Don't Come Tomorrow

The groaning reached my ears. "Ow... I think my bone's broken..."

At the sound, I paused, my hands stopping as I organized my gear, and glanced sideways. There lay Gold Tae-yang, sprawled across the floor in a ridiculous pose.

"I'm... gonna die... I've been murdered..."

He writhed with exaggerated theatrics. I kicked one of the maces lying near my feet toward him.

"Stop whining ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and get up."

"Ugh... ow... hack, you bastard..."

Apparently moved by my thoughtful consideration, Gold Tae-yang clutched his mace to his chest and shed fat tears. He cradled the stomach I'd kicked and sniffled.

"Ugh, you... are you a psychopath? Why the hell are you doing this to me...? What did I ever do wrong...?"

I offered no reply and simply hung the practice sword I'd used back on its rack. He watched me with uneasy eyes for a moment before asking, cautiously.

"......You're not seriously coming back tomorrow too, are you?"

"......"

"Fuck, why aren't you answering?"

"I'll be here."

I hadn't managed to earn the title this time, either. If I'd just dodged that last attack, it would've been a success, but my footwork got tangled at the worst moment. Too bad. Actually, not really.

"You crazy son of a..."

Gold Tae-yang's eyes grew misty again, as if my answer had touched him deeply.

"Why are you doing this to me...?"

"Blame your own strength."

If you'd been a mediocre C-rank, I could've gotten the title in one session and never returned. But you're practically B-minus. Do you have any idea how hard it is to beat you down with my pathetic body stats?

"Fuck."

Whether he understood my suffering or not, he spat out a quiet curse. Not that I paid it any mind.

A bystander might have scolded me, saying I was going too far by tormenting an innocent commoner student. But they'd be wrong. For one thing, the guy wasn't actually in pain.

Just look at that shit-eating grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"......What an unbelievably stupid expression."

"Puheng! Suddenly insulting my looks? What, jealous 'cause I'm that handsome?"

"......"

As you can see, this guy isn't normal either. Honestly, the fact that he casually throws around "fuck" and "bastard" in front of a duke's eldest son is insane in itself.

Doesn't he worry about getting killed for real one of these days?

I tilted my head. Well, I didn't particularly care, so it was fine. But if he acted like this with other nobles, it wouldn't end well.

-Zap.

"......?"

I'd been lost in thought when a sharp sting in my arm snapped me back to reality. I rolled up my sleeve. A dark bruise had formed around my elbow. It must have been from that last attack I couldn't quite dodge.

"Hm..."

Yesterday, the day before... he kept finding ways to land hits. His skills were genuinely decent. It made sense, though. Unlike the nobles who bought their way into the academy with money and family names, commoners had to pass rigorous entrance exams. The guy in front of me ranked in the top tier among second-years.

Around fiftieth place last year, wasn't it?

I recalled the rankings I'd looked up recently and rummaged through my cross bag. Pulling out a healing potion, I began rubbing it over the bruised elbow. The sharp, medicinal scent filled the air, and the collapsed Gold Tae-yang began crawling toward me.

"......What do you want?"

"Gimme some potion too."

"Buy your own with your own money."

When I replied coldly, he looked at me with an aggrieved expression.

"Come on, how am I supposed to buy something that expensive?! Besides, these injuries are from you beating the shit out of me!"

"Hm."

He had a point. I obediently took out another bottle and tossed it to him.

"Just this once."

"Hehe... thank you, Teacher."

Gold Tae-yang barely caught the bottle and flashed a dopey grin. Wow... he really looked like the village idiot from some rural backwater. I'd never actually seen one, but if I did, they'd probably look just like him.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

As I was inwardly marveling, Gold Tae-yang upended the potion over his head and spoke.

"That aside, are you really that Raiden? The one who came in dead last in last year's rankings?"

"What of it?"

"I mean~ it's hard to believe~ I was pretty confident in my skills too, you know. But getting wrecked this badly..."

His record last year was 53rd out of 3,086 students. Not a rank to be looked down on. If he maintained that, he'd likely receive scouting offers from prestigious noble families by graduation.

"Plus, I heard you went around picking fights with all the other top rankers."

"......"

"The rumors say you didn't get hit once, that you planted their faces in the ground... What the hell did you do to start all those stories?"

......Fuck. This was just the karma I'd built up. I had no defense. Even if it was for the sake of earning titles, I might have gone a bit overboard.

"You really are disgustingly strong, huh."

"Yeah."

I gave a vague reply, my heart heavy, and stood up. Gold Tae-yang, who had been chattering excitedly, stopped and looked at me.

"Huh? You're leaving?"

"Yeah. We're done here. I'll be back tomorrow."

