"Huh...?"
"Hmm?"
When Glenn passed by Raon as if ignoring him, the other swordsmen opened their mouths in surprise.
"But the Light Wind Palace Master is still left?"
"Right. After the Blade Queen, Lord Raon should be called."
"Normally, the Light Wind Palace Master would be called first."
"Did he perhaps forget?"
"The Head of House wouldn't do that..."
The swordsmen just rolled their eyes with slight confusion, assuming Glenn hadn't finished speaking yet.
"The Central Martial Palace's greatest strength is his insight and composure in identifying the enemy's weaknesses. His classical swordsmanship that precisely thrusts with spirit is effective even against high-ranking opponents. However, his mismatched weakness is that he's too cautious."
Glenn began listing the strengths and weaknesses after calling Karoon's name.
"Hmm."
Karoon, who had been looking at Raon, immediately focused his attention on Glenn as soon as his assessment began.
"Being cautious can be a strength, but in battles between Transcendents where victory is decided in an instant, it can mean losing the advantage. Unlike before, try to fight with your heart instead of your head."
Glenn advised the always-composed Karoon to try getting consumed by the heat of his heart.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Karoon nodded respectfully, indicating he would follow Glenn's advice.
'Surely...'
Raon tilted his chin to the side as he watched Glenn giving additional advice to Karoon.
'He saw me first, didn't he?'
Not only had Glenn seen him, but they had made eye contact. Yet Glenn hadn't even called his name, let alone mentioned his strengths and weaknesses, simply passing him by.
'Why?'
Even if he hadn't given his all in the sparring with the Blade Queen, Glenn would have clearly identified his strengths and weaknesses. He couldn't understand why Glenn had withheld that information and passed him over.
-He's probably tired of only seeing you all the time.
Wrath nodded, claiming to understand Glenn's feelings.
-He clearly means for you to figure it out yourself.
The fellow grinned as if he could already see Raon's upcoming struggles.
'He'll probably tell me later.'
Since Glenn had often called his name last when giving rewards for missions in the audience chamber or discussing war achievements, Raon quietly waited, assuming it would be the same this time. When he didn't react, others seemed to have similar thoughts and returned their attention to Glenn's words.
"Warlord Yuber. The way you've incorporated the profundity of swordsmanship into your destructive sword techniques was remarkably good."
After finishing his explanation about Karoon, Glenn began giving advice to the Warlord as well.
"Unlike the Blade Queen, you use the sword as if it were a blade. It's clear that you both had a significant influence on each other."
He nodded, saying that the Blade Queen and the Warlord had been greatly influenced by each other's martial arts.
"That's right. We fought almost every day."
"I've memorized all the forms, just not the mantras."
The Blade Queen and the Warlord looked at each other with subtle smiles, seeming to take Glenn's words as praise.
"Your weakness is similar too. Your movements are too cautious for blade or sword techniques. Just like Karoon, try fighting instinctively during this training period."
After giving the Warlord advice similar to Karoon's, Glenn moved on to the next person.
"Me! Daddy, me!"
Alice raised her hand immediately, seemingly not wanting to be passed over like Raon.
"Alice. You..."
Glenn looked at Alice and let out a deep sigh.
"That straightforward personality is both your strength and weakness. Your swordsmanship is already refined nearly to perfection. If you can develop a sense for when to charge in and when to retreat, you'll achieve much more than you do now."
He focused more on personality advice for Alice rather than martial arts techniques.
"How do I find that sense?"
Alice tilted her head, wondering how to distinguish between when to charge and when to retreat.
"In your upcoming training, you'll learn how to be patient."
Unlike with Karoon or the Warlord, Glenn instructed Alice to suppress her impulsive nature.
"Next, Balder Zieghart."
Glenn called Balder with an even deeper sigh.
"Yes!"
Balder stood up, shouting so loudly that the training ground seemed to shake.
"You're a fool, so live like a fool. Next..."
Glenn said just that and moved on to the next person. (E/N: That's brutal)
"...What? Hey! Father!"
Balder blinked blankly before questioning, but Glenn didn't look back at him.
"Burren Zieghart. Your strength is your refined swordsmanship. Your swordsmanship, combining talent with effort, would be difficult to block by those at the same level. However, like Karoon, you lack initiative. You have great potential, so try learning instinctive swordsmanship."
Glenn advised Burren to learn more instinctive swordsmanship and tossed him a martial arts manual.
"Ah, yes!"
Burren caught the book Glenn threw with trembling hands, as if receiving a priceless treasure.
"Martha Zieghart. It's good that you haven't lost your will to fight even after the White Blood War and that you're immersed in swordsmanship, but it's a bit excessive. Your shoulders are too tense. You need to reduce your training a bit and find some mental space."
Glenn tossed several books to Martha, telling her to read.
"Yes..."
Martha bowed her head with a deflated voice, not expecting such advice.
"Runaan Sullion."
Glenn looked at Runaan, who stood next to Martha with her eyes closed.
"Yes..."
Runaan nodded slightly with her eyes half-open.
"I heard you've been sleeping all the time in the training ground lately, but surprisingly, your growth rate has become much faster than before."
Glenn let out a breath as if finding it fascinating.
"Seeing that not only your swordsmanship and physical abilities but also your aura and attributes have been strengthened, trying to open a sword domain like Rimmer might be good."
He lowered his chin, suggesting that Runaan try challenging the sword domain.
"Yes..."
Runaan bowed her head to Glenn and closed her eyes again. Though she appeared unresponsive, her heart was beating too fast for her to sleep.
'Definitely...'
Raon nodded slightly as he looked at Runaan, who had fallen back asleep.
'She's changed a lot.'
