I guess this was often the solution in medieval times for noble boys who couldn't control their pants. It felt quite annoying to face it personally, especially when it's not even me who brought this upon myself.

A whole life waited for me ahead. Unlike in my previous life, where I had given up on life and wasted away on energy drinks and games, this time around I could explore the entire world. Yet my hand was getting bound to a woman even before I could step out of the house?

Alright, let's calm down. I sighed in my head. It didn't matter. It's just an engagement, not marriage. Engagements get canceled off all the time, this is not something permanent.

On a side note, she was pretty. The reason I didn't want to get engaged had nothing to do with her appearance. Quite the contrary, as we walked beside each other in silence, going past the garden, I realized she was prettier than the exquisite flowers around us.

Nebula Carlstein was more beautiful than those models back on earth with a hundred surgeries.

image [https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeipjDkf4FOjv9j0winvK6eIXlcS3wYAv1ipelFqYJ-yaHyKpbmMEL38KEPl5iE9QMDJBU3p1PkoX6BCSqLPNK6srkH_pNzB5Haro0BaINJC3Xx_jodk515DzQmqZoHfQWSadkE-FJ0lS7KkCWr3QWOQM1V?key=3DtxQ0LVKgGTaQrI0H5XeA]

She was a striking girl with silver hair styled elegantly, blue eyes, and a poised demeanor. Her attire, which included a red dress and white gloves, might offend some of the higher ranked noble ladies, given how more ‘noble’ it made her look.

“I thought you'd be a chatterbox,” Surprisingly, she was the first one to break the silence. She stopped beside a bunch of white roses, blooming toward the sun, and the whole atmosphere went quite well with her white hair. “Is there anything you want to ask me?”

The gentle atmosphere of the garden didn't match her lips, however. She didn't even bother to smile. I, in fact, did have something to ask her, “Why did your father accept such a lousy engagement?”

“....”

“Not that I enjoy self-deprecation, but I'm aware of my reputation. You don't seem like the country girl type who has a crush on every handsome noble she sees, either. So why?”

“Did you just call yourself handsome?” She said with a scoff, before saying, “You're right, it's not me, but my father. It's for some political reason. Our territory will appreciate the kind of help that your family can provide. A few other families fit the bill too, but they're too far from our territory. Plus your father and mine are old friends.”

“So he decided to sell his daughter out?” I hadn’t thought the Baron was that type of guy.

“No, my stepmother offered it,” the girl said. “He asked me about my opinion on it… and I chose to accept it for the greater good. To be precise, this is a ploy from my stepmother.”

“Hm, all this makes sense now,” I said before looking at her curiously. I was reminded of who her biological mother was, her background was intense. “You sure you want to tell me this? What if I get mad that you don't even like me and call off the engagement?”

She smirked, “You? The ruffian who would do anything for the embrace of a beautiful woman?”

“....”

“I’m only telling you this so that I don't have to pretend to be a dumb white rose in front of you,” she said. “Also, no skin contact before marriage.”

Huh, I see how it is. She's quite smart. I guess for someone like her, this engagement was a win-win situation.

She would enroll in the Waybound Academy in a year anyway, so she'd not have to see my face for four years, meaning the marriage would have to happen after she graduated.

However, by then she was confident enough to be a strong and independent person of her own. She knew her worth, level 22 at the age of 19 was a feat even when compared to other noble children.

After her graduation, based on her achievements, she could call off the engagement, saying I wasn't worthy of her, and she'd have the entire Empire's support while doing so. In that case, her family wouldn't receive any backlash either.

What a foolproof plan.

I would have applauded her if the person on the other end of her sword was someone else. Since it's me, it made me a little annoyed.

“....” My expression hardened.

The Heavenly Demon’s memories, although only consisting of the martial techniques, resonated with me. When I was still a kickboxer, I was prone to anger and would lose my cool easily; that was what the audience called my charm, so I kept pumping into it more. Thankfully, I grew beyond that in the last few years, such an eccentric personality wasn’t suitable for those who weren’t the strongest. I knew I was not the strongest when a stupid truck could take everything away from me.

However, the truth was that that side of mine had never truly died. It was only dormant because I couldn’t even walk because I felt like a failure. Now? I wasn’t that any longer. That side of me, further rejuvenated by the Heavenly Demon’s memories, peeked outward, wanting me to teach this girl a lesson.

