By now, emotions on both sides had flared as high as they could go. As they listened to Juliana insist that they could not move a single step from this place until Mitchell came to his senses, and Kasim argue that since she was the employer, she could do as she pleased, the mercenaries slowly began preparing to camp outdoors. Juliana was the strangest employer they had ever encountered.
Damon watched Juliana and Mitchell with a slick smile. By instinct, he had already guessed that the two of them would try something tonight.
‘This should be amusing. I wonder what sort of plan those two are making.’
In the end, the party had no choice but to spend the night there. The unexpected duel between Damon and Mitchell, followed by Juliana’s stubbornness, had kept them from leaving.
Once it was decided that they would camp, the mercenaries began to move busily. As men thoroughly accustomed to sleeping outdoors, each of them knew exactly what he had to do.
“Gerald and Heinrich, prepare the meal. Patterson, take one man and gather firewood. And the remaining two, hunt something nearby—a rabbit or a roe deer if you can…”
At Kasim’s order, the mercenaries hurried to their assigned tasks. Of course, no orders were given to Damon. Before being a member of Kasim’s Mercenary Corps, he was their most important honored guest.
“Ha! This is why having companions is convenient.”
Damon leisurely sank back against a tree stump and gulped down water from his flask. Yet not a single mercenary raised an objection. After the astounding skill he had shown thus far, they were already deeply captivated by him.
After watching the mercenaries at work for a moment, Kasim cautiously approached Damon. He gave an awkward smile and spoke.
“There is one thing I would like to ask you, Mage.”
“What is it? Go ahead.”
With Damon’s permission, Kasim’s eyes shone with a certain expectation.
“Earlier, while you were speaking, I believe you said you had collected several Paladin mana cultivation methods…”
Sharp as he was, Damon immediately saw through Kasim’s intentions.
“Hmm. Are you asking because you wonder whether I happen to possess any papers with mana cultivation methods written on them?”
“Y-yes, that is correct.”
Kasim answered while scratching the back of his head. He was quite embarrassed to have his ulterior motive exposed, but all of his attention was fixed on Damon’s reply. The allure of a mana cultivation method was great enough for him to set aside his pride. But at Damon’s next answer, Kasim could only force himself to hide his disappointment.
“Sorry. After I finished studying them, I burned them all, so I don’t have a single one left.”
“I-is that so?”
Kasim stepped back with a deeply regretful expression. In truth, he had been desperate to obtain a useful mana cultivation method. To forge an Aura Blade, a mana cultivation method was essential, and once he obtained one, becoming stronger would merely be a matter of time. Reaching the level where one could control mana and joining the ranks of the Paladins—there was no doubt that this was something every mercenary in all Arcadia dreamed of achieving.
Of course, it was not as if there were no mercenaries at all who could manifest an Aura Blade, but they were, quite literally, an extremely small minority. That was why Kasim could not help but prick up his ears at Damon’s casual remark.
Mana cultivation methods had been handed down from Emperor Crosen and were ways to effectively control the mana within one’s body. The greatest influence Emperor Crosen had on both continents was that he opened a broad path for knights to become Paladins or Sword Masters. If one trained according to his methods, it became far easier than before to reach the stage of controlling mana.
For that reason, mana cultivation methods were regarded as top secrets in every kingdom, and leaking them to the outside was punished so harshly it was nearly equivalent to treason. They were passed down only to knights who could be trusted. Thus, it was no exaggeration to say that for ordinary mercenaries to obtain a mana cultivation method was like plucking a star from the sky.
The mana cultivation methods left behind by Emperor Crosen could be broadly divided into three categories. First, the most secretive method was a mana cultivation method passed down only within the knight order of Crosen. Among the three mana cultivation methods, it was the most powerful, and not once had it ever been leaked outside the Crosen Empire. It was said that if one learned it, one would almost certainly become a Paladin, and the possibility of reaching the realm of Sword Master was also remarkably high. It was, in the truest sense, a mana cultivation method close to perfection.
