"Hmm... that’s the life," A man with a nicely trimmed beard and pony-tailed black hair said, with golden eyes, wearing loose and relaxing clothing, almost moaning as he tasted the delicacy placed in front of him.
The man once again grabbed another cube of food out of the shell of what seemed like a lobster, dipped it in some sauce, and brought it to his mouth again.
“Hmm, yeah, that’s good." The middle-aged man nodded in delight, savoring the taste.
At the same time, he looked in front of him, and the sound of running water could be heard as a small mist floated about. The air has a bit of a chill to it. He was currently on some kind of porch next to a waterfall.
Then the man grabbed the drink to the side and poured himself some as he took it and gulped.
"Haah...." He relished in satisfaction.
"Alright, let's hope I get lucky today," he mumbled, almost in a whisper.
In front of his eyes, a series of black boxes with a red question mark were spinning after he mentally clicked the spin button below.
He, Oswin Kinslye, wasn’t from this word—well, his soul wasn’t. It's been two years since he found himself in the body of a 34-year-old man and in the world of Estrade, a place where martial artists can split the seas and shatter mountains with one punch.
Since it had been two years since he woke up, he had pretty much adapted to this world already.
At first, he was sad, before the thought of conquering this world came about because, like any transmigrator, he also had a cheat. But two months after living in the world, he realized how futile and exhausting his dream was. Especially since he came to know the world from one of the rewards he got from his cheat.
Since then, he has decided,
"I’d rather be a dragon on a small pond than a plankton in the great universe-size ocean!"
And with that, He stopped all his ambitions and laid low. More than a year ago, he established the Sleeping Dragon Martial Hall and accepted students.
It was a great name; he knows that, and since then, he has been living like a king—well, not like a king but living like the king’s right-hand man, trustee subordinate.
And he has enjoyed it since.
Eventually, the spinning gacha in front of him slowed down. This was his cheat—a pretty simple but almost unreliable cheat.
Every day, he gets 1 free spin from the lottery like system, but he prefers to call it gacha, and he gets rewards from it, though the reward varies. Some useless, some useful and others were basically better off placed on his inventory and never taken out. While some he'll get a note saying "Thank you for spinning! Try again!"
That’s right, it was possible to get nothing from the spin. Which he gets 30 percent of the time! Of course, that 30 percent was just an estimate; it was when he observed for ten days, and it was only for three days that he got nothing.
He also couldn't stack the free spins. So each spin was valuable.
Eventually, the spinning stopped at one black box with a red question mark on it.
Sparkles and fireworks exploded as he sincerely hoped he wouldn't get a thank-you note again!
Soon the mystery box showed its appearance and opened itself..
Oswin held his breath, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets as he waited. Even though he had already spun this hundred of times, he still couldn’t help but anticipate…
Soon, the reward jumped out of the gift box and presented itself.
[Congratulations! You’ve won a bottle of Essence pills!]
Oswin finally let the breath he was holding go as he sighed. It wasn’t a bad reward, but it wasn’t good either.
Essence Pills help one replenish and strengthen the essence in their body. It was especially useful for rank 4 to 6 martial artists.
There are nine ranks of martial arts on the path to the peak. With rank 1 being the weakest and rank 9 being the strongest.
Of course, Oswin knew there were more levels above that; each level being much stronger than the last. Which was one of the reasons he gave up his dreams.
Rank 1-3 warriors can be called Martial artists, novice warriors, or even pioneers. This is when one trains one's body to reach levels unattainable by the ordinary, through pratical training and a technique.
Ranks 4-6 can be called Martial masters; at this rank, one is able to harness concepts like essence energy, which makes the pill he got valuable to this level of warrior.
And finally, ranks 6–9 can be called peak masters. This is when the concepts form a core in their bodies, greatly strengthening all aspects of their bodies, especially their lifespan.
Hence, the reward he got was actually pretty useful, and the bottle was actually the size of a jar, while the pills were only smaller than a thumbnail, so there were a few hundred inside.
