18 The Swordwick Duke’s Perspective (1)

[Unique Spell- Infinite Swords!]

Many Barbarians of different shapes and sizes died at my hands as I walked around the battlefield outside the Drakeyol Kingdom's borders.

No matter how many Barbarians attacked my group of warriors, a sword made from my Water Aura would always cut them apart and cause the morale of our soldiers to increase.

[Skill Root- Cloudy Blue Sword Eyes]

I used the unique power only those with exceptional talents could wield among the human race. Both my iris' turned an azure hue as Water Mana focused into the depths of my eyes.

The myriad of astral swords around me turned into raindrops that assimilated into my eyes. I could shoot and control the Water Swords created by my family's Unique Spell with just the power of my thoughts alone. I deactivated my ability only after I was finished cleaning up the largest group of invaders that tried to attack me.

One hundred and twenty aquatic swords hovered above me as I made my way towards my servant, who was fighting hard to keep me 'protected'.

Although I didn't really need his protection, it still warmed my heart to see such dedication in my noble household of Swordsman. A smile of contentment curved on my face as I leisurely fought the Barbarians who were fighting with all their might.

As a noble of the kingdom, I normally talked to many people with ulterior motives concerning any and all matters at hand. This made me feel more guarded towards others while growing up as the successor for the grand lineage of Swordsman who once were respected by all races of Sphera.

In the long years after I inherited the title of the Swordwick Household's House Master, I fought Vampires and Barbarians periodically. This was especially true in the great Holy War that had corrupted many lands and destroyed many kingdoms. My heart has tired over these long and pointless years... I no longer feel like fighting for anything other than my selfish pride!

Humans have been turning on other humans and traitors now exist within the main force of the Royal Family's great army. I wonder how they are going to cleanse the Drakeyol Kingdom of the corrupted who have been burning weaker Nobles to the ground?

Though I can't blame them for not being able to deal with the traitors within our own ranks. Our Drakeyol Kingdom's Royalty has become the leader of the five kingdoms left in the human race due to their strength and intelligence. It isn't for me to judge them when the greatest nemesis the Drakeyol Kingdom's Royalty are facing are those they have sworn to protect.

Hah... This is why I'd rather become a paranoid Duke with no trust in anyone or anything. The way I handled matters regarding the Holy War had now become colder and more ruthless.

However, who could have predicted that I would one day come to trust others like I do now? It's laughable how fate seemed out of the hands of man...

My boldness in battle wasn't because of my own courageous heart but due to the stubbornness of my Head Butler and his wife. A feeling of nostalgia ran through my heart as I remembered the two mercenaries who eventually became my servants after partially healing their severe internal injuries.

Not only was their Magical Talents excellent, their combat abilities were pretty strong as well. This was once the reason I tried to hire them as servants.

Some people would say that I'm as arrogant as a King for thinking that two high level Mercenaries would would serve my household, but I didn't care about that one bit. Becoming my servant shouldn't be unacceptable for them since I DID spent a large amount of resources to heal their wounds.

"Master Swordwick, is something wrong?" My Head Butler asked.

"It's about your son." After hearing my words, he couldn't help but helplessly smile since he knew what I was going to advise him. I'm only saying what needs to be said out of kindness...

"I don't want him to live the life as an ordinary servant of the household." I couldn't help but furrow my brows after hearing this. I didn't think this old friend of mine would be so cruel towards his son... Wouldn't putting too much expectations on the talentless child only become a burden to him?

"Although I've been given information regarding your son's exceptional performance, there's no way for him to help my daughter with his limited potential, not unless he is able to break laws of nature like my ancestor." As Fredrick heard my opinion, his smile stiffened because he most likely understood that no one could replicate the Sword God of the Chaotic Era.

"No, he can because he's a genius." A deep stubbornness showed in his voice.

"A genius? I agree." I gave him that since I've already heard a lot about this youth through these two seemingly doting parents... The surprise I felt from learning their child was actually able to train at the age of five really made it clear to me that I needed to be strict with my daughter's education.

"His imaginative ways of using Mana is something I have never seen before whilst his martial art capabilities far outstrip those his own age, but that is all he has to rely on..." I spoke without any formalities since they needed to understand the dangers of having too much expectations on their son...

I myself always believed in 'training correctly' rather than 'training hard'. I am unable to watch as they're slowly making their way towards a tragedy.

"You just don't understand. Even if he doesn't create a Skill Root with his strength, he will still be able to keep up with your daughter as a Universal Specialist. I believe in him!" Fredrick's eyes lit up with a mysterious light as he spoke. But to me personally: Although I understood that Universal Specialists were rare, that didn't exactly mean a Specialist with low Magical Talent would be able to compare with my talented, hard-working daughter...

"Fine then. I'll give him a test. If he's unable to pass, you must give up on trying to groom him into my daughter's Butler." I gave up in trying to change his decision and instead tried a different approach to persuading him.

"... I understand." Fredrick reluctantly agreed, and with that, the duel between the two little butlers was set in stone.

