Chapter 8
Chapter 8
“Show Young Master Ban your respects!”
The knights rose to their feet.
It was meant to be a show of respect toward a member of the Ducal House’s bloodline, but what actually unfolded was something entirely different.
The knights focused their presence on Ban.
‘Let’s see how you like this, you piece of trash.’
Of course, they had no intention of actually harming him.
They were only concentrating their presence on him.
They had planned to stop once Ban started trembling and fell on his backside.
‘…What? Why isn’t he even flinching?’
The knights blinked.
Ban’s face didn’t move in the slightest.
If anything, he even looked languid.
‘Could he not feel our presence? How could that be?’
Just then, Ban’s gaze fixed squarely on them.
“Is this what you call your loyalty? Pathetic and low.”
“!!”
“If it were me, I’d be too ashamed to even imagine pulling such a childish stunt. No, I suppose I shouldn’t blame you. Your shortcomings are the fault of our Ducal House.”
The knights’ faces flushed bright red.
This incident was plainly their fault.
Because of their resentment toward Ban, they had done something shameful.
Still, the reason they couldn’t utter a single word in reply wasn’t simply embarrassment.
‘Why is there such a pressure coming from that piece of trash?’
The knights gulped.
It wasn’t just empty boasting and delusion; an extraordinary pressure was emanating from Ban.
One that was no less imposing than the Duke’s.
In that instant, a story came back to them.
—You fools! Keep your eyes wide open and wait. On the day of the Duel, Young Master Ban’s greatness will be revealed to the world.
It was the story Hans, the mage employed by the Ducal House, had been going around telling.
They had all dismissed it as nonsense.
‘Could it be?’
Just then, an angry shout rang out.
“You lot! What do you think you’re doing?!”
“Elder Young Master.”
It was Ron, the eldest son!
The knights bowed their heads.
It was well known that Ron favored Ban.
Ron sighed and then walked over to Ban.
“Let’s talk for a moment, Ban.”
“Go ahead.”
“When Father arrives, get down on your knees and beg. No matter what.”
Ban stared at Ron.
Ron raised his voice, his expression anxious.
“Do you know how angry Father is? I’ll somehow take your side, so you absolutely have to—!”
“It’s all right. There’s no need.”
“Ban?”
Ron was taken aback by Ban’s untroubled voice.
‘Has he really developed some kind of delusional disorder?’
Ban did not stop making remarks that called his mental health into question.
“Don’t worry. After what happens today, Father will deeply regret all the misunderstandings he’s had about me until now.”
“Have you gone mad?! That’s enough! I’ll have to tell Father that there’s something wrong with your mind and that you need treatment!! Let’s go see a mental health healer right now!!”
Just as Ron raised his voice in a furious shout—
“The Duke has arrived!!!”
Ron’s face went white.
The Duel was about to begin.
‘Aaagh. I’m nervous.’
I stepped onto the training ground.
The place fell silent.
The Duke stood across from me, glaring with cold eyes.
I’d believed in my 100% chance of winning, but now that I was facing him like this, my heart was shrinking in on itself.
“Are you ready?”
Fwoosh!!
A dizzying pressure surged toward me.
It was the ‘aura of intimidation’ of a Sword Master.
I almost dropped to my knees without realizing it, but I thought of the important people I’d met back on Earth and barely managed to stand my ground.
‘Just think of him as a difficult customer. A difficult customer.’
Fortunately, the Black Flame Dragon’s Charisma held me upright.
An arrogant voice came out of my mouth, even to my own ears.
“I’m ready, so you needn’t worry about me.”
The Duke furrowed his brow.
“If you swear, even now, that you’ll come to your senses, and show remorse by serving in the military or taking up an official post, I’ll call off the Duel.”
“I refuse.”
No matter how frightening the Duke was, I absolutely wasn’t going to be dragged off to serve in the military or hold an official post and suffer like a dog.
