Six Stages

After breakfast in the morning, Werther followed Roy to the back mountain and continued yesterday's training.

But Werther was surprised to find that after just one night, he had truly restrained his instincts. He was delighted for quite a while and even thought himself exceptionally gifted.

However, Roy calmly told him that this was normal. It was not a difficult exercise, and after adapting overnight, his body had already overcome its instincts.

So today, Roy had brought not wooden swords, but two bamboo swords. He handed one to Werther and told him to attack with all his strength.

Having been beaten up by Roy all afternoon yesterday, Werther naturally did not hold back.

Gripping the bamboo sword, he slashed wildly at Roy without any form or order. Roy easily blocked several strikes, then tapped Werther on the forehead with his bamboo sword.

Bang! Werther let out a miserable scream, clutching his forehead in pain.

Roy nodded. "Not bad. You didn't close your eyes. You can move on to other training now."

Werther glared at Roy.

"You had me attack you just for that? Couldn't you have told me beforehand so I could prepare myself?"

"Let you prepare yourself? Then what kind of test would that be? Stop talking nonsense. Next, I'll teach you the proper way to hold a sword, along with the correct motions for slashing, blocking, and thrusting. From now on, you'll spend most of every morning practicing these movements. If you don't pass, you'll keep going in the afternoon." Then he began explaining various swordsmanship principles, footwork, and techniques for exerting force.

After seeing Roy's sword grip, Werther did not immediately copy him. Instead, he gestured for Roy to wait, then sprinted toward the Sword Hall.

Roy watched Werther run off in confusion, wondering what the kid was up to. Before long, Werther came running back, with a bamboo sword in each hand. Roy teased him.

"Couldn't tell you wanted to become a Twin Blades swordsman. The Twin Blades style is pretty good, but your swords will have much less power than a single blade. Think it through."

"Twin Blades are a man's romance." After saying something Roy could not make sense of, he began learning the proper sword grip.

After a morning of Roy's explanations, mockery, and the bamboo sword that occasionally smacked Werther's body, Werther had basically mastered several fundamental techniques.

Roy told Werther that learning those movements was not difficult. The difficult part was forming muscle memory and adapting them during future battles.

After the two unanimously agreed, they went back to yesterday's restaurant at noon, because the food there really was delicious.

While ordering, Werther noticed that Roy seemed particularly fond of the drinks section of the menu, so he asked whether Roy wanted some alcohol.

Roy sternly refused. He still had to train Werther in the afternoon and could not drink.

In the two days since meeting Roy, this was the first time Werther had seen such a serious expression on Roy's face. He was stunned for a moment, then thought, Looks like he's someone with a story.

After lunch, they returned to the back mountain. This time, Roy did not make Werther run until he collapsed. Instead, he took him near the Sword Hall, where Werther discovered that all sorts of training equipment had been placed behind it.

Roy introduced the purpose of each piece of equipment one by one, then had Werther begin exercising.

First came arm strength. Every swordsman needed strong arms. Then came balance, then chest muscles, and so on down the body.

"Every swordsman must have outstanding arm strength, but arm strength alone is not enough. You also need a sense of balance and strength throughout your entire body. A swordsman who trains only his arms has no future." As Roy spoke, he helped Werther correct his improper movements.

Werther felt that today's training was exceptionally easy. He did not feel the same exhaustion as yesterday. It seemed the Lightning Stimulation Method was truly effective at recovering from fatigue. With that thought, he trained even harder.

Roy was equally astonished. The kid had been exhausted to the brink of death yesterday, so why was he so full of energy today? He really seemed gifted. Roy increased the intensity of the training and even added weights while Werther ran, five kilograms on each leg.

During the high-intensity training, Werther felt his body growing stronger. It was not an illusion; he was genuinely becoming stronger. The Lightning Stimulation Method did not greatly benefit the body under normal circumstances, but during training, it significantly enhanced the results.

Werther vaguely felt that his training efficiency was three times better than yesterday's.

What did that mean? It meant that as long as he did not slack off, his results would be more than three times those of others.

Thinking of that, Werther smiled. He had finally seen real hope. No matter how confident he had been before, he had sometimes felt uncertain deep down.

Just as Werther was training with great enthusiasm, he heard Roy call for him to return for dinner.

Werther was stunned. Had time passed that quickly? He took out his black pocket watch and looked. Sure enough, it was already past six.

After dinner, remembering that he still had to learn swordsmanship from Nisse that night, Werther went to the room in the very center of the Sword Hall and knocked on the door. A voice from inside said, "Come in."

Sure enough, Nisse was in the room. Werther truly had no idea what he usually did in there. After entering, Werther thought for a moment, then sat cross-legged on the cushion in front of Nisse.

"Master, what are you going to teach me? Are you going to teach me some profound techniques?" Werther asked tentatively.

Nisse glanced at Werther.

"Would you even understand if I explained profound techniques to you? It would be better to teach you the basics of the sword. We can discuss techniques later." As he spoke, he took the sword behind him and handed it to Werther, telling him to draw it.

Looking at the weapon called a sword in this pirate world, but a katana on Earth, Werther found it familiar no matter how he looked at it. The sheath and hilt were black, with a row of purple, flower-like patterns in the middle.