I know that with that little guy's cold personality, he wouldn't agree to a duel easily. That's why I'll make sure that talented boy called Jack goes over to Simon in order to infuriate him with his sharp tongue. I've already given him clear instructions on what to do!

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I thought that Simon would lose to that arrogant foo- I mean, talented personal butler candidate, but who could have guessed that the mind of Fredrick's dearest son would be so devious?

Throughout the entire duel, he was always thinking one step ahead and used every trick that was probably taught by his parent to gain victory!

His combat prowess far exceeded any Rank F Magical Talent I have ever seen before. However, the only reason he won was due to Jack's overconfidence.

Would a talented Earth Specialist really be that shocked by Simon's Spells?

Hah... I'm giving that child, Jack, way too much credit. The crux of the matter is that Simon displayed a great amount of potential! It has opened my eyes to how Magical Talent isn't everything!

A Universal Specialist and an Expert Swordsman with seemingly high mastery of martial arts... This kind of genius can't be found just anywhere...

"Greetings House Master, is there anything wrong?" Simon spoke after I 'invited' him to my office. I looked at Simon's calm and composed eyes with a complex expression. Unable to put into words what I wanted to advise.

Fredrick's a fool who'd put too much faith in people and Martha's a naive woman who only looks at her child's smile. Both of these two servants aren't able to properly judge Simon as whole.

From his academic results, I can say that he has a higher chance of becoming a Scholar in future that a Specialist. My daughter, Sapphire, is destined to surpass him no matter how he shortens the gap between them with skill or intuition. That's due to how the power of all Specialists rely heavily on Magical Talent. I, despite obviously seeing his potential in other areas, have already seen the difference between the talentless and the talented. I've already seen countless aspiring fighters regret their life decisions when they found that they were unable to overcome the hurdle that was their Magical Talent.

I don't want to give this talented youth false hope. It would be better if he chose a realistic goal like being a Wandering Knight or Guard since both these occupations only needed people with acceptable combat prowess.

"Simon Rainglow, after seeing your strength, I've concluded that sending you to the Royal Academy would be a waste of time." Simon's eyes widened in disbelief as he heard my cold words.

"Is it because of my F Rank Magical Talent?" Simon asked in return. His speculation that was spot-on. There's no way I'd want a liability that could one day self-implode in my Faction.

"That's only one of the reasons I'm unable to accept you as my daughter's personal butler. The second reason is due to the fact that you're untalented in sharpening your Aura, which is the only way to keep up with her." I said in a purposely tranquil tone. I've already heard of Simon's results of sharpening his Aura through word of mouth.

"I can increase the quality of my techniques and bring them to higher levels. The magical abilities I've shown wasn't the limit of my power." As I heard these words, I couldn't help but glance at my two servants standing besides me. Once they nodded their heads to his words, I leaned forward on my chair in order to look at him closely.

"From what I could tell, you increased your physical abilities through decreasing the Magic Resistance of your Aura. A true Earth Specialist would be able to bury you alive despite your powerful close-combat prowess."

"In regards to your unusual Elemental Spells, they're lacking in power. Do you think there haven't been others talented in fighting or Spell casting over the years? And look at how they turned out... wallowing in self-pity about how their talent couldn't be greater than others." I retorted without bothering to care about what this 'limit' was supposed to be. Even if he luckily created a technique that could help him overcome the differences between power of Specialists, that Spell or Art would definitely take years to master.

"I will adapt my magical abilities in future. I'll increase the quality of my Arts and Spells to make up for my lack of Mana. I'll even use equipment to bolster my combat prowess to higher level." It seems Simon wasn't mature enough to understand my sentiments.

It was a little contradictory to see his strange personality. Is being dense inherent in Fredrick's bloodline or is does it have something to do with how Simon was raised? Why is it he's so stubborn despite how I'm giving him logical arguments? Simon was still as calm as before but the words that came out of his mouth were really immature.

I'm finding it difficult to decide whether I should allow him to become my daughter's Personal Butler... This important position might not come hand-in-hand with a noble status but Personal Butler's of my Noble Household had a relatively standing.

"Increase the quality of your Spells? Do you think you're the only one with strong Arts and Spells? Or do you think these abilities you're going to make will be as strong as the Sword God's Aura Sharpening? You ignorant child!" I felt angered by his ignorance and rebuked.

At these words, the little guy was unable to retort. It seemed he suddenly realised how ridiculous he was being by comparing himself to the great Sword God. An exception in the entirety of humanity that broke human limits.

"Let's take my Infinite Swords as an example. The first level of the ability lets me control 40 swords created by my Aura as I wish, the second level allows me to control 80, and the third level allows me to control 120. Every level of it allows me to store more and more swords within my body infinitely.

The drawbacks of the Spell is its powerful Mana consumption and the fact that mastering the ability is extremely difficult. However, the power of this Art is something feared by all!

Many Unique Arts and Spells of other Noble Lineages are inferior to my ancestral heritage when it comes to pure power, but that doesn't mean they are weaklings. Think about your future carefully and stop daydreaming about becoming another Sword God because no one will ever have the ability to surpass him!" I said with conviction.