“Ugh!”
“Gah!”
“Da-Damn it! To lose by the thickness of a sheet of paper…”
The boy collapsed with a thud.
In front of him stood a woman.
The eldest of the Lucid family and one of the Ten Swords of the Empire.
And the test examiner in charge of the 3rd stage for Team 14, Lucia.
She muttered while resting the wooden sword on her shoulder.
“Yeah, it’s the thickness of a sheet of paper. Though that sheet of paper is quite thick.”
Perhaps as thick as a continent?
That’s right. It means there’s a ridiculously huge skill gap.
And that didn’t just apply to the boy who had just collapsed.
“Ughh…”
“Making us fight a 6-star knight! What kind of absurd test is this…!”
“Mo-Monster!”
Children lying here and there, groaning.
It applied to all of them.
“Those who failed, get out quickly. Take this guy with you too. Surrendering right after getting hit once. Seriously, kids these days have no grit.”
The children supported each other and left the testing ground.
Lucia, who instantly subdued the grumbling children with her senior power.
She clicked her tongue loudly.
‘They can’t even properly block a single attack.’
Did they throw away the cooperation and collaboration based on numerical advantage?
Not even saving a child in crisis, only rushing to show off their own cool appearance.
Yeah, she knows it’s a hastily formed team.
They probably passed the labyrinth test while being wary of each other, and their mood worsened even more due to the aftereffects of the illusion test.
But this is too much, even if it’s too much.
‘Do they not even know what camaraderie is? Do they only see the other person as a competitor?’
Children who don’t know the concept of camaraderie.
They were perfect for dying on the battlefield.
‘On the battlefield, teams aren’t formed the way you want. You can lose teammates in the middle, and there are people who suddenly join the team after being left behind.’
In such an urgent situation, how do you respond to a strong opponent you face?
A test to see courage, spirit of sacrifice, and strategy.
But they collapse after getting hit once.
‘What will they do if a war breaks out like when I was in the academy…?’
Lucia’s heart was complicated.
‘Team 2 and Team 4. At least that much should be enough.’
Teams 1-12 were handled by Caron, but she watched from afar.
Lucia has a keen eye.
She could tell that much even without directly facing them.
Team 2, which included Alex and Raymon, who confronted Caron with excellent teamwork and courage.
Team 4, which included Teron, Yuridia, and Rezé, who not only matched him equally but also made him exert power beyond a 6-star knight.
Teron and Yuridia also had outstanding skills for their age, but…
‘Rezé, that child’s performance was amazing.’
Not only did she have destructive power that made even Caron pause for a moment, and provided support fire whenever Teron and Yuridia were in danger.
But she even pressured him in a 1:1 situation.
Considering the opponent was the mighty Caron, the more she thought about it, the more incredible it was.
It was a moment when she could understand why Zero was trying to raise that rabbit… no, that child.
‘As for Zero from Team 13… Well, he’s a skilled person to the point that it hurts to even talk about.’
He’s an exception. That child is a genius.
It’s not good to compare a genius to those children on the same level.
To the children other than Zero, that is.
‘Tsk, I was also called a genius… Honestly, he’s way beyond the standard, isn’t he?’
To be able to analyze and imitate techniques just by seeing them once.
Even for a genius, that’s too much.
‘Moreover, that ability won’t be limited to just ‘swords’.’
Then the number of secret techniques he can use will be countless.
What will happen if that child grows up?
Lucia felt a slight chill down her spine.
‘Anyway!’
Team 14, which she is currently facing, is a lacking team compared to the previous teams.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not interesting.
Because there are children who endured her strike.
‘Luna, and was it Daike?’
Especially that guy named Daike piques her interest.
If Zero is a master of expedients and tricks, Daike is a master of the ‘sword’.
A child who reached the level of a 5-star knight with pure skill alone.
‘I used a bit of power because I was annoyed… And he blocked it?’
Lucia, who put in quite a bit of power due to Zero’s harassment(?).
