On the first day of the entrance ceremony. While most cadets were busy getting to know each other instead of attending classes…
The Knight Department was running.
“One, two! One, two!”
Following the lead cadet’s commands, they synchronized their steps and ran at a pretty fast pace—close to an all-out sprint for ordinary people. No matter how much the cadets had trained their bodies, by this point, their backs were drenched in sweat.
Of course, those who had reached a certain level didn’t break a sweat. There were rumors that Hundred had reached the Expert level, and well, so had I.
Fortunately, there was no cruel act of singling out those who didn’t sweat for extra stamina training—it seemed the goal was to bring everyone’s basic stamina up to a certain standard.
Though I wondered if there would be any cadets among those qualified enough to enter the Academy who couldn’t keep up with this stamina training… surprisingly, a few existed.
“Those damn commoners…”
A noble cadet muttered as he lightly wiped off his sweat. Yes, the problem was the commoners. Those who hadn’t been born into knight families or received even the minimal education of nobles—those who got accepted purely on talent without any foundation.
No matter how great one’s talent might be, physical stamina isn’t something you’re born with. Stamina is something you build.
“Alright, now that stamina training is over—”
The cadets who had been glaring at the commoners moved at the instructor’s words. After stamina training came swordsmanship training, then Aura training.
As the saying goes, “If you rest one day, you’ll need three days of running to catch up.” Knights never rested; resting was considered sinful.
But even after all this effort, it’s reality that we could still get killed by some Mage Tower brats lazily scratching their butts and chanting a few spells.
“Cadets who haven’t learned Aura breathing techniques, come forward.”
At the instructor’s words, the hesitant commoner cadets gathered in front of him. Commoners who hadn’t learned how to handle Aura.
The Academy had prepared Aura breathing techniques for such commoners—the generic breathing method used by Imperial Knights. It wasn’t particularly great, but better than nothing.
“I’ll teach you the breathing technique one by one, so follow along exactly.”
“Yes!”
The cadets attempted the Aura breathing technique under the instructor’s guidance. Watching them close their eyes and try to sense their Aura, the cadets who had already learned the technique snickered quietly.
Ignoring the cadets basking in their petty sense of superiority, I carefully observed a blond-haired cadet. He sat in front of the instructor, cautiously attempting to breathe, though something about it seemed clumsy.
It didn’t seem intentional, and it was clear he must have learned a different Aura breathing technique elsewhere. Hiding the technique he’d learned, he clumsily tried using the generic method, causing a conflict with the original technique he knew.
‘Why’s he doing this?’
I wondered why he was hiding his true strength like some power-concealing weirdo—
Every time he took a deep breath, he furrowed his brow as if something felt uncomfortable. Sensing my gaze, he slightly turned his head, and our eyes met.
Our gazes clashed in midair, and the blond-haired one quickly looked away first. Soon after, I also turned my gaze and began training.
* * *
After morning training ended, the Knight Department headed toward the building where the Military Department was located.
The next class was the Military Department’s liberal arts course: [Understanding Strategy and Tactics].
When the sweaty cadets from training entered the classroom, the seated Military Department cadets grimaced.
“Damn, it smells like sweat…”
One Military Department cadet muttered, and unable to hold back, one of the Knight Department cadets shouted.
“What? What did you just say?”
“I said it stinks of sweat. Don’t you guys shower?”
“We just finished training! What do you want us to do?”
“You’ve got magic—do you really have to walk around stinking like that?”
Unable to deny the Military Department cadet’s words, the Knight Department cadet clenched his mouth shut. The statement wasn’t wrong—there was cleaning magic available.
The problem was that magic wasn’t free. If they used magic to clean themselves after every morning training session, even a noble would struggle to afford the upkeep.
Seeing the Knight Department cadets unable to respond, the Military Department cadets snickered. Feeling mocked, one Knight Department cadet couldn’t hold back his anger and charged to grab the collar of a Military Department cadet.
“You damn—”
“Hahaha! Stop it!”
Watching the scene unfold, I swiftly dashed over and grabbed the back of the Knight Department cadet’s neck, pulling him back. Dragged by my strength, the cadet stared at me with disbelief, as if wondering where such brute force came from.
I smirked and immediately turned to the Military Department cadet. The guy who locked eyes with me started sweating profusely.
“Sorry about the sweat smell. I’ll be more careful next time.”
“Eh, eh—?”
“Yeah, thanks for understanding.”
There was no need to bark orders. Ordinary people tend to get scared just by locking eyes with me. My strong physique naturally intimidated others, and the Master-level aura emanating from my body instinctively made them shrink back, even without me trying.