However, this method was thoroughly shrouded in secrecy. It was passed down strictly one-on-one, and even a member of the Crosen knight order could not receive it unless his loyalty had been proven. While the other two mana cultivation methods had undergone countless changes and branches, this alone could be said to be the exclusive mana cultivation method of the Crosen knight order, preserved in its original form.
The second method was one Emperor Crosen provided in order to strengthen the knights of allied nations. Though inferior to the first, it was still a mana cultivation method with formidable power in its own right. In most kingdoms other than the Crosen Empire, this was passed down to the Guard Knights. Over the long passage of time, this cultivation method underwent its own development, and many derivative forms inevitably arose. In particular, in Penslot, a powerful northern kingdom, continued refinement had brought it to a level of completion that did not fall very far behind the Crosen Empire’s method. Of course, it could not be said that there were no versions whose power had declined markedly from the original…
This method, too, was just as difficult to obtain. In kingdoms that possessed it, national power was devoted to preventing the cultivation method from leaking out, and as a result, like the first, it was a method almost unknown to the general public.
The third, at least, was not so difficult to acquire. It was a general-purpose cultivation method that Emperor Crosen had deliberately spread in order to find those with talent for mana among common soldiers, and it was both the most widely distributed and the best known. It was the cultivation method adopted by the knight orders of small and medium-sized kingdoms, and most knight academies used it to train their students. Most mercenaries who were able to use mana had succeeded through this method.
However, unlike the previous two, the third method made it extremely difficult to reach a certain level. Unless one possessed exceptional talent, it was nearly impossible to attain any real realm with it. For that reason, those who wished to become stronger struggled desperately to acquire a higher-grade mana cultivation method.
There were even those who risked decapitation to infiltrate the courts of Crosen or Penslot. But not a single person had ever achieved their goal. Higher-grade mana cultivation methods were secrets of that magnitude in every kingdom, guarded with absolute thoroughness. That was why it was only natural that Kasim had been tempted by Damon’s words.
‘Well… I suppose there’s no way one could obtain a mana cultivation method that easily. What that black mage found was probably the third method, nine times out of ten.’
Disheartened, Kasim turned away. The meal preparations were nearly complete. Remembering Mitchell and Juliana, Kasim turned his head. The two of them were sitting a little distance away, on the grounds that they did not want to see Damon. No matter how hateful they were, they still had to be fed, so Kasim headed in their direction.
But when Kasim arrived there, his eyes suddenly widened.
“What?”
Mitchell, whom he had assumed was still crying in despair, had already come to his senses. Astonishingly, he was now practicing mana cultivation. And in a truly peculiar posture, one Kasim had only ever heard of. Sitting with his legs crossed so that the soles of both feet faced the sky, and with both hands held up, Mitchell was absorbed in mana cultivation. When Kasim approached, Juliana stepped forward with her eyes blazing.
“Don’t come near him. He is in the middle of important training right now. You must never touch his body.”
Kasim’s steps came to an abrupt halt. No, even without Juliana’s warning, Kasim knew perfectly well that under no circumstances should one touch the body of a knight in the midst of mana cultivation.
He was now concentrating intently on Mitchell’s every movement. A short while later, an exclamation burst from his mouth.
“I see. If his father was one of Penslot’s Guard Knights, then now I understand. That must be the famed exclusive mana cultivation method of the Penslot knight order.”
With each breath, the heat-haze-like energy surrounding Mitchell’s body was slowly being drawn into his nose and mouth. From that sight, Kasim could instinctively tell that Mitchell’s mana cultivation method was a higher-grade method not easily seen.
An expression of intense envy appeared on Kasim’s face. He could hardly bear how jealous he was of Mitchell, but all he could do was grumble outwardly. He knew all too well that it was something that would never be passed down to him.
“Damn it. So he’s a bastard who could become a Paladin easily, thanks to having a good father.”
When knights left a knight order, they had to maintain absolute silence regarding the mana cultivation method they had learned, no matter what happened. It was an oath made upon their honor as knights. If they passed it down to someone who had not been permitted to receive it, the person in question would immediately be stripped of his qualifications as a knight, and an order would be issued to hunt him down and kill him. That was why, despite many knights resigning from service, mana cultivation methods did not leak to the outside.
