01

The boy swung a wooden sword while exhaling short breaths, having just turned six years old this year. His body was still in the midst of growth, but in this village—Silve Village—it was customary for boys who had reached the age of six to swing wooden swords as part of their daily training.

“Ains, keep your elbows in a bit more!”

The voice came from Das, a large, heavily built man with a muscular physique.

“…Yes.”

Ains replied in a mutter, barely loud enough for Das to hear.

It had been about half a year since Ains began training with a wooden sword, but he still had not mastered even the basic forms.

“Almost there. I just wish you’d show a little more motivation.”

Das let out a sigh at Ains’s unenthusiastic response.

Whether Ains truly possessed talent for swordsmanship was unclear, but Das did not believe the boy lacked talent either. Still, it felt to him that Ains’s lack of motivation toward swordsmanship was likely the reason his progress was so slow.

‘Even if you say that, I really don’t feel motivated…’

Ains swung his wooden sword in time with the other boys, but his awareness never reached the tip of the blade. His mind was occupied with entirely different thoughts.

This was Silve Village, it lay in the northern region of the Santia Kingdom, right along the border with the northern Gairin Empire.

Because of its northern location, the climate was cold, with generally low temperatures throughout the year.

Crops were difficult to grow, and hunting was more common than farming.

As a result, food was scarce, and before the harsh winter arrived, disputes with villages of the northern Gairin Empire were far from rare.

The custom of swinging wooden swords in Silve Village existed not only for hunting, but also to prepare for conflicts with villages of the Gairin Empire.

That was precisely why adult men, who formed the village’s main fighting force, trained the next generation of children.

Swordsmanship, archery, and magic.

Among these, archery was regarded as the most important in the village, as it was indispensable for daily hunting.

Next came swordsmanship. While it was somewhat useful for hunting, it was primarily for fighting against other people.

And lastly, magic. This was generally something used by women.

In everyday household tasks, it was limited to things like producing water, lighting fires, or stirring gentle winds. It never went beyond the realm of everyday utility magic.

More than that, there was no one capable of using magic beyond this level, nor anyone who even knew how.

There was no custom of using offensive magic, and disputes or hunting were resolved entirely through archery and swordsmanship.

Because of this, magic was treated rather lightly in Silve Village. After all, even without everyday magic, while household chores might become more difficult, it was never a matter of life or death.

“Now we’ll conduct one-on-one practice matches. I’ll be watching how the results of your training show in real combat.”

At Das’s words, everyone stopped their practice swings and turned to face him.

“This is purely to check your growth. Recognizing your own habits during actual combat is important.”

Das took on the role of referee.

In Silve, adulthood began at fifteen. The oldest in this training group were Rojin and Barg, both fourteen years old and set to turn fifteen next year.

The two faced each other.

“Begin!”

At Das’s signal, they stepped forward.

Starting from basic forms, they mixed in variations with changes in tempo. Though their movements were still rough, they demonstrated what they had learned so far—using feints and gaze manipulation as they crossed swords.

The sound of wooden swords slicing through the air, the clatter of wood striking wood, and the sight of the two moving rapidly before their eyes made the other children watching gasp in awe.

“…How boring. If you could just shoot fire, the swords would burn and it’d be over instantly.”

Everyone except Ains.

Only Ains viewed the exchange between Rojin and Barg from a completely different perspective.

‘If there’s magic that creates water, then there must be magic that creates earth too. …If you could create earth, you could harden the ground under their feet and stop their movement.’

Ains’s magical knowledge did not extend beyond everyday utility magic.

As a result, while he could imagine many possibilities, he could not actually cast any such magic.

“…I want more. I want more knowledge about magic.”

Based on the everyday magic he knew, Ains tried to form various hypotheses, but they were nothing more than speculation. Naturally so—his absolute amount of knowledge was small, and he had not even begun to consider the logic required for magic manifestation. It was like trying to grasp clouds.

Yet precisely because of that, Ains felt infinite possibilities within the unknown field of magic. It greatly stimulated the pure curiosity of a boy his age.

He adjusted the size of the flame produced by his everyday “fire-lighting” magic in his palm, making it flicker and dance as he toyed with it.

He passed the time during the following matches by producing water and wind.

“Next, Saias and Ains. Come to the center.”

Das’s voice snapped him back to attention.

Saias had already begun walking toward the center.

Rising from where he stood as if his hips were rooted to the ground, Ains moved his heavy feet and headed toward the center as well.

“Ains! I’ll never lose to someone as unmotivated as you!”

Saias pointed his wooden sword forward, his fighting spirit laid bare.

“Yeah. I don’t think I’ll lose either.”

In contrast, Ains let his wooden sword dangle loosely from his right hand and replied with a broad smile.

“Hah! What’s with you? You’re always like that.”

Even so, Saias did not let his guard down, gripping his wooden sword with both hands.

“You’ve only just started learning swordsmanship. I’ll stop the match before anyone gets hurt. …Now, begin!”

At Das’s signal, Saias stepped in toward Ains. Even at this early stage, where he had only dabbled in swordsmanship, his talent was already evident. His speed was still immature, but his weight shifting and body control made Das believe he would one day become a warrior representing Silve Village.

‘We can only heal injuries with medicinal herbs, but if there were magic that could heal wounds…’

A few moments later, Ains lay sprawled on the ground.

A large bump had formed on his head.