‘I heard the rumors, but…’ Mihen had heard that the king also praised Hans’ skills along with Zich’s at Westilburd, but he didn’t think much of the news. Even if Hans had talent, his training period had been incredibly short, and even if Mihen thought Zich possessed was a genius in swordsmanship, he was still doubtful of Zich’s teaching skills.
Furthermore, hearing that Hans possessed a unique and great sword made him undervalue Hans’ skills even more. The fact that he heard the story directly from the Count didn’t help either since he didn’t witness the scene with his own eyes. Thus, he ended up making very conservative judgments about Hans. Yet now, Mihen completely reassessed his evaluation of Hans.
‘He’s strong.’ His new evaluation of Hans was simple but bold. Lara’s skills were also outstanding. If she agreed to do so, he wanted to place her in the most elite order that he led in the Steelwall Estate: the Steel Spear Order of Knights. Yet, Hans’ skills easily surpassed even those of Lara. Even though they were dueling, anyone could tell that Hans was the one overseeing Lara’s swordsmanship.
“How skilled do you think he is?”
“He doesn’t seem to be below us at least.”
Mihen’s subordinate knights from behind murmured amongst themselves. They were all busy evaluating Hans’ skills. The fact that these prideful knights acknowledged his skills highlighted how impressive Hans was. Soon, the knights’ topic of conversation changed.
“Wasn’t that guy just a servant before he left the Steelwall Estate?”
“The Countess treasured him, but that was about it.”
“How did he grow so strong in such a short amount of time?”
They laced the last words with envy, wariness, and plain jealousy. Yet, Mihen could easily understand their feelings. The knights endured tough training every day to hone their skills as knights that belonged to the family that acted as the kingdom’s first barrier. Thus, it irritated them that a man who had just been a normal servant not that long ago now appeared as a formidable fighter. They almost wanted to grab onto his collars and shake the truth of his newfound strength out of him.
‘No, there’s no need to even ask him.’
The reason was obvious.
“What are you guys doing?” Then, Mihen suddenly heard a low voice and turned around. The Count was slowly approaching the training ground. Mihen and the knights paid their respects to him, and when the Count raised his hand, the knights returned to their original positions. The Count slowly stood beside Mihen. Then, he looked at Hans and Lara’s duel. Perhaps, Hans and Lara didn’t realize the Count had come, or they simply didn’t care, but they continued their duel.
As the head of the Steelwalls, the Count naturally possessed high-level fighting skills and knowledge. After all, the reason why Zich had been pushed off the heir position was that they had thought he lacked the skills for the status. That was what the position of Count Steelwall called for. This also meant the Count could also see how impressive their skills were.
“Impressive.”
“Yes. It’s to the point that I want to accept them both into the Steel Spear Order of Knights if possible.” Mihen’s eyes were locked on Hans. “Especially Hans. I think if I just teach him well, he can be my next successor.” Mihen wasn’t saying empty words or speaking rashly; the successor of the next captain of the Steelwall’s most elite fighters, the Steel Spear Order of Knights was an important position.
The knights murmured amongst themselves. They hadn’t realized that Mihen already evaluated Hans’ skills to such a level. The Count pressed his lips tightly together and focused on the duel. His eyes caught Hans’ skillful swordsmanship which the spectators admired. The Count knew Hans very well, as he used to be a servant that the Countess treasured very much. Although Hans had been slightly arrogant because of the favor the Countess showered over him, he had been a normal servant besides that.
“How did he progress to such a level…?” the Count sighed.
“Wouldn’t it be pure talent?”
Hearing this, the Count lamented even more. If he had known about Hans’ talent, he would’ve made him train as a knight immediately.
“Of course, it would’ve probably been difficult through just talent. He probably gained considerable help from the young master, Zi…” Mihen trailed off and shut his mouth. He glanced at the Count. It was difficult to bring up the topic of Zich in front of the Count.
The Count didn’t answer, but it was obvious that he was now in a foul mood. The knights from behind been exchanging opinions also noticed the Count’s change in mood and closed their mouths too.
“…I will be going now.”
“Yes, see you sir!”
Soon, the knights behind the Count quickly left as a result of the uncomfortable atmosphere. When the Count finally left, one of the knights asked Mihen, “Why did you say such things to the Count?”
“I said it without thinking,” Mihen said. He couldn’t defend himself much, but Mihen wasn’t worried since the Count wasn’t such a sensitive person that he would charge Mihen for his words.
‘It’s not like I was wrong,’ Mihen thought to himself. Then, he sighed about having lost two amazing talents: Zich and Hans. ‘If only those two remained, Steelwall would have become much stronger…’
* * *
In the meantime, Lyla, Snoc, and Elena were on another training ground.
“Snoc, please make the preparations.”
