episode_0043

My family, Serion, is a time-honored family that had taken deep root on the continent even before Dandelion Academy was established.

And that family, teaching only those who are naturally gifted geniuses, was able to produce countless talented knights over a long period of time.

There was a saying that the Serion family always emphasized.

‘An average talent cannot defeat a genius.’

Under that saying, which was like a family motto, the light of the Serion family never set.

But as if to render such teaching meaningless, the one who suddenly came to the family and taught swordsmanship, the Sword Saint, said this before his death.

“In climbing a hill, it does not matter where you started or how far you reached, nor does the height, whether high or low, matter.

What is important is how much you climbed using only your own feet to reach that level, regardless of the height.

O Serions, you have seen lofty positions countless times, but you have never truly seen the very bottom.

…Therefore, I too could not complete your swordsmanship.

But if there are parts that can be seen from a high place, there are also things that can be seen from a low place.

If the one who completes your swordsmanship appears, it will surely be one who has tread upon the bare ground…”

Master, Sargas-nim, left those words and passed away the next day from a long illness.

To be honest, while I respected and revered him, I also resented him in another part of my heart.

Sargas-nim, why did you say such things, for goodness sake?

Because of those sweet words, someone was born who pursued a futile dream.

Because of those words, someone was born who dedicated their life to denying you.

…

But even so.

I did not hate those words you left behind.

. . .

Seraphina Serion and Ropel Teufel, both charged at each other simultaneously, but the first move was Seraphina’s.

This was because, when looking only at pure physical ability and talent, she was far superior.

Using the propulsion gained from kicking the ground, she did not stop accelerating, and she performed a thrust as if extending her greatsword far forward.

The speed and reach of that thrust were like the charge of a knight holding a lance, and

Of course, that single blow was far too fast to simply dodge cleanly with nimble movements.

Therefore, he precisely struck the tip of the greatsword with the mace held in one hand, twisting its trajectory, and then moved as if rapidly rotating his body, casting magic with his empty hand and unleashing a fireball at her.

She, too, had regained her stance at the point where her own attack missed, so she could reduce the damage by raising one arm and guarding.

Ropel counterattacked whenever an opening inevitably appeared. Seraphina also dealt with each of those moments and continued her attack.

Seraphina starts the first move, and Ropel narrowly breaks through it, then follows with a counterattack.

And Seraphina, anticipating that counterattack, blocks it, and the situation returns to the first move again.

As this situation repeated, the flow of the fight soon began to stagnate.

In truth, typically in a fight between him, a mage, and Seraphina, a knight, increasing the distance would be advantageous to him.

However, her greatsword, wielding Serion’s swordsmanship, can maintain an offensive even at a long distance through her monstrous strength, like a giant spear.

Even if he were to maintain a far distance and use long-range attack magic, her agile and fast speed allows her to close the distance in an instant.

Furthermore, the mace Ropel possesses is a much shorter weapon compared to Seraphina’s greatsword, making close combat at an awkward range also vulnerable for him.

Knowing that fact, Ropel quickly closed the distance.

Upon this, Seraphina also anticipated his strategy of rapidly swinging the mace and simultaneously unleashing magic with his other hand, repeating this.

She changed from a stance where she held the greatsword’s hilt with both hands to a stance where she supported the blade with one hand.

The range the sword could reach became shorter, but there was no better tactic for blocking his close-quarters attacks.

Thus, countless exchanges of offense and defense, or “bouts,” continued between them.

There, the growth of the two individuals through their arduous special training played a part, but the fact that they had sparred countless times over a not-short period significantly contributed.

If Ropel, knowing the weakness of Serion swordsmanship, aimed for that opening, Seraphina actively dealt with it.

Because they already saw through each other’s fighting styles and habits, the suffocating back-and-forth exchanges between the equally matched pair continued without end.

And decorating the end of that fierce exchange was the powerful clash of iron masses that flew from both sides.

The dust from the empty lot whirled up, scattering like thick smoke.

“…Is this how it ends after all?”

“Hah… hah…”

The winner of the fierce exchange that seemed like it would never end was none other than Seraphina Serion.

