Chapter 16 : Experience Points

Chapter 16: Experience Points

Iodin Serom.

Until just yesterday morning, she had been the only direct disciple of the world’s greatest sword, Grand Duke Laitena Celsius.

She had a lot on her mind.

“A second disciple whose origins are unclear... Everyone must be grinding their teeth, right...?”

The city of knights, Glowingsteel, could be said to be a city built by the strength of one man alone, Laitena Celsius.

Knights who wanted to cross swords with him, even just once.

Knights who admired him.

Knights who wished to learn from him.

Those outstanding knights gathered, and since excellent knights gathered, more knights followed them, forming a village.

Where knights gathered, people flocked.

Knights were a wealthy kind who consumed countless pieces of equipment and luxury goods.

To supply the goods and services they required, merchants and craftsmen gathered once more. As people clustered together, farmers and laborers came to provide essential supplies.

Thus, the village gradually grew into a city.

And so, the entire city’s gaze was fixed upon a single giant—Laitena Celsius.

That was why,

This city swarmed with those desperate to become Grand Duke Laitena’s direct disciple, or those wishing to push their relatives, children, or disciples into that position.

How would such people view Ransen Banroa?

Iodin Serom knew it all too well.

She herself had barely managed to carve out her current standing after struggling through all manner of jealousy, envy, and spite.

“They must all be waiting for the Exchange Tournament. They’ll be frothing at the mouth, doing whatever they can to humiliate him and find fault.”

The Exchange Tournament, held twice a year, was the coveted stage for all the young knights and apprentice knights of the city.

This city was home to countless academies.

At the forefront stood the ‘Horizon Military Academy,’ personally founded by Grand Duke Laitena Celsius, alongside private academies, fencing societies, swordsmanship schools... there was no shortage of them.

What every one of those cadets longed for was a chance to participate in the Exchange Tournament.

Applicants were recruited from among knights and apprentice knights under the age of 30, and for one month, the Horizon Knights themselves took charge of lectures, joint training, and live combat practice.

The Horizon Knights were the most renowned and strongest order of knights in the world.

To learn from those personally chosen and taught by the Grand Duke was, in a sense, as if receiving his teachings indirectly.

On top of that, if things went well, one might even be granted an opportunity to join the Horizon Knights. It was only natural that everyone would hurl themselves into it with burning eyes.

The problem was,

‘The last day of the Exchange Tournament.’

The direct disciple’s swordsmanship demonstration.

And the sparring match.

That was the tradition. That was the problem.

“Huu... Junior Ransen will also have to give a swordsmanship demonstration this time.... And on top of that, all the sparring challenges will be thrown at him, won’t they?”

In truth, Ransen’s martial strength itself was not a problem.

Iodin knew that well enough.

Just recalling the power he had displayed back at the Cultists’ Secret Chapel...

She doubted whether even she, now a High-grade Expert, could win against him.

The real issue was that his swordsmanship was, in some respects, a kind of ‘cheating.’

‘Everyone will nitpick.’

They would say there was nothing to see beyond his peculiar constitution.

That his understanding of the sword itself was abysmal.

And, in fact, that was true.

That was why Iodin’s worries only grew deeper.

“Stage of Body-Sword. He has to at least master the Stage of Body-Sword somehow. Even if he still gets criticized, at least then he won’t lose face.”

No matter how she thought about it, that seemed like the only answer.

But...

“How could someone who’s barely at the beginner level of Expert possibly master the Stage of Body-Sword? In just two weeks...?”

Iodin clutched at her shining blonde hair.

No matter how she thought about it, she could see no breakthrough.

“We have to do it somehow.... I can’t allow our Master’s name to be tarnished.”

The jealousy and malice of people were venomous things.

Some lunatics would even openly insult Master.

Look at the state of his disciples, they’d say. Had he gone senile with age?

Iodin knew this better than anyone—because she had lived through it herself.

Of course, Master never cared about such things, but Iodin could never tolerate it.

In truth, this was her trauma.

“It’s fine if Junior Ransen or I get criticized. But for Master’s name to be dragged into it... That can’t happen. Absolutely not...!”