How dare a little girl plan to use me like this?

My jaws clenched hard for a second… before I let my muscles relax. I didn't want to act up, so in the end, I kept a level head and just shrugged. “Sounds like I'm receiving no benefits being married to you, then.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, confused.

“Well, you're fixing problems in your territory by being engaged with me, while I'm losing access to girls, my fun time, by being engaged to you. And I can't even touch you? Are you serious?” I asked. “What makes you think I won't just call off this engagement and embarrass your Barony?”

She scowled, “You wouldn't dare.”

“And why won't I? In the hope that, five years later, when you graduate from the academy, you little missy will finally hop into my bed?” I scoffed, turning around. “I don’t know how much you've heard of me, but I am not a patient man. I'm going back to my father. I'll tell him how you're planning to use me, the son of a Count, despite being the daughter of a mere Baron, and call off this stupid engagement.”

Her expression crumbled and she ran after me, “W-wait, please!” She grabbed me by my hand and said, “I'll… I'll let you touch me. Let's not be hasty, this is important for my Barony! Lately, father's been really stressed, he's getting sick, securing this engagement will allow him to rest.” She looked at me with pleading eyes. Oh, how quickly the look in someone's eyes can change.

“Oh, you've changed your mind, then?”

“...Yes.”

“Great. Close your eyes, then,” I walked back to her and said. I held her chin with a hand and raised it. She blinked in surprise and opened her mouth to say something and then closed it.

With a sigh, she let go and closed her eyes. Slowly, her lips parted. She waited for me, and she kept waiting. How long did she wait for me?

A minute later, she reopened her eyes and looked at me. “What?”

“Why did you part your lips as if you wanted to kiss?”

“....?” Obviously, with me holding her chin like that, with my face so close. That was natural to assume. However, how could she admit that? Assuming one's action wasn't justification.

I shook my head. “After saying all that about no touching, you beg for a kiss? How embarrassing and unfilial for a noble lady.”

Her brows furrowed and her face reddened a little. I relished in her glare, it really did feel good to embarrass her. Of course, I had no interest in threatening a girl and kissing her after all. I only wanted to embarrass her, and I've succeeded.

“Alright then,” I backed off from her. “Since you showed me your sincerity, even if it revealed your harlot side, I won't call off our engagement. Be grateful.”

I picked up a rose and tucked it into her ear. She kept glaring at me throughout the process.

Unwilling to endure her glare, I walked away while blowing the petals off another rose. She glared at my back but said nothing. Good. She better not ever try acting arrogant with me again.

****

It's particularly because I realized her plan that I kept the engagement. Since she would call off the engagement after graduation anyway, it wouldn't do me any harm. Rather, by keeping a friendly relationship with one of the Main Heroines, I could secure many benefits in the coming years.

It was a win-win exchange, more for me than her.

Oh, and, unfortunately for her, she will have to see me more than she hoped she would. Because of that stupid Quest, I had to enroll in the Academy.

“Ninety… ninety one…”

I pushed my body up and down, surpassing my previous limits and hoping to set a new score.

[Details: The Weak Bone Syndrome is a chronic illness. Your bones are weak, your skeleton isn't suitable for any heavy work, and your lifespan is cut down to a portion of what it really should be.

*Effect: Weakens you by 15%.]

From 70%, now it only weakened me by 15%. It's been a week since I appeared in this world, and the progress I made was great. I didn't feel like I'd fall face first while walking anymore, my entire body felt quite firm and sturdy.

Where the bone had yet to fully recover, my muscles had exploded phenomenally. I was no strongman yet, but from my earlier skeleton build, I was quite healthy. Such fast growth was beyond science in my old world, but now, with the help of Qi and magical beast food, it was possible.

“One hundred and forty-nine… One hundred and fifty.” I rolled to the side, allowing the weight on my back to fall and thud against the concrete, and took a breather.

[Ding! You've made progress. The Weak Bone Syndrome’s effect has lessened from 15% to 10%.]

[Your body is stronger now.]

[You've leveled up once.]

[You've reached Level 6.]

[The Heavenly Demon Skill Tree’s proficiency has risen to 3.33%. You've been enlightened about one technique.]

