Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Guard Unit's Sword (1)
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When Ban first appeared, everyone assumed he had come to watch them, just like always.
To everyone, Ban's "dream" meant about that much. They didn't pay much mind to talk of wanting to become king and rule the world, or having a forbidden romance with a princess, or sitting on a cushion made of money. In the same way, not many people put much weight on Ban's words that he wanted to become a swordsman.
"Hey, did you fight with old man Jensen?"
Dolbi asked with a smirk. He seemed to think Ban was just going through a momentary lapse. But Aidan was different. His eyes reflexively scanned Ban's hands.
'......He trained relentlessly.'
Ban had been out of sight lately, so Aidan wondered what he had been up to. It looked like he had been practicing swordsmanship alone. Seeing the calluses and scabs on his hands, it was clear he hadn't approached it with a casual mindset.
But would that make any difference?
Pushing aside the bitter question, Aidan stepped forward. Regardless of the odds, ignoring an opponent coming at him with sincerity wasn't the act of a man.
"Are you serious?"
"Come on, Captain. Why are you like this? This guy's spent his whole life digging herbs and brewing potions. Even if he picks up a sword now..."
"Look at Ban's hands, Dolbi."
At those words, not just Dolbi but the other guards looked at Ban's hands and froze.
"Good lord...... What the hell did he do to get his hands like that?"
"Did he train so hard his hands ended up like that?"
"If he was gonna do that, why not start sooner......"
"Ban, that kid......"
It was more than enough to confirm Ban's resolve. Even Dolbi stopped his usual antics and looked at his hands with a complicated gaze. Aidan spoke in a quiet voice.
"Does Jensen know about this?"
"I'll tell him properly after I pass the test."
"......You know this, but you can't become a guard just because you want to. You need not just talent, but skill. Do you think you meet those conditions?"
"Won't you know once you see my test?"
Ban seemed surprisingly confident. It meant he had something to rely on. What could it be?
Whatever it was, as Ban said, they'd find out during the test.
"Dolbi."
"Yes, Captain."
"Bring wooden swords. Two of them."
"......Yes!"
While Dolbi moved to fetch them, Aidan looked straight at Ban and spoke.
"The entry test is just as you know it. Prove your skill in a spar with wooden swords. Winning doesn't guarantee passing, and losing doesn't mean failure, so don't obsess over victory or defeat. Just show us your skill. That's all."
"Who's my opponent?"
Instead of answering, Aidan turned to Dolbi. As if he had already guessed, Dolbi tossed one wooden sword to Ban and gripped the other with both hands.
"Sorry, but I won't go easy. If a friend's chasing a pipe dream, isn't it a friend's duty to wake him up?"
"How do you know if it's a pipe dream or not?"
"The kid dreaming nonstop about being Sword God Ban has a lot to say."
At Dolbi's words, Ban flushed red. He gripped the wooden sword tightly. The feel was a bit different from Jensen's rusty dao, but...... a craftsman doesn't blame his tools, right?
He wasn't a Sword God or a craftsman yet, but......
At least a swordsman.
"Dolbi."
"What? Got something to say?"
"You're done for."
He had always wanted to shut that crude mouth at least once. Ban growled and took his stance. The guards whistled and snickered.
"Hey, Dolbi! Don't hurt him too bad!"
"Nah, it's fine if you do! Friends gotta see a little blood to toughen up."
"Ah, don't worry. I'll just give him a spicy taste."
Dolbi smirked. He was the youngest in the guard unit and got picked on plenty, but he was still a swordsman who trained every day. Ban might have steeled himself, but Dolbi wasn't incompetent enough to lose to swordplay practiced alone in a short time.
'His stance...... isn't bad?'
Dolbi thought as he eyed Ban's form. It wasn't perfect, but for self-taught, it was surprisingly clean.
Well, Ban had come to the training grounds more often than that. What he picked up over the shoulder was still learning, so it wasn't strange that he could mimic swordsmanship decently.
