Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Paths to Promotion (1)
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[You have gripped the shortsword of the 'talented swordsman'.]
Material: Iron
Quality: Standard
Owner: Lucas (2-Star)
Memory Retention: Low
Note: A shortsword with a well-balanced center of gravity, easy to swing from any stance. If you keep it in hand, you might absorb the talents of its former owner.
[Your current swordsmanship level is 1-Star. Memory synchronization rate adjusted to standard.]
[Training is required!]
Ban had already reached 1-Star swordsmanship after half-digesting Jensen's sword. Thanks to that, the memory synchronization rate was better than expected.
If he gripped a sword at the same 1-Star level, he could probably raise the synchronization even higher, but Ban had no desire to do so.
'Lucas's sword was still here!'
He was one of the few 'knights' produced by this guard unit. Ban had hoped there might be a sword bearing his trace, and fortunately, it turned out as expected.
Dolbi seemed a bit puzzled by Ban's choice.
"……A shortsword? You used a longsword last time. Won't it be hard to adapt if you switch suddenly?"
"Brother has his reasons."
"You're calling me brother now? I'm gonna hit you."
"Hit me? You? Me?"
"……Just you wait. I'll surpass you soon enough."
Ban grinned in response instead of answering. It wasn't that he found Dolbi's resolve amusing. But he was confident Dolbi would never catch up to him.
In just a few short months, he had absorbed Jensen's swordsmanship to this extent.
Would another swordsman's sword be any different?
'No way.'
Ban gripped Lucas's shortsword. He could feel Lucas's memories seeping subtly between his palms. There were surely many swordsmen in this world more talented than him. There were probably those who had achieved accomplishments beyond measure.
But there was no need to feel anxious. As long as he gripped their swords and trained, everything they had built would soon become his.
His dream was drawing closer to reality.
§
Half a year passed.
The new year was near, which meant Ban's sixteenth birthday wasn't far off either.
Daily life in the guard unit wasn't as glamorous as he had hoped. The troublemakers at the checkpoint were just petty thieves trying to sneak into the village, getting beaten and chased off. Bandit raids, of course, weren't something that happened every day.
It was leisurely days. If he had to point out changes in his routine, it was no longer living with Jensen, and Jensen suddenly leaving on a trip.
In the end, the only moments Ban truly felt alive lately were on the training grounds. Swinging Lucas's shortsword endlessly made even those times far from boring.
'……What an amazing person.'
Ban hadn't been close to Lucas. When he was in the guard unit, Ban had been too young, and more than that, he wasn't someone easy to approach. Even as an ordinary guard, he had always seemed somehow different.
Only after gripping his sword did Ban understand why he had given that impression.
Talent.
Lucas's swordsmanship was infused with undeniable talent. You could glimpse it even in his failures—there was something special about his swordsmanship.
'But Overhead Slash is……'
In Overhead Slash, Jensen was at least equal to Lucas. No, it even felt superior. But in every other aspect, Lucas inevitably stood out. For one, the Voice of the Sword indicated he was a 2-Star swordsman, while Jensen was 1-Star.
A difference was only natural.
"You relentless bastard. Don't you ever get tired?"
Dolbi, standing nearby, shook his head as he watched. After losing to Ban, he hadn't skipped a single day of training…… but somehow, the gap between them only widened over time.
Ban glanced at Dolbi and grinned.
"Why? Want to spar?"
"……With real swords again?"
"Wooden swords are no fun."
Dolbi gripped his sword without a word. Ban grinned and adjusted his hold on the shortsword. Real sword spars were naturally more dangerous than wooden ones, but there were reasons he preferred them. For one, they felt more like real combat, and……
[Sharing synergy with a partner of inferior skill!]
[Analyzing opponent's sword path!]
[This is a sword path already largely analyzed.]
'Perfect.'
Ban raised the corner of his mouth in thrilling pleasure. This was why he loved real sword spars. While clashing blades, he could absorb not just his own sword path, but his opponent's as well.
That was why, before Dolbi could fully extend his sword, Ban blocked the exact spot it was aiming for. And in the same motion, he flanked Dolbi's back.
The spar ended in an instant. It had to. He already knew how his opponent's sword would move—losing would be idiotic.
Ban's shortsword rested above Dolbi's nape. He smiled faintly and asked.
"How many wins is this now?"
"……Don't keep count. It's annoying."
Dolbi sighed deeply and dropped his sword. Lately, he couldn't even win by fluke against Ban. And it wasn't just Dolbi. In the guard unit these days, only the vice commanders could reliably beat Ban in spars.
No wonder—before the spar even started, defeat was already obvious. Dolbi sighed and spoke.
"Even Gendrick's crew is wary of you now. Ever since you thrashed them last time."
"Oh…… the dogs?"
"Feeling good?"
"Well, can't complain."
Ban shrugged. There was a gang that always stirred up trouble at the village's only tavern. When they started glaring at the guard unit members too, a fight broke out, ending with Ban's lesson time.
'They don't even know how to move their bodies properly.'
With Jensen's Overhead Slash combined with Lucas's animalistic instincts, getting beaten by such rabble was impossible. Ban sighed and stroked the blade of his shortsword.
"Anyway, don't we have any real merits to earn? Not those idiots—proper villains, like bandits."
"……You really want to become a knight that badly?"
"No, the world's strongest swordsman."
Crazy bastard.
Dolbi burst out laughing. Back then, he would have teased about dreaming of Sword God Ban again, but now it was hard. Maybe this delusional guy really would make his delusions reality. At some point, Dolbi had started thinking that way.
And he wasn't alone. Ban's growth was a hot topic in the guard unit. A mere pharmacist's apprentice suddenly becoming the unit's top ace—how could it not be?
— That guy's probably going to become a knight.
— Knight? He might even make it to the Royal Knight Order if he plays it right.
— Heh…… the top prospect since Lucas? Our little town sure has a knack for talent.
That was the talk among the veterans. People spoke of him becoming a knight as if it were a done deal. Dolbi clenched his fist, thinking. Yeah. Good for him. It stung a bit, sure, but if this fool could become a knight……
"Hey, how's it going with Yuri?"
"……Why bring her up suddenly?"
"Just wondering if you're managing without my potions. You're pretty powerless, in more ways than one."
Ban snickered. Dolbi ground his teeth, thinking.
Yeah, can't root for you.
§
Ah, I wish something would happen.
A princess chased by an evil organization. A sage gone mad after learning the world's secrets. You know, the setups storytellers lay out before bringing in the hero.
But this village was annoyingly peaceful. The only incident was that scuffle with Gendrick's crew last time—nothing else.
"Ah, I want to rise in the world."
A nearby guard glanced at Ban's mutter and grinned.
"Kid. If you want to get ahead, why not just go to the capital?"
"Nah, you know I've never even been to the next village over. I'd probably get lost and die."
"……Fair point. Anyway, don't fret. Opportunities come to those with skill. Who knows? Maybe a wounded prince will come running up begging for help right now."
"Prefer a princess, personally."
"Heh, same here."
The same pointless banter as always. And like always, the day was supposed to pass uneventfully.
Or so it was planned.
"Make way! The young master of the Cho Clan is here!"
A flashy—no, once-flashy—carriage pulled by four horses. Battered and bloodstained. Hearing the driver's voice, hoarse with fatigue and tension, Ban unconsciously gripped Lucas's shortsword.
His instincts were telling him. Not a princess, not a prince, but……
An opportunity had arrived.