Not a barbarian warrior.

As soon as Sir Bernard, who had a face like an evil spirit, spotted Eugene, he instantly changed his expression.
He greeted Eugene warmly, sending him a gentle gaze.

“Are you alright now? I believe it hasn’t even been two months since you were injured.”

If he answered the question wrong, he would join the living hell unfolding in the training ground.

Eugene chose his words carefully while sweating on his back.

“Thanks to your concern, I’ve become ‘quite’ alright…”

“I see. I’m glad you’ve ‘almost fully recovered’. Then follow me.”

“…!”

Eugene had pinned a sliver of hope, but Sir Bernard grabbed him like a merciless predator and dragged him into the training ground.

As inescapable misfortune tightened around Eugene’s neck, he could only resign himself like a criminal ascending the scaffold.

It was the moment he sensed the impending hell as he walked listlessly.

Bernard, who happened to see his appearance, said with a smile:

“You’ve only just recovered from your injury, do you think I would put you through such training?”

“…You wouldn’t?”

“From the beginning, the training those trainees are doing is not only to strengthen their bodies but also to rectify their rotten minds.”

“Their minds… you say?”

“I heard from Clea. Before they attacked you due to a misunderstanding, you had eleven consecutive duels without rest.”

“…That’s correct.”

“For those who aspire to become honorable swordsmen or knights to commit such dishonorable acts is a big problem. Before picking up swords to hone their skills, we had no choice but to fix their rotten minds first.”

“Ah… Then how long will this training continue?”

“Until your body is completely healed.”

“Then the training ends today, right?”

“Didn’t I say ‘until completely healed’? You’re not fully recovered yet, so we’ll have to work you for at least seven days and nights more.”

“…”

Eugene, who was trailing behind Sir Bernard, quietly turned his head.

‘To think they’ve been doing this crazy training for nearly two months…’

The training ground was still nothing short of a living hell, with weak groans of pain echoing here and there.

Eugene, forgetting what he himself had been through, looked at them pitifully.

Among the trainees receiving harsh punishment, there was Clea, holding a rock larger than her body.

She seemed to have reached her limit, panting heavily.

She was the very picture of haggardness, her eyes on the verge of losing focus.

“…Come to think of it, I think there was a mistake in what I said earlier. Actually, I’m completely-”

As Eugene was about to ask for mercy for them, Sir Bernard cut him off.

“Shh. Even if you forgive them, I cannot. Leave this matter to me and don’t worry about them.”

“I understand…”

Faced with Bernard’s firm attitude, Eugene quickly gave up. He could only pray that the trainees would safely survive the seven days and nights.

Following Sir Bernard into the central guild building, Eugene soon faced a large indoor space.

“This is also used as a training ground. When it rains or snows, everyone swings their swords here. Here, take this.”

Bernard picked up one of the practice swords neatly arranged by the wall and threw it to Eugene.

“Before I teach you personally, I need to check your skills first. Draw your sword.”

“Then, I look forward to your guidance.”

Eugene bowed his head in respect and drew his sword.

Seeing this, Bernard’s eyes widened in surprise, and he quietly smiled and said:

“You don’t need to be so formal. I thought warriors from the north didn’t care about such things.”

“…”

Eugene thought for a moment and decided not to reveal the truth.

Hadn’t he been pretending to be a barbarian warrior since entering Carlisle?

Moreover, Sir Bernard was showing him favor, considering him a warrior from the distant north.

There was no need to bring up an unbelievable truth now. It was better to wait for later.

“No, sir. Receiving one-on-one instruction from you without any charge, I cannot be disrespectful.”

“Haha…! If you insist, do as you please.”

Bernard had felt it before, but he couldn’t find the rough and informal demeanor typical of northern warriors in Eugene.

Rather, he smiled with satisfaction at Eugene’s consistently polite and respectful attitude.

“Well then, swing your sword to your heart’s content!”

The two sword-wielders clashed in the middle of the training ground.

Eugene, like last time, lowered his sword and then parried Bernard’s sword coming down from above.

It was the result of his own reinterpretation of the technique called the Snake’s Shadow.

“Excellent!”

Bernard exclaimed in admiration as he blocked Eugene’s counterattack.

‘Did he adapt the Snake’s Shadow in his own way? His footwork is all wrong, but not bad. He compensated for the lack of technical finesse with strength and speed.’

Eugene, who had gained the initiative after the first exchange, kept swinging his sword.

Bernard just focused on observing Eugene’s skills while parrying his sword.

Clear metallic sounds rang out as the swords clashed repeatedly.

“Try to bring out more of your skill!”

Bernard hoped for Eugene to draw out the latent abilities within his body to the maximum.

As he gradually increased the tempo, trying to steal Eugene’s initiative, Eugene swung his sword faster and faster to match.

Then, the clear metallic sounds began to ring louder than before.

At the moment the swords clashed, sparks flew and a strong impact spread.

“Good…! Very good! More…! You can do more!”

“Ugh…!”

Eugene gritted his teeth and kept swinging his sword.

The tip of the sword trembled, gradually losing precision. However, the power and speed behind the sword increased dramatically.

Clang-! Clang-! Clang-!

Eugene’s sword was now striking like a storm.

However, Bernard deliberately didn’t steal the initiative and just kept blocking.

This situation continued for a long time with no sign of ending.

Fatigue gradually built up, and sweat poured down like rain. Eugene was getting more and more tired.

