The Birth of the Demon Sword

Underhanded

Chapter 11 - 11. Underhanded

The next morning Noah woke up at dawn, the first light of the day disturbing him.

He got out of bed and was ready to go wash his face when he stopped in place.

'I have never been bothered by the first daylight before!'

He entered his sea of consciousness with a focus on the center of his brain. When his half-transparent figure opened his eyes, he could see that the sea level had returned to its original level of half a sphere.

'So one night of sleep is enough to fill half of the sea! I'll test again in the afternoon for how long I can stay in training'

What he didn't know was that since he was a transmigrant, his mind was much stronger than that of an average child his age. Overall, his mental age was around 35 years old and the events in both of his lives contributed to strengthening his mind even more, so that it could endure looking at the runes for a much longer time than any young man. If a 10-year-old saw the Kesier Rune for 4 consecutive hours, his mind would be shattered.

When he approached the bowl of water and washed his face, he shivered slightly. The water looks cooler than usual.

"Why is the water so cold?"

He asked the servant who passed by while pointing at the bowl.

The servant placed his hand on the bowl and looked at Noah with a puzzled expression.

"The water feels the same temperature as usual, young master. Could you catch a cold? Do you want me to call the madam?"

Noah was a little surprised by his answer but then he thought of something.

'Could it be possible for my senses to become more sensitive with just one training session? It shouldn't be that fast, right?'

"No, it's okay, get on with your work."

He fired the waiter and went for breakfast.

'I will ask Master when I see him. Now I have to focus on the twin sword style.'

He returned to his room, opened the martial arts book and took out two swords.

He did the same thing he used to do whenever a guard would "give" him a form or a martial technique: shut himself in his room and practice until the movement became a habit.

However this time, he found it difficult in managing two swords simultaneously.

'I think it is very difficult to get used to it, as Master said. I can only practice more until I can use these moves in actual combat'.

Like this, the day passed.

Noah came out of his room only to take his lunch and finish his dinner by reading the closed Forging of the Seven Hells in his room. When he felt that he had digested, it was already night. He closed his book and took out a Kesier rune from his clothes. As his most important asset, he would always keep it with him.

He stared at the runes sitting on his bed and continued walking until the water level within the sea of his consciousness dropped below a fifth of the ball then he folded the sheet.

Some vomit ran through him but he pressed it with his eyes closed until it disappeared. Only then did he look out the window to understand how much time he had spent practicing.

'About four more hours, even by reaching my absolute limit. It seems that practicing all day will burden the mind, otherwise I believe I can hold it for about five hours.'

Even though he had reached the limit his body could withstand, about a fifth of the sphere, he remained in the sea of consciousness for the same time as the night before. He added another question to the list of questions he should ask his Master once he saw it.

'If tomorrow morning I wake up well too, I will keep going as I did today. The training all day was exhausting and this terrible headache left me desperate, but I was able to survive! What does a little sweat and pain mean when compared to strength?'

Reaffirming his determination, he lay in bed completely exhausted both body and mind and slept soundly.

Checking that everything was going smoothly in his sea of consciousness and that despite some pain from his limbs that had fully recovered, he chose to repeat the same action the previous day. He practiced from morning to evening in the style of twin swords, read the Forging of the Seven Hells over dinner and digested it and practiced with the Kesier runes at night until his body almost vomited.

Like this, the day of his meeting with William arrived.

In the same spacious room from the previous week, Noah was sitting on his knees staring at his Master who was standing in front of him. He was waiting for William to finish his yawn before asking him to clarify some of his doubts.

"Master, ever since I started training my mental energy, I can see the morning light through the window during my sleep. What's more, everything seems colder or warmer than before and I'm pretty sure I can hear some waitresses whispering in another room if I concentrate enough."

Noah never slackened at the time and his perceptual changes became more and more real.

William was a little surprised when he first heard that but then remembered how stubborn his disciple was when it came to training. He thought that he should impose more restrictions on his training habits before Noah injured himself out of exhaustion.

"It looks like you are training very hard on the Kesier Rune. I remember when I first started training my mental energy at the age of 15, I was unable to continue it for more than 2 hours before the collapse. I remember the captain calling me a rare genius! Haha, don't worry, as you grow, your mind barrier will harden and become stronger, allowing you to practice longer."

Noah fell silent, looking at his master with wide eyes. William wore a proud expression and thought:

'Yes, that's right, your master is a genius. Are you comparing yourself to me now, right?'

A slight smirk appeared on his face as he thought that he had finally earned the respect of the child.

'Wait wait wait wait wait wait, did he say that he fainted ONLY after 2 hours? A rare genius, is he? What is the twin of a rare genius? Perhaps because my mind has lived another life, it can be considered a fully formed mind, so I can practice for the same period of time as an adult male when I was 10. Isn't it the same as saying that as long as I don't slack off, no one of my age will ever reach me?'

Noah's mouth became slightly dry and then he gulped. Trying to shift the focus of the conversation away from the hours of training, he quizzed William about his other doubts.

"How much did you take, Master, to memorize the first rune?"

William smile grew and said with a proud smile:

"About 6 years, but I could have done it in 5 if not for the captain always sending me on missions"

'So, if I continue like this, I might actually become a rank 1 magician in 3 years! Maybe the process will be slower because my dantian is still not formed, but it is very good!'

Noah already wanted to stop this conversation with his master and return to his room to train, he was anxious to understand what it was like to cast a magic spell.

William dropped his arrogant pose and looked at him with a smile.

"You've been practicing with the twin sword style as well, right?"

"Yes sir"

Noah replied, remembering the main reason he came that day.

"Do you want to show it to me?"

"Yes, help! Sir, don't be so lenient with me."

Noah stood up and took out 2 training swords from the wall behind him.

"Don't worry, I won't do it."

William said, putting his left hand behind his back and raising his right hand to his chest, the side of the hand pointing to Noah.

The atmosphere in the room changed.

Seriate...