‘Let’s begin. Do your best in swordsmanship.’
When John Drew told him to do his best and use the sword, Irene Pareira thought of one thing at that moment.
Thinking back, he had been practicing swordsmanship quite hard for the past few years.
Except for the few days in the swordsmanship school where he lived as a living puppet without his own will, Irene never swung his sword in vain.
But, if asked, he always did his best in every moment…
‘No.’
He couldn’t nod confidently at that.
And it wasn’t strange.
Effort was something that came from a combination of action and mind working together.
Even though Irene was doing his best every time in his actions, he wasn’t always at his best.
When he first decided to travel the continent, he had a different thought.
In the world of sorcery, when he practiced swordsmanship, and when he came out, his thoughts had changed.
When he developed a sense of improvement in Alhad mountains, and when he met with Ignet and realized his fighting spirit, when he met Judith and Bratt who were better than him, sparks ignited… his mind was bound to change.
As long as one was human, change was bound to happen.
Then, what was his current mindset?
Irene Pareira, was he ready to do his best in swordsmanship?
‘I can do it.’
The answer was ‘yes’.
Whoop!
Flames rose from his posture which was as hard as steel.
A strong desire was overlaid, desire which couldn’t be stopped.
The blonde young man swung his sword in that state.
His opponent was Ilya Lindsay.
The first person to ever reach out to him.
The person he first aimed to be, a person who shined brilliantly.
But not now.
Her flame, which used to warm the hearts of others, was now burning her.
‘She needs to be stopped.’
Right. She had to be stopped. He wasn’t sure what to do to get her back to normal, but for now, he had to stop her.
Conversation didn’t work, so she had to be stopped by force.
To do that, he would need to have a more concentrated mind than before.
Shhh….
Even as his thoughts continued, his swordsmanship was unfolding.
Rather, it passed through the wind more fiercely than before.
No, he wasn’t just dealing with empty air.
In front of Irene, was Ilya Lindsay, his opponent.
With sharp eyes.
With a sword sharper than his eyes, facing her.
Woong!
Woong!
Woooong!
Strong.
Even though it was an imaginary Ilya Lindsay, she was a stronger opponent than any he had met.
It was natural. Because now she was a Sword Master.
There were only 100 Sword Masters in the world and the greatest talent in the continent who could draw out the Aura Sword, and amongst them, Ilya was the youngest.
However, he had no intention of losing it.
A flame even hotter than before flashed in Irene’s eyes.
“Hmph!”
Throw, slash, swing.
“Ugh!”
Block, retreat, move ahead, and again.
He literally moved his sword and body without a break.
John Drew and Lulu who were there, disappeared from his thoughts.
Only the fictional Ilya Lindsay and himself were in Irene’s world.
How long was it?
Chacha!
Irene Pareira, who lowered his sword to the ground, finally stopped moving.
His focused eyes, which seemed to be looking at a different space, settled on his surroundings.
Irene, who came to his senses, muttered quietly.
“How long has it been?”
“A week or so.”
Irene turned his head.
Lulu, whose expression was unreadable and John Drew who looked like he had gone mad, caught his eyes.
And he asked.
“Has it been that long?”
“This much is considered short. Thinking about being inside the world of sorcery for 5 years… Ugh. This is like a dream.”
“… Sorry.”
“No! You have nothing to be sorry for! After all, a week is the quickest way to awaken sorcery. So…”
Lulu, who was next to the man, nodded her head and asked.
“So, what is the awakened ability?”
“Uh?”
“You don’t know? First of all, I think it has to be related to swordsmanship… Sword teacher! What do you think?”
“…”
John Drew looked at Irene with a blank expression.
The kid who wielded a sword for a week.
Even then, the boy and cat were talking normally, like this was no problem. He couldn’t understand it.
He didn’t have the time to register and answer Lulu’s question.
And there was another story which was more important than that.
He slapped himself once and then opened his mouth.
“Rather than that, I think it would be better to do something urgent first.”
“Urgent?”
“A match is being held. Of Bishop level. It starts at 2 o’clock today. Your match is the first of the four being done today.”
“… what time is it now?”
“Noon. It is pretty tight considering that you need to be in the stadium before an hour…”
John Drew’s expression was dark.
His heart was heavy and he was nervous to tell the man who wielded the sword without taking rest for an entire week to enter a match.
But Irene didn’t care.
Rather, with a bright face he answered.
“An hour of free time is enough.”
“Sorry?”
“I will wash and prepare right away. If you don’t mind, can you show me the bathroom?”
“… sure.”
John Drew nodded his head a beat late, and with a confused expression as he still didn’t understand the situation.
But Irene seemed alright.
Glad that he had time to wash himself, there were times in Krono where he didn’t find time to bathe and kept participating in tests.
‘Is it true that he awakened abilities? I don’t really see any change…’
Unlike John Drew who was walking quickly, Irene followed him relaxed.
