercely.
"You would gain far more insight from making a coin stand once in that same amount of time. Of course, you'd have to make tens of thousands of futile attempts for that single success. Even that process is valuable. A knight is not made by a sword, but by time. What makes you grow is hardship and time."
Hendrickson clicked his tongue and added a warning.
"One success could be a fluke. If you make the coin stand twice in a row, congratulations. You are fully prepared to weave a Solar ring. So don't just flick it with brute force. Remember my words, and begin!"
"""Begin!""'
At the command, the knights reluctantly began to squat down.
It might have looked absurd, but these were the words of the greatest swordsman on the continent. Naturally, they obeyed.
Ting! Ting!
Metallic clangs echoed noisily from every direction as coins rolled this way and that.
"S-Stand! Argh!"
"Damn it, is this really possible?"
They closed their eyes and concentrated again, flicked their coins, picked them up, and concentrated again. The process continued over and over.
Knights swung swords half as long as their own bodies as easily as they ate.
Seeing those men struggle with a piece of metal the size of a thumb was quite a startling sight.
"You little brat. Use this one."
Hendrickson approached out of nowhere and tossed me a coin.
"That's the gold coin you gave me as charity. Treat it as a lucky coin, and it might help a little."
"Didn't you just say not to make it stand through luck?"
"Quit nitpicking, you brat. Let it go in one ear and out the other."
I frowned when I saw the gold coin lying on the ground.
"It's too filthy. I don't want it."
"Such terrible manners for a child."
No, but it really was filthy. It was covered in grime.
I thought the battlefield had instilled some sense of hygiene in him, but I guess he'd always been like this.
I scrubbed the surface of the gold coin vigorously with my sleeve.
Only after some of its luster returned did I pick it up with my fingertips.
'Put intent into it, and control your strength.'
Precise control of power and extreme compression, concentration that bound the energy sense in my body to a single point at my fingertip, and the ability to become one with the flow of the wind and my surroundings.
Composure that would not waver even in the face of the world's destruction.
I drew a deep breath and summoned my composure.
Even so, this body had endured every hardship in my previous life and reached the end of the sword's principles.
Above all, I had already woven one ring.
No matter how grueling the training, it would be child's play for me.
'Nothing so grand. I just have to do what I've always done.'
Flick!
The gold coin left my thumb, reflecting the sunlight as it spun and fell.
The coin spun like a top, gradually slowing down.
Clang.
It fell flat onto the ground.
"......?"
Something was strange.
Could the wind have blown in that 0.01-second interval? Or had the grime thrown off the coin's center of gravity?
That couldn't be. I had wiped the grime away completely.
I furrowed my brow and picked up the coin again.
This time, I compressed the sensation in my fingertips even more tightly, all the way to its limit.
The knights' noisy voices faded into the distance around me.
Ting! Clang.
Ting! Clang.
Ting! Clang.
I had woven a ring on my first try, yet I still couldn't make a single coin stand even on my fourth attempt.
Was there a difference between weaving a ring and this—
Pfft—
I shot a glance to the side.
"...."
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering whether you could make it stand in one go."
"Me? I could, back in the day. It's difficult to do now that I'm old."
"What?"
That fucking old man had thrown off my composure even further.
I steadied my breathing again and composed myself.
At that moment, I felt something click at my fingertip.
I opened my eyes wide and stared at the coin.
On the thread-thin edge of the coin, between its diagonal grooves, I saw a faint melted spot.
"You noticed that quickly."
Damn old man.
The beard covering his lower face trembled.
"You've already woven one ring, haven't you? A trial is meant to reveal a person's nature. I gave you one suited to you."
It was irritating, but he was right.
Those four failures were mistakes I had to blame on myself.
When I concentrated the sensation throughout my body on a single point at my fingertip, I should have recognized the center of gravity immediately.
I closed my eyes and sank into my inner world.
"...."
The sounds stopped. There was no tremor in my fingertip. The wind brushed across it. Only the beating of my heart remained as sound.
I could feel the texture of the wind drifting through the air.
It wasn't merely a coolness brushing my cheek. It was a transparent river formed by countless currents of air.
