C115
"It's okay to have as many defeats as you want. The shame endured to maintain your belief is quickly forgotten. However, the memory of fleeing in fear follows you all your life. Whether you are eating, sleeping, or on the battlefield, you have no choice but to suffer. Therefore, the belief of a swordsman is the same as life. Once broken, it never returns."
No one mocked Rian anymore.
"Everyone doesn't want memories of being cowardly. Especially if you're a swordsman. You will probably come to hate recalling today more than dying. So, let's end it here. If you want to be proud in the future, right now, at this moment, in this place....."
Rian screamed, coughing up blood.
"Fight! You fools!"
Rian's cry penetrated the cadets' hearts. Their blood boiled. Their abilities varied, but their desire to be known as the ghost of the battlefield, the strongest swordsman, the knight of steel, was the same.
The fighting spirit of hundreds of people boiling at the same time was transmitted to the skin. The air was getting hotter. There was no longer the same fear in their eyes when they looked at Faiger.
The group facing Faiger sensed the crisis and each spewed out their own killing intent.
"Shut up! No one listens to the words of the defeated! Want to knock me down? Then come at me. I'll make you just like that guy hanging there!"
Tess touched her lips with a smile.
“Hmm.”
Ogent Rian.
Candidate for admission to the Swordsmanship Academy.
"Good."
Tess kicked the ground and launched herself. As she jumped over Faiger and untied the rope, Rian, who had fallen with a thud, writhed in pain and twisted his waist.
"Your name is Rian, right? I'm Tess. Let's fight together."
Tess offered a handshake, but Rian just stared. He was bound with ropes and could not move.
Tess' appearance resonated with the children. She belonged to the female group, but the skills she demonstrated during training were considered on par with Faiger.
"I will also fight! I can't stand it like this!"
"If a girl steps forward, the boys can't just sit still!"
One after another, they began to side with Rian. In the end, all the students except for Group 1 came together and shouted.
"Let's show them! Let's drive those jerks out of academy!"
"Drive them out! Drive them out!"
Faiger and his group were surrounded by close to 300 children. Even if they increased their strength with Schema, they could not deal with this many numbers.
"These kids! Do you really want to die?"
"If you can kill me, kill me, kid!"
A boy from group 2, who was a bit strong, attacked first. As Faiger, whose chin was twisted, glared at the boy, dozens of them rushed in and beat him to the ground.
"Wa- Wait! Stop!"
Faiger, who faced reality, shouted, but the children's resentment was not easily resolved.
Here and there, cadets from group 1 were being treated the same. It was a situation where even the boys outside the group came forward and beat them up severely.
“Sa- Save me! Instructor! Instructor!”
Tess smiled as she looked back at Rian, who was staring at the battlefield indifferently.
"Hehe, sorry about this? It feels like I just stuck a fork in the food someone else prepared."
"It's fine. I don't like playing hero anyway. That's why I called you here on purpose."
"What? Do you really not know?”
Tess, who realized it was true when Rian looked at her bewildered, put on an absurd expression.
“Are you stupid? There's no way the instructors will leave us free. They're probably observing everything that's happening right now."
Tess' prediction was correct. Faiger suffered a fracture and was expelled, and the other group 1 children who were in sync with him also completed the probationary period, but were notified of admission refusal.
And Ryan... Despite his poor training results, he entered the Kaizen Swordsmanship Academy as the first among the 30 admitted cadets.
Tess, recalling her first meeting with Rian, grinned widely, raising the corner of her mouth.
“That Rian who used to be like that~ Now he’s hovering around the bottom.”
"Be quiet. Why bring up the past? Who asked to be ranked first?"
"Hehe, even so, it's amazing. If it were me, I would have been drowned in self-loathing, but seeing you training without taking a single day off..."
"Talking about self-loathing. It's been a long time since I graduated.”
"Aren't you worried though? Since you've entered, you have to graduate and make a name for yourself as a swordsman. If things go as they are, you won't succeed in anything, right?"
