Yuri lifted the corners of his mouth.
To be surprised by just this much—this was only the beginning.
He was a man who had lived once and regressed. With the memories of his past life, he was confident he could grow even faster.
In the near future, the Empire would reveal its ambitions and invade Briol.
Yuri had no intention of sitting back and watching that happen.
No matter what it took, he would crush them.
This life would be different.
"Hey."
Yuri rose from his seat.
"Still confused."
Even if he could see the flow of mana, it wasn't enough to immediately master the Mana Method.
So he needed to experience it more with his body.
Yuri raised his sword.
"Let's do this properly."
The dummy raised its sword to face him.
Its body was completely transparent, so he couldn't make out any changes in expression, but to Yuri, it looked as if the dummy was smiling.
The fight resumed.
The dummy attacked fiercely.
It even used killing moves that shouldn't be used against a mere thirteen-year-old kid.
When the startled Yuri rolled across the ground to dodge, the thing struck the ground, pursuing him relentlessly.
Yuri kept rolling, barely escaping the range of attack.
"So this is the level…"
Forcing his aching body to stand, Yuri grinned.
He had never thought his second life would be easy.
As he had told Jared, if one wanted to grow stronger, they couldn't stay in a safe zone. They had to step into more dangerous and challenging territory.
Even with great talent—or rather, especially with great talent—one had to shed more blood.
Humans grow stronger in proportion to the blood they shed.
"This is all you've got? Come at me for real."
Provoked by Yuri, the dummy responded with even more aggressive attacks.
It was difficult just to parry them.
But Yuri understood.
This thing adjusted its difficulty to a level he could handle.
So running away here would be a betrayal of his ancestor, Erich Briol's expectations.
He opened his eyes wide.
Gripped his sword tightly.
And focused on the mana flowing vibrantly through the dummy's body.
While mimicking it, a memory from his past life surfaced.
'Mimic.'
Back when he had just become a mercenary and knew only half-decent swordsmanship, a senior mercenary had told him,
'To become the best, mimic the best.'
At the time, he'd felt some resistance to that. He thought that if he relied on mimicry, he'd only become a second-rate copy.
But as time passed, he came to understand.
Mimicry was the easiest shortcut to steal the opponent's level.
"Erich Briol, huh…"
The man who built a dynasty with his sword was now kindly tutoring him right before his eyes.
So he had to absorb everything.
Fire lit in Yuri's eyes.
He couldn't miss a single moment.
***
When Jared opened his eyes, he was standing on the drill ground.
"Huh?"
He looked around.
Had that expedition to the dungeon with the Third Prince and the sword mountain been just a dream?
"No way."
Jared muttered as he drew his sword.
The memory was far too vivid to be just a dream.
He had just been with the Death Knight beneath the sword mountain, caught in the energy erupting from a massive mana stone.
So this entire situation must be a test.
"Come out."
Then, something stepped up onto the drill ground.
"..."
Jared twisted his lips.
It looked exactly like him.
Like a doppelganger, it stood before him, sword raised.
"What's your name? Are you Jared too?"
When he asked, the fake replied.
"Jared. Do not defy your fate."
Hearing his own voice was a strange experience.
"Fate, huh?"
"Didn't you join the Royal Guard because you wanted an easy life?"
"I did."
"Stay away from the prince. The more you defy fate, the more misery awaits you."
"Fate…"
Jared looked down at the sword in his hand.
It was identical to his own.
He gave it a few swings—it moved just as he was used to.
"So if I win this fight, I pass the test, right?"
As he asked while raising his sword, the fake mirrored his movement.
A typical cliché.
When faced with a fake, you had to defeat it. Otherwise, you'd die.
"Your fate does not lie with the prince."
"Spoken like a fake—clueless."
Jared stepped forward.
The fake swung its sword.
Jared dodged with ease and counterattacked. Blood splattered from the opponent's body.
It was too easy.
Jared muttered,
"There's something I've come to realize recently."
To be exact, it was a thought that had come to him after meeting the Third Prince, Yuri.
"A sword, once swung, cannot be undone. If you keep dwelling on your last strike, it only clouds your mind."
The fake resisted, but Jared easily overwhelmed it.
Its swordsmanship was simple—focused on defense, unwilling to take risks.
Jared understood.
That was himself before he met the Third Prince.
To borrow the fake's words, it was the version of Jared that hadn't defied fate.
"How boring."
Muttering his own evaluation, Jared suddenly closed the distance.
Their striking ranges overlapped.
Without flinching from danger, eyes wide open, Jared swung his sword.
In just a brief moment, dozens of sword strikes were exchanged.
The fake was slashed into dozens of pieces and collapsed.
Watching his own body be torn apart wasn't exactly pleasant.
"..."
The fake's body melted into black goo. Then its remnants rose and took on a dark form.
Jared understood.
"So the real body is separate."
The fake grew larger, transforming into a massive monster, twice his height.
The fake had scolded him about fate—and now it became a black monster to block his path.
Perhaps it was a metaphor—this was the price of defying fate.
But as he'd said before,
A sword, once swung, could not be undone.
Jared bared his teeth and smiled.
"How fun."
***
Time passed.
Yuri rapidly mastered the techniques the dummy of Erich demonstrated.
His body was that of a highly talented boy, and his soul that of a seasoned mercenary.
How to use the Mana Method, how to move his sword in sync with it—he absorbed everything like a sponge.
The fight with the dummy was a kind of private lesson.
There were occasional dangerous moments, but the dummy didn't care—it was determined to pass on everything to Yuri.
