Academy’s Genius Swordmaster - Chapter 102

[ 102. Suje Baek (2) ]

#102

“It’s the first time that a doppelganger is displayed in front of the public. It’s all about a pair of alpha and omega.”

“Dopple…what?”

Hearing the word doppelganger, Ronan frowned. It was a being that only appeared in the fairy tales that Irill told me when I was young. An unidentified creature that can change its shape at will.

“Was it real?”

“…I really didn’t know. Then you don’t even know about that ridiculous ability?”

“ability? Changing your appearance?”

“huh. But a doppelganger reads the other person’s mind and changes their appearance. Alphas are loved by the target, and Omegas are hated. Isn’t it interesting?”

“what?”

Ronan’s face hardened. Marja continued as she twisted her hair.

“It tells you the inner thoughts that you didn’t even know. No one my age would ever pass by.”

“…turning into an object of hatred?”

“It is. What are you interested in omegas, not alphas?”

“What do you do when you know who you love? It’s useless.”

“You did well. I’ll just take it, right?”

Marja pouted. Either way, Ronan’s attention was focused only on the Omega doppelganger. He was dissatisfied with everything, but there was only one target to apply the grandiose expression of hatred to.

‘…wouldn’t be bad for calming down.’

For an instant, Ahayute’s pale face flashed through his mind. That alone made my forehead feel hot. Suddenly, a question reared its head.

‘What happened?’

Marja treated the existence of her doppelganger as almost common sense, but had never heard of it in her previous life. If there was such a mysterious creature, it would surely have gone up in the gossip of former poachers.

Ronan was in trouble. Marja, who hit him on the shoulder with her head, let out a small laugh.

“Anyway, even if it’s because of the doppelganger, this unemployed festival will definitely be held. It smells like money too.”

“Do you smell money?”

“huh. During the festival, students can open stores. I already made a big deal.”

In the meantime, Marja was thinking about doing business. I wasn’t even surprised anymore. As expected, the person who became the greatest wealthy man in the empire had a different mindset.

Come to think of it, the size of the top of the caravel was several times larger than when I first saw it. It was thanks to his success in selling blacksmith Doron’s leftover arms exclusively and using the money he earned in the Baidian Mountains.

‘Changhai.’

I didn’t even water it, but it was like watching a wild flower that grows well on its own. I haven’t been paying much attention lately, but I’m doing my part very well. It is both a merchant and a warrior.

Suddenly, Ronan smiled proudly and patted Marya’s head. It was the moment the calloused palm touched the crown of his head. Opening her eyes wide, she freaked out and backed away.

“What are you doing right now?!”

“Because it’s unique.”

“But it’s like that all of a sudden…! What did you eat wrong?!”

Marja, already a couple of paces away, stammered. It was quite surprising that his face turned red like an apple. Ronan frowned.

“What do you say that you touched my hair? I washed my hands.”

“That’s not what you’re saying…! I haven’t even dried the water yet…!”

Marja, at a loss, brushed her wet hair. It was funny how he said that he was touching his head on a subject he was closely attached to first. And it’s already wet.

“I’m here, Ronan. what’s the matter?”

Sigh. Then the door of the club opened and Asher came in. He was holding three or four thick books tightly in his arms, as if he had just returned from class. Asher’s gaze suddenly reached the two of them.

“…to?”

“Is the cutie here?”

Marja smiled awkwardly and waved her hand. Asher, who read the subtle airflow, stopped in place. The magician’s unique power of observation grasped the situation in an instant.

Marja’s white face was flushed red. Water was still dripping from her hair. Asher, who followed the drop of water on the floor, noticed that it led to Ronan.

‘lie.’

Asher’s face hardened. Ronan’s shoulders were wet as if they had been hit by rain.

Ronan was sitting at his desk staring into space, looking exhausted from the world. It was a look you couldn’t make unless you were extremely tired or right after experiencing something ecstatic.

“Uh… uh…”

Tears suddenly welled up in Asher’s eyes. Books tumbled between her weak arms.

This was just too much. Asher, who wiped his eyes with his sleeve, grabbed the doorknob.

“…Sorry to disturb you. I’ll go first.”

“Eh? You’ve come so far, where are you going?”

“I am…”

Asher raised his head. His large eyes were wet, as if they would spill water at any moment. Ronan frowned.

“Stop talking nonsense and come here. I called you to give you a present.”

