"The Asrahan Core Technique. I want you to teach me that. And don't even think of playing dumb this time."
Javier was stupefied. His eyes widened, and his mouth hung open in disbelief. It was only natural. To Javier, the person in front of him was nothing but an object of protection. And yet he uttered something Javier had never imagined even once.
Master Lloyd knows about my mana training? How? He couldn't wrap his head around it. Just like when his master talked about his insomnia. But this mana training confounded him more. It was exclusive to himself, a secret he had never mentioned nor hinted at to anyone.
Plus, it had only been a month since he named the training 'Asrahan Core Technique.'
How did he find this out? I haven't even completed it yet… Javier wondered for a second if Lloyd had mastered the art of mind reading. In that flash of a second, Lloyd appeared like a mysterious and inexplicable being. Javier's eyes reflected his emotions as he looked at his master.
Lloyd scoffed at the sight. "What? Why? What? Why are you squinting your eyes like that?" Lloyd demanded to know.
"Well, of course…"
"Of course, what?" Lloyd retorted.
"How did you find out about it?"
For the past few weeks, Lloyd had been exposing Javier's innermost thoughts that he only kept to himself. Each time Javier tried to deny them, Lloyd blatantly scoffed at and mocked him. Since Javier had enough of such experiences, he decided that he shouldn't deny it anymore. But he wanted to find out how his young master saw through him like that.
Lloyd's answer was simple. "You said it all in your sleep," he stated coolly.
"Pardon?" Javier frowned.
"I'm telling you. You explained it to me while you were asleep," Lloyd reiterated.
"Are you telling the truth?"
"Uh-huh." Lloyd smiled brightly.
Telling the truth, my foot. It's obviously a lie. Javier never snored nor talked in his sleep. When he could sleep, he slept like a piece of fine sculpture, matching his elegant appearance.
But Lloyd decided to silence his protesting conscience and take the low road by lying. "Do you want me to prove it to you?" Lloyd offered.
"Prove? How?"
"Well, I'll tell you the details," Lloyd said. He began to recite the Asrahan Core Technique, as he had read it in The Knight of Blood and Iron.
"There is a limit to a human's mana heart. It's biological and determined from birth. So that means there's a limit to the amount one can mobilize at a go." The principle was simple. It was the same idea behind computer RAM or a water bucket. Eight gigabytes of RAM could store only eight gigabytes of data at a time and nothing more. In the same way, a one-liter bucket could contain only as much as it can, which is one liter of liquid. The same went for the amount of mana humans can use and mobilize within their hearts.
Its limit was the size of the heart. No human could go over the limit.
"There are no exceptions. Even the strongest swordsmen and knights who've achieved extraordinary feats. Why? It's simple," Lloyd explained confidently. "Because they're born human. A human body… no… specifically a human heart, can never overcome the biological limits it has. That's why dragons are such buff creatures in the stories. They have a dragon heart."
"That is…"
"Shush. I'm not done yet." Lloyd cut him short. "So, you thought to yourself. What if I can draw in the mana from the outside instead of sourcing it from my body? What would happen if I concentrated the mana absorbed from external sources into my mana heart? You wondered if you could temporarily overcome your biological limits and use more mana than you can handle." Lloyd grinned after he finished.
Javier appeared calm and collected. But he couldn't fool Lloyd, who caught the slight tremble in Javier's eyes.
"And your questions led you to secretly research new ways to manipulate mana. And you gave a name to it. The Asrahan Core Technique. About a month ago… if I'm correct."
"Yes… you are correct," Javier answered hesitantly.
"Hey, are you okay? You're conceding awfully quickly today."
"That is because you are so right about everything that I cannot even think of denying it."
"As I thought, then let's go back to where we left off." Lloyd figured that it was time to bring up what he really had in mind.
"First. How dare you? You had a sleek, amazing technique up your sleeve, and you dare try to teach me the simplest and most boring technique everyone knows how to use?" Lloyd raised his voice accusingly. "Did you used to teach preschool kids who were just happy with everything you do? How dare you try to bamboozle me like that."
"But Master Lloyd…"
"I know." Lloyd looked at Javier gravely. "This technique is yours, and you don't give it out to strangers. But come on. I'm not a stranger to you, am I?"
"Yes, you are," Javier answered resolutely.
"Dang."
"Technically speaking, you are just the master I protect, and…"
"And…?" Anticipation clouded Lloyd's face.
"And even if I wish to teach you my technique, it is impossible."
"How so?"
"Because it is incomplete." Javier's voice grew solemn. "The concept you just explained is correct," Javier went on. "The idea is that you absorb the mana from external sources, so you can use it. But no one has ever succeeded in this. I simply heard about the theory." Javier shrugged. "I, for one, never succeeded."
"So?" Lloyd asked.
"It is dangerous," Javier explained matter-of-factly, "especially so for someone like you, Master Lloyd, who is taking baby steps in channeling mana."
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Are you saying that, because you are worried about me?"
"Of course not."
"Tsk. So straightforward."
"Thank you."
"So, what you're saying is you can't teach me that because it's dangerous, right?"
"Yes," Javier answered.