After drawing it, he saw that the blade was entirely black as well. Above the edge ran a line of red blade patterns resembling canine teeth.

"What does this blade make you think of?" Werther, lost in thought, was interrupted by his teacher's question and casually replied.

"I think I've seen this sword somewhere before." The moment he said it, Werther regretted it.

"Oh? Where did you see it? Tell me." Nisse's face was full of excitement, and he even stood up directly.

Werther had not expected such a huge reaction from Nisse. For a moment, he did not know what to say, but after thinking about it, he could only tell the truth.

"Uh... I forgot." Werther looked rather embarrassed as well.

Then he saw Nisse, who always wore a serious expression and only occasionally gave people a polite smile, have the corners of his eyes and mouth twitch violently. His expression was as ugly as if someone had forced him to eat two pounds of shit.

"Sigh, forget it. Try to remember. Did you perhaps see information about this sword's whereabouts, or some other clues, among the intelligence your mother sold when you were young? If you remember, come tell me immediately. It is very important to me, and I definitely won't treat you unfairly." Nisse's expression was clearly filled with disappointment and regret.

"Forget it. Let's not talk about that for now. Perhaps I've been too obsessed. I haven't let go of what I should have let go. Let me explain some swordsmanship knowledge to you instead." Nisse returned to his usual demeanor and continued.

"Do you know the different ranks of swordsmen?"

Werther shook his head, indicating that he had never heard of them. He was curious as well. Ranks of swordsmen? I never heard about that when I watched One Piece before.

"Swordsmen can roughly be divided into six stages. Swordsmen within the same stage can also vary in strength, with three levels: beginner, proficient, and peak. Let me explain these six stages first.

"The first stage is Enlightenment. Swordsmanship enlightenment is the stage where an ordinary person becomes a swordsman. Not everyone who picks up a sword is a swordsman. You are currently at the beginner level of Enlightenment.

"The second stage is Steel Cutting. A swordsman at this stage can cut through steel even with an ordinary sword. They sense an object's breath and rhythm, then cut it apart. They cut what they wish to cut and cannot cut what they do not wish to cut. I am at this stage.

"The third stage is a very special one: elemental attacks. It means adding elemental attacks to sword techniques. I do not understand the specifics very well either. This stage is special because there are two situations.

"The first is for ordinary swordsmen. They must achieve Steel Cutting before they can sense elemental attacks. Whether it is their comprehension or understanding of the sword, without Steel Cutting, elemental attacks are impossible, except for a very few cases, such as the Mink Tribe or certain famous swords.

"The second is Devil Fruit users. Due to the variety of Devil Fruit abilities, some people can use elemental attacks even while at the Enlightenment stage.

"You know about Devil Fruits, right, Werther?"

Werther nodded.

"That is enough about elemental attacks for now. Next is the fourth stage.

"The fourth stage is cutting rare materials harder than steel, such as Seastone and diamond.

"The fifth stage is cutting the void. I do not understand the specifics either; it means exactly what it says. This realm is simply too distant from me, so I will not mislead you.

"As for the sixth stage, if it exists, I have never heard of anyone reaching it. If it does not exist, it is still the dream of every swordsman: there is nothing in this world that cannot be cut. I do not know whether anyone has ever reached this realm, but reaching it would mean attaining an entirely new height.

"These are the six realms of swordsmen. Simply put: first, Enlightenment; second, Steel Cutting; third, elemental attacks; fourth, cutting rare materials harder than steel; fifth, cutting the void; sixth, nothing in this world that cannot be cut."

Perhaps Nisse had talked for too long and was thirsty. He called for an apprentice to bring two cups of tea, then took several sips.

Werther also accepted a teacup, thanked him, and took a sip. Finding it rather good, he drained it in one gulp.

Nisse's eyes widened as he said.

"You brat, this is premium tea that costs ten thousand Beli per tael, and you just chugged it like a cow drinking water. Next time, I'll just give you water." After saying that, he slowly took another sip of tea.

Although the matter with the sword had been embarrassing for Werther—he had said he had seen it before, yet could not remember where even after thinking for so long—he felt much closer to Master Nisse after that incident. At least Nisse was no longer making false pleasantries with him. Thinking this, Werther said to Nisse.

"Master, what exactly does cutting steel mean? How can I achieve it?"

"That is still too early for you. Once your foundations are solid, then think about Steel Cutting. A towering building rises from level ground. Poor foundations will have a major impact on your future development. Besides, Steel Cutting is not necessarily something you can attain through hard training alone. There are methods for achieving it, but we can talk about that once you are a little older." After speaking, Nisse gave Werther a strange smile.

When Werther saw Nisse's smile, he got the same feeling as when Ross had given him a surprise yesterday. He suddenly felt terrible all over.

"It's getting late. Go back and sleep. If you have no questions over the next month, don't come here. During the evenings, keep training if your body can handle it. There's no use in explaining too much swordsmanship to you now. Only after practicing it firsthand will explanations become effective. Go on." Seeing Werther's expression, Nisse knew that the kid had probably understood something from the words "methods for achieving it." He smiled and said nothing more.

After wishing Nisse good night, Werther returned to sleep and prepare for tomorrow's training.