What a Mage Does Not Learn.
What a Mage Does Not Learn.
"Now call it magic."
The instant Ivan heard Plan's words, she took two steps backward.
...Call it magic?
Absurd. She could not comprehend it. Could not accept it.
She had been born into knighthood, had accepted a knight's duties, and from the moment she could grip anything, she had trained solely with the sword.
Swordsmanship.
This was swordsmanship. It would remain so for eternity, and she had never once doubted that truth.
Shhhhhing—!
Ivan swung her sword once more.
Her blade, bolstered by her Inherent Ability, streaked toward Plan's head like a ray of light.
But once again, the doll swiftly intervened.
CRRRAAASSSH!
Sword met sword with a colossal detonation.
"...."
Ivan's eyes quivered. The doll, achieving a stalwart defense, baffled her.
No, it was more than simply stalwart.
The doll was defending its master by perfectly imitating Ivan's own swordsmanship. Exactly, to the letter.
"...Blocked it?"
No answer came. The target was a doll, after all.
Ivan slowly rolled her eyes. Her gaze eventually landed on Plan, standing nonchalantly.
Before she knew it, a shout tore out of her.
"Such mockery against a knight.... Does my blade not frighten you in the least?!"
"Why would it frighten me?"
The reply came instantly. In the most chilling tone imaginable.
"Let me ask you instead, Ivan. Could you ever be scared of an opponent like this?"
"Like this...."
Snap—.
It felt as if a bundle of nerves had been severed somewhere in her head.
"Like this, you say...."
She repeated Plan's words. Her boiling head cooled to ice in a single moment.
No, perhaps it had already burned away entirely.
Plan's words were not wrong.
Right now, she was nothing more than a 'like this' opponent, and she might well suffer a humiliating defeat.
However.
'A knight does not grow stronger through training alone.'
Ivan knew this.
If you cannot bring your full skill to bear in real combat, you are third-rate.
If you can bring your full skill to bear in real combat, you are second-rate.
And... only those who overcome their limits in real combat can be called true first-rate knights.
Ivan raised her head. Steadying her breath, she looked slowly around at the countless cadets seated in the audience.
A great many knight cadets were staring at a single person, and Ivan knew that single person was herself.
She gave a single nod and then adjusted her grip on her sword.
'Watch closely, all of you.'
Whether your choice to place your faith in me as your representative was right or wrong.
To Ivan, this contest was no longer a mere game of victory or defeat.
This was the place where she would prove that knights possessed a unique swordsmanship and spirit that something like magic could never imitate.
What she held in her hand was not merely a sword. It held the pride of knights as well.
"Hoooo...."
Ivan slowly raised her sword.
The high stance.
She abandoned the middle stance that also served as defense. She would pierce straight through something today, no matter what.
She repeated her steady breathing. Her breathing grew lower and lower, and the surrounding air began to sink heavily.
'Sharper than anything.'
If the doll had modeled itself after her, then she simply needed to trample over her own self and surpass it.
Like a bird taking flight, she would never look back.
Clang!
The doll parried Ivan's sword once more. But it was different from before.
Ivan suddenly felt her field of vision expand.
The doll's stagger became visible. To her eyes now, that gap was apparent.
"...What is this?"
Eric, a Scouter from the Mystic Gorge, murmured involuntarily.
Plan.
A name he had first heard through Colin. Even upon observing his appearance, he hadn't felt it was anything extraordinary.
A character with self-assurance. That was all he was.
"To summon a copy of Ivan to fight... how does someone even think of that.... No, even if he did think of it, how is something like that possible after only a few minutes of observation?"
"That's a story that's half right and half wrong."
Colin dismissed Eric's words.
"In what way?"
"I'm not sure about the Inherent Ability part... but anyone can see that's Ivan's swordsmanship."
"But even if it's only half right... it's already insane."
Eric clicked his tongue before he knew it.
In the end, didn't this mean Plan had perfectly replicated Ivan's swordsmanship after only a few observations?
