Swordsmanship Family's Martial Arts Genius - Chapter 35

Henry frantically descended the mountain.

When he came to the mansion, he had comfortably taken a carriage, but now there was no time to spare for that.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”

In reality, the situation was far from okay. It was bleak. However, Henry felt that if he didn’t at least give himself this assurance, he wouldn’t be able to keep his spirits up.

Upon arriving at the village in a flustered state, Henry quickly entered his room.

Due to his hasty descent, he was a mess. Dust and leaves clung to his body.

But there wasn’t even time to brush them off. Time was of the essence.

“Phew…”

Henry took a deep breath to prepare himself mentally.

He couldn’t anticipate what he would hear when he reported this incident.

Henry opened his eyes, which he had tightly closed, and input a code into the communication crystal.

“I hope no one answers…”

He harbored a futile hope that, maybe, if the communication failed, he would have an excuse.

However,

― “What do you mean ‘hope no one answers’?”

A voice came from the crystal the moment he worried. Henry tried to hold onto his barely stable mind and looked beyond the crystal.

― “What’s the urgent reason you’re contacting us, Henry?”

The voice was sharp.

Revellin.

Although they had joined the company at the same time, she had been repeatedly promoted due to her exceptional abilities, to the point where Henry found it difficult to even look at her as a superior now.

‘I always wanted to bring her down a notch someday.’

Though despair welled up, now wasn’t the time for such thoughts.

He had to sort out the situation as quickly as possible. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Henry spoke.

“The Blante family has contacted us.”

― “Is that true?”

Revellin sounded delighted but there was a hint of doubt in her voice.

She knew, just as Henry did, that the mission given this time was a difficult one to succeed in.

After all, she was his superior.

So it was natural for her to be skeptical.

The Blante family’s attitude towards the Academy had always been the same.

They had never overtly denied or antagonized them, but neither had they ever shown warm interest.

So suddenly?

A mix of confusion and suspicion did arise.

But if it was true…

Henry had achieved a considerable feat. The Blante name was by no means a light one.

― “That’s great news. Please provide more details. Who did you invite as a professor?”

“…”

Even at Revellin’s question, Henry couldn’t immediately answer. He felt choked up as if a lump had formed in his throat.

Revellin’s brows furrowed.

― “Can’t you hear my voice? Henry, please respond.”

When Revellin pressed him a couple more times, Henry lowered his head and spoke in a crawling voice.

“…It’s Ethan.”

― “…The Blante family wouldn’t send just anyone as faculty… What did you say?”

Revellin asked again as if she couldn’t believe her ears.

Henry lowered his head further, almost as if he might break through the floor.

“It’s Ethan Blante.”

 

***

 

“Phew… causing such a mess.”

Revellin pressed her temples, trying to soothe the headache that was rising.

This was not a small mishap. It was a significant incident that couldn’t be easily overlooked.

“I’ll step in.”

At the deepening of Revellin’s thoughts, a silver-haired woman stepped forward.

In stark contrast to her beautiful appearance, her expression was cold and sharp.

“Emilia, are you sure about this?”

“Yes. I want to go. It’s the Blante family, right?”

“Yes. The situation could become cumbersome, but if it’s you, Emilia, I can trust and rest easy.”

“I cannot overlook someone causing such trouble against the Academy.”

Emilia’s eyes turned cold.

 

***

“Ho…”

Ethan, standing in front of the Blante family’s armory, let out a small exclamation.

As a martial artist who had traveled the world, he’d seen his share of notable spots, but even so, this one was a magnificent structure.

The massive metal door and the ornate patterns etched into it.

It seemed like it had cost a fortune.

‘I must obtain what I need.’

The professors Ethan would be facing.

Although he didn’t know exactly who they were, he had a rough idea.

With Ethan’s involvement, many things had diverged from the original story’s flow.

‘The general prediction is possible.’

Predicting wasn’t difficult.

Ethan had already revealed his capabilities.

Therefore, the Academy would take extra precautions.

Considering this, there were several probable candidates on the list.

‘It doesn’t really matter who it is.’

Whoever it would be, he just needed to prepare for them.

Ethan had no intent of losing, regardless of the opponent.

For that, strengthening his capabilities was essential.

‘Though I’ve already decided what to pick…’

He felt a bit regretful for some reason. The armory, at a glance, seemed packed with treasures.

Only being able to take one thing.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t disappointed.

“Only one, correct?”

At Ethan’s question, Vincent narrowed his eyes.

“You’re being greedy. Normally, even taking that one would not be allowed.”

“I was just asking.”

Ethan quickly resigned himself and stood in front of the door.

As soon as he stood before the armory, mana began to flow into him.

― “It’s been a while.”

Feon’s voice was filled with emotion.

She seemed lost in past feelings. Naturally, Ethan had no intention of indulging Feon.

‘If there’s something good, let me know.’

Even though he had already decided what to take, there might be things worth smuggling away or items better than expected.

‘Unlikely, though.’

