Academy’s Genius Swordmaster - Chapter 9
9. The Girl Who Would Be Count (3)
#9
Inn #201 of [Dancing Mule].
All sorts of junk were strewn about on the wooden plank floor. Swords, potions, rings, etc. were all different types, but the common denominator was that they were shiny overall.
Marja opened her mouth as she looked at the loot lined up on the floor.
“So these are the things left behind that were not sold? You said you wrote it?”
“huh.”
“They’re quite good quality… Why did you leave three knives?”
“I’ll break it down right away.”
Hans’s sword, which had already chipped teeth, was proof of that.
Even in his previous life, Ronan would change his weapon once a month. Quite a few weapons couldn’t handle his quick sword.
“Well, anyway…ah. it still stings Take it easy.”
Marja grumbled, rubbing the lump on her head. Ronan opened his mouth to show the scar on his tongue. It was the spot where he chewed when he was hit with an uppercut.
“Doesn’t this look like a sparrow pecking at it?”
“If I had been a bit stronger, I could have cut it off quite a bit.”
Despite Asher intervening by using magic, the two exchanged fists once more.
Marja hit Ronan’s throat with her elbow, and Ronan stuck a chestnut in the same spot as before.
Although Marja was incredibly strong for her size, she was no match for Ronan in the end.
The game ended with Marja waking up after fainting and admitting defeat.
“Anyway, it seems pretty rough. If you are a swordsman, you should treat your sword with care.”
“A knife is just a tool. It doesn’t matter who wields it.”
“Oh~ You must be confident in your skills? Do you want to do sparring later? Even if you look at it like this, I’m the strongest in our top tier.”
“I guess.”
After the commotion was over, Ronan and Marya managed to get along. It was thanks to each other’s high level of courage. (Assel couldn’t understand this process at all.) The three of them went out to the square to
eat crayfish pasta, which is Marbas’ specialty, and then returned to their lodgings.
Marja kindly explained the information about Phileon, and now the boys were examining the spoils that they deliberately did not sell.
“Whatever. All of the items left here are usable. In particular, this longsword is made of real black iron. Although the management is a little disappointing.”
“Are you sure?”
“You don’t trust my eyes? My dad often asks me about metal.”
Heuk iron, as the name suggests, was black iron. Because of its high rarity and strength, it was mainly used to make weapons for knights and nobles.
Ronan’s sword made of black iron was also a preferred weapon, because it was easy to use for about six months.
“Then I’m glad.”
“And the stone embedded in this wand…is a real magic stone. Hey there cutie.”
Asher, who was packing his things, turned his head belatedly. In Marja’s hand was a metal cane that looked to be about 1m long. Like the black iron sword, it was left unsold.
“huh? Could it be…me?”
“Then what did you say to that savage? I couldn’t ask earlier because I wasn’t in a hurry, but are you a wizard?”
Asher nodded. Marja threw her staff at him without a word. Startled, Asher stopped the staff with telekinesis.
“You almost got hurt!”
“Besides, psychokinesis…If you do well, you will enter school while receiving a scholarship. That will help to some extent.”
Asher looked at the staff floating in the air. I felt mana gathering in the stone embedded in the tip. I left it there because it was unusual when I first found it, but I didn’t know it was a real magic wand.
The magic wand itself was expensive, but since it had magic stones embedded in it, it would have been incredibly expensive. Marja sat on the bed and looked back at Ronan.
“The problem is between the two of us. What skills are you going to show off?”
“technology?”
“Yes, Phileon’s practical skill is famous, isn’t it?”
Applicants had to demonstrate their most confident skills in front of a panel of judges made up of faculty members.
The test was conducted for a total of 8 days, including written and practical tests. It was a form of taking a practical test for the preceding seven days and a written test on the last day.
The entrance exam at Phileon literally boasted an astronomical competition rate. This was because anyone between the ages of 10 and 15 could apply, regardless of social status or background.
There was a clear difference in the distribution of points for practical and written work. The written examination was not negligible, but the test that determined whether or not the student passed was the score of the practical test.
“There are a lot of goofballs, but there are also a lot of talented people. You have to prove your worth.”
“It was enough for the Niimi swordsman to kill well. What do you usually show?”
“Um…well? Nobles often demonstrate family secret skills… Cutting something as hard as a rock has been popular for a while. But the most common thing is to show your own fighting method using mana.”
“for a moment.”
In an instant, Ronan’s face hardened. There was a lot of distrust and doubt between the narrowed eyes. Marja tilted her head.
“what’s the matter?”
“When you’re 10 or 15 years old, you’re a kid who doesn’t even have hair on it yet. You’re not even a wizard, but you’re dealing with mana? Do I look like a retard?”
“huh…? It’s mana, not aura? It’s okay to know how to respond to the level of application in battle, right?”
“Are Aurors and Mana different?”
“…what?”
Kugoong! The moment she heard those words, a bolt of lightning fell over Marja’s head. How would you feel if you were asked what is the difference between a bean worm and a dragon? Marja opened her mouth with a hopeless feeling.
“You…you know how to respond to mana, right?”
“What else is that?”
“ah.”
Lightning struck once more. Ronan’s answer was not ‘I can’t’, but ‘I don’t know’.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t develop his senses due to lack of effort or lack of talent, but that he didn’t know the concept of mana response itself.
As far as she knew, about half of those who passed the Phileon Martial Arts Department had reached the ‘sword user’ stage where they could handle mana in a simple way. Of course, there was no one who couldn’t respond to mana, which is the basic of basics.
I thought this was a bit harsh. Still, aren’t you aspiring to Phileon like yourself?
“Are you kidding me? Do you really not know?”
“Because I don’t know. Don’t turn around, man. So, what is the difference between Aura and Mana?”