"Don't come, fuck. Absolutely do not come."

"See you tomorrow, then."

"I said don't come!!"

I lightly ignored his shouts and left the training ground. Strange noises continued to echo behind me, but there was no need to pay them any attention.

I checked the time and considered my next schedule.

The next training was mastering my unique talent, right.

Busy. So busy.

I headed toward the carriage stop.

. . .

The Magic Training Hall was a ten-minute carriage ride from the training grounds. Built so students could freely practice magic, the facility boasted high-quality equipment and sturdy infrastructure. Thanks to that, the children could train without worry, and the hall was always filled with the sounds of mana exploding and shattering.

Today was no different.

-KWAaaaaaaaang!!!!

"......Intense."

I muttered to myself at the massive explosion coming from the side. It seemed someone had been practicing fire-attribute magic for a while. The impact was no joke. Seven students had gathered to chant a long incantation, and a pillar of flame had roared into existence. Quite romantic. The only flaw was that it looked completely impractical for real combat...

"Whatever. I need to focus on my own training."

I shook off the stray thoughts and looked ahead. Several magic-created dummies stood there, swords in hand, glaring at me. Magic dummy training. Mana-coated puppets would keep spawning endlessly, and the goal was to hold out as long as possible while destroying them.

-Clatter, clatter!

Five dummies charged forward with a racket. I settled into stance and quietly closed my eyes.

"Huu......"

My long exhale reached the tip of my blade. I gradually erased distracting thoughts, sharpening my senses. The mana surging within my body created faint ripples around me. The clattering sounds had already drawn right up to my face.

My closed eyes snapped open fiercely. The moment my eyelids lifted, three slashing attacks filled my vision. I lightly stepped back and chanted.

"Blink."

With the crackle of sparks, my vision blinked. At the same time, the vicious blades sliced through empty air by a hair's breadth. I didn't miss the opening created by their disrupted trajectories and dove in.

-Thud!!

I grabbed the sleeve of the foremost dummy and drove my sword into its abdomen. The puppet shattered into mana fragments with a clink. While the blue residue obstructed my sight, the remaining dummies charged again.

-Clang! Craaaack...!!

I lightly parried one and locked blades with another, engaging in a contest of strength. Enemies split to my left and right to surround me, but I paid them little mind. Soon, simultaneous thrusts came from front, back, and both sides.

I moved my lips once more.

"Blink×2."

I instantly teleported behind the dummy I'd been clashing with and kicked its defenseless back into the path of its comrades' blades.

-Squelch! Squish!!

With a spectacular team kill, the dummy became a skewer. I readjusted my grip and moved again.

Its maximum range was a mere one meter, making it a truly short-range instant movement. It was clearly a flawed ability, but that didn't mean it had no uses. Like before, I could chain Blinks to cover ten meters. It could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠serve as an emergency escape, or let me slip into an opponent's blind spot and strike their core.

The problem was that the original Raiden had zero connection to the sword.

Raiden had possessed not a speck of talent for martial arts. This kind of maneuvering required exceptional spatial awareness, judgment, and combat technique, making the difficulty extreme. The ability itself was incredibly rare, so finding a proper teacher would've been nearly impossible.

But I was different.

I was someone who had nearly reached the pinnacle of the sword in my previous world. I could confidently say my skill ranked among the top five in the entire history of kendo. Though possessing another person's body had dulled the sensations from my past life to some degree, it hadn't rendered them completely useless.

In short, this one-meter instant movement was a skill with plenty of merit for me.

-Clang...!!

Slice!

I swung my sword at the approaching dummies.

***

Meanwhile, as Raiden clashed with the dummies and displayed his dazzling skill, someone watched him from a short distance away.

"Remarkable. It's almost unbelievable."

Green hair resembling the lush foliage of summer. A lean man whose body was covered in compact, firm muscle. Lucas, the academy's chief professor, gazed at Raiden with intrigued eyes.

"Did something happen during the time he was gone?"

Lucas stroked his chin as he murmured. Raiden—the student in his class and the empire's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worst bastard. The boy's return had sent shockwaves through the academy. Mostly negative ones. As a result, most people kept their distance and remained wary of him.

But Lucas, who had been quietly observing Raiden whether the boy knew it or not, had noticed. The boy had changed somehow.

He attended lectures diligently and was never late or absent. His theoretical knowledge was passable, but his combat prowess was outstanding. The uncontrollable bastard was gone. Only one fascinating student remained.

"......Hm, though his application of Blink is still a bit disappointing. I feel like it could be used even more creatively."

His green eyes curved gently.

"I suppose I could offer some help."

With a small chuckle, Lucas turned away. This might very well be the first time someone at the academy had truly recognized Raiden's worth.