However, there was one exception. This clause applied only to the knights of Penslot: if a knight resigned due to unexpected circumstances, he was exceptionally permitted to pass the mana cultivation method down to one son only. In the case of a knight’s son who had received it in this way, priority was granted in Penslot’s Paladin qualification examination.
For that reason, if Mitchell went to Penslot, he could receive considerable preferential treatment. If he passed the prescribed test, he would immediately be granted Paladin qualifications. However, Mitchell’s father, Hales, had already grown utterly disillusioned with Penslot. Thus, he had not permitted his son Mitchell to go to Penslot under any circumstances.
Mitchell, too, had the obligation to remain silent about the mana cultivation method he had inherited. Even if his life were in danger, he had to protect the secret. If, by some chance, the secret spread, the honor of his family could fall to the bottom overnight…
Before long, most of the mercenaries had gathered and were watching Mitchell immerse himself in the mana cultivation method. In every one of their eyes, envy was plain.
“They say that’s Penslot’s unique mana cultivation method. If you learn just that, you can become a Paladin without much trouble.”
“Ha! Must be nice.”
Damon had at some point joined their ranks as well. But his interest differed from that of the other mercenaries. He watched especially carefully the route along which mana moved in the cultivation method Mitchell was practicing. Through observation, he was trying to determine what school of internal energy cultivation method it was.
It did not take long for him to reach a conclusion.
‘No doubt about it. That is a typical orthodox internal energy cultivation method. A secular-lineage method that draws the energy of nature in through the seven orifices for the purpose of unifying essence, qi, and spirit. Though it has been altered quite a bit, its very method of circulation differs from those of the Buddhist or Daoist schools. With this, it’s become even more certain that Emperor Crosen was a figure of the orthodox faction.’
Thanks to Kasim’s muttering, Damon could roughly guess how mana cultivation methods—internal energy cultivation methods—had spread through Arcadia. Mitchell’s mana cultivation method was fairly refined, but it could not be called a peak method. Seeing as it fell somewhat short of the methods of the Nine Great Sects in terms of power, Damon thought it was likely the exclusive method of a mid-tier sect.
‘Since it belongs to a secular lineage, it seems like a method that might have originated from a sect such as Flying Dragon Palace, Divine Sword Sect, or Iron Blood Sect. Just what sect did Emperor Crosen come from?’
Of course, considering the process by which the cultivation method had been passed down to Penslot, it was certain that it was not Emperor Crosen’s own exclusive method. Since it had merely been provided for the knights of allied nations, there was almost no possibility that it was the emperor’s personal method.
‘Just what lineage of internal energy did Emperor Crosen learn? It is said its power was quite fierce and mighty, so it doesn’t seem to be of the Daoist line… Nine times out of ten, it must be Buddhist internal energy. Secular internal energy does not give off such powerful force.’
Of course, in terms of sheer power, demonic internal energy was the strongest. Since its very nature carried the path of tyranny, no orthodox internal energy possessed greater destructive power than that of the demonic path. But because Emperor Crosen was not a figure of the demonic path, Damon could easily conclude that his martial arts belonged to the Buddhist school. Although reaching the peak was somewhat difficult, demonic internal energy cultivation methods were faster to progress in and easier to learn than orthodox methods up to a certain level.
‘Even so, in this place, demonic arts have an overwhelmingly greater advantage. When it comes to the speed of reaching a certain realm, orthodox internal energy methods cannot even compare.’
Recalling that fact, Damon slowly turned away, leaving behind the gazes of the mercenaries who continued to stare enviously at Mitchell.
Mitchell’s cultivation was nearly finished as well.
“Whooo.”
After letting out a long breath, Mitchell’s eyes snapped open. The heat-haze-like energy that had been circling his body had all been drawn inside through his nose and mouth. His entire body felt so light it seemed he might fly away, and he felt as though every part of him was filled with energy. Only then did Mitchell feel his heart ease somewhat.