Swordmeister of Rome

<Ra-Vash>

It was the trace left by Sun Sword Liviath.

When Sun Sword Liviath didn't return from the training grounds to eat, his family came to check on him out of concern. However, he was already gone, and there was only the trace that he had left. His family frantically searched for him, but he never returned to the Roland family.

People speculated that the great warrior felt empty after he became a Ra-Bander, and after leaving a trace to teach his family, left them to find something that would interest him.

The Roland family was confused, but they quickly understood what they needed to do. They needed to observe the trace and learn the power of their greatest warrior. It was the only way to preserve their family.

However, the Roland family lacked talented individuals. Not only that, they were threatened by others that wanted the trace. After continued attacks from outsiders, they fell and disappeared into history.

<Ra-Vash> was a rare spot that visitors could actually feel the trace of a Ra-Bander. That was what drew in warriors from various country. Broshan was a neutral Kingdom, so anyone from any nation was allowed to visit.

There were a lot of warriors in front of <Ra-Vash>.

The <Ra-Vash> was on the hill behind the training grounds. It was a few giant streaks that looked like the slash of a bear's claws.

What made it special was that a Ra-Bander had left it.

"ARGH! I just need to overcome this bottleneck… and I can become a Master…!"

"Is Grand Bander really only for the chosen…?"

Many warriors moaned and lamented as they examined the traces. There were even those who had resided here for a few years.

However, they all stayed within the training grounds in fear of ruining the actual trace.

Sian looked at the trace for a moment and scowled, while Stiel watched his expression change, smiling.

"…What is that?"

"I told you to ask me first."

"I should've done that. Tell me about it."

Sian turned away from it and looked at the people with sad eyes. Then, he noticed a kid.

'Hm…?'

A boy, looking barely over the age of ten, was serving food and drinks to those who were training here. He carefully delivered drinks to the angry warriors and then stared at the trace, unmoving. It seemed he had some stories as the dining knife that he held in his hand was flinching.

'Hm… everyone has their own story.'

Sian stopped paying attention, but Stiel was different. She wasn't interested in the boy until she realized Sian was looking at him and decided to talk to him.

"Hey, boy. What are you doing here?"

"…!"

The boy was startled as he turned around. A tall, beautiful woman was looking down at him. He blushed and mumbled, wanting to return to the restaurant, "I was… just… watching. I heard it was a trace from Sun Sword Liviath, so…"

"Oh, no, no. I know you have questions. I can feel it."

"…"

Stiel continued, "You see that man? He is a powerful swordsman. Don't you have questions about swords?"

"…How did you know?"

The boy replied in disbelief as Sian sighed. Anyone who had watched him waving his knife while staring at the trace would know.

"I told you, I can feel it. Go ask him to help you out."

'Ugh, say no. Come on, say no!'

Sian believed the boy would not accept such a strange offer. However, it seemed that her offer was very tempting.

He sighed as he observed the boy carefully coming toward him.

"So… you are here because you couldn't break through the Expert barrier; but you didn't have money to pay for it, so you got a job?"

Sian asked Dekaron, who was twelve years old.

The warriors around them looked mildly surprised. If he was at the barrier to Expert at the age of twelve, it was an impressive feat. Half of the people here were probably not even close at that age.

"Twelve years old… I was a Master back then…"

Sian didn't want to ruin her memory by telling her what level he was at that age, so he held back.

"So, that's why you were looking at <Ra-Vash>?"

"Yes… I want to become strong fast…"

He looked average for his age, but there seemed to be something more to him. After staring sympathetically at him for a while, Sian whispered something to him. It was an excellent chance to see if he would enjoy helping others just as his father advised.

The boy looked shocked after listening to Sian and continuously glanced between him and Ra-Vash. Then, he started to shout as it sank in...

"I CAN'T BEL--"

"Quiet! Quiet!"

Sian quickly covered the boy's mouth, but the boy looked discontent.

"Why aren't you letting me talk? You shouldn't worry if what you say is true."

