episode_0025

[The System is delighted.]

When I embraced Aris, the System seemed to be watching, surprised yet amused. That phrase just wouldn’t disappear.

“Ray…?” A trembling voice. A voice that conveyed she had absolutely not expected this situation. Realizing it had some effect, I continued.

“I like you too.”

What if you confessed to someone you liked, and that person said they liked you back? You’d be overjoyed. And even the obsessive Aris was no different in her reaction. The lifeless look in her eyes slowly returned to the one I had seen before. She seemed to have regained her senses. The only difference was that her face was quite red.

***

[Some time later]

‘Hmm, I vaguely remember the class, but not clearly… First, the second practical training is a match against an instructor… and the conditions are random…’ Not long after the first practical training, it was already time for the second practical training. Fighting against the instructors. That was the second practical. I walked into the training grounds alone, thinking.

‘Students rarely inflict damage on the instructors… Even if they do, they don’t face severe penalties… Rather, they’d be praised and catch the eye of higher-ups… I guess I just need to avoid targeting the heart…’

“Ray! Let’s go together!” As I was walking alone, a lively voice came from behind me.

“Ah, Aris.” She had already been recognized for her abilities by the instructors, so she didn’t need to participate in this second practical training, but she insisted on following me. People who had initially stared at us with strange looks now seemed accustomed to it and simply passed by. A blind person and someone helping them. Thanks to this perception, I was relieved. If we were rumored to be a couple, my contact with the heroines would definitely decrease. And that meant the rewards I received would decrease. What made me even more relieved was that she hadn’t explicitly told others that we were dating. For whatever reason. I entered the training grounds with her, where numerous people, instructors, and students were fighting in the center.

What if an ant fought an elephant? This was a fight that could answer that question. An ant certainly had means to defend itself. For example, formic acid and mandibles. However, the crucial point was that such weapons wouldn’t work on an elephant.

Red circles, Red circles were drawn around the instructors, and the instructors never left those circles. They simply endured all attacks within the circle and subdued the students with little effort. However, just as there are useful things even among trash, there were also students who managed to injure the instructors or push them out of the circle.

“Wow… you’re something, aren’t you?” The instructor said to the student, enduring the blood flowing from his body. At that, the student in front bowed his head, overwhelmed with gratitude.

‘Instructors are generally strong… Roughly speaking, they’re at least adventurer rank 2, or even higher…’ If there was a variable in fighting them, it was that they had almost all of their power sealed. Their magic power also seemed obstructed, flowing out slowly like water from a partially opened faucet, so it seemed to have dropped to at least rank 3 or below.

‘But that’s about the average here now, isn’t it…’ I looked around, thinking. A few had vast amounts of magic power detected, but most were just average. Not even at the level of an instructor with their power sealed.

“Venus Savior!” As I waited for my turn, Savior’s name was called. As soon as her name was called, Aris gripped my arm tighter and glared at Savior, who was stepping onto the training grounds.

‘Her opponent… is still skilled, then… Seeing as they came out without sealing their power… But…’ It wasn’t enough. Compared to her, whose power was similar to a mid-boss monster in a dungeon, the instructor’s power was far too insufficient. I instinctively knew Savior wouldn’t be able to control her power, and I silently cheered on the medical team resting and wiping their sweat further back.

Crash! The ground was torn apart, and the instructor’s body was torn as well. Red blood splattered everywhere. Students stared at the sight as if in shock. But Savior, with an indifferent expression, simply returned to her waiting spot and sat down as if it were obvious.

As soon as the instructor fell, the priests behind him rushed over, sweating profusely. Their hands moved quickly, and as they alone weren’t enough, they called over other priests to treat the wounds. For a while, only the instructor’s screams echoed in the training grounds. All the surrounding instructors and students were so engrossed in the sight that they couldn’t prepare for the second practical training.

Was it because they hadn’t foreseen this situation? The instructor who had explained various rules to us approached an instructor teaching a higher-grade class in the distance, seemingly requesting something. Then, one of them, someone I had seen before, descended from his spot. As soon as he came down, everyone around him tried to send him back to his place, and even the instructor who had requested his help seemed flustered, not expecting him to step forward.

I concentrated my magic power solely on that person, and I felt a sensation I hadn’t experienced here before. The goosebumps one gets when facing an overwhelming presence.

‘If it’s that person, shouldn’t I summon $%#@ again…?’

Blue eyes and a jaw dense with white fur. An eyepatch over one eye and the dark blue instructor uniform, a sign that he taught the highest-grade class. Every step he took seemed to transmit a pure, magic-less clarity to me.

‘Former Sword Saint… Regulus…’ Constellation Swordsmanship. It was certainly a powerful swordsmanship, but there were few who could use it because there was no one who could learn it or teach it. However, in the story, a few more people could use Constellation Swordsmanship besides the protagonist. Former Sword Saint, Regulus, was also among them. Since there was no way I could defeat that monster with just two forms of Cetus-style, I hoped his next opponent wouldn’t be me.

“Longinus Ray!”

“Haaahhh…” A sigh that seemed to make the ground sink. I was bothered by the thought of putting in my full effort, but if I did and somehow defeated him, it would only lead to more troublesome situations. The better approach was to simply give him an easy condition he could achieve and then achieve it.

Tap tap tap

“Oh, a blind person. Truly, our juniors are in a predicament. To ask us, even if he did defeat the girl just now… But since I’ve been asked, I’ll be your opponent.” The old man said to me with a kind smile.

“Make me kneel by any means, child. Then you will pass.”

“Can I truly just make you kneel by any means?”

“Yes.” I said calmly and extended my hand towards the Sword Saint, who was standing still.

***

He was too young. And most importantly, he was blind. The fact that he had defeated the girl just now had piqued his interest, but he was undeniably just a student. That’s why he let his guard down. He simply didn’t sense anything and blocked all his senses. He thought that my attacks wouldn’t even leave a scratch. That was his mindset.

However, from his perspective, it was consideration. He believed that when an elephant fought an ant, simply not moving was a consideration towards the ant. Because he thought he might accidentally kill the ant if he moved carelessly. So, he simply stood still with his eyes closed.

And then, something was felt. ‘Is it coming now… Let’s see your technique…’ When he opened his eyes, what he faced was not the student, but the floor. His knees gave way, slowly collapsing forward, and he was on the verge of kneeling.

Red blood. As soon as something he thought impossible—blood—emerged from the Sword Saint’s body, the surroundings fell silent. It had only been a few seconds. Only a few seconds had passed since the match began. All Longinus Ray had done was draw his hand through the air and clench his fist.

Bang! However, even with his knee joints completely severed and blood gushing out, he desperately held on. Sword energy flowed from his sword, gradually wrapping around his knees and substituting for the joints. At the sound that echoed through the training grounds, people watched the two fight with tension.

“Child.” A deep, low, yet calm voice, not angry, but simply embracing. Regulus, with such a voice, continued calmly.

“You’ve brought this old man some long-awaited entertainment.” Then Longinus, who had merely been smiling in front, opened his mouth.

“Thank you for the compliment.” Regulus stared at him for a moment, then his expression turned neutral as he asked again.

“Child, do you have the confidence not to die even if I draw my sword?”