The Disciple’s Disciple (4)

1.

Two wooden swords clashed against each other.

-Clang!!

Yuriel’s swiftly launched attack was blocked by Yohan.

Silence fell as if time had stopped.

Both the attacker,

and the defender,

wore surprised expressions, unable to grasp the situation.

Two weeks.

That time was by no means wasted for Yohan.

It was long for some,

short for others,

insufficient to cause a dramatic change, but enough to take a few steps forward.

Yohan himself seemed disappointed in himself, claiming he hadn’t grown at all, but he had definitely improved.

Perhaps it was because I didn’t expect much, but Yohan showed more improvement than I had anticipated.

He still couldn’t control his Magical power freely.

But his movements had changed.

He had begun to think.

He thinks about his moves, thinks about his moves, and thinks about his moves again.

And he shows it in his actions.

At first, there was a long gap between blocking an attack and following up with the next, but that gap had become very narrow.

He also started to keep up with me.

He is slowly raising the level, and he is growing in accordance with that level.

Yohan has no talent.

I will retract that statement.

Yohan does have talent.

Absorption.

He makes the opponent’s movements his own.

The crude training method of sparring, sparring, and more sparring was the optimal way to awaken his talent.

If he could only use Magical power, he would become a terrifying swordsman.

2.

“……Slow.”

Yohan used a powerful Taunt that works on everyone.

It wasn’t intentional.

He was so surprised that he had blocked Yuriel’s sword that the words slipped out without him realizing it.

It’s true.

Yuriel’s movements looked slow.

Had she become slower?

That was impossible.

She wasn’t injured, so there was no way her body would have become dull.

Then what was it…?

The answer is simple.

He had begun to see it.

It’s not that he’s looking down on Yuriel.

She is fast.

But relatively speaking, she is slow compared to the Saintess.

Because his eyes had become accustomed to the Saintess’s quick movements, Yuriel’s movements appeared slow.

If that’s the case……!

He might be able to win.

Yohan saw a glimmer of hope for victory.

He widened the distance.

He tightened his grip on the sword.

He changed his mindset.

From losing gracefully to winning even if it’s ugly.

That’s what the Saintess said too.

It’s okay to be called a coward.

It’s better to win cowardly than to lose.

Yohan decided to do everything he could.

“Slow……did you say?”

Yuriel’s fierce gaze pierced through Yohan.

Yohan flinched.

“No, that’s not what I meant……!”

“Yeah, I guess I am slow.”

Gulp.

Yohan swallowed nervously.

“……Compared to the person you were fighting.”

Yuriel muttered quietly.

Yohan didn’t hear her voice.

Her stomach was churning.

Slow.

She didn’t think she should hear those words from such a half-wit.

Yuriel let out a breath.

The breath that brushed against her lower lip was hot.

Stay calm.

Excitement is a hindrance to a swordsman.

The moment her breath became lukewarm, Yuriel charged again.

She burrowed in, crouching low.

Yuriel, who had approached within striking distance, aimed for Yohan’s solar plexus with the hilt of her sword.

Yohan, his eyes wide open, dodged the attack by throwing himself to the side.

“I won’t miss…!”

He immediately twisted his waist and swung his Wooden sword in a wide arc.

But as if she had anticipated this.

The moment Yohan twisted his waist, Yuriel immediately rolled backward to widen the distance.

Her move had been read.

That fact made Yuriel hot again.

But she didn’t get excited.

If he dodged, she just had to keep attacking until he got hit.

Yuriel charged again.

Her true value comes from her quick attacks.

Like a blizzard raging in the northern snowfields, her sword strikes from all directions.

Yohan dodged the attacks.

He dodged and dodged again.

Unless he was a monster, there would be a gap in which he could attack.

He would aim for that moment.

But before he could find that gap, Yuriel’s sword touched Yohan’s body first.

“Cough!!”

With a thud, the Wooden sword struck his side.

Yohan’s body flew and rolled across the floor.

No matter how much he had grown, he couldn’t overcome the difference in skill overnight.

He still had a long way to go.

He would make her pay for mocking him by calling him slow.

“Ugh…… That hurts like hell…….”

She hit him with all her might, without any mercy.

He should be grateful that she twisted her Sword Path when she was about to hit his ribs.

Yohan groaned and regained his stance.

His face was contorted, but his eyes were alive.

“Don’t give up just because it hurts.”

She would break that look in his eyes herself.

Yohan chuckled.

“…I won’t.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Yuriel charged.

She crouched low.

She thrust her sword out as if she was Sword drawing, aiming for Yohan’s chin.

“Ugh…!”

Yohan barely dodged by leaning his body backward.

But his defense was completely broken.

What should he do?

