Gawein Colster.
The hero of the Empire who suppressed a rebellion that occurred decades ago.
Though he became a has-been unable to exert his full strength due to injuries and curses sustained during that rebellion… his spirit and skills as a Master have not rusted in the slightest.
“Come at me—whippersnapper.”
And at this very moment—inside a magically created virtual world, Gawein cast off his worn-out, ragged body and regained the physique of his prime.
Gawein didn’t need to go so far to request a new body for himself, but the reason was right here.
Sleung—.
“Old man, you’re too old for this nonsense.”
“Hahaha, what does it matter. Just think of it as watching an old fool’s antics.”
“Tsk.”
He couldn’t unleash Aura. He’d already confirmed long ago that an Aura Blade could collapse this virtual world entirely.
All he could do was use an Aura-infused sword and his corporeal form to take down his opponent. No, in his case, since he had to protect a hostage and prevent other soldiers from approaching, the difficulty level doubled or tripled.
‘What’s with all this chaos during an exam.’
If they wanted to fight, why not ask when it wasn’t exam day? But no, they picked today to start a fight? Kail, who had no intention of failing, decided from the start to go all out.
He sprinted forward, thrusting his sword. At that moment, the thrust looked like just a tiny dot to the opponent’s eyes—an attack difficult to handle easily, yet Gawein blocked it as if it were nothing.
For masters above a certain level, defense equates to offense. Blocking a sword and counterattacking simultaneously came naturally.
Counterattacks upon counterattacks continued in quick succession, and Kail realized this damn old man was genuinely trying to kill him.
‘No, please, old man!’
It was a magically created virtual world. The pain was less than in reality, and even dying wouldn’t cause any real issues.
If this were a game, Kail might have enjoyed the fight and either won or lost. But this wasn’t a game—it was an exam that affected reality.
“Huff!”
The instant Kail realized that fact, he swung his sword deliberately leaving an opening. It was such an obvious gap that Gawein reflexively stabbed into it.
Kail, who had intentionally left the opening, knew exactly where the attack would come from, and naturally closed in to dodge it while headbutting Gawein in the face.
Crack! Even though the sound of his skull smashing his nose echoed, Gawein looked down at Kail unfazed and smirked.
“You’re using quite a few tricks?”
“Huh?”
And the next moment, Kail realized his body had been flipped over—some amateur wrestling he’d learned but hadn’t mastered.
Of course, this aged Aura Master had trained in many things to a masterful level besides swordsmanship. Wrestling was one of them.
Compared to Gawein, Kail’s wrestling was surface-level at best. While struggling to escape using what little he knew—Gawein flung Kail far away.
“Gah!”
A choking sensation hit, and it felt like all the air in his lungs was being squeezed out. There was no pain, but his shocked body couldn’t get up immediately.
Watching Kail roll on the ground, Gawein warned,
“Boy. Did you really think you could beat me with such dirty tricks?”
“…Damn, old man, you’re strong.”
“Come at me with your sword. You can’t win against me with dirty tricks.”
Raising his sword to cover half his face, Gawein gazed down at Kail with an honorable knight’s expression.
“If you manage to beat me, I’ll give you a good grade.”
“—You should’ve said that from the start.”
Hearing those words, Kail threw away all other distractions. Yes, this fight wasn’t practically helpful.
He had come to rescue a kidnapped hostage and infiltrated the enemy base. Fighting the enemy Master for too long would only result in getting surrounded and captured.
However, from an experiential standpoint—not reality—a fight between Masters was quite beneficial. It served as fertilizer for the future.
“I’m coming, old man.”
“I’ve been waiting since earlier. Are you trying to bore me to death?”
As soon as his words ended, Kail slashed his sword upward from below. It was the Meyer-style Eightfold Art technique, the Earth Dragon Flash, which he had practiced until his hands blistered.
Sure enough, Gawein couldn’t deflect this attack lightly like the others—he forcefully struck down his sword to block the Earth Dragon Flash.
The large opening that followed. Kail chose a method only a young person could execute.
Swing, swing, and swing again.
“Hahaha! Stupid brat! Do you even think!?”
Boom—! Boom—!
