Book 1 Chapter 218
218
‘Are you going easy on him?’
Austin made an astonished expression.
It was the same not only for Austin but for the other trainees as well.
Geris, the trainee Austin was currently sparring against, was a highly skilled individual.
He was an opponent Austin had never once defeated in a sparring match between trainees.
To be told to go easy on such an opponent.
‘What on earth is Young Master Leo's confidence based on?’
Austin, who was laughing hollowly to himself, felt his tension ease.
‘Yes, I've endured Young Master Leo's rigorous training for the past month.’
He even felt that after experiencing Leo's training, he could overcome any ordeal.
Austin took a deep breath and gripped his wooden sword.
A wooden sword in the shape of a bastard sword, befitting his large build.
Watching Austin, Geris chuckled and aimed his sword.
‘Arrogant fellow.’
While Austin wielded destructive sword techniques using a bastard sword, Geris, despite his build, employed precise and swift swordplay with a rapier.
Austin was always unable to keep up with Geris's speed, losing by an overwhelming margin.
As the two stood in the center of the training ground, looking at each other, Geris lightly bounced in place, beginning to take steps.
“I’ll show you what class is, Austin.”
At the same time as his words, Geris charged towards Austin with incredible speed.
*Whoosh-*
Austin swung his sword towards Geris, who was rushing in at high speed.
*Whoosh-!*
“Hmph! Still a brutish attack!”
*Whoosh-!*
Geris sidestepped Austin's sword, dodging it and diving to the left.
A speed fast enough to make one's eyes dizzy.
But Austin's sword accurately pursued Geris.
Geris, who was about to dodge and counterattack, hastily swung his sword to defend.
*Thud-!*
A heavy sound reverberated, unbelievable for wooden swords clashing.
Geris contorted his face in pain felt in his wrist.
Austin's strength alone was monstrous.
“It seems you’ve made some progress. In that case…”
Geris activated his aura.
*Flash-!*
Austin made a bewildered expression, watching Geris increase his speed even further.
He wasn't bewildered by Geris's speed, but rather surprised by his own ability to react to Geris's speed, which had been difficult to counter just a month ago.
*Whizz-!*
Geris made a surprised expression as Austin dodged his thrust.
“What?!”
And then he hastily began a furious assault.
*Whoosh! Patapatapat!*
Splendid thrusts and slashes rained down.
Other trainees, thinking Geris was overwhelming Austin, whistled and cheered.
But the expressions of the top-ranked trainees changed drastically.
‘Geris's attacks aren't getting through?’
Geris's swordsmanship was a style that subdued opponents with speed.
The fact that his speed wasn't working meant he couldn't defeat his opponent.
Of course, Austin also had no chance to counterattack, so the sparring match became a stalemate.
However, the mere fact that Austin, who had been mid-ranked, was now on par with Geris, who was top-ranked, was shocking.
‘From the beginning, his physical and aura manipulation abilities were sufficient. What he lacked was technique.’
Leo, watching the sparring match, let out a small laugh.
All members of Leo's knight order were from lower nobility or commoner backgrounds.
As such, they inevitably had shortcomings compared to other trainees who had systematically trained in swordsmanship from a young age to become knights.
Yet, their talent was exceptional enough for them to be mid-ranked among the trainees.
Leo identified the most necessary aspects of swordsmanship for such knights and focused their training on those areas.
The results of that are now apparent.
‘Kids grow fast, after all.’
While he thought to himself something that would have made others laugh hollowly if they heard it.
“Ugh! This bastard!”
Geris's eyes flashed.
‘What an utter disgrace this is!’
He was aiming for a position in Leo's knight order.
But to struggle against Austin, whom he clearly thought was inferior to him?
It was an infuriating situation for Geris, who had considered it an opportunity to show his skills to Leo.
‘An opening!’
As his composure broke, an opening for Austin to exploit appeared.
*Whoosh-!*
“Huh?”
Geris was startled and stepped back.
The flow of the sparring match changed in an instant.
Austin, having grown accustomed to the speed, now began to pressure Geris instead.
Sparks flew from Geris's eyes.
“This bastard!”
*Groooowl-!*
A powerful aura gathered on Geris's sword.
Seeing that, Austin focused his mind even more.
*Hummm-!*
Austin's bastard sword also shone.
Watching Austin, Geris quickly launched a thrust.
In terms of aura power, Geris clearly held the advantage over Austin.
“Hup!”
Austin also let out a battle cry and swung his sword.
