Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Will Dwells in the Sword (9)
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Standing in the center of the mock battleground, I faced off against my opponent, a new recruit soldier.
In the battleground, we bowed our heads quietly in greeting as we faced each other.
"Please treat me well!"
"...Please treat me well."
There wasn't anything particularly special emanating from my opponent. He just felt like your average new recruit soldier, nothing more.
Conversely, he probably wasn't getting any special impressions from me either. Not that he'd have much reason to tense up against a mere maid to begin with.
The key in this first bout was to exploit exactly that.
Right now, while he was letting his guard down against me, was the easiest chance to win—so I needed to seize an overwhelming victory if possible.
That way, I'd rack up even more experience from the training facility.
And if the experience fell short, it would give me a perfect excuse to push for another round.
Something like, "Since he didn't take the match seriously, let me try against someone else."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Remaining Experience: 83 Lilith's current remaining experience was 83.
Based on monsters, a level 6 gave roughly 80 experience, and level 7 around 120.
And even as a new recruit, anyone joining the Blackwood territory guard had to have some baseline skill.
So it was safe to peg him at least at level 6 or 7.
If luck was on my side, one win might wrap it up. Then I could finish this training participation as quickly as possible.
If the experience didn't come in as hoped... well, I'd cross that bridge when I got there.
"...Both sides, take your stances!"
"......"
"......"
Following the signal from Emilia, who looked like she might keel over as the temporary referee.
"Begin!"
With her start command, I immediately leaned my sword-bearing body forward.
The weapon in my hand was a single dagger. And I couldn't use any flashy magic either.
Still, the situation wasn't hopeless. Finding this dagger in the prep room had seriously boosted my odds of winning.
In Luminor Academy, Lilith grew mainly through support magic, buffing the whole team—that was the standard path.
But she wasn't so rigid that you had to play her purely as support.
Her skill tree wasn't just split between 'attack magic' and 'support magic' either.
There was naturally a tree for close-quarters combat skills too.
One of Lilith's three main weapon slots was the dagger—and yes, it had its own skill tree.
Learning Mana Blast required 5 skill points. I had 4 right now.
Leveling up once would give me 3 points, leaving 2 after unlocking Mana Blast.
Meaning I could safely spend my current 2 points on a must-have skill for the next level.
Having figured that out, right before entering the mock battleground, I'd invested in one sub-skill under 'Dagger'.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Dagger equipped: Attack Power +15 A sub-skill that boosted by more than level 5 Lilith's base attack power of 12 in one go.
It was an early-game trait that let even this Lilith one-shot trash mobs.
Of course, it only seemed decent in the prologue—later, you'd swap her dagger for something else, and 15 attack became negligible garbage anyway.
But right now, this early-game limited trait was exactly what I desperately needed.
Base attack 12. Plus 15 from the trait.
Total attack with dagger and sub-skill: 27.
To put it simply, that was about the attack power of a level 10 Hookfang, around 30.
In pure attack terms, I was nearly level 10 now.
And in Luminor Academy, 'attack power' encompassed every stat that aided offense.
HP, strength, agility—all rolled into one.
-Clang!
"...Huh?!"
Our swords clashed once in midair, and the soldier stepped back a bit, looking flustered.
A look of confusion at what kind of strength could come from this small, skinny maid's body.
Whether he'd planned to just knock my sword away lightly and end it, or test the waters with one clash before deciding—didn't matter.
That casual mindset was his fatal mistake.
-Thud!
"...Guh?!"
I parried his sword and slammed into him with a body check, sending the new recruit tumbling backward.
I'd layered in a shockwave at an angle that wouldn't show, so there was no way he'd keep his balance.
I pinned his chest with one knee, bringing the dagger in my right hand right up to his throat.
Cornered in an instant, he dropped his sword and shouted surrender.
"...I-I surrender!"
With his defeat declared from under me, the surrounding new recruits started murmuring.
Of course, they weren't blind—they could tell he'd gone easy on me.