Not only Luna, but right now Lucia is more interested in Daike.
‘By the way, why is that old man acting like that?’
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh-!
Caron, hiding behind the bushes, was emitting a terrifying aura.
As if his gaze alone would pierce through the body.
Why the hell is he acting like that?
‘Well, it’s not like I have no idea.’
Of course, even so, it’s too much of a reaction.
Did he awaken to a new taste(?)?
If that’s the case, arresting him alone isn’t enough. He needs to be executed on the spot to protect world peace(?).
‘Well, I can check later. Right now…’
Taking care of the children in front of her comes first.
It was when Lucia put more strength into her hand holding the wooden sword.
“Only up to 6-stars! Remember this is a test, Lucia!”
Caron’s voice shouting from the distant forest.
It was the moment when suspicion turned into certainty.
“…Crazy lolicon old man.”
How did he become like that?
No, maybe he was like that from the beginning?
Could it be that even saving her on the battlefield was for that reason?
Goosebumps spread all over Lucia’s body.
‘Ugh, I did act cute back then. But I hate receiving attention from an old man like that.’
The moment Lucia showed a slight opening.
Bang!
Daike charged in.
At the same time, Luna largely spun and got out of Lucia’s sight.
‘Oho, it doesn’t look like the two of them talked?’
Their teamwork is quite good.
According to the information Lucia secured over the past month, Daike is one of the key figures in the Teron faction.
And she heard that those two even had a life-or-death duel.
‘First, camaraderie passes!’
Even if it’s an opponent they can’t wait to kill, they unite in front of a mighty enemy.
It was camaraderie that stirred Lucia’s heart.
Whoosh-!
A blue energy swirled around Daike’s greatsword. He injected mana.
“…This is a 1st year test, right?”
Daike silently swung down the greatsword.
Lucia also responded by injecting mana into the wooden sword she was holding.
Bang! Clang-!
The blue mana tangled in the air scatters.
From afar, it’s an extremely beautiful sight.
But considering that a single misstep could cut off a part of the body, it wasn’t such a good scene.
‘Oho, he’s stable. Yeah, he’s a 5-star knight after all.’
Daike’s current level is a 5-star knight.
Although he’s still at the entry level, the power of a 5-star knight cannot be ignored.
‘Because from 4-stars, they’re in the ranks of intermediate knights.’
1-3 stars are lower knights.
4-6 stars are intermediate knights.
From 7-stars, they’re classified as advanced knights who can be treated well wherever they go.
The reason for classifying intermediate knights from 4-stars.
It’s because it’s the minimum level where one can put mana into weapons.
The amount of mana that can be put in is minuscule, but the important thing is that they’ve figured out the method.
If one increases the amount of mana accumulated in the body and gradually increases the amount of mana transferred to weapons through training.
Someday, they can reach the ranks of a 6-star knight.
There’s also a saying that if you reach the level of 4-stars, all you need is time to reach 6-stars.
Clang!
‘But this guy is a 5-star knight at only fifteen.’
Lucia was like that too, but unlike now, it was an era when wars were endless back then.
An era when they taught how to hold a weapon before how to speak.
The family was also rich, so they received professional education from a young age, and even consumed all kinds of magic potions.
They reached the level of 5-stars at the same age, but the starting point is different.
So Lucia had a lot of questions about this child named Daike.
‘What kind of life did he live? It’s not like he went through something more terrible than war.’
Whoosh!
The greatsword swung by Daike brushed past Lucia’s hair.
It didn’t touch. However, creating a situation like this itself doesn’t make sense.
‘This guy has a lot of real combat experience.’
He’s skillfully pressuring her. As if hunting prey.
Of course, Lucia wasn’t playing around either.
While avoiding Luna’s attacks coming from the side and back from time to time, she left scratches all over Daike’s body.
‘Hmm~ Tricks work to some extent, but he doesn’t give a decisive blow.’
