Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.18 – Man-Eater Ghost vs. Man-Eater Ghost? (3)
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Everyone knew it, but the stars of the semester evaluations on the final day weren't supposed to be the first-years.
Second- and third-years.
Warriors who had honed their Fighting Techniques to the fullest, pushing their abilities to the limit.
It was only natural that crowds flocked to see them.
That was why the first-years' evaluation slots always drew far fewer spectators.
Why bother watching pathetic fights anyway?
But right now,
a massive crowd had gathered, and rather than thinning out, the numbers kept swelling.
There were plenty of commoners, but nobles made up a hefty portion too.
What could have drawn so many people here?
"...He's coming out."
"Is that him? Wow, he's even more handsome than the rumors say."
"Young Master Roan!!"
"Glory to the valiant lion-!"
Yes, the crowd had gathered solely to catch a glimpse of one man.
They shouted his name at the top of their lungs.
Guardian of the North.
Glorious Black Lion.
The kingdom's eternal comrade and ally.
The people cheered as one for the lion they anticipated most in this era.
Hoping he would deliver a sacred duel worthy of his great bloodline.
Expectations, cheers, longing.
These intangible forces poured down like momentum, enough to make anyone dizzy in such a situation.
But the black-haired man standing in the colosseum's center
stared only at the enemy he had to face.
With eyes as steadfast as steel.
"Feels like I'm the clown here."
Roan muttered to himself, letting out a low scoff.
Honestly, it didn't sit well with him.
Showing off his skills in front of so many people wasn't wise.
However.
- If you're going to do it, give it your all. Don't half-ass it.
...Just the other day, his disheveled and weary-looking master had gathered all the cadets and encouraged them.
Do it right if you're doing it, and above all, don't get hurt—take care of yourselves.
Strange words.
Give it your all, but don't get injured?
Did that mean he truly cared about them?
Yet Roan couldn't shake the feeling that the "don't get hurt" part was for the other cadets, while the "give it your all" was aimed squarely at him.
As if piercing right through his thoughts.
'I wasn't planning to participate originally.'
He had been fully intending to forfeit.
What was the point of playing along with this farce?
But here he stood.
Yes, how could a debtor refuse an order?
'Not sure if this settles the debt from back then, but I'll make it worth watching.'
My best.
[GRRR-!]
Roan slowly lowered his well-honed longsword.
Instead of assuming a proper stance, his body hung limp, almost slack.
To the untrained eye, it might look like he was joking, but those with keen insight widened their eyes.
There were no openings, despite the apparent looseness.
"Know that this judgment is more than you deserve, you loathsome beast."
[GRR?]
The rock troll had no reason or intellect—it couldn't grasp Roan's meaning.
Only the instinct to smash and crush its foe.
And so the rock troll charged at Roan, who showed no sign of dodging.
Just like it had with Barry moments ago—a blind rush.
Yet.
"Why isn't he moving?"
"Wh-what!?"
The crowd panicked.
The monster was almost upon him, yet he neither defended nor assumed an attack stance.
Just as they were about to shout,
"Sword Qi—that's what I call it."
Shwaaaak!
In an instant, the blade flashed.
Not metaphorically—everyone watching saw it.
Light flickered from his sword.
And the next moment.
Kwajik!
Kwajijik...!
[GR━...R....]
Thud...!
The rock troll let out no proper death cry before shutting down completely.
A hollow yet dreamlike sight.
"What...!?"
From the crowd's perspective, they had no idea what had just happened. Only after five seconds of silence did they notice.
The rock troll's head, heart, and gut pierced precisely.
Three wounds inflicted at an unknown moment.
Silence nearly fell again, but what was more shocking was
"Wh-what was that?"
"...My god."
"......"
"Wh-what just happened? Was that Aura?!"
"N-no way, Aura User at that age, even for a genius!?"
"N-no, it's not Aura. Not Aura, but... what the hell...?"
The public's reactions split into three main camps.
Some simply marveled, unaware of how he'd won.
Those with swordsmanship knowledge were plunged into confusion.
They couldn't comprehend the power similar to the Aura they'd just witnessed.
And the final group.
"Sword Resonance combined with manifested momentum."
"Not just mixing two techniques—he wove in Quick Sword Style, Changing Sword Style, and Illusory Sword Style too. Used insight to cover the gaps... Bitter to admit, but I can't wield a technique like that so freely."
"Sword boy strong. Real strong!"
A tiny handful of highly talented swordsmen who recognized what he'd done.
Those who prided themselves on skill gradually pieced together the nature of Roan's Sword Qi.
The 'Sword Resonance' phenomenon that maximized destructive power through resonance between sword and swordsman, and the 'manifestation of momentum' achievable only by Fighting Technique masters.
Simultaneously unleashing both, then channeling Quick Sword Style, Changing Sword Style, and Illusory Sword Style into the blade in an instant and firing them off.
...Sounds simple, but it was absurd.
Sword Resonance and momentum manifestation both demanded extreme focus.
Plus using insight as a crutch to unleash three sword styles at once...!
Like writing two different sets of notes with each hand while playing the harmonica.
What do you mean?
It was simply impossible.