The problem was...
Oswin placed the reward in his well-organized system inventory and placed it next to some bottles that looked like it.
"Well, I guess this day wasn’t bad."
He continued to enjoy his meal.
Not long after, he sensed someone approaching his back.
"Master Oswin, Your little brother Edmund has arrived” A female with a calming voice called out to him and he couldn’t help but sigh hearing that. Even though he had already expected it.
Unlike other transmigrators, he still had a family in this world with quite a bit of status. His hall was situated on top of a mountain. Below, was a city managed by the Kinsleye family. His family.
It was also them that paid for part of his martial arts hall to be built. Of course, he could have paid for it himself, heck, he could buy several golden castles, that floats to the sky easily.
But he didn’t want to flaunt his wealth that was enough to get all the realms envious.
“Alright, settle him in the guest room”
“Master Oswin, Lord Edmund is currently in the training hall”
Hearing that, he couldn’t help but shake his head as he stood up and turned around and saw his servant, a young woman with grayish hair and brown eyes, and bout 1.69m tall.
Compared to him that was 1.98 tall, she was a bit small.
“Watch out for my food, lest those birds get it again.”
“Of course”
Soon he headed inside the large, green, plated-with-gold, building. Walking for a bit, he heard the familiar grunting.
"Hah!"
"Horh!"
"Hahh!"
Soon, he came into the large courtyard, where 20 youths can be seen, practicing with a broadsword and without a shirt. The courtyard was big enough to fit 100 students.
"Hahh!"
To the side, leaning next to a column, he saw a man, about 1.85 tall, with black hair, a smooth but handsome face, and wearing luxurious clothing, watching them with interest.
Seeing Oswin come, the man said, "Impressive..Out of 20 students, you managed to train 3 of them to reach Rank 1. Father will be delighted."
Edmund, 30 years old, was his brother. He was a rank 2 martial artist but he focused more on the family’s businesses.
Hearing this, Oswin resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
‘If I wanted to, I could make all of them reach rank 1 in a year.’
For reference, to reach from an ordinary person to rank 1 in martial art in 1 year can be considered above average. Of course, rank 1 isn't really that rare; just in Kinslye city alone, there are a few hundred rank 1.
"These kids were just talented," He said. One way he learned to stay low-key was by not speaking much. But Oswin wondered how his brother was able to tell so fast when he turned to the side, where some lifting equipment was, and saw three people lifting some pretty big and heavy barbells.
'These guys...' Oswin knew they did this because they were showing off.
This equipment was introduced by him more than a year ago and has since become popular in the territory.
"How old are they? 15? 16? Yet they can lift so much..."
For the record, the weight they were lifting was about a ton. A rank 1 warrior can typically lift 1 ton; a rank 2 martial artist can lift 3 tons; and a rank 3 martial artist can lift 10 tons.
Of course, that depends on what kind of training and technique one undergoes. Still, that standard is acknowledged by everyone.
Oswin didn't comment on anything, and his brother continued.
"At least our father's investment isn't going to waste."
Once again, Oswin resisted rolling his eyes, as it wasn't in his character to do so.
"Anyways, the supplies have already been sent to the warehouse. Father expects your students to show up during Winter Gifts Day. Some people are curious about what you have accomplished."
"I will send them. Thank Father for me; is there anything else?"
Edmund shook his head with a smile and said, "Haha, you never change; yes, there is something else too; Mother told me to tell you to get married already; she's got a few candidates waiting for you at home. So she expects you to come for the celebration too"
'This again...' Oswin didn't hide his sigh as he shook his head.
"Tell Mother I won't come down; she already has a couple of grandsons and granddaughters; I don't need to give her one too."
Edmund didn't convince his older brother anymore. He turned his attention back to the training students.
"Be careful not to get caught up by your students; otherwise, you'd be a laughing stock of Martial hall Masters."
Hearing this, Oswin held back from saying something that could destroy his cover.
