Yuri closed the distance.
Since Jared loved playing with spacing so much, Yuri simply reduced that distance to zero—or even less.
Once their bodies tangled together, for the first time since the duel began, a wooden sword made contact.
Thwack!
Jared's wooden sword struck Yuri's thigh.
"Damn, that hurts!"
Yuri laughed as he swung his sword in return, and Jared narrowly dodged it.
Not missing the opening, Yuri used centrifugal force to launch a spinning kick. Jared, taking the hit, staggered back and swung his sword at Yuri's ankle.
"Guh!"
"Ow!"
Yuri had taken the worse of it.
But he didn't care. Limping slightly, he pressed Jared again.
The two wooden swords clashed fiercely, each seeking an opening. But in the end, it was Yuri who kept taking the damage.
"Damn it, is it still not enough…?"
There was no way he could win anyway.
Even with the memories of his past life, Yuri was still just a young boy, while Jared was a grown knight.
Still, Yuri moved forward.
He took another hit.
"Urgh!"
And countered again.
This time, his blow glanced off.
The pain lingered, but Yuri still swung his sword.
Kaang!
His hand went numb.
Gripping the sword tightly, Yuri lunged forward.
He kept picking up speed.
Jared thrust at his chest. Yuri dodged by a hair's breadth and counterattacked.
His sword brushed Jared's side.
His first successful hit.
"That's what I'm talking about!"
Yuri shouted.
Jared bit his lip.
He had the overwhelming advantage—yet somehow, he felt like he was being pushed back.
He knew exactly why.
"What's wrong? You nervous?"
Jared caught his breath as he glanced at the snickering Third Prince.
Yuri kept advancing.
Even as he got hit and knocked down, he continued pushing forward.
"Jared. Is this really all you've got?"
Their wooden swords clashed again.
The close-quarters battle resumed.
Even after coming this far, Yuri tried to inch even closer.
Jared was wrapped in a sense of discomfort.
This one… was different.
This prince was not like him.
"Come at me for real!"
He pushed himself to his limits—and beyond.
There were times he made mistakes and paid the price, but the prince wasn't afraid of that. He threw himself into each moment without hesitation.
Shame began to rise.
"Are you holding back on me?"
"No, sir."
Their wooden swords crossed again.
This time, Jared showed no mercy and went straight for the opening. Yuri was struck in the side and dropped to one knee, but still swung back.
Jared dodged backward, then stepped in and struck Yuri's arm.
"Urgh!"
Yuri gritted his teeth and refused to let go of his wooden sword.
Jared struck his arm again.
He thought the match would end this time, but Yuri suddenly dropped flat to the ground and struck Jared's ankle.
As Jared bent his knee, Yuri rolled to the side and swung his sword once more.
Jared tried to block and counter at the same time, but Yuri's rapid strikes were faster. Jared blocked with his arm and swung back with his wooden sword.
Even he knew it was a sloppy move. In a real battle, he would've lost that arm.
A mistake a knight should never make.
His opponent was just a young boy, and yet nothing was going as expected.
Yuri, constantly provoking a chaotic fight, was starting to get on his nerves.
"Haa…"
Yuri didn't tire. He kept charging in.
Should I just overpower him with brute force?
With that thought, Jared moved.
His mind wavered, and instinctively, mana surged up his meridians.
The knights shouted.
"Jared!"
Realizing what was happening, Jared quickly altered his sword's path—but not in time. The unretracted wooden sword grazed Yuri's forehead.
Strands of cut hair scattered in the air.
Blood trickled down from Yuri's forehead.
Jared's eyes widened.
"Your Highness!"
Red stained one of Yuri's eyes.
"I—I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to… it was a mistake…"
Just as Jared, flustered, was about to drop his sword and kneel in apology—
Clang!
Yuri swung his sword, and Jared instinctively blocked.
"What's the matter?"
Yuri grinned and wiped the blood away with his sleeve.
"Is this your first time in a spar?"
"But your injury…"
"Now it's finally getting fun."
Yuri laughed as he charged forward again.
"No reason to stop now!"
His fierce momentum forced Jared to respond.
The bleeding prince and the flustered knight clashed swords again and again.
"More!"
Yuri shouted, swinging his sword in a wide arc.
