—Riezel Brynhart is confirmed to possess the ability befitting a Sword Saint and will be recommended by the Shadow Sword Saint to receive the Sword Saint Medal from the royal family, officially recognizing him as one of the esteemed Sword Saints of the current generation.
When this announcement from the royal palace spread throughout the royal capital, it came as no surprise that the entire capital was shaken senseless.
"Riezel Brynhart is a Sword Saint?"
"He… He actually has the strength of a Sword Saint?"
"Impossible!"
Needless to say, the most informed nobles were the first to react with shock and disbelief.
Whether they were supporters of the royal family, the duke, or even the very few neutrals, everyone was stunned by this sudden, earth-shattering announcement that came out of nowhere.
No choice.
"He's only seventeen years old, right...?"
"How could he possibly be a Sword Saint?"
Many people thought the announcement must be wrong or that they had misheard.
Unfortunately, with the explanations from the civil officials and knights present when Riezel was summoned to the royal palace, everyone learned the details.
Riezel Brynhart had defeated Albert Borley!
Moreover, it was a swift, instant victory!
Albert Borley, considered the best swordsman just under Sword Saint and known as the soon-to-be eighth-generation Sword Saint of the Borley family, had been defeated in an instant without even having the chance to react!
If this fact didn't count as being a Sword Saint, then what did?
"Incredible..."
"A seventeen-year-old young man actually defeated Captain Albert with a single move... It's just unbelievable..."
"No matter what, this is a seventeen-year-old Sword Saint we're talking about!"
"How is this even possible?"
Some were stunned, some sighed in disbelief, others took a while to snap out of it, and some simply couldn't accept it at all.
As they said, a seventeen-year-old Sword Saint was too astounding, even unbelievable.
At seventeen, being a Sword Master would already make someone an exceptional genius, yet Riezel had directly become a Sword Saint. Even if one searched the entire Akasha Continent or its entire history, they wouldn't find anyone like him.
Forget about the Akasha Continent, even in the other worlds Riezel had visited, who else reached the combat power of Level 7, the strength of a Sword Saint, at seventeen?
Ais was indeed talented and one year younger than Riezel, but she was just about to level up to Level 6.
Yoriichi was indeed extraordinary, but he only reached Level 7 after his death, inspired by Riezel's evolved Sun Breathing. In life, he was at most at the limit of Level 6, the same as Albert, only halfway to Level 7.
Even the ultimate weapon of Orario, Ottar, reached Level 7 only at twenty-five and was still Level 6 at seventeen.
Compared to them, the Akasha Continent had many Level 7 Sword Saints throughout its history, and there were quite a few in the current generation.
Jinas alone had six, but none achieved the status of Sword Saint before the age of thirty.
It was like someone still in high school at seventeen, struggling with college entrance exams, while another at seventeen had already skipped grades, graduated from university, completed graduate studies, and become a doctor.
Naturally, this caused a huge stir, making it hard for others to imagine and accept. Especially for those who were already paying attention to Riezel or even knew him personally, this news hit them like a ton of bricks.
For example, Archie.
For example, Carrera.
Even a certain prince who had just warned Riezel and was acting arrogant beyond measure was almost stunned into disbelief by the announcement.
"How could he be a Sword Saint? How the fuck could this happen?!"
Sorren jumped out of his bed, shocked and angry.
When this announcement spread to the general public, among the commoners, and even throughout the continent, a massive uproar was inevitable.
"I can't believe a seventeen-year-old magician just popped up as a Sword Saint outta nowhere!"
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
"So you're saying this seventeen-year-old kid, who's still just a magic academy student, just reached the heights I've been chasing for my whole life?"
"Bullshit!"
Many angry swordsmen were on the move, driven by this announcement.
Of course, their destination was only one—the Frenzel family's secondary residence in the royal capital, where Riezel resided.
===
On this day, the Frenzel residence was particularly bustling.
A succession of swordsmen, each exuding an extraordinary aura, arrived at the entrance of the residence and made their declarations to the gatekeepers.
Surprisingly, their declarations were strikingly consistent.
"I want to challenge Riezel Brynhart!"
Such was the situation.
Indeed, they were all challengers, here to challenge the youngest Sword Saint in history.
Among them were some well-known expert Sword Masters, fully armed, their eyes cold as they made their challenge declarations loudly.
Clearly, such a commotion could not possibly go unnoticed by the various factions in the royal capital.
As a result, these factions naturally sent their people with only one purpose in mind—to verify.
Verify what?
Of course, to verify if Riezel Brynhart truly possessed the strength of a Sword Saint.
Such a stir, of course, did not escape Riezel's notice.
"So many people are coming to challenge me?"
