Chapter 4: Chapter 3: The Transcendent World
He saw a stalwart man at least 1.9 meters tall, clad in gray metal armor, yet still striding as if on wings, wielding a Dual-Handed Greatsword wider than a palm, deliver a ferocious downward slash that struck a standing, bar-shaped stone block heavily.
"Whoosh!"
A silvery arc flashed by.
"Crack!"
The top half of the stone bar fell off at an angle, landing heavily on the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The freshly-cut surface of the stone was smooth and free of burrs.
Immediately, the true second-generation heirs began clapping their hands.
"Amazing, Instructor Perez is really something!"
"Wow! Is this the strength of a real Knight? I don't know when I'll be able to reach this level."
"....."
Rein watched the scene unfold before him, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.
"A thick stone bar, hardly liftable by one person, split with a single sword strike??"
"Is this something a human could possibly do??"
If the memories of transcendence and the unknown he had before were merely based on hearsay from Wandering Bards and mercenaries, now, this scene was unfolding right before Rein's eyes!
For a modern person, this impactful and vivid scene was akin to witnessing Iron Man landing on one's own balcony, leaving Rein utterly dumbfounded!!
After a prolonged moment of shock, Rein glanced at his transparent panel and realized it suddenly lost its appeal!
Even if he truly became a Blacksmith, that would still make him just an ordinary person....
This world is indeed a Transcendent world!
Those wealthy heirs weren't bragging!
All the hearsay in the original host's memory was true!
"No way!"
"Now that I'm in a Transcendent world, if there's ever a chance to become Transcendent, I must try my hardest!"
"Otherwise, what difference would there be from a salted fish!"
In the midst of his shock, Rein made up his mind!
At that moment, something changed in the center of the training ground.
It seemed that among those true second-generations, a noble girl dressed in hunting gear voluntarily stepped forward, wishing to spar with the burly swordsmanship instructor Perez, who was dressed in full armor.
From Rein's perspective, he couldn't see the girl's face, but from the side alone, he could sense that the noble girl must be beautiful, with a tight figure, like a leopardess ready to pounce.
Indeed, the swordsmanship instructor Perez accepted, and the two soon crossed swords.
"Clang!!"
Sparks flew everywhere!
The shapely noble girl began the duel with a Leap Slash, holding a two-handed sword, clashing head-on against Perez's greatsword.
This strike hit Rein squarely in the heart.
If the feat of splitting the stone earlier could possibly be attributed to personal talent, the clash they just witnessed, with very real sparks flying, confirmed the immense strength of both participants.
The fact that a noble girl possessed such great strength was indisputable proof that this world was a Transcendent one!
Rein could think of no other reasonable explanation.
"Cling clang cling clang!!"
Although the noble girl wielded a heavy metal greatsword, her movements were incredibly fast, her figure agile like a gazelle, swiftly changing positions with a mere toe's touch, continuously attacking Perez from various tricky angles.
Her chestnut ponytail bounced behind her with each leap.
Much like a rock in the sea, the swordsmanship instructor Perez remained steadfast, not initiating any counterattacks, but instead standing firm, continually parrying the noble girl's assaults.
"Smooth Cleaving Slash!!"
After the aristocratic young girl let out a sharp rebuke, she leapt several meters high. Mid-air, her lively figure tensed up like a bowstring pulled to its limits, brimming with explosive power.
In an instant, the girl swiftly swung the broad two-handed sword—at least one and a half meters in length—drawing a semi-circular arc with a downward angle of forty-five degrees, and fiercely cleaved down towards the swordsmanship instructor Perez!
"Clang!!"
A teeth-gritting metallic friction noise rose!
Even though the child servants like Rein were at least twenty to thirty meters away from them, their ears ached from the impact of the collision, and their gums felt numb.
The true second generations up front also couldn't withstand it, frowning and covering their ears. Only four or five people managed to watch the sparring match without changing their expressions.
Suddenly, a small spark of gray light splashed from the clash of the swords to the ground about a meter in front of Rein.
Since the landing spot was close to Rein, he could clearly see that the spark seemed to be a small metal fragment, likely from a notch in the Dual-Handed Greatsword held by swordsmanship instructor Perez or the aristocratic young girl.
At that moment, swordsmanship instructor Perez and the aristocratic young girl almost simultaneously looked towards Rein's direction.
In an instant, Rein's heart jolted with fear, feeling as if he were being watched by a fierce beast, causing all the hairs on his body to stand on end!
This oppressive feeling .....
However, after both sides took a casual glance, they turned their heads away and no longer paid attention to the fragment, appearing to only be checking whether the shards had hurt someone or not.
And that aristocratic young girl's glance back finally allowed Rein to get a clear view of the girl's appearance.
Four words described her: majestic and valiant!
With an oval face and somewhat thick eyebrows that gave her a spirited air, a pair of brown-gray eyes sparkled brilliantly, and her tight-fitting hunting outfit only added to her agile form.
She resembled a foreign actress Rein knew from his previous life—Cristiana Yeri, in her younger days.
Swordsmanship instructor Perez then glanced at his Dual-Handed Greatsword, eyeing the irregularly shaped notch with a slight twinge of sorrow in his heart. This sword had been with him for many years, and he didn't expect...
"Instructor Perez! I'm terribly sorry, I got too carried away just now and didn't hold back. Your greatsword might need some repairs. I'll speak to Master Verintan about it."
The aristocratic young girl, tactful and quick-witted, immediately spoke up after seeing the slight frown on Perez's face.
...
After the interlude of their sparring session, the true second generations under the guidance of swordsmanship instructor Perez began learning some advanced swordsmanship.
Rein, standing to the side, bowed his head, staring blankly at the small iron shard embedded in the ground.
After a long while, he realized that they seemed to have no intention of picking up the small iron shard, so he dug it out.
The first feeling was its heaviness!
The small fragment was surprisingly weighty in his hand, quite substantial, obviously not made of bronze, but also not seeming to be ordinary steel.
With it, Rein could roughly estimate how heavy the Dual-Handed Greatsword of over one and a half meters truly was.
Swinging a weapon weighing seventy or eighty pounds?
This was several times heavier than weapons in the era of cold weaponry in his previous life! Rein realized instantly.
It made some sense that the burly swordsmanship instructor Perez could wield it, but how could that delicately-built aristocratic young girl manage? What was the situation?
Was it through some secret technique or training she acquired later on?
Or was it from her bloodline, a sort of innate talent?
"If it's the former case, then I should also stand a chance!" Rein thought to himself.
Haven't learned any swordsmanship, too old to embark on a Transcendent path?
"That seems quite logical......but that's for ordinary people!"
"I'm different!"
"If the system could trigger a Blacksmith Apprentice's life profession panel, then it should also be able to trigger a combat profession's panel, right?!"
"I heard that the training content for child servants includes learning basic swordsmanship?"
"I wonder if it will trigger the Swordsman's panel, or the Warrior's panel when the time comes?"
Rein's eyes slowly started to shine!!