Chapter 37 – Understanding (1)

The two-week schedule was a time in which Henry could achieve many things.

Thanks to Rousseau, he did not attend regular classes.

Instead, he clashed swords with Austin in Rousseau’s training ground, and thanks to that, he was able to raise the proficiency of two additional weapons to level 10.

Spear and axe.

They were the two most common types of weapons after the sword, and Austin’s confidence was not an empty boast.

[The gap with the opponent is overwhelming!]

[A bonus is given to spear technique proficiency!]

Thanks to Austin’s outstanding skills, Henry’s growth also continued rapidly.

The weapon he grabbed next was?

It was none other than the blunt weapon.

Among knights, there were occasionally those who loved to use weapons such as the morning star.

And it was the same even if they were not necessarily knights.

Unusual weapons required significant proficiency, but if handled well, they could force an ‘unexpected’ situation on the opponent.

[Blunt Weapon]

* Current Proficiency: Level 7 33%

From spear, axe, to the blunt weapon.

Including the sword he had already learned, he had mastered a total of four weapons almost perfectly.

That was not all.

[Subscribers: 338]

The subscriber count also steadily increased.

Henry did not forget what was more important.

Even while the tight training was underway, he used the [Broadcast Microphone] or asked for Austin and Rousseau’s understanding to secure time.

It was true that the quality of the content fell a little.

There were also many repetitions.

Whenever they were about to forget, Henry would mention the ‘exam’ to hold onto the viewers’ anticipation.

Also, what if it was a new viewer?

Even without doing that, they felt freshness from just this appearance of Henry and stayed on the channel.

‘The videos have increased quite a bit too. These managers were more competent people than I had expected.’

Video editing specialist, Fire Solo.

Illustrator, Popori-jyang.

The two managers selected in the early days of broadcasting steadily put out results that far exceeded Henry’s expectations.

‘And now I also understand the meaning of those jobs.’

When he first heard them, he did not understand what they did. Because he thought they would be in the realm of magic anyway.

But when he heard the exact roles they played, Henry could not help but admire.

First, Fire Solo.

Cutting the ‘videos’ created by magic or overlaying something on top of them was exactly what a video editing specialist did.

‘No matter how ignorant of magic one was, they knew at least that much. That exerting influence on magic cast by another person was close to impossible.’

For example, to explain it intuitively, it was like this.

A process like intercepting a fireball cast by another mage and then overlaying blue flames on top of it.

Wasn’t that content clearly of atrocious difficulty no matter who heard it?

But Fire Solo was capable, and thanks to that, Henry’s videos were able to gain vitality.

And Popori-jyang, who was an illustrator, not only played the role of a chat manager but also cranked out ‘intuitive’ drawings one after another.

‘Surprisingly, it had an effect. Looking at the reactions of other mages.’

There were implicitly many places where the drawings were used.

Humorous drawings would occupy the thumbnail of each video, and among the uploaded videos, there were occasionally even videos ‘composed of drawings’.

‘In fact, it was no different from a gift obtained for free. Since it went up even though I didn’t do anything.’

At first, he wondered if other mages would watch such things.

But thanks to weaving together a caricatured ‘character’ of Henry and interesting events, they were actually more popular than other videos.

Thanks to that.

The payout from views received over the past two weeks had reached a whopping 500,000 won.

‘It’s less than the donations, but it’s encouraging.’

As of now, the donations were overwhelmingly larger.

But the payouts were also steadily generated, and the amount was not small either.

Even if it was maintained just like this, it would be at a level that more than filled the desired standard before graduating from the academy.

Let alone steadily growing thanks to the two managers, so at some point, the moment when the payout exceeded the donations would come, just as they had said.

[Registered Videos: 17]

‘Maybe when there are about a hundred of these videos… or two hundred. That is still in the distant future.’

Steadily training, creating incidents, and getting swept up in incidents that had already occurred.

If he just did not miss the given contents in that way, it would eventually be a matter of time.

And Rousseau’s training ground.

In the place he visited every single day, Henry spoke to the friend he faced every single day.

“Let’s do blunt weapons today too.”

“Blunt weapons again? It can’t be helped. Today… I should try using a truly terrible weapon. A heavy mace! Studded all over with sharp spikes…”

“Morning star. It was that yesterday too.”

“At least doing this makes me feel like I am doing something new. That is very important, Henry. Life is only enjoyable when every single day is new.”

“Wow, a morning star. My knees are already trembling.”

“Right! That’s it! Haha, prepare yourself!”

Woosh, woosh, woosh.

Austin began to swing the morning star in circles.

A sharp sound of tearing wind just by listening.

If it hit properly, it was clearly an item that would crumple armor and everything else entirely.

“That’s the advantage of the morning star. It’s an advantage big enough to crush all disadvantages, such as being difficult for the user to control, consuming too much physical strength because it’s too heavy, or having many openings.”

Not only did Austin know how to handle the weapon, but he also saw through its strengths and weaknesses.

“Knights generally wear heavy armor, and from the moment they are struck by this morning star, the armor becomes a hindrance that presses down on the chest rather than a protective gear.”

“What if they overlay mana?”

“The morning star would also have mana wrapped around it. If the amount of mana loaded on the armor is overwhelming, it would block it, but by that point, the type of weapon probably wouldn’t be the issue anyway.”

Rather, Austin’s explanation was that even if the armor’s mana was superior to some extent, the morning star could pierce it.

Because no matter how much mana was wrapped, the basic mass could not be ignored.

“Also, if someone uses a morning star as their favorite weapon, wouldn’t they be a person with skills that could be counted on one hand in the realm of [Concentration]?”

