70. Swordsmanship Exchange

This exchange tournament was also held at the special arena.

There was no need to change the environment or anything, but since it would be troublesome if either side sustained serious injuries, special measures had to be put in place beforehand.

The spectator seats were packed with students, and a few who couldn't find seats were sitting on the stairs, getting themselves settled.

The sight of the full seats worried me, but thanks to Lucia's help, Liber and Emy were able to watch the matches from the VIP Room again this time.

"Whoa, it's packed with people."

"Everyone must have a free period, since they all swarmed in here. Thank you, Lucia."

"...Uh-huh... I'd be... bored... if I was alone, too."

As they took their seats, a hologram of the arena's full view appeared, and golems busily moved around, beginning the basic setup.

Even though several days had passed since she resolved to get closer to them, Lucia was still awkward around the two.

In fact, it would probably be quicker to count the number of people Lucia could hold a proper conversation with aside from Atlas... but the biggest factor was that she hadn't started talking to them because she wanted to be friends, but rather from the position of being 'Atlas's friend'—a 'friend of a friend'—and she couldn't progress beyond that.

It was a relationship that would rapidly turn awkward if Atlas disappeared. But this time, she decided to muster her courage and speak up.

The atmosphere that had been swirling between Atlas and Liber that morning was bothering her immensely.

"...There's something I want to ask..."

"Me?"

"...Yesterday, did something happen... with Atlas?"

"Something happen... Atlas was about to beat up the Clover students, so I stopped him...?"

"...Was that... really all?"

Atlas getting into a quarrel with someone was hardly a big deal.

It hadn't even been two months since he enrolled in the academy, and yet the number of people he'd butted heads with was already too many to count individually.

But if that was truly the end of it, then the abruptly changed atmosphere between the two of them couldn't be explained.

Just as she was about to ask more, Sword Saint descended from the sky, his red cape fluttering.

"Greetings~~!! Academy students!"

Sword Saint's flamboyant performance continued at the exchange tournament as well.

Firecrackers burst alongside him in the air, and an exciting tune played by the golems resonated throughout the arena.

"The Swordsmanship Exchange Tournament between our two academies will now commence shortly! This tournament will be a time for the swordsmen our academies are proud of to demonstrate the skills they've honed to their utmost potential!

The mere thought of witnessing the abilities of the students who will carry the future makes even me nervous.

The purpose of this tournament is not victory or defeat, but the lessons we can gain from it. By crossing blades and testing our skills against one another, we can discover each other's strengths and weaknesses, and by compensating for them, advance towards a higher realm.

Furthermore, let us not forget that this is, first and foremost, an exchange.

Both sides participating shall treat each other with courtesy and respect. We must approach this with an attitude of respecting and showing courtesy toward one another, rather than focusing on victory or defeat.

I heard that betting has been going on regarding who will win which match. Keep it in moderation.

If anyone gives the loser a hard time, I will not stand idly by!"

The moment those words were spoken, there were people who gulped dryly, but they weren't visible to the three in the VIP Room.

"Finally, let me add one last word. I hope this exchange tournament will be a time for students of both nations to become closer to one another.

The war is over, and we are all moving towards the same goal.

The demons are still watching for a chance to prey on this world, so we must unite and combine our strength.

Heh heh, it seems my speeches get longer as I get older...

Well then... Let the Swordsmanship Exchange Tournament begin!!"

Sword Saint finished his speech neatly and, amid thunderous cheers, entered the VIP Room directly on the opposite side.

Beyond the tinted glass that was hard to see through, the figure of the Headmaster, who had already entered, could be seen.

"Atlas said he's coming out as the vanguard, right? He's doing that to avenge Liber, isn't he?"

"Even though he said he wouldn't go..."

"...What do you mean...?"

"That's what we were just talking about. The reason Atlas tried to beat up the Clover Academy students yesterday was because they insulted Liber.

Looks like he chose the tournament as a means to beat them up without any trouble, similar to requesting a duel... Ah, it's starting."

Doors opened from both ends of the arena, and one person from each side walked out.

I figured he must be the one who'd been using the special arena the most recently.

The moment the two entered the arena, a magic circle briefly unfolded around their bodies, and a hologram depicting their forms appeared above the arena.

It was the buff specially set for this event: 'Scapegoat'.

From now on, in every match that takes place in that arena, the contestants would not be injured.

Any damage they took would be absorbed by the homunculi prepared outside, and the corresponding score would be shown on the hologram to determine victory or defeat.

The match would be stopped the moment a certain amount of damage accumulated, so even if the winner kept going, the accumulating residual damage would force a substitution.

"That's not his usual sword, is it?"

Atlas, who usually carried his sword on his back, wore it on his waist this time.

For a sword chosen by Atlas, it looked remarkably short.

He had always only used a longsword similar in size to his own height, after all.

The reasoning was certainly that it would be disadvantageous in many ways for someone of his small stature to use a small weapon... If Atlas deliberately chose to bring this out, there had to be a reason.

And immediately afterward, the arena stirred greatly.

Because Atlas suddenly unbuckled the belt of the shortsword at his waist ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and tossed it onto the floor.

——————————-

I had thought about it a lot.

What would be the best way to make them angry?

In a tournament buffed by 'Scapegoat', it was difficult to leave direct physical damage, so simply beating them up wouldn't be enough.

Since they had run their filthy mouths, it was only right to give them a mental humiliation even greater than that.

Simply felling them in one strike wouldn't make them feel that bad.

But what if I were unarmed?

How angry would they be to lose against an opponent bare-handed?

Yes, I wouldn't even use my fists. I'd say I'd face them with just one finger.

How insolent a statement was that against an opponent wielding a real sword?

As expected, Clover Academy's vanguard showed a very good reaction.

The moment I threw my sword to the ground and raised a finger, I relished seeing his face rapidly flush a deep red.

"Pick up your sword right now... Even if you don't get injured physically, you'll still get hurt."

"Don't worry, that won't happen."

"I'm warning you for the last time. Pick up your sword."

"Take it easy. I'm not trying to make fun of you. I'm just saying, objectively speaking, I need at least this much of a handicap to make it remotely even. This is my sword."

"I'll cut that insolent tongue of yours out first!!!"

The moment the match started, the vanguard raised his sword and closed the distance at considerable speed.

A fiercely blazing aura was wrapped around his blade, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠judging by the way he charged in with a grating sound, he was genuinely furious.

He didn't make any large attacks like a downward strike from above.

With the firm resolve to finish me off for sure, he launched a fierce thrust, leveraging his reach, straight at my torso.

'He has his fundamentals down.'

He was a student with enough skill to be entrusted with the vanguard position.

Ultimately, though, he was only at the level of a student.

-Kkwajik!

A sound like something shattering rang out, but the vanguard's Aura Blade was slicing through empty air.

His sword, having missed its target, trembled futilely in the void.

"Keu... eok..."

My finger, having dodged the sword, was precisely lodged in the center of his chest.

Normally, it would have been an attack that pierced through, but a complex magic formula rose up on the struck chest, preventing my finger from penetrating.

And on his body shown in the hologram, a crimson mark was left behind.

It was a visual representation of the damage inflicted by my finger.

Similar to the most common damage indicators in games from my previous life.

No damage was white; light injuries were yellow; and extremely severe, critical injuries were red.

Why couldn't they understand that the reason I raised a single finger against an opponent holding a sword was that my finger possessed power comparable to a blade?

My finger was a deadly weapon capable of punching holes even through knights' plate armor.

If the magic hadn't been cast, my finger... no, perhaps my entire arm might have pierced right through his body.

Even though the damage was transferred to the homunculi to take in their stead, the pain remained as it was.

Having felt the sensation of a hole being ripped through his lungs, the vanguard collapsed face-first onto the floor, coughing continuously.

"I told you, didn't I? Even this isn't balanced."

"Cough... cough..."

It seemed he couldn't speak anymore.

-Winner: Academy!

