Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Seeing Stairs Instead of a Wall
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ March 7th.
New students began arriving at Previa Academy.
Returning students could arrive a day early, but freshmen had to bustle about several days in advance to move their belongings and settle in.
The academy, which had stood still like a landscape painting, would now grow busy starting today.
However, Philip's daily routine remained unchanged on its fourth day.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ On an endlessly stretching dirt floor, Philip faced the third owner of Neria.
It was a knight clad in shining plate armor, wielding a bastard sword.
—...He's the one Neria hates the most. He loved toying with people weaker than him until they died. Especially talented, handsome young men—he despised them above all. While serving as the king's hunting dog, he secretly killed off knights whose talents posed a threat to the throne. He did end up dying to a real genius, though.
Neria's voice brimmed with clear hostility.
Philip eyed his opponent.
The man's torso was solid, his stance aggressive.
A body's ingrained posture doesn't lie. Philip could now see it with his own eyes.
This was surely a swordsman skilled at hunting weaker prey.
Philip lowered his center of gravity.
If the opponent tried to devour him, all he had to do was pierce the roof of that mouth from within.
Soon, the opponent took a large step forward. Infused with mana, that single step mockingly surpassed human limits, closing several meters in an instant.
And then the sword strike flew in—a textbook overhead chop.
Philip noticed sword aura rising from the opponent's bastard sword and hurriedly drew up his own mana.
In that instant, sword aura surged from Philip's blade as well.
The clash followed immediately. The moment Philip's one-handed sword locked with the bastard sword, he felt the disparity in their mana.
At least double.
He spun his body once to dissipate the impact.
Even so, the lingering shock briefly numbed his arm—the opponent was that strong.
'Manageable.'
Yet Philip grinned.
The distance opened again.
Philip gained certainty; the opponent, unease.
Philip already knew the opponent's swordsmanship wasn't particularly deep.
—Born into a ducal family, he devoured anything deemed good for the body and bolstered his power with all sorts of artifacts. If you had as much mana as that creep, he probably couldn't even breathe properly in front of you.
He didn't feel like he was going to lose. The mercenary woman, Neria's sixth owner, had been several times trickier.
In four days, Philip had fought at least dozens of real battles.
Seven against Neria's sixth owner, twelve against the wandering swordsman who was her fifth, and about twenty against the knight who was her fourth.
And he'd already clashed three times with the man before him now.
He now knew what he could do—and what he couldn't.
Philip gathered his strength and mana throughout his body and charged forward.
"...!"
The knight swung at Philip's side with a ferocious glare like a vicious demon.
In that instant, Philip leaped into the air.
Leaping was tantamount to taboo in one-on-one combat.
A swordsman's every motion begins from the lower body.
Thus, leaving the ground was like strangling oneself.
But it was equally effective at catching the opponent off guard.
As his strike cleaved empty air where Philip had vanished, the knight's face twisted in shock.
Philip twisted his hips sharply, spinning his entire body in midair. Any shortfall in power or cutting force would be covered by mana and sword aura.
And just as Philip's sword aimed to split the opponent's skull, Philip awoke from the dream.
—You beat him in just four tries this time? Congratulations!
"Thanks."
—Neria never dreamed you'd grow this much in a mere four days!
"It's not like I'm anything special."
Philip meant it sincerely. The original Philip would have reached a slightly higher realm than this.
His body possessed talent worthy of the "protagonist"—a god-given gift that required forming a full party to challenge.
Of course, in the story, he ended up defeated anyway.
'How did Philip live with talent like this?'
He simply couldn't comprehend it.
—That's denial at this point. With that mana gap, the moment you parried and dragged it into a skill contest, you crushed him with raw talent.
Neria grumbled. Philip felt a chuckle escape at her cute whining.
He was growing accustomed to this talkative ego sword.
"But the key isn't me getting stronger. It's how I teach what I've gained to the kids."
—...Neria can't even imagine what or how well you're planning to teach. You could join any knight order and be treated as an elite.
"You don't get it at all, Neria."
Philip knew full well how monstrous the protagonist's talent was. To instruct him—or her—he needed to stay at least one step ahead.
The current protagonist wasn't the maxed-out character under Philip's control; they were just a child who could stumble on a mistake at any moment.
Philip could handle the incidents within the academy for now, but the massive events looming in the future might be untouchable if the protagonist didn't grow.
"...I'm doing this to survive."
—Oh, right.
"Personally, I'd prefer if your speech was a bit more refined... Who’s there?"
Bickering with Neria, Philip suddenly sensed a presence. Someone stood before his room.