"Senior, look at the mood over in the Knight Department."
The two Scouts glanced around the Knight Department's audience section.
The students who would normally be cheering passionately sat there blankly, the silence reminiscent of the Void.
"Of course the mood is like that. Swordsmanship that took time and dedication was copied in an instant. For the Knight Department, it's enough to shake their very foundation."
As if getting goosebumps, Eric stroked his own arm.
"Look at the glares they're shooting at Plan. Ugh, terrifying..."
There were no gazes of resentment or blame toward Ivan, their representative. However, the gazes directed at Plan were anything but kind.
Very much so.
"How could their gazes be kind? From their perspective, Plan is nothing more or less than a thief."
"A thief... can you call him that? It's magic."
"That's why mages accept it. Originally, knights and mages don't understand each other."
"Either way, at this rate, the Magic Department will win. Right before our eyes... something insane is happening."
"Don't have doubts."
Colin's cold voice cut Eric off once again.
"Don't have doubts. Accept what happened exactly as it happened. That's a Scouter's job."
But even as he spoke, sweat was trickling down Colin's own forehead.
"...Even if what's happening before your eyes is something you've never seen before."
"Is there absolutely no chance Ivan could turn this around?"
"Who knows."
Eric's head whipped toward Colin. Colin continued speaking without taking his eyes off Plan and Ivan.
"If she Awakens... it might be different. Have you ever seen the moment someone Awakens?"
At Colin's words, Eric quietly shook his head. He hadn't even been a Scouter for a full year yet.
"Do you even know what Awakening is?"
"Senior, I know at least that much. Whether a mage or a knight, if they Awaken, their level skyrockets, right?"
"Haah... you know it much too shallowly."
Colin let out a deep sigh.
"It's true that their level skyrockets as if a vein has been pierced, but that's for mages. A knight's method of Awakening is a bit different."
"Is that so?"
"Right. A knight's possessed ability becomes one layer more unique. I don't need to explain how much the power increases, do I?"
"Ah.... And they push even further beyond that to reach the transcendent realm."
Eric nodded quietly.
"For now, just know this one thing. Awakening requires a trigger."
"A trigger... right, that makes sense. Awakening without any trigger at all just doesn't make sense."
"Exactly. So from now on, focus every nerve and watch."
Colin paused for a moment before continuing.
"Whether it's trying to flip the board, or trying to maintain it. Both are more than sufficient to become the trigger for an Awakening."
◈
Ivan suddenly felt her body ignite.
But her heart did not grow impatient in the slightest.
The sword had already become a part of her body. The energy coiled around the blade felt more vivid than ever.
Had there ever been a moment of such focus?
Had there ever been a moment of such desperation?
And.
Had there ever been a moment of such fury?
Words are unnecessary in such moments. She simply maintained the sharpest high stance and stared at her opponent.
At the moment when everyone held their breath in that taut tension.
"Hup!"
Swallowing a breath, Ivan charged at the doll.
Her blade rent the empty air again and again. The sounds of tearing air cascaded a single beat behind.
Fwoooosh!
'Fast.'
Ivan's speed was fundamentally different from other knights'.
No, it had to be. Otherwise, the Inherent Ability she possessed would hold no meaning.
'Faster!'
What she pursued was the ultimate principle of speed.
With each swing, the sensation at the tip of her blade grew clearer.
'Faster, even faster!'
A body driven to the extreme is faster than anything else. She reached a level she could never have attained before.
Countless trajectories created in an instant rained down upon the doll, slashing into it.
Shhhk!
One arm of the doll is severed and falls away.
She surpasses herself.
She shatters her limits.
That desperate heart 'Awakens' the knight.
Shk! Shk! Shhhk!
The doll's hand, arm, shoulder are cut off in sequence.
Her lower body supports her sturdily, her torso moves fluidly, making the sword dance.
The Ivan of just moments ago... was no match for the Ivan of now.