In the now-chilly arena, the golem's mechanical voice dispassionately declared the outcome.

——————————

The next match wasn't much different.

"Kaaaak?!!!"

-Winner: Academy!

The next Clover Academy student to step forward also couldn't withstand even a single exchange and collapsed.

Similar to the vanguard, he charged out with an arrogant air, but failed to land a preemptive strike, and my finger lodged itself in his chest.

Even the spectator seats were buzzing at the unreal sight of an opponent wielding a real sword being taken down with literally just one finger, without taking any damage whatsoever.

Even the people who had seen me fight several times before seemed flustered by the sight of me not even holding a weapon.

Once the second fencer fell, the next in line, the middle guard, was quite hesitant to come out.

They seemed to be having some kind of emergency meeting inside.

I was getting bored just standing still and was about to ask what was going on when the middle guard... no, suddenly the team captain came out together with him and shouted towards the sky.

"That's a violation of the rules!! We came to do a Swordsmanship Exchange Tournament, not a martial arts exchange tournament!! That guy isn't holding a sword, so he's disqualified!!"

It seemed he didn't approve of me not holding a sword.

But this reaction was also something I had fully anticipated.

I brought out the words I had prepared beforehand.

"This is my sword."

"You call that a sword?"

"Yes. If you must name it, you could call it a Finger Sword (指劍). What makes you think this isn't a sword?"

"Those are your fingers, not a sword!!"

"Must a sword be made only of iron? Before iron, there were swords made of stone, and swords made of bone. Were those not swords, then?

There are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠also swords carved from ice. Are those not swords either? If you're killed by a sword made of ice, did ice kill you, not a sword?

Then, if you're killed by an iron sword, you weren't stabbed to death by a sword, but by a lump of iron, wouldn't you say?"

Some might consider it sophistry, but it was enough as long as I pushed it through.

I was actually performing swordsmanship with my fingers, and if anything, this was a handicap for me, never an advantage.

"A sword... that is, a blade, can be called such as long as its tip is sharp and it can cut things. Your finger is merely composed of bone and flesh..."

I picked up the shortsword I had dropped.

As I stabbed the center of the blade with my finger, a hole was punched clean through the middle of the iron shortsword.

My finger, outwardly just a normal finger with no aura wrapped around it, casually making a hole through iron... not even shattering it, but just popping a clean hole through the center, was a surreal sight.

Next, I grabbed the belt used to fasten it to the waist and scraped it with my stubby finger, and the leather belt was sliced cleanly with a seogeok.

Just as if it had been cut by a sharp razor blade.

"It can pierce steel plates and slice through objects, so there's no flaw in calling it a sword."

It just looked like a very small hand, but as I repeated the acts of cutting and stabbing like a sharp blade as I had declared, the team captain was rendered speechless, his mouth merely hanging open as he watched the bizarre spectacle.

"And... who says I'm performing some sort of martial arts? What I'm doing is purely swordsmanship."

I was merely using my finger as a sword. The techniques I used were all swordsmanship.

I was just showing them swordsmanship utilizing a short dagger.

At that moment, the Headmaster's voice, amplified by loudspeakers, echoed from above.

[... As a result of our discussion, it has been unanimously decided that it is indeed swordsmanship. The tournament will proceed.]

"What?! Sword Saint-nim acknowledged it?? Why??"

Clover Academy's team captain exploded in anger, as if unable to accept the decision, but it was meaningless.

Did he think Sword Saint would side with them? But then again, wasn't it a bit much to demand a disqualification after being beaten by a single finger?

"Heh heh... sunbae-nim, leave it to me."

The sharp-featured man who should have come out this time... Clover's middle guard, soothed the captain and sent him back inside.

The snake-like fellow's sharp eyes narrowed as he looked at me.

"I've already grasped your weakness. I'll finish you off on my turn!!"

For a moment, I thought I saw demonic energy leak from that guy's body...?

'Did I see wrong...?'

No matter how recklessly he acted, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with everyone watching, would a demon-touched be crazy enough to reveal himself?