Chapter 239: 239 Endless Challenges
"Reiger Brillhaut has the ability of a Sword Saint and will be introduced by the Shadow Sword Saint. He will be awarded the Sword Saint Medal by the royal family, officially recognizing him as one of the contemporary Sword Saints."
When such a message was announced by the palace and spread throughout the capital, without any surprise, the entire capital was shaken.
"Reiger Brillhaut is a Sword Saint?"
"He, he actually possesses the ability of a Sword Saint?"
"That’s impossible!"
The most well-informed nobles were the first to be stirred.
No matter if they were supporters of the royal faction, the supporters of the ducal faction, or even the extremely few neutrals, they were all shocked by this sudden, monumental news.
Upon receiving this information, their first reaction was disbelief.
It couldn’t be helped.
"Isn’t he only 17 years old?"
"Isn’t he a Magician?"
"How could he possibly be a Sword Saint?"
Many people thought there was a mistake in their information, or even that they had heard it wrong.
Unfortunately, as the civil officials and Knights present on that day spread the word, everyone learned the details of the event.
Reiger Brillhaut defeated that Albert Bolei!
Moreover, it was a swift kill, a victory in seconds!
The Knight Captain Albert, considered the strongest under the Sword Saints and the eighth-generation successor of the Bolei Sword Saint Family, couldn’t make a single move against him!
If this doesn’t qualify as a Sword Saint, then what does?
"Incredible..."
"A 17-year-old youth actually defeated Knight Captain Albert, the eighth-generation successor of the Sword Saint Family. It’s just too incredible."
"This is a Sword Saint who’s only 17!"
"But... how is that possible?"
Some were astonished, some sighed, some were dazed for a long time, and some refused to believe it all from the beginning to the end.
Just as they said, a 17-year-old Sword Saint was indeed too incredible.
At 17, reaching the status of a full-fledged Swordsman was already considered a one-in-a-million talent; but Reiger became a Sword Saint directly—something that even if you searched the entire continent of Akasha, or the entire history of the continent, you would not find a single instance of.
Forget Akasha, in those other worlds that Reiger visited, who reached the equivalent of a Lv.7 Sword Saint by 17?
Is Ais not a genius?
But she is only 16 this year and is just preparing to advance to Lv.6.
Was Tsukiguni Yoriichi not monstrously talented?
But it was only after his death and due to Reiger’s inspiration that he stepped into the Lv.7 realm, peaking at most at Lv.6 like Albert in his lifetime, barely half a Lv.7.
Even the ultimate weapon of Eurale had only risen to Lv.7 at the age of 25; at 17, she had just made it to Lv.6.
Compared to these two worlds, Akasha may have never lacked Sword Saints equivalent to Lv.7 from ancient times to the present, and there are quite a few in modern times; just in the Genas Kingdom alone, there are six. But none of them became Sword Saints before they were 30.
This is like someone still in high school at 17, worried about college entrance exams, while someone else has already graduated from college and even graduate school at the same age, directly becoming a doctor, so naturally, it would cause a stir and be unimaginable and unforgettable.
Especially those who were already paying attention to Reiger or even knew him personally were floored by this news.
Like Aquil.
Like Kaliya.
And like a certain arrogant Prince who had just warned Reiger, almost had his eyes popped out by the news.
"How could he possibly be a Sword Saint? How could he...!?"
Solok had jumped out of bed in shock and rage upon hearing it.
And when this news spread to the general public, among the common folk, or even across the continent, a huge uproar came without any surprise.
"I don’t believe a 17-year-old Magician apprentice could suddenly become a Sword Saint!"
"Is this some kind of joke?"
"The realm I’ve pursued all my life, it’s actually reached by a 17-year-old kid, who is also a student at a Magic Academy?"
"Absolutely unacceptable!"
Many Swordsmen thus began to mobilize due to this news.
They had only one destination.
The Brillhaut Family’s villa.
......
On this day, the Brillhaut Family’s villa was extraordinarily lively.
One by one, Swordsmen with extraordinary auras arrived at the villa’s gates and made proclamations to the guards.
Their declarations were remarkably consistent.
"I challenge Reiger Brillhaut!"
That’s what it was about.
They were challengers, all there to witness the sword techniques of the 17-year-old Sword Saint.
Among them were several well-known senior Swordsmen, fully armed, with cold eyes, loudly making their challenges heard.
Such a commotion naturally couldn’t be concealed from the various factions in the capital.
Consequently, these powers quite logically sent people over, with likewise only one purpose.
That was to verify.
