Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Even Taking the Exam is Shameful (1)
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"Still not enough."
Ban frowned as he examined the rock's cut surface. It was rougher than he had hoped, meaning he hadn't achieved the sharpness he wanted.
Of course, it was still an impressive feat of growth. Gintnel had told him that, excluding the heirs of the Nine Great Clans, few could grasp Qi in such a short time.
"Oh... Did you finally do it?"
The voice came from above. He looked up to see a woman perched on a thick tree branch, grinning down at him. Ban scowled.
"...Did you come to tease me again?"
"When have I ever teased you?"
Yeoryeong jumped down from the tree as she spoke. She landed lightly without a sound, then drew her sword and sliced the rock Ban had cut. The blade swung through as if slicing water, without any resistance. Another cut surface appeared—one far cleaner and more perfect than Ban's.
"You're the one pulling off something this tough. How could I tease you? The renowned genius swordsman of the Cho Clan?"
"Ah, come on. If this isn't teasing, what is?"
"I'm not teasing. I'm seriously impressed. Excluding my relatives, you're the first I've seen cut a rock this quickly. Who knows? You might really become it. 'The world's strongest.'"
"...I'm leaving."
"Hey, wait!"
She was Urong's younger sister. The same age as Ban. But being the same age didn't make her someone he could treat casually. Like Urong, she was ultimately the clan head's child.
Yeoryeong blocked Ban's path. She gazed at him with her sword drawn.
"Let's spar. Come on? Just one round."
"Again?"
"Why? Don't want to?"
"...It's not that."
Ban drew his sword and smiled. The Cho Clan had a hierarchy, but it didn't apply to spars. Even the child of a criminal didn't need to hold back in a duel—that was the Cho Clan's way. In real combat, death didn't discriminate by status.
"Here I go."
"Wa—ngh!"
Ban started to say something but swung his sword in a hurry. Yeoryeong was already upon him, swinging her blade.
'Normally, I'd block it, but...'
Instead of blocking, Ban chose to smack her sword away. Her blade's path twisted off course, and even her follow-up swings kept getting tangled in Ban's strikes.
This was the method Ban had devised to counter the Cho Clan's swordsmanship. Meeting their blades head-on would get him bisected along with his sword. The only answer was to ensure their strikes never reached him by disrupting their paths entirely.
'Crazy.'
Yeoryeong gritted her teeth inwardly while keeping a relaxed expression. She had first sought out Ban after hearing about the training ground genius obsessed with the sword.
By nature, she didn't like anyone stealing her spotlight or possessing greater talent than hers. So they fought, and she won. Born with the Cho Clan's power, her body as a woman was no hindrance to being a swordsman—in fact, it was an advantage.
After that, Ban challenged her repeatedly. She won each time, as expected. Heirs of the Nine Great Clans couldn't lose to a commoner without a family's blessings even if they tried.
Yes. That was right. That was natural.
But...
"Ngh... Stop, stop deflecting them already!"
Yeoryeong swung desperately. Her strikes could send rocks or even iron flying like pebbles.
Yet Ban deflected every single one without fail.
It was a picturesque scene. A single sword scattered a typhoon that uprooted trees and split branches.
Ban didn't attack. He had no room to. But that was enough. At first, he deflected once. Then twice. Three times. Before long, it became dozens, hundreds of times.
Their spar ended with both drenched in sweat, gasping for breath. Yeoryeong landed no effective hits, and Ban couldn't attack even once. No victor or loser remained.
"...Annoying."
Yeoryeong sighed as she sheathed her sword. Ban shrugged.
"You think you're annoyed? I just spent the whole time deflecting."
"You... Never mind."
Yeoryeong started to say something but sighed again. She muttered in a dejected voice.
"Will I do okay at the academy like this?"
"If the daughter of the Cho Clan can't, who can?"
"Are we the only Great Clan? I have to compete with the other eight—no, nine."
"You'll have to work hard."
"I am. ...I'm trying my best, in my own way."
She pouted as if to say not to mistake her for a fool relying solely on talent. It was endearing. Watching her, Ban thought.
'When will I be able to cut her down?'
Just deflecting attacks didn't suit his temperament. Sure, compared to getting one-sidedly thrashed at first, it was dramatic progress. But he wasn't one to settle for so little.
He wanted to beat Yeoryeong. Urong too. And someday... even the terrifying Cho Muryeong.
Of course, that started with defeating Yeoryeong.
