The Silver Sword Master

There was not much information that Will knew about the Highwind Kingdom.

Written in a few history books he read was about a kingdom invaded, destroyed and occupied by demonic beasts.

Surrounding kingdoms and even the empire tried to offer their help but it was already too late.

Highwind Kingdom, the kingdom of demonic beasts. For some time, it earned that title because of how the once known prosperous kingdom became a place of demonic beasts.

If one uttered the name Highwind Kingdom, there was a person that would likely come up to everyone's mind.

The Silver Sword Master, Lucas Greyrain.

A silver haired swordsman that defended the kingdom from the invasion till his death.

He was a Nascent Soul practitioner with exceptional sword skills. 

In the whole kingdom, Lucas was branded as the strongest swordsman in his time, at the age of twenty five.

An achievement that could put him as a genius but his life ended before his name fully spread to the world.

Because he came from an ordinary background, he never despised the poor and always helped those in need despite having everyone under his feet.

All the things Will heard and read about the man were all positive things and praising him for his bravery and strength.

And that very person was in front of him.

"Lucas Greyrain. I am Will Sundersky." introduced Will.

Lucas bowed his head and greeted him, "It's good to see you, Young Master."

Seeing his demeanor, Will was satisfied.

"Are you a gardener here?"

"Yes, Young Master. I tend and take care of all the plants and flowers around the whole mansion." Lucas replied with low enthusiasm.

After some time of questioning, Will learned how Lucas ended up as their servant.

Lucas' story was a common type.

His village up north was attacked by demonic beasts and his parents were killed.

He and his sister fled but were separated after some bandits tried to sell them as slaves.

Fortunately, Lucas was saved by Wilhem who passed by the bandits' place and rescued him, however, his sister was already taken to some place and has been missing ever since.

'So he has a sister. That's new.'

'Well, if I play my cards right I might have a powerful guy on my side.'

Will decided to take Lucas with him so that he could have someone strong as his aid. If he is successful, he would have a Sword Master by his side.

'But he still died at the hands of the demonic beasts at the end. If a Nascent Soul practitioner can't survive that invasion, then what odds do I, someone who can't cultivate, have. Practically zero.'

'I need to take him in and train him to be stronger. Stronger than what I remember.'

"Have you tried cultivating before?" he asked Lucas.

"Yes, Young Master. Currently, I'm at the 2nd Stage of Qi Sensing Realm." Lucas replied.

'Hmm? That's lower than I expected.'

The path of cultivation starts from Qi Sensing, Body Adapting, Core Condensing, Nascent Soul, Void Cleansing, Divine Transformation, and beyond that was Immortality. Each of this realm has nine stages.

In the Great Stellar Continent, a Nascent Soul practitioner was already considered expert and masters with very high status everywhere they went.

"You're seventeen, right? We're at the same age. How long have you been cultivating?"

"I started cultivating two years ago before Master Wilhelm went into seclusion." Lucas replied.

"Hmm? Do you know what grade is your spirit root?"

Lucas shook his head.

"That doesn't make any sense. You can cultivate so that means you have a spirit root. But even if you possess the lowest grade, you should be at least at the fourth or fifth level of the Qi Sensing realm in two years."

Will thought for a second and asked Lucas. "Have you been cultivating properly? Everyday?"

Lucas opened his mouth but no words came out.

Seeing his hesitation, Will gave him an assurance. 

"You can tell me honestly."

"I haven't been cultivating lately." Lucas replied.

"Why?"

Will stared at him and his tattered clothes full of not only soil dirt but also horse hairs.

"You're also taking care of the horses? That's the stableman's job. Why are you doing that?"

When Lucas didn't answer, Will narrowed his eyes.

"Come with me." he said with a firm tone and walked towards the back of the house with Layla on his side.

Lucas looked at him and followed behind the two.

When Will arrived at the stables, the servants who were supposed to clean the area and feed the horses were nowhere to be found.

"Are they pushing their jobs to you?" 

Lucas nodded after a few moments.

"Layla, call the servants assigned for this place."

"Yes, Young Master." Layla complied.