After patting the sweating cadet’s back a couple of times, I laughed heartily and returned to my seat. The Knight Department cadets awkwardly stood there watching me before finally finding their seats.
After the fight simmered down, the professor soon entered.
“Phew—open the windows, please.”
The professor ordered as soon as he entered, waiting for ventilation before starting introductions.
“I’m Wolfgang, here to teach Understanding Strategy and Tactics. My class is very simple: theory, and practice.”
Wolfgang began scribbling the class outline on the board as he spoke. Fighting off an incoming wave of sleepiness, I yawned—and immediately got caught by Wolfgang.
“…You, what’s your name?”
“Kail Meyer.”
“Alright, Cadet Kail. What do you think strategy and tactics are?”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, I thought briefly before giving the first answer that came to mind.
“Hitting hard and hitting extremely hard?”
“No understanding of strategy and tactics at all.”
“Is that so?”
“Tactics, as you put it, are methods of hitting others hard. And strategy is handing over the person who hit you to the guards.”
Indeed, hearing Wolfgang’s explanation made it sound almost too easy to grasp. But soon, one doubt arose: according to his analogy, tactics could beat strategy.
‘Isn’t it possible to knock out anyone who comes, including the guards?’
Once that doubt crept in, my trust in the professor’s lesson plummeted.
Losing trust led to losing interest, and bored with the dull lecture, I soon began nodding off. How long had I dozed off when I suddenly felt a nudge from the cadet sitting next to me?
“Hey, uh, why?”
“…The professor called you. Go to the front.”
“Really? Why?”
“It’s obvious you get called out for sleeping in class…”
Fair point. Scratching the back of my head, I walked to the front. By now, the board was filled with scribbled notes from the professor, and a chessboard-like setup sat on the desk.
As I approached while glancing at the scribbles on the board, the professor began berating me for sleeping.
“Cadet Kail. Is my class really that boring?”
“Honestly?”
“…Never mind. Anyway, falling asleep in class like that means you’re confident, right? Viktor!”
Calling out the name of one of the Military Department cadets, Wolfgang summoned Viktor, who quickly sprang to the front and positioned himself in front of me.
“Did you pay attention in class, Viktor?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Then you should easily defeat this slacker who fell asleep, right?”
“Yes, sir!”
Watching Viktor, whose military discipline was tight, I realized Wolfgang was a professor from the Military Department.
The Military Department was known as the elite path leading directly to becoming an officer in the Imperial Army after graduation—but in other words, it meant enduring harsh conditions akin to military life even as cadets.
Thanks to that, Viktor, with strict military bearing, glared at me as if ready to kill, and Wolfgang nodded approvingly.
“Alright, let’s begin the practical exercise—a war game.”
As Wolfgang finished speaking, the chessboard in front of us began expanding until it filled the entire classroom.
Thinking it might be an attack, I soon realized it was merely an illusion that couldn’t affect us.
“The two of you will be given equal skill levels and numbers of soldiers. Defeat the opponent’s forces or destroy their base to win. Otherwise, you lose.”
“Hmm… Can I join instead of commanding soldiers?”
“If you knights want to participate, subtract ten from your troops or add ten to the enemy’s.”
“That’s not much of an increase.”
“You can’t use Aura in here. So—what’s your plan?”
After pondering the professor’s words, I decided to subtract ten from my forces. If I couldn’t use Aura, having fewer troops was better than facing more enemies.
Satisfied with my decision, the professor adjusted the war game settings and smirked.
“The losing side gets a D grade.”
“And the winner?”
“—The winner gets an A. Begin.”
Moments later, the illusion burst forth again, and I found myself standing in the middle of a battlefield.
A war game—so this was how they conducted command training in a realistic way. Not bad for an academy, using plenty of magical elements.
“Sir Knight, your orders.”
At that moment, soldiers approached and addressed me. I quickly realized these soldiers weren’t human but artificial constructs—essentially golems.
With no spark in their eyes and no vitality in their bodies, I marveled at how incredible magic was while observing Viktor’s soldiers forming ranks far in the distance. Then I gave my command.
“Alright—charge, everyone.”
“Yes, understood.”
Leading the charge, I gripped my sword and dashed forward.
Twenty against thirty? What’s the big deal—even one against thirty, I’d win.
A Sword Saint remains a Sword Saint, even without Aura.
In the distance, I saw Viktor’s face fill with shock, as if he couldn’t believe I’d pull such a crazy stunt.
I love seeing self-proclaimed smartasses make that expression.
Idiots don’t understand.
If you’ve got a strong body, you don’t need to think too hard.