“…..You were very determined to kill my spirits.”
"What are you saying! I'm really worried. I'm also curious. What's the driving force that moves you?"
Rian looked up at the sky and thought. The driving force. After all, he was more comfortable compared to other cadets.
"It would be nice to make a name as a swordsman, but it doesn't matter if I don't. I just have to become stronger. For my Lord."
Lord? What are you talking about?"
"Ah, I made a knight's oath."
Tess' eyes widened. It felt like asking a child next door who they would marry, and hearing that they had a fiancé.
"Really? When you're not even twenty yet?"
A Knight's Oath is an oath that a swordsman can only take once in a lifetime. Therefore, when choosing a lord, one usually carefully considers their future and potential.
"Are you sure? Who is it? Is it someone I know?"
Tess was sure it would be someone famous. A war hero, a minister of the kingdom, or if not, a lord of a provincial city. To entrust one's life, they would have to be of that status, wouldn't they?
“Shirone.”
"Shirone? Hmm, Shirone... I don't know? What do they do?"
"He's my friend. He's currently attending a magic school in my hometown."
Tess gaped as if it was ridiculous. A friend, moreover, not even a formal mages but a student.
"What were you thinking? No matter how close you are, you don't need to make a knight's oath. Wait, don't tell me..."
Tess suddenly felt uneasy. There were cases of making a knight's oath to someone neither famous nor promising.
"Is this Shirone... A girl?"
"Are you crazy? What are you thinking? No matter how talentless I am, I would not make a knight's oath like that."
"Really? Hmm."
Tess let out a sigh of relief.
"Anyway, don't say anything carelessly. I believe that Shirone will be the best. That's why I bet my life on it."
Rian looked different today. To put it bluntly, it was a display of rivalry between boys, but unless one was an extraordinary person, they wouldn't take it to the level of a knight's oath.
'Who the hell are you? Shirone....'
At that moment, a good idea struck her. While they was thinking about how to get the word out, she came up with a good case called Shirone.
“Can I meet them just one? That child named Sirone.”
What? Why do you want to meet my friend?"
"You keep boasting about him, so how could I resist? It's like securing a job before finishing school, right?"
"Is that enough reason to see him out of the blue? Moreover, Shirone is in Creas. It's very far from here."
"So what? The semester will end in a few days anyway. Besides, my family is occupying a territory and there's no one to meet there. We can go play in Creas. Right, there's an island to the south there, right? It's a tourist spot and I've wanted to visit. Let's go there with Shirone."
Like a person who prepared in advance, Tess's words flowed smoothly. When Rian heard that, his thoughts changed. Of course, he had no desire to go play with Tess alone, but if Shirone joined, it would be a different story.
"Hmm, with Shirone.... But won't it be awkward if the three of us go? I'm not the best at socializing. Especially with girls.”
Tess's eyes sparkled at Rian's positive attitude. On one hand, she was jealous that he, who usually didn't listen to her, had changed his mind.
"Ask Shirone to bring along a friend. There must be girls he knows at the magic school. We can go on a 2 versus 2 trip. A pair. How about it?"
A pair. It sounded fun. Above all, Rian, who had been thinking about how to spend time with Shirone after the semester ended, had no reason to refuse.
"Well, I'll think about it for now."
Even though he said that, it was as good as him already giving permission. Tess nodded her head in satisfaction.
"Good. Then shall we finish the last practical exam brilliantly for the holiday?"
After most of the cadets finished their practical skills evaluation, it was Tess' turn.
"Number 47, Elzain Tess. Ready for evaluation!"
When Tess, who was at the starting line for the obstacle course, shouted, Kuan signalled with his finger.
"Start."
Tess dashed through the lowering obstacle like a limbo. However, in front of the blade-like obstacle that was lower than her crouched height, she could only stiffen.
Although she learned Schema earlier than others, today was the first time she experienced external gravity.
Due to the nature of Schema that affects the body, it is rare to master schema during childhood. Also, even if there was, it was not recommended.
