Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent

"You want to challenge me?" Charles was taken aback, wondering if he had heard him wrong.

"I just want to test the progress of my sword skills." Alaric nodded.

Charles squinted his eyes. "Oh? It seems like you are quite confident with your sword skills to challenge your uncle like this. In that case, let me see the product of your efforts."

This arrogant brat! He only became a Knight, but he wants to spar with me? Delusional.

He scoffed in his heart.

He felt that Alaric had become overconfident because of his advancement.

"How about you come with us, Lucas?" Charles smiled faintly.

"Alright. I don't have anything to do anyway." Lucas shrugged while shaking his head.

The three immediately headed to the training ground.

Their arrival surprised the soldiers and the Knights who were in the middle of their training.

"My lord!" A small figure came running towards Alaric.

At the sight of her figure, Charles's eyes gleamed.

Alaric quickly pulled her and brought her away from Charles.

"You should go back to the mansion, Elena." He looked at his uncle and saw him staring deeply at Elena. This made his blood boil with rage.

That fucking bastard! How dare he look at Elena with such filthy eyes?!

"What is going on, my lord? Did I do something wrong?" Elena's shoulders drooped as she looked at him with a pitiful gaze.

Looking at her sad face, Alaric smiled lightly and shook his head. "You didn't do anything wrong, Elena."

"I want to stay with you, my lord. Please…" She grabbed his hand and stared at him with pleading eyes.

Alaric's expression softened when he saw her expression. "Alright. Fine. You can stay here, but never leave Galanar's side, okay?"

Elena's face brightened in an instant. She nodded her head and beamed at him. "Yes, my lord! I will stay close to Sir Galanar!"

"Good!" Alaric patted her head.

"Come here, Alaric! Didn't you say that you want to spar with me?"

Alaric was annoyed when he heard this voice. He turned around and looked at Charles who was standing in the middle of the training ground.

"I'm coming, Uncle!"

Alaric steadied his breathing as he walked over to Charles. He then grabbed a training sword from the weapon rack and felt its weight.

"Since this is just a spar, we shouldn't use mana." Charles reminded him as he played with the training sword in his hand.

"Alright. I have no objections." Alaric smirked.

With his SSS-Class Swordsmanship Talent, he was confident with his sword skills.

Charles might be an Elite Knight, but his swordsmanship was just average. Even Henry was better than him in terms of pure technique alone.

Look at this kid acting so smug.

Charles shook his head.

Meanwhile, everyone quickly gathered to watch their bout.

Charles rarely visited the estate since he was mostly away to do his tasks. The fact that he came to the training ground to spar with Alaric made them feel excited.

Lucas decided to officiate their spar.

"This is just a spar so don't unleash any fatal moves. The use of mana is also not allowed. If you're both ready, then you can begin at any time."

At this moment, Charles raised his training sword with his left hand on his back. "Show me the results of your training, my beloved nephew."

I will show you the difference between our skills and wipe that grin off your face!

Charles disdainfully muttered in his heart. He wasn't taking this seriously at all. He believed that he was superior to Alaric in terms of techniques.

"Then I won't hold back, Uncle." Alaric's eyes narrowed.

Just as his voice fell, his figure blurred as he lunged at Charles while quickly brandishing his sword.

Whoosh!

Hm?

Charles raised his eyebrows in surprise when he saw how fast his movements were. Luckily, he had the advantage in terms of physical fitness so he managed to block Alaric's sword.

When their swords clashed, he realized that he would lose if he didn't take this battle seriously.

This kid! Dammit!

Alaric didn't give him the time to catch his breath. His sword moved like a phantom, attacking Charles from every angle.

Pa! Pa! Pa!

Everyone was surprised to see Alaric's display of skills. The coordination of his body was perfect and he moved so seamlessly that it looked like he was dancing.

"How did Lord Alaric reach this level in just a short amount of time? Unbelievable!"

"Lord Alaric's sword techniques seem to be better than Lord Charles's."

The soldiers and the Knights discussed as they observed the battle.

Everyone thought that there was only a small difference in their skills, but Lucas had a different opinion. As a Transcendent Knight, he could see that Charles could hardly keep up with Alaric.

This made him feel astonished.

Charles might not be that talented in swordsmanship, but he was still someone who had been to the battlefield. His experience alone should be better than Alaric's.

However…

Alaric was displaying so much finesse that it looked like he was a veteran of many battles. The ferocity in his eyes and the sheer determination of his every strike made the onlookers feel that they were watching an expert.

Charles was already using both hands to hold his sword, but he was still barely keeping up with Alaric.

How is this possible?!

He couldn't believe it. The sword skills that he was so proud of looked like garbage when compared to Alaric's. If it wasn't for his better overall physique, he would have already been defeated.

After clashing swords more than twenty times, Alaric finally found an opening. He closed the distance and stabbed out his sword.

He stopped when the tip of his sword was only a few centimeters away from Charles's neck.

Did I lose?

Charles stared at Alaric in surprise.

The sword skills he displayed were not something that a newbie could do.

"I surrender." He forced out a smile.

He almost used his mana to overturn the battle. Luckily, he managed to stop himself in time or he would have become a laughingstock.

"Thank you for letting me win, Uncle." Alaric smiled as he bowed lightly.

Charles's face twitched at his words.