Then, my head stung as information flooded in. They flooded and merged with the existing memories of the Heavenly Demon’s idea of general martial arts; these special techniques stood out from all of that. They were, after all, the True Demon Arts.

[...You've processed and learned the first move of the True Demon Sword Art.]

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

[Additional knowledge about ‘swordsmanship’ in general comes with the technique, to help you properly perform it. The knowledge is intricate enough to solidify into a skill.]

[Basic Skill: Swordsmanship has been unlocked.]

When the flood of information stopped, I heaved out a breath. Putting aside the Basic Skill, I blinked when I realized how powerful this technique was. It's incredible.

The knight trainees of the Romani House were watching me through this all, although I was used to their gaze by now. They couldn't see the screen in front of me, naturally, so they must have been curious about what I was blinking at. Besides, what I did just now wasn't some feat they couldn't do, it was just some push-ups with weight. But they were still surprised to see me do it. I was infamous as the useless youngest son of Romani, after all.

“Well, it's just some push-ups,” I heard one of the trainees whisper. “Why're you all so surprised by it? Weird.”

I jumped into my position. There you go, my first sparring partner has been found. I was waiting exactly for this opportunity, for one of them to open their mouth. Good grief. It was exciting to be back to form, being in this place reminded me of the kickboxing gym. I couldn’t keep the excitement to myself, so I had to test out my skills.

“Who said that just now?!” I shouted, and the trainees gasped.

The sun shone above us, it was noon, and all the trainees were hungry after a long day of training. And now, I was causing trouble. “Don't act like I didn't hear you. Who said pushups mean nothing?”

Chivalry was a part of knighthood. The knight couldn't keep quiet for too long, in fear that his silence would cause trouble for the others. He stepped forward, hand raised, “It was me…”

“You?”

[Level 18]

He didn't look much older than 20, and yet he was a Level 18 knight. Impressive.

“Grab your sword, you punk,” I ordered him while walking over to the wooden swords and grabbing one for myself. I returned to the center of the training ground and looked at him. “What? You are making me wait.”

“Young master, uh, you can punish me if you want, but…” Of course, the knight trainee was confused. He must be thinking, ‘What’s the young master doing when he has never touched a sword before?’

“You're scared I'll embarrass you in a spar?”

“....”

Ah, taunts always worked towards fighters. It's kind of embarrassing to admit how many times I've used this both from behind the monitor and also inside the fighting ring.

“Damn, what's the young master doing? Tyrone is one of the strongest among us trainees.”

“Yeah, wouldn't he get hurt?”

The others quipped in the background, while I kept staring at this ‘Tyrone’.

A moment later, he grabbed his wooden sword and stepped forward. His friends quickly stopped him and whispered to take it easy, but his expression said that he did not care.

He looked like he was ready to break a few of my bones. He stepped forward, “My name is Tyrone, young master.”

“Thirty seconds,” I raised the sword towards him. “If you can hold on for thirty seconds it’s your win Tyrone, if not then-”

“Forgive me young master, but I think you need to be taught a lesson!” The trainee let the rage get to his head and leaped at me.

I stepped to the side, barely avoiding the sword that grazed my side. No, it was my body that stepped to the side on its own, as if I'd trained in the way of the sword for years. His sword rushed toward my shoulder, aiming at my neck. I stepped away just an inch beyond its reach once again.

He growled and swiftly swung the wooden sword right towards my head. My eyes saw which way his sword would move, and my sword parried it with a loud thud. He jumped back.

“Damn.”

“How did he do that?”

“Looks like a lucky shot to me…”

“Nah, no way. That was too fast, he did it right before it could touch his head.”

The spectators gossiped, which made Tyrone clench his jaws. His friends were talking about his enemy's skills rather than his own, he probably felt like shit. Tyrone kicked the ground again and rushed at me.

My eyes felt clear. Better. With this sword in hand, I felt like a whole other person. This new experience slowly submerged into me and I learned to make it my own.

This time, I stopped defending and rushed toward him too. I held the sword above my head, while Tyrone held it in the practiced way to perform the Romani House’s [Triple Slash] technique.

I let my sword do the work and swung powerfully downwards in a straight line. Tyrone on the other hand swung his sword three times in quick succession, it was actually fast enough that I missed it all. The illusion of three swords emerged, two of the swords coming at me were fake and one was real. I couldn’t see which one was the real one.