And not something achievable through effort or passion.
Pure talent territory—a new realm distinct from Sword Resonance.
Sword Qi Wounds Man.
A state where the sword's emitted qi could slice through people.
A fitting name.
"Th-that's the genius who pioneered a new realm in Fighting Techniques..."
"And he's younger than us?"
"Damn it! Goddamn it!"
The second- and third-year cadets despaired at his display.
They'd heard the rumors but dismissed them as Northern exaggerations.
They figured a serious duel would humiliate him plenty.
But no.
They couldn't even perform Sword Resonance yet.
Didn't qualify.
It was a gap like a three-year-old child versus an adult.
Yet he'd already surpassed both, mastering their coexistence.
A chasm no lifetime of dedication could bridge.
Their lives devoted to sword and Fighting Technique felt invalidated; motivation shattered into despair.
"...Ugh."
Sometimes, witnessing overwhelming talent broke the spirit.
...However.
"Impressive, sure."
"But kinda meh?"
"Yeah...?"
Unlike their despairing seniors, this year's freshmen—
the first-years who'd rolled under Lee Han—
just gave it a lukewarm glance.
"It's just Fighting Technique being Fighting Technique."
This wasn't ignorance of swordsmanship or low skill speaking.
How to put it?
The glowing Sword Qi was undoubtedly an amazing technique, but it felt... 'normal' somehow?
And that made sense.
"Hundred Steps Divine Fist is way more impressive."
Striking objects dozens of paces away.
"I rate Indestructible Training higher, personally. Even Instructor might shrug off that Sword Qi unscathed?"
"No, senior. From what I saw, he'd dodge with Divine Arrow Flight."
Skin untouched by incoming swords or arrows, or moving faster than arrows.
"Nah, Lion's Roar would end it. Grandmaster might dispel Sword Qi with a shout."
"Hate to agree, but yeah, that guy's got it."
They'd seen too many inhuman feats.
First-year cadets.
Even noble ladies dismissed Roan's technique as mere 'flashy skill' with indifference.
"Instructor's more amazing."
After less than three months under him, their eyes had risen too high.
The entire first-year swordsmanship class.
"Stingy brats. Master's putting on a show, and they go 'pfft.' Tsk."
That technique was why Roan was hailed as the North's promising heir, yet they were blasé.
Even Maximus had bulged his eyes at Sword Qi.
Ridiculous.
But.
'I was shocked the first time too, but now it's just okay.'
Jake found himself agreeing, baffled in another way.
Probably from tumbling under that guy and witnessing insane spectacles daily.
A sudden thought struck him.
'If Master's a genius, then that guy's... what?'
......A beast—like an elephant or tiger accidentally gaining human wisdom, reading books, publishing papers, and earning a PhD?
Crazy talk?
His first-year peers would all nod: 'Spot on.'
Thus.
'Sorry, Master, but compared to a PhD elephant, you're just a regular joe.'
Jake pitied his ill-fated master.
And the genius regular(?) facing this pitying gaze.
"...What?"
Why the reaction?
An inexplicable sense of grievance washed over him.
Meanwhile, a girl secretly cheering him—no, his first-year peers—from afar.
"Everyone's amazing. I couldn't even move in a crowd like this."
[You're weak to stares, Arin.]
Irene Windler.
She was covertly watching the evaluation from the colosseum stands, under a perception-lowering spell.
Partly because many acquaintances were fighting, worth cheering for, but mainly.
"Instructor's not here..."
[He looked exhausted the other day. Hope he's okay.]
hoping to see him.
Unfortunately, he was absent today too.
Tenth day in a row.
The girl and ghost worried about the knight.
After wandering with her the previous day, his face had stiffened.
Then he vanished into "intense training," beyond even neighborly check-ins.
And yesterday, visiting his home:
-The knight? Sorry, he's exhausted but sleeps all day. Eats a bit when he wakes, then back to bed. Can't rouse him...
...or so they'd said.
Was he avoiding her for some reason?
She wished she could live together like the maid...
'You're thinking weird things again!'
[What? It's true.]
'You!'
The ghost whispered nonsense in her ear, and Irene bristled.
Live together? Too soon...
"Y-you again?!"
[What?]
The ghost shrugged innocently this time.
"Eek!"
Irene Windler's face flushed beet red as she geared up to yell again.
Tok.
"...Rain?"
[Whoa, when did those storm clouds roll in?]
Rumble.
The clear sky moments ago was now blanketed in dark clouds, like ink spilled across it.
Seemed a downpour was coming, and Irene blinked.
[What's wrong, Arin?]
"...Those clouds are weird."
[Huh?]
"......"
Irene Windler was scatterbrained, prone to mistakes, and lazy, but her magical aptitude outshone her peers.
And as a mage attuned to wind and water,
her mana immediately sensed something off in the steam-formed clouds.
'Not naturally formed...? What is it...?'
Irene observed closely, and suddenly.
"Gasp!!?"
[Arin?]
She couldn't hide her shock.
'N-no, I must've seen wrong.'
She denied reality, but once realized, how could she unsee it?
Soon, her face paled as she accepted.
Those dark clouds...
—were alive and writhing.