Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Admission (2)
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“I’m Yujin.”
“Oh, that’s an unusual name.”
The girl who called herself Sein widened her eyes, hands clasped behind her back.
In that pose, the already aggressive presence of her chest was going absolutely wild.
‘Where the hell am I supposed to look?’
Did she even realize it?
“What’re you thinking about?”
“...Pardon?”
“Nah, I think I know. Never mind.”
For a split second, I thought my inner thoughts had slipped out, and I jumped.
More importantly, second-year in the swordsmanship club... I hadn’t expected to run into an upperclassman like this. Guess it really is a student residential area.
“Can I call you Sein sunbae?”
“Sure. We’re in the same department anyway, so just call me Sein.”
“Still, you’re a senior, so that feels a bit...”
“Yujin. Where’re you from?”
Oh.
Since coming to this world, aside from Adel, this was the first time someone had pronounced my name right.
“Korea.”
“...Korea? Never heard of it.”
“It’s far away, roughly speaking. But you pronounce my name really well.”
“Hehe, our Aditora family’s based in the central region, but our roots are in the east.”
So, she had some eastern blood mixed in, probably.
Come to think of it... that thing hanging from her waist didn’t look ordinary.
‘A katana...? Holy shit. The romance is off the charts.’
Samurai style, huh.
My heart started swelling up again.
If you’re an otaku for subculture swords, there’s no way you don’t have a hard-on for katanas!
While European longswords boast a heavy majesty close to blunt weapons that crush armor and shatter bones, the eastern katana pursues the extreme of single-edged sharpness as a true razor.
To parry a knight’s longsword with that thin blade, you need insane technical precision.
It’s a sword utterly devoted to nothing but slicing—fuck, the romance is lethal overdose levels—
“...You seem really interested in my sword?”
“Ah, sorry. It’s just so sleek, I couldn’t help it. It’s seriously cool.”
“Oh? So you know a good blade when you see one? Most people avoid eastern katanas because they’re tricky to handle.”
Sein sunbae seemed pleased, tapping the hilt with a smile.
Her precarious chest jiggled along with it, but right now, my head was filled with a different kind of perverted curiosity.
Yeah.
This was a fantasy world.
I’d be seeing hunks of steel like this all the time from now on. Made the admission feel worth it.
“Mind if I see your sword?”
“My sword? Hmm...”
...Should I show her?
If I pulled out the cutter knife from my pocket, she’d probably despise me on the spot.
Just imagining it made embarrassment flood in.
Reading my expression, she grinned and said,
“Eh, whatever. There’s a class assignment exam after the ceremony anyway, and it’s mandatory viewing for the whole school, so you can show me then. More importantly, you’re the first guy to focus on something other than me.”
“What do the others focus on?”
“You don’t know?”
“...No clue.”
I’d guessed, but damn, this girl was a high-level tease.
The type who asks tricky questions on purpose just to enjoy it.
I deliberately averted my gaze.
She chased my eyes straight on with a playful expression.
“I’ll be going now. Ordered some jjajangmyeon.”
“Hmm... Yeah, ceremony’s in a month, right?”
“Probably.”
I nodded vaguely, trying to escape before the jjajangmyeon got cold, when her words grabbed my ankle.
“I watched your entrance exam.”
In that instant, a chill raced up my spine.
Turning back, the playfulness was gone, her violet eyes gleaming sharply.
“You were so fast I couldn’t even see what sword you swung. That girl Aurora had a pretty decent blade too, but you neutralized it in one shot—what legendary sword was that black one?”
“......”
“Looking forward to it.”
Dry swallowed at her voice thick with anticipation.
‘Legendary my ass, it’s a 3,000-won stationery cutter knife.’
I’d never pull it out if I could help it.
Time for some excuses first.
“...No idea what you’re talking about. I heard it was a barrier malfunction.”
“Hehe, that cut on the barrier was way too clean for a malfunction.”
Sein sunbae flashed a meaningful smile, then waved lightly.
“See ya. Catch you at the class assignment exam.”
“Yep. Have a good one.”
Watching her retreating figure, I gripped the cutter knife in my pocket and vowed.
Never, not even if I died, could she find out.