Ropel, covered in dust and gasping for rough breaths, was barely on his knees on the ground before her, who displayed regret on her face.

“While sparring together and feeling and thinking every single moment… I still couldn’t hide that fatal weakness of yours.”

He, who had been kneeling, roughly wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth as if brushing it off, and stood up again.

He looked like a courageous and valiant warrior, but his legs and arms were still trembling as if vibrating, not yet free from the aftereffects of the impact.

“The absence of talent, that cruel truth, makes it so that no matter how much you struggle, you ultimately cannot progress beyond an excellent average person.

It’s cruel, but that fact will forever stay by your side and hold you back.”

She looked at Ropel with eyes full of pity.

“I didn’t like this reality either.

But no matter how much you try and struggle, there are gaps that just cannot be filled.

…Perhaps for a long time, I didn’t want to admit that fact.”

“Haha… you’re hitting a sore spot from earlier…”

Ropel showed a bitter smile and straightened his back.

“Yes, though I’m from a noble family in a remote region, I was from a mage family yet had no talent.

It took me longer to cast magic for the first time than my younger sister who was born after me.”

He re-gripped the mace in one hand, putting so much strength into it that the veins in his hand showed.

“Every single moment was overwhelming…

When climbing a mountain, some start with the summit in sight, but I felt like I was the only one starting from the very bottom down there.”

I thought it was unfair.

If we were walking towards the top equally, I would never be able to overtake those ahead.”

“But… soon I started to think again.

The fact that I could see countless landscapes that people who started from high places couldn’t see…”

In the dust-filled empty lot, only his two eyes shone brightly.

“And above all, just because I was lagging behind, I can’t stop moving forward, can I?”

Even the trembling that had been visible in his arms and legs had now ceased.

“Quickly fix your stance and pick up your sword.

This one last move will be the decider, Seraphina.”

Despite the clear certainty of impending defeat, there was no hesitation or fear felt in his appearance at this moment.

Only confidence and an upright, resolute heart shone brightly in his two eyes.

“…Please don’t blame yourself too much if you can no longer help me because of this defeat.

The burdens of mine that I had no choice but to entrust to you due to my incompetence, I have simply taken them back upon myself.

So with this single blow, you too can finally let me go with peace of mind.”

Seraphina, who had swung her greatsword at an accurate trajectory with speed invisible to the eye, was soon unable to conceal her astonishment.

This was because her greatsword, which should have surely touched his skin by now, had its trajectory twisted by an unknown impact, cutting through empty air.

“No…?”

Surprise takes precedence over confusion.

Ropel’s figure vanished from her sight in an instant, as if he had disappeared.

She hastily sensed his presence and brought the greatsword’s center of gravity towards herself, taking a defensive stance.

But along with the feeling of something with intense weight, which could not possibly be a mace, making contact, her greatsword and the two hands gripping it flew into the air.

Appearing before her, who had become utterly defenseless, was Ropel.

And he was in a stance prepared for just a single strike.

Though it was clear he was holding a mace, at this moment, it felt as if a giant greatsword was held in his hand.

‘Strange.

Clearly, that is,’

Seraphina thought as she watched that trajectory.

‘That stance, that trajectory, that reaction…

Is that, perhaps… this is impossible.’

She couldn’t believe her eyes.

‘Truly.

Clean and refreshing without any excess,

An attack that is truly even beautiful.

Even clearer than the scene I saw in my childhood…”

Along with a shock she had never experienced before, the ground seemed to rise, and her vision went dark.

. . .

Before anyone knew it, the day of the Duel Exam, the academy’s biggest event marking the end of the year, had arrived.

Today, the academy’s students, especially those from the Knight Faculty who are top in combat-related fields, would receive attention.

And among them, Mark Viceus, who became famous for drawing attention since admission and for resolving the dungeon stampede incident, could truly be called the protagonist of today’s event.

This is because his first public duel is scheduled to take place today.

Numerous students and faculty members, as well as the large audience allowed into the academy only on the day the Duel Exam takes place, trembled with anticipation. “`