[Intrinsic Art- Infinite Swords!]

Many Barbarians of different shapes and sizes died at my hands.

I stepped around the battlefield outside the Drakeyol Kingdom's borders.

Nothing could stop me…

How boring…

No matter how many attacked my group of well-trained Swordsmen, a sword made from my Water Mana would always cut them apart. This would also cause the morale of my 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, and the Water Affinity focused into the depths of my eyes.

The myriad of astral swords around me turned into raindrops that assimilated into my Skill Root.

I could shoot and control the Water Magic Astral Swords created by my family's Intrinsic Art with the power of my thoughts alone. I deactivated my Skill Root 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.

He was fighting hard to keep me 'guarded'.

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 content curved on my face. I leisurely fought the reckless 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 as an occupational habit.

This was natural after growing up as the successor for the grand lineage of Swordsman.

Even if they were respected by all races of Gaia.

In the long years after I inherited the title of the Swordwick Household's House Master, I fought 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 felt like fighting for anything other than my honour!

Humans have been betraying 'Humanity' over the years, and traitors now exist within our main force.

Even in the Royal Family's great army…

I wondered how they are going to cleanse the Drakeyol Kingdom of the corrupted vermin.

Those creature that have been burning weaker Noble Houses to the ground…

Though I can't blame them for not being able to deal with the traitors within our own ranks.

Especially considering how 'thorough' crimes had become...

Our Drakeyol Kingdom's Royal Family had become the leader of the five kingdoms left in the human race.

It bolstered 'our' their strength and intelligence.

The decisions of Royalty wasn't for me to judge.

Forcibly taking lesser kingdoms as our servants was better than having them run amuck.

Those snivelling cowards would've been a bigger pain to deal with… had we not gone so far…

Hah... This was why I would rather have become a paranoid Duke with no trust in anyone...

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 did now?

It was laughable how fate seemed out of the control of a mere mortal such as myself...

My boldness in battle wasn't because of my own courageous heart, but due to the stubbornness of my Personal Butler and Maid had to protect me. A feeling of nostalgia ran through my heart…

I fondly remembered the two mercenaries.

The two who eventually became my servants after healing the severe internal injuries they'd suffered.

Not only was their Magical Talents among the cream of the crop, their combat abilities were pretty strong as well. This was the reason I tried to hire them as my personal servants when we met.

Some people would say that I was as arrogant as a King for thinking that two high-level Mercenaries would serve my household, but I didn't care about that one bit.

Becoming my servant shouldn't have been an unacceptable for them. It was a beneficial deal.

After all, I DID spent a large amount of resources to heal their wounds.

"Master Swordwick, is something wrong?" My Head Butler squirmed around me like usual.

His face was getting wrinkly…

"It's about your son." After hearing my words, he couldn't help but helplessly smile.

He knew what I was going to advise him. I was only saying what needs to be said out of kindness...

Not out of malicious intent.

"I don't want him to live the life as an 'ordinary' servant of our household." I couldn't help but furrow my brows after hearing these words from him. They reminded me of myself and 'her'…

My daughter…

It took great pains for me to make her suffer for the sake of power, but my foolish servant didn't feel it.

He was the type of person who 'liked violence'…

I didn't think this old friend of mine would be so cruel towards his only son...

Wouldn't putting too much expectations on the talentless child only become a burden to him?

No, maybe I just didn't want another to suffer…

There didn't need to be another parent-child pair like my daughter and I. We were twisted enough…

I'd seen too many unable to overcome their limitations and ended up falling into madness.

Their cruel upbringing only hindered their maturity.

I understood Fredrick's mindset… A former adventurer and vagabond would always be fearful.

He and his wife had experienced too much…

They'd seen too much of humanity's cruelty…

Still, what they were doing wasn't right. Though it would be hypocritically of me to outright say this…

I'd already experienced what it was like to battle Swordsmen who only know how to complain about their lack of 'innate talent'... Those who give in to the temptations of shortcuts without hesitation.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

They believed themselves to have no ability to improve their strength through the 'orthodox' way.