But parrying a soldier's longsword with a dagger and body-slamming an adult man to the ground? That was no ordinary maid feat.
Still, winning against active guard soldiers didn't mean I could get cocky.
The moment the match ended, I stood, clasped my hands quietly, and gave him a nod of thanks.
"...Good work."
"G-Good work..."
Sure, it looked like a polite gesture, but really, I was checking Lilith's info window for remaining experience.
Let's see, how much to the next level now...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Remaining Experience: 43 ...Pretty sure it was 83 last I checked.
I hadn't expected a full 120, but only 40? That was stingy.
Seemed mock battles in training facilities got relative adjustments compared to real monster fights.
Only one reaction fit here.
"Maid, good work. That's enough now..."
"Is there no one else willing to fight seriously?!"
"M-Maid?!"
"Is this the best the soldiers who'll lead the Blackwood territory guard can do? No one else for a proper match?!"
With that slightly forced provocation, I dragged out two more bouts.
Only then could I finally escape the long level 5 slog.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ✨ LEVEL UP! ✨ Lv. 5 → Lv. 6 + Skill Points +3
+ New Skill: Mana Blast
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ On the dirt path near the Blackwood territory guard barracks, meant for carriages.
The carriage carrying the noble young master Ethan and Deputy Butler Ditmeyer rolled quietly along toward the Blackwood mansion.
With Ethan's exclusive maid Lilith aboard, leaning against the carriage wall in exhaustion-induced sleep.
"......"
Right up until boarding, she'd shown no fatigue while attending Ethan.
But she was just holding back her weariness by force of will.
The smooth, luxurious Blackwood carriage made resistance futile—sleep crashed over her the moment she sat.
Less than five minutes after passing the guards, the sleeping exclusive maid drew a quiet smile from Ethan.
"...Lady Lilith seems quite fatigued."
"Yeah."
"If you'd rather not wake her yourself, young master, I can do it."
"No, leave her. She must be especially tired today."
"Understood."
A exclusive maid dozing off in front of the noble she served was disrespectful in itself.
But Ethan had no intention of reprimanding Lilith over it.
Reading his mood swiftly, Butler Ditmeyer simply respected his decision without interference.
"What happened in the territory guard barracks?"
"...A lot."
He'd told that female soldier to credit Lilith for his deeds and sorted out the hierarchy once.
Convinced the sudden mock battle volunteer multiple times.
And finally, she'd proven her skill in the bouts, extracting a sincere apology from that soldier Emilia.
After all that, no wonder fatigue had piled up.
'...Maybe this maid has even stronger pride than I thought.'
Insisting on proving herself in a mock battle just because a soldier doubted she'd slain a Hookfang.
He'd always seen her as spirited, but learning her pride ran this deep was new today.
And her swordsmanship he'd witnessed firsthand? Top-notch, by any measure.
The first opponent lost to carelessness, maybe—but the next two weren't flukes.
His exclusive maid Lilith claimed victory in those follow-ups too.
It was close, sure, but that didn't deny her strength.
Especially facing a longsword several times the dagger's length—her edge was even wider in reality.
...Though each sword clash felt like mana exploding, some alien shockwave bursting out.
'...Nah, probably imagination.'
Lilith using magic to win a sword fight? Absurd.
Magic was the gods' blessing for blue-blooded nobles only.
Whether she could or not wasn't the point anymore anyway.
After seeing her skill and resolve today, Ethan had already envisioned one future for her.
'When I enroll in the academy two years from now... I should bring the maid along.'
Not as his exclusive maid, but as a fellow student on equal footing.
Wasting her talent as just a Blackwood maid would be a shame.
Giving her a chance to learn was his own way of showing care.
...Of course, it included Ethan's selfish desire not to part with her post-enrollment.
'Starting tomorrow, I'll ask Father to up my training volume. And prep for academy entry now, or...'
Unlike Lilith, who only dreamed of escaping him, Ethan's mind was methodically planning her future.
Her learning that would come far in the future.