"Hey. Attack first."
"......What?"
"A true master yields the first three moves."
Who knows where he heard that. He had never met any grand knight, so it was probably from some local storyteller...... Either way, saying it made Dolbi inwardly puff up with pride. When else in his life would he get to say such a line?
But he soon regretted it.
"Fine. Three moves."
As soon as he said it, Ban charged at Dolbi and thrust the wooden sword. The speed was unexpectedly fast. But the real problem came next. As Dolbi panicked and deflected the sword, Ban spun like a top in place. Seeing the wooden sword coming for his legs, Dolbi hurriedly threw himself to the ground.
"What, Dolbi? Yielding three moves, and you're dodging like a total wimp?"
"......You!"
Now it was Dolbi's face turning red. He snorted roughly and gripped his sword tighter. The guards chuckled and shouted.
"What's up, Dolbi? Showing off and getting smacked again?"
"Aigoo...... No idea how that guy even got into the guards."
"Ah, just watch! My body's not warmed up yet!"
Dolbi yelled sharply. But unlike his words, tension was clear on his face.
'That bastard, why's his sword so heavy?'
It wasn't just speed. When he first blocked Ban's strike, he nearly dropped his wooden sword from underestimating it.
It wasn't a matter of strength—it meant he knew how to swing a sword properly. Ban's swordsmanship had a strangely seasoned feel. He clearly had no real combat or even sparring experience, yet his situational judgment was solid.
'Just luck.'
They had only clashed twice. That much could be a fluke swing. Thinking that, Dolbi gripped his wooden sword tighter than before.
"Alright. Now I'll fight for real. Get ready."
Ban didn't answer. He gripped his wooden sword and slowly measured the distance. Overhead Slash? No, better to save that as a trump card for now.
Jensen's memories had been more helpful than expected. Of course, Jensen had clashed swords with people before. He couldn't tell if it was real combat or sparring, but either way, Ban had gotten a feel for how to face a swordsman.
Of course, that foundation would show its limits soon enough.
--Don't obsess over victory or defeat. Just show us your skill.
Aidan's words echoed in his ears. No need to obsess over winning or losing. But he wanted to. Ban didn't just want to become a swordsman. He wanted to be a winning swordsman. To win against anyone and everyone, just like the him in his dreams...... a Sword God.
Naturally, his ability didn't activate on the wooden sword. And right now, Jensen's memories weren't syncing in real time. But it didn't matter. He had already learned what he could from Jensen's memories.
How Jensen swung the sword— even if this wooden sword didn't remember, his body and mind did.
So.
"Hup!"
This time, Dolbi attacked first. Gripping the sword fiercely with both hands and bringing it down, he clearly intended to send Ban flying with the wooden sword itself. Instead of dodging, Ban closed the distance, slipping under Dolbi's elbow. Dolbi's knee reflexively shot toward his face, forcing Ban back, but Dolbi's sword was tied up again.
Whispers from the guards reached his ears.
"Hey. Isn't that Ban kid...... pretty good?"
"......Yeah. Never properly learned swordsmanship or anything."
"Is Dolbi just lousy? Or is that kid amazing?"
The corner of his mouth lifted. Sword God Ban wouldn't waver at such murmurs, but he was fifteen-year-old Ban.
Dolbi heard them too. Unlike before, his face was stiff. He had started the spar just to snap his pipe-dreaming friend out of it, but now it seemed he might be the one who needed snapping.
'Stronger than I thought. If this keeps up......'
He needed to press without giving time to think. His inexperience would trip him up eventually. The moment Dolbi thrust his wooden sword again with that in mind—
Unfortunately, Ban was thinking something similar.
The difference was, when Dolbi decided to overwhelm without letting him think, Ban decided to end it without letting him think.
Ban blocked Dolbi's wooden sword, then his own surged upward.
Overhead Slash stance.
'Now.'
At the end of his training,
Ban had become able to cut a single falling leaf.
Ban brought the sword down in an Overhead Slash.