Chapter 6
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Swordsmanship Academy (3)
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It was the turn of Group 6, right in front of Roins Group 7.
Group 6 was drawing attention not just from the instructors, but from all the other applicants taking the entrance exam.
That was because it included a noble scion from the Tayla familyone of the top two swordsmanship dynasties in the Delont Kingdom.
His name was Jerka Tayla.
Before the battle began, Jerka picked up his main weapon of choice: a longsword.
A standard longsword wasnt light enough for a child to handle easily.
Yet Jerka lifted it without any trouble.
The Tayla family didnt earn their reputation as a swordsmanship powerhouse for nothing.
He must have endured brutally rigorous training since he was little.
Just from the way he gripped the sword and his stance, Roin could tell.
And for someone who was only nine years old, displaying that level of skill and finesse?
The future of the Tayla family looks promising.
Roins own group matesRemina, Drake, and Meringwere also watching Group 6 closely.
Every group that had attempted the mock battle against the Tactical Golem so far had failed.
Given that most of them were still kids, it was perhaps inevitable.
Now, a genius born into a swordsmanship dynasty was throwing down the gauntlet in this mock battle that no one had succeeded in yet.
Dont get scared. Stay calm and go for it.
Yes!
Jerkas group mates responded with spirited shouts.
Jerka was so outstanding that he overshadowed everyone else, but truth be told, each member came from a famous house in their own right.
Thats an elite squad.
Of course, only in terms of their family prestige.
Finally, the mock battle began.
As soon as it started, the four group members scattered in the four cardinal directions.
Their plan was to split the Tactical Golems aggro.
Good strategy.
But plenty of other groups had tried the same thing.
Groups 2 and 5 had used it too.
And theyd all failed.
There was a reason for that.
Tactical Golems have an absurdly wide operating range compared to humans.
Even though it was humanoid, the Tactical Golem wasnt modeled after human joint movements.
Its waist and neck could rotate a full 360 degrees as a baseline, and its arms and legs bent freely.
Because of that, it was nearly impossible to exploit blind spots from four directions.
That was why the groups who tried this strategy had tasted bitter failure.
Would Group 6, led by a scion of a swordsmanship dynasty, fare any differently?
Roin found himself getting interested.
Jerka approached the Tactical Golem first.
His movements were fast.
Thats right on the edge of Mid Knight level, isnt it?
For someone who hadnt even earned the Apprentice Knight rank yet to show near-Mid Knight prowess was astonishing in itself.
Jerka dove into the Tactical Golems reach.
The Tactical Golem prioritized and reacted to the closest target first.
All its aggro locked onto Jerka.
At that moment, Jerka stepped back.
Boom!
The spot where Jerka had just stood cratered from the Tactical Golems attack.
Now!
At Jerkas shout, the other group members charged the Tactical Golem all at once.
Jerka would hold aggro while the remaining three targeted the core.
That was their strategy.
Not bad.
It worked well even on real battlefields.
Tactical Golems werent perfect.
Exploiting openings was inevitable in combat.
A fully exposed guard.
One group member thrust his sword into the Tactical Golems core.
Zap!
Sparks flew lightly, and the Tactical Golem froze in place.
The mock battle had ended in under three minutes.
The group members gathered around Jerka, celebrating their victory.
As expected of you, Jerka!
Your strategy worked perfectly, Jerka!
Jerka simply smiled at their praise.
With Group 6s success, attention naturally shifted to Group 7.
Unlike Group 6, Group 7 had the weakest lineup.
And then.
Wait a minute. Applicant 17!
Instructor Yant urgently called out to Roin.
You cant bring a parasol into the mock battle arena!
Why not?
Anything besides your combat weapon is considered cheating and banned.
The moment he heard that,
A sly smile crept across Roins lips.
Dont worry. This is my weapon.
???
A parasol as a weapon?
Not just the instructorthe other applicants jaws dropped too.
No applicant had ever brought a parasol as a weapon since the Loud Swordsmanship Academy was founded.
How can a parasol be a weapon?
Isnt any stick in a swordsmans hand basically a sword?
Lepid stepped forward.
He decided to back Roin up.
Let Applicant 17 proceed as he says.
But Senior, a parasol isnt a sword, is it?
This was the Swordsmanship Academy.
A place specialized in swordsmanship training.
So using a non-sword weapon goes against the rules
At that point, Roin pressed the button at the end of the parasol.
A blade sprang out from the top.
Shing!
How about now?
.
Of course it counted.
Whats more, it was more spear-like than a sword.
When Roin first arrived in Endra, hed bought the parasol as a self-defense weapon.
The perfect itemit could attack enemies and protect his skin.
Naturally, he couldnt resist.
Lepid intended to accept Roins claim.
Group 7, proceed as is.
Thank you, Instructor.
Thank goodness for a reasonable instructor.