Reasonable basis and reasonable explanation.

Henry nodded as if he understood well.

‘Honestly, I already know all of it, though.’

During the days when he had nothing to do anyway, Henry had stored the strengths and weaknesses of all kinds of weapons in his head.

But this was, in the first place, consideration so that the mages, not Henry, could hear.

Since it was content Austin would explain anyway.

Because it was a waste for Henry to consume the duration by using the microphone directly.

“Anyway, Henry. The most important thing when facing a morning star is… Oh? Is that the instructor?”

Just then, an alert sound filled the training ground.

A visitor.

The one who opened the door and entered was Rousseau.

“Instructor.”

“I came to deliver this.”

He looked quite hurried. He had probably run all the way here.

What was held in his hand was clearly an envelope to anyone who looked.

“It is a letter sent by Viscount Camilton, Henry.”

“…Ah, thank you.”

Viscount Camilton.

Henry’s father had finally contacted him.

A paper letter like this.

Henry accepted the letter from Rousseau with a strange feeling.

[To Henry at the Vallaran Royal Knight Academy.]

An antique handwriting was written on the envelope.

Although it was poor quality ink, it was a part that showed the sender’s dignity at a glance.

‘It pinches my heart.’

For most noble families, when they contacted someone, they mostly sent magic messages or sent a messenger.

Because that was much faster, could convey intentions accurately, and was good for showing off one’s power.

“If you need a reply, I will mail it this evening. If it bears the stamp of the chief instructor, it can be sent safely and quite quickly.”

“Thank you.”

“I will be on my way, so finish up what you were doing.”

Rousseau hurriedly left again. Even while busy, he had come all the way here just to deliver this one thing.

“Oh, Henry? Should I step aside for a bit?”

“Good idea. It will only take a moment.”

“Take your time. There’s no hurry.”

Austin moved far away. There, he grabbed the morning star and began to swing it dazzlingly.

Henry opened the envelope.

There was only one sheet of letter paper.

Even the written content was only a couple of sentences.

[First, congratulations, Henry. Also, thank you for letting me help. Do your duty faithfully there.]

It was a passage that showed what kind of person Viscount Camilton was.

He was always like this.

He might have hopped around in joy in a place where no one was looking, but he was a person who never showed that fact.

The thought that if he became agitated, Henry would also be shaken lay at the root of it.

“This is the letter my father sent. It’s quite short, and, well, it’s content that sufficiently conveys his heart.”

Henry showed the content to the viewers.

There was no sensitive content, and he also wanted to brag about what kind of person his father was.

[It’s super simple lol]

[Don’t you resent the family’s ruin?? It would have been much easier if it were intact]

[Like, look at Bane. He met a good family so he walks around with his shoulders squared]

“Because failing was not my father’s fault. Even so, I am proud of him just for the fact that he did not collapse.”

Viscount Camilton was not lacking in ability as a knight.

It was just that he could not get involved in the infighting of the nobles.

It was true that it was somewhat regrettable, but such a thing could never be a reason for resentment.

“He is someone who did his best for me. And even now, he is someone who… holds out like this. I respect my father.”

Otherwise, he would not have even thought about inheriting the family.

And he would not have stubbornly held out for three years, either.

“It is too early to be satisfied. There is some time left until the exam, and the same will apply after that.”

The road ahead was long.

He was already able to inherit the family, but would it make sense to be satisfied with that after receiving such an opportunity?

“Austin! Let’s do it again!”

It would be fine even without a reply.

Because as Viscount Camilton said, the role Henry had to perform right now was clashing weapons with Austin.

***

Another week passed.

The subscriber count reached about 400, and the uploaded videos were 21. Also, he achieved level 10 in blunt weapon proficiency, and the weapon Austin was holding now was the ‘saber’, a weapon with only a single edge.

“I feel it too, but your growth rate, Henry, is truly non-sensical. Do you know how much time I invested in learning these in my family?”

“How would I know?”

“It took a month per type. They were terrible times.”

“Isn’t that also fast?”

A month to rise to this boundary was clearly a fast speed.

Because the academy’s class course had to take at least half a year.

Austin shook his head.

“That was the time just to learn the minimum techniques. It makes no sense to say that my current skills were completed back then, does it? It’s not like I only played at the academy, either.”

“Isn’t it?”

“It isn’t. Steadily putting in effort even in places where others don’t look, that is who Austin…”

Another endless chatter began.

Henry acted as if he were listening for a moment, then cut him off and asked a question.

“Is what you decided still the same?”

“Of course. Right after taking the exam tomorrow, Austin Roderick will be assigned to Class B. Since you are going, how could I wait here?”

The exam was immediately approaching tomorrow.

Henry asked the question he had to ask, and Austin brought out the designated answer.

One step further from there.

Henry brought out the question he had harbored until now.

“Why?”

He was asking for the fundamental reason.

Austin’s dream was a wandering knight, and his background was an immense place called the Roderick Ducal House.

To the extent that if he made up his mind, he could graduate at any time and wander freely.

Actually, when he first met Henry.

He spoke as if he was glad to make a friend, but in fact, he had eyes that showed it didn’t matter whether he did or not.

“You are asking why I follow you around to this extent, right?”

“Even to the point of changing the plan you had thought of and executed. The moment you go up, even if it’s not a big problem, it will definitely become annoying. It must be the type you hate the most.”

Austin was a person who absolutely avoided that kind of ‘annoyance’. To the extent of even giving up the opportunity of being the successor of the Ducal House.

And as if that reason was all too simple, Austin spoke.

“It’s fun. Do I need any other reason than that?”

BJ Swordmaster