By the time he felt familiar with Mana Method,
Yuri realized that an incredibly long time had passed.
"How long has it been…"
Focused on clashing swords the entire time, he hadn't noticed—he hadn't eaten or slept once, yet felt no fatigue.
The fact that he only now realized this meant the time had come.
Yuri lowered his sword and looked at the dummy.
The dummy also relaxed its posture and faced Yuri.
"..."
The wasteland began to fade.
The sky crumbled.
Against the backdrop of a dying world, the dummy waved its hand.
A farewell.
Yuri also waved in return.
"Thank you."
Don't mention it.
He thought he heard a voice say that.
Yuri closed his eyes—then opened them.
Before he knew it, he was standing in the dungeon again.
Blink.
Yuri realized.
Everything he had just experienced was a fleeting dream, lived out in the blink of an eye.
Looking around, he saw Jared and Ernando also wearing strange expressions.
Their appearances were the same, but there was a subtle sense of vertigo in the air.
The Death Knight, who had been sitting atop the mana stone, stood up.
[You must have had a good dream.]
"What was that just now?"
[Erich's arrangement. He believed that one day, a descendant of Briol would come looking.]
That was only half true.
In his previous life, no one had come here, and the Sword Mountain had been destroyed by the Empire.
"Did the progenitor use this Mana Method himself?"
[No. He never used it himself. It was his final legacy, combining the realizations he gained while wandering the East in his twilight years. So, you are the first inheritor.]
"Why leave it behind like this? Couldn't he have passed it on to the royal family?"
[He was waiting for the right time.]
"The right time?"
[This dungeon will not open unless the time is right.]
The Death Knight's glowing eyes flared red.
[If the dungeon has opened, then it must mean that time has come.]
"What time is that?"
[That is not for me to answer.]
"Then who?"
[Figure it out yourself.]
Yuri pressed further, but the Death Knight would not respond.
[Remember this. That Mana Method holds Erich's will. It has a meaning far more significant than you imagine.]
Yuri nodded.
Just as he said, Erich's Mana Method was deeply alien. It was entirely different from the Briol Method passed down through the royal family.
"What's the name of the Mana Method?"
[The name…]
The Death Knight paused before replying.
[He called it 'Heart-Soul Slash.']
It didn't sound like the name of a Mana Method, but Yuri accepted it.
It was both a Mana Method and a sword technique. The two were intertwined, inseparable.
[Yuri Briol.]
The Death Knight approached Yuri.
His presence was menacing.
Startled by the sudden killing intent, Jared and Ernando moved to block the Death Knight, but they were instantly thrown against the wall.
Yuri stood his ground, facing the Death Knight head-on.
[Kneel, on one knee.]
"Why?"
[To pass on the legacy of the predecessor to the heir of Briol.]
Yuri dropped to one knee and paid his respects.
The Death Knight placed his hand atop Yuri's head.
[Yuri Briol.]
With the light of the mana stone behind him, deep shadows covered the Death Knight's face.
The outline of a fallen knight, and the blazing backlight, filled Yuri's vision.
[Never fear your enemies.]
In that shattered, pained voice, Yuri thought he heard someone else's voice layered atop it.
Without realizing it, he responded.
"Yes."
The light from the mana stone flickered.
[Do what you believe is right.]
"Yes."
[Fulfill Briol's duty to the end.]
"Yes."
There were no clichés about protecting the weak or doing good.
[Remember this.]
The Death Knight suddenly grabbed Yuri's hair and twisted his head, forcing him to meet his eyes.
Yuri was forced to look straight at the Death Knight's face.
A ragged skull.
The red glow within it.
The shape of death engraved itself into Yuri's eyes.
His voice ran down Yuri's spine.
[Briol does not abandon honor. Even if it means death.]
Behind the Death Knight's skull, the light of the mana stone surged.
His body began to disintegrate.
Yet he neither released Yuri's hair nor averted his gaze.
Staring into Yuri's eyes with blazing pupils, he faded away.
[That is the oath of Briol.]
His voice was etched into Yuri's soul.
***
Their little escape, which began early in the morning, only ended around sunset.
Yuri and his group returned to the palace as cautiously as when they had first left.
The courtiers simply assumed the prince had been playing hooky somewhere and had just shown up again.
"Your Highness."
Ernando spoke to Yuri.
"I'll report today's events to His Majesty."
"Do you have to?"
"Don't you think we should?"
"Yeah. Alright."
He had no intention of stubbornly keeping it a secret. The matter was too serious for that.
"Jared, go rest. You've done well today."
"Yes."
Jared hadn't quite collected himself since returning from Sword Mountain. Yuri was curious what sort of experience he'd had, but he decided to ask tomorrow.
Parting ways with the two, Yuri didn't go straight to his room, but stopped by the royal archive.
There, he looked up records on the progenitor.
Erich Briol.
He had a brother.
But that brother had abandoned honor, and so his name was not even recorded, lost in the folds of history.
The specifics of his crime were not written.
At least a portrait remained.
A man with a gloomy face, wearing a sword at his hip.
"..."
Yuri unfastened and raised the sword he had brought back from the Sword Mountain.
'Briol does not abandon honor. Even if it means death.'
A knight who had found no rest even in death.
A sword soaked with his regrets.
Perhaps it was a fitting weapon for a sinner like himself.
"You were finally pardoned for your sin."
He had passed on Erich Briol's legacy to Yuri and ascended.
Then what about him—who, after destroying a kingdom, shamelessly lived on to enjoy a second life?
When would he receive his pardon?
Yuri wrapped his fingers tightly around the hilt of the sword.
'That is the oath of Briol.'