Thud! Thud!

Iodin was even banging her small, round head against the wall as she fretted.

Even though the night had grown deep, the thump, thump sounds from her room showed no sign of stopping.

*         *         *

Morning training time.

I was loosening up lightly when I caught sight of Iodin’s face as she approached and flinched.

“Senior? You didn’t sleep?”

Strangely enough, Iodin looked far worse than me, though I had stayed up all night.

Her face was haggard, with long dark circles trailing down.

As always, she wore crisply pressed shirts and trousers with gleaming boots, but she seemed to have forgotten to brush her hair—it was in quite a disheveled state.

Always striving for perfection, yet always leaving one thing undone—such was her unchanging self.

‘...Well, she looks plenty stressed already, so I’ll just pretend not to notice.’

But as if oblivious to my consideration, Iodin shot me a sharp glare.

Then she let out a deep sigh on her own and tossed me an iron sword.

“That’s a low-quality training sword. For the time being, you’ll train with only this. First, let’s start with raising Sword Energy even with such a poor blade.”

So she said, and then muttered to herself again.

“Huu.... This isn’t the time for this.... Even the advanced course isn’t enough.... But there’s no other way...”

Why was she acting like that?

I was puzzled, but I let it slide.

Right now, I was too thrilled by the thought of formally learning a new sword technique.

Ting-

I drew the sword.

Sure enough, as she had said, it was a poor-quality training blade—the sound it made was dull.

A sword with very low potential.

But still, a sword was a sword,

And a sword always possessed a soul.

‘Compared to the one I practiced with last night, this one’s actually in better condition, isn’t it?’

Woooooo—!

Wooooong—!

Even though it was an unfamiliar blade I had never held before, it didn’t take long.

As I felt its Sword Spirit and stirred it awake, a sharp shimmer rose from the training sword.

The results of last night’s training revealed themselves clearly.

When I had demonstrated in front of Iodin yesterday, I hadn’t been able to draw it out—but now the Sword Energy manifested vividly.

‘Good. I’ve gotten completely used to it.’

Shrring—

Swish—

After slashing through the air a few times, drawing out the blade’s potential to its fullest, I turned to look at Iodin.

‘She’s still lost in thought.’

She seemed to have a lot on her mind.

Still, I had to do my part.

“Senior! Senior Iodin!”

When I called out loudly, Iodin blinked in surprise, finally bringing her eyes into focus.

“Uh, mm? What is it? I told you to practice forming Sword Energy...”

“I formed it.”

“What?”

“I said, I did it. Sword Energy.”

I stepped back a pace and drew the shimmering blade from left to right.

Shrring—

The sword cut cleanly through the air.

“Huh...?”

Iodin blinked.

“Huhh...?”

Her eyes widened.

“Huuuuh?!”

She turned her gaze to me.

“How did you do that!?”

“Eh?”

“No, just yesterday you couldn’t do it, right? How did you manage it in a single day...!”

“I practiced all night.”

“No amount of practice could make it possible that quickly.... Even for a genius, it takes at least a week...”

“It worked, though?”

Iodin opened and closed her mouth several times.

Then she shook her head vigorously and clasped my hand.

She seemed strangely excited.

“This is good. Whatever the case, this is really good. Now we can move straight on to the advanced stage.”

Advanced stage!

Wasn’t that the most welcome phrase imaginable?

Shrring.

Iodin drew her sword and faced me.

“Once you can freely draw Sword Energy with any blade, the next stage is to awaken the Sword Spirit more deeply. You must draw out the sword’s potential to its utmost and solidify the trust between the sword and yourself.”

“How do I do that?”

The moment I asked this question, Iodin’s atmosphere changed.

“The best way is a sparring match close to a life-or-death duel. You don’t use Sword Energy. You focus solely on conversing with the sword as you fight.”

That faint, floating feeling around her vanished completely. What stood before me now was nothing more than a knight honed sharp like a blade.

Good.

So she really had become a High-grade Expert. Her aura was entirely different from when we first met.

