Student (4)
-Thud.
Unlike the grand height it had soared to, the sound of it hitting the ground was surprisingly soft.
Having finished my Battōjutsu draw, I sheathed the blade back at my waist, but dissatisfaction gnawed at me, and I clicked my tongue inwardly.
'As expected, without a scabbard, it can't really be called Battōjutsu.'
Battōjutsu begins with the draw and ends with the sheathing—both processes rely on the scabbard. Without it, things were off from the start.
'Not even worth calling it pseudo-Battōjutsu.'
Before removing this hideous thing from my waist, I first checked the condition of the fallen foes.
'For how high they flew, they seem fine...'
Starting with the ones who'd ambushed me from behind, I saw they'd be sore for a few days, but no broken bones or fractures.
I'd calibrated the power of my strike to match the aura they'd used, preparing for future spars. Since they'd only been knocked out, it looked like a success.
'Checked the ones in back, so now the guy up front—!'
As I turned, I sensed a sword coming at me and hurriedly rolled forward to dodge.
Scrambling up and spinning around, I saw the man who seemed to be their leader, panting heavily as he aimed his sword at me.
"What, you're already up?"
It was meant to knock him out, but he'd risen already. Had I held back too much, or did this guy have unexpected grit?
"Y-You cowardly bastard!!"
Even though breathing must've been agony, he stood straight and bellowed. He was seriously pissed.
"Cowardly? How so?"
I asked coolly, and he trembled with rage.
"You said... you said you wouldn't use aura...!!"
"You actually believed that?"
No, this idiot dismissed my perfect Battōjutsu theory as bullshit, but took my word on no aura at face value? Why?
"If you're gonna believe me, believe it all. Why cherry-pick the good parts?"
From the start, blindly trusting an enemy who says they won't use aura is just foolish.
"You could've won fair and square without lying! Why!!"
"Lying and fighting dirty lets you win even easier than fair and square. Why wouldn't you?"
I get it for a strong guy like me, but why don't weaklings like him do it?
"And you call yourself a knight who upholds chivalry!!"
"Chivalry my ass... So lying's cowardly, but ganging up three-on-one is honorable and fair?"
"...Charging alone at someone stronger isn't courage—it's recklessness."
"That's hindsight. You didn't even know what I looked like before coming here."
These guys hadn't recognized me as a Battōjutsu prodigy until moments ago—they even called me a mage. Shameless.
"Sh-Shut up!!"
His bluff called, he lunged with sword raised.
But the aftereffects of my earlier strike lingered; he staggered, and his attack wasn't even worth dodging—let alone a Battōjutsu response.
I didn't budge an inch, taking it head-on.
"Urk!"
His swing bounced harmlessly off the light aura coating me, but he didn't stop.
Body swaying, hands shaking, yet swinging relentlessly—it was enemy or not, impressive.
'He's got grit.'
I shoved him back mid-swing and looked down at the fallen man.
"What's your name?"
"Huff... Hawkins..."
"I'm Ian Bar Tow. I've got a great offer—wanna learn Battōjutsu with me?"
"What?"
You could tell. Despite the dumb shit he'd spouted, his fundamentals were solid—he'd trained hard, even if not at my level.
"Know why you lost? 'Cause you haven't learned Battōjutsu."
Sure, I outclassed him in physicals, training, aura quantity and control by dozens of times, but crucially, Hawkins didn't know Battōjutsu.
If he had, his sword speed and aura would've been leagues better.
"Learn Battōjutsu, and you'll be several times stronger! Right now, I'll teach you one-on-one personally!!"
"...Just to check, what does the training entail?"
Hawkins looked tempted, so I laid out my unbeatable curriculum he couldn't refuse.
"Listen to my Battōjutsu theory all day, drawing until sunset!!"
"...I refuse!! Kill me instead!!"
*****
I'd asked hoping to uncover the secret to his strength, but the training he described was pure hell.
'...He's not right in the head.'
Listen to that dogshit all day and waste time on pointless draws every day?
If anyone else said it, I'd think it was sarcasm.
But that bright, unclouded face? No doubt—he'd actually done that insane crap.
I'd suspected something off since he first mentioned Battōjutsu, but not this level.
The more we talked, the longer we spent together, the more convinced I was: Ian's mind was broken.
"I don't get it! Why refuse?"
"'Cause you're the crazy one for not seeing why!!"
For some reason, I doubted he'd ever understand.
"...Guess no choice then."
"Fuck, what do you mean no choice..."
As he reset his stance, terror made my sword-grip tremble.
The body learns before the mind. It knew the fastest attack of my life was coming again.
I shifted defensively to minimize damage, but he charged faster.
'...Huh?'
Bracing for impact, teeth gritted, something felt wrong.
'Why can I see it?'
The attack I hadn't even registered before was now crystal clear.
Still way faster than I could react—just watching was best.
"Urgh...!!"
The blade whipped from his waist in an instant, slicing my side. I crumpled.
Stifling a groan, I looked up—he loomed over me.
"Learned something from this fight. Wanna guess what?"
"Guh...! Wh-What...!!"
"Why people can't grasp Battōjutsu's greatness. Why they rejected the Battōjutsu I fell for at first sight!!"
Bracing for more nonsense, what came was worse.
"Sword Master level? Sure, they'd see it. But below that, my Battōjutsu's too fast—that's why they miss its greatness."
"...So you drew slower on purpose?"
"Yeah. But you still don't get how amazing it is. So I'll teach you—slow enough to see, till you do."
He drew again in a flash, slashing down at me on the ground.
"Gaaah!"
My body launched skyward, spun once, and crashed face-down.
I barely held back vomit, gasping for air.
What followed was hell.
Seeing the pain coming amplified the terror beyond the unknown.
Panicked, I tried fleeing, abandoning Leri and Jun—but he wouldn't let me.
He chased, slashed my back, dragged me back, repeat.
After several rounds, he looked down at me crawling like a bug.
"Hawkins, one more chance."
"Wh-What chance...!"
I didn't care what—just hoped it'd be selling out Lady Jessica to escape.
I'd do it in a heartbeat for freedom.
"Be my disciple and train Battōjutsu together! Refuse and—."
"I refuse!!"
Anything but that.
Escaping one hell for another? No one would agree.
Death over wasting time on that retarded Battōjutsu logic all day.
Surging up with my last strength, I swung—he parried easily.
"I don't get it! Battōjutsu makes you stronger—why quit!!"
"It doesn't, you psycho!!"
"Pride? Ashamed to learn from a junior, so you give up strength!!"
"Listen, you psycho!! Even if I learned that crap, I wouldn't get stronger!!"
"Still saying that... Fine, Battōjutsu lessons till you see its greatness!!"
"Gaaaaah!!"
Another draw from his waist—heading my way, clear as day.
God, demon—didn't matter.
Sell my soul if I must—just someone... anyone, kill this madman.