Perhaps because she matched so well with Sloth, Runaan hadn't just strengthened her aura and body, but even her cold energy attribute had grown. As Glenn said, if she focused on opening a sword domain, she might just be able to do it.
-I have the same thought!
Wrath nodded, saying that the ice cream girl could do it.
"Then next..."
Glenn explained the strengths and weaknesses to all swordsmen in the training ground and gave instructions on how they could improve.
"...Sylvia Zieghart and Sia Zieghart. You both possess overwhelming talent that makes it clear why the Light Wind Palace Master chose you. But you lack experience. My instruction for both of you is the same: spar with each swordsman here at least once."
Glenn finished all his advice to the swordsmen with Sylvia and Sia. It was amazing that he remembered and prepared advice for every situation from dozens of sparring matches.
"Since today is the first day, we'll stop here. The training ground will always be open, so use it if you want to train individually."
Glenn nodded his chin as if the real training would begin tomorrow, then stepped down from the platform.
"Grandfather!"
Sia raised her hand high and ran forward.
"You didn't say anything to Raon!"
She grabbed Glenn's sleeve, asking him to say something nice to her younger brother, Raon.
"Ahem!"
When Sia took his hand, Glenn's cheeks turned red, but he pretended to be unaffected, clearing his throat and turning his gaze to Raon.
"Hmm."
Raon swallowed dryly as he met Glenn's gaze.
"I have nothing to say to the Light Wind Palace Master."
Glenn looked at Raon for a moment and shook his head. He walked toward the exit of the training ground as if he truly had nothing to say, even at Sia's request.
"Father!"
Balder ran to Glenn with his eyes bulging out.
"You only told me I was a fool?"
"You are a fool, aren't you? Live like that."
Glenn tilted his head as if asking what the problem was.
"I mean, I am a fool, but you should give me advice!"
Balder frowned, questioning how just calling him a fool and leaving could be considered proper.
"That is the advice. Live like a fool." (E/N: What is better: being given no advice or being given this advice...)
Glenn slightly jerked his chin as if telling him to think about it, then left the Lord's Manor.
"That, that old geezer!"
Balder stood blankly for a moment, then as soon as Glenn disappeared, he stamped his feet and punched the air.
'That is indeed advice.'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he watched Balder flailing about.
'It's better for Balder to train by being a fool like he is now.'
Balder was currently standing before the wall of Transcendence. If he tried to overthink things, he would only take a detour, so it seemed better for him to continue crashing his body and mind forward brutally as he was doing now.
'Then...'
Raon frowned as he gripped the hilt of the Heavenly Drive so tightly it made a sound.
'What about me?'
***
From the next day, the swordsmen's training officially began under Glenn's instruction.
"Martha. You're not fully utilizing your swordsmanship. Don't focus on increasing speed, have more composure."
Glenn watched Martha refining her swordsmanship based on the martial arts manual and immediately gave her the advice she needed right now.
"No. Instinctive swordsmanship is a style that trusts instinct over intellect. Move your sword with your heart."
He also explained the development direction of sensory swordsmanship to Burren, who was practicing it right behind him.
"The Blade Queen and Alice will spar from now on."
After guiding Martha and Burren, Glenn called the Blade Queen and Alice forward.
"Yes!"
"This is it!"
"However, deploy your swordsmanship only once every ten seconds."
At his words, the smiling faces of the Blade Queen and Alice crumpled like wrinkled paper.
"Karoon and the Warlord will also begin sparring alongside them. For you two, don't think with your heads, just endlessly unleash your martial arts at each other."
In contrast, Glenn provided conditions for Karoon and the Warlord to feel their instincts.
"Dorian. Your rate of improvement is also quite fast. It would be good for you to learn a new swordsmanship style."
He gave additional swordsmanship techniques to those who were growing quickly, enhancing their growth potential.
"Runaan. I know you get stronger even while sleeping, but now it's time to wake up and swing your sword. The sensation of moving your body directly is also important."
"Balder. I said you're a fool. I didn't tell you to do stupid things."
"Krein. If you deploy your swordsmanship that clumsily, you won't even be able to chase Dorian's shadow."
Even while teaching others, Glenn immediately identified and pointed out swordsmen who were distracted or heading in the wrong direction. It meant he was aware of everything happening in the vast training ground of the head of house.
"Uhaaaa!"
"This is tough!"
"I'm... dying..."
After training from dawn through the morning, the swordsmen finally received a break at lunchtime and collapsed onto the floor of the training ground.
"It's tough, but don't we seem somehow different?"
"Right. Just by following the Head of House's words, our swordsmanship is completely changing!"
"It's not just swordsmanship. Our aura cultivation and bodies are getting stronger too. The stagnation period is instantly broken."
"It's not just us, everyone is changing."
"Right. I heard even Transcendents like the Blade Queen and the Warlord are changing."
"The Continent's Best Sword is different. We're fortunate that the Destructive King of the North is our Head of House."
"I wonder how we'll have changed by the end of this training."
The swordsmen laughed, saying they felt changes as if they had trained for over a year, even though they had only trained for a week.
"But..."
Dorian stopped laughing and looked at the person standing alone at the right edge.
"Is the Palace Master alright?"
He pressed his lips tightly as he watched Raon swinging his sword while dripping with sweat.
"Oh, come on!"
Krein lightly tapped the back of Dorian's head.
"Don't you know who our Palace Master is? He's someone who would come back to life even if he died!"
He shook his head vigorously, telling Dorian not to worry about Raon.
"..."
Unlike Krein's reaction, Burren, Martha, and Runaan looked at Raon with downcast eyes.
"I..."
Raon pressed his dry lips together while breathing heavily, as if he hadn't heard Krein and Dorian's words.
"What am I supposed to do?"