Ch.2EP.1 – My Story.

After recalling my past life memories, I had broadened my perspective and deepened my thinking, becoming more mature in many ways. With this foundation and through persistent effort, I fortunately became a soldier quite quickly.

However, not long after becoming a soldier, war broke out.

It was a war with a hostile nation that had never been on good terms with our kingdom, and this war continued for what could be considered a short period of three years.

Unfortunately, the war started right after I became a soldier, and I had to participate with extreme reluctance.

Though I desperately wanted to run away, becoming a deserter would make life miserable and I couldn’t live as a fugitive forever, so I had to grit my teeth and participate in the war.

Three years of war—a short period, some might say.

But anyone who participated would tell you the same thing.

It wasn’t like fighting for three years, but thirty—a fierce and devastating war.

Fortunately, the victor of this devastating war was the kingdom I belonged to, and because of this, the kingdom, though not quite an empire, rose to the ranks of a great nation.

From being a soldier of a kingdom to now a soldier of a powerful nation?

I heard that salaries would triple and there would be some tax exemptions for war veterans.

This might somewhat make up for nearly losing an arm and getting my stomach pierced…

‘Yeah right, as if.’

If it weren’t for a troll’s regenerative abilities, I would have died dozens of times over.

For the first time, I felt grateful to the spellcaster who tortured me in the name of experiments during my childhood.

War truly is a hellish thing, I realized once again.

Well, anyway, I decided not to care whether the kingdom became a great nation or not, just grateful to have survived with my body intact.

Above all else…

‘I quit because this is disgusting!’

Having faced the insane difficulty of war participation as a new recruit, I was sick of everything—civil service and all that nonsense.

So I immediately submitted my resignation, took my retirement money, and planned to run an inn. Though the income might not be great, I had a small hope that it would allow me to live more peacefully.

Unfortunately, things rarely go according to plan in this world.

“Oh, was it you who did this?”

“Excuse me?”

“You saved the princess! Thank you, truly thank you, haha!”

“…?”

Remnants of the enemy suddenly attacked our camp, and I just fought blindly, but somehow ended up saving the kingdom’s princess…

Anyone who heard this would think it was a poorly crafted lie, and I felt incredibly wronged to be the protagonist of such an unbelievable story.

I had planned to live quietly without drawing attention, and now they’re saying I saved the princess?

How could something so absurd happen?

But sadly, reality is reality.

“I never knew a talent like you was wasting away as a mere soldier.”

Suddenly, the man threw me a sword along with a necklace resembling dog tags.

“From now on, you’re a knight.”

“??”

I later found out that the old-fashioned middle-aged man was the Knight Commander, and that the Commander had the authority to appoint knights at his discretion.

That’s how I unexpectedly obtained the position of a knight.

…Truly out of nowhere.

‘Is this right?’

“I can make it happen.”

“But, I’m of slave origin?”

“The kingdom doesn’t care about your background as long as you have ability.”

“A-actually, I also have experience in an assassination organization…”

“Oh, what an unusual background! But that’s even better! We welcome experienced personnel!”

“……”

I disliked it so much that I even came out as an assassin, but it didn’t work on this man.

That’s when I realized.

This man was just as crazy as they come.

‘…This really sucks.’

* * *

After that, I became a knight at the late age of 27.

More precisely, a parachuted knight.

The others were either noble children or graduates from prestigious academies, while I was of common birth and had been just a soldier.

For someone like me to become a knight thanks to the Knight Commander—”parachuted” was the only appropriate term.

And as with any organization, a parachuted existence…

“Lowborn scum, how dare you think you belong here…!”

“Draw your sword. I’ll send you where you belong.”

“Leaving on your own would be better for your well-being.”

…was bound to face bullying, ostracism, harassment, and so on.

This was the fate of a parachuted person without connections.

‘That Commander is worse than a troll!’

What’s the point of appointing me as a knight?

Far from having connections, he just sits in his office drinking tea!

If he put me in this position, he should at least protect me, but no.

I suddenly became extremely angry and needed to release my stress.

And so…

“You think I’m easy prey too?”

My eyes rolled back, and the next moment, my memory cut off as if I were drunk.

When my memory resumed, what I saw before me were ten knight members lying battered and bloody, and the Knight Commander who had subdued me.

“Haha, truly an interesting talent. Without a proper master, yet you instinctively know how to fight. You’re like a beast.”

“…Stop playing with people and accept my resignation. This isn’t a request, it’s a warning. If you don’t accept it, I don’t know what I’ll do to you.”

“Oh? I’d very much like to see that. What kind of warning?”

“I warned you clearly.”

