Never Show Off Your Strength Again
From now on, I swore to myself, never show off my martial prowess again. In front of monsters like that, I wouldn't even be able to present a business card.
One wall of the training ground held an orderly display of weapons ranging from real swords to wooden practice blades, spears, and maces. "Well then."
The moment we stepped inside, Karin strode toward the weapon rack without hesitation. With practiced movements, she began unfastening the buckles of the steel armor she wore over her clothes, letting each piece clatter to the floor. Once the heavy plates came off, the upper half of her body was revealed. The tight black undergarment, soaked with sweat from the long journey, clung to her toned, sculpted physique in a way that was quite bold and striking. Yet what caught my eye more were the countless large and small scars visible on her neck, forearms, and even through the fabric—clear proof of a life lived on the edge as a warrior.
...She and I are alike.
The countless brushes with death she must have survived while clawing her way up from the bottom as a commoner to become a knight overlapped strangely with the scars I'd earned on the Wall. A sense of kinship welled up in my chest.
Now in lighter clothing, Karin held a wooden practice sword. She turned to me and lightly flicked the tip toward me in invitation.
"I heard you only just arrived yesterday, Sir Bayle. Have you had time to loosen up?"
"Pardon? Ah, well... the fatigue from the journey has mostly worn off. More importantly, Sir Karin, you only just arrived yourself—"
"That's fortunate. Before I hand a sword to the young lady, why don't we have a light sparring match to warm up as well?"
Without waiting for my reply, Karin walked straight to the center of the training ground.
...Sparring the second she arrives?
Still holding the wooden sword in one hand, she gave me a polite yet unmistakably pressuring nod, one that made refusal feel impossible.
Hey, you came from the south! Your travel fatigue must be way worse than mine!
I glanced between Karin and Veronica, who sat on a bench at the far end of the training ground watching us with sparkling eyes. If she'd come here as the young lady's sword instructor, shouldn't she be focusing on Veronica first? Why was she singling out a complete stranger like me for a match on day one? The reason was obvious.
She's trying to put me in my place after I teased Veronica earlier.
The fated master-disciple bond from the original novel was terrifying. She'd only known her new lord for maybe twenty minutes—ten at most—yet here she was, trying to discipline someone who'd dared to poke fun at that lord.
"Haa... Understood. As long as we're just going through the motions."
I let out a long sigh and picked up a wooden staff from the rack. Since this wasn't a real-sword match, it was the closest in weight and balance to the spear I'd carried every day on the Wall. The familiar texture of wood in my hands made my body settle into a natural stance.
"Just going through the motions, is it. Understood."
Karin's eyes gleamed as she faced me in the center of the training ground.
"Let us begin."
The words had barely left her lips when—
Whoosh!
"?!"
She vanished from my sight, leaving only an afterimage. At the same time, I felt a gust of wind rushing straight at my face. I raised the wooden staff diagonally into a defensive posture.
Thud!!
A sharp impact jolted up both my arms.
"Ghk...!"
It was only wood against wood, yet my bones ached.
You said we were just going through the motions!
Karin didn't pause. She twisted her wrist, changing the sword's trajectory from above to below, then from left to right—relentless follow-up strikes that gave me no room to breathe.
Every single one of her attacks is insanely heavy!
I could only desperately parry and redirect her blows while retreating step by step.
Besides, all my fighting experience is from the Wall!
The real combat I'd seen during my year on the northern border had been grotesquely one-sided. From the absolute advantage of the high ramparts, we'd simply thrust and struck downward at the heads and collarbones of barbarians trying to climb up. It had been nothing but repetitive labor. Of course, even that had been too much for many of my comrades, and those who'd survived had developed strength, dynamic vision, and reflexes far beyond ordinary people. But this—fighting on flat ground, at equal eye level, against someone trained in the highly systematized art of swordsmanship—was something I'd never experienced.
What good is the novel claiming one Wall soldier equals ten regular soldiers when my opponent is Karin right now!
Karin. The sole instructor of Veronica von Arteta, the future Northern Thorned Rose who would stand at the pinnacle of the empire's martial might ten years from now. Even after losing an arm, the future Karin had been a monster among monsters, the only one capable of matching that rampaging Veronica. While her decade as a wandering knight had certainly shaped her, right now she was in her early-to-mid twenties, charging toward her prime.
And right now Karin hasn't been broken yet! Both arms are perfectly intact and strong!!
She possessed essentially the same monstrous strength as in the original novel. My experience of nothing but repetitive thrusting on the Wall gave me no advantage against this cheat-level character.
Smack! Crack!
"Hngh!"
Every time my staff cut through empty air, Karin's wooden sword slipped through the gaps in my guard. The tip grazed my thigh and nearly struck the back of my hand in a series of dizzying near-misses. Eventually, I found myself being driven into a corner, kicking up dust across the training ground.
Then, while still overwhelming me, Karin suddenly raised her voice.
"Young lady!"
"......?!"
Even as she traded blows with me, her eyes were fixed on Veronica sitting on the distant bench.
"When facing an enemy wielding a spear, the difference in reach is obvious, so you must maintain distance from farther away!"
Her voice echoed through the training ground. While sparring with me, she was simultaneously giving Veronica a live, hands-on lecture.
She's using me as some kind of audiovisual teaching aid?!
"A single short movement can inflict a fatal wound, so you must never lose focus! Also...!"
Karin smoothly deflected my staff aimed at her neck with the flat of her sword and continued.