"No, that's…"

Sian was momentarily lost for words, and the boy shouted, "DON'T LIE TO ME! What do you mean Ra-Vash is nothing! I better train something else rather than wasting time looking at that?"

'Ugh… Father. Helping others ain't easy.'

"HAHAHAHA! My lungs… Hahahahaha!"

Sian grabbed his head while Stiel laughed madly next to him.

"…What does that mean?"

"Did he say that?"

All the warriors around were staring at Sian as they started approaching him.

"Why I didn't let you talk was because of this…"

Sian couldn't be angry at the boy who realized what he had done.

"HEY! What do you mean by that? Huh?"

A warrior who had stayed here for over a week confronted him. To say that the trace left behind by the Great Sun Sword Liviath was nothing, what was he saying about those who were training here?

Sian decided to explain. He felt bad for these people who were staying here by paying 100 talons per night.

'If I… help… these people… Ha… okay. Let's relax.'

He realized that he first needed to gain some respect before these people would believe him. So, he let released his power and stood up.

"…!!!"

The warriors who were approaching all flinched and stopped. They all felt something coursing through them.

"I meant what I said. That's nothing,"

Sian declared as he looked around.

One of the warriors, afraid that his time spent here was all for nothing, asked Sian, "T-then… what is that thing?"

"That… ugh. That's just a doodle. It's not made out of some profound insight. It's just a plain doodle created out of boredom."

"Hehe, did you hear that boy? It's pointless if you keep looking at it."

The warriors turned grim. They all felt that a person with such strength had no reason to lie about it.

The truth about <Ra-Vash>

It was just a doodle, a trace left by Sun Sword Liviath. However, it didn't mean anything and was definitely wasn't intended for his family. Sun Sword Liviath just felt everything was so pointless after becoming a Ra-Bander that he randomly made some markings while pondering on a hill before leaving.

It was like an ordinary person doodling on the ground with a wooden stick out of boredom, just much bigger in scale.

Sian and Stiel knew this right away once they saw it.

The warriors were shocked and divided into two groups. One group consisted of the people who came here on a whim or had no expectations, which meant they left easily. The other group consisted of those who were desperate and came here as a last resort, who couldn't leave just yet.

<Disappointment>

However, the boy's reaction was different.

If he was on the verge of becoming an Expert, it was only a matter of time. It would be normal that his disappointment was less than the other warriors, but it wasn't.

<Despair>

The boy looked like his life had just ended. Sian, who couldn't think of any reason why the boy would be that desperate, suddenly thought of a possibility, and asked carefully,

"Is your last name… Roland?"

The boy nodded silently.

Dekaron de Roland was the descendant of Sun Sword Liviath. He barely managed to keep his family name due to his bloodline.

That was why his despair was so great.

Sian stared at the boy for a while and then turned to Stiel.

"What?"

"You said you fought with Sun Sword Liviath before, right?"

"Yeah, it's been a while though."

"Make a trace on that hill. Something easy to understand."

"Huh? Aren't you being too nice?" Stiel asked in shock. There were no superhumans who showed sympathy toward common people. Whatever she did was because she figured it might be interesting to see Sian's reactions.

"It's nothing much, and I don't have anything to lose. Also, I'm a good son that listens to his father."

That would mean Count Roman.

'Oh… what did he say to him?'

Stiel became curious, but she didn't bother to ask him now.

"Hm… okay, but you owe me this time. Alright?"

"I know you talked to him intentionally a while ago. I'll consider this even."

"Ugh."

Stiel began flexing her hands as she approached the hill.

"Let's see… to allow even kids to understand…"

She then began concentrating tremendous power within both her hands. She couldn't exactly copy Sun Sword Liviath's <Way>. He had his own <Way>, and it only worked for him. However, it wasn't hard for her to leave something for low-skilled warriors to understand.

At that moment, the sword skill that was never made for anyone else to understand other than Sun Sword Liviath himself, the <Shining Way>, was copied by Stiel's hands against the hill.

The boy was mesmerized by the beautiful <Ways> that Stiel was casually making.