"Wow! How did the young master become so skilled in just one week?"
"Hey, what would you know? How can the heir of the Dukedom be an ordinary person?"
"But I never saw him practicing in the training ground before?"
"Heh, that's the difference between a genius and a mediocre."
In the huge training ground of the Veilstrider family, a young man and a middle-aged man were fighting with swords.
Although the young man looked immature, he fought back and forth without a sweat, as if it were a normal movement.
The crowd gathered around the training ground and watched the fight with surprise since the middle-aged man opposite him was a veteran instructor at the realm of Tertiary Knight.
Despite being a veteran knight honed on the battlefield, he was slowly being pressed.
"Hey, did you hear that it's time for the opening of the northern wasteland?"
One of the trainee knights watching the battle asked his friends.
"Yeah! I heard the recruitment order will come down in a few days. I hope I don't have to go to the border."
One said with trepidation. He didn't want to fight with monsters in the wildland.
"Tch, even if you want to go, nobody will choose you, a newbie."
His friend rolled his eyes at him in disdain.
"I heard from my dad that this time our young master Ian will lead the battle. Isn't this a joke?" The youngster at the side couldn't help but joke, as Ian's reputation was known throughout the capital.
"Bang!"
However, just when he finished speaking, an older-looking comrade slapped him and cursed.
"Can you talk about the young master behind his back? Do you have three heads?"
The youngster was about to get angry because of the hit when he heard the reprimand. He suddenly shuddered and couldn't help but hide behind. Fortunately, nobody said anything, but everyone stopped talking.
In the arena, Knight Lancel fought hard with Ian but still couldn't suppress the youngster. Although he knew he would lose face with his subordinates, he was still happy that Ian was stronger.
"Young master Ian, you've already mastered all the fighting methods of a knight. All you need now is a life-and-death fight to hone your intuition."
Lancel didn't forget to praise him with a smile. He found that unless it was a life-and-death battle, he couldn't suppress young master Ian in front of him.
Ian flicked his sword with just the right amount of force to deflect the opponent's sword and took a deep breath.
After he woke up that morning, he directly went to the training ground, which he had never visited in his entire life.
Although he had been rewarded with a knight codex, he had no fighting experience in real life. So, he found instructor Lancel and fought for a full hour every day for a week.
"Haa... Haa... Sir Lancel is truly a veteran. His fighting skills really opened my eyes."
Ian calmed his breathing, smiled, and praised.
Currently, he was fighting him in the Tertiary Knight realm. However, despite suppressing him for a full hour, he couldn't gain an absolute advantage.
Of course, if he used his actual realm, he could simply defeat the opponent just from his aura. High Knight and normal knight weren't in the same league at all. However, that would defeat the purpose of his training.
He also didn't forget to go to his father to inquire about the breathing method. But all he got was a supplementary secret technique related to the breathing method called "Etherial Disguise", which could help hide your true realm from outsiders.
"So, are we fighting tomorrow?"
Lancel asked as he realized he had also learned many things while fighting with his young master.
"No, tomorrow the Academy will open. Let's put it on hold."
Ian shook his head, gave a knightly salute according to the procedure, and walked away from the training ground. All the trainee knights and retainers gave way, their faces full of awe, unlike when he fought a week ago.
'That's unfortunate,' Lancel thought.
After leaving the battlefield, it was the first time he had had such a thrilling fight in his life. However, he couldn't order his young master.
Ian walked along the corridor and returned to his residence. The maid around him had already prepared the warm water, towel, and clothes as per his instructions.
After taking a long bath, he felt refreshed.
'It is almost time for the plot to officially start.'
In the novel 'Arcane Passage,' the Imperial Academy was the first major arc. That was also the place where he would meet the protagonist Carl for the first time.
'Well, it was also the last time they met.' Ian laughed.
He was actually looking forward to meeting the protagonist; after all, he quite liked this novel in his previous life, although he didn't even finish the first volume.
'It would have been easier if I could read the status of others.' Ian sighed.
When he first awakened the system, he tried to read the status of others just like his, but to no avail.
'Maybe I need to complete some criteria?'
Just when he was thinking randomly, slow footsteps sounded outside his room, and a maid called out to him.
"Young master, young lady is waiting for you in the hall."
"Oh? Okay, I will be there in a minute."
Ian was quite surprised. For a whole week, Lyra and Sylvia didn't meet him, and his Aunt Margaret didn't know where she had disappeared.
Due to the incomplete quest, he felt like an ant on a hot pan for an entire week.
Just when he thought he would meet them at the academy, she gave him a surprise.
'Speaking of which, why was there no quest when I accepted the decree?'
Although confused, he didn't think much and quickly walked toward the meeting hall of his mansion.
After walking for a while, he arrived at the hall where Lyra and Sylvia were sitting on the mahogany chairs, sipping tea.