On the surface, his strength was only at Rank 2 Advanced. Each rank was divided into beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
It wasn't a bad rank; in Kinslye city and the territory surrounding it, there are only five rank 3 warriors. One was his father, another was the city's guardian protector, the third was his youngest brother, and the remaining two were martial hall masters.
So he could be considered just below the strongest martial artists in the city.
Even though there's only a small gap between ranks 1 and 2, getting from rank 1 to rank 2, even for the fastest and most talented people in the kingdom who have access to resources, took at least 3 years. And to get to rank 3, the fastest time was 7 years.
Considering that the majority of people have average talents, the time it takes might triple to quadruple or even never.
His youngest brother, the genius of the family, took 9 years to reach rank 3. He is currently 28.
"Is there anything more?" Oswin asked. He was close with his parents and older sister and brother, but he wasn't close with his two younger brothers.
"Oh, youngest wants to talk about you and your students, helping them experience real battle. Seeing as three of them became rank 1, he'd be delighted."
Hearing this, Owsin raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "He can talk about it when my students attend the celebration."
"Alright.."
With that, his brother didn't stay any longer and soon left.
Seeing this, Oswin heaved a deep sigh. Because of his actions from the past and because each of his siblings was greedy, it created a rift between them.
But they were still his family; he didn't want to completely cut off connections with them.
"Stand in line!"
With that, he turned back to his young students and shouted.
Pretty soon, 20 youths with no shirts stood in line.
"You three step up."
Oswin pointed with his chin at the trio, who had reached rank 1. All three of them looked average, with brown hair and eyes and standing 170–175 cm tall. From left to right, their names were Lulach, Erin, and Grabhan; the trio came from the same village.
"A month from now, you'd be going down the mountain to attend the celebration of winter."
Having already expected this, the three were excited. They had been training on this mountain for a year already, and having reached rank 1, they were eager to show off to their friends and families. Moreover, get attention from the top families in the city. Who knows, maybe they could attract a beautiful woman from a rich family and marry her. Then their status may elevate.
"In addition," Oswin added, " I will allow you to spend a month outside after that."
Hearing this, the students got even more excited.
"At the celebration, you will probably meet my youngest brother; he will have something to say to you; follow his arrangements. There will probably also be a small competition. Try your best to win."
"With that said, seeing as there is still a month left, I will personally train you, I don't want you to embarrass me."
As he said that, Oswin then grabbed Sword by the side.
Seeing this, the trio gulped. Oswin then spent the time beating his students down.
----------------------------------------
After beating down his students, Oswin found himself again on the porch next to the waterfall.
At this point, under the care of his servant, his food was still there as he finished them.
As he was savoring some wine, he sensed some movements from the side where the trees are, and soon it showed itself.
A large silver-colored koala-like creature appears. It was the size of a bear, and it was flexible and agile as it jumped from one tree to another.
"Kweeckkk!"
It screeched at him with a weird voice.
Oswin simply opened his inventory and grabbed some dried-looking leaves. Soon after, a golden aura emitted from his palm and entered the leaves. Soon the leaves turned golden. He threw the leaves at the creature.
The creature caught the leaves with its mouth as it turned quiet and docile.
This was Monny, one of the creatures he got from his system. It wasn't a powerful creature, but its excrement had the ability to nourish the land with a bit of true essence. Once the entire land is soaked with its excrement, the plants and trees will slowly let out and breathe a bit of essence energy, making this land a version of the holy lands that those top martial arts halls or families have.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Essence energy is important in rank 4 and above, and in these backward lands where it is basically dried out, a place that emits essence is valuable.
Though, with the rate at which Moony excretes, it'll take decades at least to achieve that. But he wasn't in a hurry anyway.
A rank 1 martial artist could easily live past 100 years old; a rank 2 could live past 150, and a rank 3 could live past 200.
After being fed, Moony soon left to sleep in his nest.
Soon after, he called his servant to clean up his table.