The honor of a swordsman.
The moment this pathetic cutter knife was exposed amid all those shiny legendary blades, my dignity as a swordsman would shatter.
I bolted into the mansion without looking back.
By the time I arrived, the jjajangmyeon was burnt.
Adel had said academy dorm rents were steep.
‘In Korean terms, it’s like Yongsan-gu prices in Seoul.’
Well, the librarian gig Adel scored at the academy library paid well hourly too, but full scholarships were still the goal.
—At your level, Yujin, it’ll be a breeze. Even without topping the class, hitting 160 combined on written and practical gets you into A-Class for full scholarship, from what I hear.
So I aimed for perfect written scores.
Since I had no plans to pull out that damn cutter knife for practicals.
The written exam focused on swordsmanship but covered basics of other martial arts too.
I studied hard to get used to this world’s martial arts.
‘Like ten hours a day, probably?’
And then the long-awaited entrance ceremony.
For some reason, unlike what I’d heard, it was held in the Pantheon Hall, the massive circular auditorium at the academy’s center.
A colossal stone structure with multiple levels seating thousands.
The overwhelming height and scale had the freshmen looking pretty tense.
“I-It’s huge... But compared to our family’s training grounds—”
“Shut up. Aren’t you from a baron family? What money do you have for grounds this big?”
“But why hold the ceremony here? The vibe’s all chaotic.”
“Quiet, everyone!”
At that moment, a professor on the central stage spoke via amplification magic.
“You’re all probably wondering why we’re doing the ceremony here. This year’s event includes the class assignment exam.”
“Whaaat...?”
“No way, why? We’re not even ready.”
A bad premonition hit me right then.
“It’s already decided, no refusals. This is a joint collaboration between the academy and the Great Sword Saint of the South, Valerius—”
I knew it.
No wonder it’d been so quiet—they’d prepped this insane event?
I could picture that annoying old geezer cackling in my head.
He’d totally misread my desire to hide my power and set up this massive troll.
‘I do wanna hide it, though.’
No way I’d fall for it.
A bit early, but perfect written scores would do it.
I’d studied ten hours a day for this. From what I heard, swordsmen don’t sweat the written part much—
“Oh, and the written exam’s canceled.”
“...Fuck.”
“Look over there, everyone.”
Where the professor pointed, a bizarre object sat alone.
A massive thick metal plate.
Apparently called anti-mana metal, some synthetic alloy.
It neutralized sword aura, heart power, mana—only the weapon’s innate sharpness and the user’s pure physical swing could cut that tough plate.
Expensive stuff that strained even the academy’s budget, but Valerius had sponsored most of it.
What a dick move.
Did he think I couldn’t cut it without the cutter knife?
“Hah... huff... fuck.”
I couldn’t cut it.
“Yujin? 25 minutes up! Spirit’s good, but C-Class if you don’t cut it in the next five.”
“This damn—”
Swordsmanship was still sloppy since I hadn’t learned it properly.
Lesson learned: relying too much on heart image screws you over.
Glancing at the stands, Aurora—already slotted for A-Class—watched me with a hint of anxiety.
Up on the second level, Sein sunbae hadn’t blinked once, staring like a detective hot on a secret.
“One minute left! Giving up?”
Cold sweat dripped down my back at the professor’s urging.
I had to make A-Class somehow for that full scholarship, but with all these eyes—
Cutter Knife Blessing has activated.
‘—Fuck, that’s it!’
A flash of insight hit me.
I gripped the cutter knife in my pocket tight.
While Cutter Knife Blessing is active, no other weapons can be equipped.
Wait, if I just activate the blessing and swing the longsword with my other hand?
It’d look like I was unleashing insane strikes with this beat-up training longsword.
‘Even I think it’s a genius reverse idea!’
The moment I went to swing the longsword—
“......Huh?”
Against my will, my body twisted grotesquely.
The rented longsword flew limply into the air and clattered to the floor.
Clang—.
My right hand unconsciously drew the cutter knife from my pocket.
“N-No!”
“What’s that? A cutter knife...?”
Shwick—!!
A razor-sharp sound that sent chills through the entire Pantheon Hall echoed out.