C113
Kaizen Swordsmanship School.
The Kaizen Swordsmanship School, located in the capital of the kingdom of Thormia, boasts a 200-year history and has produced many knights who have accomplished great achievements.
There were more than ten certified first-class swordsmen, and among them, there were as many as three who were awarded the title of Sword Master.
Iron conviction. Symbol of courage.
Anyone who dreams of becoming a knight in the Kingdom of Thormia would want to enter the Kaizen Swordsmanship School.
However, there was no entrance examination here. Instead, they underwent a one-month probation period, during which the qualifications of the students were evaluated and the final admission was decided.
A whopping 300 students flock in each semester, and out of these, only 30 are eligible for admission.
Rian, who confidently belonged to these 30, was currently taking classes at Kaizen Swordsmanship School.
Urban Combat Training Ground.
The training ground, which perfectly replicates the cityscape, was the pride of Kaizen.
The teacher, whose cheekbones jut out like a skull, was sitting on the stairs, glaring at the first-year students and speaking.
"Today's practical subject is movement. Among them, you first-year students will focus on shifting the center of gravity and evaluate them.”
The teacher's name is Parka Quan.
As a certified 6th class swordsman, he was a master of the sword who was called the Mage Killer before he injured his leg in a war. (Dunno, perhaps he took an arrow to his knee?)
"Center movement is a skill that a swordsman must have. This is because the three beats of the sword: speed, power, and accuracy start from here."
Quan limped on his right leg and walked up the stairs. Then he asked, pointing at the tall boy with his chin.
"You. Where is the center of gravity of a swordsman?"
"Yes! It's the navel!"
"Wrong. You, tell me."
Quan pointed at a student whose eyes were slit like a shark's. Even if they didn't know the answer, they had to stand up immediately. If they hesitated even a little, they would get a smack, regardless of the test or anything else.
"Yes! It's the sole!"
“Wrong. you."
"Uh, the sword!"
“Get down. Do 200 push-ups.”
"Perform!"
The student stepped out of line and began to do push-ups. Exhausting one's stamina before a test is a terrible thing, but the teachers at the swordsmanship academy didn't care about that.
Quan pulled out the longsword that was strapped to his waist. The tip was spread out like a fan, and the sword edge looked relatively thin.
"Where is the center of gravity of a swordsman? The correct answer is the outside. In schema terms, it's called external gravity. Repeat after me, external gravity."
“External gravity!”
While shouting, the students were fuming. Explaining a term they hadn't heard during the semester just before the test.
"The reason I didn't explain until now is that it was too annoying. Of course, there's no way an asshole like you would find out. But today, I'm in a bad mood, so I'm going to add an evaluation of external gravity. Got it?”
"Yes!"
The students' answering voices echoed. The roaring cheer contained threats. What happens to the effort they have been making like dogs for half a year if the evaluation items change now?
'Ah, I really want to do something about it. What kind of teacher is that?'
"I will only demonstrate once. Watch carefully so that you can apply it to the evaluation."
Regardless of their thoughts, silence flowed in the Colosseum, which had been quiet from the beginning.
"Attack while advancing and defend while retreating."
Quan showed an attack while repeating advances and retreats. It was not worth watching because of his limping leg, but the sound of cutting the wind was dreadful.
"This is the typical movement of swordsmanship. The power of the body moves the center, and the movement of the center increases the destructive power of the sword. Furthermore, if you enhance your physical strength with Schema, the destructive power of the sword can increase exponentially."
The students swallowed their saliva. It was a story they had heard to the point of making their ears weary, but their tension was highest as they faced the test.
“…..I'm sure you're thinking something stupid. However, if you approach real combat with such a notion, you'll die within 3 seconds."
'Unlucky.'
The students' eyes grew even more intense.
"Remember this. No matter how strong the destructive power is, if you lose in the movement, the fight is over. Therefore, swordsmen use their center of gravity in their movements, depending on the situation. For example, something like this."
Quan slammed the ground with the soles of his feet. He then lifted one leg, and his body collapsed toward the ground.
The students opened their mouths in dumbfounded surprise. Quan's central axis was tilted more than 70 degrees.
Is this really possible? Unless a rope was tied around the waist, it was impossible for a human to maintain such a posture.
"The power amplified by Schema maximizes the movement of the center of gravity. Currently, my center is outside my body. This is called external gravity."
Quan's body stood upright like a stake.
"Utilizing external gravity, the possibilities of movement become infinite. For example, something like this is also possible."
Quan again stomped on the ground with the sole of his foot, and his body fell backward. His body, tilted to the point where his back was almost touching the ground, rotated, tracing a cone.
"External gravity is not actually existing gravity. It's merely extremely strong inertia. Therefore, when you apply rotation to external gravity, your body also rotates."
As Quan extended his sword outward, the rotation slowed. However, as the angle gradually returned, acceleration was applied due to centrifugal force.
Swoosh!
Quan, standing vertically, rotated at a tremendous speed. Then, as if time had stopped, he ended the rotation in a proper posture.
The stuedents looked at Quan with astonished eyes. What would have happened if they had been standing in his place? The ankle would have been cut off first. And then, the accelerating blade would have chopped them into dozens of pieces.
Defense is impossible. It's the same principle as humans not being able to block tornadoes created by differences in air pressure.
Such explosive external gravity. If compared, it was a technique similar to a rotating mechanical device with a blade attached.
'This is the Mage Killer.'
It was a nickname that was given to the opponent because he present death without knowing the enemy aware of how they have been attacked.
"This is today's practical evaluation. The first is passing through obstacles, and the second is urban combat movement."
