A Max-Level Character in a Level One World
No matter if he was a former hero, there was no way he could defeat a Sword Master with the body of an ordinary human.
In an instant, a sharp, piercing energy swept through the surroundings. Sensing the sheer pressure, Professor Carmel's face hardened as he strode over.
"It seems the bracelet isn't working properly. Let me check it."
Ah, does he think mine is malfunctioning? Well, it's a reasonable assumption. After all, someone whose physical abilities were supposed to be restricted to an ordinary human's was radiating the aura of a Sword Master.
I handed over the Synchronization Bracelet. Professor Carmel inspected it from various angles before snapping it onto his own wrist. Seeing his pupils dilate, it was clear the device was functioning perfectly.
I had my doubts too, but it seemed my cheat ability wasn't affected by mana restrictions.
This is an unexpected jackpot.
Among the villain organizations that would attack later in the story, some used an incredibly broken weapon called a 'Mana Restriction Sphere.' It looked like I wouldn't have to worry about falling victim to those bastards.
"It is functioning normally. We will proceed with the spar."
At Carmel's declaration, the surrounding students erupted into a clamor.
"That wasn't a malfunction?"
"Holy crap. I feel like I'd lose to him even with that thing on. What's his name?"
"They said it's Kanteil, but I've never heard of him either. Looks like he transferred to the Swordplay Department during the course registration period."
"Another monster has entered the fray. At that level, wouldn't he be able to hold his own against the third-years?"
"Hold his own? He could probably go toe-to-toe with the absolute top rankers."
Ignoring the commotion around him, Professor Carmel proceeded with the spar. I stepped onto the stage and faced our protagonist, whose face was incredibly tense.
"I'll go easy on you, so don't be so tense."
"...I look forward to learning from you, Senior."
Seeing him like this made me feel like I was standing in front of a celebrity. Perhaps because he was the protagonist of this world, even though his current appearance was that of a chubby, overweight pig, it felt as if a halo was shining behind him.
By the way, was it just my imagination, or did his grip tighten even more after I told him to relax? I wondered if I was presenting too high of a wall for someone who still struggled to fight an Expert. Well, he was destined to reach the level of a Sword Master by the middle of his second year anyway, so he'd manage. He is the protagonist, after all.
We stood at opposite ends of the sparring ring. Idrian gripped his sword with both hands, while I held mine with just one. If I were to fight seriously, I would have used both hands, but doing so might result in accidentally severing one of his limbs. I couldn't go around chopping off the precious protagonist's arms or legs.
Professor Carmel placed the whistle hanging around his neck into his mouth.
"Are both sides ready?"
"Yes. I am ready."
"Ready."
The slightly stiff voice of the former belonged to Idrian, and the latter was mine. Once he confirmed that both of us were ready, Professor Carmel nodded.
"Then, begin!"
Prrrrt! The whistle blew, and Idrian charged forward with his bulky frame. I wondered if this was what it felt like to have a rhino charge at you with its horn bared. His physique certainly added a sense of pressure—the kind of pressure you'd feel if a giant teddy bear came rushing at you.
It was an attack that might tempt one to let their guard down, but I focused my mind. As I widened my eyes, thousands of sword paths unfolded before me, and among them, hundreds of trajectories to subdue Idrian came into view.
I could see the grain of the wooden sword. It was the kind of grain that allowed one to slice through objects like tofu, even without using Sword Qi or Sword Force.
Contrary to my promise to go easy, my sword moved with its usual, razor-sharp precision.
Slice.
Uh-oh. Dammit, that was a mistake.
The moment I saw the grain, I had instinctively sliced along it. The blade of his wooden sword was cleanly severed. For all intents and purposes, the match was already decided.
Yet, Idrian swung his broken sword downward without a moment's hesitation. The two strikes clashed in midair. Idrian's strike was fierce, but the difference in raw power was stark. In their very first clash, Idrian's wooden sword was sent flying upward, unable to withstand the overwhelming gap in strength.
"..."
Idrian's gaze deepened. As if analyzing me, he stared intently at my strike rather than focusing on his own.
The match ended swiftly. With nearly a third of his sword blade already gone, I held the absolute advantage in reach. After a one-sided flurry of attacks, I pointed my sword directly at Idrian's throat.
Tweeeet! "Match over! The winner is second-year, Kanteil!"
Professor Carmel declared my victory. I lowered my sword from his throat and offered an apology. Slicing his wooden sword right at the start had been a bit too much, after all.
But as if that didn't matter to him at all, Idrian asked in a calm tone:
"Are you alright? I meant to go easy, but I ended up putting a bit too much force into it."
"...I'm fine. But there is something I would like to ask you. Would you mind answering?"
It was an unexpected request from Idrian. For now, I nodded.
"What is it you want to ask?"
"The demon that appeared at the convenience store yesterday and attacked us."
I kept my mouth shut.
"Were you the one who defeated that demon, Senior?"
It was phrased as a question, but Idrian's eyes were filled with absolute certainty. He was convinced that I was the one who had dealt with the demon back then.
How does he know? He should have been unconscious.
Seeing the flustered look on his senior's face, Idrian obtained his confirmation.
It was him. He was the one who defeated the demon.
The strike he had witnessed right before losing consciousness—even though his physical body couldn't keep up and he had only seen the clean-cut surface of the severed demon, that alone was more than enough. After all, his ability to analyze swordsmanship, as the hero who had led the Great War between humans and demons to victory, was the best in the world.