Every time their swords clashed, explosive sounds erupted, and their limbs began to tremble.
The intense breathless exercise deprived oxygen from his entire body, and the insanely rushing Aura started burning him from within.
But Kail never stopped swinging his sword. Gawein, who had been laughing while blocking his strikes, finally understood Kail’s intent and frowned.
‘Does this kid really think he can beat an old man with stamina?’
This world was virtually created, and Gawein’s body was in its prime, yet Kail acted as if he didn’t consider that.
Moreover, the arrogance that he could knock Gawein down purely through brute force without technique irked him.
While blocking the sword and observing Kail momentarily, Gawein thrust his sword the instant Kail inhaled. He thought it was the perfect timing to strike at a mental gap—but it wasn’t.
Chaaang!
“What?”
Kail swung his sword regardless of whether he was inhaling or exhaling. The biological common sense that muscles lose strength when inhaling didn’t apply to Kail.
Whether inhaling, exhaling, his posture twisting, or balance breaking.
Each time Kail swung his sword with full force, Gawein felt his own common sense crumbling piece by piece.
‘How is this possible?’
Chaang!
Danggaang!
“─!”
After blocking countless strikes, Gawein realized his sword had been cut in two. Though he thought it was absurd and impossible, Kail had somehow managed to do it.
Alright, now he had to ask about that method. Thinking so, Gawein raised both hands and declared surrender.
“Surr…”
Shwaaak─!
“─Eh?”
Toward Gawein, who had lowered his sword and declared surrender, Kail mercilessly swung his sword. Kail’s sword crossed Gawein’s upper body, slicing him into G/Wein, then chopped his already halved upper and lower body into eighteen pieces.
When Kail, who belatedly realized his sword wasn’t hitting anything, looked ahead, only a pile of sliced corpses remained.
“…What? When did he die?”
Kail scratched his head, having instinctively swung his sword wildly without realizing Gawein had already died.
Since it was a virtual world, there wouldn’t be any major problems, but would he get scolded later?
‘Ah, surely not. He’s a Master after all…’
Thinking so, Kail slung the remaining puppet over his shoulder and exited the base.
Enemy Master eliminated.
Hostage rescued.
Zero casualties during the process.
A perfectly successful operation.
* * *
“…You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Aww, old man. Surely you’re not mad?”
After the exam ended, I greeted Gawein, who came to see me in the waiting room while I waited for the other cadets’ exams to finish, with a hearty laugh.
He furrowed his brow as if questioning how I could do that to him, but from my perspective, where I couldn’t even remember how I died, he just seemed like a grumpy old man throwing a tantrum.
“Sure, does this old man have any dignity left to care about? If I want to sulk, I’ll sulk; if I want to get angry, I’ll get angry. That’s how I live.”
“Wow… you really live like a true Master.”
Impressed, I exclaimed admiration, leaving Gawein tilting his head, unsure whether I was complimenting or mocking him.
But only for a moment—he cleared his throat and decided to ask what he’d come here curious about.
“—Hey, that thing you did at the end. How did you do it?”
“What do you mean?”
“That wild sword swinging. It was impossible in reality.”
“Oh, that?”
Realizing what he meant, I tapped my head and explained.
“I used my head.”
“…You used your head?”
“Yes.”
Gawein stared at me wide-eyed, confused by what I meant, and I kindly began explaining.
“Superhuman strength in emergency situations. Ever heard of something like that?”
“Ah, yes. A woman exhibited tremendous strength to save a child trapped under a carriage, right?”
“Exactly. What do you think caused that?”
“Well, maybe it happens when in mortal danger.”
“Close.”
The human body doesn’t exert its full power—or rather, it can’t. Exceeding limits damages one’s own body.
Thus, the body always has a limit, which only temporarily lifts when life is in danger or something more precious than life is at stake.
“And this head controls that limit.”
“…I heard everything, but what does that have to do with using your head?”
“Well, since it’s a virtual world and I can’t die anyway, I destroyed my brain with Aura to release the limit.”
“…What?”
Looking down at me in disbelief, Gawein tilted his head. I shrugged.
Why? What? I did use my head, didn’t I?
He stared at me, still unable to understand, then laughed and left the waiting room.