"Sir, I have a question."
“Get down. Do 200 push-ups.”
The student stepped out. And while doing push-ups, he thought, 'What on earth did I do wrong?'
"Always remember, to get the answer you want, you must overwhelm the other party. A teacher is not your parents. Don't look with eyes eager for praise. It's disgusting. Understand?"
"Yes! I will correct myself!”
"Try again."
The student who finished his punishment raised his hand with a scream.
“Instructor! I have a question!"
"Speak."
"What is the evaluation criterion for urban combat movement!"
“That will be explained from now on.”
The cadet felt embarrassed. In fact, he asked a question because he wanted to look good in front of Quan. However, Quan considered even respect as a form of weakness.
"Urban combat movement. I'll make it brief because it's troublesome."
Quan entered the building. The front was wide open like a dollhouse, so there was no problem listening to the explanation.
"The place where external gravity shines is a complex terrain. Especially in city battles, the space is so narrow that the outcome can be decided by the level of movement."
Quan stamped his foot on the floor. However, he did not attempt external gravity.
“The reason for stamping the ground is to generate force and move the center of gravity. This is called First Impact. Of course, you don't have time to do crazy things like this in real battle, but for you, you youngsters, it would be good to definitely stomp the ground."
Despite his belittling and mocking tone, the students, who admired Quan's skill, were no longer angry.
"However, I do not stomp the floor for the First Impact. If I hit here with my power, the floor would be smashed. In Schema, the external gravity series uses various First Impacts, and among them, I will use muscle vibration, which can be called the basic.”
Quan contracted the muscles in his upper body to generate vibrations. In this state, he jumped up and touched the wall. By bending his elbows to adjust inertia, he seemed to float in the air for more than 3 seconds.
“Whoaaa.”
The students let out exclamations. Of course, order 'Get down!' is supposed to come out, but Quan continued to explain, perhaps since it was annoying.
“With First iIpact, I leaps while creating external gravity. Of course, in this case, the external gravity force would act in the direction of the wall. By applying this, such movement is also possible."
Quan walked along the wall. The students, slowly raising their heads, looked up at the vertical upper side with an incredulous expression. Quan stood upside down with his two legs against the ceiling.
"External gravity is ultimately using the power of inertia to offset gravity. Therefore, there is currently no gravity acting on my body."
The sight of Quan walking across the ceiling was beyond awe, to the point of grotesque. But this wasn't some kind of magic trick.
Even circus acrobats without Schema can run along walls. Quan had simply used stronger and more precise force to maximize inertia.
As the external gravity dissipated, Quan's body fell due to gravity. When he finished his demonstration and came out of the building, the expressions on the students' faces had changed 180 degrees.
“Everyone down. Do 200 push-ups.”
"Perform!"
The students lay down with faces that seemed to regret their fate. As official students, most of them can handle Schema, so it's not an impossible count. However, the range of enhancement that they as freshmen could apply was not that large, so 200 times would be quite a daunting task.
"Listen while you do it. The first practical test is a horizontal obstacle, and as the stage rises, the height decreases. The last stage will not be able to be passed without using external gravity. The time limit is 20 seconds. Since the obstacle is made of a real sword, it can lead to death in serious cases. Of course, I believe there will be no fools who try to avoid the obstacles. If you are injured, you will be treated by Instructor Caina."
Caina was the best surgeon at the Swordsmanship School. If magicians have healers, then swordsman have surgeons who do external operations. The problem was that the pain of the surgery was extremely severe. Especially for amputees, they even reconnect the nervous system, so it was common for people to pass out while receiving treatment.
'Damn it! Hearing that makes it even scarier!'
“The urban combat movement is simple. Create external gravity and lean on the wall. The longer you endure, the higher your score. Got it?"
"Yes!"
Quan, observing the stern expressions of the students whose fighting spirits were at their peak, gathered the assessment papers and moved his position.
"We'll start with number one. I won't call the names, so come out at your own discretion. Those waiting can rest."
Rian sat down and propped up his chin. It would take at least three minutes per person, so there was ample time.
"How about it, do you think you can do well?"
It was a female voice that was rarely heard in the Swordsmanship School. But Rian, as if there was nothing important, turned his gaze. She was a beautiful woman with golden hair flowing down like a wave. Tall with a slender figure, and her long arms and legs gave a refreshing look.
Elzaine Tess.
She was the only daughter of the renowned Elzaine Family in the kingdom, and had enrolled in the Swordsmanship School to follow in the footsteps of her father, the commander.
Her face could be cute or fierce depending on how you looked at it, but no matter how you looked at her character, it was fierce. She was naturally fearless, standing out even among many men due to her outstanding skills. In her first year, no one could keep up with her
"Sit down quickly. If the instructor catches you, it's a death sentence."
"Ho, so even the mighty Ryan is scared of the instructor? He's too busy grading anyway."
"What's the big deal? That yangban has eyes in the back of his head. But why did you suddenly change your seat?"
"What's wrong with having a friend? I came to relieve you in case you were nervous."
“When have you seen me nervous?”
"Haha. Well, there's no place for you to go down further, so you might as well have something to be nervous about? You seem comfortably at the bottom."
While these words could upset a student of the Swordsmanship School, Ryan only pouted his lips and said nothing. Tess smiled. His character, which hardly got angry over trivial matters, was indeed distinctive from the others. Why would such a man end up at the bottom?
Ryan was undoubtedly the one who trained the hardest among the first-year students. In fact, he was going through such a brutal amount of training every day, it could almost be considered as torture.
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Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