Furthermore, the strike that had decapitated the demon was a perfect blow that even he, in his past life, could not have easily matched. There was no way two people capable of delivering such a strike existed in this world.
This is the fortuitous encounter that will accelerate my growth.
It was a conviction that had formed the moment he saw the demon's corpse, which the Academy claimed he had defeated.
After the physical examinations were over, Professor Taple of the Alchemy Department had asked the freshmen:
"Is there anyone who would like to spar with the second-year seniors from the Swordplay Department?"
These were people who had spent a whole year at the world's greatest academy, often called the cradle of geniuses. Out of curiosity, he had raised his hand.
Thus began the sparring matches with the second-years. He had stepped forward as the very first challenger.
Thanks to the effects of the Synchronization Bracelet, his below-average physical body had been boosted to the average human level, making his body feel lighter than it ever had since his reincarnation.
He had been confident that he could defeat whoever stepped up. However, that confidence shattered the moment his opponent drew his sword.
Even while suppressed by the power of the Synchronization Bracelet, a sharp, piercing energy had swallowed the entire training ground. He had never seen or even heard of such a thing in his entire life.
The sharp energy vanished quickly, but there was no way he could mistake that overwhelming presence. In that instant, a thought struck him.
The person who killed the demon... It's that swordsman.
During the spar that followed, the man standing on the stage had dilated pupils, looking as if he perceived the entire world through the lens of swordsmanship.
At first glance, he seemed completely off-guard. But with a single strike, it became clear that was far from the case.
Slice.
He sliced along the grain?
The grain of all creation—something that even he, who had slain the primordial evil Apophis, had to concentrate intensely to perceive. To see someone sever it in a single strike, and with a mere wooden sword at that, turned his suspicion into absolute certainty.
And now, through this silent response, he had received confirmation that this man was indeed the one who had dealt with the demon.
With Miruel's spar as the finale, the matches between the freshmen and the second-years came to an end. The result was a crushing defeat for the freshmen.
Perhaps the outcome would have been different if the top or second-ranked freshmen had participated, but the second-years of the Swordplay Department swept every single victory.
However, winning wasn't the only way to earn recognition.
"Was his name Tom? He's pretty good with a sword. Should we try to scout him for the Sword Club?"
"Didn't that girl almost have it at the end? I feel like she would've won if she had just a little more training."
"Hey, come on, that's stretching it. There's no way I'd lose to a freshman who just entered the academy."
"Did they call them the 'Golden Generation'? They're certainly living up to the name."
Freshmen who had matriculated barely a day ago. The fact that they could trade blows with second-years without even receiving proper training earned them the respect of the Swordplay Department. They truly were talents worthy of being called the Golden Generation.
Yet, eclipsing all those impressive freshmen, there was one person who drew the absolute most attention.
It was Kanteil, the one who had fought in the very first match and cleanly severed an Academy-issue wooden sword in a single stroke.
Everyone was in awe of the overwhelming skill he had displayed while restricted by the Synchronization Bracelet. Though, the man himself couldn't care less.
"Your name is Miruel, right? You like chocolate milk?"
"Chocolate milk?"
Miruel asked back, hearing the term for the first time in her life.
Ah, has she not tried it yet? The original novel said she drank it all the time.
Well, makes sense. Any romantic development between Idrian and Miruel wouldn't happen until at least the mid-stages of the story. Until then, it was less about romance and more about the 'rehabilitating Idrian's trash body' arc. He needed to lose that flabby, excess fat first.
"Once you try it, it's the only thing you'll think of whenever you're thirsty."
I handed her the chocolate milk I had bought from the convenience store. It was a carton of chocolate milk in a rectangular paper box. I poked the straw into the carton for her.
"Give it a try."
"Ah, yes! Thank you, Senior. Hehe."
Miruel took a few sips of the chocolate milk through the straw, and a bright smile spread across her face. It seemed to suit her taste, just like in the original novel.
Since I also needed to bribe the protagonist, I handed him a pill I had purchased.
"What is this, Senior?"
"You look like you want to lose weight. Your swordsmanship is excellent, but it seems your body can't keep up with your skills. This is a diet pill personally crafted and sold by a professor from the Alchemy Department. Sometimes, people with outstanding mana talent can't keep up because of their weight. Take this and shed some pounds."
"That is true, but... I don't understand why you are showing us such kindness. You didn't say a word about saving us back then, either."
Ah, is it because it's unsolicited kindness? Well, I did have my reasons, but I couldn't exactly tell them. How could I explain that I was taking good care of them—the main characters of the original story—as a way of paying my dues for suddenly gaining a cheat-like, overpowered ability? To explain that, I'd have to spill everything, starting with my transmigration.
"No reason. You guys seem talented, so I just wanted to help out. Besides, I liked how you stood your ground against the demon when everyone else ran away."
I threw out a random excuse. Miruel looked deeply touched, while Idrian wore an unreadable, serious expression.
Did I touch a nerve or something? Even in the original novel, Idrian's past was never fully detailed, so I couldn't be sure. He was the type to suddenly reminisce and get emotional, or reminisce and become incredibly wary. Since his physical reactions looked exactly the same in both cases, I couldn't tell them apart.
I took a sip of the carbonated water I had received for free from the store owner I saved. It was sweet and refreshing, just like a lemon-lime soda. Anyway.
"You want to know why I let you guys take the credit for defeating the demon, right?"