In a world devoid of dungeons to explore, Riezel felt the need to grow rapidly, and practicing swordsmanship became a necessary task for him.
Otherwise, if he wanted quick growth, he would have to enter the battlefield to have numerous enemies to confront.
This made him realize that perhaps, in the future when he travels to other worlds, he might encounter similar situations. Not every world was like Danmachi, where there were plenty of monsters posing a threat to humanity that he could confront.
If in the future, he traveled to more peaceful worlds without enough enemies to confront, his growth would stagnate.
This was something that must be avoided.
Therefore, he felt that his immediate priority was to find swordsmanship to practice, ensuring that his growth would not come to a standstill.
As long as there was swordsmanship to practice, he wouldn't have to worry about his growth stagnating, no matter which world he traveled to in the future.
Among the many swordsmanships, the unquestionably fastest-growing one after practice was special swordsmanship.
Therefore, he decided to find a special swordsmanship to practice.
Originally, the Holy Dragon Sword Style completely met his requirements, but unfortunately, this swordsmanship lacked the crucial breathing style. While he intended to persist in practicing the existing part first, for his future growth, he still needed to find a complete special swordsmanship to practice.
In this situation, he was thinking that maybe he could find a special swordsmanship to practice in the Royal Market. But the reality proved that even in this upper-class society market open only to nobles and wealthy merchants, it was still challenging to find special swordsmanship.
'An auction, huh?' Riezel pondered for a moment before asking the store owner. "When is the next auction?"
In the Royal Market, auctions were held every once in a while, and many people knew about it.
The auction was organized by the supporters behind the Royal Market, and the items appearing in the auction were generally precious things not found in the market. Sometimes, even rare treasures would appear, attracting the competition of various nobles.
It was said that during the auction, even dukes and members of the royal family might attend.
Since the store owner mentioned that special swordsmanship would only appear in auctions, Riezel naturally wanted to take a look.
But—
"Not every auction will have special swordsmanship." Ain was as sudden as ever, speaking without any warning.
"Is that so...?" Riezel was momentarily stunned.
"Yes." Ian nodded seriously. "There aren't many special swordsmanship on sale to begin with. Royal families and major nobles of various countries hold most of them. Some particularly powerful special swordsmanships are even considered important legacies by them, such as the War King Sword Style of Jinas's royal family."
The War King Sword Style was the legacy swordsmanship of Jinas's royal family, allowing the practitioner to evoke spiritual power and use it against their enemies.
The power of this swordsmanship was formidable, much more potent than ordinary special swordsmanship. As a result, Jinas's royal family considered it a legacy, proving the uniqueness of this swordsmanship as it has been passed down through generations.
Special swordsmanship like this, highly valued by royal families and major nobles of various countries, was usually more powerful than ordinary special swordsmanship.
However, this did not imply that other special swordsmanship was unremarkable.
Generally, even minor nobles could not possess special swordsmanship. Only royal families and major nobles had the possession of special swordsmanship; they even possessed multiple special swordsmanship as backup.
After all, swordsmanship sometimes demanded compatibility, and not everyone was suitable for its practice.
The Holy Dragon Sword Style was a prime example.
Not only was it extremely challenging to learn, but it also required a naturally large amount of magical energy within one's body. The conditions were strict, and even if someone wished to pass it down as a legacy, finding a suitable practitioner from their descendants was not guaranteed.
The same applied to special swordsmanship inherited by royal families and major nobles in various countries. It might not be suitable for all descendants to practice.
At this point, having additional special swordsmanship available for practice within the family became crucial. Without it, many descendants who didn't meet the conditions for inheriting the swordsmanship might be left with no choice but to practice advanced swordsmanship, struggling to achieve success throughout their lives.
For this reason, royal families and major nobles in various countries had a habit of collecting special swordsmanship as much as possible. Whenever new special swordsmanship emerged, they competed to obtain it, intending to leave it for suitable descendants.
As a result, special swordsmanship was essentially monopolized by royal families and major nobles. The few instances of special swordsmanship that ended up outside were extremely rare, and people with special swordsmanship were reluctant to sell them easily as they were considered precious.
"If you want to acquire special swordsmanship at the auction, it might truly depend on luck, sir."
"Perhaps someone outside has luckily obtained a special swordsmanship but, due to a lack of money or personal need, decided to auction it here."
