Ch.6EP.2 – I Am Knight Ihan

My gloomy mood melts away before I know it.

It’s partly because I’ve faced a new opponent after a long time, but that sword technique or whatever he showed at the end was quite impressive. And having properly defeated someone like that feels satisfying.

If someone saw me, they might say I have a nasty, malicious personality…

‘That’s right.’

Ihan humbly acknowledges it.

He is more twisted in character than others. And yes, he is malicious.

Not that he’s the type to look down on others and take pleasure in it.

He just has enough malice to feel a slight satisfaction when crushing “annoying bastards” who claim with their whole body that they’re strong.

It’s a fulfilling moment in its own way.

‘I wasn’t originally this kind of person.’

Ihan wasn’t originally the type to enjoy fighting, but he had been reincarnated in a medieval fantasy world and lived there for 30 years. And he didn’t just live—he experienced every ugly sight there was to see, so naturally his disposition had to change.

On top of that, for the past three years, he’d been getting beaten by the Captain every single day…!

Honestly, he couldn’t help but [CRAVE] “victory.”

“Was I a bit too harsh?”

“N-no. I’m actually grateful you held back.”

“I did restrain myself. If I’d gone any further, you’d have been a corpse, hehe.”

“…Haha.”

Though Ihan was speaking in a joking tone while patting the other’s shoulder, it was chilling to hear for the recipient.

Yord had bounced across the ground like a skipping stone and crashed into a wall, but fortunately, he only suffered minor bruises with no major injuries.

This was partly due to Yord being a swordsman trained in ki techniques, but it was also true that he was safe because Ihan had held back as he claimed.

‘That was an incredible strike.’

Yord’s body was still trembling.

When he had unleashed his sword with its awakened sword name, Yord had hoped that even if he couldn’t win, he might at least land a hit on his opponent.

But as if to prove that was an illusion, his opponent had swung his sword again in a defensive posture, and the moment their blades met…!

‘I can’t remember.’

Yes, he remembers their blades meeting, but nothing beyond that.

He just went flying, and his consciousness flickered out like a blown fuse.

What his body instinctively remembers is that the strike was incredibly heavy, and extraordinarily powerful and fast.

‘That person could have cut me in half completely, not just sent me flying.’

Senior Rihan. He still showed no signs of fatigue and seemed full of composure.

Yord smiled bitterly, deeply acknowledging that his sword had been completely shattered.

He had believed he could make anyone except Aura users kneel before him…

‘The world is vast indeed.’

The young genius swordsman wore a pained expression as he tasted the bitterness of his first defeat in life.

* * *

After the match between Ihan and Yord, people approached Yord with admiration and didn’t hesitate to show their goodwill.

They must have been impressed by his display of the sword name.

Which family he belonged to, which school he trained in, what his master’s name was, and so on.

They had so many questions, just like senior soldiers in the military.

…Not necessarily in a good way.

“The military is the same wherever you go.”

“Don’t look at it so negatively. Family, school, and having a master are important to nobles.”

“Right, a commoner with no family or school should just stay out of it, yes sir.”

“…I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Just think of it as me being a twisted person.”

“You’re deliberately being sarcastic…”

Jake shook his head.

He knew that self-deprecation and sarcastic remarks spoken loudly enough for everyone to hear were like bait to provoke others to make the first move.

Of course, everyone knew it was a ploy and avoided engaging, preferring to stay away. There might be some newcomers who would take the bait, but after seeing the match with Yord, those bold enough to challenge him weren’t around.

“You’ve probably warmed up enough by now. So take it easy.”

“Actually, I’m more restless because I only warmed up halfway, tsk.”

“…Don’t look at me like that. I’m absolutely not fighting you.”

Jake stepped back slightly, avoiding the gaze of the man who resembled a fighting dog.

If he got caught up in it, his body wouldn’t survive, so avoiding was the best strategy.

As a knight, refusing a duel would be impolite, but one should choose opponents carefully. Fighting a “mad beast” was out of the question.

‘…Is this what a barbarian warrior would be like?’

The barbarians, ancient tribes living in desert and jungle temples.

They were born warriors who honed their skills and strength through actual combat.

A crude method, not learning kindly from someone else.

Yet weren’t barbarian warriors trained in such crude ways said to be stronger than any knight in the kingdom?