"Fight me properly!"
As Jared received the prince's force head-on, something stirred deep inside him—something he couldn't name.
Even when facing knights far stronger than himself, he had never felt this way before.
"Damn it!"
For the first time, Jared cursed under his breath and matched Yuri's attack head-on.
The sound of wooden swords clashing echoed through the training ground.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Their momentum rose, the battle growing more intense by the second.
The wooden swords slammed against each other once more.
Kaang!
Yuri's sword shattered, and its fragments spun through the air before hitting the ground.
Yuri and Jared locked eyes.
Words weren't needed—they both knew.
The duel was over.
"It's over," Yuri said first, since Jared was too stunned to speak.
Grinning, Yuri reached out his hand.
"I learned something today, Jared."
"N-no, Your Highness…"
Snapping out of it, Jared reached out and took the offered hand.
"Well fought."
Still holding Yuri's hand, Jared looked at the youthful face of the Third Prince.
A fierce fighting spirit he had never seen before.
Had he ever shown such relentless determination for anything in his life?
"What are you doing?"
"Huh?"
"I said, what are you doing holding hands like that?"
Yuri furrowed his brow.
"You just made a prince bleed and you're standing around like nothing happened?"
"S-sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Finally coming to his senses, Jared jumped into action in a panic.
"Seriously…"
And with that, Yuri collapsed flat onto the ground.
The knights applauded him, but Yuri didn't care—he just focused on catching his breath.
"..."
Someone was watching the scene.
"Ah, Captain. When did you get here?"
"A little while ago."
Captain of the royal guard, Sanned silently looked at Yuri, then bent down and picked something up from the ground.
A fragment of the broken wooden sword.
He stared at it, then looked at Yuri lying flat in the training ground.
***
After the spar with Jared, Yuri kept him close.
"I just finished my shift…"
"And?"
"I was just saying."
"Follow me."
"I have to train…"
"Looks like you've straightened out your attitude. Now, who do you think made that happen? Don't you think you should repay the favor?"
"…"
At Yuri's words, Jared let out a sigh.
"Understood."
"Good."
Ever since that spar, Jared had begun training in earnest. Yuri still thought he had a long way to go, but he was clearly different from before.
This much would do for now.
The real human reform could begin later, step by step.
"I was going to bring more people, but I've decided to trust just you, Jared."
"Are you about to do something dangerous?"
"Whether it's dangerous or not depends entirely on you."
"If it's something dangerous for you, Your Highness, then I must refuse."
"You don't have the right to refuse. Come."
"I can't."
"Should I bring one more person?"
"Who…?"
"Oh, look who's passing by."
Yuri shouted toward a man walking by in the distance.
"Hey!"
The man flinched when he spotted Yuri and tried to pretend he didn't see him.
"Ernando!"
At Yuri's continued shouting, the man finally let out a deep sigh and approached.
He was a slender man who looked completely unfit for combat.
"What is it, Your Highness?"
"I need your help."
"I'm busy…"
"I'll wipe out your debt."
At Yuri's words, the man's eyes widened.
"Seriously?"
"Have you ever seen me lie?"
"You've lied a lot…"
"Not in the gambling den. Outside."
"Not outside, no."
"See? I'm trustworthy, right?"
"Not exactly."
"Why not?"
"Well, I've never seen you when I didn't have cards in my hand."
Ernando was a mage who served as an advisor to Fiore, and he had lost a fortune to Yuri in the gambling den.
"I'm not lying. I'll clear your debt."
"Well then…"
"Is that enough?"
"Shouldn't we put it in writing first?"
"What?"
"Better to trust ink than a tongue."
"Trust me."
Yuri, offended, pointed to himself.
"I am Yuri Briol."
"Yeah, well…"
At Ernando's unenthusiastic response, Yuri grew furious.
Was the name of a prince worth so little?
"Jared."
"Yes?"
"You vouch for me. Testify that I, Yuri Briol, gave my word."
"Understood."
"Is that good enough?"
"Hmm…"
Ernando stroked his chin as he studied Jared's face.
"What are you looking at?"
"Your physiognomy."
"…"
"You don't have the face of someone completely untrustworthy. Jared, was it?"
"Yes."
