Part 1

“Claymores are excellent when it comes to pierce enemies wearing armor since they can be used to penetrate armor completely." Arnold spoke to Stella as Mormond was looking for all the longswords and claymores in his possession.

Melina was quietly sitting on one of the chairs, drawing with crayons. She didn’t even pay attention to what Arnold and Stella were doing. He was grateful how she was a simple girl to please.

“What about slashing? Is it strong enough to cut through armor?”

“Not unless you have sufficient arm strength. It also depends on the quality armor and if the armor is enchanted.”

According to earth’s history, the concept of a two-handed longsword(claymores included) was impossible during the bronze or iron age since long swords could bend very easily. Only with the introduction of Medieval steel could such a sword be made.

The Claymore was a two-handed weapon and was used primarily for slashing, although it could also be used for piercing through heavily armored knights. The overall weight of the blade combined with the strength of a two-handed swing allowed it to sever heads with ease.

The Holy Roman Empire would use an even longer sword during the early 1500s: the Zweihänder. Pier Gerlofs Donia is credited for owning the biggest sword in human history: a 7ft long 14lb Zweihänder. Since The Renaissance was dominated by Pike And Shot formations, these massive swords could be substitutes for pikes. However as musket technology evolved, the swordsmen became irrelevant on the modernizing battlefield (except for cavalry, which remained relevant until the early 20th century).

But the logic of the real world didn’t apply to a fantasy world. A warrior here could sever someone in two even if they wore armor.

Like Arnold said, it all depended on arm strength, type of armor being worn by the enemy and if the armored enemy has enchantments.

Stella could definitely cause destruction on the battlefield if she learned to use the sword. Moreover if she learned to use Fire Lily(fully awakened) then she could become nigh-invincible.

‘We shall wait and see.’

Mormond finally returned. Arnold expected him to bring an entire crate of weapons but Mormond only had four longswords.

One had two spikes below its hilt so it heavily resembled a Zweihänder while there was another with a blade as thick as a slab of iron.

The other two were just normal longswords. One was suited for two handed while the other was one-handed. What determined how many hands had to be used was the thickness of the hilt and the length of the blade.

“Pick ya poison, kid.” Mormond threw the weapons onto the table.

Stella frowned before looking at Arnold.

“Well, come on then! I can’t be sitting ere waiting for you two to finish. I got things I wanna buy too!”

“Just give me a minute, okay!?” Stella shot back.

“I told you before, Stella. That you need a sword that will allow you to crush your opponents. A two-handed claymore will do just that.”

“….”

It must’ve been unbearable having to receive help from a guy she swore to surpass. Arnold wanted the two of them to set aside any grudges of the past and become close with one another.

She was a very important piece in his puzzle after all. With her strength he could have a strong ally by his side.

To be honest, Luke didn’t need Stella.

She never even fought that much whenever a disaster struck. If she did then she would fight the cannon fodder and footsoldiers in war. That wasn’t a life a woman—who wished to surpass the one blessed by all gods—should live.

She was destined for greater things and he would make sure that she would become powerful.

Once he got that pure martial skill then it was time for him to use his knowledge of the game to the best of his abilities. He would explore ruins from the past, steal all artifacts and do all the other things that would ensure his survival. He had such leeway since no major death flags had been triggered.

He was hesitant on doing these things since nobles from the empire would try and invade his city to steal from him or just want to destroy his city out of hate for his family.

But now they could do nothing since Brynhildr Selia Bloodforth was supporting him in terms of military power.

‘I have to make sure she protects my city no matter what. I don’t want to lose anything that’ll ensure I live a peaceful life.’

Arnold glanced at Stella who was observing the longswords with a frown on her face.

‘This girl will be my third ally. Hmm… Maybe I should start an organization just like Arnold did in the story.’

His organization was considered almost equal to Serz and the Murim Martial Alliance at some point in the game. This made the entire world fear his might.

He could make his own organization grow to match two of the most powerful organizations on the entire continent in less than a decade.

And he did this by gathering powerful allies.

Arnold wanted to do the same. He already had Elora as a potential member for his future organization. He wasn't sure how strong Elora was since he never witnessed her full capabilities but he was still willing to accept her into his organization.

Stella would be his second member.

But first he had to persuade her to work for him.

A person wouldn’t work under the person they hated the most after all.

His plan on ensnaring her was already underway but he didn’t have the time to move that plan forward just yet.

First his Worst-Case Scenario plan had to be completed.

Secondly, he had to make sure a rescue team is assembled for the Sky God Dungeon.

Last but not least he had to search for that skill Selia spoke about.

These things will take time since everything had to go smoothly. There couldn’t be any mistakes.

If he made just one slipup then he would be charged with treason and beheaded.

The motive for his actions wouldn’t even be considered.

That was it. He would die without proving to them that his actions were justified.

