episode_0030

Seraphina lowered her head and quietly watched Gilbert leaving the training room. Eventually, when the door he opened and left closed, he released his grip on the mana that had filled the training room and let out a long breath.

“Yannick.”

“Please state. Seraphina.”

Yannick, who was standing like a shadow on one side, quickly answered Seraphina’s sudden call.

“What do you think?”

“In my opinion, I only told the truth.”

It was a rambling question, but Yannick, who understood the princess’s true intentions better than anyone else, conveyed his judgment to Seraphina without hesitation.

Having served as the princess’s escort for over ten years, he experienced all kinds of conspiracies and developed an eye for people. Now I am naturally at the point where I can tell whether what the other person is saying is true or not, and I have come to the conclusion that everything Gilbert said a moment ago is true.

There was an assumption that Gilbert’s acting might be so good that even his eyes could deceive him, but it should not be overlooked that he was a freshman who had just entered Demeia Academy to prove that he was a blue blood.

Unless he was a worn-out soldier who had fought on the battlefield for ten years or an old man in power, his eyes could not be deceived.

“Wo’s thoughts are the same. Gilbert the Lionheart told her nothing but the truth.”

That was why Seraphina accepted Gilbert’s request. Perhaps because she inherited the royal blood, she had an innate ability to see through other people’s lies. Because this was an ability resulting from a characteristic skill, it was completely different from Yannick’s ability built up through experience.

Judging by his ability, Gilbert only told the truth to Seraphina herself.

Of course, it wasn’t without some oddities.

The strangest thing he said was when he told her what a mess he had done.

To express truth and lies in color, let’s say green is seen when telling the truth, and red is seen when telling a lie.

But when Gilbert told Seraphina of his evil deeds, he looked scarlet. That was the reaction that occurred when lies were hidden within the truth.

Seraphina was truly curious as to what she had to hide in confessing her evil deeds.

Does this mean that all the evil deeds rumored were not actually done by Gilbert?

Or is it true that it is trash?

Seraphina didn’t know. So, instead of accepting his request, I placed one condition. It was a decision made with the intention of finding out more about him.

“I think something really interesting will happen this year.”

Yannick lowered his head as he saw Seraphina smiling softly. Somehow, he thought, Seraphina was happy that an unknown variable had arisen.

***

Tactical Combat was basically an armored game where you controlled giant soldiers, but it did not abandon fantasy elements. Rather, they were mixed and incorporated into the game in the right places, and the setting for the knight was one of them.

The knights who became superhuman through training in mana exercises were pilots who controlled giant soldiers, but they were monsters in and of themselves. That was the reason why knights went on solo missions without using giant soldiers.

Also, the reason why knights were chosen as pilots for giant soldiers was because of their unique piloting method.

The method of controlling the giant soldier is achieved through a contract with the artificial spirit mounted on the giant soldier. There is a control stick to control the giant spirit soldiers, but this only plays a auxiliary role, and in fact, the core of the control technique is the contracted artificial spirit.

The control mechanism of the Giant Soldier was a magical interpretation of the neural connection system commonly used in other armored games, in which an artificial spirit transmitted the rider’s image to the Giant Soldier and moved it.

For this reason, highly trained knights and famous swordsmanship were still attracting attention.

In that respect, becoming Professor Brianna’s student meant becoming an excellent knight and an excellent rider of the Giant God Soldier.

Gilbert, who was one step away from becoming Professor Brianna’s student, happily took the strategy and tactics lecture and then headed to Professor Brianna’s lab.

I thought I would fail when I was pressured by the power skill, but fortunately that didn’t happen. Although there were different conditions than expected, even those conditions were something to be welcomed with open arms in terms of promoting growth.

Gilbert arrived at Professor Brianna’s lab and knocked on the door. Fortunately, a unique, emotionless voice could be heard from the other side of the door, possibly in the lab.

“Hello? Professor.”

“Seeing that you came here, it seems you have received permission from the princess.”

Brianna, who was working on paperwork, stopped and glanced at Gilbert, who came in confidently. Indeed, she never expected that Seraphina would allow her to become her exclusive disciple. I had thought that Seraphina, who was more picky about people than anyone else, would categorically reject it.

Brianna put the papers she was writing aside. Since Seraphina gave permission, all that was left was her permission.

“I never thought I would receive permission from Seraphina. This is something unexpected even for me.”

“I was lucky.”

“I don’t know about Cadet Gilbert, but Serafina’s permission is not something you get by luck. He… . No, it’s okay. There is no need to waste time since permission has already been given. Follow me.”

Gilbert followed Professor Brianna to a private training room exclusively for professors. As Demeia Academy boasts the best facilities, various weapons were on display in the spacious training hall.

Common types of swords included long swords, short swords, valkyrie swords, gladius, and rapiers, and weapons such as spears, axes, and halberds were also easy to find.

“Take up your weapons.”

At the words of Professor Brianna, who took a long sword from the display case, Gilbert also took a long sword from the display case.

“From now on, you can attack me with all your might. Even if you have received permission from Her Highness the Princess, if Cadet Gilbert does not have talent, you cannot accept him as a student. Because I am not the type of person who does such worthless things.”

“What are the passing conditions?”

Gilbert knew that the only criterion for passing was Professor Brianna’s heart, but he asked in line with the flow of the conversation.

“According to the standards I set. Then Cadet Gilbert. Come at me with the readiness to die.”

Saaa!!