Daike’s greatest strength.
‘Steadfastness.’
A feeling of constantly pushing in like a rock?
This is much more amazing than you might think.
Lucia is praised as a hero.
But far from being intimidated, he’s only devoted to defeating his opponent.
Regardless of who the opponent is.
‘He’d maintain a stiff posture even in front of His Majesty the Emperor.’
The problem is that steadfastness is both a strength and a weakness?
‘I want to see a little more, but… I should end it soon.’
Lucia slightly revealed an opening.
She slipped her foot.
“Oops! It’s slippery!”
“……”
Lucia, who met Daike’s gaze while slipping.
He could tell.
That she had used a trick.
‘Did you notice?’
That’s right. Daike noticed that she had set a trap. But.
Tap!
Daike corrected his grip on the sword in front of his chest and immediately charged.
There’s only one reason.
‘Does he have the confidence to finish it? Anyway, it’s full of arrogant guys!’
When she was in the academy, the relationship between seniors and juniors was polite. How did the world become like this!
Lucia grumbled and started to respond.
Eight steps away from Lucia.
There, Daike’s eyes shone.
Daike’s third original secret technique.
Schlüssel.
A thrust with both hands simultaneously with the charge.
But Daike, who thrust the sword, could only be shocked.
Because Lucia dodged his thrust by the thickness of a sheet of paper.
‘…She dodged this?’
Although it was intentional, it’s a fact that her posture was broken.
It’s not an attack that can be dealt with in that posture.
‘Moreover, it was a secret technique I showed for the first time. How on earth…!’
The interval of a sheet of paper. This means she knows his attack method and distance precisely.
Yeah, as if.
She saw it beforehand.
“It was pretty good. It would have been dangerous if I hadn’t seen it beforehand, right?”
“…!”
Seen it beforehand?
Only then did Daike realize.
Zero, that damn slit-eyed bastard.
He had shown his secret technique first.
“Tsk tsk, looks like you were fooled too. Can’t help it. Be careful next time.”
The biggest weakness of thrusting.
It exposes an opening.
Clang!
The fist swung by Lucia accurately struck Daike’s solar plexus.
“Puhah!”
Daike panted with his sword stuck in the ground.
An unknown liquid was pouring out of his mouth.
“Wow, you endured this without fainting? You have much better endurance than you look.”
“Cough, cough…”
“Tsk tsk, it would have been better if you fainted. How about I send you flying outside?”
“…I’ll have to refuse.”
The match was over.
If she had swung a wooden sword instead of a fist, he would have already gone to the afterlife.
Daike knew well that Lucia had gone easy on him.
Staggering-.
Daike slowly started walking towards the exit.
Step by step, even while staggering.
Persistently.
“Yeah, that’s the kind of tenacity you need. I saw a good guy for the first time in a while…”
The first secret technique of the Lester family style.
One Flash.
Clang!
Lucia vigorously swung the wooden sword and blocked Luna’s attack.
‘Come to think of it… There was that child too.’
The child who accompanies Zero, Luna.
A cute-looking girl with twin tails.
Her face was filled with tension.
Originally, she wasn’t a child who drew Lucia’s interest, but the recent situation has changed a bit.
Lucia’s gaze turned to Luna’s scabbard.
Because currently, Luna had her sword sheathed and her hand on the hilt.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while… That thing now. Are you imitating the secret techniques Zero uses?”
Luna flinched.
Rather than imitating, it’s the swordsmanship of the family she belongs to, and Zero is the one who imitated it, but.
“Yes.”
She has no choice but to say this now.
Because her current family is branded as traitors.
“Do you also know which family’s swordsmanship that is?”
How should she answer?
It was when Luna was fidgeting her mouth.
“Kitty, aren’t you too young? If you show that reaction, anyone can notice.”
“…Yes?”
“You knew. Right?”
Lucia’s pupils.
Began to shine fiercely.
–TL Notes–
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt