Iron Blooded Hound

"That is all there is to it," Vikir murmured as he shut the book. He had remembered the whole book, in exactly the same words. He had retained it so strongly that he could present it with his eyes shut, even in reverse.

And. the outcomes were soon apparent.

With a swift motion, Vikir drew his blade through the air, just as he had learned in the book. The first tooth was drawn forcefully. Then, the second, and then the third. No issues so far, for an eight-year-old.

Kirik!

Then, the fourth tooth appeared. It was the Baskerville Fourth, my specialty before relapse.

But.

...Pot!

Vikir's hand drew another sharp direction, past the Baskerville Fourth.

The Fifth Tooth. It was slightly smaller and blunter, but unmistakably a fifth tooth.

Baskerville Fifth.

What's more, it was right there, in Vikir's grasp, thinly reproduced!

"... ... on the planet."

Vikir repeated the motion he had just made several times.

The result: success.

The direction of the sword was not quite right, given the kid's small hands and short arms, but it was there nonetheless.

The fifth tooth was growing.

"... ... where's the blade?"

If I had a blade right now, I would have tried to air it.

Yet, it's impossible there's a blade in the library.

However, that doesn't mean I can't unleash Satan from his slumber in the corridor of my wrist.

Indeed, makes no difference either way.

I was so joyous it nearly brought tears to my eyes.

Something burning in my chest, rising to the top of my lungs.

Vikir desperately tried to quell this overwhelming sensation.

"Presently, as long as I have the mana to support me, I can rise to the level of my past life.

As far as swordsmanship alone, he had proactively mastered something much stronger and more refined than his past life.

His swordsmanship was not limited to the fifth level but could be elevated to the tenth level, so his future prospects were endless.

Vikir closed his eyes and checked the mana in his body.

The mana hall that had been expanded by the Styx Stream was still leisurely accumulating mana.

Though it was hard to determine the exact level of his growth, it was clear that his growth had risen to a higher level.

"...Graduator!

Vikir jumped from Sword Master to Graduator.

With the ability to create a liquid quality at the tip of their blades, Graduators are a step forward from Blade Master.

Instead of just the tip, Graduator can envelop the entire blade in an air that is liquid, dense, and highly malleable in shape.

When the liquid quality blade of a Graduator clashes with the gaseous aura blade of a Blade Master, the result is as clear as vapor colliding with vapor.

Graduators are warriors whose physical ability surpasses human limits.

Their strength is the measure of a House's prestige and, by implication, the Domain's military might.

Vikir reached this level at the age of 30 before his relapse.

...After the relapse, Vikir is now only 8 years old.

That is a huge leap from where he was before.

A level that most warriors can only dream of reaching in the course of their life.

As a mage, he's likely equivalent to a fourth-circle master.

Perhaps in the entirety of the Baskerville family's nearly 100 years of existence, there would be no other person of his age who had achieved this level of success.

" ... ... Also. The atmosphere of swordplay has most definitely changed."

The sword technique that Vikir had been using before was the 'Cutting Tooth' sword technique, which was essentially what the dogs of the Baskervilles were trained in.

Stabbing Tooth Sword Technique. Four of them.

Vikir had pierced through countless defenses with his four teeth, drilling into the enemy's heart like a drill.

However, the stabbing tooth swordsmanship was risky.

While you can quickly become strong enough to be useful in combat, there are clear limits to your growth.

In exchange for the certainty of killing your opponent, you also faced a lot of risks.

It is this 'cutting tooth' swordsmanship that is best taught to dogs for use as a last resort card.

However, there is something different about the swordsmanship Vikir has learned this time.

It's called the Sneaking Trap, and it's insidious and painful, moving slowly and without revealing its power or aggression.

The melody of the blade seems graceful and noble, as if nothing is happening.

But on a deeper level lies a malevolent scheme to cause the worst discomfort for the opponent.

Once you've succeeded in stabbing, you'll be met with a relentless barrage of vicious combo attacks that will make you feel like you'd be better off dead.

A furious onslaught, while still being able to defend yourself, is the perfect swordsmanship of this entire style, the Hiding Trap.

"Ideal for concealing power."

Vikir muttered quietly.

At first glance, the Sneaking Trap Strike looked much like a stabbing tooth.

So concealing their swordsmanship should not be too difficult.

After all, it's called 'trap' for a reason.

Vikir looked around, making sure that no one was watching.

His heart was pounding with the elation of reaching a higher level.

Buzzing.

A fly's wings in his ears.

I look down at my wrist and see Lucifer pointing the tip of a dark borer at me.

"Get in there."

Vikir chided, not really caring about getting defensive toward.

Rather, he was swiftly calculating how much this Lucifer would affect his recent performance.

Vikir van Baskerville.

Age 8.

A swordsmanship that can reliably reveal four teeth, and an aura that has risen to the level of a thin substance, could be said to be at the beginning of the Graduator.

Combine that with the experience that could only be described as epic of battle, a fifth tooth that can be drawn insecurely, and the power of the enchanted blade Satan, which can absorb the skills of monsters, and you have yourself a formidable powerhouse.

'If I set my mind to it, I should be able to take on an intermediate Graduator somehow.

A 100 percent chance of death, a half chance of hand-to-hand combat.

"... ... The question is, how far do you reveal your abilities?"

Who will believe you when you say you're a Graduator at just 8 years old?

Flaunting your skills would be absurd.

In reality, you should keep 30% of your power hidden.

"...."

Vikir paused to contemplate the appropriate behavior for an eight-year-old child.

It didn't take him long to come up with an answer.

Just enough to raise Hugo's expectations, but not enough to alarm his enemies.

You don't have to hide your power and live in fear.

Instead, the ideal amount of power gives you a chance to slip under Hugo's radar.

"A routine assignment, for example, or a place at the Institute.

When Vikir leaves the library, he should report his findings to Hugo.

And he's already calculated how he will present himself at the verification table.

And now.

Vikir took a few reading magnifiers from his pocket and stared at the window for

a while.

Tsutsutsutsuts... ...

The cover of the 'Hiding Trap' swordsmanship manual gradually turned black under the harsh light of the magnifying glass.

Crackle!

Soon, it turned into coals.

Vikir looked down at the burning book.

With that, the sword book that contained the ten Baskerville techniques was gone from this world forever.

It belonged solely to Vikir now.

Somewhere in the distance, he heard servants bustling about.

"What is that smell!"

"Sniff, sniff, in and out!"

"It's not even under a preservation spell, ugh!"

The servants rushed over with buckets of water and were met by a contrite Vikir.

"Sorry. I left my magnifying glass lying around... ... . If anything needs to be reported, I'll be sure to inform the steward."

The servants waved their hands in dismissal.

"Ah, no need to apologize. It's our fault for not keeping you in line."

"Basically, it's good that you're in a place with plenty of janitors, hehe."

The servants seemed to appreciate the 'if it needs to be reported' part of Vikir's words.

Vikir glanced at the remnants on the floor.

"Well, it wasn't worth much anyway, so I suppose it's better to pretend it never happened, and as you all know, the steward is quite busy these days with the ruby mine dispute with the Morg family, so who has time for such a trivial matter?"

The servants nodded eagerly at that.

"Aha! Indeed, I thought as much."

"Well, we layabouts always have to make our lords feel good."

"As long as you turn a blind eye, we're fine."

Even they were relieved to be spared the tedious report.

"I see. I'm afraid I will have a lot of work to do cleaning up the library, but I'll make sure the burnt books are filled with appropriate records since I remember the contents."

Vikir made a point to wrap up and took his leave.

"You're a good man. You've thought about the servants, and I'm sure others will appreciate this gesture."

"Huh! Hey, you should tell them about the book!"

"Just praise him, he's actually quite good!

My hearing has become sharper as I've improved.

I could hear the servants chattering softly behind me, but I didn't pay much attention.

He needed to practice how he would answer Hugo's summons when he left the library.

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