I could sense which leaf each current began at and what path it bent along, as well as how the moisture mixed into the air changed.
Even the sensation of the minute air resistance carved out by the wind brushing across my skin was vivid.
Even the texture of the fabric covering my skin felt unfamiliar.
I could feel the weight of a single speck of dust settled between the threads.
Even the static electricity caused when the fibers of my clothes brushed against the fine hairs on my skin seized my senses.
Thump, thump. The pulsing sound of my heart. The pressure of blood flowing through my veins and the speed of my pulse. From the flow of the air to the vitality of my heart and blood vessels.
A world where sound stopped and time seemed to stretch grotesquely.
This was my world.
The miracle I could create in this tiny world would become a grand ambition.
Ting!
I did not open my eyes. Even when I heard the sound of it falling, I maintained this state.
⸻I've done it.
I opened my eyes immediately after hearing that sound.
A coin lay at my feet.
One coin, standing perfectly upright.
"Gah! The Young Master!"
The sound that had stopped suddenly hammered against my ears.
"What the hell, how did he do it already!?"
"Hahaha! I knew the Young Master would be the first to succeed!"
"No wonder he overwhelmed that knight...."
"Young Master! Please teach me too! How did you do it?"
I savored the brief afterglow as I gazed at the gold coin standing upright at my feet.
Composure, control of my energy sense, and single-point focus.
Knowing something intellectually and embodying it in the flesh were different things.
That fleeting sensation just now had undoubtedly given me a new insight.
Perhaps I could even weave my second ring right here.
"Elder, stand guard for me."
"Oh? You're going to weave it right now?"
In truth, I didn't need anyone to stand guard. There was absolutely no chance of me being burned to ashes.
I had now entered the realm of heightened senses. With this sensation, I was certain to succeed.
I sat down cross-legged right where I was.
I had to seize that fleeting sensation before it dispersed.
Just as I had condensed my energy sense to a single point at my fingertip to balance the gold coin.
This time, I had to tune the second flame surging at the root of my heart.
I quietly closed my eyes. Once again, the outside noise receded as though I were submerged underwater.
The first ring began to burn fiercely and spin. Using its heat as fuel, I wove another flame.
Larger. More ferocious.
"Y-Young Master? Why are you suddenly doing that?"
"Shut up, you idiot! He's trying to weave a ring."
I used my composure to suppress the first ring and keep it from running wild.
I stretched the second flame thin and long like a thread, wrapping it around the outer edge of the existing ring.
Whoosh—!
At some point, the two rings began to mesh perfectly.
Neither got ahead of the other; they circulated endlessly in a steady rhythm.
Soon, the heat that seemed capable of burning my internal organs quietly subsided.
The Solar rising from the root of my heart gave me a new thrill.
"What a monster."
I opened my eyes wide.
Hendrickson was smiling as he stroked his beard.
I placed a hand over my chest.
The second Solar ring was rotating together with the existing ring, cradling it within itself.
"Huh."
A hollow laugh escaped me.
It had felt like only a few minutes, yet I had already woven it.
"I fear my own talent."
Astin, the greatest genius in history, who even blasphemed the gods.
Today, I had grown another step stronger.
"The second ring is normally the easiest one to weave."
"You're also exceptionally good at ruining the mood with a single sentence."
This time, it took less time, and neither the phantom pain nor the inner demons gnawing at my mind came to torment me.
The beginning is half the work.
The most brutal hurdle in weaving a ring was undoubtedly the first one.
You had to create something from nothing and adapt to the agony of burning your entire network of veins.
Having overcome that, the second ring could only be easier.
Of course, things changed once you passed the fourth ring.
From that point on, it was a mad undertaking for which even two lives would not be enough.
'Except for me.'
In my previous life, I had woven as many as eight. Reaching five was only a matter of time.
Whew—!
I subdued the heat with my breathing, then pushed off the ground and stood up.
"Young Master, do you honestly think this is possible?"
"Honestly, I'm not even surprised anymore. You've got every talent in the world."
"Who knew late-blooming brilliance could be so terrifying...."
