Ch.28Chapter 28: Entrance Exam (5)

The disciple of the Sword Saint, named Irene Silveron, is a 7th-floor master.

In truth, at this level, she could already be considered a fully-formed master.

But ironically, Irene is currently in a plateau.

This heaven-blessed genius had already crossed the threshold of the 7th floor at the age of 19.

Her growth, which came at such a rapid pace, had instead caused her to lose interest in swordsmanship.

Recognizing this, the current Sword Saint decided to send his disciple to the academy.

This was because he had heard rumors that the Emperor was gathering various races.

From the Sword Saint’s perspective, what his immensely talented youngest disciple needed was not sword training but new experiences.

Of course, he could have sent her on a warrior’s journey, but he judged that experiencing school with peers her age wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Isn’t it said that geniuses complete themselves?

In her current state, learning the sword under the Sword Saint would ultimately limit her to the 9th floor level like himself.

That would be impressive enough, but the Sword Saint was greedy.

This young genius had the potential to reach the 10th floor level of Jerent, which the Sword Saint Lushtein was said to have reached 1,600 years ago.

He believed that to reach that level, she needed diverse experiences.

It might yield no results, but she was already a 7th-floor disciple of the Sword Saint.

Spending a few years mingling with peers her age wouldn’t hurt her at all.

And now, the Sword Saint’s arrangement is bearing fruit.

Irene has begun to feel curiosity.

‘I thought it was trivial… but it’s quite… how is that even possible?’

Irene finally understands her master’s words about the world being vast, something she had never grasped before.

Though she’s outwardly poor at expressing emotions, after seeing Valt’s punches, she felt a strange sensation.

‘I want to fight him.’

A strength different from her own.

Rough, barbaric, and merciless brute force!

She was attracted to Valt, who embodied the textbook definition of strength.

There was another who thought similarly.

‘Hmm? He has something. Is that it? What a brute. Using mana in such a crude way?’

It was that female dragonkin who had clashed with Valt.

While it’s true that dragonkin are the strongest race on the continent, they are now too few in number.

Isn’t it absurd that a mere few thousand form a kingdom?

That’s only about the size of a single human territory.

Although the dragonkin have more female births and long lifespans, which helps maintain their race to some extent, at this rate, it’s no joke that they might disappear from the continent.

The Dragon King had no intention of sending his youngest daughter to the academy.

Each dragonkin is precious.

It would be disastrous if something happened to Solphin at the Empire’s academy.

But the Emperor made the Dragon King an offer he couldn’t refuse.

He would mobilize the Empire’s resources to help with the dragonkin’s reproduction problem.

So, reluctantly, Solphin was sent to the academy.

Solphin is well aware that her race is on the path to extinction due to reproduction issues.

But Solphin has a slightly different perspective from her father, the Dragon King.

‘If pure dragonkin can only have one child, why not mix blood?’

If she did that, perhaps her children could have two or even three offspring.

This idea might have some merit.

The dragonkin blood would be diluted, but the possibility of having more children would increase.

After all, dragonkin themselves are a race mixed from dragons and humans.

So what reason is there not to mix with other races?

But the Dragon King’s bloodline policy was extremely closed.

He thought inbreeding was better than mixing with other races.

However, Solphin disagrees with her father’s thinking.

The race must be preserved, one way or another, right?

From Solphin’s perspective, the most suitable race to mix blood with is obviously humans.

Humans are the most populous race on the continent due to their reproductive capabilities.

Of course, there are orcs, synonymous with reproduction, but they’re closer to monsters than humanoids.

Instead, she needs a strong human.

If she mixes with a very strong human, even as the dragonkin blood thins, the race won’t necessarily weaken as the Dragon King fears.

And now, one such candidate has registered in Solphin’s mind.

Solphin flicks her tongue and thinks.

‘I want to fight him soon! If he’s stronger than me, he’ll have to become my man.’

Solphin’s logic is somehow strange.

***

THWACK!!

Crumble-

Valt was now at the training grounds after finishing his exam.

With the tournament starting tomorrow, there were few people at the training grounds now.

Everyone would be resting to adjust their condition.

After destroying a self-repairing training golem, Valt thinks.

‘This isn’t it… It’s not enough to deliver that level of impact to a living being. What more should I do and how?’

Clearly, he can unleash 7th-floor power against inanimate objects, but against living beings, Valt’s striking power is limited to the 6th floor.

This is impressive in its own right.

The power of a 6th-circle magic would certainly be effective even against a 7th-floor master.

As Valt was thinking this.

