Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Invitation to the Sword God Temple
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Surprisingly, he felt absolutely no tension.
Of course he didn't.
Philip was akin to a pitcher in a baseball league where everyone else only threw fastballs—he alone knew how to throw every breaking pitch in the book.
'I did hesitate for a moment.'
He had considered the possibility of losing to a Silver Knight, but only if he kept his true abilities completely hidden.
That was solely in the context of fighting within the bounds of this world's common sense.
If he resolved to step beyond those bounds, he could defeat everyone present except for Chief Professor Emil Panoy and Captain Payen Blusset.
...
Philip, clad only in his breastplate, stared across at Joshua Prallin.
Even as he donned his armor, Joshua observed Philip with a steady gaze.
His lips moved ever so slightly, as if murmuring self-affirmations.
Could he really deceive someone confronting their past with such a grave expression, just for his own sake?
'Honestly, I think I could. No, that's not right.'
Philip scolded himself for the fleeting dark thought.
He would have to reveal himself eventually anyway.
Doing it right here and now, in front of this young man of all people, wouldn't be so bad.
Philip stepped forward first, equipped with his breastplate, gauntlets, and boots.
Joshua Prallin stood before him with a hardened expression.
"I'll win. Philip Oswald. I endured two years on the northern front—that horrific hell."
"That's impressive, Joshua Prallin. I respect and admire you. If I didn't feel that way, I might have even considered throwing the match to you."
Joshua furrowed his brow and ground his teeth at Philip's words.
"Throwing it? You still think I'm a joke?"
As the atmosphere grew heated, Captain Payen Blusset placed a hand on Joshua's chest to hold him back.
"Enough chit-chat. Fight in earnest."
Philip nodded and took several steps back.
"I told you. If you were a joke, I'd have just thrown it. But unfortunately, I can't go all out."
He drew Neria as he spoke.
No starting signal was needed.
Joshua Prallin had drawn his sword like lightning and charged at Philip.
Joshua's sword aura, amplified to its maximum, hurtled toward Philip like a beast's claws.
"Hup!"
Philip expelled the air from his lungs in a single breath, summoning his aura and spinning it at the fastest speed he could manage.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡
Rotating Sword
Shatters incoming sword aura instantly. Sword-shattering strike.
In the clash of auras that followed, Joshua sensed something was wrong.
'...Why... is it... turning out like this...?'
Philip's Rotating Sword pulverized Joshua's sword aura in an instant and raked across his blade. It felt like withstanding blows from more than ten swordsmen all at once.
'No, damn it.'
The sword he gripped so tightly his hand cramped suddenly felt feather-light.
Moments later, fragments of Joshua's shattered sword clattered noisily across the ground.
"...?"
"What did he just do?"
Few among the spectating swordsmen grasped what Philip had done.
Only the two Aura Masters with acute senses, Felicia who had learned Rotating Sword from Philip, and Diana.
Captain Payen Blusset turned to Chief Professor Emil with a rigidly stiffened expression.
'Aura spinning at that speed? That monstrous old geezer...?'
He assumed it was Chief Professor Emil Panoy's handiwork, but that notion was quickly dispelled.
The Chief Professor's expression mirrored his own.
If that wasn't an act, it meant Instructor Philip Oswald had pioneered the method of spinning aura like that himself.
'Such a thing was possible?'
To Payen Blusset, who had reached the Aura Master realm, it might seem like a mere parlor trick. No matter how fancy, it couldn't pierce sword beams.
Yet Captain Payen Blusset could feel it.
The infinite potential contained within that technique.
Philip stood motionless, lost in thought.
'Swordsmanship in this land has developed in such a distorted way.'
He couldn't comprehend it.
Aura, unbound by fixed forms unlike the human body, held far greater possibilities, so why did the swordsmen here obsess over swordsmanship instead of aura?
From everything he'd seen so far, to them, aura was merely a byproduct phenomenon from honing sword skills.
'Why are they so ignorant about this energy brimming with limitless potential?'
With those thoughts, Philip spoke.
"Joshua Prallin, step aside for the next challenger."
...
Joshua opened his mouth to retort but suddenly looked around. No one in the gathering met his eyes.
And then it dawned on him.
"Right... I lost."
It was less a loss and more being swept aside.
The defeat was so utterly one-sided and succinct that not even anger welled up.
'What the hell have I been doing all this time?'
He had stood here to leap over the wall named Philip. But what loomed before him was no wall—it was a vast, endless ocean.
"Are you going to stand there forever? Or head back and figure out how to beat me?"
Philip pressed him. Joshua Prallin gave a feeble smile.
"...I don't know."
As he withdrew, Philip turned to Captain Payen Blusset.
"As you saw, that was without even warming up. If it's alright, I'd like to face the other two as well. Any issue with that?"
"Hah, an issue? You're asking the obvious."
Captain Payen Blusset let out a hollow laugh. The words were impolite, but he found Philip modest by comparison.
"Joshua was the strongest among the rookies. He even bested seniors years his senior. If he went down like that, no need for the other matches. Call it your victory."
Sending out a captain-level fighter only to lose would be utter humiliation. Even if Philip had merely put up a decent fight, it would have been a loss for the Silver Knights.
There was no reason to continue the spars.
Felicia Oswald held the title of academy professor, so it was fine for her, but Philip's case was different.
The old knight finalized his judgment and declared surrender.
"The exchange match is the Silver Knights' defeat. Take this. I never imagined offering it to anyone outside the Silver Knights."