"Or maybe some noble family has fallen on hard times and has to auction off the special swordsmanship in their collection to survive."
The store owner explained to Riezel several possibilities.
"Such situations are not so common, though. So, even in the Royal Market's auction, it's not guaranteed that special swordsmanship will be auctioned. Sometimes, it might not appear for a decade or even several decades."
In other words, Riezel's plan to obtain special swordsmanship from the auction has also hit a dead end.
"Hahh... this is getting troublesome..."
Riezel rubbed his forehead tiredly, while Ain and Ian, standing behind him, fell into silence. However, just when he was at a loss, the store owner seemed to think of something and hesitated.
"Actually... I do have a somewhat damaged special swordsmanship. Would you like to take a look, sir?"
The store owner made a surprising offer.
"Damaged special swordsmanship?" Riezel became more attentive. "Bring it here; I'd like to see it."
The store owner acknowledged and quickly ran inside the store. Shortly afterward, he returned with a book.
"This one."
The store owner handed the book to Riezel.
Riezel took it and glanced at the title on the cover, but the moment he read the title, his eyes widened.
Clearly and distinctly, the cover of this swordsmanship book displayed a name—Holy Dragon Sword Style.
Yes, it was the very Holy Dragon Sword Style that he was familiar with.
"Wh-What the heck?"
Riezel was dumbfounded.
On the other hand, perhaps intrigued, Ain and Ian leaned over for a look, both wearing expressions of sudden realization.
"I see, this is indeed that special swordsmanship..."
"No wonder, the only special swordsmanship that would appear in the store is probably only this one."
The two female knights remarked one after another.
"Do you know this swordsmanship?" Riezel, regaining composure, looked at Ain and Ian.
"We do." Ain replied briefly.
"This is the special swordsmanship created by the Dragon Sword Saint, Efastin Tussanlo, hailed as the strongest Sword Saint four hundred years ago." Ian explained attentively. "The reputation of this swordsmanship is extremely high. It's not an exaggeration to say it's the most famous swordsmanship on the continent."
Unfortunately, upon hearing that explanation, Riezel was only getting confused.
"You don't know?"
Seeing his confusion, Ian was astonished and decided to continue her explanation.
"Four hundred years ago, the Holy Dragon Sword Style sparked a big conflict, resulting in the deaths of several Sword Saints. Numerous groups fought bitterly, creating deep-seated grudges that persist until today, leading to ongoing deadly conflicts."
Seemingly a well-documented historical event, many people were aware of it.
Riezel, however, remained oblivious, mainly because the original Riezel had no interest in history and hailed from a rural background, lacking broad knowledge.
It was only now, after hearing Ian's explanation, that Riezel finally understood why the Holy Dragon Sword Style was the most famous swordsmanship on the continent.
Firstly, it was obviously powerful.
Secondly, the conflict it triggered four hundred years ago had a profound impact on the world.
Thanks to this, he also understood why the Holy Dragon Sword Style was incomplete—not because Yuri took away the breathing style from it and stored it separately, but because of the intense conflict four hundred years ago.
"Four hundred years ago, after the death of the Dragon Sword Saint, the Holy Dragon Sword Style he created became the subject of intense conflict due to its overwhelming power, attracting many greedy individuals."
"The conflict was intense, involving not only various forces from across the continent but also numerous interventions from other Sword Saints."
"As a result, many lives were lost, leading to enmities among major forces. The book of the Holy Dragon Sword Style also suffered destruction in this chaotic conflict, and its essential breathing style was destroyed, leaving only the swordsmanship itself."
Ian shared what she knew.
"Four hundred years later, the swordsmanship fragment of the Holy Dragon Sword Style has become spread widely. It's not only present in Yeluvia but is also collected by some people in larger cities."
Coincidentally, Yuri's library possessed a fragment of this swordsmanship, which Riezel happened to come across. Clearly, he had previously misunderstood; this swordsmanship was not intentionally left for him to practice by Yuri but was merely a preserved fragment in her library.
Many such fragments existed, even in this store.
Yuri indeed contemplated whether he would be interested in learning swordsmanship, but she was not at the point of casually presenting him with a special swordsmanship for practice.
"The Frenzel family was once in decline and had only recently risen under the control of the Lady. So, there is no legacy of special swordsmanship within the family. If Mr. Riezel wishes to practice special swordsmanship, it won't be as simple as it seems..." Ian added.