However, when the disaster does strike then and only then will regret sink in. Them being the ones who would regret it.

Although he didn’t trust Selia’s subordinates, he trusted in their motives for helping him.

That motive being providing aide to him whenever he requested for it and them gaining financial support from him.

Arnold’s land had enough crystals to fund several nations for decades. There was even a mountain worth of crystals somewhere beneath the cliffs and mountain ranges where he fought Lancelot.

If Lancelot didn’t capture him then he was planning on going there immediately after subjugating the dragon. He couldn’t do so now since he was way too busy and didn’t trust Lunaria and Vetis to extract the crystals themselves.

He would have to be present to observe the work. Or he could have someone he trusts take over and supervise the extraction of the crystals. Luckily he had someone in mind.

“Why dontcha try them out before deciding which one to buy?” Mormond suggested as Stella was rubbing the hilt of one of the longswords.

“Uhm, right…” she picked the sword up; it almost fell out of her hand but she was able to catch it with her other hand.

“Hold onto it with both hands. That’s what a longsword is meant for, after all.”

Even though she did as Mormond said, Stella was still struggling to balance the sword properly.

Mormond shook his head in disappointment, “Tell me, lass. Have you ever physically trained your body other than your swordsmanship training which involves around moving a lot?”

“….” Stella’s face reddened, “I-I thought it wasn’t necessary as long as I had Fire Lily and my aura…”

‘This one doesn’t use her head at all, huh?’

Arnold wanted to laugh at Stella’s ignorance.

“Look here,” Mormond rolled up his sleeve and flexed his bicep. His bicep swelled twice the size as it was before and veins popped underneath the skin, “This is the physique one has to have if one wishes to wield a longsword. See how big and rugged my hands are?” he said as he took off his gloves, “They are rough and hard, suitable to balance the weight of any longsword.”

“That’s impossible for a woman!” Stella yelled.

“Indeed. You’re correct. But I know of many female warriors who can handle longswords without having this kind of body. They don’t need to have physical power alone.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Eh? What do you mean?”

“Most warriors today rely on aura to fight. That’s how it is with the female warriors I mentioned as well. They are able find a balance between their physical power and aura and keep a constant flow of power even if not in combat.”

Mormond looked at Arnold, “Take a look at this lad. He’s so damn skinny in comparison to me but he can definitely overpower me if we were to go through a test of physical power. Do you know why? It’s because he has aura while I don’t. But does he need the aura to beat me? Nay.”

“….”

Stella had an idiotic expression on her face as if she couldn’t understand.

“Tsk, tsk. The professors at that fancy academy don’t teach you this, do they?”

“No…”

The Academy didn’t spoonfeed their students. Finding balance between your aura and physical limit was something that you had to figure out from another source. Arnold had Sebastian to teach him this.

Stella had no one who taught her this.

She had been going through hellish training every day since childhood, pushing her body to the limit.

Yet why was she still this weak in comparison to Arnold?

Simple.

Because she didn’t have balance.

Aura and physical power should be perfectly balanced as all things should be.

“If you can’t even balance your aura and physical power then you should just quit swordsmanship,” Arnold said from the side.

“I don’t need your opinion...” Stella glared at him but her face quickly relaxed, “I-I’m sorry…” she bit her lower lip.

“….” Arnold’s eyes widened when he saw this, “…It’s fine.”

“Listen to the lad, lass. You can’t keep relying on your aura to fight. This is how overconfident idiots die on the battlefield. Believe me, I know since I’ve been observing wars ever since I was a boy.”

‘Just like he said, he used to collect weapons and armor and smelt them to make new gear. He must’ve seen people like Stella fight on the battlefield with only their aura to rely on.’

The amount of aura you had didn’t correspond to how powerful you could become. Arnold had a large pool of aura but he also managed to find balance early during childhood so he was far more powerful than most of his peers.

In comparison, Stella only relies on brute force while using aura. It was counterproductive to have so much aura that you can’t even control your own skills or techniques.

“Ask your father to help you, Stella,” Arnold suggested.

“But my mother said I shouldn’t…”

“He’s your father and it’s his duty to help his daughter. No one else can help you with this other than him. Out of all the knighthood families that I know of, only your household had ever been born with red aura. If anyone can help you find balance with your aura then it’s Drakan Ayried.”

“Oho! So that man is your father?” Mormond’s ears perked up at this. He proceeded to tell Stella about her father, “In all my years of blacksmithing, never have I ever seen a man teach others how to handle a sword quite like him. I’ve seen many of his students achieve great things in battle because of their training with him. He’s raised a lot of fine knights during his time as an instructor. If your mother can’t see that then she’s blind to that man’s greatness.”

“….” Stella gripped her dress.

Arnold didn’t know what was going on inside her head but he could draw some conclusions of his own.