Maybe it was because I had shown them too much. Their reactions were less intense than before.
I glanced toward Hendrickson from the corner of my eye.
He stood with his arms folded as casually as ever, but his pupils trembled faintly.
"It was extraordinary even when you had only one ring. Your ring was special."
"I know."
I was a person with excellent self-awareness.
This wasn't narcissism; objectively speaking, the quality of each of my rings was high.
"Now that you've woven a second ring, I'd like to see your swordsmanship too. Care to cross swords?"
"It would be my honor. Shall we do it now?"
Ooooooh—
The knights watched us with rapt interest. My shoulders puffed up with pride for no particular reason.
"Come, I'll face you with one arm."
"Are you underestimating me? Use both arms."
"Take a joke as a joke, will you?"
"Aren't you all pushing yourselves too hard? Have some cool water before you continue."
A clear, lively voice joined in from some distance away.
When I turned around, Celine was handing out ice water and towels with several maids accompanying her.
"Oh my, Miss. Thank you."
"My throat was parched anyway, haha."
The knights swarmed over to receive the water.
Even as they drank, none of them stopped flicking their coins. It was a heartening display of their desire to improve.
In a few days, one or two of them might even achieve a breakthrough.
Tap—
I felt a touch at my side. Hendrickson had set down his cane and poked me in the ribs.
"Who is that child?"
"She's my younger sister."
"Your younger sister? Heh, she turned out fine without resembling you in the slightest. Is she a bastard?"
That was the first time I'd learned that calling someone a bastard could be a compliment.
"Unlike me, she does have plenty of cute qualities."
"Older Brother."
Celine approached me with a clear smile.
She handed me water, but her gaze was fixed on the knights crying out in agony.
"What is everyone doing? It looks like you're flicking coins."
"That's right, we're flicking coins. We're trying to make them stand upright with our fingertips."
"This is truly a nerve-wracking training exercise. I'd rather run a hundred laps around the training ground."
"Exactly. We'll be up all night at this rate. Whew!"
Curiosity gleamed in Celine's round eyes.
A moment later, she picked up one of the coins lying on the ground.
"I'd like to try it too."
Her enthusiasm was admirable, at least.
I was just worried she might camp out there and waste her time.
After she failed a few times, I would have to show her myself.
'It is about time I heard her say, Older Brother, you're so cool!'
Like everyone else, Celine sat on the ground and assumed a comfortable position.
She placed the coin on her thumb and lightly closed her eyes. It was nothing more than an attempt to imitate the knights.
Ting—!
She lightly flicked the coin with her thumb.
With a cheerful scraping sound, the copper coin spun through the air and fell to the ground.
The coin should have simply toppled over.
"....Huh?"
"Gasp!"
"W-What!?"
There was no sound of it falling or rolling.
The coin stood perfectly upright on the ground without moving an inch.
On her very first try.
What.
The words escaped me before I could stop them.
I couldn't express what I was feeling with anything but What the hell.
"Hmph!"
Hendrickson cleared his throat and put on a dignified air.
"That was like a blind pig stumbling onto an acorn. It was nothing but beginner's luck. It happened to stand by chance, so try it one more time."
"Oh, yes!"
Celine obediently picked up the coin.
Then, as though she had no thoughts at all, she casually flicked it.
Ting—!
The coin spun like a top and stood upright on the ground once again.
"......."
"......."
Silence descended.
Even Hendrickson, who had dismissed it as a fluke, was rendered speechless.
Before long, he looked back and forth between Celine and me.
"A bastard is better than a legitimate eldest son, I see."
I couldn't come up with any reply. Honestly, I couldn't believe what I was seeing either.
Hendrickson picked up the gold coin at my feet. I wondered what he was doing, until he handed it to Celine.
"Here. It's a lucky coin. You can have it."
"Thank you. But who are you?"
That old man was turning me into a mere backdrop.
"You gave it to me, and now you're taking it back?"
"If you've got a problem, succeed on your first try too. Like her."
"If it had been a normal coin, I would've succeeded on my first try too...."
"If you'd been even half as much like her, you would've made it stand on your second try."
"Hehe. But who are you?"