"Oh, tell the chef to prepare a roast of pork; cook the way I like it."
"Yes master..."
Eating all kinds of delicacies has been one of the hobbies he developed in this world. And since he could practically get rid of the fat on his body, he could eat as much as he wanted.
After that, he took a deep breath, and the surrounding area suddenly seemed to breathe with him. He closed his eyes and meditated.
He felt the three concepts inside his body that he had been growing. One of them, in the shape of a brain, pulsed as he nurtured it to grow and tried to surpass its bottleneck.
Hours passed, and it was to no avail. Oswin could only sigh, as he only hoped he could get some spirit pills or anything that could help the spirit be cultivated and grow.
Currently, Oswin is at Rank 4. But he didn't only practice the essence. Unknown to the most martial artist, there are five concepts in one's body that are responsible to becoming stronger.
These are:
Body: This was just a simple but explosive growth in strength.
Spirit: Having a great spirit allows one to communicate with nature and use the elements.
Soul: One is able to tamper with one's soul and do soul attacks and manipulations, making it one of the hardest to defend.
Essence: The energy or aura one's body can emit; depending on the technique, it can be used in offensive or defensive ways.
And then there is the Core. One can gain access to the Core when one reaches rank 7. The core was basically the foundation of all the concepts. even if one didn't practice the other concepts, as long as you established your core and strengthened them. The other concepts will also receive a boost. Of course, if one cultivated the other concepts before one could form a core, the better the quality of the core becomes, the stronger it is.
A typical martial artist, once they reached rank 4, usually practice and cultivate Essence, while a small part of them was in the body. As for the rest, they either ignored them, didn't know the correct way, or didn't have the technique to cultivate it.
Essence and body were the most common practices in the lands he was in. As for the spirit, only the top ancestral families probably have a technique like that, like the royal family.
Currently, With his Triad Wondrous technique he practices, the technique that he got from the system. He can practice his body, spirit, and essence.
His body and essence have basically reached rank 4 advance too, and he was on the verge of breaking through; it was only his spirit that was holding his breakthrough back.
So he wasn't only a single practitioner, he was equivalent to three rank 4 Advance masters. At least he didn't disappoint other protagonists, because he too can cross realms and kill opponents, possibly two ranks above him. Of course, he had never fought someone at the 6th rank yet so it was just a speculation.
For reference, the sword of the kingdom, the king's brother, was a rank 6 advanced Essence maser. Once he reaches rank 5, his strength can truly be rank first in the entire kingdom.
Breaking through at rank 4 to 6 was equivalent to the expansion of concepts, and reaching rank 7 was the compression of these concepts into the core.
He only needed some spirit energy; unfortunately, these lands were dried up on such energy, so it was hard to cultivate the spirit unless one had some spirit pills or items that contain spirit energy.
He did have some items that contained a vast amount of spirit energy, but the second he took them out, he'd immediately explode from the sheer intensity of the energy.
He could only hope he could get plain ones in the coming days.
The next day...
After having a relishing breakfast, Oswin was fighting with his three top students.
"Technique! It's like the moment you turned into a rank 1 martial artist, you suddenly forgot to use your techniques!"
He berated them as he slashed with his sword, easily hitting his students as he could only defend himself with his sword, and immediately he was blown away.
One of them tried to take advantage of this; but his messy footwork cost him some time, which Oswin took advantage of as he easily defended and counterattacked, but not against him but against the remaining students who stabbed his sword at him.
He slid his sword against one of his students and slashed toward the upcoming sword. He didn't try to contest with strength as he had a huge advantage, so as their swords met, he slithered his sword inside as he took a couple of steps forward, and slammed his body against his student, causing him to be blown away.
"Counterattack! The knight martial technique specializes in defending and immediately counterattacking!"
"Have you learned nothing?"
Oswin then continued to beat up his students for an hour before he stopped.
"I want you three to only practice the foundational steps of the technique for a month, nothing else."
""Yes master! ""
Despite being beaten to the ground, his three students still answered in unison.