She didn’t know how to ask him because she was scared of being rejected by her own father.

“Buy the sword and tell him that you’re determined to master it,” Arnold picked up the two-handed claymore and held it out to her.

Stella looked up at him, down at the sword, and back at Mormond.

“Nay, you may take it free of charge. I’ll only charge you when we begin the weapon synchronization.”

"Thank you, sir Mormond.” Stella took the sword with a small smile.

Part 2

Mormond told Stella that he would ship the sword to the academy. She didn’t exactly have the right clothes to be carrying around a sword nor did Mormond have a sheath ready immediately.

He would have to make a sheath before sending it to her.

Now that she was done picking a sword for herself, Stella didn’t need to accompany Arnold and Melina any further.

But…

“….”

“….”

“Stella, what are you still doing here?”

Arnold asked when they arrived at the corner of a street. There were clothing markets and stores all around them. Arnold came here specifically because he wanted to buy Melina some clothes.

They had a mansion in the capital so she could go there once she was done visiting him. The problem was that she didn’t have a lot of clothes with her so he had to buy her some.

He hated his mother for not giving him at least some money. Why did he have to use his personal funds?

Stella kept quiet even though she definitely heard Arnold’s question.

“Hm? Isn’t big sis on a date with big brother?” Melina tilted her head in confusion.

“W-What!? Me and this guy!? Never! I-I’m only walking with you because I wanted to buy some things too!”

“Really?” Melina seemed unconvinced.

“Y-Yeah, why would I want to be with this guy any longer than necessary!? Humph!”

‘Okay, we get it...'

She would obviously feel guilty if she left now. Arnold helped her pick out a sword and even recommended some armor for her. She would only look ungrateful if she left now.

“Then why is big sis still here? You don’t have any reason to still be here with us, right?”

“…B-Because…” Stella’s eyes darted all around, looking at every person and store on the street. Her eyes suddenly widened, “Isn’t that a new Bear-Bear keychain collection!?”

“Bear-Bear keychain collection!?” Melina’s eyes turned wild after hearing that. She turned her head in the direction that Stella was looking.

She instantly went “Kyaaaah~!” alerting the people walking past them.

“I-I noticed that you have a Pumpum-bear keychain on your bag,” Stella pointed at Melina’s bag, “I have one too. See?”

“Ohooo! Big brother, she has Umpa! It’s Pumpum’s brother!”

“Ah, yes I can see that…”

Arnold was very confused by what was happening. What the heck was an Umpa and Pumpum-bear?

It was a kind of keychain collection apparently. Stella’s keychain was connected to her zipbag and Melina’s was attached to her purse.

Stella and Melina were showing each other their keychains. Melina seemed to have completely forgotten about what they were talking about before.

Her attention span is very low so it was expected of her to suddenly forget things once something else catches her attention.

“Should we go buy Lululu-bear? See, they even have a life-sized version of her up for grabs,” Stella pointed towards the shop that was selling cute things like frilly dresses, doll houses and other cute things that only girls would like.

“Uwaaah, that’s the mama bear! Can we, big brother?” Melina ran into Arnold’s arms and screamed into his clothes, “I want one!!!!!!”

“Ugh…”

Arnold noticed that the people were looking at him like he was trash, not knowing how to discipline his loud-mouthed sister.

She would cry all day if he refused to stop for a keychain. That was even worse than she was now.

Arnold looked towards that store and noticed that it was full of little girls jumping on their mothers and fathers just like Melina was doing with Arnold.

Arnold looked at Stella and smirked, “Well, well. I never knew you liked these kinds of things. To be honest, I’ve never noticed that keychain before. That’s cute.”

“Shuddup…” Stella’s entire face was red.

Arnold patted Melina’s head, “Alright. I’ll wait here. The line seems to be getting longer so get a move on.”

“Yay~! Big brother is the best! C’mon big sis!” Melina pulled Stella by hand and ran towards the store with her.

Arnold only waved them goodbye while smiling. His smile faded and he glanced around before heading towards a nearby alley.

He made sure that no one was around him.

◇

After going through an alley, Arnold took out the transmitter.

He wanted to call Lunaria to check how everything was progressing. Stella and Melina leaving his side made things easier.

It was better to hear from Lunaria about everything than finding out later when everything was over.

The black box transformed into a flat shape before a green light shone on the surface.

A voice answered immediately.

-“You are connected to Arnold von Berkley’s office. How may I help you?”

“Lunaria, it’s me.”

-“Is something the matter, milord?”

“Have you told my nobles everything yet?”

-“I have.”

“And how did they respond?”

“One was caught going to the mountain near the forest. My summons quickly captured him.”

“….”

Arnold’s fist trembled.

-“What punishments should I—”

“Tie him up on a stake. Naked for everyone to see on the streets.”

-“…I’ll get started right away.”

