The White Light Knight
Rustling paper.
For a moment my mind went completely blank.
What had I just heard?
I forced my frozen brain cells into motion, replaying the words that had just reached my ears.
“A signature, you say.”
“Yes! A signature! Minho-nim’s! Signature!”
Every single syllable landed with full force. The tone was the complete opposite of the trembling voice from moments before.
“Uhhh… why a signature all of a sudden?”
I was the one thrown into confusion.
Why?
How come?
I’m not even a celebrity—why on earth are you asking me for an autograph?
“I’m a fan!”
“Eek.”
I was so startled I nearly bit my tongue clean through.
Ugh. Almost drew blood there.
“So you’re saying you’re my fan.”
“Yeees!”
“I’m Korean, though.”
“There’s no one in Europe who doesn’t know Minho-nim’s name!”
The verbal barrage poured down like a waterfall; I couldn’t even collect my thoughts. Where had the stuttering girl from earlier gone?!
It was sharp in a completely different way from Sir Gerard’s endless TMI.
Receiving an S-rank evaluation in both the C-class and B-class promotion exams. Stopping the gate break that erupted in Guui-dong. Even the relatively recent incident of sealing a gate right before a mega-break. My entire track record spilled from her lips one after another.
What is this. Scary.
“Hahaha! It was a gaze of pure admiration for My Lord!”
“Our master is pretty amazing, yeah.”
Don’t chime in, you two. If the goal was to kill me with embarrassment, you were already halfway there.
Hooo. Calm down. It’s not even the first time I’ve signed for a fan.
“That’s true. This is the second time.”
Thank you for grounding me in reality—I’m so moved I could cry. I never imagined I’d meet a fan of mine in a foreign land. And that someone who was the disciple of one of the Twelve Heroes would claim to be my fan, no less.
I put strength into my hand, signed, and handed the paper back.
“Thank you! I’ll treasure this as a family heirloom and pass it down for generations!!”
“You really don’t have to go that far.”
“Oh, will today’s exchange match be against Minho-nim?”
“No, this friend here will handle it.”
I pointed lightly toward Sir Isra.
“It is a match with honor on the line. Even if you are a follower of My Lord, I cannot show mercy.”
“Wow! The Knight of White Light is my opponent! It’s an honor!”
Knight of White Light? Who’s that?
“It’s the nickname the fan club uses for Sir Isra. You didn’t know?”
A cold drop of sweat slid down my spine. I had first learned of the fan club’s existence during the B-class promotion exam. Just remembering that time made me even more terrified.
“Oh, ooooh! The Knight of White Light!”
“But why ‘White Light’?”
At my question Emilia’s eyes sparkled.
“Because when she swings her sword, light flashes everywhere!”
“Hahaha! I like it very much!”
Sir Isra’s eyes lit up with delight.
Haa. Why is the embarrassment always my share?
“W-what about me?!”
“Ingrid-nim is… I’m sorry. Just ‘the Witch.’”
Emilia bowed her head deeply.
“Grrr! I’ll have to try harder!”
“Hahahaha. Both loyalty toward My Lord and actual achievements—I am clearly ahead, mage.”
“Just you wait, iron-head. I’ll earn a cooler nickname yet.”
I also want a nickname, please.
“Thief, be quiet.”
“Don’t butt in, thief!”
I. Am. Good. Now.
Chaotic. Completely chaotic.
“Emilia. Have you properly exchanged greetings before starting the exchange match?”
“Y-yes!”
“Then let us begin soon. Minho-kun, are you ready as well?”
“Yes. As for me…”
Sir Isra was in peak condition. Since it was a one-on-one spar I hadn’t cast any blessings, but the damage she had taken in the Tower of Chaos had long since been fully restored. She had maintained perfect form the entire time.
“D-do your best, both of you!”
Emilia said shyly as she stepped back. Have I really become this famous?
“Sir Isra. At this point, don’t you think you no longer need to elevate my honor any further?”
“What nonsense is that? I swore an oath—that there would not be a single soul who has never heard My Lord’s name.”
Teacher. That isn’t a vow. That’s unilateral terrorism.
“Iron-head. Are you going to take it easy?”
“Don’t talk nonsense, mage.”
Sir Isra’s expression turned completely serious, without a trace of a smile.
Whoooosh!
Around the Bloodstained Longsword of the Fallen Knight gripped in her hand, the air began to swirl.
“Holding back would be an insult to My Lord.”
The fierce resolve that even a fan of mine must not receive any mercy. Listening to the sword’s resonant cry that answered Sir Isra’s emotions, I could feel that determination in every fiber of my being.
Thud— thud—
They took positions roughly a hundred meters apart. Sir Isra and Emilia faced each other.
“Then I shall begin.”
A green sphere appeared at Alfons-nim’s fingertips and floated several meters into the air. The sphere shifted from green to orange to red. Immediately after—
Boooom!
It exploded in a dazzling burst reminiscent of fireworks. With that flashy performance signaling the start of the exchange match—
“Then I shall go all out.”
Sir Isra’s figure shot forward like an arrow.
The direct disciple of Alfons Hus, one of the Twelve Heroes.
Emilia Gunter squeezed her eyes shut right before the exchange match began.
My heart feels like it’s going to explode!
Her current favorite hunter—the one she had only recently started stanning—stood right in front of her. She had first learned of Minho’s exploits by pure chance. While scrolling through SNS as part of her usual bedtime routine, she had stumbled across a short clip cut from body-cam footage of his achievements. That was the beginning.
