21 North Saint Rudeus
Blue Fang landed vertically against Ghislaine's own horizontally placed sword, and I smirked when I saw her elbow buckling slightly from the force of my sword, though it immediately straightened right after.
Without waiting for her counterattack, I released the prepared spell I had cast and store under my feet which was pointed at her – [Fireball].
The orange-red ball of fire instantly materialized from the sole of my right foot, and exploded between us point blank.
I was launched backwards from the force of the explosion, while hearing panicked shouts from the spectators. My shoe and cuffs of my trousers were lightly singed, while I received little to no damage of my own since the [Fireball] had been controlled to blast in the opposite direction from my body. The burns on my clothing were the result of only 10 to 15 percent of the actual incendiary power of the spell.
I stood with bated breath, sword at the ready for any figures to suddenly burst out of the smoke or something similar. As the smoke cleared, Ghislaine was revealed underneath to now be covered in a light layer of soot.
She had an expression of astonishment on her face.
"Amazing… When I first heard from Paul that you were able to cast spells without incantations I had my doubts. No magician I had ever fought with or against were capable of such a feat. However, you were even able to perfectly blend magic and sword techniques to create something completely unique to yourself." Ghislaine did not hold back her praise.
"Thank you."
I had worked very hard to develop the Magic Sword style. So hearing it being praised by a Sword King, one of few individuals who stood at the peak of martial prowess in the world felt like all my efforts over the years had not gone to waste.
"If I only were to judge you purely by your swordsmanship without magic, then you should be stronger than most Advanced rank swordsmen in the Central continent. But your strength and speed is an entire level inferior to Paul at his peak. You are still young though, so that cannot be helped. You are also far too inexperienced. You have yet to reached Paul's level of seamlessly transitioning and combining techniques from the three sword styles."
"But if you add your magic into the mix…" Ghislaine pondered for a moment, "Then I would say that you are already as strong as an average Saint-rank swordsman."
My eyes brightened at that. Receiving acknowledgement from a Sword King that I was strong enough to compare against Saint-ranked swordsmen… that feeling was indescribable!
Her eyes sharpened, "However. That label only applies to you because of how mystifying and unexpected your chantless magic is. If I had not been informed of this ability before fighting you, I might not have been able to react fast enough before you could land a killing blow."
"Simply put, your Magic Sword style's greatest strength is in its unpredictability. No one expects for the swordsman they are fighting to suddenly cast spells without incantations. In that regard, you are more like a North Saint who specializes in sneak attacks. Against someone who is prepared, your threat level drops to just above the threshold of a Saint-ranked swordsman."
I did not know how to feel about her words. On one hand, it was still plenty satisfying to hear that I was able to reach the threshold of a Saint-ranked swordsman even if the opponent I fought knew about my chantless spellcasting. On the other hand, the implication of her analysis was that if my Magic Sword style started becoming famous, I would not be as threatening anymore.
After all, the hardest time to trick someone is when they are expecting to be tricked.
I did not feel particularly embarrassed by the label Ghislaine used to describe me – a North Saint who specializes in sneak attacks. I was already aware that my personality leaned more towards the North God style that highlighted winning using any means necessary. In fact, if one were to be broad with their definitions, Magic Sword style could technically be considered a newly invented branch of the North God style as well.
Ghislaine raised a hand to wipe away the soot from her face, "That [Fireball] you cast from your feet was definitely surprising enough to be considered a sneak attack. But you need to remember that something like that will only work once against opponents on my level. For instance I have already thought up 4, 5 ways to cut you down if you used the same technique again."
Though she has not officially taken me as a disciple yet, she has already begun teaching me, I mused.
She then continued with a faint smile, "Truthfully, though I have criticized you this much, it is safe to say that you have already passed my test."
"I passed? YES!" I jumped up in jubilation from the announcement.
"So fast?" Paul asked, "You two have barely fought for a few minutes. And he didn't win."
Ghislaine shook her head, "If he was able to win that duel, even if I was limiting my strength and speed to Saint-rank, that would mean he already reached the threshold of King-rank strength. That is still too far for Rudeus. My criterion for Rudeus to pass my test was top-tier Advanced-rank. In other words, around the level of a peak level S-rank adventurer. He has surpassed that minimum standard already, so of course he passes."