“How are things going with Nuaria city?”

-“The next phase of the plan has already begun. Chances are high that signs will begin showing by early evening. The crystals are placed in coordinated spots outside the city and the forest regions so that the monsters can attack immediately after being summoned.”

“I see. Good work,” Arnold suddenly remembered something he heard that time he was at the Adventurer’s Guild.

Something about a monster being seen in Nuaria city was being thrown around in the conversation of those adventurers.

“I heard that a monster has been terrorizing the city. Do you have anything to do with this?”

-“No, milord. That monster is not part of the monsters we’re going to unleash. It’s one of Vetis’ shadow demons. We needed to start a rumor that a monster was sighted all over the city so that the attack can have a much bigger impact later on. Rumors are most powerful when they turn out to be true.”

‘That damn Vetis. He thought about everything.’

-“Hold on a moment, milord. Someone is contacting the office.”

“Hm?”

Lunaria suddenly hung up and there was silence.

The green light turned on again a few seconds later.

-“Hiya~”

A familiar voice came from the transmitter.

“A-Anna?”

His elder sister was at the end of the line.

-“Were you in an important business call with your advisor? Sorry for barging in.”

“Ah, no. I was only asking her about some small matters. Anyway, what’s up?”

-“I wanted to know if you can get Luke on the transmitter. I have something I want to tell him.”

“Isn’t it better to just send a letter? I’m not in the academy right now.”

-“Well, are you close by then?”

“…I’m in the shopping district.”

-“I guess you can tell him when you get back.”

“Tell him what?”

-“You know about miss Claudia wanting to buy a house in the empire, right? I managed to find a better home than the one she wanted to buy in the capital which was ten times the amount even though it was the same size as the one I picked.”

‘Huh? I think I heard about her wanting to buy a house from somewhere.’

It was never mentioned in the game but maybe she bought a house off-screen? Claudia wasn’t a major character in the story so there was little Arnold knew about what she did in the future of the storyline. Only Norn was an important side character but she never mentioned anything about her mother buying a house.

-“Tell Luke that the street name and number is 45 Deaire Street, Nuaria city. It’s in a quiet neighborhood so there’s no worry about any trouble coming to them.”

“…Huh?”

Arnold couldn’t quite process what he just heard.

“Did you say Nuaria city?”

-“Yeah? The city has far better housing and schools if we look at the pricing compared to the capital city of the empire. I figured it was better to let them move there instead of buying a house that would take her an entire lifetime to finish paying. A mortgage for a domestic worker isn’t exactly a bright idea.”

….

Arnold blankly stood there.

-“Hello? Are you still there?”

“…How long until they get to the city?”

-“I’m not entirely sure but I told them to leave their village yesterday. They have a lot of luggage so carrying everything will take a lot of time. I think they might make it there before nighttime.”

Arnold checked the time. It was past 4pm right now so there was enough time to look for them and turn them away from the city.

That was his only choice. He couldn’t stop the plan since everything was already underway.

But Anna saying that they would arrive before nighttime wasn’t a trustworthy estimation. How long before nighttime? Two hours? Three hours? Maybe even right now?

It wasn’t like Anna could tell the future so they might already be in the city by now.

‘Shit! Fuck!’

Arnold punched a wall nearby, caving it in. He breathed deeply to calm himself.

“I’ll let Luke know.” Of course, he didn't have the time to go find Luke now.

-“Oh, and another thing. I was thinking of sending over some gold to your territory. What day would be the most convenient for you?”

“Huh? Why would you send me gold?”

-“You’re my little brother so I can send you gold if I want to. Especially if you need it more than I do. I have five wagons filled with thousand gold each. They are ready to march to your territory whenever it’s convenient.”

Arnold unknowingly smiled.

Anna was a very kindhearted big sister. It was a pity that she died horribly in the game.

Now that he thought about it, both his sisters had miserable fates in the future. One died just from giving birth to a baby after the noble who promised to always be there for her left her. The other one was ripped apart by monsters when the duchy was attacked after the Intermid border was breached.

“Thanks… Anna…”

-“No problem! I forgot to tell you this before you left but contact me if you need anything.”

“I will.”

-“Then I’ll be going then.”

“I love you, big sis.”

-“Wha!?”

Arnold turned off the transmitter right in the middle of Anna’s exclamation.

'Lunaria is disconnected from the line. Is she too busy? I guess I don't have time to go over the whole thing with her. Anyway...'

He turned and looked up at the sky.

Even though the sun was shining brightly not too long ago, grey clouds began looming over the empire as if heavy rain was expected.

“This time tomorrow I’ll be a treasonous criminal,” Arnold closed his eyes imagining everyone’s expressions once they found out that he did all those things that would happen to Nuaria city.

“It’s better to be a criminal than dying a dog’s death,” those were his last words before leaving the alleyway.