Linsey's Wooden Sword

Anrui had prepared a set of linen clothes for Linsey.

They fit close to the body, loose and tight in all the right places, without making his muscles or the fabric feel constrained. He would not feel bad if they were damaged in a fall, and they provided extra warmth when layered in winter.

They were the most suitable thing for Linsey to wear at the moment.

After changing, they went behind the manor.

A back gate had been built into the wall here. Beyond it lay the training grounds the manor used daily.

From its geographical location—

Anrui's Lord's Manor stood at the northernmost edge of the entire town, directly adjoining the forest outside.

However, the trees that had originally grown here had long since been cut flush with the ground, clearing out a vast open space. The few that had survived had become natural wooden posts for training.

Linsey looked around. Birds and beasts alike did not dare appear here.

Several archery targets had also been tied to the trees farther away that had not been cut down, at varying distances.

When they arrived, several people were already practicing with Wooden Swords and wooden spears. They were all guards from Borderlands Town. Only the younger ones were youths whom Anrui believed had decent potential and had placed here to train, yet who had still failed to awaken Source Material.

In truth, even counting Anrui himself—

There were only three people in Hidden Borderlands who had truly embarked upon the path of war.

Before formally beginning the lesson, Anrui first asked, "Child, have you learned any combat techniques before?"

Linsey answered honestly:

"I was only a farmer's child before. I could not even read or write."

Anrui nodded in understanding. He did not look down on Linsey for it, instead leading the way toward the open ground ahead as he explained, "Generally speaking, entry into the War School begins with physical training. But since you possess Life Source Material... Oh, right. Red Moon taught you how to cultivate Life Source Material, didn't she?"

Only after seeing Linsey nod did Anrui continue, "Red Moon will be responsible for your daily training, so I need not worry about that."

"Then let's be straightforward and begin directly with martial techniques."

"Is there any weapon you want to learn, or simply like?"

Linsey asked curiously, "You can teach me any weapon I want to learn?"

"Ha ha ha!"

Anrui was amused by Linsey's words once again.

He laughed so hard he clutched his stomach. At last, he took a drink from his silver flask before continuing:

"We of the War School, especially warriors like me who study Combat Essence, can easily master the use of every weapon in the world after completing our advancement at the Fifth Stage."

"No matter what you want to learn, I can teach you!"

Linsey noticed a particular term.

"Advancement after the Fifth Stage?"

Anrui explained quite readily:

"Advancer is a respectful title for an Awakened, and also a description of the truth."

"Normally, in the world of the Awakened, when a person's skill undergoes five sublimations, it brings about an essential change in them. We call this process advancement."

Linsey suddenly understood.

Then he smiled as well and told Anrui what he wished to learn:

"In that case, I want to learn the martial technique you are best at."

"..."

Hearing Linsey's answer, Anrui froze for a moment.

After several seconds, he shook his head with a nostalgic sigh. Only then did he laugh and curse emotionally, "You brat, you really are a clever little devil! If I'd been as smart as you back then, things would have been much better!"

"But I did promise you. If I said I would teach you with everything I had, then I will."

As his words fell, Anrui reached behind his back and drew two gleaming blades from his waist.

"As for what I'm best at, naturally it's this."

Linsey examined the pair of weapons curiously.

These blades... They were too short to be called longswords, yet too long to be daggers.

At a glance, the blades were around thirty centimeters long, and with the hilts included, they measured over forty centimeters. Their tips were narrow and their bases broad, giving them the feel of enlarged European kitchen knives.

"My martial arts lineage came from Nal Kebandek, Kleiber, the legendary Martial Refinement whose technique had undergone seven sublimations. Its central principle lies in the four words: Advantage Strike."

"However, you will need to sublimate your war techniques before you can delve deeper into this path. So for now, let's begin with the basics."

As Anrui explained, an imperceptible sly smile appeared at the corner of his lips. He handed one of his blades to Linsey.

"Here, hold it. I'll first teach you how to grip a blade."

Linsey naturally reached out and took it...

"It's so heavy!"

