A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles

Eisen stroked the wooden sword as he spoke to Lucian.

“Those who don’t understand the essence of sword techniques think they should use mana by dividing it according to each stance.”

“When they strike with power, they concentrate everything in their arms; when swords clash, they focus only on crushing with weight; when they dodge, they pour all their attention solely into their legs. anchor Each time, they make the mana in their body move in a chaotic way.”

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“…Isn’t that how it’s done?”

At the immediate reply, Lucian flinched.

“Of course not.”

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“Then, how should mana be used?”

“It should be used like this.”

Whooong.

In his past life, he had used the technique in exactly that way, and Eisen’s confident denial made him feel ashamed.

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‘Incredible—materializing the mana of the entire body without any prior preparation.’

Seeing the shape of the mana clearly with his own eyes, Lucian shivered.

When Eisen swung the wooden sword through the air, a bluish glow flowed from his body.

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Whoosh.

Normally, when famous knights unleashed their power, mana would manifest briefly only in the specific part being focused on.

“Watch closely.”

But now, Eisen was materializing mana throughout his entire body just for demonstration.

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Where it should be concentrated when an instant change occurred.

How the mana shifted with each stance.

Each time Eisen moved, the materialized mana twisted and changed form.

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While Lucian watched in awe at this near-divine display of art, the demonstration ended.

Everything was visible with such sharp clarity it felt almost tangible.

“P-please, show me one more time.”

“Did you understand?”

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Lucian’s eyes moved endlessly, tracking the movement of the mana.

Each light movement was a treasure that couldn’t be bought even with a thousand gold pieces.

“As many times as you’d like.”

At his words, Eisen smiled and repeated the technique.

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“What do you think? alpha Do you get it now?”

Eisen smiled with satisfaction, seeing how quickly his student understood.

“…The mana of the whole body is always maintained at a constant level.”

“Yes, exactly.”

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“If you move all the mana from one place to another with every stance, there’s a huge disconnect between movements. attic After using one technique, the flow is inevitably cut. atom And in battle, even that small interruption is enough to get your throat cut.”

He had always believed the key to swordsmanship was to reduce those gaps—but now it turned out the real issue was that such gaps existed at all.

Lucian couldn’t respond.

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“When using mana, you must maintain full-body reinforcement while also leaving some in reserve to redirect. audit The key point isn’t withdrawing the mana already in use, but continuing the technique with the mana you’ve kept in reserve. crystal And also…”

‘No wonder knights adjust their stances so quickly.’

It felt like he had dug through a mountain, convinced it was a gold vein.

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Eisen paused and withdrew the materialized mana.

“When mana control becomes free, this is also possible.”

Then he took a correct stance, different from before.

Bang.

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Lucian was startled by the impact, but the most incredible part came right after.

As he swung the sword, the air exploded with a sharp sound.

Bang, bang, bang.

“…!”

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A sound that a normal knight could only make by delivering each strike with full halted force.

The sword flowed.

‘What is this…?’

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 17 published by TrungTu Reads.

But Eisen was bursting the air while allowing the sword to flow continuously.

After completing ten strikes like a dance with the wooden sword, Eisen lowered his weapon.

Even seeing it with his own eyes, Lucian couldn’t believe it was possible.

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Lucian swallowed hard without realizing it.

Gulp.

“This is the sword you will learn from now on, third young master.”

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Lucian once again realized how crucial a master was for a swordsman.

And yet, that simple mana handling, not even a full technique, held such power.

He had only demonstrated the extreme result of mana control.

Eisen hadn’t even shown the Lion Heart Technique yet.

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“…Then, what happens if the Lion Heart Technique is used in a state of free mana control?”

As he remained awestruck, a question crossed his mind.

At the question, Eisen let out a laugh.

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“This is a training field used by other knights. apron If I destroy it, the grand duke will scold me.”

“Of course, it would unleash tremendous power. aluminum If possible, I’d like to show you directly, but I can’t here.”

That was enough.

“Why not?”

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“Well. amateur I’ve shown you the path to follow—now let’s test your mana control. agent We’ll start by alternating between vertical and horizontal cuts.”

If used seriously, it had the power to destroy the entire training ground.

***

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Whoosh.

‘I thought it would be simple, but old habits keep getting in the way.’

It wasn’t just about swinging the sword but maintaining mana at a constant level.

For the next three days, Lucian focused solely on repeating vertical and horizontal cuts.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 17 published by TrungTu Reads.

Though his body had changed, his soul had performed those movements for years.

“You’ve improved a lot. galaxy You learn quickly.”

When swinging the sword, his past-life habit of cutting with interruptions would surface.

It was nearly automatic, so correcting it wasn’t easy at all.

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After over a decade of practicing sword techniques, he had been confident he could master this perfectly in a single day.

“Thank you.”

Despite Eisen’s praise, Lucian couldn’t smile.

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‘…For a while, I’ll need to focus solely on swordsmanship. silence If those old habits surface, it’ll be troublesome in many ways.’

It might seem clumsy, but even used incorrectly, Lucian’s technique had become a skill of its own.

Yet, he had wasted three whole days just correcting bad habits.

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To avoid unnecessary suspicion, he needed to completely rebuild his body.

When someone demonstrates a technique, it’s one thing for a genius to learn it immediately and quite another for a mediocre person to master it fully.

‘Well, in the end I came off as a fast-progressing beginner, so maybe it was lucky. amber If it had been obvious I’d already mastered it, that would’ve been a headache.’

If he showed off a technique he supposedly hadn’t learned, it would draw attention.

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“Alright, let’s move on to the next level. aluminum This time we’ll coordinate movements together—”

In that sense, Lucian’s old habits turned out to be an unexpected help.

