C4: The Dog of Baskerville (Part 1)
Eight years had passed.
Vikir Van Baskerville turned eight years old, and like the other children of Baskerville Manor, he was receiving various kinds of lessons.
The private tutor asked, "Alright, one last question. How do you differentiate between a sword wielder's stages?"
Vikir answered with a calm expression, "Regardless of swordsmanship skill, a sword novice is someone who doesn't know how to infuse mana into their sword. A sword expert is someone who can infuse mana into the tip of their sword, creating an aura that resembles a delicate substance. A sword graduate is when the aura emanating from the sword becomes thick and viscous like a liquid. And a sword master is not only capable of solidifying their aura like a solid substance but can also shape it according to the wielder's will."
Of course, all these distinctions were made for convenience.
In essence, combat is influenced by numerous factors such as health, terrain, climate, humidity, gravity, experience points, and the density of mana in the atmosphere.
While these factors can be calculated, the results would still vary.
However, calculations are not yet that complex for eight-year-old children.
When Vikir smoothly answered the question, the other children around him eagerly raised their hands and exclaimed, competing with each other.
"If a novice fights an expert, the expert will win!"
"Graduates are stronger than experts!"
"But masters are even stronger than graduates!"
"And our boss is a master!"
Vikir listened silently to the words of the other children around him.
One of their remarks struck his heart.
"Our boss is a master!"
Hugo Le Baskerville, the boss of Baskerville Manor.
He possesses mana equivalent to the power of seven circles, a remarkable feat for a magician.
However, as a master of swordsmanship, he had substituted his mana with an aura and imbued it into his sword, reaching the pinnacle known as a Sword Master that commands respect from the world.
The private tutor spoke, "Very well. Lord Hugo, the sovereign of the Baskerville family, is indeed a Sword Master. This achievement is only reached by a mere seven individuals in the entire 'Rock' Kingdom, and each of them represents the leader of the seven noble families."
Of course, this was already known to Vikir.
Moreover, he was aware that there were several more Sword Masters of exceptional strength beyond the Empire's borders.
At this moment, it was still unknown to everyone else.
Lost in deep thought, Vikir contemplated something on his own.
The gaze of the tutor had been directed towards Vikir from the beginning.
"He is truly remarkable."
Undoubtedly overwhelming, his talent is almost close to violence at this point.
The fact that a child who was only 100 days old could stay submerged in the Styx River for more than 7 minutes had become a small legend within the family.
But is he exceptional only in physical abilities?
His intellectual prowess was so remarkable that it overshadowed his physical prowess, and there were few peers within the family who could match him.
One could dare to say that he had the talent to "reveal one and awaken a hundred."
"Lord Van will surely be pleased today."
He planned to report all these facts to Hugo.
Hugo, who was not interested in anything other than the eldest and second eldest sons, had suddenly become more interested in the young generation in recent years.
Naturally, it was because of Vikir.
Since only children under the age of 10 were gathered in the nursery, a place for communal child-rearing, it was highly unusual for Hugo to visit. As a result, the tutors who were in charge of this place had been feeling a lot of pressure lately.
"Thank you, my lord. I will assist you with all my might."
Thanks to Vikir, the budget had increased significantly, and the position within the family had become much stronger compared to the other knights. Therefore, everyone looked at Vikir with favorable eyes.
Of course, Vikir himself had no interest in all of this.
After the classes had ended, while the children were returning to their respective rooms throughout the castle.
Vikir was reflecting on himself at the moment.
"Hugo is a master, isn't he?"
Unfortunately, that was true.
The density and rigidity of the "solid aura," which only masters could manifest, were on a completely different level from his own "sticky liquid" aura when he was a Sword Graduate.
Tsk-
His teeth clenched involuntarily.
In this life, he would never live so miserably or die like that.
"At least I'll regain all my strength before the coming-of-age ceremony."
He was currently 8 years old.
Unbeknownst to anyone, Vikir had already reached the level of a Sword Expert.
In his previous life, he had barely achieved that level when he was over 20 years old.
Before regressing, he had reached the level of a Sword Expert at a young age.
In fact, even just achieving this much would be considered a remarkable feat in the eyes of the world. But within Baskerville, it was considered ordinary, or slightly below average.
Typically, the children of Baskerville would reach the level of a Sword Expert around the age of 20 and knock on the door of a Sword Graduate at around 30.
From there, if they could carry the "liquid aura" on the tip of their sword, they would rise to the position of a middle-ranking officer. If not, they would remain in low-ranking positions.
Geniuses among geniuses, even the elites of Baskerville's upper class struggle to reach the level of Sword Expert in their early twenties.
However, Vikir had already achieved that at the age of eight.
In his previous life, he had never even felt mana at such a young age.
This was a level that even the elite members of the family couldn't reach.
As Vikir was contemplating his newfound experiences,
"Hey."
A voice called from behind.
Turning his head, he saw three kids from the 9-year-old class.
Highbro Le Baskerville, Middlebro Le Baskerville, and Lowbro Le Baskerville.
The 'Le' surname for boys in the direct bloodline, and the 'La' surname for girls.
These three are the direct descendants of the Baskerville family.
Their bloodline is crystal clear.
In a rather clichéd manner, the oldest one, Highbro, started picking a fight with Vikir.
"Van trash, where do you think you're going?"
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Where do you think you're going?"
When one guy started, the other two followed.
It was a truly childish confrontation.
Well, anyway, in Baskerville, where talent and skills are everything, such incidents wouldn't happen as they grow older.
However, the reason why Vikir was cautious of these triplets in front of him was something else.
"...Trident of Hugo Baskerville."
In just ten more years, those guys will grow up to be quite troublesome opponents.
In fact, just before his regression, these three were the hunting dogs that relentlessly chased after Vikir, breaking through his encirclement and aiming their swords at him.
"Come to think of it, these guys gave me a hard time when we were young."
Due to them stealing his meals, Vikir's growth rate during his childhood was significantly slower.
They often tripped him up during various evaluations or swung their blind swords, causing a lot of trouble.
Because of that, Vikir came close to death many times during various missions.
...Flash!
A sinister crimson light emanated from Vikir's eyes.
Whether they knew it or not, the newly turned 9-year-old triplets surrounded Vikir, chuckling.
"Hey, trash, didn't you say you dived in the Styx River for 7 minutes? And that you killed two venomous snakes in the Swords Cradle? Spare us the lies. An 8-year-old kid like you telling tall tales!"
"Telling tall tales!"
"Telling tall tales!"
Among the three, the most malicious Highbro took a step forward.
"At least you can do something like this?"
Simultaneously, a small sphere faintly glowed on the palm of his hand.
Even young children from the Baskerville family have exceptional mana perception and manipulation skills.
They can already concentrate mana and form it into a round shape.
Although they might not be able to infuse it into a sword yet, this level of skill is enough to be hailed as a genius in the world.
Of course, within the Baskerville family, it's a level of talent that can receive praise.
"If you call this talent, then this is what talent looks like. Hurry up and show us what you can do! Let's see how big of a mana chunk you can create."
"Let's see!"
"Let's see!"
The twins continued to taunt Vikir.
"...."
Vikir looked at the round mana cluster created by Lowbro.
A mana sphere the size of a child's fist. Well, at that age, that was already quite impressive.
However, Vikir had achieved that level within just eight months of being born.
It happened when he strangled two venomous snakes in the cradle.
With an additional eight years of mana proficiency after the regression, where would his abilities stand?
Vikir glanced around his surroundings.
In this place called "Nursery Fang City," where only children resided, there was little need to worry about prying eyes.
The few guardians and private tutors were all currently outside the city.
...Crack!
Vikir exerted his strength.
Raising his palm and gathering mana, Vikir displayed his power.
The expressions of the twins were filled with astonishment at the sight.
"...!"
"...!"
"...!"
Nothing had been created above Vikir's palm.
The twins momentarily wore dumbfounded expressions but soon burst into mocking laughter.
"Ahahaha! Look at this disappointment! Can't even sense mana at that age?"
"Can't sense it?"
"Can't sense it?"
They relentlessly ridiculed Vikir, even shedding a few tears.
...However.
At the same moment, not far from the infantile stage, on a lookout post.
One of the Southern Guardians, who was on guard duty, appeared bewildered by an unexpected phenomenon outside the window.
"What... What's going on? Why are there two suns above the infantile stage?"