Tess calmly executed the First Impact. The shockwave from striking the ground was transmitted through Schema.
'Shift the center of gravity out from here!'
External gravity is not magic. It's simply creating a powerful inertia that overcomes gravity. With that confidence, Tess leaned her upper body.
'done!'
Tess' body escaped from under the blade while drawing a fan-shaped movement. It wasn't a fluke. All the training she had been doing without using external gravity has produced the current results.
"Number 47, Elzain Tess. Obstacle course complete!"
As Tess spread her arms and reported, applause from the trainees erupted. However, Tess, whose heart was pounding, couldn't hear anything.
'I did it. Is this for real?'
Kuan's guidance was not in vain. He had planned to teach her this from the beginning.
'Even if HE have a broken personality, a teacher is a teacher.'
Tess, who perfected the urban fighting movement, proudly took first place. With not many participants left, it seemed unlikely anyone would surpass her score.
"Number 52, Ogent Rian. Ready for evaluation!"
As it became Rian's turn, Kuan's brow furrowed. He didn't expect anything anyway. But because of that, Rian was a peculiar trainee who stirred up a strange sense of anticipation.
"Give it a try."
Rian kicked off the ground and charged. He passed through the obstacles that didn't require Schema at an outstanding level. However, the problem was the last obstacle.
'First Impact!'
He bent his upper body while stepping on the ground strongly. At the same time, Kuan's eyes flashed.
Rian thought something was strange. The blade seemed to be approaching his neck for some reason..
'Huh?'
Kuan flew at breakneck speed and kicked Rian in the face. Rian rolled on the ground and couldn't get up for a long time. An angry instructor limped in front of him, who struggled to raise his upper body.
"You fool! Are you crazy? Do you want to die? Where did you sell your Schema and why are you throwing your neck at the blade?"
Rian, who had regained his senses, jumped up and shouted.
"I'm sorry! But I can do it! Schema…"
"What nonsense are you talking about? Don't you know what Schema is? Those who can't do Schema are disqualified from the practicals!"
"No! I definitely succeeded! I took the strength enhancement test and was judged to have passed!"
"What, you devil? Strength enhancement? Where did you get that lie…"
Strength enhancement was a test that verified the existence of Schema by lifting twice your body weight. Kuan, who had been looking around, calculated Rian's weight and found something suitable.
"Hey, you, come here and try to lift this."
It was a large rock left over from building the training ground.
Rian took a deep breath and walked over. To be honest, since he barely passed the strength enhancement test, he couldn't help but be nervous.
"Huoooo!"
rian, who embraced the rock, exerted all his strength to lift his waist. With his wobbly legs, he stabilized his center and lifted his arms up abruptly. The hefty rock rose above his head.
kuan pressed Rian's body with his fingertips. His expression darkened as the vibration transmitted the action of the muscle fibers.
'Damn it.'
It wasn't schema.
He had raised many cadets, but this was the first time he saw someone so untalented.
No matter how much aptitude mattered, if they received education in the best facilities, they would usually develop Schema. But Lian wasn't even doing that.
Of course, if he has no talent, he can just quit. The world is full of aspiring knights.
But Kuan didn't want to abandon Rian. He was the kind of person who evoked such feelings.
'How much training must he have done……'
He couldn't hate someone like this. No, as a knight, it was an admirable willpower. But one problem was blocking everything. He had no talent. If he had just a little, he would have tried something, but he had none at all.
"Rian, I'm sorry to say this, but you didn't master Schema."
The cadets' expressions changed to bewilderment. It was the first time in half a year that the words of sorry came out of Kuan's mouth.
"There's no way! Look here... I'm lifting this rock! Then what is this?"
Kuan sighed and said.
"That…. It's just the muscle strength of you, who is strong like an idiot.”
Rian put on a puzzled expression. A moment later, the rock he was holding dropped with a thud.
Ogent Rian. Last place confirmed.
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Tags:
Infinite Mage (Novel)
