Chapter 19 : Exchange Tournament

Chapter 19: Exchange Tournament

The sound of murmurs, the sound of feet striking the floor, the sound of clothes brushing past one another.

From the direction of the Lord’s Keep’s grand training hall, countless presences could be felt.

Sir Inapar, a senior knight of the Horizon Knights, escorted us.

“Until last year, I was in charge of Iodin’s protection, but I decided not to do so this year. Overprotection is not part of His Highness the Grand Duke’s educational policy. Now that Ransen is here, the two of you will act as comrades-in-arms. If an unforeseen situation occurs, make sure to handle it well together.”

“Yes. Please leave it to us.”

Sir Inapar looked at me and Iodin with a satisfied gaze before turning his back.

“Then I’ll leave it to you. I trust you’ll bring the exchange tournament to a good close.”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

After Sir Inapar left, Iodin took a deep breath and then sought a promise from me.

“Junior Ransen. We have to show a flawless performance. If you mess up, it’s not you who’ll be blamed—it’ll be Master.”

“Yes, yes. I’ve prepared enough, so don’t worry.”

“I’ll believe you. But this year’s group is particularly skilled, so you’ll have to do even better. One hundred percent, no—beyond that!”

“Yes, yes.”

“No, don’t answer so half-heartedly.”

“I’ll go in first.”

“Ah, wait! Hold on! I’m not mentally prepared yet!”

Leaving the long-winded Iodin behind, I swung the doors of the grand training hall wide open and entered.

Bustling—

Hush—

The moment I stepped inside, silence fell over the grand training hall, which had been filled with the noisy presence of countless people.

‘Wow— look at those eyes.’

It became clear why Iodin had nagged me so much.

Wasn’t the total number around 1,820?

All those gazes were fixed on me at once.

Not very friendly, either.

‘So you’re him? The new direct disciple?’

That kind of blatant curiosity was the mildest.

‘Doesn’t look that strong. I could beat him if we fought.’

That kind of competitiveness was almost cute.

What really grated on me were the looks that said,

‘Let’s see how good you really are.’

‘How can I humiliate him?’

‘I’d love to crush him… is there no excuse to do it?’

Clear hostility.

Expressions that looked ready to pounce on a single mistake and tear me apart.

Those gazes, looking down at me as though assessing me, were truly unpleasant.

The further forward the rows were, the stronger that tendency became. The trainees standing in the very front didn’t even bother to hide it, glaring at me with outright belligerent faces, as if picking a fight.

But then—

‘…What’s with him?’

One trainee stood out.

A boy wearing a winter hat pulled down low, covering his ears.

His light-green hair was unusual.

Unlike the others, his eyes sparkled like a puppy’s as he eagerly tried to make eye contact with me.

And when our eyes finally met, he even started waving his hand energetically.

‘…Does he know me?’

Originally, people tended to hear bad words more clearly than good ones… yet that trainee’s sparkling gaze was so dazzling that it shone with overwhelming presence even among all these eyes filled with malice.

No matter how I looked, he wasn’t someone I had met before… so why was he being that friendly?

“Junior Ransen. Get ready.”

Ah, my focus slipped for a moment.

At some point, after finishing the greetings, Iodin had stepped behind me and gave me the signal.

Phew, right.

For now, I had to concentrate on the swordsmanship demonstration.

Step.

I climbed onto the platform.

One step.

Another step.

With each step, the world was erased.

The countless gazes pouring down on me vanished,

the bright sky disappeared,

the tangled situations and thoughts faded away,

leaving only me, my sword, and the platform.

Woooong—

I awakened the Sword Spirit, drew out my Sword Energy, and let that power seep throughout my body.

Mid-grade Expert, the Stage of Body-Sword.

My body gradually transformed into a blade itself.

Sssh—

The air split along with my movements.

Without air resistance, my body felt far lighter.

Woom—

My body hardened like a sword.

Taaang!

Like well-forged steel, it held a resilient elasticity. The change in my joints, especially wrists and knees, struck me anew—solid yet flexible, flexible yet springy.

Tadak!

Just as one could grip a sword short or long, the weight balance of my body shifted freely. Even positions that would normally be impossible—such as lowering my body nearly to the ground without lifting my feet—became feasible.

Thud!

In an instant, my weight grew heavier—or lighter.

