6 Training with Reinhard

Subaru and Emilia have been searching for Felt through the capital for a while now, going to all kinds of places; unfortunately, without a result.

At one point, they stopped at a high ground to chat.

"Uh, anyway, I know your cat's name now, but I haven't heard yours yet," Subaru said, changing the topic, his face having an awkward expression and a blushing because Emillia had just insensitively got up very close and started touching his hand.

"My name?" Emilia asked.

"Yeah!" Subaru nodded with an awkward smile.

"I'm…" Emilia looked to the side. She pondered for a long while. Turning back to Subaru with an expressionless face, she said, "Satella."

Subaru and Puck were both surprised.

"I have no family name. You can just call me Satella," Emilia added expressionlessly.

"I see… Satella…" Subaru said, before smiling brightly. "That's a nice name!"

"Eeh?" Emilia looked at Subaru, face full of surprise.

***

Perhaps it was thanks to Reinhard's status as a Sword Saint, but Mordred's registration process was surprisingly smooth and quick. On the same day Mordred would receive a document that will from now on serve as his proof of identity in Lugnica, although it was only valid for two months.

At this moment Mordred and Reinhard were waiting for the document to be issued, sitting in a waiting room dedicated to the nobility.

After Mordred finished registering, he saw that Reinhard's face looked somewhat disappointed and strange.

"Something wrong?" Mordred asked Reinhard.

Reinhard gently smiled. "It's nothing."

Reinhard's clear blue eyes dimmed as his eyelids slightly droopy. He thought in his heart, 'Mordred really isn't valid to become the royal candidate as I hoped. The registration process should have confirmed it. What should I do next?'

"Reinhard, you're helping me a lot already, but I have a favor to ask. I wonder if it's okay?" Mordred then asked, looking at Reinhard with his light green orbs shining.

"It doesn't hurt to ask," Reinhard answered with a gentle smile, looking at Mordred. "If it's something that I can do, then I would be glad to help."

"Right! The thing that I want the most is to have a friendly spar with you, Reinhard. What do you think?" Mordred asked with a grin.

…

Some time later in House Astrea manor in the Royal Capital, Nobles' District.

According to Reinhard the manor in the capital was an auxiliary residence of the House of Astrea, however, its appearance was more grand than the main Astrea Manor located outside.

Two people stood in front of each other in an arena used for sparring and training.

"Do you really not need a sword?" Reinhard asked with a slightly puzzled expression, looking at Mordred while himself holding an ordinary longsword in one hand.

"No need. I have one with me," Mordred said, smirking.

Reinhard raised his eyebrows, only to then open his eyes wide open when suddenly, with a crimson-white flash, a broadsword appeared in Mordred's hand out of nowhere.

"This… How did you do it?" Reinhard asked in surprise.

"It's my special skill, I guess," Mordred said, shrugging.

"Is it like teleportation?" Reinhard asked.

Mordred pondered for a while, before saying, "Similar? I can hide and store my magical sword and armor in a special sub-space."

"I see. It's a really useful skill. And it's definitely an interesting sword you have," Reinhard said, looking at the broadsword in Mordred's hand. Although he couldn't tell the details, he could sense the magic and regal air around Mordred's sword. It couldn't compare to his Dragon Sword Reid, but it was definitely an extraordinary magical sword. He then asked, "If I'm not being impolite, do you mind telling me more about it?"

Reinhard was a swordsman and he always was interested in swords, let alone ones that seem special and unique.

"This sword?" Mordred said and looked at his magical sword. "Its name is Clarent, The Radiant and Brilliant Royal Sword. It's the symbol of kingship and it amplifies the authority of a king. Unfortunately I never managed to become a king, so I'm unable to access its true abilities."

Reinhard's face was full of shock after he heard Mordred's words.

"Anyway, Reinhard, aren't you going to use that sword at your waist?" Mordred asked, smirking. He knew that Reinhard's sword would only allow itself to be wielded against truly monstrous opponents. Mordred definitely didn't want to face it, but he still wanted to tease Reinhard.