“Hah.”
The Duke shook his head as though there was no reasoning with me, then drew a wooden sword.
“I’ll face you without using Mana at all, relying only on the strength of my body. But don’t think this Duel will be over easily. As your father, I’ll give you one final lesson.”
He wasn’t saying he’d go easy on me.
He meant he’d beat the hell out of me with a wooden sword.
If he put Mana into it, he’d only be able to hit me once.
The savage gleam flickering in the Duke’s eyes proved it.
“No, I’d like us to fight fair and square, so please use your Mana properly. I don’t want to hear people say I won because you went easy on me.”
“What?”
“I have one request. No matter what humiliation you suffer at my hands today, don’t get angry. Accept defeat gracefully.”
This was something I absolutely had to make sure of in advance.
If things went wrong, the enraged Duke could cut my head off even after I won the Duel.
‘What I’m about to do is that audacious.’
Unfortunately, the Duke did not react positively.
“You brat!! It seems I really will have to teach you a proper lesson!!!”
“Father, please calm down!!!”
“Young Master Ban, I believe in you! Good luck!”
My eldest brother Ron and the middle-aged mage Hans shouted, but their voices didn’t reach my ears.
‘Gah, he’s fast. I can’t see him!’
Of course I couldn’t.
The Duke’s stats in the game were Level Seven.
For a knight, that meant reaching the Seventh Sword Rank.
The level known as Sword Master.
There was no way a tiny, insignificant creature like me could react, but—
—Clack!!
The Duke’s wooden sword stopped right in front of me.
“A defensive Magic Tool?”
“I merely used the tools I needed.”
I answered without a trace of shame.
After all, real mages were supposed to go into battle decked out in all kinds of magic tools.
“Hah. You actually trusted a lousy magic tool like that?”
“It’s not lousy, though.”
I pulled out more magic tools with a clatter.
I had filched every one of them from the family vault, where the finest magic tools were kept, so each and every one possessed formidable defensive abilities.
Of course, that didn’t mean they could stop the duke.
“How laughable. And disappointing.”
The duke’s eyes flashed coldly.
Whoosh!
A pillar of light burst from his wooden sword.
It was the mark of a master-level knight: an “Aura Blade.”
“Prepare yourself.”
Crash!!
The shields of the magic tools I had gone to all that trouble to steal were smashed to pieces in an instant.
What terrifying power.
But I gritted my teeth.
I had expected the duke to use his Aura Blade.
No—more precisely, I had “intended” it.
‘Making the duke use his Aura Blade is the only way I can win.’
The difference between the duke’s stats and mine was Level One versus Level Seven.
No—in reality, I hadn’t even properly reached First Star Rank, so I had to consider myself around Level 0.5.
Even so, the simulator had judged my win rate to be 100%.
That meant there was a way to win for certain.
‘There’s a strategy.’
The duke was a named character.
No matter which protagonist you played, you were bound to encounter him.
—A sparring match with the duke.
It was an important event.
The problem was that this event took place in the second year.
When you were still low-level.
It was absolutely impossible to win in a head-on fight.
But there was a strategy.
‘I have to exploit the properties of the duke’s Aura.’
The duke was a “Dual Knights” class.
A class that combined magic and swordsmanship.
Unlike “Sword Knights,” who wielded pure swordsmanship, Dual Knights received the support of a “star” when manipulating mana.
In other words, the duke’s Aura contained a “star.”
‘I just have to exploit that star.’
Fortunately, there was one exploitable point in the duke’s “star.”
One that even the duke himself hadn’t noticed.
Of course, that didn’t mean exploiting it would be easy.
On the contrary, sparring with the duke was famous for its hellish difficulty. The odds of clearing it were less than five percent.
And even then, out of the sixteen protagonists, only one—the “true protagonist”—could do it.
In practice, it was an event designed for you to lose.
‘I’ll get only one chance.’