I slowly raised my sword and pointed it at Iodin.

I’d been curious anyway—just how far could I, with the ancient swordsmanship I had, hold my own now?

The moment my gaze clashed with Iodin’s,

Kaaaaang!

Jjeoeeong!

Steel clashed against steel, spitting sparks.

*         *         *

Murmur, murmur.

At the training grounds, where Ransen and Iodin exchanged fierce blows.

The Horizon Knights, who had been absorbed in their own training, gradually stopped moving one by one and began watching the duel.

“...Why is he fighting that well?”

“Does that make sense? Isn’t he only a Low-grade Expert now? The guidance a sword can give at that level is extremely limited.”

“Isn’t it actually Iodin who’s being pushed back?”

Everyone wore expressions of disbelief.

Of course, with natural talent and superior swordsmanship, it wasn’t impossible to defeat someone of a higher realm.

But there were limits.

His opponent was Iodin, who had reached the High-grade Expert stage.

No matter how gifted he was, if he was only a Low-grade Expert, he should have been blocked before he could even extend his blade.

Just like before, when Ransen—despite superior aura and physical strength—had been completely outmatched by the leader of the Cultists.

But now Ransen was entirely different.

“He’s completely reading Iodin.”

“When she tries to break through with a swift strike, he steals her timing with footwork and aims for a counter. When she tries to parry smoothly, he switches to a quick blade and hits elsewhere.”

“He’s sealing off all of Iodin’s weapons.”

A duel of pure swordsmanship, without aura or Sword Energy.

And in that, Ransen was actually overwhelming Iodin.

“How is that even possible?”

Even seeing it with their own eyes, they couldn’t believe it.

The deeper one’s realm, the greater the flood of information the Sword Spirit conveyed.

With the difference between Ransen and Iodin’s levels, it was practically the same as Ransen fighting blindfolded.

And yet, he was overwhelming her with pure swordsmanship and strategy.

As the knights stood baffled, a gruff voice struck the backs of their heads.

“Can’t you tell even when you’re looking? Pathetic fools.”

“C-Captain!”

A man with a bear-like build and a long sword scar across his face stood with arms crossed.

Brook Dunar.

Captain of the Horizon Knights.

He was a transcendent who had reached the realm of Swordmaster, and if one were to select the ten strongest knights in the world, he would without question claim a place among them.

Brook twisted his face into a grim smile as he assessed Ransen.

“That brat, his experience points are ridiculously high.”

“Experience points, sir?”

“Yeah. I’d bet anything he survived through countless battlefields of hell. He must have crossed the threshold of life and death more than a few times. That’s why he can respond like that. He’s overcoming the difference in realm with tactics born of natural instinct and accumulated experience.”

“That’s....”

“He only looks like he’s in his mid-to-late twenties, but to have that much combat experience...?”

As the knights murmured in disbelief, Brook’s eyes sharpened.

‘That’s not all.... It’s an unfamiliar swordsmanship I’ve never seen before, but it’s clearly from a venerable, ancient school. You can tell just by looking.’

Ransen’s blade pressed Iodin back, striking precisely at her weak points.

And at last—

Kaaaaang—!

“Iodin. So you’ve finally resorted to the Stage of Sword Support.”

Her responses, which had been lagging half a step behind, suddenly quickened.

With reaction speed converging toward zero, she swiftly brushed away Ransen’s pressure.

The realm where the sword itself found its own path forward—Stage of Sword Support.

Normally, to face such a fearsome display would be suffocating, as though ensnared in a net...

But Ransen’s eyes only shone brighter, a smile spreading across his lips.

He was clearly diving deeper, conversing more intensely with his blade, heightening his focus.

‘He’s growing in real time, even at this very moment...? Is that even possible?’

Brook Dunar clicked his tongue.

He had never seen a knight like this before.

Even the Grand Duke Laitena, hailed as the world’s greatest sword, hadn’t grown that quickly...

“As expected of My Lord. Once again, he’s picked up an incredibly fascinating one.”

Brook’s eyes, fixed on Ransen, brimmed with curiosity and goodwill.

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