‘It feels like I’m facing an iron wall… If my speed drops any more, I’ll lose the initiative. Then it’s over…!’

Bernard, who had been evaluating Eugene while maintaining a solid defense with ease, thought it was time to end it as Eugene showed signs of fatigue.

‘His strength, speed, and even flexibility are good. There are some issues, but… this is excellent talent. Shall I end it now.’

Bernard, who had been consistently on the defensive to finish the duel, stepped forward.

“…!”

Eugene, who was desperately trying to maintain his offensive, received Bernard’s sword head-on and was pushed back.

Just as they were pushed apart to where their sword tips barely touched, a fierce aura rose from Bernard’s body.

It was an energy imbued with the will to kill the opponent.

“Ugh…!”

Eugene realized his body was instinctively shrinking.

He knew well that this was a duel, and the swords they were holding were blunt practice swords with no sharp edges.

Yet he couldn’t stop the fear of death from deeply penetrating his bones.

‘I can’t end it like this…!’

Eugene pulled out his last resort.

“Huaah-!!”

A battle cry filled with killing intent burst from his mouth like thunder.

“…!”

Bernard, who had been quietly emanating killing intent towards Eugene, suddenly felt his skin tingle.

“A battle cry imbued with killing intent…!”

Excited by Eugene’s unexpected desperate move, Bernard momentarily lost himself.

“Then try receiving this sword as well!”

Bernard rushed towards Eugene, swinging his sword down in a large arc.

The sword was neither too fast nor too slow, but a faint haze was rising around it.

Eugene instinctively sensed danger as soon as he saw it.

‘But… I won’t dodge!’

As Bernard had ordered, Eugene swung his sword with all his might.

The leather wrapped around the sword handle he was gripping creaked, screaming.

The blood circulating through his entire body rushed to his muscles, exploding all the latent power in Eugene’s body.

Thus, the moment Eugene’s sword and Bernard’s sword intersected and clashed in mid-air.

Clang-!

With a thunderous sound, Bernard’s sword shattered Eugene’s sword and pushed through.

Eugene felt the pain of his grip bursting and belatedly tried to twist his body, but he couldn’t prevent the sword from reaching him.

Bernard stopped his sword just before it touched Eugene’s neck. Thus, the duel ended.

‘Is this what it means to be a knight…!’

As the tension in his whole body suddenly released and his strength drained, Eugene sat down on the floor, breathing heavily.

“Huff… Huff…!”

Bernard looked down at Eugene and said:

“You have truly astonishing strength!”

“Huff… Huff… You… You flatter me…”

“Do you know what you just did? You received a sword wrapped in aura head-on with pure strength! That’s something even most knights can’t do!”

“…But in the end, didn’t it break like this?”

As Eugene held up the broken sword, Bernard shook his head and said:

“If you had used a good sword, it wouldn’t have broken! Moreover, if you had known how to use aura even a little, the result would have been different! I might have been the one collapsing like you!”

Eugene, looking at Bernard who was visibly excited, asked:

“Isn’t it difficult to awaken that aura…?”

“Of course it’s difficult… Only a tiny fraction of the countless swordsmen awaken aura…”

“…”

As Eugene fell silent, Bernard cleared his throat and changed the awkward atmosphere.

“Ahem, anyway, I saw excellent qualities in you. Good job.”

As Bernard extended his hand, Eugene grasped it and stood up. His body was drenched in sweat.

“Is this the end then?”

Bernard made his assessment of Eugene after the duel.

“Beast-like movements, tireless stamina, strength rivaling aura, excellent reflexes, and intuition to sense danger, all of these were excellent. However…”

The praise for Eugene was mainly about his physical abilities. Bernard continued:

“Your swordsmanship is terrible. I’m sorry to say this, but your sword is like… how should I put it… like a patchwork made of several tattered rags… It lacks precision… Above all, you have no basics at all.”

Eugene’s heart ached at the sharp criticism, but he nodded silently. It was all true.

“You have many bad habits. For example, when the sword was about to touch your neck, you tried to throw your body to the ground to roll, right?”

“…That’s correct.”

“Hmm… And your sword swings are not concise, you tend to focus only on increasing power and speed by swinging largely. Probably a habit formed from facing many monsters.”

“How did you…!”

As Eugene was surprised, Bernard smiled and said:

“How I figured that out isn’t important. What you need right now is to get rid of the bad habits ingrained in your body.”

“How can I get rid of them?”

“It’s simple. From now on, I’ll correct them one by one.”

Saying that, Bernard took out a new sword and held it out to Eugene.

“…?”

“Now, I’m going to teach you four basic ready stances, six steps, and swordsmanship to attack in eight directions using these. Follow me.”

Eugene silently learned the basic stances and eight attack techniques while listening to Sir Bernard’s words.

“Now! If you’ve learned everything, the only answer is repetitive practice. Perform each movement a thousand times.”

For a moment, Eugene thought he had misheard and asked Sir Bernard again.

“…You mean swing the sword eight thousand times in total?”

“That’s right!”

Shocked by the brutally simple training method, Eugene looked at Sir Bernard with an incredulous face.

He smiled brightly and added one more rule.

“Ah, every time you make a wrong movement in between, add a hundred more repetitions.”

Trying to hide his dumbfounded expression, Eugene asked:

“…By any chance, how about breaks in between?”

Sir Bernard answered with a bright smile:

“You can rest well after it’s all done. Now, start immediately.”

“…”