Academy’s Genius Swordmaster - Chapter 85
[ 85. The season goes beyond spring to summer (2) ]
#85
“Give me the sword.”
It was a strangely excited voice. Ronan shrugged once and handed over La Mancha. It was the moment when Nabi Rose lightly gripped the hilt. Chow ah! Mana, red like blood, began pouring out of the blade.
“Fuck. What is this…!”
Ronan freaked out and backed away. It was as if the sword was bleeding. The mana, bright red like fresh blood that had just spurted out, was so thick that it could be mistaken for liquid.
It was incomparably larger than in Balzac’s time. The red mana poured out without stopping. The mana that quickly covered the arena floor rose to the ankles of the students.
“Ugh! What is this?”
“blood…?”
“I feel bad…!”
The students fell into a commotion. La Mancha’s blade was gleaming with an eerie red color that made me wonder if it was originally that color. Nabi Rose muttered softly while appreciating the mysterious phenomenon.
“Ferocious but flexible. He looks just like the owner.”
“What the hell did you do to my knife?”
Instead of answering, she gripped the hilt tighter. The mana that had flowed throughout the arena began to be absorbed into La Mancha again. Within seconds, a clean floor was revealed. Nabi Rose, who took her eyes off the sword body, looked back at Ronan.
“In conclusion, what you are seeing now is the true form of this sword.”
“Are you that red-haired clown?”
“okay. As I bestowed mana, the latent power was manifested.”
Nabi Rose’s eyes were sparkling with interest. It was like a child given a new toy. After taking La Mancha for a spin, she continued.
“A well-made weapon adds color to the user’s attack. Like my Ursa or the Pale Road of the Duke of Grancia. The same goes for your sword.”
“Looks like old rice balls used some strength.”
“yes. There is no inferiority to rise to the ranks of the famous sword. Let me tell you how much you didn’t know about this sword.”
Suddenly, aiming at the scarecrow, she swung her sword as if bouncing. A liquid form of sword energy was shot along a narrow trajectory.
However, there was a significant difference from what Balzac showed. If his sword skill was that of a wide spray of water from a bucket, Nabi Roze’s sword skill was more like a torrent pouring in a straight line. Kwakwang! The scarecrow swept away by the torrent of sword energy was pulled up from the ground. But the sword did not stop there.
“uh?”
“hmm?”
The eyes of Ronan and Nabi Rose widened at the same time. The torrent of sword energy that stretched straight out hit the wall behind me. Kwagwagwang! All of the students’ attention was focused on the sudden resounding explosion.
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa What else?!”
“Instructor!”
Soon the dust settled. Part of the wall was horribly destroyed. The stone wall, which is well over 1m thick, has been worn like a cliff hit by waves for hundreds of years. Large and small holes and web-like cracks covered the inside of the scar.
“The pestilence….”
It was formidable. The days of fighting uncivilized so far were to the point of being unfair. My hands trembled just imagining that one day I would be able to use such technology.
But that wasn’t what mattered now. It seemed that the wall was in danger.
Even if the wind blows, it will collapse. Ronan was just about to crack that kind of joke. Kurleung! Suddenly, the severely damaged part collapsed.
“ah.”
The students screamed. A cool breeze brushed his hair. A beautiful lawn stretched beyond the collapsed wall. Ronan and Nabi Rose stood still for a long time and watched the scene. Nabi Roze said.
“It’s harder to control your strength than I thought.”
“Now what?”
“I’ll fix it later. Can you tell me?”
I’m glad Adeshan isn’t here. She sighed and murmured softly. Nabirosé returned La Mancha to Ronan. The moment he accepted the hilt, the red blade returned to its original black color.
“Fuck.”
Ronan, feeling a little dirty, frowned. It was like watching a lover who was playing hotly with another guy and then became cold to himself. Since Navi Rose was the previous swordsman, the fact that he couldn’t pull out the power of a sword better than a mosquito like Balzac made him unbearable.
“Let’s get started. I can’t stand it anymore because I’m not good enough.”
“good night. We start by feeding the sword with mana. Get upright and relax your body.”
“Can’t we just learn swordsmanship first?”
“Everything has an order. You will become a swordsman who can participate in the festival of swords without difficulty if you do it step by step without haste.”
Hearing that it was a sword festival, Ronan raised his eyebrows. I made up my mind to ask and forgot about it.
“that’s right. What the hell is the sword festival? Zaifa said something like that.”
“hmm? Did you not know?”
“Before entering here, I rolled around in the countryside.”
“To put it simply… it’s a place where idiots who think they are the strongest gather.”
