C16: Solitary Feast (3)
The incident began by chance.
Before the regression, Vikir's hunting dog group came across a strange artifact while raiding the dungeons that stretched across the boundaries of the enemy and the Black Mountain.
It was a fragment of a swordsmanship manual.
A torn page.
Vikir felt that the contents written on it were unusual and memorized them in his mind for the time being.
Later, when Hugo submitted the paper of the problem, he realized at once that the page contained extraordinary information.
Hugo thoroughly searched the library and found a book that contained the relevant content of that page.
Thus, he eventually discovered the swordsmanship book named "The Ambushing Blade."
It was an ancient book found in the shallow layer of miscellaneous books that nobody bothered to touch, rather than within the controlled area where higher martial arts were gathered.
Buried in an unknown place and suddenly discovered, this swordsmanship set Baskerville ablaze.
"This swordsmanship is truly the essence of our Baskerville."
Hugo praised it highly.
At first glance, it was an ordinary swordsmanship, but with the addition of the lost page, the system of swordsmanship was completely reestablished.
It was a sword technique solely for inflicting pain and bringing death to the enemy, unexpectedly striking the vital points, rather than defending against enemy attacks.
A very long time ago, an ancestor of Baskerville, whose name was not recorded in history, wrote this swordsmanship, which clearly depicted the method of drawing ten teeth.
Baskerville Style 10 Forms.
It was a problem that Hugo, who had only reached the level of Sword Master with the 7th form, could not ignore.
...However, despite Vikir finding the lost portion in the early stages, the sword manual remained incomplete.
As they progressed to the later stages, there were more missing pages.
The torn pages totaled seven, excluding the one Vikir had found, leaving the whereabouts of the remaining six pages unknown.
Afterwards, Hugo devoted his energy to collecting the torn pages of the "Swords Cradle" over many years.
The pursuit of Baskerville was relentless.
After investing a significant amount of time and resources, Hugo discovered that the torn pages of the sword manual were hidden deep within the territories of the seven noble families that supported the empire.
Naturally, Hugo began the process of retrieving each page.
It was called the "Torn Page Recovery Operation" or the "Missing Tooth Restoration Operation."
As soon as Vikir recalled those memories, he shook his head from side to side.
He could still smell the faint scent of blood in his nostrils.
"...It was truly a long and tough operation."
Hugo unleashed the dogs to retrieve the pages.
Whether the other families were aware of the existence of the torn sheets or not, their resistance was expected.
It was only natural. No one would welcome other people's hunting dogs suddenly invading their courtyard.
The Baskerville family had practically declared war against all the other families.
Amidst this chaos, numerous hunting dogs from the Baskerville family perished.
The countless brothers and comrades with whom they grew up rapidly diminished in numbers.
When they received their meals at the dining hall, they no longer saw the familiar faces from yesterday.
The gaps left by the missing teeth were filled with new teeth, only to be lost again before long.
And among the numerous tooth replacements, Vikir's permanent teeth were not exempt.
Vikir transformed into a fierce black hunting dog, fighting relentlessly.
And in the end, he gathered all seven lost pages and presented them to his master.
A few fingers and toes, a pair of ears, gruesome burns and scars covering his body, and lost brothers.
The compensation for all of this was straightforward.
"Good job."
A word of praise came out of Hugo's mouth. Why did they think that was enough at the time?
"...It was a foolish life."
Vikir chuckled at this.
Before the regression, Hugo used everything that Vikir and the hunting dogs brought back for himself and his two sons.
As a result, Hugo's skills surpassed the 7th style and reached the 9th style, and the honor of the staunch sword family Baskerville soared as if piercing the sky.
All beneath it were the blood and remains of the hunting dogs.
"There won't be such a thing in this lifetime."
Vikir closed his eyes and recalled the pages that were in his mind.
The contents written on the lost sheets were all stored in Vikir's mind.
However, the reason why the pre-regression Vikir couldn't rise above the 4th style was because he didn't know the original.
The contents of the pages that Vikir remembered were sparse, and they were only on a meager seven pages.
Without knowing the original, they were useless.
...But now it's different.
What's currently in Vikir's hands is the original of the "Swords Cradle" swordsmanship, the hidden gem!
Although the seven pages are torn, the missing contents are perfectly preserved in Vikir's mind.
Having broken through several layers of encirclement, sometimes not even having a way to preserve the pages themselves, Vikir carried them all in his mind, illuminating his past experiences.
Now, Vikir began to decipher the book.
...The first move of the 10th style (十式) is also closely related to the 1st style (一式). From the moment the sword is drawn and the attack is revealed in the first trajectory of drawing, every sword bearer acquires innate limitations...
Indeed.
If someone who knows nothing read this book, it would be treated as empty babble or a miscellaneous work.
What nonsense is it to call it the 10th Form?
However, when I recollected the contents of the torn pages and filled in the gaps, the previously tarnished and inflated contents transformed into puzzle pieces that composed an amazing masterpiece.
After confirming that the surrounding gazes had completely disappeared, Vikir moved his body according to the contents of the book.
The story unfolded, starting with the four fangs that had been polished to the extreme in the regression period.
The book explained how to reveal the fifth fang, how to create the sixth fang, the danger of the seventh fang, when to reveal the eighth fang, whether the ninth fang actually exists, and what the tenth fang is.
Although he currently possessed the body of an eight-year-old child, lacking sufficient power and physical immaturity, he would eventually be able to reproduce all of these things.
"...At the age of fifteen, regain all the power from before the regression."
Of course, it doesn't end there.
Beyond the unreached 5th Form in the regression period, he would advance to the 6th Form and even the 7th Form.
Even though he had the aura of a Sword Graduate, he couldn't master the corresponding swordsmanship and was surpassed, ridiculed, and ignored by his direct relatives. The time of envy, which was like a stain, would never be experienced again.
"First, I should memorize the contents of the book completely."
Once memorization was complete, this book would disappear forever from this world.
If that happened, Hugo would never come across this book, and he would never have the need to create the nine fangs.
Isn't revenge quite satisfying when it's revenge that an eight-year-old body can accomplish?
Vikir smirked dryly.
Even if you take the minimum amount of time in the Grand Library, there are still over twelve hours left.
For the children of Baskerville Manor, memorizing this thin book sweetly during that time is not such a difficult task.
Half a day later.
Afterwards, Vikir read the book in a state where he himself couldn't even know how he had changed.
...
...
...
And approximately 11 hours and 50 minutes had passed since then.
...Whoosh!
A small fire broke out in the section of the Grand Library where miscellaneous works were gathered.
No injuries. No fatalities.
The damage was only limited to a single miscellaneous work being burnt and destroyed.
It was a trivial incident that even the servants could easily dismiss.
