I quickly arrived at the Silver Bells information guild after my mental crisis. I couldn't help but enjoy the sights again during my walk, but the gently waving trees and the myriad of colors were really a beautiful spectacle to witness.

The lobby of the guild wasn't as busy and an attendant immediately noticed me and came up to me.

"Welcome Master Ray, how can we be of service to you today?"

"I just wanted to check if there were any updates on the commission I gave around a week ago."

"Ah, yes! Let me pull up our reports and I will be right back to brief you on it."

She gave a small bow as she left to grab the documents relating to my commission. In the meantime, I just walked around the lobby taking in as much of it as I could. Since I barely went outside during the week, I enjoyed every second of exploration that I could partake in. After a brief couple of minutes, the attendant returned with a small sheet of paper.

"Here is the document with information related to the commission you requested. If there is anything else you need, please let me know."

I accepted the document as the attendant went back to assist another customer. I quickly scanned the document as I began walking out of the guild. I could feel the corners of my mouth arching upwards as I finished skimming it.

It looks like the cooking contest was well received not only by those who wish to participate, but also those who have a sizeable wallet. The document listed nobles and merchants who were interested in the competition, and would be coming to Granbell to spectate and try some of the dishes made by the visiting competitors. With this much interest, it was fair to say that the income made from the new entries into Granbell and Irisbell would be plentiful. I already had a plan in motion to create a VIP system for nobles and merchants who wish to personally taste the competitor's cooking as well as a fast pass type of system for them to enter Granbell. My goal was to take as much as possible from them while spreading the word of Granbell's brilliance.

With the document in my pocket, I began to head back to mansion as I wanted to get some physical training in as well as sword training. I was planning on asking Captain Lloyd tomorrow if I could spar against one of the newer knights in training, but I was skeptical if he would actually agree. Being the son of the duke had its privileges, but at the end of the day was a high position in this world. I needed to remind myself of this fact pretty often because of how different it was to anything I had experienced before. In my heart, however, I knew that sparring would help elevate my combat potential exponentially. I didn't know why, but something within me burned with vigor and passion whenever I saw the others spar amongst themselves.

I quickly changed into my training outfit and went out to the training grounds to begin getting my body warmed up. Stretching and preparation were important to keeping your body maintained, something I never skipped after having it ingrained into me by Captain Lloyd. After stretching and warming my body up, I picked up one of the wooden swords on the weapons rack. I lightly swung it in front of me a couple of times as I got my body into the motions.

Since it was already later in the day, there weren't as many people on the grounds as usual. Only a handful of knights were currently training and the others were most likely on patrol or resting. The one person that did catch my eye, however, was Reiia. She was standing with her eyes closed while wielding her sword in a unique stance I had never seen before. She hadn't moved an inch since I had gotten here, and none of the knights paid her any mind as if it was the norm for them.

I continued swinging the sword lightly until I felt I was warmed up enough to begin training in earnest. I moved towards one of the training dummies that I particularly liked because of its difficulty. It was a rotating dummy similar to the ones seen in martial arts movies that would rotate whenever one struck the extended parts. This dummy though, was modified for swordsman to use and thus the limbs were a bit longer and thicker. If one didn't react fast enough, the dummy would rotate and strike with one of its wooden limbs. I had learned this lesson the hard way after confidently challenging it the first time. I had slowly gotten accustomed to this, and could see a clear improvement in my reaction time.

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I let out a loud sigh as I began moving my feet in rhythm to the footwork I was learning. I had been learning the imperial footwork taught by the knights, but I incorporated my own learnings into it. I had quickly realized that the footwork I was learning during my dancing lessons could be introduced with the imperial footwork to minimize some of the strain since the imperial footwork was supposed to be taught to those older than me. I had only learned some of it because I forced myself to mimic the knights. Of course, since I had modified the footwork it wasn't as effective as the original, but it was enough to get by for someone of my talents.

Along with improving my footwork, after acquiring the 'Swordsmanship' skill it had become far easier to learn and mimic movements. I had been practicing slashing, stabbing, guarding, parrying, and dodging. Since my stamina was still the main issue, I wanted to focus on my reaction time and movements. Once I had the basics down and sufficiently levelled up my stamina, it would be possible to learn actual sword styles and techniques from the game.

I circled the dummy as I entered a combative stance. I mentally overlaid the image of a bandit onto the dummy so that I could immerse myself deeper into the training. After 'observing' my opponent, I let out a swift stab towards its center of mass. The sensation of hitting a solid surface travelled up the sword and into my hand, but I grit my teeth and quickly dodged the limb that had rotated due to the strike. It harmlessly passed by me as I countered with a slash onto one of the exposed limbs. The feeling of cutting through the air boosted my confidence as it successfully connected. The dummy rotated again, but at a faster pace as I arched my back to avoid the blow to my face.

Feeling emboldened by my progress, I decided to increase the tempo of my attacks. This meant that the dummy would be rotating at a faster degree, pushing me to keep up with my reaction speed.

I could feel the sweat running down my back and over my face as my breathing became more labored. The limbs of the dummy were becoming harder to react to, but I couldn't care less. My body was protesting against anymore exertion, and my heart was painfully pulsating to keep up with my antics. I licked my lips as I narrowly avoided a strike to my waist. I needed more. I needed to be faster. My soul was burning for more, and I strained my eyes to pick up any minute details. The creaking of the dummy, the placements of the limbs, the scratches and dents I had left on it, anything that could help me with dodging the next blow.

My eyes were picking these details up and letting my body do the rest. Moving my left foot slightly back, rotating my waist to parry, and even timing counters. My fingers tingled with excitement as I let myself absorb all these sensations. The cool air breathed onto me as I continuously adjusted myself for the next action.

I kept this pace up until a sharp sensation struck my hand. I let out a small groan as I looked down to see the damage. There was a bruise forming and a cut on the outside of my hand as blood began to seep out of it. I grabbed a nearby cloth to wipe my hand when I heard some footsteps approaching from behind.

"Master Ray, I'm impressed with the progress you have made. It seems that your footwork and reactions have improved quite a bit since I last saw you train. Your passion for the sword can be felt even from afar."

Reiia had finished her own training and had been watching Ray quietly as to not disturb his concentration. The other knights had already left the grounds by then, leaving the two of them alone. Reiia briefly looked at Ray's hand, a shadow briefly crossing her eyes.

"Thank you Vice-captain for the kind words. Without the help from the other knights and Captain Lloyd, I would not be improving as fast as I am."

She nodded her head at my response before putting a hand on my shoulder as she began to go back to her quarters.

"That may be true, but one would have to be blind to ignore the amount of work you are putting yourself through. You have earned the respect of the knights through your blood and sweat, so always keep your head up. You are the future of this duchy Ray, and we all wish to see your grow safely."

With those words Reiia left the training grounds as I stood there alone with my thoughts. My body was as heavy as lead, but my mind was as clear as a crystalline vase. I trudged my way back to my room for some well deserved rest. Tomorrow would be a big day for me since I would ask for a chance to spar. I could feel it deep within me, that I would be able to take the next major step in this life through this event.

The words Reiia had spoken validated my feelings. Using a sword and learning how to fight with it was an astounding experience. I fell in love with the art of the sword once I began practicing it as Ray. I had read novels and played games that depicted the epic fights between the heroes and villains, and the fights always stood out to me. Maybe one day I could reach a level where I could fight without slowing anyone down...

With those thoughts I drifted off to sleep, secretly hoping that my wish would come true.