Nabi Rose’s explanation continued. The sword festival was a kind of ceremony and meeting held by swordsmen from all over the continent. It was said that only strong people who proved their skills could participate, and those who passed the ceremony would get the right to challenge the search for the holy sword. Ronan tilted his head.
“A holy sword?”
“okay. It is a legendary weapon that no one has ever found.”
The holy sword was a legendary weapon that was said to be hidden somewhere in Parzan, the holy land where the sword festival was held. He said that the name Holy Sword was just a tentative name, and that no one had ever seen the real thing, so they couldn’t confirm what kind of weapon it was.
However, because of the legend, which has become as colorful as it has been for a long time, it is said that swordsmen do not stop walking. [It will appear before the eyes of the strongest swordsman.] [The holy sword can cut anything.] The kind that drives such ambitious men and women crazy. Ronan also shook his head as if he was interested.
“It sounds like you’re going crazy.”
“Even if it’s not the holy sword, it’s a place worth visiting. Because the best swordsman from each country and the strongmen who wandered in the first night gather in one place. Most of them will accept if you apply for sparring.”
“…Tell me honestly. How many people have you killed?”
“There were about twenty people in all. It wasn’t long before I killed him.”
It was a longing-soaked tone, as if recalling beautiful memories. Ronan felt the hairs on the nape of his neck stand up.
According to Jarodine, he pierced the coconut shell with his little finger and drank it.
‘As expected, I can’t fold for the time being.’
Ronan, who was all curious, grabbed the hilt. Like I said before, Nabi Rose taught me how to feed mana to the sword.
The point was to transfer the mana in the body to the sword and hold it. It wasn’t long after I concentrated my mind, and a feeble light came up on the blade. Nabi Roze nodded.
“good. Wait five minutes as it is. Wait five minutes before swinging the sword.”
“5 minutes? Isn’t that too short?”
“It is for others. Then I’ll time it.”
“For others?”
What do you mean? Nabi Rose took out her pocket watch instead of answering. Ronan snorted. Anyway, even though it was modest, it was not a task to hold out for five minutes.
As I was thinking exactly that, the light of the sword body faded. Ronan’s brow narrowed.
“Eh?”
“47 seconds.”
“No, wait a minute. Why is this?”
“Don’t take it lightly that you realized swordplay first. Concentrate and try again.”
Nabi Rose reset her pocket watch as if she had expected it. Ronan, with his pride hurt, took up his stance again.
I was already starting to feel dizzy, but it didn’t matter. At the same time as he grabbed the hilt, a group of lights rode up the blade again.
****
“1 minute 23 seconds.”
“Fuck!”
The halo of light faded. The sun was setting outside the building. The setting sun seeping in from beyond the collapsed walls was dyeing the arena red.
“Patience…! Heo, why does this keep turning off?
My head was pounding. Sweat was flowing like rain. There were no other students left in the arena after class.
After swearing, Ronan lowered his sword. I have no idea how many times I’ve tried this. Nabi Roze said.
“Today, let’s do this. Don’t you know that your body is different from others?”
“Huh… that can’t be…”
“Then how long are you going to do it?”
“Of course…until it happens.”
“It’s stupid.”
Nabi Roze turned his back. bang! She entered her office and shut the door.
It’s just that you’ll get bored. Ronan, who had been standing still and giggling, sat down. I could feel the blood vessels in my body swell as if they were about to burst.
“A fucking curse.”
The longest record so far was 3 minutes and 41 seconds. Ronan belatedly noticed why Nabi Roze reacted like that.
The amount of his mana bound by the curse was absurdly less than the others. That’s why he said that even if he reached the level of a sword user, it would be difficult to simply endure.
I realized how sick my body was. Ronan, who was muttering, lay down at all. I could see the high ceiling and the dust floating in the setting sun. Suddenly, something cold fell on his forehead. Surprised, Ronan raised his upper body.
“Ah, that’s a surprise. What…”
“Take it.”
“…Instructor?”
Nabi Rose was standing there holding a large canteen. Water droplets formed on the tin surface, as if it contained ice water.
She held out the canteen to Ronan without a word. After emptying the canteen while sitting down, Ronan wiped his mouth and said.
“Puha…what did you do well to give me something like this?”
“Shouldn’t I be leaving work only when you cool down and give up?”
Nabi Roze said coldly. It seemed like he was trying to look that way. Ronan laughed and stood up using the scabbard as a support. Taking out her pocket watch, she opened her mouth.
“Ronan. You’re just not good at mana. He is already one of the strongest in the entire school. You yourself know best.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you in such a hurry? I’m still a freshman, so I should have plenty of time.”
Ronan twisted his lips bitterly. If it was originally, it was a training that had to be held for several months. After infusing mana into the sword and consuming it, it is a form of repeating increasing the amount of mana through seniority.
