Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 140

140.

‘I have to overcome this pressure.’

Even though Father was just standing still, the training ground felt like it was solely his domain.

‘Is this space domination?’

The mana flowing out from Father’s aura filled the training ground, and I felt intense pressure.

Just maintaining the spirits was consuming a considerable amount of mental power.

I used the Breath of Wind technique to resist Father’s aura, which was spread out like a net.

‘Sylph, Sylpheron, Sylphulpen.’

I summoned the wind spirits and simultaneously unleashed the Chains of Wind.

My intention was to use the sharp wind to sweep away Father’s aura.

Clang-! Bang-!

“Ho.”

Father didn’t hide his admiration.

His smile deepened, and he adjusted the wooden sword he was holding.

Gooooo-!

‘That, that’s?’

Father moved.

Before I could react, I instinctively unleashed the Flow of Wind and Earth.

Papat-!

The Flow of Wind and Earth couldn’t keep up with Father’s movements, which were rushing in with terrifying speed.

Ellaim quickly erected a barrier of water beside me.

“Excellent.”

Following his admiration, Father gently drew the wooden sword horizontally.

“The counter of water is fire.”

Fwoosh-!

An unbelievable thing happened.

Flames erupted from Father’s wooden sword.

Kwaaaang-! Bang-!

With a roar, the water forming the barrier began to evaporate and dissipate.

The wooden sword, twisting like a snake, slashed through the gaps in the pierced water barrier, striking Ellaim.

Ellaim, whose body was partially evaporated and blown away, collapsed.

‘If I only defend, I’ll be defeated for nothing.’

I bit my lip tightly.

Sylphulpen unleashed the Chains of Wind.

“Wind is meant to be held down by solid ground.”

The flames disappeared from the wooden sword, and brown soil flowed out, enveloping the blade.

The wooden sword struck down on the Chains of Wind created by Sylphulpen.

Bang-!

As the skill dissipated, Sylphulpen’s body staggered. At the same time, Father struck Sylphulpen’s back with the wooden sword.

I trembled violently.

Sylphulpen wasn’t reverse summoned back to the spirit realm, but the impact was too great.

Watching Sylphulpen collapse on the floor, Father rushed towards Ignis.

I continuously supplied mana to the lower and intermediate spirits, unleashing all my skills.

Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!

Surprisingly, Father blocked all of my attacks, one by one.

“Ignis!”

A curtain of fire blazed up in front of Father, materializing.

“Just as water is the counter of fire, fire is also the counter of water.”

Blue water poured out from the wooden sword.

Following the elegant movements of the wooden sword, the curtain of fire crumbled and subsided.

Like a forest fire being washed away by a massive waterfall, the curtain of fire disappeared in an instant.

A blue vortex of water was spinning around the wooden sword.

Ignis couldn’t avoid Father’s wooden sword and collapsed next to Sylphulpen.

I bit my lip tightly.

Climb was still left.

I unleashed the Swamp Fairy while supplying mana to Ignis and Sylphulpen again.

Father’s body disappeared, leaving afterimages.

The Swamp Fairies, who had risen valiantly, collapsed the moment Father’s figure reappeared before me.

In a fleeting moment, all the Swamp Fairies were cut down with a single strike.

Climb slammed the ground violently.

“Earth, or the ground… an attribute that embraces everything, but…”

Father wrapped the wooden sword in aura and slashed Climb’s waist horizontally.

Bang-!

Climb fell backward.

“It is very vulnerable to sharply honed swords. That’s why many spirit masters mainly used spirit magic to bind the mobility of knights or attack in the form of ambushes, popping out from underground.”

All four superior spirits had fallen.

I breathed roughly.

Father didn’t inflict blows strong enough to cause the spirits to be reverse summoned [forced back to the spirit realm].

Watching Father sheathe his sword, I returned all the spirits to the spirit realm for now.

“Spirit magic befitting a superior spirit master. Meticulous, gentle, and possessing destructive power.”

Praise heard in such a defeated state wasn’t very welcome.

But I bowed my head.

“Thank you.”

“The fact that you have high affinity with all four elemental spirits is also your talent.”

Father then asked a question.

“If I had targeted the Crown Prince directly instead of the spirits, how would you have defended?”

“I would have defended with the spirits.”

Father nodded.

“Your movements are movements that utilize the power of the spirits, right? It’s different from a knight’s, but it was definitely a decent movement.”

“Yes.”

“Spirit magic is known as a technique where you stand still and summon spirits, but it’s inefficient. If you truly want to become stronger, or even gain an advantage against masters like Gail or Olivia, learn swordsmanship as well.”

“The Breath of Wind is…”

Father cut me off.

“You’ve already shown it. Incorporating spirit magic into swordsmanship.”

My eyes widened.

“Then…”

“What else would it be if not spirit magic to ignite flames on a wooden sword, imbue it with the energy of wind, load it with the weight of earth, and soak it with the energy of water? It’s impossible to imbue multiple attributes with mana alone.”

Father gave me clear advice.