Soon, he turned his attention to his other students.
"I can already see some of you are on the verge of becoming rank 1. Work hard! Remember, foundation is everything!"
Hearing what he said, the students were excited at the prospect of becoming rank-one martial artists. Because of it, they trained diligently under Oswin's watch and guidance.
At this point, he had already grown used to and taken a liking to teaching a bunch of kids. Seeing them progress was like seeing your game character level up after all the grinding. Although he didn't show it on his face to retain his character, he was proud of how hard they worked.
In secret, he even sometimes adds some cleaning dust to their meal. Cleansing dust helps clean the body of toxicity and waste; it is different from body pills, which only strengthen the body without cleansing it.
Because of it, their bodies can improve quickly. Of course, hard work still plays a key role.
When it was about to turn noon, Oswin suddenly noticed a presence beneath the mountain that was climbing the mountain.
'Oh hell, I didn't expect him to come here! '
"Continue your training." After saying that, Oswin soon left the training courtyard and headed to his room, seemingly wanting to get something.
Soon he reached his room; it wasn't particularly large; it had a king-size bed adorned with accessories and golden embroidery, as well as a small living room and a study with shelves full of books.
Inside his room, he immediately opened his inventory and took something out.
An emerald-colored bracelet appeared floating above his palm. It didn't emit anything special, and aside from how it looked, it looked nothing special too.
It was called The Gift of Betrayal.
It had one simple function. He immediately strapped the bracelet on his wrist, and just as he was about to put spirit energy into it, he remembered something.
He rummaged inside his clothes, and underneath was a belt, hidden and touching his skin directly. It was engravings of humans lifting gaint rocks and the like. He unbuckled it, and the moment it left his waist, he instantly felt like he could float in the air if he just moved slightly.
He put the item in his inventory and taking a deep breath and feeling the connection he had with the bracelet, he carefully inserted some spirit energy inside it.
----------------------------------------
"We're near..."
"Quite a long and treacherous path he had chosen to place his hall..."
Two voices spoke as an entourage of five people climbed steep stairs.
"Did he purposely choose this place to challenge those people who want to enter his hall, my Lord?"
One of the burly men, wearing a full set of armor and more than two meters tall, looked towards the man leading.
"Is that true?" Asked someone who was walking beside his lord with a bright female voice.
The man in front looked to the side; he had a young, handsome, and cold face. With his golden eyes and black hair tied in a ponytail.
He too was wearing armor and stood about 1.95 meters tall. He said rather straightforwardly, "No, I heard from my oldest brother that the reason he chose this place was that he didn't want mother to keep sending him bride candidates. A normal woman will stop going after him when she sees the location."
He explained with a rather calm but steady, deep voice.
The woman next to him, a long blonde-haired lady with blue eyes and luscious red rips who was wearing a white dress, chuckled.
"I’m no ordinary woman."
"Indeed you are not," the leading man said simply and added, “In 6 months if things don't work out for you two, You can leave and go to my father; I already filled him in."
"Of course... I hope to get satisfactory results during these coming months."
With that, the man didn't say anything more as they silently headed to their destination.
Soon, they came to a large gate made of wood. The wall was 4 meters tall. There were some carvings of dragons on the wall, as well as gold plating on them.
Compared to the other martial arts hall, these were….
'A bit disappointing, however, it's only been a year since it was established it’s master was only at rank 2...'
The blond woman thought,
Because they came unannounced, no one was there to welcome them.
"Shall I forcefully open the doors, my Lord?"
The big man asked his lord politely. He could in fact just jump up to the wall.
"No, light the signal fire."
The man noticed the signal beacon on top of the wall. One of them, with a bow on his back, took it off and held it. He lit one of the arrows and shot the beacon, immediately lighting it up.
They waited for a minute or two before the doors suddenly budged and opened.
The man headed inside and, looking at who opened for them, asked:
"Where's my brother?"