‘No matter how I look at it, he’s similar.’

Someone who hasn’t learned from anyone, carrying only basic swordsmanship and honing his strength and skills by fighting others.

It’s clearly an ignorant method, yet no one in the Order can overwhelm him.

That’s exactly like a barbarian warrior.

“Ihan the Barbarian Warrior.”

“Is that an insult or a compliment?”

“Both.”

“…I don’t know whether to be happy or offended.”

Even Ihan himself couldn’t deny the barbarian warrior comment.

He understood what it implied.

…Somewhat uncomfortably.

* * *

“Indeed, what remarkable talent.”

“Yeah, how is something like that even possible?”

“I wouldn’t even dare try to imitate it.”

“…He just seems brutally strong to me.”

“Isn’t that impressive in its own right?”

The Order members evaluated the match between Ihan and Yord, giving Ihan looks of admiration and envy.

Though they were fellow members, they were also competitors.

Among them, Ihan stood out like a rocky protrusion, a massive wall, making him an appropriate common enemy.

…Though Ihan himself had absolutely no interest in advancement or competition.

‘But talent… is that how these guys saw it?’

Ihan smiled bitterly, thinking it wasn’t funny at all.

Talent.

How nice it would have been if he had such a thing.

‘Would it have been easier than now?’

Ihan’s talent was, to put it precisely, just slightly above average.

To use academic performance as an example, if 300 students took a math test and the average score was exactly 60, Ihan would be at 70—ten points above the average.

A bit better than average, the kind of talent where decent grades come from just taking good notes in class.

This might sound pretty good, but in reality, with just this level, one normally couldn’t become a knight.

A knight’s talent shouldn’t be just a bit above average; it should be the kind where you can easily rank in the top 10 of the school even if you just casually attend classes.

Those types who seem to be playing around or sleeping all the time, appearing to put in minimal effort, yet somehow getting good grades.

In other words, prodigies or geniuses.

That’s why everyone in the Order had been called a prodigy at some point.

Even those nobles showing off might have connections, but they all received proper education for prodigies and had talent befitting knights.

But not Ihan.

As mentioned earlier, his talent was just slightly above average.

However, instead of having as much talent as others, he had a unique constitution, a so-called “quality.”

In other words, he might not have talent like others, but he had “functionality.”

He didn’t know ki techniques and lacked the talent to become a master by learning techniques after seeing them once, but the functionality attached to his body allowed him to defeat them.

‘The old man said it.’

– Your body is strange. It has a mysteriousness that compensates for your dull talent. However, there will be limits. There are plenty of people in the Order who can overwhelm that level of mysteriousness, haha.

Advice and harsh words heard on a day he was beaten.

So he asked sarcastically.

‘Then what should I do?’

-I asked.

The old man smirked and said.

– It’s simple. Just strengthen the “functionality” your body has. Think about how to strengthen it yourself; it’s your body, so you should know best.

That’s true.

He had learned how to enhance his functionality in the assassination organization he once belonged to.

Breaking the limiter of the physical body.

The principle of tearing muscles and breaking bones to make them tougher and stronger.

– Good, it seems you have some ideas. Hmm, let me give you one more piece of advice. Fight many opponents to accumulate experience, or in your case, information.

It’s not like he was treating people as actual machines…

But that advice was helpful, and it was also why Ihan had been picking fights with knights almost every day for the past three years.

As that man advised, by fighting various types of people, he had successfully developed an instinctive gauge of how to deal with knights.

Although he still didn’t know exactly how to perform swordsmanship, he had developed an instinctive judgment of how to move his body.

Even if the mind doesn’t remember, the body does.

‘It’s funny.’

…Am I really not human, but something like a machine?

Of course, he’s not actually a machine.

After all, the sweat and effort he shed were not fake.

It’s just that he sweated in a different direction from others.

‘As long as I get stronger, that’s all that matters.’

He wasn’t particularly a seeker of martial arts aspiring for enlightenment.

If anything, as Jake said.

‘The barbarian warrior mindset fits.’

Just winning is enough.

Growth and enlightenment are things he doesn’t understand and cannot reach.

And he finds this aspect of himself.

‘Not bad.’

Quite satisfactory, he thought.

At least he wouldn’t have to go around getting beaten up.