Chapter 4: Discipline (2)

Yuri charged inward.

Since Jared liked playing with distance so much, he decided to eliminate it entirely—reduce it to zero, or even less.

As their bodies tangled up, for the first time since the duel had begun, a wooden sword struck flesh.

Whack!

Jared’s sword hit Yuri’s thigh.

“That hurt like hell!”

Yuri laughed as he counterattacked with his wooden sword, and Jared barely managed to dodge.

Not missing the opportunity, Yuri spun his body using centrifugal force and launched a spinning kick. Jared staggered back from the hit and countered with his sword, striking Yuri’s ankle.

“Argh!”

“Ow!”

Yuri came out worse for wear.

But he didn’t care. Limping, he lunged forward again.

The two wooden swords clashed with force, both seeking an opening. However, Yuri kept taking the brunt of the damage.

“Damn it… is there no way to win?”

After all, it was a losing battle.

Despite the memories of his past life, Yuri was just a child, and Jared, an adult knight.

Even so, Yuri pressed on.

He took a hit from the wooden sword.

“Kh!”

He countered immediately.

This time, the hit was shallow.

It hurt, but still, Yuri swung his sword again.

Clang!

His hands trembled.

Gripping the hilt tightly, he charged forward.

With every step, he increased his speed.

Jared aimed for his chest. Yuri barely dodged it and struck back.

His wooden sword grazed Jared’s side.

It was the first time he’d landed a hit.

“That’s it!”

Yuri shouted.

Jared clenched his lips.

Even though he was clearly dominating the match, he felt as if he were being overwhelmed.

And he knew exactly why.

“What’s wrong? Nervous?”

Looking at the third prince, grinning and taunting, Jared tried to steady his breath.

But Yuri didn’t stop.

Even after taking hits and falling to the ground, he kept advancing.

“Jared. Is that all you’ve got?”

Their wooden swords clashed again.

They returned to close combat.

Not satisfied with having closed the gap, Yuri tried to get even closer, inch by inch. Jared felt a growing discomfort.

He was different.

That prince was different from him.

“Give it your all!”

He pushed himself to the limit—no, beyond. Sometimes he made mistakes and took hits for it, but Yuri wasn’t afraid to lose. He gave his all every moment.

Jared felt ashamed.

“Are you underestimating me?”

“No, sir.”

The swords clashed once more.

This time, Jared also attacked without mercy. He struck Yuri’s side, who dropped to one knee and countered immediately.

Jared dodged back, then stepped in to strike Yuri’s arm.

“Kh!”

But Yuri gritted his teeth and didn’t drop his sword.

Jared struck his arm again.

He thought this would end the match, but Yuri dropped to the ground and hit Jared’s ankle.

When Jared reflexively bent down, Yuri rolled to the side and struck again.

Jared tried to defend and counter at once, but Yuri’s continuous attacks were faster. Jared blocked with his arm and responded with his sword.

Even he felt how sloppy his response was. In a real battle, he would’ve lost that arm.

An unforgivable mistake for a knight.

His opponent was just a child, yet nothing was going right.

The way Yuri created chaos was maddening.

“Haa…”

Yuri, showing no signs of exhaustion, charged at him again.

What if he just overpowered him with brute force?

With that thought, Jared moved.

His confused mind let mana flow instinctively through his internal channels.

The knights shouted.

“Jared!”

Jared realized what was happening and tried to pull back his sword, but couldn’t completely.

The wooden weapon grazed Yuri’s forehead. Strands of cut hair floated in the air.

Blood started to drip from Yuri’s forehead.

Jared’s eyes went wide.

“Your Highness!”

A red stream stained one of Yuri’s eyes.

“I’m sorry! It was a mistake, an accident…!”

Jared, flustered, dropped his sword and bent to apologize.

Clang!

Yuri swung his wooden sword, and Jared blocked it reflexively.

“What’s with you?”

Yuri grinned broadly as he wiped the blood from his brow with his sleeve.

“Is this your first duel?”

“But your wound…”

“Now it’s just getting fun.”

Yuri let out a laugh and charged again.

“There’s no reason to stop!”

His momentum was so overwhelming Jared couldn’t stay still.

The bleeding prince and the stunned knight crossed wooden swords again and again.

“More!”

Yuri shouted, swinging his weapon hard.

“Give it your all already!”

Something unfamiliar stirred in Jared’s chest as he fended off the assault. Even when fighting far stronger knights, he’d never felt this before.

“Damn it!”

For the first time, Jared cursed and attacked with full force.

The clash of wooden swords echoed through the training ground.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The intensity of the duel kept rising.

Finally, the swords struck with tremendous force.

Crash!

Yuri’s wooden sword broke. The fragments spun through the air before hitting the ground.

Yuri and Jared’s eyes met.

No words were needed. The duel was over.

“It’s done.”

Since Jared didn’t speak, Yuri smiled and extended his hand.

“I learned something today, Jared.”

“N-No, it wasn’t that much…”

Finally, Jared responded and shook his hand.

“Thanks for the match.”

Holding Yuri’s hand, Jared stared at the young face of the third prince. He’d never felt such a fierce fighting spirit before.

Had he ever clung to anything that fiercely?

“What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

“Gonna hold my hand forever?”

Yuri frowned.

“Can’t you see you made the prince bleed and you’re still standing there?”

“A-ah, s-sorry!”

Only then did Jared snap back and rush into action.

“So slow…”

Yuri dropped to the ground immediately. The knights applauded him, but he didn’t care and just tried to catch his breath.

“……”

A man was watching the scene.

“Oh, Captain. When did you arrive?”

“Just now.”

The captain of the guard, Saned, silently watched Yuri and then picked something up off the ground.

It was a fragment of the broken sword.

He looked between the piece of wood and Yuri, lying in the training yard.

***

After the duel with Jared, Yuri began keeping him close.

“I just finished my shift…”

“And?”

“I’m just saying…”

“Come with me.”

“I need to train…”

“So you’ve changed your mindset already? And who made you change it? Don’t you think you should repay the favor?”

“……”

At his words, Jared sighed.

“Understood.”

“Good.”

Since that duel, Jared had thrown himself into training. While Yuri believed he still had a ways to go, he was clearly no longer the same as before.

For now, that was enough.

A full reconstruction would come later, step by step.

“I was planning to take more people, but I’ve decided to rely only on you, Jared.”

“Are you planning something dangerous?”

“Whether it’s dangerous or not depends on you.”

“If it’s dangerous for Your Highness, then I refuse.”

“You have no right to refuse. Come.”

“No.”

“Should I bring someone else?”

“Who…?”

“Oh, just passing by.”

Yuri called out to a man walking in the distance.

“Hey!”

The man, startled, tried to pretend he hadn’t heard.

“Hernand!”

After several shouts, he finally sighed deeply and approached. He was a slender man who didn’t look remotely like a fighter.

“What do you need, Your Highness?”

“I need your help.”

“I’m busy…”

“I can clear your debt.”

At those words, the man’s eyes widened.

“Are you serious?”

“Have you ever seen me lie?”

“Yes, many times…”

“Outside the gambling table.”

“Outside that, no.”

“See? I’m trustworthy, right?”

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“Why not?”

“Because, frankly, I’ve never seen Your Highness without a deck of cards in hand.”

Hernand was a mage serving as Fiore’s advisor and had lost a lot to Yuri in gambling.

“I’m not lying. I’ll cancel your debt.”

“In that case…”

“So we’re good?”

“Well… shouldn’t we write it down?”

“What?”

“I trust ink more than words.”

“Trust me!”

Yuri pointed to himself indignantly.

“I’m Yuri Briol!”

“Yeah, well…”

That half-hearted response made Yuri scowl.

Was that all his princely name was worth?

“Jared.”

“Yes.”

“Back me up. Testify that I, Yuri Briol, said this.”

“Understood.”

“That good enough?”

“Hmm…”

Hernand stroked his chin and studied Jared’s face.

“What are you looking at?”

“Reading your face.”

“……”

“Not a completely untrustworthy face. Sir Jared, right?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. By the way, Your Highness, what exactly are you planning?”

“An expedition.”

“Sounds nice. Where to?”

“A dungeon.”

“Excuse me?”

“We’re going to a dungeon.”

With that, Yuri pulled the hood over his head.

“First, let’s sneak out of the palace.”

***

Yuri walked through a dark tunnel accompanied by Jared and Hernand.

The torch flickered violently, casting erratic light.

“How did you find out about this place?”

“By chance.”

The tunnel was a secret passage leading outside the royal palace. It had been built to allow the royal family to escape in emergencies, and before the war, hardly anyone even knew it existed.

For Yuri, this was the second time walking it, counting his previous life.

“Where does it lead?”

“To the Sword Mountain.”

“Sword Mountain?”

The Sword Mountain was a hill beyond the royal castle’s borders, and legend said the founder of Briol had trained there with the sword.

Originally, it was said to be a massive mountain worn down by countless sword strikes.

Like all legends, it was likely an exaggeration.

But the part about someone training there was real.

In his previous life, the empire that destroyed Briol found a dungeon in that mountain.

“Why are we going there?”

“Just shut up and follow me before I cancel your debt relief.”

“Alright, alright. So bossy. Don’t you think so, Sir Jared?”

“Well, yeah…”

They finally reached the end of the tunnel.

A massive iron door, seemingly unopened for centuries, blocked their path.

The lock was huge and rusted. Even with the right key, it didn’t look like it would open easily.

“Jared.”

“Yes.”

What if you sent in the royal guard?

When Yuri nodded toward it, Jared scratched his head and raised his sword.

A vivid blue light surged from the blade.

That was true mana technique power. A mana-wrapped sword could cut solid iron like tofu.

Clang!

A loud crash echoed. But the lock didn’t break.

Perhaps out of pride, Jared kept striking it again and again.

Hernand scratched his head.

“Not even the royal guard could break that lock.”

“It’s tough.”

“A key would be nice.”

“I have one.”

“What?”

“I have it.”

Yuri pulled out an old key from his robes.

“Here it is.”

Jared and Hernand stared at him in disbelief.

“Then why’d you make me hit it?”

Jared asked, and Yuri shrugged.

“Why not?”

He was just curious if mana power could break it.

“Where’d you get that key?”

“You don’t need to know.”

The key had been abandoned in a corner of the palace library. Not even King Fiore knew its true purpose.

In his past life, Yuri had found it while researching royal archives, but it had been too late—and he paid a heavy price for it.

A bitter memory. When Yuri brought the key close, the lock opened.

Yuri kept both the key and the lock. Hernand’s eyes widened.

“It was an artifact?”

“Yes.”

“And why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“You should’ve figured it out by looking.”

“Well, considering even Sir Jared couldn’t break it…”

Hernand clearly wanted it badly, but Yuri had no intention of lending it.

“If you’d just let me borrow it for a second—”

“Not happening.”

“I just wanted to examine it and return it.”

“Silence.”

“Your Highness…”

Ignoring Hernand, Yuri pressed onward.

Soon they found a staircase, and after exiting the next cave, they emerged outside.

Under the blue sky stood the Sword Mountain.

Its blade-like foliage slashed at the sunlight, blinding the view.

Yuri smiled.

“They say the founder of Briol reached enlightenment here, on this mountain.”

“Isn’t that just a made-up story?”

Hernand said with arms crossed. Jared shot him a glare.

“You shouldn’t talk like that in front of His Highness…”

“What does it matter? Do you believe it, Prince? I think the place was originally named after the Tigris trees, whose leaves are sharp like swords. Then to give the royal family more mystique, they made up that legend about the founder. How’s that? Cold and analytical, right?”

Yuri responded indifferently.

“I don’t know. How would I know?”

“Doesn’t seem like you care.”

“What I do know is this: someone really did train with a sword here.”

“And how do you know?”

“There are ways to tell.”

“So, are you planning to train here?”

“No.”

Yuri pointed to the mountain and declared.

“We’re going to raid the founder’s dungeon.”