She was surprised at how his Young Master was acting. Usually, he would just be timid or would not be bothered by such acts.

When she returned, there were two men behind her.

The two of them were confused why the Young Master called them but when they saw Lucas standing near Will, they became nervous.

"This is Ben and Ol. They are the ones responsible for the stables."

Layla introduced them but Will was not interested in their names.

"You guys can get your pay for the month. After that, you can leave."

"...!"

Will turned around but was interrupted by the voice of the two servants.

"Why Young Master? What have we done?" Ben asked with worry. After all, they didn't want to lose their jobs.

Will stopped for a second and said, "We don't need servants who are taking the pay but are not working or passing their tasks to others."

Ben and Ol knelt and begged Will not to fire them but the three already left their sight.

Lucas was still following behind Will.

They arrived at the training hall while Layla handled the two servants' matters.

"Young Master, it's great to see that you are fine."

A middle aged man with a sword tucked on his waist approached Will and bowed.

"Uhmm.." Will, not having the memories of the original Will Sundersky, froze.

Layla leaned onto him and whispered, "He's Rasha, one of the knights under Baron Wilhelm."

"Oh!"

As a Baron, Wilhelm has the right to have up to ten knights under his wing.

"So it's Sir Rasha. I apologize if I don't remember your name. My memories are blurry because of the incident."

Rasha shook his head. "It's alright, Young Master. What's important is that you're fine."

"But what brought you here to the training hall?" Rasha asked.

As someone with a damaged spirit root, Will has no ability to cultivate. 

Because of this, he became unmotivated and although he still could learn the way of the sword, he didn't bother to do it anymore.

However, that lad who would not even want to take a peek at the training hall was now standing in front of Rasha.

"This is Lucas."

Rasha turned to Lucas. "He's one of the gardeners of the mansion."

"Yes. And I would like you to test his aptitude with the sword."

Hearing his request, Rasha and Layla raised their brows.

"That would be alright." Rasha gestured to Lucas to come.

Lucas then turned to Will, asking for permission.

"Go."

Rasha gave Lucas a wooden sword.

"Have you held a sword before?" he asked as they moved to the platform.

Lucas shook his head. "No. This is my first time."

"Then, why are you here? Why does the Young Master want to test your aptitude with the sword?"

Lucas sighed. " I don't know what he was thinking. I just obeyed him."

The two then took their stances.

Rasha held the sword with one hand and put his other hand behind his back.

On the other hand, Lucas held the sword with both of his hands. His grip was tight but his eyes were determined.

Seeing Lucas that will go against Rasha, Layla spoke to Will.

"Will he be alright? Sir Rasha is still a Second Class Swordsman at the Core Condensing Realm. Lucas will surely be hurt."

Will chuckled, hearing her words.

"It's just a spar, a test. Rasha will surely not kill Lucas, right?" Will turned to Layla.

"Will he?"

"Sir Rasha is not that cruel."

"Then it will be fine." Will was relieved.

"Besides," he continued, "If my prediction is right, he will need to give his all to win against Lucas."

Layla chuckled. "Are you alright, Young Master? That's a Qi Sensing teen without any experience in sword fighting against a Second Class Swordsman at the Core Condensing Realm. Surely, Sir Rasha will not be defeated."

Will just smiled and glued his eyes on the figures on the platform.

'Come on, show me something.'

On the platform, Rasha suppressed his cultivation to the Qi Sensing Realm. Although only the sword aptitude will be tested, he still didn't want to hurt Lucas. 

"Get ready."

Rasha rushed and swung his sword at Lucas.

A horizontal strike. It was fast and heavy.

Bang!

Lucas was hit on the side and was thrown away by the force of the attack.

He gasped heavily and tried to catch his breath.

Rasha stared at him. 'I expected something more.'

He thought that Will saw a potential in Lucas so he wanted him to be tested.

'It seems like the Young Master is wrong about this guy.'

A single strike and Lucas was taken down.

Rasha and Layla turned to Will.

'Surely he won't be taken by a single strike, right?'

He just smiled and said, "Not yet." 