The novel was essentially about boosting the protagonist, so expecting such foreshadowing to unfold at this moment was wishful thinking.

‘To begin with, I need this anyway…’

“Drop a drop of blood there.”

Upon Vincent’s words, Ethan pulled out a small dagger from his waist and cut his palm.

‘I have no idea when this archaic ritual was decided on.’

As Ethan’s blood dripped onto a pattern, the ornate door began to glow.

Creak.

With a spine-chilling mechanical sound, the giant door started to open.

Ethan calmly stepped inside.

“Once again, remember. You can only take one thing.”

Vincent repeated his warning, to which Ethan replied with a small smile.

“I shall keep that in mind.”

The armory was filled with many decorative weapons.

Even to Ethan’s inexperienced eye, they all seemed to be high-quality.

Every valuable weapon had its own dignity.

Not by ostentatious decorations, but by the weapon’s innate atmosphere.

‘Nothing here catches my eye.’

Ethan recalled from the novel that there wasn’t anything noteworthy at the entrance of the armory.

So he didn’t bother to take careful steps.

Just glancing over the weapons was enough.

― “Wait!”

At that moment, Feon’s voice stopped Ethan in his tracks.

“What is it?”

― “Let’s check over there for a moment.”

Though Ethan frowned at the unexpected situation, he reluctantly moved as urged by Feon.

― “I knew it.”

Feon’s expression was mixed with numerous emotions.

“I’d rather not hear the drawn-out story.”

― “Are you even human…”

Feon sighed deeply at Ethan’s blunt response.

― “Pick up that glove.”

Ethan looked at the glove pointed out by Feon.

A black leather glove covered in accumulated dust.

Only one left-hand glove remained, the other presumably missing.

“I don’t want to take it.”

Ethan flatly refused, but Feon snapped back.

― “Just pick it up!”

Chuckling at Feon’s reaction, Ethan picked up the glove.

Dusting it off roughly, the glove’s plain appearance didn’t change much.

Unlike the other weapons, which had an aura, this glove looked anything but special.

― “Try it on.”

“I told you I’m not taking it.”

― “Just try it on, no complaints.”

In the end, with reluctance, Ethan wore the left-hand glove.

“Oh…”

As Ethan put on the glove, it clung to his hand, then seemed to fuse with his skin, becoming invisible.

― “It was mine. Originally, it should come in a pair, but… so it was here after all.”

Watching the glove disappear, Ethan muttered quietly.

“With this, I can smuggle another item without anyone knowing.”

― “…You don’t listen at all, do you. Fine. Yes, it’s true. It’s because it’s something even a master couldn’t detect. It’s practically melded to you now.”

“What does this glove do?”

― “I don’t know exactly. It’s something I got by chance. It’s said to be a Titan’s item, but the details are unclear.”

“…A Titan?”

― “You don’t have to believe it. I wasn’t sure about it myself.”

But Ethan couldn’t dismiss it easily.

‘Hints about Titans coming up now?’

Titans were part of the plot in the novel’s later stages. They hadn’t been fully revealed, but it was expected to be significant before the protagonist gained new powers.

‘This is odd…’

The original novel was a power fantasy.

Numerous fateful encounters, opportunities, elixirs, and weapons conveniently fell into the protagonist’s lap, driven by the plot.

Yet, now such a significant Titan-related element was hidden in Blante. Ethan obtained a weapon even the protagonist didn’t get.

‘Feon appeared abruptly, unlike in the novel.’

In the Blante episodes, a character named Hugo appeared briefly, but there was no mention of Feon or anything else.

Without reading the original novel to the end, Ethan couldn’t know more.

Something felt off. Considering it all a coincidence seemed too simplistic.

“What’s its function, then?”

Feon grinned broadly at Ethan’s question.

― “Now you finally ask. This glove doesn’t burn.”

“…Is that all?”

― “That’s what I expected. Just hold on. It doesn’t burn, freeze, or tear.”

“Can you explain more clearly?”

― “It means your martial arts defense is sorted. No magic attack can damage the area protected by this glove. Even mana-coated swords and spears can’t scratch it.”

“Huh.”

Ethan chuckled in disbelief.

‘What kind of insane thing is this?’

From just the brief explanation, he could infer how extraordinary the glove’s capabilities were.

‘It’s not merely for boosting stats.’

It meant he didn’t need to worry about damage.

While limited to the left hand, it was still incredible.

― “It’s a pity it’s not paired. As a pair, it would have revealed its true value…”

Feon smacked his lips regretfully.

“This is enough for now.”

It was an unexpected harvest. This alone justified having brought Feon from the cave.

Shifting his focus back, Ethan continued searching for his primary target.

Walking in deeper, Ethan finally stopped.

Unhesitatingly, he grabbed something.

― “…Are you really going to take that?”

Feon looked at what Ethan picked up in disbelief.

Ethan smiled satisfactorily and nodded.

“That’ll do.”

He had obtained what he needed.

Now, it was just preparation for the duel left.

‘Exciting.’

He always felt a thrill before a fight.