Upon hearing her words, Riezel's heart quickly sank to the bottom of the valley.
It seemed that this matter of swordsmanship was indeed troublesome.
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"Customers, please take your time!"
Amidst the store owner's warm farewell, Riezel, accompanied by Ain and Ian, exited the store.
In the end, he didn't purchase any swordsmanship books.
Since he knew that special swordsmanship was probably out of his reach, he naturally wouldn't buy swordsmanship from this place. Although the store had quite a few advanced swordsmanship, with some being quite impressive, he felt that Yuri's library, with its dozen or so advanced swordsmanship, was the best choice.
While the Frenzel family had recently risen and lacked a strong legacy, being a marquis family led by a Strategic-Class Magician, the advanced swordsmanship Yuri could collect wouldn't be too shabby.
Therefore, if Riezel only wanted advanced swordsmanship, he was more inclined to choose from Yuri's library.
Of course, he still had a lingering doubt.
'Is the breathing style of the Holy Dragon Sword Style really destroyed?'
Having experienced the uniqueness of the Holy Dragon Sword Style, Riezel was not eager to give up on this swordsmanship. As a result, with a bit of hope, he turned to Ain and Ian for confirmation.
Unfortunately, their answers were cruel.
"It's really gone, totally destroyed." Ian said with unwavering belief. "According to the historical records, the book containing Holy Dragon Sword Style was obtained by a Sword Saint who was attacked by several other Sword Saints. Driven to desperation, this Sword Saint destroyed the book in despair. Although it was later pieced together, its most crucial breathing style could never be restored."
This was also why the swordsmanship part of the Holy Dragon Sword Style spread so widely. It was the patched-up incomplete version, not treasured by many, and had been copied countless times over four centuries, ultimately spreading to every corner of the continent.
As for the most important breathing style, it was truly lost.
"This is the fact confirmed by the Theocracy's priests using the precognition system magic." Ain said with indifference, eliminating any lingering hope in Riezel's heart.
Since even the priests using the precognition system had confirmed this fact, there might truly be no hope for the breathing style of the Holy Dragon Sword Style.
Riezel, not one to be indecisive, accepted the reality. If something couldn't be done, he wouldn't dwell on it any longer.
The other special swordsmanship was the same. Since they were difficult to obtain, he decided to choose advanced swordsmanship to practice first.
"Let's go, we'll check out other stores."
After making that decision, Riezel shook his head and focused entirely on choosing advanced swordsmanship. Ain and Ian naturally had no objections and followed behind him, browsing the stores in the Royal Market.
For an hour, he continued to explore various stores, examining the advanced swordsmanship books. Yet, the result was still somewhat unsatisfactory.
The swordsmanship available for sale in the market, even the advanced ones, didn't really stand out. While some were indeed excellent, they were only that—excellent, not reaching the level of power that impressed him.
'It seems like I'll have to stick to Yuri's library for now.'
Understanding it was futile to continue, Riezel stopped browsing the stores.
Seeing that it was almost time, he walked back with Ain and Ian, returning to the entrance plaza of the Royal Market where everyone was supposed to gather.
However, when he arrived, no one was there yet.
After about five minutes, the two noble girls were the first to return.
"We're back." Carrera held Sylvanie's hand, looking satisfied.
She adorned her vibrant red hair with an exquisite hairpin, wore a beautiful necklace around her neck, and had a bracelet on her wrist that looked like a work of art. Her hands were full of shopping bags, clearly indicating a successful shopping spree.
"Heehee, delicious~"
Sylvanie also had added some accessories to her appearance, more on the cute side than Carrera's elegance. In addition to her numerous bags, she held something like an ice cream cone, licking it with each swipe, a look of bliss on her face.
The two girls seemed to have had a great time shopping, and there was even a hint of lingering excitement in their eyes as if they hadn't had enough fun yet.
"Where are Archie and the others?" Carrera, noticing that only Riezel had arrived, casually asked.
"They haven't come yet." Riezel gave a simple reply, not saying much.
Carrera's eyebrows slightly raised, and a somewhat uncertain expression appeared in her eyes as she looked at him.
In fact, not only Archie but Carrera had also noticed the change in Riezel.