“…I’ll get it next time.”

“Why is he like this today? Do you want to come back?”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh…”

Asher sniffed and approached. Ronan took out the Vajra from his back pocket and held it up. The stiff cover and lining caught my eye as if it had just been bound. It was hard to believe that it was originally cut and crumpled and was no better than waste paper.

‘I feel bad. Certainly forbidden is forbidden.’

Just in case, I injected sparkling mana into it, and it turned out like this. Anyway, it was Mana whose identity was unknown. Asher, who accepted the Vajra, tilted his head.

“What is this?”

“It’s your favorite magic book. Read it because I got it dirty and hard.”

“…Are all the books black?”

Asher, who opened his eyes wide, started turning the pages. Ronan nodded his head after seeing how well they matched.

‘A guy who knows how to use a sword should wield it.’

No matter how hard Ronan tried, he couldn’t understand Vajra. It wasn’t simply that the content was difficult or there were a lot of words I didn’t know. The knowledge contained in the book itself felt like rejecting oneself.

So Ronan handed over Vajura to the clever Asher. It’s because the things he’s doing are frustrating, but it’s because he was a good guy.

One day, he might understand Vajra and get his hands on infinite power or something. Asher, who was suddenly flipping through the sheets, burst out of exclamation.

“Great. How could such a magic system…!”

“What?”

“Roronan. Where the hell did you get this book…?”

Asher’s voice was trembling. It hadn’t even been a minute since I handed over the book.

“…can you read that?”

“Yeah… I still only interpreted the first chapter with my eyes.”

“Translate?”

Asher nodded. He explained that everything written on Vajra was encrypted. That was also the reason for the strange feeling that Ronan felt. Only those who interpreted the mana logic could read the text and see what was hidden.

“To be honest, it is extremely difficult. It’s a structure that gets more difficult the further you go.”

“Are you not able to read?”

“It’s not that much… I think we can solve it somehow if we give it time. Of course, interpreting the code and understanding the contents are completely different matters…”

“You are better than the Magic Tower Master. Not joking, for real.”

Ronan chuckled. I didn’t know that I could really read Vajra. One day, when I came to the club, there was nothing more I could wish for, unless Asher, whose eyes were stained black, was not standing over the corpses of the members.

‘Everyone is doing well.’

Suddenly, the corner of Ronan’s mouth went up. Colleagues were doing better than expected.

Not just these two, but also Braum and Ophelia. Even the unlucky Schlieffen would have been getting stronger through their own efforts. Standing on his knees, Ronan turned to Marya and said.

“Marya. It’s been a while, but let’s do sparring.”

“Eh now?”

“ok. My body is itching, so I can’t do it. follow me.”

“Wait a minute!”

Ronan grabbed Marya by the wrist and dragged her outside. Asher, immersed in Vajra, completely forgot the existence of the two and focused only on reading. Before long, the voices of two people were heard from the training ground.

“Ah! Where did you trip?!”

“Keep your mind straight. The knife is slower.”

Through the half-open window, the chirping of insects could be heard. A twilight blanketed the campus. The tumultuous day ended just like that.

****

Time passed in an instant. As the Baeksu Festival approached, the atmosphere in Phileon was noticeably heightened.

“Now there really isn’t much left. I never thought I would be able to directly participate in the Baeksu Festival, which I have only heard about in the world.”

“The manticore will also come next time, right? Ugh…”

I could hear news about the festival wherever I went on campus. The students discussed and talked about the animals they liked or wanted to see.

“I want to go with my boyfriend. If you don’t change into me, I’ll just kill you.”

“I went to the omega doppelgänger and it turns into you, doesn’t it?”

The most popular was, of course, the doppelganger. There was no student who hated the mysterious creature that could read other people’s minds and transform itself. The fact that Phileon Academy was the first place open to the public also inspired the students’ pride.

“Animal biscuits…the balloon shop in the food stall is over…what’s left of the cutie?”

“I think only the street portraits remain.”

“that’s right. I found a person, but I couldn’t find an easel, right? Let’s go get it!”

“Go with me!”

Marja mobilized all the connections she knew and started preparing for the opening. Those who enjoyed the festival would not have known in their dreams that all nine stores with different items were owned by her.

But even in the midst of that, there were people who couldn’t enjoy it.

The night before Baeksu Festival was held.

