Entrance Exam (4): Veil Arden
Veil Arden. A genius among geniuses who showed exceptional talent with the sword at just seven years old and reached Sword Expert Mid by fourteen. At the same time, he was the second son of the Arden family, burdened with an incompetent older brother.
'My little brother.'
Though only fifteen, Veil had entered Tianis Academy two years early thanks to his extraordinary skill and talent at such a young age. Unlike his brother, he had inherited the Arden bloodline thick and strong, earning him the moniker of the Sword Emperor reborn—the founder of their house. Naturally, this meant the brothers didn't get along. It was more accurate to say one side was unilaterally pushing the other away. And of course, that aggressor was the older brother, Kyle.
Veil, the younger one, actually respected his brother. No matter how much Kyle insulted or scolded him, Veil always addressed him properly as "hyungnim" and used polite speech. Even in the novel, after his brother died, he never forgot the anniversary, leaving flowers at a gravestone no one else visited.
Veil Arden was the kind of character who made you wonder how two brothers born from the same womb could have such different personalities. Well, they were brothers from the same family, so their relationship was doomed to fray. From Kyle's perspective, his little brother was the ideal existence he'd always longed to be.
Expecting a normal sibling bond in a situation like this would be the real oddity.
Because of that, my body's reaction was anything but normal. Rage boiled up like a volcano on the verge of eruption. A fiercer response than even when facing Princess Ariel.
It might be proof of just how much I hated—no, despised—my little brother.
I suppressed my raging body as best I could. If I didn't, I couldn't predict what I might do.
"……."
"……."
Silence flowed between us. Both my brother and I watched each other quietly. After our first exchange, words had ceased for a moment.
'Is this an Arden trait?'
Why were all the Ardens so damn quiet? Just look at Elraim—she barely spoke. Our father, Decal Arden, was the strong, silent type too. Had my brother inherited that as well?
Or was it me?
In the story, Veil wasn't particularly quiet. Compared to chatterboxes like Evan or Rana, he seemed reserved, but he was pretty average.
'No matter how I think about it, it's gotta be because of me.'
Otherwise, why would he be clamming up like this? Not that I minded—I was playing my part by staying silent too.
And finally, my brother opened his mouth.
"Hyungnim…."
"Spit it out already. Or fuck off if you got nothing to say."
I replied coldly to his words. Every breath, every sound from him grated on me. My body rejected him on a near-pathological level.
When he didn't respond, I turned my back. I wanted to get away from him as fast as possible.
"Have you picked up the sword again?"
Those words stopped me in my tracks. I wasn't holding a sword right now. I'd tossed Evan's far away too. He couldn't have said that without watching my fight.
"Where'd you start watching from?"
"From the middle… I saw it."
Damn it.
In the story, Evan and Veil just exchanged greetings at the start and went separate ways. Their paths were opposite, so they never crossed during the exam.
But they had. And he'd witnessed everything I'd done.
How he'd ended up here didn't matter. The real problem was that the protagonist, Veil, had seen my swordsmanship and my magic.
'It's fine. The quest still fails anyway.'
So no need to worry about that. But how to handle my brother's memory—that was the issue.
Veil wasn't the type to blab secrets. Still, I couldn't just leave it.
"You seem much stronger than the last time I saw you."
"What're you getting at?"
"I just wanted to congratulate you on your achievements…."
"Shut up. I don't wanna hear that shit from you."
I cut him off irritably. Truth be told, I had no idea how conversations between the brothers usually went. Kyle was a throwaway extra who vanished quickly, and with the protagonist to hype up, wasting scenes on their sibling drama would've been pointless.
Still, Kyle got mentioned occasionally by his brother, so his behavior was easy enough to predict. And with my body's reactions making the acting even simpler.
"You've always been like this."
I took a step forward, clenching my fist as if seething with fury.
"Those eyes of yours, pitying me like you're doing it for my own good!"
"No, that's not it. I'm just worried about you, hyungnim…." My brother protested like a younger sibling should.
I didn't stop, closing the distance. Veil didn't avert his gaze.
And when we were about a step apart.
"It's been fucking bullshit!"
I thrust out my arm. The instant my hand neared his body, I deployed the spell. Black energy bloomed.
A type of black magic: memory erasure.
Rushed as it was, I couldn't fine-tune it, but it'd wipe the last ten minutes or so.
Thwack!
But before it connected, my wrist was caught.
As expected, he was a tough matchup.
"What do you think you're doing, hyungnim?"
My brother's voice turned ice-cold.
"What were you just trying to do to me… and more importantly."
He lifted my wrist. I'd already pulled back the power once grabbed, but the ominous aura lingered.
"This is black magic. Who the hell did you learn this power from?"
"Let go!"
The contact made disgust surge. My words came out rougher than intended.
But my brother ignored it and shouted.
"Black magic is a power that defies the natural order—no human should use it! If the Holy Kingdom finds out, you'll be executed!"
"So what? What does that have to do with you?"
"Hyungnim!"
At my flat tone, Veil yelled, his face twisting in anguish.
"You've already fallen."
"That's just your opinion."
My brother flared his mana. The clear, pure energy unique to the Arden Mana Heart method spread out.
"You'll tell me everything. When, where, and from whom did you get this power?"
I snorted at that.
"You think you can demand that from me?"
"It's all for your sake, hyungnim."
Whoosh!
His free arm vanished in an instant. A sharp wind whistled.
My brother's hand was shockingly fast. But he'd underestimated me.
Thinking he'd overpower me easily since one hand was caught.
I twisted the captured arm, throwing off his balance just enough for his strike to miss.
