The most aggressive among the three schools of swordsmanship in the Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnationlight novel series by Rifujin na Magonote, the Sword God Style is practiced by a number of main characters such as Eris Greyrat, Ghislaine Dedolida, and Paul Greyrat. Under this approach to swordsmanship, the emphasis is on gaining victory as swiftly and efficiently as possible, usually with a single pre-emptive strike. It is also said to be the most powerful of the three, yielding the most destructive output in a short span of time, which results in bursts of explosive power strong enough to take down large numbers of opponents in one fell swoop. Despite this, it also has its own shortcomings, due to the excessive focus it places on offensive displays.
First introduced in Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, during Paul Greyrat's lessons with his son, Rudeus, the Sword God Style was further expanded upon with the introduction of Ghislaine Dedoldia, when Rudeus was sent to the Boreas household to tutor Eris. Ghislaine, who was proficient enough in the style to earn the title of Sword King, showcased some of the more advanced techniques under this style while attempting to save Rudeus and Eris when the former's staged kidnapping plan went awry, shortly before the Teleport Incident. Later on, the style was given even more screen time when Rudeus and Eris were forced to travel back to the Central Continent from the Demon Continent after being transported there in the mana calamity. The Sword God Style also has its own ranking system which categorizes the relative skill of practitioners all the way up to the title of Sword God, which is one among the Seven Great Powers in the world of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation.
Victory Goes To Those Who Move First
Speed and aggression are at the core of the Sword God Style, where the goal is to strike an opponent down before they have any chance to retaliate or even react. The motto of the style is "Victory goes to he who moves first," implying that the style praises proactivity and taking initiative to make a decisive first attack. Practitioners of the Sword God Style have often leaned towards being short tempered, impatient, impulsive, and belligerent. Mobility is also a high priority for users of the Sword God Style, and in place of heavy armor which impedes movement, practitioners generally favor light clothing to maximize their speed and agility. This is quite obvious on observing the attire of users such as Ghislaine, Eris, Paul, and even Gal Farion — the strongest Sword God Style user.
However, as speed and aggression are the main priorities in this style, there is little taught in terms of defensive maneuvers. In fact, Sword God Style users are left quite open to counterattacks, and possess few, if any such measures of their own, making it difficult for them to keep up in longer, more drawn out fights against combatants with more balanced approaches to swordsmanship. In this vein, Sword God Style users would struggle against practitioners of the Water God Style, which is centered on defensive solidity and counterattacking. On the other hand, an adept Sword God Style user would easily overpower a North God Style user, as the latter school prioritizes environmental awareness, resourcefulness, and more unconventional swordsmanship techniques to prevail in or survive a duel.
Techniques Under The Sword God Style
A number of factors have elevated the Sword God Style above its siblings schools to be regarded as the strongest of the three, and chief among them is the technique referred to as the "Longsword of Light." Said to be the ultimate technique taught to students of this school of swordsmanship, the Longsword of Light has a user place both hands upon their sword and concentrate all of their force into a single swing. Most practitioners of an advanced or higher level augment this technique with Battle Aura, to explosive effect, in order to utterly decimate opponents faster than the eye can see. The technique is extremely difficult to spot, evade, or even defend against due to the immense speed of the slash, which can approach the speed of light when used by high level practitioners of the Sword God Style. It boasts enough power to slice a heavily armored opponent in half or cut through swarms of combatants in no time as seen in Ghislaine's use of it in the anime.
Next, the "Light Reversal," is a technique which provides the sole countermeasure against the Longsword of Light. Users must possess exceptional reaction speeds to execute it effectively. When facing an opponent who is about to use the Longsword of Light, a user makes use of the same attack just before their enemy sword reaches its maximum velocity, chopping off their wrist in the process to disable the move. A slower version of the Longsword of Light, known as the "Longsword of Silence," is used for more stealthy scenarios. Described as an advanced technique in the Sword God Style, the Longsword of Silence sees the user's sword swung at the speed of sound, and the movement itself is not accompanied by any sound.
Finally, the most basic technique in the Sword God Style is called the "Arm Chop," or alternatively as "Sword God Style - Initial Strike." Here the user aims at their opponent's forearm to either slice it off or disable it if they are garbed in heavy armor by shattering the bones that constitute it, rendering their sword arm ineffective. Beginners in the Sword God Style are generally made to practice this technique repeatedly when first starting out to familiarize themselves with the basic tenets of this school of swordsmanship.
Claiming The Title Of Sword God
Initially, the Sword God School was set up in the Holy Land of Swords in the northwest of the Central Continent, which experiences harsh, snowy weather all year round. Further down the road, a Water God from a certain era dueled the Sword God of their time and defeated them, laying claim to the Holy Land of Swords until a successive Sword God managed to defeat said Water God and regain control over the territory. In the years since, the strongest swordsman from all three schools remains in the Holy Land of Swords to teach their artform to any students who venture there, inside the Sword God Dojo, where no one below the rank of Sword Saint is allowed to enter. The Sword God at the start of the isekaiMushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is Gal Farion, who taught Ghislaine and later, Eris as well.
Commencing with the rank of Beginner, there are seven ranks in the Sword God Style, as well as specialized system to allow practitioners to ascend up the ranks. This first level focuses on foundational concepts, while the next, Intermediate level is achieved after three years of training, after which users will be able to coat themselves with Battle Aura and contend against an average Knight. Advanced users can consciously use Battle Aura, as seen in the case of Paul Greyrat. Following this, the successive rank is that of a Sword Saint, and individuals must have complete control of their Battle Aura and mastery of the Longsword of Light in order to reach this level, with a few exceptions. On achieving this rank, students are given a dark leather jacket with white fur trim collar and white belts on each sleeve, similar to the ones worn by Gal Farion and Ghislaine. Very few ascend higher to the level of Sword King, where users are granted special titles by the Sword God and given a sword from their personal collection as proof of their strength.
After this rank, the process of reaching greater heights is through combat against another Sword King in the presence of the Sword God, where the victor will be granted the title of Sword Emperor. Finally, the last and highest rank is that of Sword God, who is the de facto leader of the school and the strongest practitioner of the Sword God Style. Only a single swordsman may assume the title at any one time, and it is necessary to either defeat the previous Sword God to do so under normal circumstances. In case a Sword God dies of any other cause, the second strongest Sword God Style user will take up the mantle in their place. Little has been shown about this system in the anime, and the upcoming second season of the series may shed more light on this topic.