“Yes!” Snoc pulled out the stones he had prepared beforehand. Each of the rocks was as big as a person’s head, and soon dozens of stones were piled before Snoc’s feet. Lyla turned back to Elena.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes!” Elena nodded while clutching her staff tightly.
“Good. Snoc, start now!”
Hearing this, Snoc began using his ability. The stones at his feet floated and flew across the air. Simultaneously, Elena poured mana into her staff.
Flash! A fireball appeared in front of Elena’s staff and flew into the air. Its target was the rock that Snoc threw in the air.
Bam! The fireball directly hit the target, and a flashy fireball appeared in the sky. Lyla lifted two fingers towards Snoc, and Snoc threw two stones this time.
Bam! Bam! Elena’s magic hit the two stones this time. Elena began to feel more confident. She skillfully continued to hit the rocks that continued to fly in the air. However, as the number of rocks increased and increased in speed, she began to miss a couple of them.
Swish! “Ah!” Elena let out a sad gasp as one of her fireballs narrowly missed a rock. However, she soon quickly steadied her heart and continued to shoot out fireballs. The numerous rocks beneath Snoc had disappeared in an instant, and Elena lowered her staff.
“You’ve improved significantly.”
Elena’s expression brightened at Lyla’s compliment.
“However, you still have a lot of work ahead of you.”
Then, Elena’s shoulder quickly drooped; Lyla found it funny that Elena’s behavior changed so drastically by her every word.
“Snoc, can you prepare for the next training?”
“Yes!” Snoc pulled out mithril this time. Even though it was an extremely precious metal, Zich’s companions had taken so much of them from Clowon’s ruins that it was just a common metal to them. The mithril fragments gathered together into a big clump from Snoc’s power.
“Elena.” At Lyla’s command, Elena pointed her staff towards the mithril clump.
Bammmmm! A large explosion followed. While Elena had used magic based on precision and speed so far, she now used magic completely based on power. She cast several spells in a row. Like this, Elena’s magic training continued.
Since there were flashy fireworks in the air, viewers naturally gathered around. There were more onlookers than when Hans and Lara were training. It was because watching mages perform magic was a rare sight.
‘Amazing.’ Trell was one of the people who had been watching Elena’s training since the beginning. It was also his first time witnessing a mage performing magic close up. ‘Based on her magic, isn’t she an extremely great mage?’
As a butler for Count Steelwall, Trell knew basic information about magic. Even though the magic that Elena was showing right now was not precise, he could judge her level of magic. She was definitely not an ordinary mage. Trell had also heard about Lyla. The mage who appeared as one of Zich’s companions during the incident at the capital was probably the Lyla in front of him. True to the rumors, she was an amazing beauty. It was definitely not a tall tale that a couple of the nobles who saw her became love sick and physically ill. Moreover, she was skilled enough to teach such an amazing mage as Elena.
‘That guy is also extremely skilled.’ Trell had also heard about Snoc who could control the earth however he wanted. From what he heard, Snoc had also played a big part in resolving the incident at the capital. ‘Every single member in his party is an amazing character.’
Zich had full control of his party. Trell knew how amazing this was, and how this was the most important ability that a noble needed to stand above people. ‘It’s really regretful.’ Zich’s physical abilities and brain were both outstanding, and he had the charisma to completely take charge of such amazing talents. Of course, no matter how amazing each of his members was, they were just five people. If he had to take charge of more people, it might be a completely different story. However, it was still a very good sign that he had the potential to be an excellent leader.
“You were here.”
Trell heard a voice from behind; he didn’t even need to check who it was. Trell turned around and showed his respect. “Sir, you’ve arrived.”
“Hmm.”
When the Count stood next to him, Trell straightened his posture. The two of them watched the magic training side by side. Lyla, who had been just watching Elena use magic, grabbed her staff. She was going to show an example.
Craccckle! A huge fire pillar flew up as if it would rip the sky. It was an extremely amazing and awe-inspiring sight. Many people exclaimed in awe. Most of the people here were just amazed by the visual effects of the magic, and Trell was also part of this group while thinking all sorts of thoughts. However, skilled fighters, including the Count, looked at Lyla instead of the fire pillar.
‘What an amazing amount of mana!’ They clearly felt that the level of magic just now was different than the magic from before.
Trell rubbed his chin and said, “Sir, is there a way we can recruit these people?”
This was the Count’s second time hearing this. He had heard from Mihen just now if they could recruit Hans and Lara to Steelwall. The Count also felt the same way. For talents like them, he wanted to use any conditions to bring them into the estate. However, these amazing talents all followed his eldest son whom he had ignored and exiled.
“Sir Zich has arrived.” Like Trell said, they saw Zich come out of the training grounds. The magic training stopped, and they saw Lyla, Snoc, and Elena.
“They seem really close.” The Count heard the subtle disappointment in Trell’s words. He probably thought that if Zich maintained his position as heir, his comrades would have naturally been brought to the estate.
The Count did not reply.