"You going to the academy this time too?"
"Yeah. Assuming I pass the entrance exam."
"Confident?"
"What do you think?"
"...Hmm, you should be. If you can stand up to me, Lady Yeoryeong, no average guy will dare challenge you. Feel proud."
Her shrug while saying that made her look so childish.
After Yeoryeong left, Ban continued training. Not just the Cho Clan's swordsmanship, but Oben's thrust and Jensen's Overhead Slash... He could now infuse Qi into all of them. Still stuck at 2-Star probably because he couldn't do it consistently yet...
'If only I could wield it more freely.'
Hunger set in. Three days later, without fully sating it, Ban set off on his journey.
To the capital.
§
"Whoa, Ban! Look at that! That's the Royal Palace! A castle on a cliff. To see it with my own eyes..."
"Y-Yeah..."
The journey passed without incident. Even the dumbest bandits wouldn't attack without recognizing the Cho Clan emblem. Spotting Great Clan symbols was essential for bandits' survival.
Thanks to that, Ban, Yeoryeong, and the other Cho Clan newcomers arrived in the capital neatly dressed. Though their gaping expressions still betrayed their country bumpkin origins.
"Brother Ban, l-look over there. Master Ferguson’s smithy...!"
"Oh, the one where the swords are super sharp?"
"Sharp? You'd need a year's worth of our food budget for one blade."
"...A year? That's starvation-worthy."
"P-Please hold back, brother!"
Ikyeong flailed in excitement, and Ban held him back. One of the few friends Ban made in the Cho Clan. Yeoryeong clicked her tongue at them.
"You two. Don't act so rashly in Cho Clan robes! It's embarrassing."
"...S-Sorry..."
Ikyeong deflated instantly. Yeoryeong glanced at the non-blood warriors. Unlike the blood kin with invitations, they had to take the exam.
"You all pass the exam. If you fail, don't show your faces to me. Got it?"
"Yes! Understood!"
"Go sign up. We'll head in first."
Once the blood kin left, the warriors sighed at each other. Traveling with nobles was never fun, even as a joke.
"Shall we go?"
Ban spoke first. Though newest to the Cho Clan estate, he had sway among them. Warriors respected someone who trained all day.
The academy sat below the Royal Palace, beside the cliff. No time to gawk at the famous inverted waterfall—they stood before the examiner. Unnecessarily tense.
"Hmm... All from the Cho Clan?"
"Yes. Here for the exam."
"Anyone can apply? Even with the Cho Clan backing, we need verification."
"Verification...?"
"Nothing tough."
The examiner smiled at them, enjoying their subtle tension. He lowered his voice deliberately.
"See that wolf?"
"The ones in the cage?"
"Survive one minute against one. That shows skill, grit, or luck—enough to qualify."
He grinned. Ban silently eyed the wolf the examiner pointed to. Far larger than an average person. The examiner added.
"No real weapons. Wooden sword. Stick. That's it. We don't want to hurt the wolves, even if applicants don't mind. Still up for it?"
He smirked meaningfully. Most riffraff failed here. Skilled or not, facing a wolf nearly barehanded was psychologically daunting.
But Ban wasn't riffraff.
He was a swordsman.
"Wooden sword's fine, right?"
"Of course."
"I'll go first then."
His voice held no tension. The examiner gave a strange look.
"Thought it through? We won't save you. We hauled out several corpses yesterday alone."
"No need to worry. I'm going in."
"...Good luck."
Ignoring him, Ban grabbed a wooden sword and entered the enclosure calmly. Before he could catch his breath a few times, a wolf entered the clearing.
'...Still no Voice of the Sword from a wooden blade.'
No memories surfaced. And since wolves didn't wield swords, no reading attack patterns that way. But it didn't matter.
Ban calmly assumed his stance. He could almost smell the wolf's breath. The Voice of the Sword made him strong. Without it, he wasn't weak.
His experience permeated his body, however gained.
'Save you from the wolf?'
Ban's eyes narrowed. He disliked it. Natural without seeing him fight, but it grated. Performing like a clown against a wolf in this pen? Humiliating.
He was to be the world's strongest swordsman.
The wolf charged. Fangs gleamed, capable of snapping a human neck instantly. Terrifying.
Facing it, Ban twisted his grip on the wooden sword.
The examiner said survive one minute. But Ban never intended to. No one bides time against an ant.
A single thrust.
One thrust sufficed.
Ban's wooden sword shot forth like a ray of light.