Gesturing at the young man standing up with the wooden sword at his support, he felt relieved.

Rasha returned his attention to Lucas who now stood up and pointed his sword at him.

His eyes were more determined than ever.

"Good. A warrior needs an unwavering will."

Rasha rushed and attacked Lucas with the same strike.

This time however, it was blocked and Lucas held his ground.

Rasha retracted his sword and delivered another strike.

Again, it was blocked by Lucas.

After that, another strike was blocked by him.

And another.

And it continued for more than a minute.

One was attacking and the other perfectly blocking each strike.

'This kid perfectly blocks all my strikes. Although they are only at the Third Class attacks, it is still amazing how he could read and predict all my moves. Incredible.'

Lucas adapted to the sword quickly. His reactions became sharper as the exchange continued.

If the battle continues, Rasha predicts that Lucas will begin to counter attack.

'Just in this situation, Lucas could already be called a Third Class Swordsman.'

'Should I test him more?'

He wanted to test Lucas and see the limit of his potential. But Rasha also needs to consider Will. 

If he increased the difficulty of the test and Lucas ended up getting badly hurt, he would surely be embarrassed in front of his Young Master.

He turned to Will who was watching nonchalantly outside the platform.

Will slightly nodded and Rasha quickly understood that he wanted to see more.

'Alright. I'll use Second Class Swordsman attacks from now on.'

With that in mind, Rasha delivered a swift move that caught Lucas off guard.

He was hit and was thrown away for the second time.

After catching his breath, he stood up once again and faced Rasha.

Receiving attacks from a Second Class Swordsman proved difficult for Lucas.

He was hit and thrown to the floor again and again.

But time and time again, he stood up and fought.

Seeing the determined look in his eyes that didn't waver for a second, Will didn't dare to stop the test as he felt that it would sully Lucas' honor.

Lucas was thrown to the floor once again.

Unlike any other time that he would just stand up, he sat in a lotus position this time, with the sword in his hands.

He closed his eyes and the qi in the air fluctuated.

The swords in the hall vibrated as well as the sword on Rasha's waist.

He stared at the young man in front of him with awe, then rushed to his Young Master's side.

"This lad is incredible, Young Master." he said softly, careful not to disturb Lucas.

"Sword Enlightenment. Never thought I'd see one in front of my eyes." Will said with a bright smile. 'I knew it! This man's the real deal!'

"Me too. This is my first time seeing one. Did you know about his potential, Young Master?" Rasha asked.

Will replied. "A little. But not to this extent."

Rasha wore a smile that he never showed. "He held a sword for the first time and experienced sword enlightenment. With his sword aptitude, he could become at least a Sword Master. A Sword Master on our side. That will elevate our household to a new height."

"I know."

Sword Enlightenment. It was a sudden realization about the way of the sword.

Only those with superior aptitude with the sword could achieve something on their first time wielding a sword.

It was said that those who experienced Sword Enlightenment reached heights that most could only dream of.

After an hour, Lucas finally opened his eyes.

His silver hair waved as he approached Will.

"Young Master."

"You did good." Will was satisfied. "Do you want to be my aid?"

Lucas knelt on one knee. "I, Lucas Greyrain, will be forever loyal to Young Master and never leave your side as long as I live."

"Great!" Will assisted him in getting up and smiled.

He turned to Rasha. "We can still take knights, right?"

"Yes. There are only nine knights in the Barony so it will be fine. I will arrange all the necessary things that Lucas needs." Rasha was more than willing to take Lucas on their side.

After all, only a fool would drive out a future Sword Master.

"Thank you."

Lucas also bowed to Rasha and with a grateful tone he spoke, "Thank you for letting me experience the sword for the first time."

"It's fine. Let's take care of each other from now on." Rasha shook hands with Lucas.

Will was now satisfied.

He now has the future Silver Sword Master on his side. As long as nothing happened wrong, he would have a Nascent Soul on his call!

[ You've changed the destiny of Greyrain. With him experiencing Sword Enlightenment and formal training at an early age, he could now attain higher realm as a swordsman. ]

[ You've received 10,000 Destiny points. ]