“Hey, Valt, working hard I see?”

Turning his head, he sees Professor Liman.

“Ah, Professor.”

Over the past few weeks, Liman had approached Valt, offering some advice and showing interest in him.

Since then, he’s observed that this barbarian is obsessively focused on magic.

That mana utilization test earlier? If he had used a greatsword instead of bare fists, the power would have been twice as strong.

“Why are you so obsessed with magic?”

It’s a question he’s asked several times. Valt’s answer was always the same.

Honestly, he can’t speak about the restrictions.

“I’ve told you before. I think there must be a reason I was born with the unique constitution to use magic.”

While this reason is somewhat understandable, Liman wasn’t convinced.

He was someone who believed in strengthening one’s specialties rather than compensating for weaknesses.

But Liman can’t break Valt’s resolve.

“Khuhu, well, if that’s what you think, I can’t help it. But you know in this state, you’ll lose to that Sword Saint’s disciple. You’re aware of that, right?”

Being a 7th-floor expert isn’t something you can overcome with strength alone.

Even now, Valt wouldn’t be able to touch Liman.

“Hmm… I still don’t plan to lose easily.”

Pleased with the answer, Liman nods.

“Good! Have you ever had a master?”

Geruntu have no masters.

For them, nature is their master, and battle is their teacher.

It’s a Geruntu tradition not to learn from anyone.

But now, that will disappear by Kwan’s will.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Kuk kuk, as expected… What do you think? The Sword Saint’s disciple is the student of one of the 7 Heroes, said to be the strongest in the world. Don’t you think that’s a bit unfair?”

“If we’re going to argue that, we should start with me being born a Geruntu.”

*twitch*

Liman really liked Valt’s answer.

Whether he’s saying this out of ignorance or genuine belief.

Some foolish humans even babble that they could have become Sword Masters if only they were disciples of the Sword Saint.

“Want me to teach you something?”

Valt asks the suddenly offering Liman.

“What is it?”

Liman speaks as if it’s nothing special.

“Ah, it’s nothing much, just an aura control technique. Whether you can use it or not depends on you. What do you think, want to learn? Oh, and for reference, it’s not an aura utilization method for building floors. Just a control technique.”

Though Valt doesn’t see what use an aura control technique would be to someone without aura, he nods, figuring he has nothing to lose if someone’s offering to teach him something.

“If you’re willing to teach, I’d be glad to learn.”

“Hahaha, good, watch carefully, first, the mana…”

.

.

.

Several hours later.

“Valt…”

“Yes, Professor.”

“You… don’t have much talent for aura, do you? Or is this a racial characteristic?”

In Liman’s opinion, Valt had no talent for controlling aura.

He should be able to circulate mana through the mana roads in his body, but he can’t do it.

He’s struggling with just an aura control technique for the right arm, not even the full-body aura utilization method.

“I don’t understand what you mean by following the mana roads in my arm. There are no such mana pathways in my arm.”

This is the problem.

Liman found it strange. Mana roads exist in all living beings.

“What is this? Are your mana roads blocked by muscle? That shouldn’t be possible…?”

Though it’s a joke, somehow Valt feels it might be true.

“But there must be pathways somewhere. Practice is the only way. Practice hard.”

“I understand. Thank you, Professor.”

“Alright, I’m off.”

The aura control technique Liman taught isn’t as valuable as an aura utilization method, but it’s certainly a secret technique of the Skwat family.

Actually, it’s just a control technique, so calling it a secret technique is a stretch, but out of curiosity, Liman casually shared one of his techniques to make the match between the Sword Saint’s disciple and Valt more interesting.

Liman’s nickname, “Drowsy Sword.”

It’s not called that for nothing.

They say each person’s aura has a different feel.

With his unique aura control ability, Liman can make his aura feel soft and drowsy, and he knows an aura control technique specialized in preventing aura bursts.

Therefore, Liman Skwat’s aura utilization is exceptionally stable, rarely causing mana backflow.

The technique Valt showed, gathering mana to make his arm swell.

If he applied Liman’s aura control technique to it, he could reduce the overload.

Reduced overload? It means he can hold more mana.

In other words, it increases power.

Well, applying the aura control technique to that skill is a problem for now.

‘How you use it is up to you. It might not be enough to face the Sword Saint’s disciple, but… who knows if you can land that one technique?’

WHOOSH!

THWACK!

Hearing the sound of the regenerated golem being destroyed, Liman whistles as he leaves the training grounds.

“Whew~ That’s a crisp sound.”