To become a 「sword runner」, one had to unfurl wings. More precisely, wings could be understood as another organ belonging to a swordsman, much like a 「mana heart」 or a 「path」.

A mana heart proved that Mana had accumulated within the body. A path proved that the accumulated Mana was circulating through the body.

Then what about wings?

"Whew."

They proved that the Mana circulating within me could be expressed outside my body—that my Mana could affect the outside world and produce a particular phenomenon. Thus, to unfurl wings, I had to release the Mana flowing through my body and use that released Mana to produce a phenomenon.

"Fuck."

Surprisingly, I met both the first and second requirements. Yet I still couldn't unfurl wings. The reason was simple.

"Why the hell isn't this working?"

The methods I knew belonged to 「Gale」 and 「Lantern」. In other words, unless I knew how to unfurl my own wings, they would never sprout. In short, I had to unfurl Wings of Steel. The wings of 「Caravan」.

「Because of a trait that is both a strength and a weakness of the blood of steel.」

"What do you mean?"

「The Mana that accumulates in a heart of steel possesses the properties of steel. And the path of steel extending from it possesses those same properties.」

"I know that."

「Yes, I'm sure you do. Then what properties does the Mana of steel possess? Tell me.」

"It's extremely solid compared to other swordsmen's Mana. No matter what collides with it, it doesn't move easily. It stays heavily rooted in place. Just like real steel."

「Exactly. In short, it is heavy and hard. That is what makes Wings of Steel difficult to unfurl.」

Heavy and hard. Liam was right.

The Mana accumulated in my body and flowing through every part of it was immensely heavy. That property had been a great help until now. Merely crossing blades could inflict Mana shock on my enemies, and it allowed me to exchange blows on equal terms with opponents far above me. But now, the Mana of steel that had always helped me was holding me back.

「The Mana of steel possesses the property of immovability.」

Immovability. That was exactly the right word.

「Ordinary swordsmen's Mana is light. The Mana of those who are merely sword walkers is so light it could float away. Its lightness makes it fragile, but also free. Ordinary Mana, loose and supple as thread, can quickly be shaped into wings once it is brought outside the body. Bringing it out is the only difficult part.」

"Damn."

「But what of the Mana of steel you feel now? No matter how hard you try, it must cling to your mana heart and path without moving. Like steel that has hardened completely.」

Liam looked at me.

「If others' Mana is water, yours is metal. Their Mana takes the shape of a bowl when poured into a bowl, and the shape of a cup when poured into a cup. But yours is exceedingly difficult to bring out in the first place, and even if you manage it, its shape will not change.」

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

「Melt it. With your flame.」

A flame. Liam was saying exactly what Tom had said.

「Did I not tell you? The blood of steel and your arcane power are well suited to each other. For someone as talentless as you, it is fortunate that a flame-based arcane power awakened within you. Had some other power awakened, you would have spent more than three years up against this wall, young descendant.」

"..."

「Well, perhaps fortunate is not the word. Had you even a little talent, merely experiencing the arcane would have given you a feel for it, and you would have manifested wings in no time. Tsk. To think you could be this talentless...」

Talent. That damned talent. I was sick to death of hearing about it.

"Ah."

Standing in place, I focused my mind and swung my sword. I would try to grasp the sensation I'd felt when bringing forth 「Gale」 and 「Lantern」: Mana circulating through my entire body, then streaming out like an exhaled breath to affect my surroundings. I swung my sword, recalling that sensation as vividly as I could. But my Mana merely circulated vigorously within me. It refused to emerge.

Heavy. Far too heavy.

I had no idea how to bring out this Mana of steel that had hardened so thoroughly. Even if I managed it, there was still a problem. How was I supposed to shape something this hard into an arcane power? Could something so heavy... truly become wings? Could something this heavy become wings that soared through the sky and let me fly?

「Do not worry.」

"..."

「Wings of Steel are more powerful than any other wings.」

Liam spoke as though he had read my mind.

