Pushing to the Brink
On the contrary, Ludenberg felt himself reaching his limit. He even wished he could just pass out and collapse right then and there. Losing control of his senses was truly horrifying. And on top of that, the memory tormented him—no matter that it had been an illusion, he had worked so hard to keep his distance from Ashytara, only to suddenly call her by a pet name and act all friendly.
He kept zoning out and snapping back, repeating the cycle until he realized outdoor training time had arrived. He wanted to skip it, but he clung desperately to the self that was trying to weaken. No. The moment I slack off even once, it's over. My body's fine. It's just my mind that's messed up. I can't let that damned bastard toy with me. Yeah, that's all the more reason to temper myself. If possible, I'll try controlling my senses on the training grounds.
Controlling his senses amid the grueling outdoor training seemed better than giving in to the urge to rest, so Ludenberg shook off the temptation and headed to the training grounds. Fortunately, even as his mind wavered, he arrived on time and joined the session without issue.
"Today's training is the same as last time. Give it your all and keep up."
"Yes, sir!"
The students responded in unison with voices full of grit. Just like before, they ran laps in full armor until their stamina drained away, then gathered their focus to repeat the imperial swordsmanship basics.
"Again! You there—your form's slipping!"
Exhausted, the students kept swinging their swords. At the repeated cries of "Again!", a few Abyss-rankers with buckling legs collapsed. The professors drove them mercilessly regardless, and soon enough, only the top-ranked Innocence students remained standing, swinging their blades with grim determination.
"Again!"
Ludenberg focused and swung. Despite the chaos in his head—or perhaps because of it—he poured everything into each strike, concentrating harder than ever. As a result, his swordsmanship was more refined than anyone else's on the grounds, carrying a madness that sent chills down the spines of onlookers.
Last time, his ferocious technique had been so overwhelming it was frightening to face. Now, it had surpassed that, sending shivers through everyone watching.
"What... is that really imperial swordsmanship? It looks like something else."
"It's giving me goosebumps..."
Even the students sprawled on the ground, staring up at him, forgot their fear and contempt for that moment, utterly captivated by his movements. Ludenberg, oblivious, poured even more of his mind into his sword to fend off the storm of sensations.
The professor's commands boomed like thunder in his ears. The stench of sweat from the panting students numbed his nose. Yet Ludenberg refused to yield. Though his mind felt like it might shatter, he gritted his teeth and fought to control his senses to the bitter end.
But his senses didn't return to normal, no matter how he willed it. He realized he was hitting his absolute limit.
Just then, as if they'd timed it perfectly, the professors called an end to the training. Even Ashytara, Eden, and Mion—who were always praised for their superior skills—were sprawled on the ground, exhausted. Ludenberg alone stood firm on the training grounds to the very last.
In the end, as the final one standing, Ludenberg drew praise from Hainkel Hereis, the professor in charge of the White Pavilion.
"Outstanding, Ludenberg. It's astonishing how you execute such swordsmanship—and with that unyielding will that refuses to break. I'm impressed."
"Thank you... sir."
Ludenberg barely held onto his wits to reply, and with that, the day's training concluded.
Before outdoor training began, Marvin, Leb, and Gawin gathered in the Red Pavilion lounge to talk.
"How should we provoke Ludenberg?"
"Yeah, exactly."
Marvin and Leb asked Gawin. He had no ready answer and scratched his head.
"Damn it. I don't know either."
"Come on, then what do we do? You're the smartest of us."
"No, you idiots. Think for yourselves."
"We've thought, and nothing comes up. Even if we provoke him, it won't work on Ludenberg anyway, right?"
Leb chimed in at Marvin's words.
"Yeah. Whatever we do, he'll just think, 'Some idiots barking as they pass by.' Even when we followed him before, he ignored pointless provocations. How many people were jealous of him?"
"So what now? Mion gave the order. We have to come up with something."
Gawin sighed in frustration at their blank stares.
"We're all Ador-rank, and we barely cross paths except for outdoor group training. What's our angle?"
"Tch. If we hadn't run into Ludenberg back then, we could've gotten Innocence rank."
Gawin sighed again. In truth, purely by skill, he was more than qualified for Innocence. But he'd crossed paths with Ludenberg, suffered a loss, and barely missed out due to the points deduction. Now, being Ador made Mion's orders tricky, and he regretted it.
"Eh... couldn't be helped. He was like a natural disaster."
"I thought you had a shot, but damn, he came back even crazier. No divine power, even."
Leb agreed with Gawin's grumbling.
"True. I thought you'd win too, but what the hell did he do for five years...?"
"Guess even without divine power, raw talent exists. Remember the hype before his awakening."
The genius once hailed across the empire, predicted to surpass even Duke Leonard, the empire's greatest knight.
"Doesn't matter. Without divine power, he can't even properly hunt erosion beasts. He's strong now, but later we'll crush him easily, right?"
Leb sneered at Marvin's words. True enough—Ludenberg's past genius meant nothing now. No awakening meant no future growth.
"Focus, guys. Let's think of a plan."
"Thinking won't magically produce one. Let's wait for outdoor training. That's our only shot for now."
Time passed, and when outdoor training arrived, Gawin, Marvin, and Leb were stunned. Ludenberg's sword swings looked downright lethal.
"Hey, that guy's... uh, really scary. If we provoke him rashly, won't he actually kill us?"
"We still have to."
Gawin replied flatly to Marvin's fearful tone. Because...
"It's Mion's order. She always rewards tough jobs fairly. Unlike the Lavante family, who give nothing even if you're buddy-buddy."
"True. She's always been like that. Remember Eden's twelfth birthday? She told us to turn on Ludenberg and throw some lame provocation. Thought we'd die, but Eden and Mion smoothed it over. Said we did well."
Leb reminisced with a smirk. During the Eden Asta assault incident, they'd gotten hefty rewards from Eden, and their families from Duke Altis's house—officially "familial goodwill," but really compensation for antagonizing the Lavantes.
Gawin's near-bankrupt Greta family had especially revived thanks to it, so he followed Eden and Mion's orders like a dog. Leb and Marvin weren't as desperate, but Mion's lavish gifts let them live luxuriously beyond dreams, so they obeyed without question too.
Midway through training, they noticed something off.
"Hey, hey. Doesn't Ludenberg look weird? His eyes are all glassy."
"What? He's just hyper-focused on his sword, right?"
"He always had sharp eyes. Now he looks spaced out."
At Leb's words, Marvin and Gawin scrutinized Ludenberg. Sure enough, when not swinging, he seemed half-out-of-it: eyes unfocused, gaze shaky, body swaying.
"Whoa... for real? Should we poke him?"
Leb shot down Marvin's offhand suggestion.
"No, we need an opening. Approach out of nowhere, and even if he's off, he'll catch on: 'These guys are up to something.' He's not dumb."
"Then how do we make one?"
"We'll figure it out."
In the end, training dragged on fruitlessly. They sat resting, chatting idly, while Ludenberg shone and earned professor praise.
Soon the professors left, leaving students to reflect or rest on the ground.
"No ideas. Seriously, nothing?"
"No deadline, so chill."
"You idiot, Marvin. Do it quick, and Mion'll be pleased—extra rewards. Time's precious to big shots."
"Well... yeah, but..."
Then Gawin stared at something.
"Hold up."
"Huh? What?"
"Look over there."
An Abyss-rank student was approaching Ludenberg—exhausted, but desperately so.
"Isn't that an Abyss? Why's he going to Ludenberg?"