At that moment, a magical formula appeared above Austin's sword.
“What?!”
Geris cried out in horror.
*Crack-!*
“Gah?!”
Austin's sword, whose power was increased by aura and enhancement magic, broke Geris's sword.
*Whoosh-!*
Austin's sword stopped precisely in front of Geris's neck.
Geris's wide-eyed face contorted.
“Foul! You! How dare you use a magical artifact!”
At Geris's shout, Austin withdrew his wooden sword and spoke.
“I used the magic.”
“Lie! You became a magic swordsman in just one month?”
“Yes.”
“Nonsense!”
Geris protested vehemently.
They had been trainees together for several years.
He had never heard that Austin had any aptitude for magic.
As other trainees also made disbelieving expressions, Leo let out a small laugh and spoke.
“That was indeed magic used by Austin just now.”
“Pardon?”
“Since he had talent as a magician, I taught him magic for the past month.”
“Un-, unbelievable…! No! Even if it is believable, it's a foul! This was a swordsmanship sparring match! And we are Zeldlinger's knight trainees! Magic is unacceptable!”
“What does being a Zeldlinger trainee have to do with using magic?”
“As someone aiming to be a proud Zeldlinger knight, to dabble in magic!”
“Are you saying I'm also unacceptable then?”
“…!”
As Leo asked indifferently, Geris's face turned pale.
Excited by the thought of being defeated by Austin, he blurted out anything and made a slip of the tongue.
Leo also used magic.
“I! Th-that is to say! I made a slip of the tongue…!”
“Enough. Just continue with the next sparring match.”
Leo said, without even looking at Geris.
Afterwards, sparring matches took place in the order of Zhulan, Karin, and Valerie.
And in those sparring matches, all of Leo's knights claimed victory.
Zhulan and Karin unleashed their abilities as Spirit Knights without fail.
Valerie actively utilized the aura characteristics manifested by Leo to achieve victory.
“Excellent! An overwhelming victory!”
“Perhaps because we suffered under Young Master Leo for a month. Their movements are completely visible!”
Zhulan and Karin high-fived, making a fuss as if they couldn't believe their own growth.
“Valerie! Isn’t that right for you too?”
When Karin asked in an excited voice, Valerie nodded.
“Yeah. At least it hurt a lot less than being hit by Young Master Leo.”
“… .”
“… .”
Zhulan and Karin looked at Valerie with sympathetic expressions.
Meanwhile, Martina stepped onto the training ground.
Endian stood opposite her.
Martina gripped her wooden sword tightly.
‘Everyone else won, I can't be the only one to lose.’
Endian was currently one of the top five most skilled trainees among their peers.
Endian also gripped his wooden sword tighter, watching Martina.
‘Considering the others, Martina must have also gained new abilities.’
He didn't know what kind of magic Leo had performed, but Leo's knights had attained top-tier skills among the trainees through dual classes or the awakening of aura characteristics.
‘I mustn't let my guard down.’
Endian, holding his sword with both hands, lowered his stance and took a deep breath.
Martina took the same stance.
*Whoosh-!*
And without a moment's hesitation, they charged at each other simultaneously.
To probe Martina's abilities, Endian employed defensive swordsmanship.
*Whoosh-! Thump-!*
Endian narrowed his eyes at the heavy sword imbued with aura.
The two, having activated their auras from the start, moved their bodies swiftly.
But as time passed, a sense of wonder filled Endian's eyes.
Endian felt that Martina hadn't changed much.
He understood that her skill had improved.
But she wasn't using magic like Austin, nor had she contracted with spirits like Karin and Zhulan.
Nor had any special aura characteristics awakened in her like in Valerie.
She simply swung her sword stubbornly, just as she always did.
“It seems no special ability has manifested in you like in the others.”
Endian curled the corners of his mouth.
“Then this will be easy.”
Endian, having finished his reconnaissance, swiftly switched to offense.
*Flare!*
Blue flames erupted from Endian's sword.
Endian's family, the Terrier family, had been vassals of Zeldlinger for generations.
As such, they had been granted the Aura Heart Technique by Zeldlinger long ago.
Martina gripped her sword tightly.
The Aura Heart Technique that the trainees were learning was also ultimately related to flames.
However, they could only produce flames after mastering the Aura Heart Technique.
That was also the process of ending their trainee life and being recognized as squires.
Red flames were the symbol of Zeldlinger Knights.
When they became squires, they would be granted a new Aura Heart Technique.