As the only commoner in this small group, Riezel used to be a somewhat insecure guy, displaying a timid demeanor in front of the rest of the group. He would agree with whatever other people within the group said, only standing up for himself when in front of outsiders, giving off an air of being a noble and experiencing a sense of superiority.
Additionally, Carrera observed that this future great magician, whom Archie had brought into their group, seemed to be in love with her when he first joined.
He would occasionally steal glances at her, genuinely listen to what she said, even memorizing it all. Sometimes, he would even blatantly try to please her, and all of these actions were quite plain to see. He would also eagerly run over to help her carry her bags and packages and wore a happy expression if she gave him something.
However, today's Riezel was entirely different from the past.
From start to finish, he remained calm and indifferent, his gaze no longer dodging due to insecurity or timidity, daring even to give orders to the group.
He was entirely changed compared to the past.
Now, he completely ignored her, no longer trying to please her as before. His gaze, once infatuated, now treated her like an irrelevant stranger.
Senna thought Riezel's boldness and arrogance were due to his connection with the Frenzel family, but Carrera didn't agree.
For no apparent reason, Riezel's expression was too calm, too plain, and his demeanor reflected the same. There was no trace of the self-satisfied look he used to have when mingling with nobles in public.
During her shopping spree, Carrera even discussed this matter with Sylvanie but still couldn't make any sense of it.
However, she remembered Sylvanie accidentally blurted out a sentence.
'Maybe it's because he's been through life and death, so his personality has changed a lot.'
As Carrera thought of Sylvanie's words earlier, she silently nodded.
It was possible.
Experiencing something close to death, gaining a different perspective on things, and thus undergoing a personality change were quite normal things to happen.
"We're back."
At that moment, Archie's voice interrupted Carrera's train of thoughts.
Archie, Senna, and the four tall, short, fat, and skinny youths seemed to be acting together, and now they were all back, joining the rest. However, the expressions on their faces were not very good, a look of anger but reluctance to speak.
Especially Senna, his discontent completely written on his face.
"What happened to you?" Sylvanie curiously asked.
"Hmph, could it be that your desired female slave was bought by someone else?" Carrera asked disdainfully.
It seemed she guessed right.
"Don't say..." Senna said ill-humoredly. "That guy is too horrible, he didn't leave any for us and bought them all."
The four tall, short, fat, and skinny youths nodded in agreement with Senna's view.
"That guy?" Carrera asked, intrigued. "Which guy is so wealthy that he bought all the slaves you wanted?"
The value of a slave depended mainly on the individual.
If they were only labor without any skills, the value would be very low, and a wealthy merchant could buy a large batch at once without much cost.
But if they had additional value, that was a different story.
For example, if they possessed impressive combat abilities, their value would skyrocket. Moreover for female slaves, their appearance was their greatest additional value. The more beautiful they were, the more valuable they became.
In the case of slaves specially marked on the Royal Market's promotional parchment, their looks were undoubtedly top-notch, and their prices were definitely high. Someone who could buy all these slaves, not leaving a single one for others, was truly rich.
Carrera and Sylvanie were curious about the identity of this so-called guy.
Riezel, on the other hand, paid no attention to their discussion, not even casting a glance at them. However, in the next moment, Archie's words suddenly caught his attention.
"He said he is the son of the Basolo family." Archie revealed.
"Basolo family? You mean that marquis family?" Carrera asked in surprise.
"Yeah..." Archie nodded and helplessly added. "He's the eldest son of the Basolo family, the chosen next heir of the family. He bought almost all the valuable slaves in the slave district."
"When we got there, it seemed like he was only interested in buying slaves with combat abilities. But as soon as he spotted the female slaves we had our eyes on, he just swooped in and grabbed them without a second thought!" Senna exclaimed, her face full of indignation. "Isn't he just too cocky?"
"So what if he's cocky?" Carrera shook her head. "He's from a marquis family and the chosen heir at that. Do you really want to pick a fight with him?"
Hearing that, Senna instantly fell silent.
Fight with the heir of a marquis family? Him, someone from a mere viscount family? No, he didn't want to be kicked out of Yeluvia.
"Just let it go, Senna..." Archie sighed. "We can't afford to provoke him. Let's just forget about it."
Everyone very much agreed with his words. The difference in status brought by noble titles was evident from this situation.
Only Riezel, upon hearing their discussion, squinted his eyes.
'Buying all slaves with combat abilities, huh?'
Smelling something fishy, he began to ponder.
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