It wasn’t ordinary at all.
Sir Isra’s sword cutting down mutant ghouls. Unique magical formulas that defied common sense. Every single performance was so bizarre and captivating that she couldn’t look away. Starting from that short video, Emilia had searched everything about Minho and, before she knew it, had become his fan.
I want to show him something cool.
She was a talent who could surpass even Alfons. Yet because of her timid nature she had never been able to draw out her full power. But right now, in this moment, it was different. The fierce determination not to disappoint the hunter she admired pulled her abilities beyond one hundred percent.
She’s someone who can cut magic even without Aura.
Emilia had reviewed Sir Isra’s feats through videos countless times—the Guui-dong gate break, the competition with Mir Guild, and the recent pre-break gate clear. Not every piece of footage had been released publicly. She had only seen the limited materials distributed by the Rift Agency, but after rewatching the open-source clips over and over she had arrived at the best possible answer.
I have to close the distance and apply pressure without giving her any room.
Emilia’s rank was A-class. She had awakened both Memorize and Multi-Chant. She had several spells already stored specifically for today. The key would be whether she could decide the match before her stock of prepared spells ran dry.
Boooom!
The instant Alfons’s starting signal exploded—
“Hah!”
Sir Isra let out a short shout and kicked off the ground while using Mana Release.
Mana Release
Fast. A battle between a mage and a warrior hinged entirely on “spacing”—how quickly one could close the gap, or how effectively one could create distance and free-cast without giving the opponent any chance.
I expected a frontal charge.
Multi-Chant
Banish
A spatial-type spell that designated a target and expelled it. An unavoidable, instant-cast spell shoved Sir Isra backward. The distance moved was only about fifty meters.
Eek. Why?
Banish’s minimum expulsion range was one hundred meters. Moreover, the formula Emilia had deployed was refined enough to push even a well-defended mage as far as two hundred meters.
She resisted the magic in that tiny instant!
As expected, she was incredible. Separate from that thought, Emilia immediately launched her next prepared move.
Earth Magic — Stone Edge
A spell she had been calculating simultaneously with Banish. Massive chunks of rock erupted from the ground, spinning violently as they shot forward.
“A fine move.”
Sir Isra grinned. A magical attack that carried physical force. Even if one cut the magical grain, the physical power loaded into the rocks could not be completely nullified. Banish followed by Stone Edge—an excellent combination.
“I have no choice but to answer with full power as well.”
Aura
Wooooong!
A blue current of energy wrapped around the Bloodstained Longsword of the Fallen Knight.
Imperial Sword Style – Modified Isra Form
Form 3 – Full Moon Slash
A black blade left a trail through the empty air. The Aura coiled around the sword unraveled into the sky and whipped up a fierce gale.
Whoooosh!
The rock chunks laden with earth mana were sent flying weakly in completely wrong directions.
“I’ve never seen anything like that?!”
Emilia blurted out her thoughts in pure shock. Sir Isra’s usual fighting style was cutting the grain of magic. Every publicly available video she had analyzed had shown exactly that. Yet what was this technique she had just displayed? Instead of relying on her usual finesse, she had simply crushed Emilia’s magic with overwhelming force. It was the result of drawing out the full power of the super-grade artifact—the Bloodstained Longsword of the Fallen Knight.
Amazing!
The awe lasted only a moment. Emilia’s heart pounded wildly. To be able to witness such a magnificent sight with her own eyes only—she desperately wished she could capture it in a photo, and the regret dripped from her. Separate from that, her mind was frantically calculating the next move.
The earth magic she had cast to restrict Sir Isra’s movement had been completely nullified by a single sword stroke. Even so, the spar was far from over.
Spatial Magic – Blink
If she couldn’t push the opponent away, then she would simply move herself. The concentration drop that was the aftereffect of Blink struck her, but—
Hyper Focus
Emilia’s ability completely negated the penalty. At the same moment she crossed space she activated another spell.
Earth Magic — Dig
The ground where Sir Isra had been standing a second earlier collapsed. Just as Sir Isra’s body began to drop into the hole—
Mana Release
She blasted mana into the air and shot upward once more.
“I knew you’d do that.”
Memorize
Gravity Magic – Weight Gravity
Memorize—the proof of an A-class mage. Even powerful spells could be used instantly without preparation if they were stored in advance. The gravity-amplification magic activated across the entire pit. Sir Isra’s body, just as it was leaping free, was slammed back down into the hole.
Sir Gerard, who had been watching the spar, let out an impressed “Oh—”
“Weight Gravity is an A-class skill. Memorizing it can’t have been easy.”
“She’s my disciple.”
Alfons Hus’s specialties were light-source and earth magic. Emilia shared the same elemental talents as her master and handled those magics with great skill.
“That’s not what I was asking, is it?”
“Honestly. Can’t a man simply say his late-life disciple is excellent with genuine feeling?”
“You’re noisy. Be quiet. You’re interrupting.”
While the two of the Twelve Heroes bickered, Sir Isra gritted her teeth and fought against the crushing pressure weighing down her entire body.
“Hrrrngh… quite spicy.”
“That’s not the end!”
Fly
Emilia rose into the air. Mana rearranged itself around the staff she thrust forward.
Multi-Chant
Photon Ray
Brilliant Arrow
Stone Shower
A massive volley of magic bullets condensed from light-attribute mana, along with earth-attribute magic, poured down toward the crown of Sir Isra’s head.