After a while, all the preparations were done, he appeared in the Land of Proof, the second arena, Land of Opportunity.
Bishop Level, Gladiator Match.
Dominic VS Irene Pareira.
Many people came to the stadium to watch the match between two swordsmen.
There were more onlookers in the Bishop level matches.
“Is that one also from the 27th batch of Krono?”
“It was said that. But it is a name I have heard for the first time, but if he is of the 27th batch, then he must have skills.”
“Wasn’t he acting too cheeky in the interview, though? I don’t know if he’ll get to the Queen level or not, but to say he would only use a single strike…”
“It seems like he doesn’t see the big picture.”
“Anyway, it will be fun. Whether it is one hit or badly broken, it will be fun to watch with drinks.”
“You are right. I was a bit annoyed when Judith wasn’t given the match, but... This surely looks fun.”
“Ehh, kid! If you can’t fight properly, be prepared to eat our curses!”
“Dominic! You aren’t going to lose to a kid whose name is unknown, right? Show the skills of the western side!”
At 2, the game would start, and the cheers of the audience grew louder.
Some excited, some swearing.
There were other people more excited.
It was Dominic, a mercenary from the West.
‘What? One hit till he reaches Queen Level?’
Dominic smiled, recalling the interview of the blonde kid.
It wasn’t fun. And he didn’t like the way the kid seemed prideful.
But he did acknowledge that the kid wasn’t an ordinary opponent.
An official trainee of Krono, the best school in the central region. Surely the man had skills.
And there was a good chance he could lose too.
‘But it is impossible with one blow!’
He wasn’t that easy of an opponent.
No, he wasn’t going to give up. Even at the Bishop level, he will clearly display his skills which are ranked at the top!
While he thought all that, all the procedures were finished and the referee spoke.
“Both on stage!”
Bang bang!
Domini pounded on his hard chest which was covered in armor.
After that, he strode up the stage. An act which gave him confidence.
On the other hand, his opponent Irene Pareira was calm.
A young man looking at Dominic with a straight face.
… it was difficult to consider Irene as a novice.
Despite Irene just standing, Dominic could feel the strange coolness.
‘It is fine, this is just…!’
“Right.”
Dominic kept thinking and mumbling as he held the two handed sword strongly.
First, he was going to take defense.
He was trying to show off while getting a clear grasp of his opponent’s style before attacking.
‘That one will run right away to keep his word, so if I can prepare for that…’
“Are both of you ready?”
While he was strategizing, the referee approached and asked them.
It was a question of whether both sides understood it and were ready to fight.
Dominic exclaimed that he was ready and Irene Pareira nodded.
The referee nodded too.
In order to not get in the way of the battle, he went out of the stage and then raised his hand.
Dominic’s senses were heightened.
The moment the hand falls, and the word ‘start’ is heard, he would charge like a wild boar.
A charge which was already shown and established.
And he felt like he was in a much better position as he knew what Irene was going to do…
“Start!”
Pung!
That was what Dominic was thinking.
Irene, who flew across the stage in just one leap, even flew past Dominic.
Dominic was startled at that and turned.
His face was red.
It was because he thought that the other party ignored him, and just flew by.
But it was that.
Grit!
“… Uh?”
The veteran mercenary Dominic’s sword slowly stumbled back and fell.
He didn’t miss his footing.
It wasn’t a full sword anymore and the sound of the blade falling down with the middle part cut out rang out.
Dominic had realized it too late, and was now bewildered, and the referee, who was similarly shocked, somehow managed to speak.
“M-Match over! Victory for Irene Pareira!”
“Wo-woaahhhh!”
The reaction was intense.
Those who insulted Irene Pareira’s cheeky attitude were now cheering united with the supporters.
In the end, what they wanted to see was a strong swordsman, and there was no need to curse the one who showed them that.
Moments later, a host had gone up the stage.
There was meant to be an interview with the winner, but there were those who didn’t like to speak.
‘Not this time though.’
A young man strong enough to give out a provocative interview wouldn’t decline.
The host, with a smiling face, raised the magic mic and asked.
“Congratulations on your victory! As in the previous interview, you did win with just one blow, how do you feel?”
“… I have nothing to say.”
“Sorry?”
It was shocking.
A young man who made ambitious remarks was now acting docile.
But it was a mistake.
“I just did what I said, nothing special. I don’t think I have much to say until I reach Queen level.”
“…”
“I am sorry, but I will have to end it here as I have work to do.”
As if it was nothing special, Irene went down the stage calmly.
As he left the place, numerous reporters followed him and asked questions.
However, Irene didn’t respond.
To fight the champion, he needed the help of the reporters, but…
‘Right now, more than that, I want to practice swordsmanship.’
He had felt it while fighting against Dominic. The ability he acquired.
And despite it being a vague realization, he had no room to waste time on interviews.
Irene headed to John Drew’s mansion.
And the next day.
The people of Eisenmarkt began to talk a lot more about the third trainee of Krono.
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