Most of these Swordsmen, who were unwilling to stay weak, ended up becoming Barbarians after making contact with the Elites of the Blood Nation's Dark Nobility. They take in the powers of the 'Blood Attribute' to bolster their power…

"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 in magic... not unless he's able to create his own personal Skill Root like I have...

…or break laws of nature like my ancestor did." As Fredrick heard my opinion, his smile stiffened.

He likely understood that no one could replicate the Sword Emperor of the long passed Chaotic Era.

"No, he will... He's a genius!" A deep stubbornness appeared in his voice. It felt like talking to a rock.

"A genius? I agree." I gave him that.

I'd 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 stricter with my daughter's education. Was I being too gentle?

"His imaginative ways of using Mana is something I have never seen before. His martial arts far outstrip those his own age... perhaps it's best to say that he has reached the peak of his potential in close-combat, but that is ALL he has to rely on."

I spoke without any formalities.

They needed to understand the dangers of having too much expectations on their talentless son...

He was merely an F Rank human being, after all.

There wasn't much to him…

I myself always believed in 'training correctly' rather than 'training hard'. I was unable to watch…

They were making their way towards a tragedy.

He may not be COMPLETELY talentless, but that was even more of a reason to stop him prematurely.

At least, before he ended up realising that all his efforts were for naught. The great barrier between those with higher Magic Talent and those with lower talent wasn't that easy to overcome.

"You just don't understand. Even if he doesn't create a Skill Root, with his strength, he'll be able to keep up with your daughter as a rare Universal Specialist. I believe in him!" Fredrick's eyes lit up with a mysteriously confident light as he spoke.

But to me personally: Although I understood that Universal Specialists were extremely rare, that didn't exactly mean that such a Specialist with low Magic Talent would be able to compare with my highly talented AND hard-working daughter...

"Fine then. I'll give him a test. If he's unable to pass this trail, you must give up on trying to groom him into my daughter's Personal Butler. You must understand the responsibilities and implications of having that particular position, right?"

I gave up in trying to change his decision.

Instead, I tried a different approach to persuading him. One that seemed to work wonderfully...

"... I understand." Fredrick reluctantly agreed, and with that, the duel between the two little butlers of our 'Monster House' 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 made sure that talented boy called Jack went over to Simon in order to infuriate him with his unusually sharp tongue. I'd already given him clear instructions on what needs to be done!

What I didn't expect was the result…

It went outside my expectations…

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 son would be so devious?

Throughout the entire duel, he was always thought a step ahead. He used every trick that was taught by his parent to gain victory! Even his martial art capabilities were far beyond the scope of any normal child who was barely ten years old.

His combat prowess far exceeded any Rank F Magical Talent I had ever seen before.

However, the only reason he won was due to Jack's overconfidence in his Magic Talent being able to suppress those weaker than him. If not, he would have used 'Earthen Gravity' to begin their duel.

Why fight hand-to-hand?

I'm sure a second battle between them would be much more interesting to watch. Especially once Jack learned to be more modest about his spear techniques. He was not exactly a true Warrior yet!

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

Hah... I'm giving that child, Jack, way too much credit for being able to keep up with him.

The crux of the matter was that Simon displayed a great amount of potential!

It had almost opened my eyes to how Magical Talent wasn't everything…! Well, almost...

A Universal Specialist and an Expert Swordsman with seemingly high mastery of martial arts...

This kind of genius couldn't be found anywhere...

Passing this 'trail' of mine really would help him growth significantly. So long as he understood it.

"Greetings, House Master. Is there anything wrong?" Simon spoke after I 'invited' him to my office. I looked at the young child's calm and composed eyes with a complex expression.

Unable to put into words what I wanted to advise.

Fredrick was a fool who'd put too much faith in people.

Martha was a naive woman who only looked at her child's smiling complexion. and nothing else.