"The Courtyard, My Lord"
The entourage headed towards the courtyard; because of the position of the courtyard, they could easily see that it was just ahead, and they could see some young students training.
"Haah!"
"Huh!"
They soon reached the courtyard, where twenty students were training. Some were training basic sword skills, some were training their bodies, and others were sparring. Among them, a tall man was watching and guiding them.
___
"Euric?" Oswin said as if he were surprised by his sudden appearance.
He then headed toward them without saying a word. He soon reached their side. He saw Euric brought three of his soldiers as he recognized them. They were two unfamiliar people with them. One of them was wearing butler-like clothing, holding in his hands two large bags. In front of him was a blonde-haired, youthful woman; she was quite beautiful, and her dress just made her look more elegant. She was staring at him with curiosity.
Oswin had a bad feeling about this.
"I apologize for the sudden visit, brother."
He heard what Euric said. Euric was a pretty straightforward person. He was his youngest brother, and because of his potential, marriage has been offered to him multiple times already, and he currently has two wives.
"No need. What can I do for you?"
He asked simply.
His brother didn't answer and turned to his students before setting his eyes on the three students practicing sword forms.
"I came as soon as I heard that you managed to raise three rank 1 martial artist from your students, and mother requested something too."
Hearing what his brother said, his face couldn't help but darken a bit. He didn't even look at the suspected candidate to be his wife and said to Euric,
"I won't marry; I believe you know I've told my mother that many times already."
It wasn't that he wasn't into women; it was just that at the moment, he just wanted to be alone.
"...Are those the three rank 1 students?"
Euric didn't comment on what he said and pointed with his chin at the three students with his sharp eye. There was no way to determine the rank of someone by looks alone, unless you had a trained eye or had a soul technique to do so. Euric was the former and recognized the force the trio exerted in their arms.
"...yes"
"Let me test them," Euric promptly said, and without waiting for Oswin to say something, he headed towards the three. He followed after him and said nothing.
He could feel the soldier's eye on him as well as the weird gaze the supposed butler was giving him, but he ignored it.
Soon, Euric came before the three. And unhesitatingly said,
"You three, spar with me."
The trio had already noticed the person, so they weren't that surprised and instead looked at their master. Oswin nodded.
Soon they made space for the spar.
The audience watched in silence.
And the spar began with the slash of Lulach!
The trio used their numerical advantage as they tried to overwhelm Euric.
However, the results were obvious as one can see. Euric alone is rank 3, and he could kill a rank 1 martial artist with a single swing of his sword.
"Hahahah! Good lads!"
Euric laughed. If there's one thing Oswin knew about Euric, it's that he loves challenges and is thrilled to see people under him grow. Despite his battle-hardened nature, he was a general who cared about his soldiers.
Soon the sparring ended, with Euric easily beating the trio. After that, Euric looked at him and said seriously, "I will take them with me brother, to train them in actual combat; only in a real battle will one become a true martial warrior."
Oswin looked at his steady gaze and said, "I had thought it wouldn't be a month till you tried to recruit them."
"I have no wish to recruit them, merely to train them; the stronger they are, the better for the family, and because I got information that a bunch of Ravenskulls has recruited a bunch of bandit groups to cause a mess in the south,"
"My teacher instructed me to get rid of them as I am closer to them."
Hearing that, Oswin tried to remember who the Ravenskulls were.
If he remembers correctly, the Ravenskulls were a hostile martial hall in the chaotic south; they had a penchant for stealing the resources of other territories; only stealing though; their students would kill anyone who got in their way of taking a city or town and ransacking the place; once that was done, they would leave the area they had ransacked, and months later, they would return and do it again.
They don't seek to conquer lands; it seems they only seek to steal their resources. The Ravenskulls Hall master was said to be a rank 5 essence master. And they practice a Raven death-hand technique, focusing on the dexterity and speed of their hands.
