Sword Duel (2)
The sunset was spilling through the windows outside the school. Regular classes at Elphon Academy had just ended.
“Jiyun,” Jeong Hayeon said, turning to look at Cha Jiyun in the seat behind her.
“...Yes?”
“I heard Nam Doyun is getting guidance from Teacher Elbin to prepare for the sword duel in a week. Want to go watch?”
The rumor had already spread like wildfire through the school that Nam Doyun and Radeon would be holding a sword duel during the festival. Word had even gotten around that Doyun was practicing his swordsmanship in preparation.
“Oh. You’re not really interested in that sort of thing, are you, Jiyun?” Jeong Hayeon added.
That was true. What other people did had nothing to do with her. Under normal circumstances she would have thought exactly that and ignored it.
But the moment the name Nam Doyun entered the conversation, she found she couldn’t dismiss it the way she usually would.
He was hiding an incredible amount of power. She was a little curious what his swordsmanship might look like.
“....Shall we go take a look?” Cha Jiyun said.
“Huh? Really? You actually want to?”
Jeong Hayeon looked genuinely shocked. She had never expected the girl who showed interest in no one to react like this. What had gotten into her?
“Yes. Let’s hurry. They say he’s practicing in the sword hall right now.”
Before long the two of them arrived at the training hall where Nam Doyun was practicing.
With a quiet slide, they opened the inner door and stepped inside.
The place had the same atmosphere as a kendo dojo. Inside, Nam Doyun was receiving instruction from Teacher Elbin.
“You have to hold the stance like this. Spread both legs shoulder-width apart, and the angle of the hand gripping the sword should be…”
These days, after classes, Nam Doyun had been coming here constantly for guidance from Teacher Elbin.
“Understood. I’ll get into that stance and swing once.”
Whoosh—
Nam Doyun swung the wooden sword.
“No. That’s not it. You need to relax the power more when you swing. There’s far too much tension in your shoulders right now.”
Teacher Elbin shook his head as he watched.
“Yes. Then this time I’ll truly relax and try again.”
Whoosh—
Nam Doyun swung the sword once more.
“No. Still wrong.”
Teacher Elbin let out a deep sigh.
As someone deeply versed in swordsmanship, he could tell at a glance. The boy’s skill was utterly hopeless.
Even to Cha Jiyun, who was far from an expert, it was obvious. His form was terrible no matter how you looked at it.
“.....”
She turned on her phone.
Cha Jiyun couldn’t immediately reply with “Yes.”
She gazed at Nam Doyun, who was still swinging the wooden sword. His posture was truly awful. Anyone watching him right now would say his chances of winning were less than 0.1 percent.
Yet for some reason, she didn’t think he would lose to Radeon in this duel.
She had never once seen him lose a fight.
She typed her reply.
I glanced at the clock on the wall.
PM 10:00
It was already that late. After school I had come straight to the sword hall and spent the entire day swinging a blade. Today alone I had logged a full five hours here.
“Teacher, has my posture improved at all?” I asked, still holding the sword.
“Yeah. It’s gotten pretty decent now.”
“Then I’ll swing.”
“Go ahead.”
I brought the sword down in a clean arc.
Swoosh—
“Oh. That’s the best one you’ve done so far.”
It was the first compliment I had ever received from him. Consistent effort really did pay off.
Ding—
At that moment a notification sounded.
Footsteps of the Sword Saint
Unlock Condition — Downward Strike 1/1000
“Whoa!”
I couldn’t help shouting.
The number that had refused to budge had finally gone up.
“What is it?” Teacher Elbin asked, startled.
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
“More importantly, shouldn’t we call it a day?”
“Sorry?”
“It’s already ten o’clock. I need to lock up the hall, and you have school tomorrow.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
“I’ll leave the key here, so lock up properly when you leave.”
“Yes, sir.”
With those words, Teacher Elbin walked out of the training hall.
Shaa—
I took a quick shower in the washroom attached to the hall.
“Hmm~ hmm~”
A tune slipped out without me realizing it. The hardest part—learning the proper sword stance—was finally over. From now on it was just simple repetition. Once I finished that, I would obtain the Sword Saint’s swordsmanship.
After showering I stepped outside. The night air felt refreshingly cool.
Just as I was about to head back to the dormitory, I spotted a girl walking toward me from a distance. It was Jeong Hayeon. Her expression looked unusually serious.