Both of these two foolish, doting servants weren't able to properly judge this child correctly.

From his academic results, I could say that he had a higher chance of becoming a Scholar in future than a Swordsman.

My daughter, Sapphire, and even Jack Steelwell, were destined to surpass him no matter how he shortens the gap between them with skill or intuition. This was due to how the power of all Specialists relied heavily on Magical Talent.

Muscle strength alone had its limits…

I, despite obviously seeing his potential in other areas, had already seen the difference between the talentless and the talented.

I'd already seen countless aspiring fighters regret their life decisions. It was always when they found that they were unable to overcome the hurdle that was their Magical Talent. A cruelty of fate…

Blood trickled down their lips in utter defeat...

Though most of them ended up dying by a sword after they became traitors of humanity... Becoming nothing but foolish Barbarians who had sought nothing. They acquired more power through battle.

I don't want to give this talented youth false hope of the future. It would be far better if he chose a realistic goal… like being a wandering Mercenary or Guard. Both of these occupations only needed people with acceptable combat prowess.

There was no need for him to take big risks…

He should just accept my advice already.

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

"Is it because of my Magical Talent?" Simon spoke in return. This obvious speculation was spot-on.

There was no way I'd want a liability that could one day self-implode laying dormant within 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 reinforcement, which is the only way to keep up with 'her'." I said in a purposely tranquil tone.

I'd heard of his results in sharpening his reinforcement through word of mouth.

I completely believed only a miracle could help him become someone worth 'cultivating'.

"I can increase the quantity of my techniques and bring them to higher levels. The magical abilities I've shown wasn't the true limit of my power." As I heard these words, I couldn't help but glance at my two servants standing besides me.

Only once they nodded their heads to his words did I lean forward on my chair.

I wanted to get a closer look at him.

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

You wouldn't be able to escape after falling into a pitfall..." Was there a need to discuss further?

"In regards to your unusual Fireball Spell, it's still severely lacking in power.

Do you think there haven't been others of Magical Talent who were 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 supposed '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. It wasn't worth the investment.

And once it failed to live up to his expectations, he would surely go mad from not being able to accept reality...

"I'll adapt my magical abilities in future and will increase the quantity of my Arts and Spells to make up for my lack of Mana. Even if I have to use enchanted equipment to bolster my overall combat prowess to higher level… than what you've seen."

It seems this pitiful child still wasn't mature enough to understand my sentiments.

It was a contradictory to see what his parents considered a 'mature' personality not understanding in this situation. Is being dense inherent in Fredrick's bloodline, or does it have something to do with how this kid was raised?

Why is he being stubborn despite how I was giving him reasonable arguments?

It was hurting my pride…

Simon was still as calm as before, but the words coming out of his mouth were irrational and immature.

I was finding it difficult to decide whether I should allow him to become my daughter's Personal Butler or not...

This important position might not come hand-in-hand with a noble status, but Personal Butler's of my Noble Household had a relatively high standing to go along with their freedom.

Their actions…

…as well as mannerisms towards other nobility, were would be closely watched by those around them.

"You want to increase the quality of your Spells?

Do you think you're the only one who has personalised their own strong Arts and Spells over the years? Or do you think that every one of these abilities you're going to create will be as strong as the Sword Emperor's Mana Sharpening?

You foolish, ignorant child!" I felt angered by his arrogant statement and scolded him for them.

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 strongest Swordsman of ancient times. An exception in the entirety of humanity that broke human limits.

"Let's take my 'Infinite Swords' Intrinsic Art as an example: The first level of the ability lets me control 40 swords created through my Mana 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 without any upper limits.

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

Many Intrinsic 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. They all had high Magical Talent.

All nearly the same level as your parents.

Think about your future ambitions carefully and stop daydreaming about becoming another Sword Emperor... because no one will ever have the ability to surpass him!" I said with conviction.

No one could convince me of otherwise…!