Chapter 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Cutter Knife Blessing (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"By the way, what's your name?"
"You sure got to that quick. I'm Yujin."
"Chun... Yu... Jin?"
"...Just call me Yujin."
This wasn't even Chinese or anything.
These folks from this world looked straight out of Western Europe.
The final consonants were so stiff, my tongue just wouldn't cooperate.
Yeah, Korean names are definitely tough to pronounce.
"Hahaha! Alright, Yujin. What does a name matter anyway?"
"......"
For some reason, it felt like racial discrimination.
The Sword Saint chuckled heartily before turning to the instructor.
"I heard special recommended freshmen only need to take the final exam. Can we start right away?"
"No issue on my end... but if you're okay with it, how about judging just this kid?"
"Eh?"
Come to think of it, there was that girl standing on the training grounds.
'...Rainbow Girl?'
Our eyes met.
She was still hanging around, so she must've basically passed, but her face looked kinda pissed.
Was her psychosis that deep?
Having been a social misfit myself once, I felt a bit sympathetic.
"Haha... I'm just eager to see it. She hasn't shown her full power yet, and I wanna watch."
"Must be a promising one."
"More than that! If I'm right, she's awakened her Heart Image. Probably the first in the first-year class!"
"...Heart Image?"
Right then.
The Sword Saint eyed me slyly with half-lidded eyes.
"Yujin—"
"I'm getting annoyed, so just call me Yujin."
"Yujin. How about a spar with her?"
"A spar?"
Suddenly?
But hearing she'd awakened her Heart Image made me curious too.
'What level am I at in this world?'
I wanted to check.
Those three blocking the entrance seemed like academy students too, but they were way too weak.
Even the usually cynical Adel had freaked out watching me... If I was really a genius, maybe I could get strong without the Cutter Knife?
"But did you get her consent?"
"We can get it now. Instructor! How about changing the exam rules?"
"...I can guess how you'd tweak it."
"Heh! Seems like she's the only student who's made it to the final exam anyway. Should be fine, right?"
"Very well. This'll be fun."
Things moved along smoothly.
In short: from now on, kill each other!
They decided on a real-combat style duel for scoring.
I could see through the Sword Saint's intentions.
He planned to take the more promising one between us as his disciple.
Figures the guy who pulled that thug stunt wouldn't change.
He looked thrilled by this... But if I win, no way I'm granting his wish.
I pulled my gaze from the old man waving from afar and spoke to the girl in front of me.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Yujin. You're Aurora, right?"
"What are you?"
"What?"
"You know the Sword Saint from the south?"
"Not really. Anyway, isn't it polite to greet back?"
"What a pointless farce... We'll see if you're really not close once our swords clash."
She furrowed her brow, on guard.
Just like old me.
Once you lose faith in people, everything sounds like sarcasm. I got it, but—
'Rudeness is still rudeness.'
Time to teach her some Eastern etiquette.
"Now, the special exam with revised rules will begin!"
With the instructor's booming shout, a magic professor appeared out of nowhere and swung his staff.
A transparent dome of magic enveloped us.
"You won't die even from lethal wounds inside the barrier, so show your full strength without worry!"
More or less.
Aurora, looking like rich kid material, raised a flashy real sword.
I tightened my grip on the borrowed training longsword.
'...Plain-looking, but that's fine.'
It seemed pretty worn.
It wouldn't break mid-spar, right?
"Begin!"
Tang!
The signal dropped, and Aurora kicked off the ground, charging.
I swung the training longsword wildly too.
Cha-clang—!
A short, sharp clash of metal pierced my eardrums.
My take on blocking her first strike.
One word: 'different.'
Nothing like those three from earlier.
Insanely heavy. She looked fragile, so where'd this brute strength come from?
"...What?"
"......?"
She tilted her head once, then charged again.
Cha-clang! Clang! Chaaang—!
Honestly, I was impressed during our exchanges.
Her swordsmanship screamed years of training.
Even I could tell—no wasted movements when she swung.
Her footwork was super efficient too.
No sound on the ground, smooth like flowing water.
Shiiiing!
Soon, Aurora's sword drew a straight line, slicing fiercely at my throat.
I instinctively jerked my head back and raised my sword to block.
'Whoa, how'd my body do that? So flexible.'