A single weapon used by Anrui weighed nearly ten pounds!

Linsey could hold it if he insisted.

But fighting with such a weapon would probably exhaust his wrists to the point of breaking. It was simply far too exaggerated! "It needs to be heavy enough to be sturdy."

Seeing Linsey's shocked expression as he held the blade, Anrui laughed heartily.

Then he stopped teasing Linsey. Taking back his blade, he walked to the edge of the forest and selected the largest Beech Tree in the entire field.

A flash of silver light swept past.

Before Anrui, it seemed as though nothing had happened.

But in the next second, he reached out and gave the Beech Tree in front of him a push.

Crack—

The previously almost invisible fissure split apart.

The Beech Tree, whose trunk was over a meter in diameter and too broad for one person to wrap their arms halfway around, immediately began to tilt. Its crown was especially massive, and now it was like a house collapsing!

Without saying a word, Anrui threw a heavy punch.

Boom! The Beech Tree that had been falling toward him was struck and changed direction midway through its fall.

It finally lay diagonally along the edge of the forest, like a giant fallen there.

Throughout the entire process, Anrui remained silent.

He walked over to the fallen Beech Tree, cut off a section with one stroke, then carved it with several swift cuts into a Wooden Sword the same size as his own weapon.

"Hmm..."

Anrui weighed the Wooden Sword in his hand.

Then he hollowed out several holes in it, adjusting its weight and balance. Only once it felt roughly the same as a real blade did he hand the Wooden Sword to Linsey.

"Here, use this first."

"Once you've gained a preliminary understanding of this technique, I'll prepare a real pair for you."

Anrui was blunt and efficient, immediately beginning the lesson. "First, where you grip the blade. Do not hold the very end of the hilt, or the enemy will easily knock the weapon from your hand."

"Then there are your hands. They must be positioned one in front of the other."

"In real combat, one usually blocks while the other attacks. At the same time, the hand in front can conceal the movements of the hand behind it."

"Defense, evasion, blocking—keeping yourself safe is also at the core of combat. The techniques include maintaining your center of gravity, shifting and maneuvering, and knocking aside the enemy's weapon..."

Anrui had not been joking in the slightest with his earlier attitude.

As he explained things to Linsey, he held the blade himself to demonstrate. Then he had Linsey imitate him while he corrected mistakes and adjusted details. He overlooked neither the tension of his muscles nor the rhythm of his breathing.

The most basic and most crucial aspects of martial techniques—

Anrui laid them all out before Linsey without holding anything back.

However, he was ultimately the local Lord and could not stay here with Linsey forever.

After roughly half an hour, Anrui had to leave. Before departing, he summoned his only formal apprentice from the manor. "Alan, I'm going to deal with matters in town. I'll leave this child's introduction to you."

Then Anrui departed.

But his apprentice Alan stared fixedly at the fallen Beech Tree, as though something extraordinary had happened.

"Y-you practice on your own first. I'll take a look at the situation."

Alan looked at the Beech Tree lying diagonally on the ground, with a section missing from its trunk.

Feeling dizzy, he murmured unconsciously, "That's the young lady's tree... Why did Master cut it down...?"

Alan suddenly realized something.

When he turned around, he spotted the Long Dagger in Linsey's hand.

"So that's where it is?"

Alan was left speechless as he watched Linsey practice by himself.

In his eyes, Linsey's movements were stiff. He failed to grasp the essentials in many areas and could not even properly follow the instructions by rote.

But that was not a problem. Those were all mistakes beginners made.

They only needed to be corrected gradually through practice.

That was what Alan thought, though the matter of the Beech Tree had left him somewhat muddled.

He could not possibly guess that Anrui had impulsively put on this display simply to use his overwhelming strength to draw Linsey onto the path of war.

About a quarter of an hour passed.

Alan had not yet organized his thoughts on how to guide Linsey, nor had he figured out why his teacher had cut down the Beech Tree.

Then Linsey approached him of his own accord and said:

"Mr. Alan, I think I more or less understand now."

"Is there anything else I need to learn today?"

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