“...Hey.” She spoke first.
“What?”
“...I saw you swinging a sword earlier.”
“Oh? You did?”
When had she shown up? I had been so focused I hadn’t noticed.
“You really didn’t even know how to hold a sword properly.”
“....”
“You said it was your first time learning. And yet you’re telling everyone you’ll beat Radeon at the ‘performance’?”
“...Yeah.”
“Hey. Let me give you one serious piece of advice.”
“...”
“Cancel the duel with Radeon while you still can. It hasn’t started yet, so it should be fine.”
“...I’ll handle it.”
“What exactly are you trying to do? Don’t you know that once you drop out of Elphon Academy you can never come back?”
“...”
“Graduating from Elphon opens up a golden path. Why would you throw that away and walk straight into a field of thorns?”
“...Are you really asking because you don’t know?”
I looked at her.
Obviously it was because if you didn’t give up on Radeon, the world would be destroyed.
“.....”
For some reason she simply stared at me for a long time instead of answering. Her expression was complicated.
Then she spoke.
“Is it because I like Radeon?”
“Yeah. You got it exactly right.”
“You’re really doing this duel just for that reason?”
“Yeah. Is there any other reason?”
“...You’re actually insane. Just what the hell…”
“Anyway, that’s beside the point. You have to keep your promise. If I win, you give up on Radeon.”
“....”
Leaving those words behind, I walked past her toward the dormitory.
Today had been incredibly exhausting. I just wanted to lie down in bed and sleep.
Before long, only one day remained until the festival.
“Hup.”
“Hup.”
I was swinging the sword in the training hall. Every day after school I came here and did nothing but practice. It felt like today the results would finally show.
Ding—
Footsteps of the Sword Saint
Downward Strike — 1000/1000
Upward Strike — 1000/1000
Horizontal Strike — 1000/1000
Congratulations. The ‘Footsteps of the Sword Saint’ skill has been unlocked.
“Uwaaaaah. Fuck.”
I collapsed right where I stood. Sweat beaded on my forehead.
“Here.”
Someone offered me a bottle of water.
“Thanks.”
It was Radeon. I gulped the water down.
“You’ve been training like crazy lately. I see you here every single day.”
“Yeah. We have a duel tomorrow, don’t we?”
“Haha— well, that’s true.”
As he spoke, Radeon looked at me. It seemed he had something to say.
“There’s something I want to talk about regarding that duel.”
“...What is it?”
“I heard you’ve been frantically practicing swordsmanship so you can beat me that day.”
“...Yeah. So?”
“On that day, instead of the long sword I usually use, I’ll face you with a short sword. Of course, you can still use a long sword.”
“...Do I look that weak to you?”
“Want me to be honest?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t have the confidence to face you with a serious sword duel. Not against you.”
“...”
“Remember the people I dueled during the last festival? They were all from the sword club.”
“...”
“And every one of them has been swinging a sword since they could walk.”
“....”
“That’s why I faced them with the long sword I normally use and with a serious mindset. But you…”
“...”
“You’ve only been holding a sword for a few days, yet you declared you would beat me. In a pure sword duel where we can’t even use mana.”
“....”
“That’s looking down on swordsmanship. And I don’t have the confidence to treat someone who thinks that way with sincerity.”
“...”
“To be honest, I was a little annoyed that you seemed to take the sword so lightly. But I can understand that kind of baseless confidence is important at the beginning.”
“...”
“That’s why I’m using a short sword against you. So when the day comes, please don’t feel too bad about it. Can you understand?”
“....”
Radeon’s words made perfect sense. From his perspective, some guy who had only been clumsily waving a sword for a few days was claiming he could beat him. If I were in his shoes, I would be irritated too.
But that absolutely could not happen.
It must not.
Jeong Hayeon would never accept it otherwise. I had to defeat Radeon in front of her.
“No. You’ll have to use your long sword that day too.”
“Did you not hear anything I just said? I have no intention of facing you seriously.”
“When that day comes, you’ll have no choice.”
“...What?”
“Even if you use your full power, you still won’t be able to beat me.”
“.....”
Radeon’s expression instantly turned icy.
“Fine. Then I’ll look forward to it. I’m curious what you’ll show me that day.”
Finally, the day of the sword duel had arrived.