Reinhard seemed to be awakened from his trance. He gently smiled and touched the hilt of his Dragon Sword, saying, "This sword is a bit special. I don't wish to-"

Reinhard's words were suddenly cut and his expression flashed with surprise. He was about to placate Mordred saying that he doesn't look down on his strength or his sword, but then he was shocked to find out that he was actually able to draw the Dragon Sword in front of Mordred.

'The Sword actually recognized this person's strength, deeming him worthy. It's the fifth time it has ever happened in my life. Mordred is so casual, but he's really strong,' Reinhard's heart thought.

Reinhard's expression went normal, as he coughed and finished his words, "I don't wish to look down on your sword, Mordred, but mine is a tad stronger and it's quite sharp. It's very likely that your sword would get damaged if I used it."

"I see…" Mordred said. He secretly thought, 'By using Fate measurements, Reinhard's sword is probably A++ or even higher…'

Originally Mordred thought that he was really powerful when he came to this world and that had a great magical sword, but as he thought back, he felt a little disappointed in regards to his weapon.

His Clarent was only a C rank sword right now and it was a bulky and cumbersome two-handed ceremonial longsword, but as he recalled - Artoria's Excalibur was A++ and Arthur Prototype's Excalibur was even up to EX rank in certain conditions, both having the Invisible Air ability and being one-handed (though he recalled that they had some kind of seals that needed to be unlocked to access their full strength).

In the end, Artoria and Arthur were superior to Mordred in nearly all regards - having higher stats, higher luck, a better weapon, a better Noble Phantasm and stronger Instinct Skill. And what if he had Avalon too to heal any wounds?

On one hand Mordred felt slightly disappointed that he didn't cosplay Arthur earlier and got his abilities instead, but he brushed it aside and didn't really care - there was no need to cry over spilt milk, what he got now was already amazing. He was proud and thrilled to be Mordred!

Furthermore, he also had Return by Death. So what if his starting point is slightly lower? Mordred would still aim to become a powerful existence and surpass Arthur.

Seeing Reinhard nonchalantly flare his sword, Mordred slightly smiled, saying, "Reinhard, can you keep a secret if I told you?"

"A secret? As long as keeping it doesn't threaten the safety of Lugnica or goes against my code as a knight, then I will not reveal it to anyone. You can rest assured," Reinhard said sternly after a moment.

"Okay then." Mordred smiled. "Reinhard, the reason why I wanted to spar with you so much is because I'm a complete beginner in swordsmanship. Today is the first day that I have ever held a sword in my life."

At Mordred's Reinhard's eyes widened again; Mordred just continued shocking him again and again.

Mordred is a complete beginner? The first day that he holds a sword? But even the Dragon Sword recognized his strength!!!

"In other words, you could say that I don't remember anything of my training as a knight and even little of my life as a knight since the teleportation incident. I only know general information about my person before I came to Lugnica. I don't have a good grasp on my abilities, so that's why I wished to spar with you, Reinhard." Mordred bowed down his head toward Reinhard. "I'm a complete beginner as I said. I hope that you can give me some guidance."

Reinhard stared at Mordred for a while, clearly aware that the latter was telling the truth. He asked, "So it's as if you lost your memories?"

"Something like that." Mordred nodded. "I know who I am, but what I know is limited and a bit random."

"I see. I'm sorry," Reinhard said in an apologetic tone.

"No need to be sorry!" Mordred said casually, shaking his hand with a carefree smile. "I'm fine, so don't worry about it."

"Alright," Reinhard said. "Anyway, if it's really the first time that you wield a sword then I'll show you the basics first."

…

Reinhard showed Mordred several most basic sword moves, stances and taught him some footwork, and had him repeat them in a drill for some time.

