Chapter 21: What on Earth is the Mind's Eye? (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 21: What on Earth is the Mind's Eye? (4)
Vellop stood before Jin, gripping his wooden sword as cold sweat poured down his face. This was no figure of speech; he was literally trembling, wiping his brow and eyes every few seconds, his pupils shaking uncontrollably.
Since becoming a Guardian Knight cadet, he had never been the center of so much attention. It was overwhelming.
Vellop, half-dazed, and the cadets watching them could only turn Jin’s recent words over in their minds.
In this Runcandel… you cannot survive like that.
‘Why did the Young Lord say that to me?’
Was it because he was too weak? Too timid? Even as his body shook, the questions raced through Vellop’s mind.
‘Is Young Lord Jin so frustrated with Vellop that he’s trying to humiliate him?’
‘Is it a warning that someone so pathetic can’t endure life as a Runcandel?’
‘Young Lord Jin has a crueler side than I thought…’
The other cadets shared the same sentiment.
Regardless of their thoughts, Jin simply stared straight at Vellop, tightening his grip on his sword.
“Vellop.”
“Ah! Yes, yes, Young Lord!”
Snicker.
A small burst of ridicule erupted from the crowd of cadets. The one who couldn't hold back his laughter reflexively covered his mouth, expecting Garon’s thunderous rebuke.
However, neither Garon nor Jin spared the laughing cadet a single glance.
“I have already fought ten people, and my stamina is drained.”
“That is true, Young Lord,” Vellop replied, finally regaining a sliver of composure.
“And you, I assume, are still perfectly fine.”
“Yes.”
“Even so.”
Jin took a step toward Vellop, continuing.
“I will still be stronger than you. Excluding Garon, no matter who I face here, I could probably win one more time.”
Vellop nodded silently, unable to find the right words to respond.
“That is why I want to fight you.”
“Young Lord, I don’t understand what that means—ugh!”
Thwack!
Closing the distance in an instant, Jin’s wooden sword struck Vellop’s shoulder. Startled, Vellop stumbled back, though he hadn’t taken any real damage.
A series of attacks followed, flowing like water. Vellop retreated, parrying the strikes.
“You’re defending well.”
“Thank yo—argh!”
Shhhhk!
Suddenly, Jin scooped a handful of sand from the training ground and flung it into Vellop’s face. Vellop gripped his wooden sword tighter, enduring the stinging pain in his eyes.
“Yo-Young Lord…!?”
Jin didn't answer. He circled to Vellop’s flank. Thud! The moment Jin’s shin slammed into his thigh, Vellop let out a low groan and collapsed to the ground.
“I didn't call you out for a spar. I said I wanted to ‘fight.’”
Jin leaned down, bringing his face close to the fallen Vellop. Managing to open his sand-filled, reddened eyes, Vellop looked up at him.
“I said ‘probably.’ I said I could probably win against everyone again right now. That means I’m not one hundred percent certain. Wipe your face.”
Vellop used his sleeve to brush the sand from his eyes.
“…Are you saying, Young Lord, that I am the opponent you cannot be certain of beating?”
“Now we’re finally getting somewhere. This isn't a spar; it’s a fight. Do it properly. While you were down just now, I could have easily killed you.”
“Young Lord.”
“But since you weren't reading my intentions, I showed mercy. Get up. From now on, I won't go easy on you.”
His voice was too low and somber to be a mischievous prank.
Jin turned and put some distance between them again. Vellop hung his head and let out a long sigh before slowly standing up and raising his wooden sword.
By then, the watching cadets began to wonder if Jin had gone mad.
Some thought that even if Vellop was a bit slow, this was going too far. Others felt that Garon should have stepped in and stopped this the moment things escalated.
Garon, however, remained a silent observer.
A sense of frustration began to rise in the cadets' hearts, quickly followed by anger. Even that great 7-star Knight, the Runcandel swordsmanship instructor, wouldn't stop Jin Runcandel.
They felt a sense of helplessness—what could they possibly do? And they felt rage—why did Jin, the strongest in the training class, choose Vellop, the weakest, as his prey?
Where was the honor of Runcandel? Was flinging sand at a weaker opponent the Runcandel way?
Every cadet wore that same expression.
But in the next moment, their distorted faces were washed over with shock.
Vroooom!
Vellop’s wooden sword began to glow with Aura. It was a faint, dim light, but to anyone who had learned the sword, it was enough to add a lethal edge.
“Au-Aura…!”
The class's perpetual underdog had suddenly manifested Aura, but the cadets didn't even have time to be surprised by that fact.
At this rate, one of them might actually die.
“Instructor! You have to stop them! This is just the training class!”
“Instructor Garon…”
“Swordsmanship Instructor, Garon Altemiro!” Jin shouted, staring directly at Garon.
“Speak, Young Lord.”
“Keep what you see today an eternal secret. Do not inform any other Runcandel besides myself.”
“Understood.”
In the meantime, Vellop extinguished the Aura on his wooden sword.
Fear no longer colored his face. Only a hint of emptiness and anger remained.