Verify whether Reiger Brillhaut truly had the strength to be a Sword Saint.
Such a commotion naturally could not escape Reiger’s notice.
"They’ve actually come to challenge me?"
When he heard the news, Reiger was truly surprised.
Especially when he saw the throng of people outside, there was a moment when he could hardly believe that all these people had come looking for him.
On the other hand, Yuri acted as though she had anticipated this situation, sitting in the office sipping her tea with an air of composure.
"What do you think a Sword Saint is?" The young lady seemed almost to take pleasure in his misfortune as she said, "That is one of the highest honors on the continent. To some extent, those pursuing this title are even more fanatic than those seeking to become Strategic Magicians."
Sword Saint and Strategic Magician, these are the two most supreme titles on the continent of Akasha.
The Sword Saint is the pinnacle for a swordsman.
Strategic level is the pinnacle for a magician.
And this world is a world of sword and magic; there are only two paths to transcendence, either as a swordsman or as a magician, there is no third option.
However, magicians require talent, innate ability; only those who meet the requirements in "magic power" and "aptitude" can embark on this path. Otherwise, no matter what, they can never become respectable magicians.
Hence, magicians are rare talents, a precious species, encountered but not sought.
This is also one of the fundamental reasons why magicians are held in such high esteem.
Swordsmen are different.
Although swordsmen also talk of talent, theoretically, any person without innate defects can practice and become a swordsman, as long as they have sword skills.
Therefore, in this world, ninety-nine percent of those who take the path to transcendence are swordsmen.
Unable to become magicians, they can only follow this path to its end.
For them, the greatest pursuit of their lives is to become a Sword Saint.
Moreover, unlike magicians who can rely on talent alone to succeed, swordsmen need continuous training, relentless practice, and constant cultivation, forging themselves with blood and sweat.
It is often these types of individuals, who tirelessly struggle and strive, who are the least willing to admit defeat.
After all...
"Half of a swordsman’s path is challenging the strong."
Yuri put down her tea, looking towards Reiger.
"Some challenge the strong to hone themselves in battle."
"Some challenge the strong to become true swordsmen."
"Some challenge the strong for glory and reputation."
"Unlike magicians, who just need talent to hide away and study magic, study spells, and then they can unleash magic of the corresponding level and gain the corresponding honors and status."
In such circumstances, it’s no wonder that all three major paths to becoming a Sword Saint require challenging stronger opponents.
Take for instance the second path: after becoming a true swordsman, challenge a contemporary Sword Saint. If one manages to defeat the opponent, they can be knighted by the kingdom, awarded with the Sword Saint Medal.
"I can guarantee you, more than half of those clamoring outside are here for this reason," Yuri spoke indifferently.
"A 17-year-old Sword Saint must seem like an easy target to those swordsmen who wish to defeat a Sword Saint, right?"
Isn’t that so?
If one has to challenge a Sword Saint, why not pick on the weakest one?
Other Sword Saints are well-established, and even before becoming Sword Saints, are already reputable enough to leave no room for doubt. But a 17-year-old Sword Saint who was recently a mere magician’s apprentice? It was inevitable that some would question his strength.
Yuri was probably right.
At least half of the people now making a racket outside, challenging him, likely wanted to make a name for themselves by stepping on him.
"So that’s how it is..."
Reiger frowned.
Seeing this, Yuri seemed slightly relieved and huffed.
"Now do you see why I said you have things to deal with?" Yuri said, "You’ll probably have to deal with challenges like this all the time."
Reiger remained silent.
"Relax," Yuri said, seeing Reiger seemed troubled, and her heart softened. "This is the Franzer estate, they wouldn’t dare to barge into a Marquis’s residence with impunity. Just ignore them, and they will eventually disperse."
However, hearing this, Reiger suddenly spoke.
"No, I want to face them."
Reiger made such a statement.
"What?"
Yuri was stunned.
"Face them?"
Marilyn, too, was astonished.
On the contrary, Reiger, who appeared troubled in their eyes, was actually smiling.
And he was smiling quite happily at that.
"Since they’ve taken the trouble to come to me, how can I not face them?"
Reiger was indeed quite happy.
You see, he had been bestowed with a divine favor, allowing him to gain experience from defeating others, which he could use to improve himself.
After returning from the Earth Mistake World to the continent of Akasha, or when heading to the Demon Slayer World from Akasha, Reiger had always been troubled about how he could find a large number of enemies to challenge and conquer.
Without sufficient opponents, his growth had slowed; no longer could he level up every few months as before.
But now, wasn’t this free experience packet delivered right to his door?