Before the day faded, Willas arrived at Dmitri.
Upon revealing his purpose and identity at the checkpoint, he was soon guided to meet Baron Romero by the captain of the guards.
"I am Romero Dmitri. You say you come from the Valhalla Temple?"
"Yes. I am Willas, a priest from the Cairo branch of the Valhalla Temple. As I mentioned at the checkpoint, I heard the rumor that Roman Dmitri defeated the ranker, Homeros, who is ranked 49th. While the Valhalla Temple is not obligated to verify unofficial rankings, this is such an unusual event that I wish to meet the party involved and confirm whether it will be reflected in the rankings."
"That is good news. You have come at the right time."
Baron Romero could not hide his joy.
Verification of rankings.
It was a great occasion for the Dmitri family.
Even a lower-ranked family that possesses a ranker is recognized as a prestigious family.
The history of Dmitri is short.
As the first head of the family, Baron Romero had yet to gain any honorable recognition aside from wealth.
Yet, the chance for Roman Dmitri to rise as a ranker was a significant opportunity.
If such a thing were to become reality, the noble society would have no choice but to acknowledge the Dmitri family from that point onward.
After all, it was not just anyone, but the eldest son of the family.
Baron Romero served tea to his guest and sent a servant to summon Roman.
However, the returning servant wore a troubled expression.
"…My lord. The servant Hans, who attends to Young Master Roman, says that he is currently working in the forge and has completely cut off external communication. What should we do? If it is something that must be addressed even if it means interrupting his work, Hans said he would personally bring Young Master Roman."
"No, that is fine."
The work in the forge brought a satisfied smile to Baron Romero's face.
After his conversation with Hendrick, he learned that Roman Dmitri had a keen interest in the forge and possessed considerable skill.
This was a joyous matter.
It proved that the eldest son of the family was worthy of inheriting the family business, so Baron Romero did not want to interrupt the forge work for anything else, even if it was a visit to the Valhalla Temple that could elevate the family's status.
Baron Romero said, "Priest, I apologize, but since it is getting late, how about resting for the day and meeting Roman tomorrow? I will convey to him that you wish to meet as soon as his work is done."
"Understood."
Whether today or tomorrow, it was not a significant issue.
Seeing Willas nodding in agreement, Baron Romero smiled.
"Since we are in this situation, how about taking a look around Dmitri? I will assign someone to guide you, so you can see what the Dmitri family is like. It won't be a bad experience."
With nothing else to do, Willas did not refuse Baron Romero's offer.
Hans took on the role of the guide.
He walked ahead, explaining about Dmitri as they went.
"The Dmitri family owns the largest iron mine in the Cairo Kingdom and produces the highest quality iron. As you can see around, the structures of the inner fortress are built solidly based on iron. The same goes for the castle gates. Thanks to the reinforced steel gates and the towering walls, Dmitri is also known as an impregnable land."
His explanation was calm.
He spoke of Dmitri's history and characteristics, and Willas followed Hans quietly, listening.
In truth, Willas was not paying attention to Hans's explanation.
He was lost in his own thoughts, letting the words go in one ear and out the other.
'To think a swordsman capable of defeating Homeros would be born in such a remote place.
If the Dmitri family were a long-established knightly family, I could understand, but it seems unlikely that such a swordsman would emerge from a land developed in mining.
Moreover, if the eldest son of the family achieved such a feat, it is highly probable that nobles blinded by fame manipulated the rumors.'
It was obvious.
Rankers held a glorious position.
There were not few who sought to claim glory through deceit, and their common trait was that they did not participate in official ranking matches.
The unofficial ranking matches were conducted solely based on the testimonies of those present.
There was a reason why the Valhalla Temple did not actively accept "unofficial results."
How long had they walked? Upon arriving at what appeared to be a training ground, the passionate voices of people could be heard.
"One."
"One!"
"Two."
"Two!"
A group of people was engaged in training.
Willas's eyes sparkled with curiosity.
Being born in the Valhalla Empire, he was more interested in scenes like this than the dusty history of a family.
'Are they regular soldiers?'
They did not appear to be knights.
The reason was that the ages of the members varied, and among them was a boy soldier.
Knights could not rise to such positions at a young age.
If the characteristics of the members were so diverse, it was more likely that they were conscripts rather than professionally trained soldiers.
Willas asked, "May I watch the training for a moment?"
"I will ask."
In response to Willas's request, Hans ran over to the one who seemed to be the captain.
The captain glanced at Willas and nodded, as if it was no big deal.
"It is fine to watch from a distance."
"Thank you."
He moved to a shaded area and sat down.
At that moment, Willas's feelings while watching the training were merely simple curiosity.
After finishing their basic training, the soldiers' training supervisor, Chris, spoke.