"……."
"You thought you could take me down easy?"
Whoosh!
He lunged wordlessly. This time, the intent to attack was clear.
But the straight-line motion was too predictable. I moved to deflect it lightly.
Yet the moment our hands met, his arm snaked like a serpent, burrowing in.
I yanked him closer using our locked arms. The gap vanished in a heartbeat.
Thud…
A light impact struck my abdomen. The punch lacked momentum, so it was weak.
Veil's face hardened. He shook off my grip on his wrist.
Both our arms were free now.
"Hoo…."
One breath.
Then my brother charged, eyes flashing. His fist sliced the air with thrusting finesse.
I positioned my hand along its path to redirect. He slapped away my deflecting hand.
Mana-wreathed fist breaking through.
I stepped back, twisting my hand to draw it in like a whirlpool.
Thwack!
I caught the weakened punch and pushed with full force. His joint buckled.
Veil tensed his arm, blocking the technique.
"…I'll get serious now."
He muttered. Realizing these games wouldn't subdue me, he was about to unleash his true skill.
And then we traded blows in earnest.
'He handles fists well too.'
I thought, twisting my body aside. That was my impression of my brother.
The Arden family was famed for swordsmanship, but they didn't specialize solely in blades. Techniques for spears, staffs, blunt weapons—all had been passed down.
Fist techniques naturally included.
Knights weren't bound to swords alone. There were many people, and some excelled with other weapons.
These were all supreme martial arts created by the founding patriarch.
Another reason: preparation for the worst. If your sword broke, got lost, or in a crisis to exploit a gap.
You never knew what life might throw at you, so you trained for it.
Sure, you could argue to focus on swords, but with such prodigies in the family, it wasn't a big deal.
My brother had made fists his secondary weapon. His talent elevated it to first-class mastery.
Harmonizing with any martial art via the Mana Heart method, ancestral fist techniques, and the skill to wield them.
Veil's assaults were threatening. But I didn't just take them.
Redirect, block, counter the openings.
I couldn't match his physical limits, but those three sufficed.
Yet as time dragged, it grew tougher. Unlike protagonist Evan, my brother was Expert Mid. His raw output was on another level.
Mana reserves, physical prowess—he outclassed me vastly.
Realizing that, his attacks intensified. Each hit pushed me back further.
'Drag this out, and I'll lose.'
The outcome was clear.
Time to end it. I had no intention of prolonging the fight.
I scraped the ground with my foot. He stepped back.
I surged into the gap.
My brother fought well, no doubt. Expert Mid in rank, but his technique and mastery eyed higher realms. His youth held him back; otherwise, he'd be Upper already.
A knight who seemed impossible to beat at student level. That was my brother.
But perfect? No.
Veil was still blooming. He had a blind spot he didn't notice.
I pressed with a flurry, forcing him back. He blocked effortlessly, busily.
That was my aim.
His breath ran out amid the relentless barrage.
The instant he inhaled, I moved.
I gripped his forearm along the punch's path, infusing mana for adhesion to lock it.
He reacted instantly—but a hair slow.
He had a habit of loosening slightly when breathing.
A subtle flaw.
I kicked his knee. His lower body crumpled, upper pitching forward.
Even a battle-hardened brother couldn't recover here.
"Hngh!"
I slammed him down full-force.
"Kuh!"
Veil groaned, face contorting. His back must feel shattered.
I'd hardened the ground with magic.
With him pinned, I reached for his head to erase the memory.
Black energy bloomed from my hand again.
This time, I tuned it carefully to avoid brain damage.
Ready, I cast.
But then.
"Huh?"
Strength drained from my body.
Not from overexertion—I'd managed stamina fine.
I saw the magic circle's mana leaking skyward.
Felt my empty dantian.
Mana exhaustion.
The earlier Veil of Delusion wasn't a one-shot; it was sustained, constantly draining mana.
Keeping it up had emptied me.
'Forgot about that.'
Too absorbed in the fight? Or this Kyle Arden body's fault?
'Ha… fuck.'
I stemmed the leak, but low mana meant the spell fizzled.
I'd collapse soon too.
Handle his memory first.
Couldn't squeeze nonexistent mana—forcing it risked my life.
Life never went my way, but this was ridiculous.
All I wanted was to quietly handle the protagonist and rest.
'Good idea….'
I calmly recalled Veil's info.
Didn't want to use it, but circumstances forced my hand. Better than leaving it and suffering later.
'Yeah, that'll do.'
Hitting my limit, I panted roughly.
My recovered brother stared blankly.
Then quietly said,
"It's not too late, hyungnim. If you confess everything to Father or the family now…."
"Hey."
I cut him off with a heavy voice. He shut up.
"You think you know everything about the family?"
Planting seeds of doubt in his heart.
"You know nothing."
Gripping the fresh suspicion tight.
"What kind of bastard Father really is."
Inflating it like a balloon.
"How rotten the Arden family is."
Etching it deep.
To anyone else, just odd mutterings. But to him, devastatingly effective.
Shadow crossed his face. It was working.
I drove in the final nail.
"You don't know the darkness festering inside."
I cast the spell. Erasing everything except this talk—from my fight with the protagonist onward.
Low mana, but it'd hold—just barely.
"Hyungnim…."
He called in a plaintive voice.
I replied coldly.
"Veil Arden. You're just a fool who can't grasp even the simplest truths."
Black energy seeped into his head.
Veil's eyes closed, consciousness fading.
"Ha… it's over…."
Exhaustion hit me too; my eyes grew heavy.
Soon, I blacked out like him.