The mangled doll scattered, turning into azure energy.
Her eyes, finally gazing at Plan left alone now, sank immeasurably low.
"I am a knight."
She began to murmur, low and clear.
"We chase impossible dreams, fight unbeatable foes, endure unbearable pain, and have lived thus."
Ivan placed her palm flat against the body of the blade. Then she moved her hand, sweeping it down to the very tip of the sword.
"But when we achieve the impossible. When we defeat the unbeatable enemy. When we endure the unbearable."
In response, the entire blade began to emit a brilliant light.
It was an intense golden energy that could not even be compared to the pure white aura from before.
"...We finally obtain uniqueness. A singularity that others can never acquire."
Ivan slowly assumed her stance.
There was no need for complexity. Simply being fast would be enough.
Furthermore, this could never be imitated or replicated.
"Plan."
The Awakened knight uttered her opponent's name in a low voice.
"A knight is taught, for a lifetime, not to break even in the face of defeat. That is the indomitable spirit engraved into our very bones."
Ivan slowly inhaled. A sense of exaltation heated her body.
She will endlessly swing, thrust, and advance.
She will prove that knights possess their own unique domain.
Because that is the Code of Chivalry Ivan believes in.
"...This is something you will never be able to imitate."
The golden energy began to surge and whirl.
This manifestation requires no grandiose name.
One Flash.
A single brilliant gleam. That alone is sufficient.
Ivan drew her sword in close to her body. The path toward Plan was vividly clear.
Her body felt lighter than it ever had before.
She will surely win.
No, defeat is impossible.
"Not breaking in the face of defeat, you say.... Knights certainly do learn a lot. It's unexpected."
Just then, Plan opened his mouth.
"There are several things mages don't learn."
He continued with a perfectly nonchalant attitude.
"I've never learned how to lose. I wouldn't know how."
The mage's red eyes turned toward the knight.
"Come."
Simultaneously, a golden straight line extended outward, long and far.
◈
"Haah, haah...."
Ivan inspected the tip of her sword.
Fresh blood beaded on the steely blue blade.
It meant her single strike had landed true. Ivan nodded, flicking away the droplets of blood trickling down the edge.
"...Victory."
Plan must have been cleanly bisected. He would have been transported to the infirmary by now.
The tension that had been tightly wound throughout her body finally released. A sense of accomplishment, of having elevated her own level, washed over her.
But that was when it happened.
"That was usable."
"...!"
At the voice suddenly heard, Ivan whipped her head around.
"It certainly has its own unique qualities. Furthermore, the fact that you overcame your own limits is also praiseworthy."
Staring at Plan, standing there perfectly composed, Ivan's shoulders trembled.
The shoulder of Plan's uniform was torn. That spot was very faintly dyed red.
'How in the world.'
Ivan's single strike had embodied the speed of a flash, and its trajectory had not a single inch of error. It should have been impossible to miss.
...Did Plan manage to dodge it after all?
"However, Ivan, that ability of yours just now piqued my interest."
Plan went on, rubbing his chin.
A gaze filled solely with curiosity, without a trace of fear, from red eyes touched upon Ivan.
"Could you show it to me a few more times? What do you say?"
Hazy heat shimmers that bloomed from Plan's body encroached upon the space.
The phantasmagoric waves of mana soon began to coalesce into three forms.
"Wh, what...."
Ivan's jaw trembled.
The moment he snapped his fingers, three sword bodies radiating a razor-sharp aura materialized before him.
Plan quietly brought his palms together.
Like gears rotating in opposing directions, he moved his palms, slowly meshing them together.
In response, each individual sword transformed into the shape of Ivan.
Not just one this time, but three in total.
"About three more times would be nice."
"...."
Ivan could not close her mouth, utterly dumbfounded.
And she could not utter a single word either.
The sword left Ivan's hand.
Clang—!
Finally, the moment that sword clattered against the ground.
From the Magic Department's side, a thunderous roar of cheers surged forth.