Yohan thought.

His body was leaning backward.

Everything was open.

He checked Yuriel’s movements.

The movement of her joints.

The twitching of her muscles.

The next attack would come from the front.

Yohan laid his sword down and defended the front.

And Yuriel struck down on it.

No, to be exact, she deflected the attack just before striking down and slammed the hilt of her sword into Yohan’s pelvis.

Pain rang out.

His posture collapsed.

His body tilted.

Just before he fell to the ground.

Yuriel struck Yohan’s side from below as if scooping him up.

Yohan’s body bounced upward.

The attack didn’t stop there.

Yuriel spun around Yohan as if dancing, attacking from all directions.

-Thwack! Thud! Thwack! Thwack!

Each time he was about to fall, his body bounced up, and each time he was about to fall again, his body bounced up again.

Like a puppet tied to a string.

Yuriel’s sword controlled Yohan’s body.

Yohan couldn’t get a grip.

No one could stand firm in the midst of a raging blizzard.

“Cough! Ugh! Ack!”

It was a one-sided beating.

Yohan’s body was instantly battered and bruised.

The inside of his cheek was torn, blood was flowing, and it felt like his bones were broken.

It’s over.

The students who had been watching the sparring began to lose interest.

Professor Erek also decided to stop the sparring.

Until Yohan grabbed Yuriel’s Wooden sword with a thud.

“……Got you.”

Yohan continued to concentrate amidst the raging attacks.

Until he saw an opening in Yuriel.

Because she was also human, there would be a moment when she would catch her breath and her movements would slow down.

And the moment he caught that moment, Yohan reached out and grabbed Yuriel’s sword.

In the process, his palm was torn.

Yohan put even more strength into it.

Blood flowed down the Wooden sword, staining Yuriel’s fingers.

Yuriel tried to pull out her sword.

It wouldn’t come out.

Yohan was gritting his teeth and holding on.

This was impossible.

Yuriel had used Magical power to Body Enhancement.

There was no way she could be overpowered by someone who couldn’t use Body Enhancement.

No…… Could it be?

He could feel it.

He could feel a faint aura of Magical power.

Yohan was definitely concentrating his Magical power to strengthen his arm muscles.

“Now it’s my turn.”

Yohan raised his arm above Yuriel’s head.

He held a sword in his hand.

He was aiming for her head.

If he made a mistake, it could be a big problem.

But the eyes of a beast hungry for victory saw nothing.

Yohan brought his sword down on Yuriel’s head, who was struggling to pull out her sword.

Yuriel squeezed her eyes shut.

-Tap!

Yohan’s Wooden sword gently tapped Yuriel’s head as if flicking her forehead.

“Ah…!”

Yohan’s sword fell to the ground.

Following that, Yohan also collapsed to the ground with a thud.

He twitched a few times like a fish on the verge of death, then fainted.

He had reached his limit.

No, he had already exceeded his limit and was overworking his body.

It had been a long time since he had started to lose sight of things, and it had started to make him nauseous, as if he was seasick, after a few exchanges.

“That’s enough. The match is Yuriel’s victory.”

It was an anticlimactic ending.

Yuriel looked down at Yohan, who was lying on the ground, with a bewildered expression.

Anyone could see that Yuriel had won, but she didn’t feel like she had won.

It felt uncomfortable.

She was ashamed that she had squeezed her eyes shut at the end.

3.

The victory or defeat was decided from the beginning.

I told him how important rest was.

I knew he wouldn’t listen.

That’s why I even treated him.

But I never thought he would come without resting at all.

It’s good to be passionate, but it’s not good to overdo it.

See?

In the end, he lost what he could have won.

“Still…….”

I smiled.

Although he didn’t listen to his master and lost.

It’s always enjoyable to watch my disciple grow.

At the last moment.

He had strengthened his body with Magical power.

It was close to unconscious, but if he could recall that feeling, it would definitely be a great help.

I looked at Yuriel, who was wiping sweat from her brow on one side of the training ground.

That child is not ordinary either.

She has grown since the entrance exam.

She had been hiding in the bushes for two weeks, stealing glances at Yohan’s training.

She must have learned something just by watching.

“By the way…….”

Is she interested in Yohan?

There is a good chance that she had been glancing at Yohan before the start of class.

Her tone is cold, though.

That’s probably because she’s not honest.

The head of that family is the same.

He seemed cold, but he was a man of great affection.

How could I have entrusted my back to that guy?

Like that guy, I think Yuriel is also shy.

“It would be nice if they got along.”

I was lost in thought for a moment before getting up from my seat.

The next match is Rael’s match.

Because I have to go and lecture my damn disciple who doesn’t listen to his master.

I should praise him too, right?