Roin entered the mock battle arena, parasol in hand.
Remina, Drake, and Mering looked at him in bewilderment.
Theyd already discussed how to take down the Tactical Golem, more or less.
However,
They still couldnt shake their doubts about whether it was even feasible.
The strategy Roin had told them was this:
Ill handle everything.
An absurd strategy.
No, it wasnt even a strategy.
In the end, Remina had to give separate instructions to Drake and Mering, excluding Roin.
Group 6s plan is the only one that worked, so lets copy it.
You had to know how to observe others strategies and make them your own.
The problem was,
Who would play the key role of securely pulling the Tactical Golems aggro, like Jerka had?
Remina volunteered for it.
She was confident in hit-and-run tactics.
A moment later.
Beep!
The starting siren blared.
At the same time, the Tactical Golem activated.
Just the sound of its movements brought overwhelming pressure.
And at the same time
Roin moved.
Thud thud thud!
He folded the parasol and dashed forward at high speed.
Remina swallowed her surprise at the sight.
Fast!
Faster than her.
Nofaster than even Jerka.
In an instant, Roin reached right in front of the Tactical Golem.
The moment the Tactical Golem spotted him, its red eyes glowed hotter.
By the book, hed just need to pull aggro and fall back.
Then Remina and the others could handle the rest.
It was a common tactic even on real battlefields.
But Roin had no intention of doing that.
I dont feel like dragging this out.
The Tactical Golem swung its massive arm.
Roin dodged it effortlessly and closed the distance even further.
With the sharp blade at the parasols tip, he precisely targeted the core in the Tactical Golems chest and stabbed.
Crunch!
The red core cracked with a sharp snap.
The Tactical Golems movements stopped completely.
Time: 59 seconds.
Yant let out an involuntary gasp of admiration from sheer shock.
Roin, whod told his group mates hed handle everything himself,
Had made good on his word.
But a problem arose.
Normally, destroying the core should stop a Tactical Golem dead.
However,
Black mana surged from the space behind the core, and the Tactical Golem started showing anomalies.
Whirr.
The sound of its parts spinning up echoed in real time.
Roin sensed the danger immediately.
Get away from it! Hurry!
No sooner had he shouted than the Tactical Golem began flailing its arms wildly.
Thanks to Roins warning, Remina, Drake, and Mering retreated quickly and avoided disaster.
The Tactical Golem rampaged out of control.
Yant, watching it, shot to his feet without realizing.
Yant swallowed a groan, as if hed seen this coming.
Lepid seemed to grasp the severity toohe drew his sword alongside Yant.
Ill lure it. You circle behind and target the nape. Thatll force it to shut down.
You wont chew me out later if I wreck it, right?
No idea. Well see when the time comes.
They couldnt just leave it alone, though.
If any noble kids got killed or hurt, the backlash would be massive.
The two instructors rushed toward the Tactical Golem.
But before they could act, someone else moved first.
Roin. He raised the parasol once more.
He knew the Tactical Golems weak point too.
Using its leg as a springboard, he leaped onto its back in a flash.
Holding the parasol upside down, Roin slammed it straight into the spine frame.
Crack!
The wildly thrashing Tactical Golems body slumped downward.
The instructors were left speechless by Roins feat.
Gazing at the broken parasol, Roin grumbled in annoyance.
This was growing on me. What a shame.
Because of the Tactical Golems rampage, the mock battle was ultimately ruled invalid.
Once all evaluations were done, Roin returned to Emilia, who was waiting outside the exam hall.
The moment she saw him, Emilia made a huge fuss.
Lord Roin! Howd the test go? Did you pass?
Itll take a few days for results. Well know then.
But youve gotta have a feeling, right? Like, a hunch that you passed?
Of course, he was certain.
No doubt about it.
Perfect score on the written exam, all S ranks in physical tests.
No one had outscored him.
Not even Jerka could top Roins standout performance.
Its over, so lets head back quick. I need a shower first.
Sweat was the enemy of good skin.
He wanted to clean up thoroughly, slap on a face mask, and crash into deep sleep.
But before that, a man called out to Roin.
Roin Leyden.
Lepid stopped him.
Roin replied with a calm expression.
What is it?
How did you know the Tactical Golems weak point?
The Tactical Golem was one of the key strategic weapons commonly used in warfare.
Thus, its design and structure were top-secret.
Whats more,
He jammed the parasol right into the spine frame to disable it. Something even seasoned knights struggle withdone by a nine-year-old?
Lepid had once held a position as a tactical instructor in the Delont Kingdoms royal palace, so he knew a fair bit about Tactical Golems.
But.
Roin was different.
How could a fallen nobles kida little child, no lessknow this classified info?
Thats what puzzled him.
But Roins answer was simple.
Just a hunch.
With that, Roin turned and dragged the hesitant Emilia along as he headed for the inn.