The five transformations that could only be displayed once one had mastered the Stage of Body-Sword manifested through my body.

‘This is fun.’

I became so absorbed that I forgot this was supposed to be a swordsmanship demonstration.

It was a completely different flavor from Aura.

Aura, at its core, strengthened the body’s output.

Like riding a wild horse, the key lay in how one controlled and unleashed that overwhelming power. That brought its own kind of exhilarating enjoyment, but it lacked this level of subtlety.

Sometimes shifting the center of gravity, sometimes using elasticity, sometimes erasing air resistance, sometimes altering weight—producing effects comparable to the overwhelming force Aura emitted.

It was fascinating, like solving a puzzle.

What would happen if I layered Aura on top of this?

Immersed, I swung the sword.

Skaang!

With one last broad horizontal slash, my prepared demonstration came to an end.

Only then did I come back to myself and glance at the faces clearly revealed under the pouring sunlight.

They were filled with grim expressions.

‘What, he’s way too good…?’

Faces drained of spirit.

‘Wasn’t his swordsmanship supposed to be weak because of his special constitution? But his mastery of the Stage of Body-Sword is already complete?’

They looked surprised, as though this had been unexpected.

‘How do I compare… to him?’

Some frowned as they measured my stage against their own.

Whatever it was, it didn’t seem like I had fallen short.

Tap.

“Well done…! You did even better than usual. At this level, the friendly spar won’t be a problem. But this batch of trainees is strong, so stay sharp.”

Iodin’s bright face was proof of that.

She stepped forward and shouted,

“Alright! Next will be the friendly spars! Those who wish to participate, line up at the front!”

Hardly had the words left her lips when about forty trainees rushed to line up below the platform.

Whoa… that many?

Did Iodin face this many every year?

When I glanced at her,

“Uh… huh? Uh…”

Her flustered expression told me otherwise.

…So it wasn’t usually like this.

I must have really earned their dislike.

Soon, the first challenger stepped onto the platform.

He was said to be the top student of Setes Academy, considered one of the greatest institutions in Glowingsteel, second only to Horizon Military Academy.

Breathing heavily with excitement, he glared at me.

‘But… these guys here. From before, I kept noticing—there’s something really unpleasant about their eyes.’

It wasn’t just a matter of “they make me uncomfortable.”

‘More like beast’s eyes, I should say?’

Every so often, a strange glimmer flickered within them—something that didn’t look human at all.

‘Delkash and Kxias had eyes like that.’

But it didn’t feel like he was a Vampire.

Was I imagining things?

It left a lingering, unpleasant feeling.

“I can’t accept it.”

He looked maybe twenty-three? A young guy, eyes flashing unpleasantly as he suddenly spoke down to me.

“You’re twenty-seven, right? And only now reaching the Stage of Body-Sword? You brag about that? Sir Iodin had already reached that stage at seventeen. Even if I acknowledge her, I can’t acknowledge you.”

Is that so?

“I’ll definitely defeat you. Someone like me—the direct heir of the Tessier House—fits that position far better than some vagrant of unknown origin like you.”

As he spoke, his gaze slid meaningfully toward a corner of the training hall.

Following his eyes, I found a familiar bald pig.

‘Kashigier?’

The Grand Duke’s older brother was here.

What’s more, the bastard even gave the young man a subtle nod.

In that instant, it was as though a play unfolded in my mind.

‘So he ordered him to disgrace me, did he?’

With Kashigier’s position, sweet-talking a bright-eyed youth like this into his scheme would have been nothing.

Promise with a few flattering words—trash me a little, put on a fine display in the friendly spar, and he’d be “recommended to the Grand Duke.”

Maybe he analyzed my swordsmanship and fed them my weaknesses?

Or perhaps he ordered them to wear down my stamina in a relay of challengers.

‘I don’t know what they’ve prepared… but…’

Srrrng—

I drew my sword at Iodin’s signal.

‘I have no intention of being disgraced here.’

That wasn’t my style.

I had to conserve my strength.

And if something was going to happen, it would be today.

Facing forty beastlike challengers one after another without using Aura?

I didn’t have the mental energy to waste on that.

So—

Iodin wouldn’t like it, but—

Well, I could take some nagging.

Gwoooong!

A majestic wave surged from my practice sword.

“Th-that’s!?”