「Once you unfurl them, you will fly farther than anyone. Truly, farther than anyone.」

Listening to his clumsy attempt at reassurance, I steadied my breathing. One after another, I recalled Liam's teachings and what Tom had told me earlier. Integrate the flame into my body. Forge my hard Mana into a form suited to me. Like putting steel into a furnace and heating it until it glowed. Like hammering heated steel into the desired shape...

"Arhan?"

While I was concentrating, Seolyun came to see me.

"I heard. You need guided training?"

"Oh, yes."

"Want me to help?"

I nodded as she blinked innocently at me.

"Yes. I'd be grateful if you would."

At my answer, Seolyun picked up a wooden practice sword. Watching her fiddle with it, I hoped this guided training would help. But what exactly was guided training? I'd never formally learned swordsmanship, so I didn't really know. Curious, I asked, and she answered.

"Basically, think of it as sparring. The more skilled fighter identifies the other's weaknesses and focuses on those during the match. I'll handle that, so you don't need to worry about it. Just think of it as a sparring session."

Sparring. A simple, clear explanation.

But hadn't I already sparred with Seolyun until I was sick of it? Would that really help? She had even lost to me in the Endless Duel. Dubious, I picked up a wooden sword. Feeling its texture in my hand, I looked at Seolyun, who was pointing the tip of hers at me.

"Come at me first."

And then...

"Hmm."

Seven seconds later, I was flat on my back.

"Arhan."

"Yes?"

"You really don't have any talent."

"... I'd like to stop hearing that now."

In that short span of time, Seolyun had climbed beyond my reach. Without 「Lantern」, the gap between us had become enormous. The difference between a 「sword walker」 and a 「sword runner」, compounded by the difference in swordsmanship that had always existed between us. Together, they made our sparring look almost like a match between a child and an adult.

As I lay there dazed, Seolyun said something even more painful.

"You do work hard, though."

"Just say I have no talent."

"Should I, then?"

Seeing her nod, I nearly burst into tears despite myself. Before I could even catch my breath, Seolyun leaned her face close to mine and asked:

"Which problem should I tell you about first?"

"How many are there for you to put it that way?"

"Seventy-one?"

"..."

Fuck.

"I'll start with number forty-four..."

* * *

Guided training. Put simply, sparring. The principle behind reaching 「sword runner」 through this process resembled the time I'd hung from a cliff to become a 「sword beginner」.

"Don't dodge. Meet it head-on or deflect it."

Seolyun said that the moment she decided she wanted to become a 「sword runner」, she had pictured a suitable arcane power in her mind and grasped it. In the next moment, she extended her path outside her body to form wings, and naturally understood how to produce a phenomenon. That was impossible for me. Only Seolyun, a prodigy among prodigies, could do such a thing. I couldn't understand it intellectually, and I lacked animal instinct as well. What, then, was I supposed to do?

"Ready?"

"Whew."

I had to make my body form wings on its own. In other words, I had to push it to such extremes that it felt a desperate need for 「wings」. Just as a 「mana heart」 had naturally formed when I first faced Petel and felt the pressure of a superhuman's presence.

"Ugh!"

But there was a problem: my body had become far too accustomed to danger. I'd fought too many opponents stronger than me. My instincts no longer stirred in the face of ordinary threats.

"I told you not to dodge!"

WHOOSH

A wooden sword swept past my eyes.

I hadn't even seen its approach. Making full use of the acceleration provided by her 「wings」, Seolyun now moved insanely fast. Nor was she simply fast all the time. Having grasped 「Myriad Transformations」, she would slow down, then speed up, then slow down again. Endless, uninterrupted change. Adapting to that speed was extremely difficult. Truly, extremely difficult.

"How am I supposed to—"

Meet it head-on or deflect it?

How was I supposed to do that when I couldn't even see its trajectory? My sword was far too slow compared to Seolyun's. The Mana of steel clinging to my heart and veins couldn't move swiftly. Stalwart and straight it might be, but quick it was not. I felt like a dog staring blankly up at a bird flapping its wings. A dog that could do nothing but bark.

"Don't decide you can't do it. Stop doubting and let your instincts take over. Let the Mana flow naturally through your body. You said Tom told you, right? To shape your Mana to suit you. For that, you need to learn to use your power flexibly. Your body is far too rigid right now. Like a statue."