But that didn’t matter. Our swords met in a thundering clash. I raised my sword again, for another slash, but this one wasn’t exactly straight. I twisted my body to catch him by surprise, but he didn’t seem surprised. Tyrone was faster than me and could see through me, he swung his sword at my face.

Even with my new swordsmanship skill, Tyrone was stronger, by a long shot.

Thankfully, I was not a swordsman. To begin with, my strength was in my body.

I ducked my head under his sword, and my feet moved in a familiar manner. Images of the past overlapped with the present, I felt a grin spread across my lips, as I struck with my feet diagonally just above Tyrone’s knees, performing an oblique kick. Tyrone’s knees buckled and hyper-extended as expected.

An oblique kick could cause permanent damage to a person, especially if they put their whole weight on their legs like Tyrone has been doing this whole fight. Hopefully, the Aura in his body would stop him from becoming a cripple.

Tyrone fell on his knees, his face echoing the pain he felt. Immediately I smashed my sword in his face, his forehead. I braced myself, as my sword broke against his head. At the same time, Tyrone fell backward, slumping on the ground, unconscious.

“O-oh…” the spectators were stunned.

“Tyrone… Tyrone lost? How?!”

“That's insane! What happened?!”

I let out a breath, looking at my trembling hand with a frown. Someone announced my victory, while others ran to check up on Tyrone. He might limp for a few days, but with the Aura in his body, there would be no lasting damage. I made sure of that before walking out of the training grounds.

I felt slightly sad that I didn’t get to perform the True Demon Sword Art's first form. Then again, that'd have been too harsh for a trainee who did nothing wrong, and I wasn’t sure what would happen to my body. Plus… it would let out Demonic Energy. I wasn’t sure how to take care of that, there were too many eyes.

Lastly, this weak body might have collapsed. I was panting hard.

****

Count Royden Romani held his arms behind him and looked at the result of the fight that had just taken place. His office's window was quite the great spot for peeking into fights. His wife was beside him, having watched the same scene as him.

“He's changed so much…” the woman, his wife, Rithea Romani said.

“Enlightenment indeed changes people,” he said. “To think my useless son changed this much in such a short time.”

“What was that swordsmanship though? It didn't look similar to the family's,” she said.

“Of course, he never learned it. The technique he used seemed imperfect, he couldn't really pull it off. He must have seen someone use it on the past and tried to copy it, but ultimately failed. There's nothing to worry about, untrained swordsmanship does work like that. Although it'd be unwise to do that in a real battle since he can't even use it properly.” Royden Romani said. “Thankfully, he doesn't have to do any real fights anytime soon.”

“Yeah,” Rithea sighed. “Our territory’s not as dangerous as some other ones, thank the Goddess. Also, at this rate, you think he'll be able to attend the Academy?”

“Honestly… I can't say,” Royden said. “After enlightenment, people experience a short burst of growth and then slow down. It depends on how long this ‘short burst’ will last for Iskandaar.”

“....” Rithea, the boy's mother, looked at his receding back with worry. She really hoped he would get to attend the Academy. It'd be a pity if he never got to experience that part of his life.

Not that she minded if he stayed in the villa all his life, either. This was a safe place, he could stay here as much as he wanted… But every mother wanted her boy to fly high from the nest.

****

My eyes parted slowly.

It was nighttime, moonlight filtered through the windows, but it wasn't the only thing that came through the windows.

A figure clad in black had entered my room and was searching the tables and the drawers. I wouldn't even have seen them on my first try if not for the level hovering above them.

[Level 20]

It was a [Thief]. With brackets.

And he had weapons at his side.

I really thought that this villa was safe, but a mere level 20 thief had somehow got past the guards and entered my room. If it was an assassin instead, I'd have been already dead.

I stayed still in my spot, eyes barely open. I kept myself aware of where the thief moved, waiting for the perfect opportunity.

When he moved to the right side of the bed, his back entirely turned towards me, I leaped from the bed, grabbed the sword hung in the wall, and rushed toward him.

“...!” The thief turned towards me, eyes wide, and blocked my sword with his dagger. He barely managed to succeed, jumping backward while curing under his breath.

“Drop your stuff and run,” I taunted him. I would never let him flee, of course, but it'd be easy if he showed me his back.