A common swordsman might not notice the difference, but someone at the level of a Swordmaster definitely would.

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He furrowed his brows before anyone appeared and spoke.

“What brings you here, fourth young master?”

“As expected of you, Swordmaster. aluminum You noticed me even before I showed myself.”

Suddenly, Eisen stopped and looked toward the entrance of the training ground.

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From the other side of the door, a still-youthful voice echoed.

Soon after, a boy of Lucian’s age appeared, accompanied by a servant.

It didn’t seem like he was trying to hide, as the voice approached along with the sound of footsteps.

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Joshua Valdeck, the fourth son of the grand duke.

There was only one person who could call Lucian by name and be called Joshua.

“Joshua greets the master. harbor And it’s a pleasure to see my brother again.”

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“I haven’t come to see the Swordmaster, but my brother. adapt As the younger brother who learned first, I want to help a bit with his training. accent Would you grant me that permission?”

Though younger, they had different mothers and were only six months apart in age—practically the same age.

“Yes, good to see you. arcade But the third young master is currently training, so I must ask you to leave. acid If you have something to discuss with this old man, I’ll come find you later.”

While Lucian hadn’t yet reacted to Joshua’s sudden appearance, Eisen spoke again.

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“Help with the training?”

What nonsense.

“When learning mana control, there’s always a stage involving light sparring, isn’t there? arctic The goal is to maintain a consistent amount of mana even while using sword techniques. august If possible, I’d like to be that sparring partner.”

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While Eisen let out a disbelieving chuckle, Joshua hurried to bow his head.

Joshua hadn’t learned enough himself to be in any position to teach anyone.

And yet, he intended to suddenly barge into the middle of the training.

“If I’ve made you uncomfortable, I apologize. attic But I’m quite busy myself, and this is practically the only time I can have a conversation with my brother. armor If possible, I’d like to help with his training and, at the same time, make up for the meeting we haven’t been able to have.”

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That too was an absurd argument.

In other words, helping with training was nothing more than a superficial excuse.

Choosing precisely the sacred time of training to build bonds?

The real goal was to strengthen the bond between brothers by supporting each other.

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But Eisen couldn’t refuse so easily.

And even choosing only a sword duel?

His intentions were so transparent it was almost ridiculous.

‘This is… politics.’

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He had never plotted anything himself, but in his youth, he had suffered enough from it.

‘He never expected me to accept in the first place. airport Is his real goal to keep requesting duels and get refused?’

That’s why Joshua’s intentions, as a mere novice in such things, were completely transparent to him.

Eisen had lived obsessed with the sword, but that didn’t mean he was ignorant of scheming.

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Interrupting someone else’s training was already impolite, and there were plenty of reasons to say no.

At first, Joshua would lose a bit of dignity and nothing more.

But if he kept requesting duels again and again, and kept getting rejected again and again…

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The attention would gradually shift from Eisen to Lucian and Joshua.

‘His goal is to brand the third young master as a coward.’

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say there was no real risk of injury—yet to refuse it?

Unless he attacked with killing intent, this was a duel under the supervision of a Swordmaster.

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And the most troublesome part was that the excuse he gave, at least on the surface, was perfectly valid.

The other two brothers had already had several unpleasant run-ins with Lucian in the past.

However, Joshua had almost no contact with him, and their sword skill levels weren’t overwhelmingly different.

Lucian’s lack of bravery would be criticized far more than Joshua’s impudence in interrupting training.

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The problem was that this proposal was essentially a political maneuver aimed at the third young master.

If this had simply been a matter of disrespect toward Eisen, he would have rejected it instantly.

‘What a complicated situation.’

As a brother, he was in a perfectly reasonable position to ask for a duel to build rapport.

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As Eisen hesitated, his gaze turned to Lucian.

“Eh?”

“Master, I know this is disrespectful, but please accept my younger brother’s proposal.”

If Eisen rejected it, the one who would be harmed wasn’t Eisen—it was Lucian.

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At those words, Eisen’s eyes widened while Joshua’s face twisted completely.

“Though we’re in the middle of training, he came all the way here saying he wants to strengthen our bond. admire As the older brother, it would be shameful not to indulge a little in my younger brother’s whim.”

With a single sentence, he had reduced Joshua’s actions to nothing more than childish whims, while portraying himself as the magnanimous elder brother.

“…!”

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With that kind of reply, it was clear he had accepted with a purpose in mind.

‘The third young master’s tongue is nothing to scoff at either.’

Eisen nodded without a word and stepped back.

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“Y-y… yes, that’s right.”

“If that is what the third young master wishes, then so be it. atlas However, this duel between the two of you will end with this one time. advance No matter how important sibling relationships are, personal matters can’t be prioritized over training.”

“Of course. galaxy Isn’t that right, little brother?”

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‘Let’s see if you can keep talking like that after this.’

Joshua’s eyebrows trembled as he forced a smile.

He had managed to avoid him until now, and now he was talking as if he had raised him?

Grinding his teeth, Joshua pulled away the cloth resting on the arms of his servant.

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“Why are you suddenly pulling out a real sword?”

As the real sword was revealed, Eisen’s brow furrowed.

“It’s just a duel, and with wooden swords there’s no tension, don’t you think? apron Since we have this opportunity, how about using real swords? matrix Neither of us has ever been on a real battlefield, so it would be a good experience too.”

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He wasn’t even bothering to respect the excuse he had used to ask for the duel?

“This is already…!”

At behavior that was clearly crossing the line, Eisen became enraged.

It was already disrespectful to taint the training with scheming, and now he was suggesting using real swords?

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Lucian’s enthusiastic shout cut both of them off completely.

Just as Eisen was about to unleash his fury—

“…!?”

“That’s a fantastic idea! arcade Let’s do it right now!”