But he couldn’t afford it. In order to manage mana like everyone else, he had to scrape the blood from his veins for 20 years. Ronan used the scabbard for support and stood up.
“Not quite enough.”
He caught his breath for a moment and then headed back to the scarecrow. There was not a single scratch on the scarecrow’s body, which had to wait for five minutes to cut down.
‘It can’t go on like this.’
I had to come up with something new. It was okay to move the mana in the body to the sword, but it was a problem to hold it. With a weak mana barrel, he couldn’t handle the constant mana consumed by the sword.
Still, drinking cold water seemed to cool my head a bit. It was then.
‘…Chilled out?’
Suddenly, an idea like a flash passed through Ronan’s head. The idea that started in cold water continued to grow.
Cool the hot one. heat something cold relieve excess fill in what is lacking Ronan, who finally got the result, laughed in amazement.
‘I just need to fill it up while writing it…!’
He was bound by the preconceived notion that mana seniority had to be done in a straight posture unconditionally. The problem would be solved if the sword skill was consumed and the practice was performed at the same time. A group of red lights rode up on La Mancha’s blade. Nabi Roze raised her pocket watch.
“Then I’ll time it.”
Ronan nodded. He immediately tried the mana technique he had learned from Jarodin. It seemed that he had been warned that it could be dangerous if he changed his posture before he had mastered it, but he didn’t know. After taking a few breaths in, Ronan raised the corner of his mouth.
‘It’s worth it.’
It was unfamiliar. But it wasn’t something I could do. Sahah-soon, a bizarre breathing began to come out between Ronan’s lips. It was felt that mana drained and filled at the same time.
“hmm?”
Time passed two minutes, but La Mancha did not lose its light yet. Nabi Rose, who noticed that Ronan was consuming mana and doing exercises at the same time, laughed.
‘Did I realize how to do it in parallel before the seasons change?’
I couldn’t see or hear anything. Only the sensation of mana circulating between the sword and the body remained. how long has it been Ronan woke up when he felt someone tap his shoulder.
“Instructor?”
“…time is up.”
“What is it already?”
It felt like less than three minutes had passed. Nabi Rose silently turned over the pocket watch and held it out in his face. The clock started on the hour and pointed to 12:13. Ronan’s eyes widened.
“13 minutes…!”
“Now swing your sword while maintaining that feeling. You can do that well.”
Ronan nodded silently. I didn’t even have to answer. The sword and hand disappeared from sight at the same time.
…pain! It wasn’t until a considerable amount of time had passed since the sword strike was drawn that the sound of a pagong rang out. Nabi Roze nodded.
“Excellent.”
Pasasac! Dozens of lines formed on the scarecrow. As Ronan put La Mancha into the scabbard, dozens of pieces of his body collapsed.
“……under.”
Ronan smiled. For the first time in my life, my fingertips were trembling little by little. It was a speed different from simply cutting according to the flow of mana. As long as I could maintain this state, there seemed to be nothing I couldn’t cut. Nabi Roze said.
“You finally did it. Do you think you can maintain that condition in real life?”
“…for a few minutes.”
“That’s it. This is enough for today.”
Silence prevailed. Neither of them spoke. Nabi Roje was about to turn her back to go to work. Ronan, who had been standing still for a while, suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders and shouted.
“Fuck! Did you see the butterfly rose?! Did you see it! I did it!”
“okay. Good job.”
“It’s all thanks to my sister! Come here, damn it, I’ll run around Phileon on my back!”
“It is the result of what you have done. And call me Instructor.”
However, despite Nabi Rose’s sanctions, Ronan did not stop. His body was completely dominated by the belatedly exploded sense of accomplishment. Even after both ears were grabbed while running to carry the butterfly rosé, she did not stop laughing.
“her.”
The scene was so funny that a faint laugh appeared on Nabi Rose’s lips. It was a car that I was reluctantly considering whether to lift it once. Rumble! Suddenly, the ground near the collapsed wall started to wriggle. Due to an unexpected incident, the two of them put their hands on the hilt at the same time.
“what?”
It seemed to be alive. Before long, the shaking ground rose up and plugged the collapsed hole. It happened so quickly that there was no time to react.
Even the reliefs that were originally engraved were restored on the wall, which was filled without a gap for a single needle to enter. Nabi Roze frowned.
“This magic…”
“It’s been a while. Butterfly rose.”
Then a familiar voice came from behind. Ronan and Nabi Rose turned their heads at the same time. A skinny man was standing there gazing at the setting sun. She frowned at the sight of her bad friend.
“…Jarodin?”