Unfortunately, he seemed too experienced for that. He grumbled and held two daggers with both his hands. “Should have stayed in your bed, young master,” he spoke, voice sickly, “at least that way, you wouldn't have ended up dead.” Then he blurred towards me.

His speed surprised me. He was using a Skill. Unlike the spar earlier, where we played with our wooden swords, this was a real battle. The enemy was going to use skills, and his goal was my throat.

He was far stronger than Tyrone too, he was already in his 2nd Ascension, as his level was in the 20s. It’d be troublesome if his Class was actually [Assassin] and not simply [Thief].

I barely managed to block it. No, I failed. His sword missed its initial target, my throat, but it still gashed against my shoulder. Blood splashed outwards while I let out a groan.

I didn't bother to suppress the groan, it was in my support if someone heard and came to help. I didn't bother to yell, however, the second I'll need to take a big breath might just be enough for this bastard to take my life.

“Please die, you foolish noble!” The thief-turned-assassin swiped his daggers at me, and I blocked his advances with my sword. Minor wounds spread across my flesh, but I managed. However, I wasn’t sure for how long. The only thing between his daggers and me was the sword, the moment I dropped it I’d die.

I had to find an opening to perform a technique. It's a fool's errand to try to win against him by dragging the battle. Unfortunately, he was a bit too fast compared to me.

– Shingg! Shangg!

Waiting for a perfect opportunity seemed like a dream as my wounds kept piling up. At this rate, I wouldn't even be able to swing my blade properly even if I got an opening to.

I had to perform it right now, no matter what.

I sloppily withdrew my sword and swung it towards him like an amateur, urging him to attack me.

“Such a big opening,” the thief shouted and rushed at me.

Then, I tapped into my real skills.

The blade of my sword lit up, it grew heavy yet fast.

[True Demon Sword Art, First Form— Absolute Cataclysm of the Demonic Butterfly]

My sword exploded with my Qi as I waved it forward. The thief's eyes widened, and he crossed his arms, but it was too late he was already caught in my technique. It exploded right in his face, like a total of ten thousand sharp butterfly wings flapping at once.

He shouted as blood splattered out of his many wounds, his weapons fell to the ground, and he yelled in pain. I didn't waste the chance, my sword flashed across his neck, and his head rolled on the ground.

[You've defeated an enemy far above your level. You've earned experience points.]

[You've leveled up!]

[You've leveled up!]

[You've leveled up!]

[Ding! You have used a tremendous amount of Qi to perform a technique. Your bones have weakened greatly! However, due to leveling up, the weakness has vanished! Your bones have grown stronger!]

[The Weak Bone Syndrome has vanished.]

[You've leveled up!]

[You've leveled up!]

[You've leveled up!]

[You've reached Level 12!]

[The Heavenly Demon Skill Tree’s proficiency has crossed 6%, rising to 6.67%. You've been enlightened about one technique.]

[....!]

There were some other prompt boxes, but I couldn’t view them right now. I postponed them for later.

Aura exploded out of me as I went through another ascension. The ascension of creating a core could be considered the zeroth ascension, while this was the first ascension. I had really leveled up six times in one go.

My chronic illness was cured too. This was a gift in the disguise of a threat.

“Haah.”

Although killing a man wasn't the most pleasant thing, he had tried to take my life, I felt no regret. At least, so far. The adrenaline in my body was still rushing. I doubted I’d regret it later either; this was not an innocent fight in the right, he was genuinely after my life. Rather, I grew pleased with the Experience Points I got.

Just seconds later, the door burst open, “Young master, what's going on here?!”

Lights lit up around the room, as butlers, maids, and guards rushed inside. Gasps filled the room until my parents walked in.

I panted hard, looking at them. This body's mother leaped at me, hugging me tightly, while the Count looked at the dead body in shock.

“This…” the Count was stunned. “You used Aura?”

Was Aura and Qi the same, or just close enough? Whatever the case, my technique indeed let out an explosion of Qi, so he's not wrong. I nodded.

“Incredible,” he crossed his arms and put a fist to his face, acting like he didn’t feel anything observing, but I could see his grin. His joy of seeing his once useless son use Aura was greater than the fear of an assassin coming into his home.

I couldn't really blame him. Qi felt… delicious to use.