"What if it were not dangerous?"
"Excuse me…?" There was a slight quiver in Javier's eyebrows.
Lloyd chuckled. He must be nervous about what I'm going to bring up this time.
"Allow me to point out the part you're stuck with, why it's yet to be completed."
"I don't know what you are getting at…"
"You absorb the mana from outside, it works. You transfer it to your mana heart, and it works. But when you're about to combine that with the mana that was already in your body… Bam!" Lloyd clapped his hands in exaggeration.
"That's where you get stuck. You mix the two, but two different mana clash and bounce off. That's the part you're struggling with, right?" Lloyd said.
Javier's eyes trembled. "How did you know that?"
"How else? I told you. I heard you talk in your sleep," Lloyd reminded Javier. This lie—that Javier talked about in his sleep—worked perfectly to silence Javier and clear Lloyd from any suspicion. It was like a cheat code. The corners of Lloyd's lips rose further up. I bet he's got nothing to say. I mean, how can he prove that he didn't say it while he was completely out of it happily sleeping?
Just then, Lloyd recalled the beginning of The Knight of Blood and Iron. At first, Javier wasn't able to perfect the technique because of the mana collision. He tried out several other methods but failed each time. It took five more years until he came up with a new approach to complete the technique. Afterward, he worked even harder to polish the finished product. And at last, he became the first grand master in the history of the Lorasian continent.
Lloyd remembered the approach that took Javier five years to find. With that in mind, Lloyd said, "From my perspective, I think it's a mistake, not an error mind you, to combine the internal and external mana into one."
"What?" Javier's brow rose upward. "I'm not sure what you mean."
"It's just as I said. Why do you have to shove the external mana into the mana heart?" Lloyd inquired. "If you do that, it takes a toll on the heart because of the storage capacity of your mana heart. And why do you have to mix the two mana in the first place? Don't you think you're being a bit narrow-minded?"
"You mean…"
"You can always circulate the mana outside. Away from the mana heart," Lloyd concluded, raising his hands in the air.
Javier's eyes widened in utter shock.
This should be enough info for him to work with. Lloyd picked up a wood branch in the corner of the training hall. He then began to illustrate his point by drawing on the ground. "Look. You absorb the mana from outside, and… you rotate it this way. Around the heart and mana heart," Lloyd explained as he drew a heart.
"Do you mean that I should create a mana circle and wrap the heart with it?" Javier inquired.
"That's it. A circle. It's a good name." Lloyd confirmed.
"But what about the natural mana in your body…?"
"You don't have to mix the two. You operate it separately. Your natural mana works inside your mana heart, while the other one will rotate your mana heart from the outside in a circular form. What do you think?"
"Hey, I'm just suggesting here. You know that I'm just a noob with this stuff. I guess I was just able to think outside the box," Lloyd commented. "Well, you can always try it out if you're doubtful."
"I will." Javier immediately nodded his head. It appeared that he understood what his young master meant. After that, Lloyd talked no more. He simply stepped aside and watched Javier test out the new method.
Sometime later…
Javier finally opened his eyes. He turned and looked at Lloyd.
"Thank you."
Ding Dong.
[Your approval rating with Javier Asrahan has increased by five points.]
[Current RP with Javier Asrahan: -22]
[You have earned 90 RP by improving relationships with main characters.]
[Current RP: 187]
[Your relationship state with Javier Asrahan has been changed from hatred to awkward.]
[You have earned 5 RP as a bonus for the improvement.]
[Current RP: 192]
He did it.
He could tell from how Javier thanked him. And his gaze was a little bit different too. It was more adoring. Not only that, but the approval rating message proved that Javier succeeded.
"Did it go well?" Lloyd asked him nonetheless.
"Yes, Master Lloyd," Javier replied.
"What about the circle?"
"It worked," Javier answered, his voice sounding a little exhilarated. "But I created several circles because it seemed inefficient to utilize just one circle and focus all the absorbed mana there."
"How many did you make?"
"Three."
"Dang."
First, he succeeds in separating the mana at the first attempt, and now he creates three circles in one go? Lloyd once again realized that Javier was a knight with enormous potential. I guess it's just a matter of time until he becomes a sword master.
Currently, Javier was a high-level sword expert, so he still had a way to go before he could step up and move on to the next level. But since he was able to create three circles around the mana heart, fighting a sword master shouldn't take that much of a toll on him. If he's lucky, the fight might end up in a draw.
The advantage of using the Asrahan Core Technique was that it empowered the users to go beyond their current level. That was possible because it absorbed the mana from an external source to be added to the existing mana. Each circle was like a supplementary engine added to the main one.
Javier's success reminded Lloyd of what happened in the novel. Javier completes the Asrahan Core Technique when he is a sword master. As soon as he perfects it, he creates four circles or the quadra-circles. That alone equips him with unrivaled power among his fellow sword masters. And when he rises as the grandmaster, he succeeds in creating penta-circles. In the final part of the epic, he achieves the extraordinary feat of hexa-circles. The story states that the amount of mana Javier uses in one motion far exceeds that of a dragon heart.
