episode_0055

“-Next! Sian!”

Calling out the name excluding the family name.

That was what Sian requested.

Even during the ant nest incident.

During the tournament as well.

If not called by his full name, there was no risk of revealing his identity.

Currently, Sian had lost much more weight than when Lloyd, Bobby, and Louis vaguely recognized him, and his appearance had changed quite a bit.

Iris, who understood the situation, had allowed it, saying that much freedom was fine.

Sian climbed slowly up onto the dome in the practice field with his wooden sword in hand.

Thanks to this, all the students’ attention was focused on Sian.

Was it because of his manifestation of aura during the tournament, rescuing the princess?

Within the academy, Sian was quite a prominent figure. Always quietly walking alone, not mixing well with other students.

Despite his cute appearance, there were rumors circulating about him being a fierce man whom Hedy Marigold, despite her cuteness, followed around all day.

How did he train Hedy?

Was he holding onto her weaknesses?

Even if all of these were wrong, there was a rumor that Sian must be someone special.

“Fighting!”

Amidst the silence, someone among the many students cheerfully cheered for Sian.

It was a female voice.

Sian, a prominent figure within the class, was quite popular among the girls.

Chic, sophisticated, and a silent handsome man.

Although Sian had been trying to live quietly aside from others, the female students interpreted it differently.

“If you get an A grade, you can marry me!”

“Even if I’m a B grade, it’s okay!”

“Fighting! Go, Sian, go!”

“…”

As Sian stood on the dome, he remained silent with a bewildered expression.

In truth, he had realized it a long time ago. He had just been avoiding it due to feeling awkward.

Since losing weight, many girls had shown interest in him. In this place, anyone normal could notice.

It seemed his appearance was quite decent.

However, such situations were unfamiliar to him.

Before possessing this body, he wasn’t ugly, but he had rarely been called handsome, just an average guy.

He had been busy making money and hadn’t paid much attention to his appearance, but he still didn’t think he was particularly good-looking.

So, while he felt good in this situation, it also felt very awkward and embarrassing.

“He’s shaking… poor guy.”

“Please, get a D.”

The gazes of the male students were sharp as well.

Sian soon turned his attention to Iris.

“You’re quite popular.”

As soon as she looked at him, Iris smiled brightly.

“…No, I’m not.”

However, Sian just adjusted his posture with a bashful face.

Realizing that continuing this situation was burdensome, Iris didn’t say anything further and simply matched his posture.

It was right before the test began.

They stared at each other for 5 seconds in silence.

“Start!”

A student assistant raised one hand and shouted.

As expected, Sian was the first to rush forward. Iris had to stay still due to the rule of remaining in place.

-Thunk!

Iris easily blocked Sian’s wooden sword swung in a square motion.

After deflecting Sian’s attack, when Iris tried to counterattack as she had done with other students…

“…!”

Suddenly, she hesitated, swiftly lifted her wooden sword, and then unleashed an aura from her stance.

“Huh…?”

“Aura…? Why did the professor suddenly…”

The students watching were puzzled by Iris using aura for the first time on her wooden sword.

Naturally, since the students lacked practical experience, they might not have understood the recent situation.

‘Indeed, she’s sharp…’

Expressing regret with a click of the tongue, Sian widened the distance between them and adjusted his posture once again.

…In that brief moment, a subtle psychological battle took place between the two.

At the beginning, Sian utilized a strategy based on Iris’s slow tempo.

Having learned Iris’s pattern of always blocking students’ attacks first and then countering, Sian was prepared.

Therefore, at the lightly approaching counter timing, his intention was to cut off Iris’s neck sword before she could come forward.

Being in place and having lost her neck sword, Iris had no choice but to offer her body defenselessly.

Even if she were to block Si-an’s sword with bare hands, it would still mean allowing Si-an’s neck sword to touch Iris’s body.

However, Iris’s senses were sharp.

She immediately sensed danger from Si-an’s eyes and understood his intentions.

– Hwaaaah!

Si-an, with widened stance, forcefully squeezed out mana, strengthening his body and aura.