"Instructor Oswald. Chief Professor Panoy has summoned you. He’s waiting at the swordsmanship training hall..."
"Got it. Thank you."
It was a maid's voice. Philip replied he'd be there, then rose from bed.
"My direct superior calls. Better go."
—Take Neria with you! It's boring alone.
"Hm..."
Philip pondered briefly, then strapped her to his waist.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ By Philip's standards, Chief Professor Emil Panoy was no one to be wary of.
He'd been teaching at the academy for eight years but showed little interest in it.
"So you're the famous wastrel. Nice to meet you."
Summoning a new instructor just three days before term start, and that gaze on Philip—it was obvious.
No normal professor would be so indifferent to a drunken gambler and womanizer joining their ranks.
"Pleased to meet you, Chief Professor. I'm Philip Oswald."
"Right. Felicia's brother? She looked ready to kill you given half a chance. Siblings on bad terms?"
"Something like that. Hoping to mend things this time."
—Talking like old pals, Master.
Neria muttered as she listened to Philip and Emil converse. Philip silently agreed.
'A guy with barely any lines treats his subordinates pretty casually.'
It felt like seeing a new side to a background character from the student's playthrough.
"Anyway, do you know why I called you?"
Philip tilted his head at the chief professor's question.
"For class prep? I'm a new instructor, after all."
"No. That's for the other professors. My role is showing cocky kids their limits so they don't get arrogant. Kids are simple—they get complacent with their skills and status unless you keep reminding them they're weak. Even if it's just bullying peers."
"I see."
Philip couldn't grasp what Chief Professor Emil was getting at.
"Instructors and professors are the same in my eyes. Working as an educator at Previa Academy is an honor. After a few years, some start thinking they're hot stuff."
Chief Professor Emil extended his hand into empty air.
Surprisingly, a wooden sword rolling in the corner flew into his grasp.
—...Eek. What the heck?
Neria's startled voice rang out.
"So, you'll face a wall first."
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Sword Beam Vast mana surges like a raging tidal wave from the wooden sword, taking the form of blazing flames.
A ferocious mana like a tidal wave erupted from the chief professor's wooden sword. It soon took shape as flickering flames.
Philip instantly retreated and drew Neria.
—Master, Sword Beam! Sword Beam! Run! You can't win! He's a master!
Neria panicked, but Philip's ears were deaf to it.
The pinnacle of swordsmanship, granted to only a handful across the vast kingdom, roiled atop Emil's blade as if to devour him.
Facing this storm of power beyond his current level to even gauge, he didn't retreat a single step more than three.
The moment he confronted the towering wall of Sword Beam, Philip strained to analyze how that immense energy flowed.
His eyes darted ceaselessly, gleaning info from Chief Professor Emil's stance and gaze,
while the sword in his hand traced tiny circles, bracing for the attack.
Then, seconds passed like days. A bead of cold sweat trickled down Philip's temple.
A glint entered Chief Professor Emil's eyes. Noticing Philip's gaze locked on his vitals, he let out a hollow chuckle.
"Ha, this is why I can't quit teaching. While killing time, these monster-like kids pop up one by one. First time someone's seen stairs instead of a wall when I said 'face the wall.'"
Emil relaxed his stance first.
The Sword Beam on the wooden sword vanished as if it had never been.
He tossed the wooden sword aside carelessly, approached, and patted the still-rigid Philip's shoulder.
"A little secret. Don't tell anyone, though you seem like you could handle it."
"...!"
Philip couldn't guess what secret was coming.
"Felicia teared up the instant I drew Sword Beam. Tried to hide it, but she couldn't fool these eyes. Tease her with it later."
A low whisper reached Philip's ear.
But Philip kept his lips sealed.
"Must've been tough, huh? Trash-talk from nobodies calling you wastrel, scum. Funny seeing well-fed idiots babble."
Chief Professor Emil patted Philip's shoulder a few more times, chuckled to himself, and left the training hall.
—...What was that?
At Neria's whisper, Philip let out a deep sigh.
"Not sure, but I think I scored some points."
—Good?
"Dunno. But it gave me a rough idea."
—Of what?
"How to handle mana, and what I need now."
Philip closed his eyes, replaying the scene.
'If mana is that fluid an energy, maybe I can do more than I thought...'
He was gradually grasping this newly awakened power called mana.
The ego sword Neria unusually held her tongue. Though her six owners in a century were many, sizing up this seventh would take time.
—...At least he's handsome, so whatever.
"Hm? What'd you say?"
—Nothing. So, what's next?
Philip thought briefly before answering.
"Heading to the library to read. Wanna come?"