Paul stared blankly for a moment before laughing out loud, "My son is a North Saint! HAHAHAH, you hear that, this Rudeus that was taught by me is a Saint-level swordsman! Have I always been that awesome? I never realized."
I rolled my eyes at his proclamation. Though he did teach me a lot, his lessons consisted mainly of 'just do it like this' or 'use hyah and a hah and then whoosh for this technique'. If I wasn't as talented as I am, then I would have no idea what he was talking about. It was the constant sparring with him that let me improve the most, for which I was most grateful for. His teaching methods on the other hand...
"Don't you think he needs a bit more experience? Maybe it's still too early for him to be a bodyguard for a noble girl at his age." Zenith pointed out a little anxiously.
Ghislaine disagreed, "Bodyguard work isn't that complicated. If even someone as dense as me can do this job, a smart child like Rudeus definitely will be able to as well."
"But, but…" Zenith stammered, clearly reluctant to accept this evaluation, since me passing Ghislaine's test meant that I would soon leave home to go to Roa.
Paul placed a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder with a reliable yet slightly resigned smile, "It's okay, Zenith. It's okay."
"Honey…"
While the two of them were acting as a lovey dovey couple, Ghislaine turned back to me.
"Since you have passed the test, that also means that naturally I am willing to accept you as my disciple." She started, "And since I am going to be teaching you, I would like to continue sparring, so that I can have a better grasp of what you are capable of. This will provide me insights on how to best teach you."
I nodded my head excitedly. I also wished to continue this fight. Though it had only lasted a few minutes, I felt like the stagnant growth of my sword art started ticking upwards again. The experience of fighting against an experienced, truly seasoned warrior that had mastered King-level swordsman ship felt to me like being in a prajna-state of enlightenment.
Whenever she blocked my sword, I learned how to make it more ferocious. When she deflected it, I learned how to make it more unpredictable. Now that I finally had someone to sharpen my skills against, I was reluctant to stop so prematurely.
Ghislaine saw my enthusiasm and laughed before beckoning for me to attack with one hand.
"Come!" She instructed, to which I was more than willing to obey.
----
The fight concluded ten minutes later. I was, of course, soundly defeated.
For most of the duel, Ghislaine did not exceed Advanced-rank strength, only at times bursting out with Saint-rank physical ability to block or counter some of my more deadly moves.
And as she had accurately analysed, the beastwoman quickly got used to my Magic Sword fighting style. Even when I remained in mid-air using [Air Steps], Ghislaine was able to slash out waves of mana that brought me down. Clearly, her expertise over Mana Reinforcement, or Battle Aura as she called it, was several levels above Paul's.
I did not even feel like she was under any pressure the whole time. The true depths of her swordsmanship was still unfathomable to me. Though I was still inexperienced, and Ghislaine was the only Sword King I have met so far, I had a feeling that even amongst other King-ranked swordsmen she would be ranked at the top. What a frightening master...
After the fight, Ghislaine had informed me that I could now call myself a North Saint. The title was still unofficial, but my combat prowess had definitely reached that level, even if it was mostly due to the unpredictability of my Magic Sword style.
Usually, Saint, King and Emperor titles were only passed down by the recipient's master. That was the official way of receiving a title since it involved official recognition from someone on the same or higher level.
I did not have a North Saint or higher ranked teacher to officially grant me the title of North Saint, but Ghislaine said that titles could also be granted by other experts even if they weren't their teacher, albeit unofficially.
For this unofficial North Saint title, I could in the future report that it was granted to me by the Black Wolf Sword King, Ghislaine Dedoldia if anyone asked. Of course, whether they were willing to believe me would be a separate issue.
To convert that unofficial title to an official one required public acknowledgement of your skill. This typically involved challenging known Saint-rank swordsmen to duels and slowly acquire fame. Once enough people knew of and acknowledged my skills, my North Saint title would then consequently become official.
Though I was defeated in the end, I felt like I gained a lot more than I had lost. Thinking that I could engage in such a spar every day I spent under Ghislaine's tutelage made me excited as well.
Oh right, I still had to be a bodyguard for that young noble lady and teach her magic as well. But that shouldn't affect my training that much. Sylphiette was able to reach intermediate magic in just a year or two, so a noble lady who should be more learned might be an even quicker learner, right?
How difficult could body guarding and teaching magic be?