She stared at the retarded child in front of her, speechless. Ronan’s eyes were still narrowed in doubt.
Marja felt the panic transform into anger in real time.
I see I told an idiot who couldn’t tell the difference between mana and aura about the entrance exam guidelines for the best academy on the continent. And that too, with sincerity throughout the day.
She sat still and smiled, then jumped off the bed and stood up.
“Follow me.”
“ok?”
“Let’s do it now Dalian. I’ll tell you what the difference is between aura and mana, which you’re curious about. Also about stupid mana induction.”
Marja picked up two short swords lying on the floor. These were the remaining swords left for Ronan to use.
It didn’t use a precious metal like heuk iron, but it was a steel sword with a fairly good build quality.
“I was almost fooled because you picked it up so confidently. That’s ours man.”
“I left my knife. It will be over in an instant anyway, so I’ll just write it once.”
“What if it hurts?”
“Ha… Twice. No, I’ll ask for three times the price. okay?”
“Well, if that’s the condition…”
Boom! Marja kicked the door out before Ronan could answer. Surprised, Asher started to hiccup, and Ronan left the room after advising Asher that women are sometimes like that.
****
Mana is the power that forms the source of all things.
Common concepts such as auras, magic cores, and circles were named according to the type of mana or the way it was handled. Mana response, as the name suggests, is the ability to feel mana.
“The time when you can feel mana is different for each individual. There are many people who don’t feel it until they die, but if you have at least a minimum of talent, your senses will open up like this for a year. Of course, the important thing is what comes next.”
The three of them left the inn and moved to a nearby clearing. The noise of the street could be heard through the fence that surrounded it on three sides. Marya took about five steps from Ronan and turned around.
“Aura is also a type of mana, but no one sees the two together. ‘Auror’ refers to the unique mana you create yourself. It is not the ubiquitous natural mana.”
“In short, it’s not someone else’s shit, it’s my own shit that I pulled out with great effort.”
“That kind of example…ha no…”
Marja shook her head. I didn’t know how far to lower my expectations for Ronan. Ronan scratched the back of his head and asked.
“I have one more question. Blooming that aura? Is it that difficult to do?”
“of course. Because the blooming of the aura means that you have created your own mana that cannot be replaced. Even if a talented person trains steadily, it takes at least 10 years for it to come and bloom.”
“…okay?”
Ronan thought of the opponents he had cut down so far. Come to think of it, I remember that those who said they had an aura were particularly talkative before fighting. This body is a user of Aura, so I feel like I’m begging for it even now.
All of them had strange or useless abilities, but I felt sorry for them thinking that they were the result of tremendous effort. If the neck falls off, everyone dies anyway.
“Then shall we begin?”
Marja was slowly turning the sword she was holding in both hands. The two smoothly drawn circles testified to her talent.
It was a feat that was difficult to perform without considerable muscle strength and wrist flexibility. Ronan nodded.
“okay.”
Ronan tugged at the hilt. Not a new sword made of black iron, but Hans’s sword with teeth coming out. Marja asked, raising her eyebrows.
“With that knife? If it breaks or breaks, does it hurt?”
“It’s okay, so let’s get started.”
“…if that’s the case.”
The spinning short sword stopped spinning. Her skills had reached the level of a sword user.
It was a stage where mana could be loaded into the sword, leaving the state of simply circulating mana only in the body.
Among the mana users, it was not very strong, but there was a difference between the sky and the earth with ordinary people.
‘It’s better to feel the limit here and go back than to suffer humiliation at the exam hall.’
In fact, her anger had already been released. It was because he belatedly realized that his anger was not caused by Ronan’s ignorance, but by his lack of countermeasures.
She was looking at Ronan pretty well. He spoke vulgarly and acted like an idiot, but he didn’t seem like a son of a bitch. I thought it would be fun if we went to the academy together.
This sparring was a kind of mercy. Marja smiled bitterly and stood up.
“Then…ready…”
Asher, the referee, counted down. The slender fingers folded one by one. three two one The moment the last finger was folded, Marja’s body jumped out.
Kang!
A sharp metallic sound echoed as the three sword paths crossed. Ronan responded by standing still. The blades in contact creaked and screamed. Ronan whistled.
“Is it the right way?”
Marja was genuinely astonished and said nothing. It had been a long time since the first attack was blocked. Even the two swords she was holding were loaded with mana.
“what is your identity?”
“Ronan. Anyway, one power is really dirty.”
Ronan was also surprised. Marja’s power was incomparably stronger than before. The ferocious steel sword using the dual sword reminded me of a giant cat’s teeth and the jaws of a beast.
It seemed that the whining of my wrist would become an annoyance if it dragged on for more time. said Ronan.
“I need to finish quickly.”
The sword that was touching fell. Ronan, who bent down momentarily, swung his sword as if it were bouncing. Marja did not respond and pulled herself back. The sword strike narrowly passed Marya’s sword.
It was an unbelievable knife skill for an ordinary person who did not know how to handle mana. I felt my calm heart beating faster and faster. A smile spread across Marya’s lips.
“Ha, I should have brought my knife.”
“I don’t think so.”
Suddenly, however, Ronan drew a knife. Marja, who was about to launch an attack, frowned. Ronan glared at Marya and spoke incomprehensible words.
“It tripled.”
Ronan turned around and started walking without saying a word. Marja, who had been standing still, called out to him annoyedly. It wasn’t cheap and then cut off, it was like trying to get cheap but the toilet was blown up.
“…what are you going to do now?”
Instead of answering, Ronan raised his right hand.
“You have talent. However, the center of gravity was slightly shifted to the right.”
It was a tone that sounded like the money was gone. It was a car trying to say what nonsense you were talking about.
with chaeng.
Something fell at Marja’s feet. Two severed blades were rolling at her feet.
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