"Alright. So, Your Highness, what exactly are you planning to do?"
"An expedition."
"Sounds nice. To where?"
"A dungeon."
"Excuse me?"
"We're going into a dungeon."
With that, Yuri pulled up the hood he had been holding.
"First, we escape the palace."
***
Yuri was walking through a dark tunnel with Jared and Ernando.
The torch flickered wildly, casting light ahead.
"How did you know about this place?"
"Just stumbled upon it."
The tunnel was a secret passage leading out of the royal palace. It had been built as an escape route for royalty in times of crisis, and before the war, very few even knew it existed.
This was Yuri's second time walking this path — the first had been in his previous life.
"Where does it lead?"
"To Sword Mountain."
"Sword Mountain?"
Sword Mountain was a small hill outside the royal capital, said to be the place where the progenitor of Briol had once trained with the sword.
Originally, it had been a large and majestic mountain, but according to legend, it had been carved down by countless sword strikes.
Of course, like most legends, it was likely exaggerated.
But the fact that someone had trained with a sword there was true.
In his previous life, the empire that brought Briol to ruin had discovered a dungeon in Sword Mountain.
"Why are we going there?"
"Just shut up and follow me. Before I cancel your debt forgiveness."
"Alright, alright. You're so overbearing. It's hard to keep up, right, Sir Jared?"
"Well, yes…"
They eventually reached the end of the tunnel.
A large iron gate stood firmly shut, as if it hadn't been opened in ages.
The lock was massive and rusted, looking like it wouldn't budge even if they had the key.
"Jared."
"Yes."
But what if the royal guard were deployed?
When Yuri jerked his chin, Jared scratched his head and raised his sword.
A bright blue aura flared from the blade.
This was the true power of the mana method.
A sword imbued with mana could slice through solid iron like tofu.
CLANG!
A sharp impact rang out.
But the lock didn't break.
Perhaps driven by pride, Jared kept striking the lock.
Ernando scratched the back of his head.
"That lock could probably withstand a beating from the royal guard."
"It's tough."
"A key would be nice right about now."
"I have one."
"Where?"
"Right here."
Yuri pulled an old key from his coat.
"Here it is."
Jared and Ernando looked at Yuri with incredulous expressions.
"Why did you make me do that, then?"
To Jared's question, Yuri just shrugged.
"Just felt like it?"
He had simply been curious whether mana aura could break the lock.
"Where did you get that key?"
"You don't need to know."
The key had been shoved away in a corner of the royal library, its true purpose unknown even to Fiore, the current monarch.
Just before the fall of the royal family, Yuri had scoured the records and found the key—but the delay had cost him dearly.
A bitter memory.
When Yuri brought the key close, the lock opened.
He took both the key and the lock with him.
Ernando's eyes widened.
"Was it an artifact?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you say so?"
"You should've figured it out."
"Well, seeing how even Sir Jared couldn't break it…"
He looked like he badly wanted it, but Yuri had no intention of handing it over.
"If you'd just lend it to me for a moment…"
"Not happening."
"I'll give it back right away after examining it—"
"Shut it."
"Your Highness?"
Ignoring Ernando, Yuri started walking.
Soon they came to a staircase, and after passing through the cave, they emerged into the open.
Under the blue sky, Sword Mountain stood before them.
The sharp-edged leaves covering the rugged terrain filtered the sunlight and distorted their view.
Yuri smiled.
"They say the progenitor of Briol attained enlightenment at Sword Mountain."
"Sounds made up to me."
Ernando folded his arms, prompting Jared to glance at him.
"You shouldn't say that in front of His Highness…"
"Why not? Do you believe it, Your Highness? Here's my take — the mountain was originally called Sword Mountain because of the abundance of Tigris trees with blade-like leaves. Later, to elevate the royal family's sacred image, they made up a tale about the progenitor training here. That's my theory. Pretty rational, no?"
Yuri looked unimpressed.
"Whatever. How would I know?"
"You're not interested?"
"There is one thing I know for sure — the progenitor did train with a sword here."
"How do you know that?"
"There are ways."
"So, are you planning to train here too?"
"No."
Yuri pointed toward Sword Mountain and declared:
"We're here to loot the progenitor's dungeon."