The duke, having shattered my shields, withdrew his Aura.
Even he couldn’t cut his own son in two with an Aura Blade.
For that fleeting instant, an opening appeared in the star.
It was a “habit” the duke himself didn’t know he had.
‘It’s not exactly a weakness.’
To begin with, there was no reason for him to withdraw his Aura during a fight like this, and very few people possessed both the reflexes to seize that vanishingly brief moment and the mana control to act on it.
That was why only the “true protagonist” could pull it off.
‘But I can do it with my Grandmaster of Magic, too.’
Flash!
I traced out a star.
It was the First Star Rank manipulation spell “Mana Resonance.”
Its only effect was to make mana vibrate in response to other mana.
But when I made it resonate with the most vital part of the duke’s exposed “star,” the effect was dramatic.
“!!”
The duke’s body stiffened for an instant.
His mana had been thrown into disarray.
Of course, only for the briefest moment.
If I let this chance slip, it was over.
Snap!
I cast the First Star Rank manipulation spell “Bind.”
Normally, it should never have worked, but the duke’s mana flow was in disarray now.
In particular, I wasn’t aiming at the duke’s body. I targeted the damaged “star” in his Aura Blade and bound the sword in place.
Crack-crack-crash!
Then the Second Star Rank manifestation spell Spear took shape. Thanks to my Grandmaster Ability, I could use a few tricks to cast spells beyond my rank.
My target was the duke’s heart.
The duke’s eyes flew wide with surprise.
“Wha—Bind and Spear? Young Master Ban can Dual Cast?!”
“Good heavens! Are you all blind?! Including Mana Resonance, that was Triple Casting! Young Master Ban, you are the greatest!! Loyalty, loyalty, loyalty!”
Concern flickered across the duke’s eyes.
If he twisted his body to dodge, he would have to let go of the sword bound by Bind.
Unless his life were truly on the line, there was no way he would drop his sword over a situation like this.
Instead, he used another method.
Flash!
A shield appeared over the duke’s chest.
It was a Mana Shield!
My Spear would obviously be stopped without any trouble, but—
‘That’s it!!’
I smiled in triumph.
My target had never been his heart in the first place.
Mana moved.
The duke belatedly looked aghast, but it was too late.
Whoosh!!
It was a basic First Star Rank Fire Magic spell.
“That’s impossible!! Quadruple Casting?!”
“Did you see that? This is the greatness of Young Master Ban!! Ha ha!”
That wasn’t what mattered.
Everyone in the hall stared at where the flames had appeared, their mouths falling open.
‘Hmm.’
Normally, First Star Rank Fire Magic was kindled above the palm.
But I had improved the star so that, if there was combustible material nearby, the flames could be kindled remotely, too.
The combustible material I had chosen was hair.
…That was to say, the crown of the duke’s head.
…The duke’s head was on fire.
“Your Grace!!!”
“Are you all right?!”
The knights belatedly cried out in alarm.
“…You’re noisy. Be quiet.”
The duke drew up mana and extinguished the fire in his hair.
His now-bare crown was exposed.
‘…Uh. Was that too much?’
But this was the only way I could land a solid hit on him.
If I were the “true protagonist,” I could have won in a much more impressive fashion.
‘…He’s not going to get angry and beat the hell out of me, is he?’
“What do you think? I believe this is more than enough to settle the duel.”
I hurriedly suggested that we bring the duel to an end.
Anxious, I approached the duke in the hope of making a conciliatory gesture.
“Please, take this.”
What I held out was a wig.
It was a bribe meant to keep him from getting angry, but the Duke’s expression changed strangely.
“I’ve proved my point. Now it’s your turn, Father.”
The Duke kept his mouth shut and glared at me for a long while.
I flinched, intimidated, but then the Duke did something I never would have expected.
“Heh heh.”
He suddenly let out a laugh.
It grew louder and louder.
“HAHAHAHAHA!!!”