That's what Euric told him in the past, at least. As for who the teacher Euric was referring to…
Naturally, there are other Martial halls in the kingdom of Kaneria, and with Euric's talents, he was able to enter one of the first-rate martial halls of the kingdom, Victorious Fighting Martial Hall, whose hall master is said to be at the peak of rank 5. What Euric refers to as teacher is a Rank 4 essence master; he had met his teacher in the past.
While in thought, Oswin nodded and said, "I was thinking my students needed some actual combat experience."
"Good, prepare your things. We are leaving now." Eric said the latter to the students, to which they excitedly went to pack their stuff.
Just as Oswin was about to ask about who the woman was, He saw his youngest brother showing him a small smile and said, “Brother, why don't we spar a bit?"
Hearing this, Oswin couldn't help but sigh inwardly: 'Indeed, it has come to this.’
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
"Damn, don't forget us when you're famous!"
"Tell us stories of your battle when you return!"
“Hahaha, we will, brothers!"
"Thats right!"
The students, who have been temporarily dismissed by their master in their training, were looking at the trio with envy.
"Can you check on my mother? She lives by the village next to you; she's-“
"I will, don’t worry."
"Can you send a message to my father?"
"When I get the chance, I will."
"By the way..." Lulach said as he turned his head towards the training hall.
"Do you think the master can win against his brother?"
Erin replied after a pause. “His brother, Lord Euric, is at least Rank 3, while Master is only an Advanced Rank 2."
----------------------------------------
"Fight!"
The moment that word was uttered, Oswin saw Euric diving at him with great speed, almost faster than he could percieve!
Oswin then calmly anticipated where the attack was going to go and defended with his sword.
Clang!
A loud sound was made when their swords met!
Oswin could feel Euric’s strength as he pushed with all his might to push him away. Euric then took a step back before taking another swing at him.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Every time their swords met, it created a loud sound as the air swosshed. Oswin knew that if they were using an ordinary sword, it would have bent and broken by now.
The clashed continued but Oswin struggled to counterattack; his brother's defense was flawless, and even if he noticed one weakness, he knew it could only be bait.
Their swords met again as they danced around the training hall. Oswin slid his sword inside Euric, intending to take advantage of it. When Euric simply stepped forward and moved his head a bit, he punched Oswin in the stomach.
Oswin was pushed back a couple of steps. He got to admit that, aside from the difference in strength, in terms of actual combat, his youngest brother has more experience than him. Before he woke up in Oswin's body, The original Oswin was more of a politician than a fighter. Of course, he had a few fights here and there, but they were nothing compared to what Euric has faced.
Soon, each took a couple steps back and Euric said, "Strength brother, the world is ruled by the strong, so never stop training!" His brother Euric said, he was familiar with this; before he goes all out in their sparring, he always tries to encourage him.
‘Why does it seem like I'm the little brother here? '
But he didn't have the time to ponder as he saw Euric's eyes turn cold, and once again he dived toward him with unprecedented speed! The floor that wasn't made of ordinary wood cracked as his feet bursted off the ground.
Oswin's mind could still follow him, but his body couldn't!
Instantly, he felt the cold sword on his neck as he involuntarily gulped. His expressionless face was broken.
"That was a great spar, brother, though it seems you're still a few years away from rank 3."
Euric said as he took off his sword and placed it inside its scabbard.
Oswin got his bearings, nodded, and said, "There is more to learn."
"Well then, We have to go. Oh, and I haven't had the chance to introduce her to you."
Euric was back to his old self and added, "This is Catriona Ellisi, daughter of the head of the Ellisi family. Mother has chosen her as your bride candidate. She will stay here for 6 months, and if you two develop affection for each other, then Mother said you could proceed with the marriage."
This time, Oswin didn't hide his surprised expression and wanted to say something more, but in the end, he held himself back. He knew it was useless talking about it with his brother, as he fully followed their mother's advice.
"Greetings, Lord Osiwn Kinslye; for the next 6 months I will be in your care." The blond-haired woman simply said with a bright voice and bowed a bit. With her was his butler.