When he heard the news, Riezel was genuinely surprised, especially when he saw the huge crowd outside, he had a moment of disbelief, finding it hard to believe that all these people had come to find him.
On the other hand, Yuri, as if she had anticipated this situation, was nonchalantly sipping tea.
"What do you think the status of Sword Saint is?" Yuri asked with a hint of schadenfreude. "It's one of the highest honors on the continent. In a way, those who pursue this status are even more fanatic than those who seek the status of Strategic-Class Magician."
Sword Saint and Strategic-Class Magician—these were the two supreme titles and status on the Akasha Continent, the two highest honors.
Sword Saint was the pinnacle for swordsmen.
Strategic-Class Magician was the pinnacle for magicians.
Moreover, since this world was one of swords and magic, it had only two paths to transcendence—either a swordsman or a magician, with clearly no third path.
However, becoming a magician required talent, a natural gift.
Only those who meet the requirements in both 'magical energy' and 'magic compatibility' could tread this path. Otherwise, one could never become a competent magician.
As a result, magicians were rare talents, a rare breed, hard to come by.
From this reasoning, this was obviously one of the fundamental causes why magicians were so highly respected.
Meanwhile, swordsmen were different.
While one's talent was also important for swordsmen, theoretically, anyone without disabilities could practice swordsmanship and become a swordsman.
Consequently, in this world, ninety percent of those who walked the path of transcendence were swordsmen. Since they couldn't become magicians, they could only tread this path until the end.
Given this, their greatest pursuit in life was obviously to become a Sword Saint.
Moreover, a swordsman's growth path, unlike a magician's, couldn't be achieved solely through talent. It required constant training, practice, and the honing of skills through blood and sweat.
Needless to say, those who worked so tirelessly were often the most unwilling to concede defeat.
"You know, the path of a swordsman is half about challenging the strong."
Yuri put down her tea cup and looked at Riezel.
"Some people challenge the strong to hone their skills."
"Some people challenge the strong to become the best."
"Some people challenge the strong for glory and fame."
"Unlike magicians, where as long as you have the talent, you can hide away, study magic without disturbance, and then unleash the magic of the corresponding class to gain the honor and status of that class."
In such a situation, it was even more evident that no matter which way one chose to become a Sword Saint, they were still required to challenge the strong.
For example, the second way, after becoming a Sword Master, was to challenge a Sword Saint of the current generation. If one could defeat them, one would receive the kingdom's honor, be awarded the Sword Saint Medal, and become a Sword Saint themselves.
"I can assure you, more than half of those shouting outside are after those."
Yuri continued with a casual tone.
"A young, seventeen-year-old Sword Saint... to those swordsmen who want to defeat a Sword Saint, you must seem like an easy target, right?"
What she said wasn't wrong.
Since they wanted to challenge a Sword Saint, why not pick the easiest one?
Other Sword Saints were, after all, already well-known and had built up enough fame even before becoming Sword Saints, so their reputation and strength were unquestioned.
However, a seventeen-year-old Sword Saint who had suddenly emerged out of nowhere and was known as a magic academy student couldn't help but arouse suspicion about his true abilities.
Considering this, Yuri was probably right.
At least half of the swordsmen outside clamoring to challenge Riezel were likely looking to make a name for themselves and saw him as their stepping stone.
"I see…" Riezel frowned.
Seeing him like this, Yuri let out a sigh of relief and then snorted softly.
"Now you understand why I said you'd have things to do next?" Yuri said with a shrug. "In the future, you'll probably be constantly challenged like this."
Riezel remained silent.
"Alright, don't worry."
Seeing that Riezel seemed distressed, Yuri's heart softened.
"No matter what, this is the Frenzel residence. They wouldn't dare enter a marquis's home without permission. Just ignore them, and they'll leave sooner or later."
However, upon hearing this, Riezel suddenly spoke something surprising.
"No, I'm going to face them."
"What?" Yuri was taken aback.
"Face them?" Marilyn, who stood silently to the side, was also surprised.
In contrast, Riezel, who had seemed so troubled to them moments ago, was now smiling—smiling happily.
"Since they've come to me voluntarily, how can I not face them?"
Riezel was indeed happy.
It was not without reason.
One should know that Riezel possessed Falna (Blessing), which allowed him to gain excelia from defeating others to improve himself.
Since returning from the world of Danmachi to the Akasha Continent, or traveling from the Akasha Continent to the world of Demon Slayer, he had been troubled by how to find enough opponents to fight and defeat.
Without enough opponents, his growth had slowed, no longer leveling up every few weeks as before.
Now, however, there were surprisingly many free excelia delivered right to his doorstep.