I was so annoyed with the Knight Commander that I wanted to at least punch his jaw, if not kill him.

I didn’t care about the consequences.

Dying one way or another was all the same to me.

However…

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

“W-wait a minute!”

“Haha, when will you show me that warning?”

“I, I made a mistake…!”

This old man was incredibly strong.

I realized while getting beaten that he wasn’t Knight Commander because he won at gambling, but because he was genuinely the strongest among the knights.

He was on a completely different level from the others.

I was beaten thoroughly, as if being pummeled in the rain until dust flew.

Just when I thought I might die from the beating, the Commander stopped his fists.

“Hehe, this fellow has quite a sturdy body. Look, I’m even sweating.”

“Y-you crazy old man…”

“Your mouth still works too. Indeed, you’re talented!”

“I-I’m going to resign…”

“Nonsense, I won’t accept that. If you want to quit, try defeating me. Then I’ll accept your resignation.”

“…Damn it.”

I clearly realized I had unfortunately encountered an abnormally strong madman, and that day I cried for the first time.

But afterward, instead of shedding tears, I sharpened the knife in my heart and made a vow.

‘I will definitely quit!’

A gentleman’s revenge is not late even after ten years.

‘…I can win, right?’

Though I couldn’t help feeling a bit less confident.

* * *

After that day, those who bullied me disappeared.

Or more precisely, most of them turned pale and ran away just from seeing my face.

Well, some of those I beat up were still receiving treatment at the temple, and among those who recovered, some had retired due to psychological damage.

‘Maybe I beat them too severely?’

But it couldn’t be helped.

Who told them to provoke me?

They were the ones who disturbed someone trying to live quietly.

Well, because of this, I was forcibly isolated from the knight order and just silently did my job.

My goal was ultimately to defeat the old Commander.

So I needed to focus my efforts on training to defeat him, and I began “training”—something I hadn’t really done since my days in the assassination guild—day and night.

…Though what I knew about training wasn’t much.

“Isn’t that the kingdom’s basic swordsmanship?”

“I-I think so?”

“…Can he defeat the Commander, an ‘Aura User,’ with that?”

“Impossible.”

The only training I knew was the stealth and dagger techniques I learned as an assassin.

But I knew I could never defeat the Commander with those, and even if I did, I wouldn’t be satisfied.

So I started sword training with a direct confrontation in mind, practicing only the basic swordsmanship that every citizen knows—the only sword technique I knew.

I had no choice as I didn’t know any advanced sword techniques taught by prestigious knight families.

I didn’t have any acquaintances to teach me either.

…The Commander would gladly teach me, but I absolutely refused to ask.

It felt like begging, and I definitely didn’t want to become anything like his disciple.

Therefore…

“Hey, you. Spar with me.”

“W-what did I do wrong?!”

“Doesn’t matter, here I come.”

“D-damn it!!”

Fortunately, I was in a knight order.

It was full of elites who had mastered advanced sword techniques, and I sparred with them multiple times a day, learning their techniques by observation and filling in my deficiencies.

I mostly won through physical ability, but there were some real talents in the knight order. I sometimes lost to them.

It was a mistake to rely solely on swordsmanship, and rather than feeling humiliated, I welcomed the opportunity to learn from them.

And so, as I continued to improve through these sparring sessions, I consistently…

CRASH!

“You’re still not ready to face me.”

“Grrrrr!!!”

…challenged the Commander.

It felt less like challenging him and more like him indulging my antics, but instead of seeing it as humiliation, I only grew more determined to defeat him.

And so I fought, and fought, and fought repeatedly, ultimately achieving a record of one hundred losses in one hundred fights.

I was defeated every single time.

“…You’re not human.”

“Did you think ‘Aura User’ was someone’s pet dog name? Hehe, if it bothers you, become an Aura User yourself.”

“…This is maddening.”

Aura Users.

Humans who became superhuman.

People who handle the mysterious power called aura—a realm that can only be reached by defeating geniuses among those who have undergone systematic and intense training from childhood.

And it’s common knowledge across the continent that aura can only be countered with aura.

That’s why Aura Users are monsters in human form.

And the man I needed to defeat was one of only three “genuine” Aura Users in the kingdom.

At this point, it’s reasonable to despair.

There seemed to be no way to win.

Shing.

“Oh? Coming at me again?”

“They say no tree will stand after being struck ten times.”

“I don’t think that applies to me.”

“…Then I’ll try striking a thousand or ten thousand times.”

“That would be quite entertaining.”

BOOM!

Three years later…

I was still…

“Sigh, I really want to quit.”

…in the knight order.