"A spear's effective range changes depending on how much the wielder bends their knees! Therefore, you must watch not only the spear tip but also the opponent's knees and the shifting center of their lower body!"
Along with her kind, instructor-level explanation, her gaze toward me sharpened dangerously.
"And the moment the spear's balance breaks..."
Whoosh.
"...is when you strike."
In an instant, Karin vanished from my sight. My thrust missed, throwing my staff off balance, and she used that opening to close the distance.
"Hup...!"
A soft sensation brushed my neck. Her wooden sword tip now hovered precisely in front of my throat.
In a real fight, my life would already be over.
I lost... completely and overwhelmingly, so I can't even feel wronged...
I stared down at Karin, who was still pointing her sword at my neck, unable to even manage a bitter laugh at the overwhelming gap in skill.
In the silence that followed, the victor spoke.
"...Please act like you've fallen quickly."
"......Pardon?"
"The young lady is watching. Hurry up and collapse dramatically."
Her whisper, close enough to be mistaken for a threat, reached me along with her breath.
She's... really something as a loyal retainer.
I'd lost in both strength and skill. Clinging to pride now would only make me look pathetic. Swallowing my tears, I began a clumsy performance under Karin's pressure.
"U-urgh!!"
I dropped the staff with an exaggerated motion and clutched my chest with both hands. Staggering like someone mortally wounded, I collapsed loudly onto the dirt floor.
"Kgh... I-I lost... What incredible swordsmanship... thud."
I didn't forget to add the dramatic detail of lowering my head as if dying gloriously in battle.
"Waaah!"
Veronica's bright cheer erupted from the bench. Even though my acting had been so forced and awkward that I felt embarrassed myself, to the innocent ten-year-old it must have looked like a righteous knight defeating the ugly scarred monster who'd stolen her parents' attention.
Veronica bounced in place, clapping her small hands enthusiastically. Karin elegantly sheathed her sword and turned to bow deeply to the young lady.
"Young lady. Did you see? If you learn the sword, you too will be able to subdue even a Wall soldier with ease."
Still lying on the ground chewing on sand, I snorted inwardly at her words.
Sure... after training under you for ten years, she'll become a crazy monster who can go toe-to-toe with you...
The two strongest characters in the original novel were having the time of their lives. I once again felt the crushing reality that I was nothing more than a tiny, insignificant extra in this epic—humanity's level, at best.
Once the demonstration match ended successfully, Veronica began approaching the training ground with sparkling eyes. Before the young lady reached us, Karin quickly walked over to me and extended a hand.
"Thank you for indulging my request, Sir Bayle."
Her gesture and tone were impeccably polite. However—
"......"
When I took her hand and stood, the look in her eyes was even more murderous than before.
Hey, if you took it out on me during the spar, you should feel better now!
She clearly still held a grudge over me teasing Veronica.
Ha... Well, at least her loyalty is admirable... I couldn't have stopped my uncle on my own anyway...
While brushing the dust from my clothes, Karin added in a low voice.
"I heard that Sir Bayle, despite being of commoner birth like myself, has earned His Grace's favor and is now residing in the family quarters."
Was this a sense of kinship between fellow commoners?
"A knight should at least know the basics of handling a sword. Since I've been tasked with teaching the young lady, why don't you join us during training hours and learn the fundamentals alongside her, Sir Bayle?"
"Me?"
"Yes. No matter how long you survived on the Wall, with skills like what you showed earlier, you'll never be worthy of being called a knight."
Ah... Hearing it from someone else hurts even more...
But Karin soon softened her tone and continued.
"Well... On the other hand, your techniques with the spear and your knack for surviving real battles... I may need to learn those from you instead."
"......"
She subtly praised my spear skills and combat experience while lifting my spirits—the perfect example of giving medicine after poison. I was dumbfounded by her calculated way of speaking, yet I had to admit it was effective.
Even though I'm a transmigrator... I really can't escape the limits of being an extra at all.
In novels, people who transmigrate usually discover hidden opportunities and explode with talent to become genius swordsmen. Even with the Wall soldier buff, I was stuck firmly at the human level.
From now on, never show off my martial prowess again. In front of monsters like that, I won't even be able to present a business card.
I decided to coolly and humbly accept my place and limitations.
"Very well. As Sir Karin said, I've also realized my fundamentals are lacking. If you'll allow it, I'll join the training with the young lady and receive instruction alongside her."
When I bowed my head and accepted politely, I saw the hostility in Karin's eyes soften slightly. Warriors were generous toward those who acknowledged their shortcomings and sought to learn.
"A wise decision. The young lady will likely feel less lonely with a training partner rather than practicing alone."
As Karin nodded, Veronica, who had approached at a quick trot, poked her waist.
"Sir Karin! That was really cool just now! Can I do that too?"
The young lady's eyes were still bright with childish curiosity. The moment Karin saw that gaze, the terrifying expression she'd worn while beating me down vanished, replaced by an endlessly gentle and reliable teacher's smile.
"Of course, young lady. I'll pour everything I have into making you the greatest knight in the North—no, in the entire empire."
"Wow! Then I can beat that scarred uncle too, right?"
When Veronica pointed at me, I awkwardly scratched the back of my neck and looked away.
"Absolutely. After training with me for a month—no, even just half a month—you'll be able to dodge sloppy thrusts like that with your eyes closed."
I know that too, okay!
Was this what they called the curse of knowledge? Because I knew Veronica's talent better than anyone, Karin's well-meaning words stung even more.