Realizing that tricks wouldn’t work, it was time for a direct confrontation.

“Uwaaaaah!”

– Tuquang!

Two auras clashed.

The training ground vibrated.

Some students, overwhelmed by the atmosphere, instinctively flinched.

– Kwagwagwagwa!

Continuing to clash their auras, Iris’s aura was at least of a 6th-grade level.

Due to the lower density of the sword opposing Si-an’s aura, it had to break.

But Si-an’s sword did not break.

‘…She’s holding back.’

She intentionally lowered the density of her aura.

This wasn’t a real battle but an exam. Mistakes could cost Si-an his life against a 6th-grade aura.

‘Well then, I can clash freely, can’t I!’

Si-an’s chest burned with excitement.

He was thrilled at the thought of being able to clash with all he had.

Up until now, Si-an had wanted to test the results of his training.

“…I’m coming, Lady Iris.”

“Come.”

Si-an retrieved his strength clashing sword from Iris and once again widened the distance.

And.

“Huup!”

– Chwajwajwajwajwajwa!

After taking a breath and bracing himself, he leaped towards Iris, raising the sword-clashing aura to its maximum and repeatedly striking.

It was akin to a beating. The speed of the clashes was so fast that onlookers could only see afterimages.

However… Iris, with one hand gripping the sword, was calmly parrying each of Si-an’s strikes with her eyes fixed on him.

Parrying Si-an’s strikes with ease, Iris said, “You cannot pierce high-level skin by swinging wildly. Think of each swing as a solid wave crashing down.”

“Kkuuugh…!”

Upon hearing this, Si-an’s strikes gradually slowed down.

What seemed like afterimages began to be visible to the students.

They thought Si-an was getting tired.

‘I know to swing like a wave with each strike.’

But that wasn’t the case.

He was actually absorbing Iris’s advice.

He raised the sword to its limit to test how far he could go. Now that he had a rough idea…

Si-an’s strikes started to become more refined.

As Iris felt the weight of each strike increase after receiving feedback, she smiled intriguingly for a moment.

Indeed, this man was a genius. He seemed to grasp the answers as soon as hints were given.

In reality, it was due to his knowledge from his past life and his mental age in his twenties.

– Tuqua! Qua! Qua! Quaaaa!

Si-an’s precise and sharp attacks rained down like meteors.

Still focusing on the sword, he pulled all his strength into each strike. These attacks encompassed all of Si-an’s efforts.

Never before in this world had he faced such a challenge.

…Faster.

More solidly.

More skillfully.

More densely.

Like a blacksmith hammering meticulously, Si-an poured all his nerves into each strike.

His mana was on the verge of erupting.

‘…!’

At that moment.

– Shupang!

Both Si-an’s and Iris’s swords simultaneously stopped moving in mid-air.

Students sent puzzled glances at the two who suddenly stopped attacking instead of continuing their assault.

However, a few seconds later, the students understood the reason behind it.

Dilated pupils filled with realization.

Expressions as if possessed by something.

…It was enlightenment.

Unbeknownst to Sian himself, he had fallen into a state of absent-mindedness while focusing all his energy on the attack.

Soon, Sian’s expression returned to normal. It was then that Iris, who witnessed this change, spoke to Sian.

“Congratulations.”

“….”

Sian looked down at his hands spread out before him.

Something felt different.

The density of mana felt from the meditation.

And his body seemed slightly lighter.

“Sian. B.”

“…Yes?”

Startled by Iris’s unexpected announcement, Sian asked in surprise.

“Were you daydreaming during the test? In a real battle, you would have died.”

“….”

Though it was true… it was inevitable.

Faced with Iris’s cold, unyielding assessment, Sian had no choice but to accept it.

However, all the students inside the training ground knew.

Even if his grade was a B,

Sian’s skills and swordsmanship displayed were not limited to just that.

Some male students who envied Sian in the training ground that day had planned to confront him during break time after the exam.

But no one could find Sian.

The eyes of the female students watching Sian sparkled even more brightly.