In that sense, Endian, who had learned the Aura Heart Technique from his family, could be said to have a different starting line from other trainees.
Even though it was a blue flame, a flame was still a flame.
Normally, she would have been intimidated by the aura of the flames.
But Martina was not afraid to confront Endian's flames.
She had seen a boy who couldn't even use aura defeat monsters like a hero from a story.
And that boy had indeed shown heroic actions.
‘Young Master Leo said it. That we could also enter Lumern.’
What is a knight?
Are they not those who follow their lord's words?
‘I will remain Young Master Leo's knight.’
*Groooowl-!*
‘To become a knight worthy of Young Master Leo, I will enter Lumern!’
With that single aspiration, she dedicated herself most diligently to Leo's training for a month.
And that effort bore fruit.
*Flare-!*
Red flames, signifying a trainee's graduation, formed on Martina's sword.
“No…!”
Endian made an expression of horror.
Martina was also startled by her own flames but calmly swung her sword.
*Crack-!*
Endian's sword broke and flew into the sky.
*Thwack-!*
Martina's wooden sword, engulfed in flames, stopped under Endian's chin.
“I won. Endian.”
“Tch!”
Endian gritted his teeth.
Then he bowed his head and said.
“…I lost.”
At his words, Martina withdrew her sword.
“Sister Martina!”
Karin ran up to Martina with a bright smile and hugged her.
All the trainees made disbelieving expressions.
That five who were, at best, mid-ranked, had defeated top-ranked students in just one month!
“This settles it.”
Leo let out a small laugh.
“They proved themselves with skill. If any complaints arise regarding my knight order in the future, I will not stand by idly.”
In truth, the issues concerning the knight order could have been easily handled with Leo's authority.
Yet, the reason he observed this situation was simple.
He gave them the opportunity to solve it themselves.
And they splendidly proved their worth as Leo's knights.
“Now, go do what you each need to do.”
At Leo's words, the trainees dispersed.
Various currents flowed among the trainees.
Some gritted their teeth and went to train, while others still couldn't accept the situation.
But they no longer spoke openly or explicitly.
Because they couldn't help but acknowledge the skills of Leo's knights, including Martina, who had earned the qualification as a squire.
“This is all thanks to Young Master Leo!”
Austin bowed his head.
“That's right! Thanks to Young Master Leo, we were able to become stronger!”
Karin also said with a bright smile.
Life for a month had been hellish, but the reward for those difficult days was clear.
Watching the rejoicing knights, Leo spoke.
“I merely gave you a push.”
It was the knight order who had endured training so harsh it wouldn't have been strange to give up.
“You yourselves became stronger. So don't thank me; you can be proud of yourselves.”
At Leo's words, the knights made touched expressions.
“Well then, since there'll be no one left to question the fact that you are my knights, shall we name the knight order?”
The moment the knight order's name was decided, they would truly become Leo's knights.
As everyone made nervous expressions, Leo spoke.
“Slayer.”
At Leo's words, the knight order made puzzled expressions.
“Slayer?”
Martina made a bewildered expression.
It meant 'slaughterer'.
It was a name unbefitting a knight order.
Watching Martina, Leo spoke.
“I will fight against Tartarus from now on.”
Leo's gaze fell upon the knight order.
“If you follow me, you will naturally continue to fight against them.”
“I see. From now on, we are Young Master Leo's swords. If the path Young Master Leo walks is such a path, then the name Slayer would be fitting.”
Martina smiled faintly.
Then she knelt down.
The others also followed suit and knelt.
“We five, including I, Martina, swear to become your sword, your shield, and knights who clear the path you walk.”
Martina, who recited the knight's oath as their representative, raised her head.
“Please allow us to serve you as our lord for our entire lives.”
“I permit it.”
Leo smiled, looking at the knight order who would be his right arm for life.
The knight's oath concluded, and the Slayer Knights stood up.
Watching them, somehow looking more dignified, Leo spoke.
“Ah, and since you’ve passed training phase 1, shall we proceed to phase 2?”
*Freeze-*
At those words, the entire knight order froze.
“Ph-phase 2? There's such a thing?”
When Karin asked in a trembling voice, Leo crossed his arms.
“Of course. Your goal is to enter Lumern, isn't it? You still have a long way to go.”
Watching the knights turn pale, Leo muttered.
“Since you've been to the mountains, next time…”
After mountains, it was usually the sea.
“A sea of fire?”
At the training location far exceeding their expectations, all the knights felt their minds reel.