"This is how I've always fought. What am I supposed to do?"

"You've been a sword walker until now. Does that mean you intend to stay one forever?"

Seolyun was right.

I gritted my teeth and met her thrust. But the instant our swords touched, 「Myriad Transformations」 unfolded. Before her endlessly changing sword, mine was easily twisted aside. As my wooden sword spun through the air, the tip of hers was already at my throat. Had this been real combat, I would have died more than a hundred times by now.

"Again."

Stop doubting? Trust my body's senses?

It was a realm beyond my comprehension. I spat. Blood filled my mouth with its taste. The doubts wouldn't stop. Was this really the right way to train? Could someone as untalented as me even become a 「sword runner」? Wasn't that a realm only someone like Seolyun could reach? Uncontrollable doubts kept swirling through me.

"Again."

Then it suddenly struck me.

Was not doubting truly the answer?

"Again."

I was untalented.

Leaving things to instinct and gaining enlightenment through a prodigy's intuition didn't suit me. Then what did? After a moment's thought, I recalled everything I'd done until now. The moments when I'd questioned even the smallest things, taken them apart, and dug relentlessly until I reached the truth.

"Again."

With that thought, I took my eyes off Seolyun's sword. Instead, I focused on my own sword as it faced hers. The wooden blade wavered, its heavily nicked tip trembling. Was it truly possible to lighten and control the Mana of steel? I thought it impossible. Suspicion pronounced it impossible. Then what was possible? What method would allow heavy, sluggish steel to fly—to soar high into the sky?

Did every flying creature in the world have a light body? Were all their feathers light? No. The Dragons of the Sky Mountains had bodies like immense mountains, and the wyverns of the northern continent would be far larger than the mansion on the Caravan estate. Yet they reigned as rulers of the sky. Bearing their massive bodies, they flew more swiftly than any other creature. How?

"Again."

Wings. What did their wings look like?

"Again."

One doubt arose after another. Was becoming lighter truly the answer? Master had said that Caravan's steel could fly farther than anyone and was more powerful than anything. Then would wings capable of flying far and wielding great power be thin and light? Surely not. They would need to be very thick and strong. With enough strength, weight wouldn't be a problem. A new image began to form in my mind. These weren't a bird's wings. They were wings found only in legends and fantasy novels. Powerful, enormous wings that could lift anything into the air.

"Again."

Suspicion.

Countless possibilities arose and vanished. In that moment, my familiar image of wings was changing in the blink of an eye. As it did, the Mana of steel began to stir without my noticing. The Mana of steel adhered to my heart and path. Did I really need to separate it from them? Wings were an organ of my body. Then rather than existing independently of my heart and veins, they could branch from them and grow anew. Not creation. Connection.

I closed my eyes and focused on the new image. Rather than creating something new, I would extend what already existed and let it grow. Wings rooted in my heart would naturally be stronger than independent wings. Even fierce gales wouldn't tear them free. They would never break.

Yes.

"A...gain?"

Not until their owner died.

"..."

CLANG!

Seolyun's thrust met my sword. At that instant, a thunderous resonance rang out. My entire body shook as though a thrill had run through it. The vibrations reaching my hand were different from before.

"Ah."

Seolyun's expression was different now. Looking her in the eye, I said:

"Let's try just once more."

Little by little, I was finding a lead.

「Yes.」

Wings on an entirely different level from those I'd felt through 「Gale」 and 「Lantern」. Wings so unusual that I wondered whether they could even be called the same thing. Yet they were harder and more powerful than any others. I felt their distinct shape.

「At last, you take a step forward, you dullard.」

It felt as though I'd found a ray of light in what had always been utter darkness. Facing me, Seolyun hesitated slightly. As I raised my wooden sword with effort, my heartbeat resounded loudly. Heat bloomed from my pounding heart. As that heat spread throughout my body, my heartbeat began to sound like a hammer in a smithy.

"... Again."

CLANG!

Like the ringing of metal as heated steel was forged.

"Again, please."