Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Off to the Academy (10)
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“I’m a lewd woman. I’m a lewd woman.”
“Mmgh…”
I looked pityingly at Nania, who was sniffling in the corner by the wall, her hand raised.
She’d only sucked out my essence because she wanted to live, but it was still sad.
“Let's go quickly.”
“Yeah.”
Nania was pitiful, but we still had to go to work, so we left the room.
If all the women poured out of the dorm at once, it would definitely draw suspicious looks, so we headed out in groups.
Daisy and Marey, whose skin now glowed after absorbing essence, were the first to leave the dorm.
Laura and Yumi slipped out separately using stealth magic.
Finally, Rainy and Vine were going to head out with me.
Since they were here as professors, there was no issue even if they were spotted.
“You okay?”
“Huh?”
As we walked slowly toward the dreaded start of work, Rainy suddenly expressed concern for me.
Not knowing why, I tilted my head.
Rainy gently stroked my cheek.
“Your cheeks look gaunt.”
“Really?”
I touched my own cheek.
‘I don’t really notice…’
I couldn’t feel any difference in my cheeks.
“Seriously, they’ve gotten gaunt.”
But if Vine was saying it too, then I must have actually lost some weight.
No matter how I thought about it, the only factor that could make me drop weight overnight was Daisy.
My guess was that unlike Nania, who had already absorbed essence multiple times and had some leeway, Daisy had none, so she’d ruthlessly drained my essence.
‘Maybe I should eat something good for stamina…’
Pondering a dietary change, I arrived in front of the swordsmanship department.
I said goodbye to Vine and Rainy and entered the building.
Today’s class was Understanding Mana.
Someone might wonder why swordsmanship students were suddenly studying mana—that was for the magic department—but mana was important for swordsmen too.
No matter how skilled a swordsman was with the blade, swinging a sword without mana would physically limit its cutting power.
Creak.
I opened the door, and in the center, Daisy sat with her eyes closed, focusing on her wooden sword, surrounded by cheering students.
Wondering what she was doing to cause such a fuss, I approached.
And freaked out.
Daisy was drawing a massive sword aura from her wooden sword, and reflecting her nature, it shimmered pink.
Especially shocking was that I could sense my own mana in her sword aura.
It seemed that while draining my essence, some of my mana had mixed into hers.
“Hup.”
Daisy, who had been gathering mana with her eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open and swung her sword.
Boom!
The straw dummy exploded on impact.
“…”
“…”
The students were initially speechless in awe at her power.
“Woooah!”
“That was insane.”
“How’d you do that?”
Then they erupted in cheers.
Daisy smirked proudly.
“Haa…”
I let out a deep sigh.
I’d barely given her my essence after she nearly died from burning through her mana, and now she was burning it wildly again?
I needed to give her a stern scolding.
Marey was watching Daisy anxiously, clearly thinking the same.
I asked Marey for permission to scold her, and she bit her lip and nodded.
She agreed that Daisy needed it.
With our hero’s permission, there was no more hesitation.
I whacked the smugly standing Daisy on the head with my wooden sword.
In Korea, this would’ve caused an uproar, but in this world, a master tapping a disciple’s head was just playful.
“Ah, Professor! Good morning!”
She was so elated that even after the hit, she beamed brightly.
Without a word, I pointed my wooden sword at the sparring area.
Understanding my intent, Daisy grinned slyly and nodded.
“Heh, it won’t be as easy as last time.”
No matter how much she flew and soared, I needed to drill into her that she still couldn’t beat me.
Daisy and I stepped into the center of the sparring ring.
Daisy immediately began wrapping her wooden sword in the sword aura she’d shown earlier.
To use mana so unhesitatingly against a person.
She must be that confident I wouldn’t get hurt.
Or maybe she didn’t care if I did…
True experts always let novices strike first.
I waited for Daisy’s attack without any particular guard.
“Don’t let your guard down, or you’ll regret it!”
Even in front of the students, she properly used polite speech as she charged like lightning.
Her mana radiated ferocious energy.
Whiiiing.
I lightly drew out my mana and wrapped it around my sword.
Visually, the gap between Daisy and me was huge.
Her mana was ferocious enough to blanket the room, while mine faintly clung to my sword and nothing more.
“Daisy’s gonna win…”
“Losing to a student would be so embarrassing.”
“Ah, another professor’s gonna quit.”
“Tch… He was so handsome too…”
Even the students were betting on Daisy’s victory.
Her awakened aura was that impressive.
I guess I’d have to show them that appearances weren’t everything.
***
Boom!
Daisy’s sword clashed with Raden’s, unleashing an ear-splitting explosion.
Whoosh.
The impact kicked up the fine sand covering the floor, whipping up a sandstorm.
“Argh, sand in my eyes… *ptoo*…”
“Ugh… Who won…?”
The students endured the sandstorm to watch the winner of this bout.
They were all swordsmanship students, famous for their belligerence.
And they loved spectating fights more than anyone.
Swirl.
Soon the sandstorm settled, revealing the result of the exchange.
The students’ eyes widened at the sight.
Daisy, who had charged in with such momentum, was embedded in the far wall, while the seemingly precarious Raden hadn’t budged an inch, casually holding his wooden sword.
Raden smiled leisurely as he surveyed the students.
“Everyone, true masters don’t flaunt their mana like that. They control it to the extreme, condensing it to a single point, making it look plain like mine.”
“…”
“So when you fight after graduation, don’t let your guard down just because an opponent’s mana looks weak.”
While Raden continued the lesson, Daisy slowly pulled herself from the wall.
She’d felt the gap, enough to kill her fighting spirit, but her eyes still burned.
“Whew…”
Daisy admitted that even after sucking his essence dry, she couldn’t reach Raden.
So she changed her goal.
From beating Raden to at least landing a scratch.
Daisy closed her eyes and sensed her mana.
The energies she presumed were Raden’s mana obeyed her control without much resistance—thankfully.
Whiiiing.
A massive mana erupted around Daisy just like before, flaunting its power.
It was impressive that she could draw it out after taking a hit, but what came next was more astonishing.
Daisy went beyond simply unleashing powerful mana—she began condensing it, just like Raden had.
“…”
Raden inwardly reeled in shock at the sight.
Applying what she’d just learned in a lecture so quickly?
He almost thought he had a talent for teaching.
Grumble.
Daisy succeeded on her first try, masterfully condensing her mana.
A vivid crimson sword aura wrapped her wooden sword.
“Ooooh!”
The protagonist faces trials in a duel, breaks through the wall, and overcomes.
This classic shonen manga trope was timelessly popular.
The students’ eyes sparkled as they cheered for Daisy.
In contrast, Raden swallowed hard, sensing a crisis of a lifetime.
Losing here to an awakening Daisy?
He’d become the villain fodder for her protagonist moment.
Raden didn’t want to be that expendable side character.
“Here I go!”
With her wall shattered, Daisy charged again, brimming with confidence.
Raden, startled by her momentum, racked his brain to save face.
It was a terribly unsightly move in his eyes, but better than losing his professor title to a student—he closed his eyes and extended his fingers.
“Heavenly Demon Death Beam.”