Reinhard couldn't help but be shocked with what he saw. 'Mordred really is a complete beginner! But even then, his outstanding strength and innate talent for swordsmanship is obvious. He's improving at a visible speed.'

"Let's do some practical sparring," Reinhard then said. He wanted to test Mordred's limits.

"Okee!" Mordred grinned. "Reinhard, do you mind if I try to test my limits and go all out on you? I want to try using mana and my special skills. I know that you're really strong, so you won't die, right?"

If Mordred managed to kill Reinhard then that would be a miracle, but he still worried that when using his skills and full power he could surprise the Sword Saint and cause him some harm, hence he warned him.

"Alright then. You can go all out, I'll manage." Reinhard smiled.

"Okay! Then I'll put on my armor, just in case," Mordred said with a smile.

After concentrating for a moment, a bright flash of crimson lightning flashed around Mordred's entire body as his full-body heavy armor materialized on his frame, along with the helmet.

Morded enjoyed the Sword Saint's visage flash with surprise once again.

"That's some great armor," Reinhard commented.

"Yeah! And it's really badass too, don't you think?" Mordred asked, his grin concealed by his helmet and his voice sounding more rough and powerful as it came from within.

…

Henceforth, Mordred went all out on Reinhard, attacking him like a berserker and a wild beast in a crude manner. He attempted to use all of his physical strength and speed, using mana to boost his attacks and even using Mana Burst several times to burst out with frightening speed and explosive power, getting better and better at it.

Reinhard was on the defensive, parrying and dodging Mordred's attacks, from time to time sending casual counter-attacks to keep Mordred on edge and to test him. He was definitely going easy on Mordred, but Mordred's strength, reflexes and especially the explosive use of mana still frightened him.

It had to be said that this person was a complete beginner, having no technique at all! However, as they spared, Mordred seemed to even be developing his own brutish style.

"How about we end it for today? It's already getting late," Reinhard then said after they spared for a long while. Looking at the utterly destroyed field around them, it was definitely in need of a serious repair.

"Sure!" Mordred called out, feeling a cry of protest coming from his stomach. His body flashed with crimson light and his entire armor disappeared, being fully replaced with his white T-shirt, denim shorts, a red leather jacket and black leather boots.

Reinhard lightly shook his head upon seeing that. He was still not used to such a useful and strange ability.

Mordred then strolled over to Reinhard with a grin. It felt amazing to freely use his powers and it was also a great opportunity to train. If Mordred only wanted, he could even Return by Death a few times to train some more with Reinhard like this.

Mordred shook Reinhard's hand with a smile, saying, "Reinhard, thanks a lot. I have a much better grasp of my own strength now."

"No problem! It wasn't a bother to me, I had a lot of fun today too," Reinhard said with a smile. "Mordred, I have to say that you're really strong. Especially your explosive use of mana is quite frightening."

"Of course, I know I'm amazing!" Mordred said arrogantly, grinning. "But it looks that compared to a Sword Saint I'm still lacking a lot."

"Don't look down on yourself, Mordred," Reinhard said solemnly. "You have incredible talent for combat and great reflexes. You have no combat experience, but your current strength is already something that many accomplished knights will never achieve in their lifetimes. I believe that as long as you keep training, you can achieve incredible heights."

"Thanks!" Mordred called out casually with a grin that showed off his canines. He didn't need encouragement because aiming to become a powerful existence is not something that he could give up on, but he still appreciated the Sword Saint's words in his heart. He then asked, "How do you think I rank in terms of strength then?"

Reinhard seemed confused by Mordred's question.

Mordred then clarified his question and asked Reinhard to compare him to the Bowel Hunter and Julius about whom he apparently heard 'a bit'.

At one point Mordred looked at the horizon. Seeing a red setting sun, he thought, 'It's already dusk. Subaru should be entering the slums with Emilia around this time, and he would soon encounter Elsa. Since things will reset anyway, I'll go and take a look from a distance. With my newfound strength I'm confident that I can safely face Elsa if need be.'