But of course, Javier was ignorant of all of this. He had no idea that he had just fast-forwarded the beginning of his epic story, the completion of the Asrahan Core Technique, by five years.
Lloyd was dazed, basking in joy to witness such a legendary moment up close. But he shook his head because it wasn't the time to be impressed. It didn't put food on his table. This was the time to seize any opportunities that would make him rich.
"You must be grateful to me, aren't you, Javier?" Lloyd said, his voice sounding meaningful and suggestive.
"Yes, Master Lloyd," Javier replied.
"I guess now you have a reason to teach me then."
"Pardon?" Javier frowned.
"The Asrahan Core Technique," Lloyd said as he took a step forward. "Eh? What's that attitude? Don't tell me that you're just going to thank me and turn around and leave."
"But Master Lloyd…"
"Yeah, what is it?"
"I believe that you should learn the basics first — how to reinforce and draw the mana — that is more important."
"Yeah, so?"
"So why don't you learn the basics first and my technique later?"
"Yeah… No." Lloyd flatly rejected the offer. That was mainly because the duel was happening in two weeks. He was in a hurry. "Try to put yourself in my shoes," Lloyd explained. "Do you think that this basic mana training would come in useful at a duel that's happening in fifteen days?"
"I do not think it will," Javier confessed.
"Right? So, I guess what you're saying is that I should just lose the duel, right? I know. I know what you're thinking right now, Javier. Look at the long-term. Immediate defeat wouldn't harm me much. It's better to master the basics," Lloyd stated. "You're not wrong about that. It really isn't wrong. But to me, it is wrong."
"How so?"
"Because this duel matters a lot to me." Lloyd was telling the truth. Sir Neumann had already betrayed the baron behind everyone's back. And Lloyd finally had the chance to make an example out of him and show everyone what happens to those who betray the barony.
But if he lost, that would be it for him. Everything would be a mess. He needed this fiefdom to stay wealthy and comfortable for the rest of his life.
"I must win, come hell or high water," Lloyd stated, his voice brimming with determination. "And I'm going to learn the Asrahan Core Technique."
"But what if I say no?" Javier asked.
"Oh, is that how you want to play this? Well, I have my ways then." Lloyd smiled brightly.
He had a surefire offer that would get Javier to accept the deal.
"If you don't teach me your technique, say goodbye to my lullaby service."
"What? Why? What? Why are you looking at me like that? You think that's a cheap shot?"
"A little bit," Javier confessed.
"Well, there is no such thing as a free lunch. You can always teach me your technique if you feel wronged."
Javier was deep in thought.
Lloyd flashed a meaningful smile. You won't be able to reject the deal. I know because you've already tasted the bliss of peaceful uninterrupted sleep.
For the past few days, Javier has been sleeping like a baby, thanks to Lloyd's recitation of the lectures he learned back when he was a civil engineering student. Lloyd was confident that Javier's heart sank when he announced the possible cancellation of the lullaby service. We humans are like that. It sucks more when we've received something only for it to be taken away.
This was a universal truth.
There was no going back after experiencing the convenience and comfort of certain objects and services provided. People can't go back to using payphones because they know how convenient it is to use smartphones. It's the same with robot vacuums, height-boosting insoles, food delivery apps, social sharing sites, and elevators. The discomfort of living without them becomes too overwhelming to bear.
Javier must be going through this right now. He had been suffering from insomnia for many years now, and he had just learned what it was like to rest well. There was no going back for him. Just as Lloyd expected, Javier nodded in affirmation.
"Whew… All right."
"All right, what?"
"I will teach you my Asrahan Core Technique."
"Good choice." Lloyd clenched his fists. I knew it. All your sword skills will eventually be mine.
The Asrahan Core Technique.
It was time to master it.
****
Time flew. The day of the duel was getting closer. Training never stopped for the entire time. Lloyd's basic stamina improved manyfold. He also focused on the Asrahan Core Technique.
Lloyd had commissioned a blacksmith to create a special weapon for him. "It has to be pure steel. Here's the design," Lloyd said as he held out the design to the blacksmith.
"Master Lloyd? What is this?"
"It's the design for my weapon. Why? Is it strange?"
"No, but how are you going to fight with this…?" the blacksmith muttered.
"No questions, please. Can you make it?"
"Eh? Y-yes."
"I'll leave you to it, then."
The blacksmith was dumbfounded when he received the design from Lloyd. He looked at it several times. It didn't look like a suitable weapon to be used in a fight. But what could he do? The blacksmith knew what Lloyd was like: the son of the feudal lord and the worst hooligan in the land. He wouldn't dare work up the courage to criticize Lloyd's request.
A few days later.
It was finally the day.
The duel was happening today.
"Young Master, the blacksmith delivered the weapon." The weapon Lloyd commissioned was delivered to the estate. As he heard the maid announce the delivery, Lloyd softly clenched his fists.
The Asrahan Core Technique. And my special weapon… Everything was all set.
Sir Neumann. You're so dead. Lloyd's eyes flashed with fierce determination.
At last, the day had come for him to trim a weed.
Translator: https://bettertranslation9.wordpress.com