Professor Brianna’s momentum strangled Gilbert. It was a spirit that could be exuded by a top-notch swordsman, different from Seraphina’s prestige skill.

Gilbert couldn’t help but swallow dry saliva at Professor Brianna’s test, which he had challenged countless times in the game. The tension that I had not felt in the game turned into cold sweat down my back. If this pressure could not be withstood, the test itself was not successful. He took a long breath and pulled his longsword from its scabbard.

‘Ugh!’

When he pulled out his sword, the intangible energy emanating from Professor Brianna became stronger. The will to cut me down with just one step turned into murderous intent, prickling my skin. In the game, it was just a feeling of stiffness, but in the real world, I felt the fear of death.

But Gilbert also knew how to get out of this. Mana began to be released from his mana core according to the Lionheart exercise. My tense body began to relax as if I had just entered hot water.

This completes the preparation.

“Pretty good.”

Brianna praised Gilbert for breaking free of her pressure faster than expected. She thought he was not an ordinary cadet, but his level was better than she expected. In particular, the reverberation of magical power spreading around him was not unusual.

But this was a place to see the talent of the sword. Everything else was dismissed as additional elements.

“How long are you going to make me wait?”

Gilbert smiled fiercely at Professor Brianna’s sharp words. Now that my body was warmed up, all that was left was to hit it with all my might.

Gilbert rushed in without saying a word and swung his sword horizontally at Professor Brianna, who could not see a single gap.

Phew!

Professor Brianna dodged Gilbert’s sword by simply leaning her upper body back in place. However, as he had already expected, he retrieved the sword and at the same time used the shoulder slap that he often used while controlling the giant soldier.

Swish!

Professor Brianna easily dodged this attack as well, but was left out of position by about one step. I couldn’t just avoid the horizontal cuts and shoulder strikes that flowed like a stream, which was better than I expected. In particular, Gilbert’s near-complete body was far beyond Professor Brianna’s predictions.

“Hap!”

With a short burst of energy, Gilbert’s attack began. If the diagonal slash failed, a kick would come in front of the nose, and if the stabbing failed, a fist would fly.

In some ways, his swordsmanship seemed unsystematic, but anyone skilled in swordsmanship could quickly notice that all of his movements, although still immature, followed a certain form.

Assuming close combat, all available body parts such as arms, legs, shoulders, and knees were used, and it was never a random, unsystematic swordsmanship.

Brianna realized one thing from that familiar sight.

Similar to me.

Brianna discovered that her swordsmanship and Gilbert’s were very similar. Of course, because it had not yet been refined, loopholes were visible here and there, but fundamentally, there were many aspects similar to her swordsmanship.

A knight who could manipulate mana could use any part of his body to become a lethal weapon. Her ‘Winter Sword’ also contained such sword principles.

Brianna jumped back and avoided Gilbert’s shoulder slap and finally pulled out the sword she was holding. Although I had no intention of picking it up, I was intrigued when I saw a swordsmanship similar to my own.

“You drew your sword.”

Gilbert straightened his posture and his eyes lit up. In the game, I was able to see 2 pages in one go, which I had seen after 700 attempts. It was natural for Gilbert, who had already tried it a thousand times, but I thought it probably wasn’t how Professor Brianna felt.

“Cadet Gilbert was just better than I thought.”

“Then do I pass?”

“Stop being cocky and raise your sword. If you can endure it, I’ll consider it.”

That was the end of the conversation between the two. What followed was an endless battle. Repeatedly advancing and retreating, the two came together.

Professor Brianna’s sharp tip grazed Gilbert’s hair. Gilbert’s knee grazed Professor Brianna’s chin.

Attacks were blocked with attacks, and quick swords like beams of light decorated the training ground.

As the battle continued, Brianna became more impressed with Gilbert’s talent. His sense of swordsmanship was innate, and his perfected body gave wings to that talent.

Although I couldn’t give it my all against the cadet, my heart pounded in a way that wasn’t appropriate for my age. I have never seen anyone use a sword technique so similar to his winter sword.

At this moment, Brianna decided to make Gilbert her student. Now it was no use for Gilbert to refuse. He had to force himself to become his disciple.

The two men’s swords clashed loudly and they took a step back. The endless battle has come to a lull.

“That’s it.”

Brianna wanted to unleash the power of the Winter Sword, but she picked it up and swallowed it, thinking there would be more opportunities. It was amazing that the cadet followed him this far.

It was her greed that continued further, and it was a burden to Gilbert.

“After. Did you pass?”

Gilbert let out a rough breath and asked. Although I saw a faint smile on Professor Brianna’s lips, it was because I wanted to hear it in person.

“Pass. From now on, Cadet Gilbert is my exclusive student. I’d like to talk about it, but… . I think today will be a bit difficult.”

“I think so too.”

Gilbert’s body, exhausted from the sparring just now, was as heavy as a thousand pounds. Although he was clearly superior physically, sparring using mana was too much for Gilbert, who had not yet completed his growth. I felt like I wanted to take a shower right now and pass out on the bed.

“We’ll talk about it in detail tomorrow. Make sure you come here early tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.”

“Then you can leave for today.”

Gilbert quickly put the longsword in its sheath and placed it on the display case, then left the training room, saying hello to Professor Brianna. Fortunately, today’s lectures were all over, so I was able to relax by just taking a shower.

Gilbert hurried to his room, ignoring the notification that the sub-quest was completed. Training was also on strike today.