Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: A New Name
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Zaxen Silver flipped over the map that Harun Basio had given him.
No matter how many times he checked, this was definitely the right spot.
But the one who greeted him was a seasoned knight who looked every bit the Gigant Rider. Not some trainee.
'The map must be wrong... after all this trouble.'
Letting out a sigh, Zaxen spoke to Kaltz.
“...My apologies. The one I’m here to see is a trainee named Kang Geohan. Could you point me to his tent, by any chance?”
At those words, Kaltz’s hostility swelled even further.
“Visiting a trainee in the dead of night? Without even seeing his face? No instructor insignia either.”
Kaltz raised his sword, readying for combat. Zaxen shook his head briefly and held out a document.
“This is an official letter from Baronet Basio. I’m Zaxen Silver, a Gigant Rider from the Eastern Reclamation Unit. I’m here late at night for a confidential enlistment test, simulating real combat conditions. Bear with me.”
“Eastern Reclamation Unit...?”
A subtle emotion flickered across Kaltz’s face.
Kaltz stared straight at Zaxen’s face as he slowly unfolded the document. It was genuine, issued through proper channels.
His head nodded ever so slightly.
“...Then you’ve come to the right place. This is indeed Sir Kang Geohan Yellow’s tent.”
“What?”
Zaxen Silver’s eyes widened round. *A trainee’s tent? Then why are you here?* read his expression.
But Zaxen quickly composed himself and stepped toward the tent.
“Well... if it’s the right one, that’s convenient. Excuse me then.”
Cha-ang-!
His advance was blocked by Kaltz’s sword.
“Wait. I’ll inform the Master first.”
Now Zaxen was truly baffled.
Master? What was that supposed to mean? Kang Geohan was a trainee, wasn’t he? From a serf background? Nobles wouldn’t even be in a regular training camp like this to begin with...
Wait, hold on?
Besides...
“You. You’ve been getting on my nerves since earlier.”
Zaxen Silver’s gaze sharpened. His hand gripped the sword hilt. The blade had slid halfway out of its sheath.
Kaltz and Zaxen’s eyes met. And in the very next instant.
Chaaang-!
Zaxen’s black blade and Kaltz’s silver blade sparked against each other in midair.
* * *
Kang Geohan opened his eyes at the commotion outside his tent.
'What’s going on?'
Kaltz’s voice and an unfamiliar one.
And then, with that mutter of ‘getting on my nerves,’ the clash of swords began.
Kang Geohan grabbed his sword and rushed outside.
Ssss-
Steam billowed thickly the moment he parted the tent flap.
Torchlight flickered shadows dancing wildly in front of the tent. Two men were fighting.
One was Kaltz Black. His black hair whipped fiercely in the wind.
His opponent was a brown-haired knight swinging a black blade without restraint.
“What’s this situation...?”
Why were they fighting? Who was this knight facing off against Kaltz? Questions swirled in his mind for a moment.
But more than that,
'An incredible fight...'
In the end, Kang Geohan found himself absorbed in the battle itself.
It was like lightning striking repeatedly before his eyes.
“Haaap!”
How was he manipulating his mana essence?
The air warped around Kaltz’s shoulders and elbows. Embers from the torch swirled into a vortex, steam burst forth with a whoosh!, and Kaltz’s blade vanished from sight.
Chieeeeng-!
The blade reappeared right in front of the brown-haired knight’s nose. The knight’s black blade deflected Kaltz’s strike.
Embers shot high into the sky! Terrifying mana erupted from the brown-haired knight’s entire body, then contracted.
The embers gathered toward his body as if sucked in, then scattered explosively, and the black blade thrust toward Kaltz’s throat.
Hwiric!
Kaltz’s body shimmered like a mirage. Fierce winds shook his form like falling petals.
The black blade missed even the hem of Kaltz’s clothes. He had harnessed the power of the wind.
“He’s even a Gift Knight?”
The brown-haired knight gritted his teeth.
Kaltz’s sword advanced in a waver.
The brown-haired knight could only focus on defense now.
Whirling embers, sparks bursting like fireworks.
Kang Geohan stood rooted to the spot, eyes bulging.
'The level is different!'
That was Kang Geohan’s thought.
'The way they use mana essence. The way they unleash mana itself is completely different!'
Until now, Kang Geohan and his fellow trainees had only used mana essence like mere muscle.
But Kaltz and the brown-haired knight were different. It was hard to grasp the details, but they compressed their mana essence like springs before rapidly expanding it, exploded it like an internal combustion engine, and even twisted it into rotations.
The mana they produced was overwhelming. If Kang Geohan could draw 10 units of mana from 1 unit of essence, these two seemed to extract 30, even 50.
'Is this... the path I need to take?'
It was the same with muscles. How well they coordinated with other muscles, whether drawn taut or snapped in an instant—those details could drastically alter performance despite identical builds.
How much more so with mana essence, a transcendent power greater than muscle? The results varied immensely depending on how well and how one wielded it.
'Growing mana essence is important, but mastering its use is just as crucial.'
Kang Geohan felt a thrill akin to awe.