“Is this… is this truly what you wanted, Young Lord?”
“So you knew how to use Aura. Then you’d better not hold back.”
Jin and Vellop.
The two glared at each other for a moment. Sweat pooled in the palms of the cadets who had been screaming for them to stop, and a few seconds of absolute silence passed.
Vellop was the first to move. He advanced with surprising fluidity, instantly taking Jin’s flank.
Crack! Jin blocked Vellop’s swinging wooden sword.
The two became locked in a contest of strength, trying to push each other back. Veins bulged on their forearms, and the two wooden swords trembled violently under their nearly equal physical power.
“You made a mistake, Young Lord. If you wanted to fight me…”
Creeeeak!
Jin’s wooden sword began to splinter and shave away. Vellop had coated his sword in Aura once again.
“You should have done this… before fighting those other ten!”
Snap!
Jin’s wooden sword broke. To Vellop and the cadets, the brief moment as Vellop’s glowing sword lunged toward Jin’s shoulder seemed to move in slow motion.
The wooden sword would cut through Jin’s shoulder and pierce his heart. In that split second, Jin did not miss the way Vellop’s expression crumpled into despair.
Despair at having offended the youngest Runcandel. Despair that, swept up in the situation, he was about to strike the Young Lord who had looked after him. Vellop’s clear eyes were filled with those emotions.
“Not so fast!”
Boom!
Something heavy slammed into the side of Vellop’s wooden sword. Runcandel-style martial arts: the snap-strike. It was Jin’s solid palm.
Vellop’s body shook from the recoil as his sword was knocked away. While the off-balance Vellop stumbled, Jin quickly got behind him and locked him in a chokehold.
“Gah!”
Most of the cadets couldn't even process what had just happened. Only a few of the top-tier cadets, like Mesa Milkano, understood.
‘Crazy! What was that? Is he insane?!’
Mesa couldn't believe her eyes. She had been shocked during the earlier spars, but that was nothing compared to the divine feat Jin had just displayed.
“Kh-ugh!”
Choked from behind, Vellop gasped for air. Just as the cadets, unable to watch any longer, rose to intervene, Jin released his grip.
Vellop turned, gritting his teeth as he glared at Jin.
“Why did you stop? You said to do it properly. Don't stop, Young Lord! You won! Are you satisfied now? Does it feel good to toy with people? Well?!”
His voice was thick with resentment.
Jin shook his head.
“It doesn't feel good.”
“If it doesn't feel good, then why…!”
“Provoking you like this is painful for me as well. Very painful.”
“What do you know about me?! What do you know that gives you the right to make things so hard for me?”
“I don't know you well. But I do know this. Consideration… is a luxury only possible for those who have become incredibly strong.”
Vellop froze, recalling the first thing Jin had said to him.
In this Runcandel, you cannot survive like that.
“As you just realized, you are weaker than me. And you are kinder than me. I like those things about you. But if you only do what is ‘good,’ you cannot survive in this hell.”
While Jin spoke, the cadets didn't make the slightest sound.
Because of the silence, the sound of Vellop’s choked-back sobs, leaking out as he tried to hold them in, sounded deafeningly loud.
“Vellop. Vellop Schmitz. Look at me. Lift your head and look at me.”
Vellop’s eyes met Jin’s.
“I hope that you become strong enough…”
Jin paused for a moment and placed a hand on Vellop’s shoulder.
“…to protect that kind heart of yours forever. I hope you become strong. With me, if possible. And with everyone here. Also… I’m sorry.”
Vellop nodded. Or perhaps he shook his head.
Jin found it difficult to tell if it was a gesture of affirmation or denial, but soon Vellop was walking back toward the other cadets.
Just then, servants carrying large iron buckets filled with coarse food entered the training ground.
“Uh… the atmosphere. Young Lord Jin, Instructor Garon? Should we come back later?”
While the servants hesitated, Vellop spoke up.
“Today… please accept the food yourself, Young Lord.”
Jin gave a bittersweet smile.
“Right. Today, I’ll take yours for you as well.”
*
After the meal and before the afternoon training began, Garon quietly sought out Jin.
“You have awakened Vellop Schmitz. That boy… his talent is quite exceptional, but his weak personality was a concern. It is thanks to you, Young Lord. Above all, this must have been a great stimulus for him.”
“Garon.”
“Yes.”
“Do not speak so carelessly of 'awakening' or 'personality.' Regardless of my intentions, it must have been a great wound to Vellop.”
“Today, you simply acted in a manner truly befitting a Runcandel. Please do not take it to heart. He is merely a cadet, is he not? He is not someone for a future master to feel pity for.”
Jin started to glare at Garon, then let out a short laugh.
“Guardian Knight Cadet Swordsmanship Instructor, Garon Altemiro. The only area in which you may judge me is swordsmanship. Stop these overstepping tests.”
Garon felt a chill run down his spine at Jin’s response.
‘The bastards from the Black King Corps described him as a young monarch… He truly is a predator.’
Garon bowed his head with a smile.
“My apologies, Youngest Young Lord. As you requested, I will remain strictly silent regarding today’s events.”