The arrogant challenger’s face twisted in shock.

First time seeing this, huh?

On the blade dyed deep blue, a dark-blue shimmer of haze rippled.

This was Aura swordsmanship—the art that would only be developed ten thousand years in the future—now fused with ancient Sword Energy.

“Coward! You won’t fight with pure swordsmanship?!”

“Junior Ransen!”

Even Iodin cried out in surprise to stop me, but my mind was already made up.

“The signal to start—already sounded, didn’t it?”

Claaang!

One slash.

With a single strike, the challenger’s sword shattered to pieces and flew apart.

He collapsed to the floor, staring up at me in blank despair without having the chance to do anything.

Ignoring him, I tossed a word down from the platform.

“Next.”

*         *         *

Claang!

“Next.”

Craaash!

“Next.”

This was fun.

Iodin had her face covered with her hands, while Kashigier, watching from afar, grew redder and redder until he stormed out of the training hall in a huff.

Now that I had begun using Aura, not one of them could withstand even a single strike from me.

Though each new challenger stepped forward with freshly devised plans and clever strategies after watching the earlier defeats, they all crumbled the same.

One strike for him. One strike for her.

Their level at best was at the end of the Stage of Body-Sword.

That was nowhere near enough to withstand the violent power of Aura.

Finally, when only the last challenger remained, grumbling erupted from below the platform.

“This is cheating!”

“It’s not fair!”

“We can’t accept this kind of trickery!”

As if the inevitable had arrived, Iodin bit her lip.

She was about to step in to mediate, but I spoke first.

“What’s cheating?”

“You won using your special constitution, not pure swordsmanship!”

“If you’re jealous, then get yourself a special constitution too.”

“What nonsense…!”

“With that mindset, you’ll never beat me. Why? When you meet me on the battlefield, will you beg me not to use Aura too?”

“You…!”

Silencing one only brought another attack from elsewhere.

“His Highness the Grand Duke would not approve of this! With such reliance on trickery, you cannot possibly inherit the Grand Duke’s sword in its entirety!”

Oh? You’ll drag the Grand Duke into this to attack me?

Yes! That’s it! Of course!

They thought they had struck a nerve, and soon shouts of agreement burst forth from all sides.

I could only scoff.

If they brought up the Grand Duke, I only had to counter with the Grand Duke again.

“Really? Do you think Master simply wanted me to imitate his swordsmanship? Isn’t it because he wanted to see his sword newly recreated—that’s why he took me as his disciple?”

“That’s absurd…!”

“Why absurd? Isn’t Senior Iodin right here? She’ll inherit Master’s swordsmanship in its purest form. And me? I’ll refine it in my own way.”

“Uh…?”

Good. That pierced a little.

Now it was about momentum.

I drove it in further, as if hammering down a nail that had just started to stick.

“You mean you never thought of that? That I became a disciple because of my special constitution? Hmm? Isn’t that exactly what His Highness the Grand Duke wanted? Then why shouldn’t I use it? Hmm? Explain it to me.”

“Grk…”

“Ugh…”

Unable to refute, their faces only flushed red.

A light victory.

“Ah…!”

Meanwhile, Iodin nodded as if struck by some profound realization.

‘…Honestly, I was just bluffing.’

But she clearly believed what I’d said to be the Grand Duke’s true intent.

Well, that didn’t matter.

I turned my gaze to the final boy waiting below the platform.

“Next.”

“Yes! I’m coming up!”

A lively reply from the boy with light-green hair.

The only trainee who had showered me with boundless goodwill amidst all this hostility.

Claaang!

“Urgh!”

Not that it changed much.

His sword shattered in a single strike all the same.

What differed was his reaction after defeat.

“Ha… hahahaha! Hahaha!”

Flat on his back, he burst into laughter, as if a grudge of ten years had been lifted from his chest.

“…Why are you laughing?”

I asked, and the boy suddenly sprang to his feet, eyes sparkling to a burdensome degree.

“I respect you! Sir Ransen, you’re my role model!”

…Suddenly?

We’d only just met.

“Could you… sign this broken sword for me?!”

Wait. Was this that saying?

That it isn’t a fierce wind, but warm sunlight, that makes a traveler take off his cloak?

Even I who was unmoved by countless hostile gazes, found myself retreating, just a step, before the dazzling gaze of a single boy.

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