"Today, we will conduct sparring among peers. Pair up and begin sparring at the signal."
"Yes!"
Everyone moved in unison.
Although Lucas's departure had reduced the number of participants by one, with Kevin included, there were still 31, making it a suitable number for pairing.
Thirty soldiers.
Fifteen matches at once.
Since it was a familiar training for the soldiers, they proceeded with sparring against their assigned peers in order.
Thud.
Whoosh!
The first pair charged at each other.
A short man launched the first attack, quickly slipping in and thrusting his wooden sword at vital points, while his opponent countered without retreating an inch.
In an instant, they exchanged several blows.
Even with the sound of wooden swords slicing through the air, both did not blink as they focused on each other.
Clang! Clang!
Their weapons clashed fiercely.
Their attacks were threatening at every moment.
They did not simply strike visible body parts; they calmly blocked the opponent's attacks while guiding the situation to target the opponent's vital points.
And if the opponent showed a gap? They would rush in, risking danger.
It was clearly a sparring match with wooden swords, yet it felt anything but gentle.
The same was true for the other pairs.
One after another, the soldiers began their sparring.
They fought fiercely, as if they were gladiators in a contest, showing no signs of yielding.
"Everyone, focus! Keep your eyes on your opponent!" Chris shouted.
When the soldiers were first recruited, they were somewhat better than regular soldiers, but in Chris's eyes, they were still a ragtag bunch.
However, now it was different.
Thanks to the Surah Heart Technique, they had achieved physical development, and above all, the soldiers who had learned the Surah Sword Technique began to transform into warriors.
The Surah Sword Technique provided answers to all situations.
When attacked from above, they learned to defend against it; when attacked at the side or legs, they learned to block or evade and counterattack in any situation, and the Surah Heart Technique maximized that effect.
The current situation was the result of their hard work.
The faces that had been bruised from wooden sword hits had all healed, and they recalled the Surah Sword Technique, watching their opponent's weapon closely.
Then came the appropriate counterattacks for the situation.
Even though the outcome of the fight was not important, none of the soldiers showed a complacent attitude that it was okay to lose.
Yet among them, there was one who fought the fiercest.
The protagonist of this was none other than Kevin.
Kevin.
He was small in stature.
Thus, Willas thought he was a boy soldier, but his fighting style was completely different from his physique.
Whoosh! Just in time, he dodged the opponent's attack.
With a bold movement of leaning back, Kevin let the opponent's attack slip by and immediately stepped forward to target the opponent's vital points.
The speed of his wooden sword was astonishingly fast.
By gripping the sword short, he reduced the time to attack, making it seem to the opponent as if he was attacking simultaneously from multiple angles.
Clang! Clang!
All of his attacks were blocked.
Kevin's opponent was no pushover either.
Like Lucas, he was a war mercenary, and his shaved head bore a tattoo that was chilling to behold.
His name was Puki.
"Kevin, if you keep ignoring defense like that, you'll be left with nothing!" Puki taunted.
His head glistened in the sun.
The tattoo running down from the crown of his head was intimidating just to look at, but Kevin remained unfazed.
"Win first, then talk."
Thud!
"Ugh."
Kevin struck Puki's side with his fist.
It felt like hitting a solid muscle armor, but Puki's expression twisted painfully from Kevin's sharp punch.
This was why everyone was reluctant to face Kevin.
Roman had told them to give their best even in sparring, but Kevin took it to an extreme.
He fought as if he could never allow himself to lose even once.
Seeing Kevin fight like it was a real battle, Puki growled in frustration.
"Alright, let's see what you've got."
From that moment on, it was a series of battles that felt truly real.
Puki boldly attacked vital points that could cost him his life if he miscalculated, and even in a precarious situation, Kevin never took a step back.
He always maintained a stance to charge at the opponent, keeping the distance to attack Puki while evading the opponent's fierce counterattacks with simple movements.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
His eyes glinted red.
The Ghostly Demon Technique.
Kevin's movements were ghost-like.
With relentless attacks that could not be shaken off, Puki soon found cold sweat trickling down his forehead.
'This guy.'
When he first became Roman's soldier, the one who surprised everyone was not Roman or Chris, but Kevin.
He appeared to be an unremarkable boy on the outside, yet he fought the most aggressively and fiercely in battle.
Perhaps it was because he was a wall that Chris could not surpass.
Soldiers like Puki wanted to defeat Kevin, and in the heated competitive spirit, they began to develop rapidly.
At that moment.
Clang!
After a fierce exchange, both revealed openings.
In an instant, their gazes intertwined in the air.
Then, without either of them being the first, mana surged from their wooden swords as they charged at each other.
It was clear.
It was the aura of a first-level ranker.