Oswin hesitated but didn't show it on his face and only said, "Well then, I welcome you with open arms."
Seeing this, Euric nodded and, after saying goodbye, soon left with his three students. His students thank him greatly and make sure they won't disappoint him, while Oswin sincerely advises them to stay alive.
After they left, Oswin called for a servant.
"Lead them to their rooms; You might need a rest."
"Thank you, heheh, I don't look like it, but I’m actually rank 2 martial artist."
Hearing this, Oswin put on a bit of a surprised face. "To think such a beautiful miss like you has such strength, I am truly impressed."
"Hehe, This might be a little rude, but I would like to ask a favor." Catriona asked like a little girl asking for something from her parents.
Oswin greatly resisted rolling his eyes and said, "What might that be?"
"Do you mind if I train with your students? Since I will be here for a while, I don’t want to just do anything. If I could help the students in their training, then it will make it light on my chest."
Hearing this, Oswin simply nodded and said, "Of course."
"Your kindness is admirable. Well, then, I'll see you later as I need to settle my stuff."
"Alright..."
Soon, a servant led them to their rooms. Oswin then heaved a deep sigh before shaking his head. As he left the training hall, he saw his students training without needing him to tell them to get back to their training.
Oswin then headed to his room. When he reached it, he made sure nothing was wrong before he took off the bracelet hidden under his sleeves. During the battle, his brother or maybe even the others saw this but didn't comment on it as they didn't find anything unusual.
Soon, with great difficulty, even though he had bonded with the artifact already, he took the bracelet off his wrist. As soon as that happened, Oswin felt his strength was returning and his concepts were unsealing.
The gift of betrayal has the function of sealing one's martial prowess with only a little bit of spirit energy.
The description of the artifact said that it was supposedly the gift the bride gave to his powerful soon-to-be husband, as soon as the husband wore the seemingly ordinary bracelet, the woman immediately sent spirit energy inside it, the artifact has the ability to accept energy from the one who bonded with it without even touching it, and in a brief moment, the groom lost his strength, and the bride took this chance to behead her groom.
To martial artists, especially those in high ranks, a brief moment of vulnerability means death.
That was the supposed history of the bracelet. He described it as ‘supposed’ because he didn't know if it really happened, but if it did, he wouldn't be surprised either.
As the new owner of the bracelet, he could adjust the amount of strength he could seal. Just moments ago, he sealed his strength only up to rank 2 advanced.
He used the bracelet because he wasn't confident in putting on an act of someone being beaten by someone stronger.
Seeing as he didn't want to arouse suspicion from anyone, he could only rely on the bracelet to lower his strength.
'Well, there is that guy.’
There is only one person in the world who has noticed something peculiar about him. It was his previous butler. Luckily, he swore an oath not to divulge what he had seen. And he had never seen him since he decided to build his hall.
Soon he placed the bracelet inside his inventory and brought back the belt. The belt appeared before him.
This was called the belt of strength. As long as one wore it, one can feel like their entire body is being pressed by heavy weights.
Currently, in the middle of the belt, like a clock, was a dragon with its opened mouth, it was adjusted slightly to the left pointing with its gaping mouth at one particular character that says 100.
He then strapped the belt to his waist, and he instinctively used his spirit to control the ground. Otherwise, with each step, he might have sunk to the ground.
100 means 100 tons are being constantly pressed against him. In the beginning, he had trouble moving and even breathing because of it, but as he got stronger, he increased the force, and now he could manage 100 tons of weight without it affecting his daily life.
This was a pretty useful artifact, as it continuously hones the body. It was also compatible with his Wondrous triad technique. With it, he didn't need to exercise or train, as a simple walk was enough training.
With that out of the way and things somewhat handled, Oswin thought about the woman living in the guest room. In the end, he could only sigh, and do what he does best, say as little as possible, and act like nothing's wrong.
Oswin then hesitated a bit before he once again opened his system. He mentally pressed the spin button as he lied on the bed and waited to see what he was going to get.