Captain Payen Blusset reached into the inner pocket of his knight's uniform and pulled something out. Chief Professor Emil let out a groan and turned away in clear displeasure upon seeing it.
"...The old man's really desperate, huh? That young punk's technique must look that tempting."
Philip extended his hand and accepted the item from Payen.
The small, thin object was a badge shaped like a sword. Philip knew exactly what it signified.
It was an item he'd acquired more than ten times in the game.
This badge was called the "Sharp Invitation." Presenting it at the headquarters of the Sword God Temple allowed one to undergo several trials and become a member.
Sharp Invitation Proof of recommendation to the Sword God Temple.
"A genius like you more than qualifies. I, Payen Blusset, Captain of the Silver Knights and one of the Sword God Temple's Honorable Seats, hereby invite you to the Sword God Temple."
The surprised ones weren't Philip, but the Silver Knights and the academy staff.
The Sword God Temple: the organization founded by Solbein, the first Aura Master who sought divinity through the sword.
Its original purpose was to foster camaraderie among his disciples to prevent infighting, but in modern times, it had become the continent's premier assembly of the finest swordsmen.
Membership alone granted VIP treatment in any nation, and families affiliated with a Sword God Temple member were beyond even royalty's casual disregard—their influence was immense.
'...Sword God Temple?'
Philip was momentarily taken aback. He hadn't anticipated such an offer.
But his path was already set. Philip held the badge back out to Captain Payen Blusset.
"Sorry, but I'll pass. You want to get on good terms with me anyway, right? Then hand over the 'Dragon's Hornpipe' artifact in your Silver Knights' possession instead. In exchange, I'll provide a document detailing the 'Rotating Sword' technique I just demonstrated."
Payen's eyes widened in disbelief at Philip's counteroffer.
"Joining the Sword God Temple is an irreplaceable honor for any young swordsman, yet you'd refuse it for a mere artifact like the Dragon's Hornpipe and that technique?"
Philip nodded.
"Can't force me to like it. So, deal or no?"
"As if I'd say no. I'll send the Dragon's Hornpipe the moment I return."
"Thank you."
With the satisfying transaction complete, Captain Payen Blusset led his knights away.
"...You three, come see me a moment."
Philip, Felicia, and Diana had no choice but to follow to the Chief Professor's research room.
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It was the Chief Professor's research room.
Philip, Felicia, and Diana sat on the sofa, waiting for Chief Professor Emil Panoy to speak.
"This Chief Professor is deeply disappointed in you all."
He behaved like a sulking battalion commander. Philip found his reaction baffling.
'...What's his deal?'
"Why didn't any of you tell me you'd mastered a secret technique that made victory a foregone conclusion? I barely slept for two weeks fretting over losing to that damned Payen cur."
He aired his grievances as if the Rotating Sword itself held no interest for him.
"Is this some protest for forcing you into the match? Speak up."
Felicia was the one who responded. Hands on her hips, she glared at the Chief Professor.
"We didn't lose—we won—so why the attitude? If I'd known it'd be like this, I'd have told Philip to just forfeit. And if you thought we'd lose anyway, why send us out?"
At the defiance from Felicia, who was like a granddaughter to him, the Chief Professor smirked and waved her off.
"Jokes end here. Philip Oswald, don't you have words for me?"
Felicia felt like the fool at his sudden shift. She clenched her fists and stomped her feet.
"Eek!"
Philip felt a sense of camaraderie with the Chief Professor. He clearly knew the pleasure of teasing Felicia.
Still, what needed saying had to be said.
"First of all, never make me do this again. I’ll guide and protect students anytime, but if the day comes when I must represent the academy once more, I’ll lose as pathetically and humbly as possible."
"...Instructor?"
Instructor Diana Frenhal, standing nearby, called out to Philip in shock.
Fortunately, the Chief Professor retained his smile. If anything, he prodded Philip onward with evident amusement.
"And next?"
Philip replied without hesitation.
"After two weeks of hard labor, grant me a vacation."
The Chief Professor chuckled, his shoulders shaking.
"Finally, give us some money so we can have a round of drinks among ourselves."
The Chief Professor immediately tossed a small pouch to Philip. Philip caught it and peered inside: several yellowish gold coins and a good handful of silvers.
"Blow it all and drink till your noses twist. Submit a vacation plan in writing."
Witnessing that response, Philip was certain.
The Chief Professor would leave him alone from now on. He bowed in thanks and exited the room first.
"Uh... Philip?"
Felicia stole a quick glance at the Chief Professor before grabbing Diana's hand and hurrying after him.
In the research room now emptied of the young ones, Chief Professor Emil placed a pipe between his lips. It had been years since he'd smoked.
'Where the hell did a guy like that pop out from?'
He had just realized Philip had seen through every one of his schemes.
"Right... don't rile the temper, or it'll bite hard."
Sending Philip into the exchange spar had been a test.
No matter how genius Philip was, the Silver Knights were an elite unit from the northernmost frontlines.
Confirming even a glimpse of his talent would suffice.
Yet Philip had utterly demolished a Silver Knight, shattering Emil's expectations.
And in his subsequent actions, Emil Panoy sensed Philip issuing a political warning.
Declining the Sword God Temple invitation.
Trading the Rotating Sword with the Silver Knights.
Demanding vacation and drinking money from him.
'...Just let me teach the kids quietly—don't touch me. Taking the money and vacation is his signal to let this slide once. No one that age can play those games.'
That was a skill honed by those who'd long dealt with outsiders, not allies. The Chief Professor resolved not to bother Philip for a good while.
Mess with him wrong, and he'd bite back fiercely.
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