He could see the path ahead, and it looked so grand and beautiful.
What power could he wield if he gained as much essence as them? If he used their techniques? And combined it with his full-body mirror ability to squeeze out even more?
As Kang Geohan stood there reveling in the excitement, the spark-flying duel came to an abrupt end.
“Enough. Let’s call it.”
The brown-haired knight, who had leaped back, was the first to concede.
“Not worth killing or dying over. Let’s stop. Damn...”
He then gestured toward Kang Geohan with his chin.
“...The Master?”
Only then did Kaltz turn to Kang Geohan, bowing his head in respect before answering.
“Yes.”
“So, the Master that knights serve?”
“What other Master is there?”
“This doesn’t make any sense...”
The brown-haired knight, Zaxen Silver, scratched his head vigorously. Meanwhile, Kaltz explained the situation to Kang Geohan.
“Master. He claims to be a Gigant Rider from the Eastern Reclamation Unit. Here for a secret enlistment test.”
“Pardon?”
Kang Geohan whipped around with wide eyes, prompting Zaxen Silver to heave a deep sigh.
“Haa... Kang Geohan Yellow.”
Bewildered by the situation, Kang Geohan belatedly responded.
“Yes, sir!”
“I’m Zaxen Silver, Gigant Rider from the Eastern Reclamation Unit.”
“Yes, sir! An honor to meet you.”
“The honor... damn. Anyway, you’re drafted. We leave for the Eastern Reclamation Unit tomorrow.”
“Pardon? Uh, don’t you... have to test me or something?”
“Test? Haa... I couldn’t even beat his retainer. How am I supposed to test his lord? Me?”
“Ah...”
Zaxen Silver averted his gaze from Kang Geohan, straightened his disheveled hair, and asked Kaltz.
“So, what’s your name?”
“Kaltz Black.”
“Black? Ha... what a mess. Whatever. Come to the unit later, and we’ll share a drink. I’ve got more trainees to test, so I’m off.”
He waved dismissively and walked away.
Kang Geohan stared blankly at his retreating back before turning to Kaltz.
“Sir Kaltz Black. What happened?”
Kaltz gave a slight smile.
“Your sword prevailed, my lord.”
Kang Geohan chuckled awkwardly at the joking reply, but Kaltz wiped the smile from his face and asked seriously.
“How was it?”
Kang Geohan erased his own smile and answered earnestly.
“I saw a new world. It seems... I have much to learn from you, Sir Black.”
As if that were the perfect answer, a deep smile formed on Kaltz’s lips.
Kaltz hadn’t blocked Zaxen Silver recklessly.
There was his conviction as a guard knight that no one, not even with orders, could enter the Master’s quarters casually. But on another level, he had wanted to show Kang Geohan a high-level fight.
Seeing the sparkle in Kang Geohan’s eyes, his gambit had paid off 200 percent.
* * *
Yellow, Green, Blue, Red, White, Black, Silver, Gold.
Commoner knights were divided by their surnames accordingly.
It was classification by skill and achievements, but in practice, it marked the divide between regular knights and Gigant Riders.
Selection Training Camp Commander, Baronet Harun Basio, declared.
“You’re all greenhorns still! Even the best among you, like Kang Geohan or Helena, would only have earned Green surnames as regular knights! That’s reality. Even exceptional knights cap out at Red unless they’re Riders. But you, now official candidates, start at White. That’s a great privilege—and a great responsibility. Never forget it. Train diligently every single day!”
Baronet Basio scanned the trainees before him. All eight stood in a row.
Out of 78 who entered the selection camp, only eight had been chosen as official Gigant Rider candidates.
Yet Harun Basio felt this number was remarkably high.
'This class is a bumper crop among bumper crops.'
The previous class had 93 entrants and selected just three.
'And... five are even assigned to the Reclamation Unit. Even with the east turning dangerously volatile, it’s usually one or two at most...'
Baronet Basio turned his gaze to one particularly standout trainee amid this exceptional class.
The top performers had rallied around him, competing fiercely against him.
That had yielded better results than any previous class.
“Top trainee! Kang Geohan Yellow! Front and center!”
“Yes, sir!”
Kang Geohan stepped forward confidently, saluted, and dropped to one knee.
The seven trainees behind him knelt in unison.
Baronet Basio drew his sword and spoke.
“In place of the great guardian of Linekal, fearless pioneer, and just ruler, His Majesty King Hannon Serophit Linekal, I, Harun Basio, Baronet, ask you: Knights of Linekal—Kang Geohan, Helena, Loen, Gerot, Harkrux, Yulia Janut, Hasen—do you swear to fight for Linekal Kingdom until your steel hearts turn to ash as Gigant Riders, whose beating hearts drive you onward?”
“Yes!”
Hearing the eight thunderous replies, Baronet Basio nodded.
“I bestow upon you the White surname. From this day, fulfill your duty as colossal guardians of the kingdom.”
The eight candidates rose as one.
Baronet Harun Basio pinned the official Gigant Rider candidate badges on each of them.
“Congratulations on becoming Colossus Soldiers.”
Kang Geohan White.
A new name had been given to the nameless serf.