Academy’s Pure Love Dark Knight – Chapter 7.2

(Continued)

“You’ve got a spirit of challenge! But your eyes have lost their edge!”

“This time, I’ll draw my sword and do it.”

“It won’t make much of a difference!”

Drake flashed his characteristic grin.

“Then I’ll throw them again!”

“Yup!”

The result was another failure.

But as expected of the Hero of Light. He didn’t give up.

“Again! Please!”

“Good!”

Failure.

“Again!”

He managed to drop one coin.

“One more time!”

This time, he barely deflected it.

“Again! Pleaseee!”

***

“…Is this even possible?”

Kainel was panting as he slumped to the floor.

It was already his twelfth attempt, all of which ended in failure.

He looked up at Drake, his expression filled with frustration. I knew exactly how he felt. It was like gaining a new disciple.

“Of course! There’s got to be someone in this spacious auditorium!”

Oh no. I had a bad feeling.

“You, the Dark Knight in the helmet! Step forward!”

Drake’s smile widened as he looked at me. So, he’d been planning this from the start?

No wonder he’d boasted about teaching me how to make friends at the academy.

“Yes.”

“What’s your name!”

You already know it.

“Licht.”

I reluctantly answered. What if I lied or pretended not to know him? That would lead to a joyous 12-hour full course of sword training for our heartwarming reunion.

“You’ve got the eyes of a warrior who won’t tire no matter how many times he swings his sword!”

I’ve been seeing you for five years now. Why say I have “good eyes” only now?

During our first meeting, you’d shouted, “What do you think you can do with those fish eyes!!!”

I sighed. For now, I’d have to go along with his game. If he found out I was applying to the magic club, he might drag me back to the mountains.

“So I just need to cut them?”

“You’ll do it with ten!”

A mischievous grin.

‘Show me the fruits of your training, disciple,’ was written all over his face. Should I really do this?

I drew my sword from its scabbard. It had a few chips, but it should be fine.

“Then I’ll throw them!”

At Drake’s signal, I readied my stance.

Dragon Slayer Drake.

He’d devised a sword technique specifically to slay dragons in flight.

A warrior who believed that ordinary methods were useless against them took his first step.

Drake Style, First Form.

「Dragon Shadow Slash.」

I redirected the blood rushing to my head throughout my body. I focused all my nerves on my body. Ten bronze coins flew toward me.

Each had a different direction and speed, but it didn’t matter.

The essence of this technique was to strike the shadow to damage the real object.

I silently observed.

I found the optimal path, as if connecting a line. I kicked off the ground, my hand moving to trace the floor. The coins were slashed along with the ground. The wind pressure forced me to correct my sword path.

Seven coins remained, so I split the remaining ones in half with another forward strike. My grip tightened, my hands sweating.

‘Whether it’s a coin or a Shadow Wolf, if it has light and shadow, I can cut it.’

Five targets remained. Their trajectories changed as they collided with each other. I reached out to avoid missing them. Two more were split in half. I cleaved through the diagonal ones, leaving just one.

I struck down with my sword.

Clang─.

I slashed through all the shadows. The floor was scattered with twenty pieces of bronze coins.

“Your skill is impressive, enough to make me want to meet your teacher!”

“Thank you.”

That’s you.

“As you can see, physical training is the most important thing in swordsmanship! If you rely solely on mana, your body won’t move in unexpected situations!”

In the now eerily quiet auditorium, he clapped his hands.

“Licht, who just demonstrated! Truly an amazing swordsmanship display!”

“I’ll take my leave now.”

Just before I turned around, Drake was still making a face like, ‘I did well, didn’t I? My disciple?’

No, I messed up. These days, kids don’t go, ‘Wow! That’s amazing! Who is that guy?’ over stuff like this.

Don’t you see how quiet the entire auditorium has become?

“Th-This… is really… possible…”

Kainel, looking half-dead, stared at me in disbelief.

I felt a strange sensation. Hey, snap out of it. I trained like crazy under him for five years to be able to do this.

***

“…So that’s swordsmanship.”

The knight recalled the scene from moments ago.

The sound of falling coins was similar, but there was a distinct order to them.

‘A step forward, a line on the ground towards the shadow.’

‘Then a triple slash in succession…’

‘Followed by cutting down consecutively.’

‘Then breaking two is like blocking.’

‘Finally… He just struck down with his sword.’

The golden eyes didn’t miss a single movement of Licht’s.

Then a commotion arose from the rear.

“What was that swordsmanship…?”

“I’ve heard of it. The one that cuts dragon shadows.”

“Then is he the disciple? The weird kid with the dark knight helmet?”

Two men whispered.

“That’s impossible. Drake never takes disciples.”

“Even if he didn’t pass down the technique, it was too similar.”

“He was just lucky. If I could use mana…”

The other students, who were watching this scene, had no idea what had been accomplished with pure swordsmanship.

The silver-haired girl had long since given up expecting anything from them.

‘I want it.’

Her wolf ears twitched slightly.

Drake’s swordsmanship, something he hadn’t even taught her.

The Glass Knight had found her prey.