Gasp of awe from the crowd.
"Two students like that in the same year...?"
"This term's a golden age."
"That Yujin guy the Sword Saint brought is impressive, but—"
His swordsmanship sucks.
Won't beat Aurora.
...I knew, but no time to dwell.
She feigned pushing against my locked sword, then in a split second slid the blade toward my wrist.
Cha-clang! Clang! Clang—!
I summoned the blue Heart Image I'd built enduring the waterfall for a month, tracking her trajectory.
The world slowed a bit, but Aurora's sword was still faster even in that slowed time.
Like that, midway through our frantic exchanges.
As she deflected my sword at an angle, she sneered coldly.
"Guess the rumors weren't lies."
"Hah, huff... What're you on about?"
"No way someone this sloppy knows the Sword Saint."
"......"
She smirked slyly and gripped her sword with both hands precisely.
Then, something multicolored rippled along the blade.
'...That's.'
Any sword otaku would know it instantly.
Sword Aura.
Dunno the exact term here, but—
"First time seeing Sword Aura?"
"......"
Yup, Sword Aura.
Instantly, the romance in my chest—dead since the Cutter Knife—revived.
'Whoa, so damn cool. Insane.'
I want it too! Sword Aura!
But it didn't work like I hoped.
Imitating it, my sword tip just quivered faintly; any attempt to coat it fizzled out.
"Pfft—think you can pull it off?"
"......"
Downer.
My manly dreams crushed.
Kwaaang!
Aurora's strike shattered the training longsword to pieces.
Knew it.
In my tilting vision, I saw her smirking, bringing down her Sword Aura-coated blade.
'...Lost.'
Fair and square.
Rude or not, no Cutter Knife.
After showing me something this cool, how could I pull out that ugly thing?
"Heh, heh."
"......"
But weird chuckles kept coming from the side.
Soon, my eyes met the Sword Saint, arms crossed, grinning from the corner.
His lips were moving like he was saying something.
Heart's Eye was active, so it was in slow-mo, crystal clear.
-G
G
O
L
-G
O
O
D
.
"......"
This fucking senile geezer.
[Cutter Knife Blessing activates.]
Sorry, old man.
I promised not to draw it again.
Splat—!!
"......Huh?"
Aurora just blinked, not even screaming.
The barrier was already gone.
[Test End]
A cold silence fell over the training grounds.
The students who'd stayed to watch quietly were baffled, clueless about what happened.
"What? Barrier glitch?"
"It was getting good."
The instructors looked just as confused.
"Professor, what happened? A malfunction during the exam?!"
"N-No, I'm innocent! The spell was fine! It must've been a lethal wound or...!"
"Then who the hell...?"
I slipped the Cutter Knife back into my pocket unnoticed.
'Got pissed for a sec and slipped up.'
Good, no one seemed to notice...
"Hoo..."
"......"
Shit.
Valerius had wiped the grin off his face, eyes bulging.
* * *
From Valerius's view, the training grounds were quite the spectacle.
The boy calling himself 'Yujin' was definitely the real deal.
Valerius knew Aurora. No way he'd miss the direct heir of the famous Luminus Count Family.
For a street rat-looking kid to hold his aura against her was near-miraculous.
Especially the guts to eye her Sword Aura and try mimicking it on the spot—that took real admiration.
'Hah, signs of genius right away? Jackpot. Even more tempting.'
But that was it.
Sword Aura came from blood, sweat, and unbreakable spirit over eons.
No one masters it overnight.
Seeing the boy's sword tip tremble faintly from inferior basics, Valerius smirked.
'Good. Time he tastes bitter defeat. Pride's a swordsman's worst enemy.'
He'd already decided watching the boy fight those pathetic gate-blockers.
Even if he was getting pushed now, the boy's talent potential dwarfed the girl's.
Similar capacity, but comprehension gap was vast.
'Disciple's him, no question. But—'
A little fun first wouldn't hurt.
Valerius crossed his arms leisurely, locking eyes with the boy.
Couldn't help grinning at the cocky brat—who treated him like some neighborhood geezer—about to eat dirt.
"Heh heh, what a sight."
"...This fucking senile geezer."
That instant.
Splat—!!
Valerius's grin vanished fast.
"Wha—what...?!"
In a flash, the world split.