Arena 1 was crowded with people even during the hours when it should have been empty. Adeshan asked in a trembling voice.

“Roronan. really do it Wouldn’t that be too much?”

“It’s okay, old man. You have to get to this level to improve your skills.”

To be precise, only Ronan and Adeshan could be called human. Knights in full armor surrounded Ronan. Originally, it was a magic engineering article, a training tool that only 3rd graders or higher could use.

“Then… do you?”

Through the slender slit of the helmet, blue eyes were leaking. He was the same kind as Sir Madoros, whom he dealt with during the entrance exam. Adeshan chanted a spell to move the knights with her eyes tightly closed.

“…in action.”

At that moment, the eyes of the knights all turned red. Ronan quickly rolled to the side. Kaga River! Nine blades slammed into the spot where he had been.

Instead of confronting them head-on, Ronan dealt with the knights mainly through evasion or defense. Whoo! Flashing knives pierced between Ronan’s arms and legs. After confirming that the knights had gathered in one place, Ronan stamped his right foot.

“Eat!”

thud! A hemispherical wave spread out around him. Shining roots clung to the legs of the knights within range. Kugoong! thud! The unbalanced knights collided with each other and fell.

“It’s a success!”

Adeshan clapped her hands and shouted. It’s only been a few days, but I’ve improved a lot. Chew! Ronan fired a sword at the incapacitated knights.

The knights who suffered more than the limit of damage stopped moving. Ronan laughed when he saw that the roots had stuck to all nine of them.

“Heh-euk… damn… heh finally.”

Mana was almost depleted, but it didn’t matter anyway. The important thing is whether there is achievement or not. Ronan, who was out of breath, sat down in his seat.

“Oh… I’m going to die…”

“It’s been hard.”

He was spending all his time training the second core and copied auras. Fortunately, the growth rate itself was not that slow.

Rather, it was growing much faster than Ronan’s own mana. Is this how it feels when the mana of the shadow is awakened? Adeshan looked around at the fallen knights and admired them with his hands together.

“It’s really great. In just 15 days, this achievement…!”

“Heo Eok… It’s thanks to senior… Was the balance okay this time?”

“Yes. However, I felt a little excited. I think it would be okay if the output was lowered a little.”

At Adeshan’s advice, Ronan nodded. I’m sure it seemed like that when I heard it.

“It’s true…Thank you.”

“Whoops, I’m glad I could help.”

Adeshan laughed. She knew Ronan’s secret that he was the only one who could copy the Aura. It was what Ronan decided to reveal after deliberation.

“Can I copy Instructor Nabiroze’s everything someday?”

“Damn, I still can’t get over that. Right now, even the root of this tree is not being handled properly.”

“I will help you. Let’s do it step by step.”

“Hey thanks.”

Ronan smirked and lay down on the spot. The ceiling immersed in darkness came into my eyes. There was no one, so my voice rang every time I spoke.

Adeshan was using his unique insight to help Ronan grow. Most of her advice, based on her profound insights, has been very helpful. After a moment of hesitation, Adeshan crouched down next to Ronan.

“It’s the unemployed from tomorrow. Time flies.”

“Iknow, right.”

“It’s amazing. It seems like everything that will happen over ten years since I met you is happening all at once.”

“It’s because of my mood.”

Ronan said dryly. Adeshan let out a friendly laugh, but didn’t respond. After a moment of silence, she opened her mouth.

“…Will Ronan just train during the festival?”

“Um…well. Wouldn’t it be like watching from time to time? There are things I want to see.”

“I see.”

There was silence again. It was so quiet that I thought I could hear dust floating around. Adeshan, who was hesitant, opened his mouth cautiously.

“Then…would you like to come with me…”

It was the moment she was about to say something. bang! Suddenly, the arena door opened wide, and the lights that had been off came on at once. A familiar voice rang out.

“Awesome. What are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

“Instructor?!”

Startled, Adeshan stood up. Ronan looked at the source of the voice. A woman of familiar outline stood in the doorway, arms crossed. Nabi Roje continued.

“You used to rub your legs in class the other day, and now you even have a tryst? You are bold for your age.”

“A secret meeting…! It’s not like that…”

“What’s going on?”

Ronan stood up while inserting La Mancha. Nabi Roze’s expression was too unusual for it to be a joke. After staring at the two for a moment, she sighed.

“…it would be fine with you. The doppelgangers have disappeared.”