The Plasma Gauntlet and the Sword-Drawing Maniac

I boldly declared it, but I wasn’t entirely sure I could actually follow through.

After all, I had only just awakened my mana. For me to aim for an S-rank?

Among nobles who had been sensing and training with mana since birth, it was no easy feat for a commoner like me to stand out.

“Two weeks left. I’m going all-in on equipment.”

So I decided to pour everything into crafting gear.

Rather than half-heartedly training mana refinement or swordsmanship, it was far better to play to my strengths.

“Mechanic Blueprint.”

I resolved to finally follow the designs I had put off for so long from the Mechanic Blueprint.

The strongest piece of equipment drawn within it—the Plasma Beam Titanium Alloy Gauntlet. I was going to build that.

—Clang!

No need to overthink it.

I immediately picked up my hammer and got to work.

Now that I could handle mana, there was nothing stopping me from creating equipment.

I decided to tackle the mid-grade recipes step by step.

The ‘Mana Stabilizer’ had been impossible to make before because I couldn’t obtain a ‘Mana Absorption Scroll.’ Now that I was a proper mana user, I could create the scroll myself.

—Whoosh!

I immediately unfurled a ‘Spell Storage Scroll.’

On the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blank white sheet, I inscribed the ‘Absorption’ formula I had learned from Elena, then poured my mana into it.

—Crackle!

The formula absorbed the mana, completing the ‘Mana Absorption Scroll.’

I had obtained the key material for the Mana Stabilizer with surprising ease.

As soon as I finished making the Mana Absorption Scroll, the reward notification appeared.

The reward for scroll creation was 3XP toward skill experience. It wasn’t a huge amount, but it was quite useful.

I would be making countless scrolls from now on, after all.

Even 3XP would add up to something significant if accumulated.

“Alright, let’s move on to the next step.”

With a satisfied smile, I proceeded to the next phase.

This step involved creating the ‘Mana Stabilizer,’ an almost essential component for any mana-powered equipment.

Using the materials I had prepared in advance along with the Mana Absorption Scroll, I attempted to craft it.

Things were going smoothly.

Being able to produce the most difficult material—the scroll—myself made everything progress at a rapid pace.

What used to take me days of agonizing effort could now be completed in just two hours.

“Nice. At this rate, I’ll finish it quickly.”

Smiling, I checked the next recipe.

This time it was a high-grade one.

The Mana Storage Device required for the top-grade recipe.

At first glance the materials looked difficult, but they weren’t that bad.

Superior Mana Stones could be made by raising the temperature of regular mana stones and steadily injecting mana, and the impurity-free blue jade stone was just repetitive grinding using Dexterity.

Both were perfectly within my current capabilities.

“I should be able to finish this today.”

There were still two weeks until the entrance ceremony.

With such a tight schedule, being able to complete a high-grade recipe in a single day was an incredibly positive sign.

If I made four of the materials needed for the high-grade recipe, I could finally craft the long-awaited Plasma Beam Titanium Alloy Gauntlet.

I hammered away while imagining the day I would finally slip that gauntlet onto my hand.

Clang!

Imperial Year 473.

That spring, cherry blossoms bloomed in extraordinary numbers.

As if celebrating the opening of the Imperial Academy, the roads leading to the academy were lined with fully bloomed cherry blossoms.

“······.”

Yet the eyes of the students walking this flower path still carried the cold harshness of winter.

Each of them carried their family name at the end of their own, representing their respective houses. They were steeling themselves with desperate resolve not to tarnish their family’s honor.

“·····At this rate, my draw isn’t going to come out right…”

And here, Enya of House Cruel was no exception.

As the inheritor of the ‘Cruel’ name from a prestigious knightly family, her goal was to display her honed skills ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠without restraint and elevate her house’s prestige.

“Haa…”

But like the long sigh she had just let out, that dream seemed likely to scatter and vanish without a trace.

She had commissioned a flashy new sheath specifically to showcase her overwhelming Battojutsu, yet that very sheath was now holding her back.

In other words, the sheath was too tight.

“I don’t have to use Battojutsu… but still…”

It wasn’t as if Battojutsu was the only sword style she could use.

She had been judged a Sword Expert the moment she first picked up a blade—a genius among geniuses—and could wield dozens of different sword techniques.

Yet not a single one of those dozens of styles truly satisfied her.

Textbook swordsmanship developed solely for slaughter, mechanical techniques like those could never capture her heart.

My heart doesn’t resonate with it at all. Just stabbing vital points and cutting. There’s nothing beyond that.

What she needed was something that transcended mere swordsmanship.

Not this mechanical style devoid of any beauty, but something stylish that could stir the soul.

It was around that time that a manga called Baldohjae caught her eye.

It was the life story of a swordsman who took down enemies using nothing but his draw—an incredibly cool concept.

“This is… awesome!”

The moment Enya opened the book, she was instantly hooked.

She devoured dozens of volumes in the blink of an eye and finally reached the ‘Lightning Jackal’ arc.

And the ‘Baldohjae VS Lightning Jackal’ episode became the decisive moment that turned her into a complete Battojutsu fanatic.

—Heh heh. Baldohjae, you’ll never surpass the Lightning Jackal. If I just dodge that fancy draw of yours, you’re nothing.

—Is that so? Then go ahead and try to dodge it.

She watched the clash between the speedster Jackal and the drawing master Baldohjae with bated breath.

Just as Jackal said, Baldohjae poured all his energy into the draw. If the draw failed to finish the opponent, defeat was inevitable.

So she read on nervously, worrying what would happen if Jackal actually dodged the draw.

Then came the moment Baldohjae executed his technique.

—Slice!

At the same instant as the draw, a flash-like strike swept past.

At the same time, Jackal’s body moved at lightning speed.

—Rustle.

When she turned the page, it was filled with Jackal’s face wearing a wicked grin.

The draw had failed.

—Kuhahaha! Baldohjae! You’re finished now! I’ll tear you to shreds!

—…No. You’re already dead.

But Baldohjae simply sheathed his sword with a calm expression.

He turned away leisurely, showing his back.

Jackal charged at Baldohjae with that same wicked smile.

—…Huh?

But at that moment.

A thin red line was drawn across Jackal’s neck.

His body collapsed as if a switch had been flipped, and his head, which had floated briefly in the air, tumbled to the ground.

Thud. Roll, roll… His severed head rolled across the floor, flipping the view upside down again and again.

But the view, flipped relentlessly by the unyielding laws of physics, soon came to a stop.

His rolling head had finally halted.

—B-Baldohjae…

In the final moment of his life, what filled Jackal’s vision was the retreating back of Baldohjae.

He walked away without so much as a glance behind him.

Jackal’s vision gradually faded into darkness.

“This… this is it…”

So cool.

And so Enya became a sword-drawing fanatic.

She abandoned all other sword styles and began devoting herself solely to Battojutsu.

Even when the Sword Saint Ireiya begged and pleaded with his daughter, her passion for the drawing technique showed no signs of stopping.

“…The sheath… it’s too tight…”

But what was the point of training Battojutsu so hard, even against her parents’ wishes?

Last night she had hastily tried to modify her sheath to match the one Baldohjae used in the manga, but she had ruined it in the process.

At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to properly show off the Battojutsu she had spent the last two years perfecting.

She wouldn’t be able to recreate that scene that had shaken her to her core.

“Looks like there’s a problem with your sheath.”

It was then.

A stranger’s voice.

When she turned her head, a handsome black-haired boy was looking at her.

The spring breeze blew past—whistling—and his black hair and her silver hair fluttered together.

The boy’s gaze fell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on her sheath.

“Mind if I take a look at that? I think I can fix it.”