Morningstar Swordsmanship

Lanselot Morningstar, famed as the greatest swordsman in the kingdom. A child genius who reached the level of an Advanced Warrior at the age of 10. Achieving the level of a Saint Warrior at the young age of 24, he was thought to be the Champion of Baldr, earning him the title, 'Blessed Swordsman of Justice.' Even though he lacked magic, his swordsmanship made up for it. His rapid growth caught the attention of the king and was personally invited to take a spot amongst the Royal Knights.

During his time as a knight, he achieved many legendary feats and defended the kingdom multiple times from beast and enemy invasions. This earned him a spot as the second most powerful knight in the kingdom.

**

[Lanselot Morningstar]

[Race: Human (Divine Blessing)]

[Age: 38]

[Saint Warrior]

[Sword Arts]

[Ability: Sky Piercer, Divine Retribution, Baldr's Champion]

**

"Explain yourself," I said.

"I heard the king asked you to participate in the Inter-Kingdom Tournament. For him to say that, it must mean that he saw potential in you. Did you know, our kingdom hasn't won the tournament in 19 years? We have become a laughingstock. Anyways, what I want to say is, please win this tournament, I will do whatever I can to help you win, even if I have to teach you my sword art."

"Why are you so desperate, what's in it for you?"

"2 years ago, my son, he joined the tournament and the bloody leeches, they.... killed him. My only son, with such a bright future, and they... took it away from him. I will never forget that day. Those vermin, they did not send even a single apology letter, NOT A SINGLE ONE!" He swung his arms in anger and shattered the wall beside him. "So I've decided that if I can't take my revenge on them, I will need someone to help me with it, and that's when I came upon you. Someone who could possibly grant me my wish."

"Is that so? What's your reasoning behind this attack then?"

"I was testing your skills. During your match with Ms Bladeheart, I studied the way you handled the sword, and it looks unrefined. A lot of brutal and unnecessary actions. The way you handle the sword relies only on brute strength and speed. That is why I offer to teach you my sword arts, I will help you get any edge you can to win the tournament and kill those bastards."

I thought that it was a really tempting offer, my goal was already the same as his and on top of that I got to learn the swordsmanship of a Saint Warrior. What was there to lose?

"I guess we got ourselves a deal, so whose this guy who killed your son?"

"Evagoras Nox Tepes, one of the many sons of the Blood Emperor." He said venomously.

"Interesting, so how do I presumably kill him? You don't expect me to murder him in front of the Emperor, do you?"

"No no, I want him to suffer, a very long time. I have prepared a very deadly poison in this vial. All you need to do is just to penetrate his body with it. This is developed specifically to counteract a vampires regenerative abilities, all you need to do is to hurt him real bad. Once this is in his bloodstream, it will cause him untold pain for weeks and finally end him."

"Oh my, you are quite well prepared. So when do we start the lessons?"

"This weekend, I'll meet you at the arena at midnight. And thank you for helping me do this," he gave a slight bow and vanished.

The tournament was in 6 months time so I had plenty of time to master whatever Lanselot was going to teach me. I realised that Anastasia was going to participate in the tournament as well and wondered if she was going to be alright.

--

I returned to the dormitory and waited for Parzival to return, but he never did. I stayed up past midnight and still hasn't seen a single sign of him. Getting slightly worried, I got up from my bed and walked the school ground looking for him.

After 20 minutes, I caught a scent of blood in the air and decided to investigate it. Inside the stall of the men bathroom, I found Parzival laying there, in a massive pool of blood. His clothes were torn apart and there were deep gashes on his body. It looked like he did not have much time left before he bled out completely.

"Hey HEY, Parzival can you hear me? Point me to the direction of the medbay." I said, trying to rouse him from his unconsciousness state.

He slowly regained light and grunted in pain. The feeling of all the injuries on his body came rushing back at him. This time he screamed in agony. Moving his body parts seems like an excruciating task for him right now, so I brought my ears close to his mouth and listened for instructions to the medbay.

"Fu.....th flo.....r fiiiif.....h ruu....m," voice straining, he pushed out with great effort.

"Fourthfloorfifthroom, got it."

I carefully collected him into my arms, his blood soaking my pristine white uniform. I moved through the school as fast as I can, while making the journey as comfortable for him.

Thankfully there was still a night-shift nurse on the job. If there wasn't, I wasn't sure if I want to go with 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 method to save him. With no question asked, the nurse immediately went to work on him. I stood at the corner and silently studied the healing magic used by the nurse.

While studying the magic circles, I thought about who would do that to Parzival. The whole of second year students knew I was friends with him and no one dared to pick on him. I don't think the first years are strong enough, so that leaves only the third years.

Some third years probably didn't get the memo that Parzival was under my protection, and I think it was time I reminded them who I am.

"He is in stable condition now, do you have any idea what caused this?" The nurse said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"I was looking for him and found him in that state."

"Alright, thank you for bringing him here, you can return to your dorm now and visit him tomorrow. I'll report this to the headmaster."

--

The next morning, Parzival did not show up in class and the teacher didn't really address it, but Anastasia noticed. After lessons ended, she came up to me and asked me about it. As I was about to explain, the classroom doors bust open and Markeil entered. He looked around and his gaze landed on me.

With the widest shit-eating grin ever, he said, "you like that gift you found yesterday? It was specially made just for you!"