“I don’t mean to learn swordsmanship like a Sword Master. Unless you have the talent for it. Choose one that suits you from the swordsmanship of famous families, learn it moderately, and imbue the sword with the energy of spirits. You can become much stronger than spirit masters who just stand still and summon spirits.”

It was a method I had never considered. I was only planning to learn the final thrust as one of the ways to use a sword, as a last resort.

‘As expected of Ron Carl Leord… a genius among geniuses. Is it a kind of spirit swordsmanship?’

Father turned his gaze to Olivia.

“Shall we take a look at the White family’s swordsmanship? Duke James said that his daughter is more skilled in swordsmanship itself.”

* * *

It was a trying time.

After the sparring, I cautiously suggested a meal to Father, but I was rejected, and I was fine with Father’s rejection. It was still difficult to face Father.

Dinner was with Gail, Olivia, and me.

David and Leoden had dinner with the knights in the knight’s dining hall.

Hamilton wasn’t in the palace, and Soris and Ken were absent due to their participation in the academy graduation ceremony.

The newly appointed Crown Prince Palace butler, recently appointed by Soris, prepared dinner.

He prepared mainly fish dishes and vegetables that Olivia liked and brought out a decent wine.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

At my words, Olivia smiled brightly and replied.

“Yes. Still, it was a really good opportunity. I never dreamed that His Majesty would give us direct guidance.”

Gail also agreed with Olivia’s words.

“It’s a rare occurrence.”

It was the same for me.

“That’s right. Father’s pressure in the sparring was really great.”

“After becoming a master, I thought I had at least caught up to His Majesty’s heels, but it was a complete delusion.”

I tilted my head at Gail’s words.

“Delusion?”

“Yes. Although we are the same master, the difference between His Majesty and me was clear.”

“It was the same for me. I thought the difference would be subtle once we reached the master level, but I felt that the level itself was different.”

Olivia added.

“That’s why everyone respects His Majesty. My father, Duke Beregon, and Duke Yan are all masters, but they all say that His Majesty’s skills are far superior.”

“The masters of other countries fear Father because even though they are the same master, the level is different.”

Gail nodded at my words.

“That’s right. His Majesty has reached the highest level not only in swordsmanship but also in magic and spirit magic… He is truly an amazing person.”

For a while, we praised Father as if we had made a promise.

Today’s sparring was definitely deeply ingrained in our hearts.

Olivia brought up another topic.

“I think I should definitely go on this expedition to improve my skills.”

I smiled and replied.

“Haven’t you already decided to go? Is it because His Majesty compared your swordsmanship to Gail’s earlier? Are you going to go and show that you are superior to Gail?”

Olivia blushed as if she was embarrassed.

Was it because she was still young?

She certainly seemed to have a greater competitive spirit than Gail.

Gail smiled faintly.

He didn’t seem to be entirely displeased with Olivia’s competitive spirit.

“Sparring with the Young Lady is always an honor. I still lack swordsmanship skills and was pointed out by His Majesty, so it seems it will be of great help to each other.”

“I don’t know what to do with myself since Knight Gail said that.”

It was a friendly dinner.

The direction of the conversation turned back to me.

“I’ve never heard of spirit swordsmanship before, but what do you think, Your Highness?”

I pondered for a moment at Gail’s question.

I pictured the sparring with Father in my head.

“Honestly, I don’t really get it.”

“When your swordsmanship skills increase and your mana is fully accumulated, you can use aura. And if you cross the wall [achieve a higher level of mastery], you can even draw out an aura blade.”

I nodded at Gail’s explanation.

Olivia was also focused, as if she was curious about Gail’s interpretation of spirit swordsmanship.

“I think spirit swordsmanship is about loading the spirit’s energy onto the sword instead of aura.”

Olivia added a word.

“If you learn good swordsmanship, you will be able to use the spirit swordsmanship that His Majesty showed.”

I asked one question.

“Isn’t swordsmanship not just a form of sword movement but also has to be integrated with mana breathing? Father is such a genius, but I’m not that good.”

“Why don’t you give it a try?”

“Of course, I plan to try. It’s better than just standing still and using spirit magic. If a spirit master roams the battlefield with the spirits and wields a sword, they can become several times stronger, as Father said.”

I had no intention of refusing to become stronger.

“It’s good to build up the basics of swordsmanship from the beginning.”

It was Gail’s words.

His eyes were burning with determination.

Something didn’t feel right.

“I will prepare so that you can train with the knights of the Order.”

Then Olivia stepped forward.

“I think the White family’s swordsmanship would suit Your Highness.”

Neither Gail nor I could easily answer.

“Young Lady, Duke James may not allow it.”

Olivia shook her head at Gail’s concern.

“As the next head of the family, I can certainly teach His Highness the basics of swordsmanship.”

My eyes widened at Olivia’s words.

“Are you saying that you, the Young Lady, will teach me directly?”

“Yes. If Your Highness is okay with it.”

“Of course, I’m fine with it.”

Gail didn’t object either.

“The swordsmanship I have learned is somewhat rough and takes a long time to master, so it would be better to receive instruction from Young Lady Olivia.”

“I’ll come to the palace every morning starting tomorrow.”

I expressed my gratitude for Olivia’s lightning-fast decision.