Chapter 4

Episode 4. A Reason to Live (3)

Silence fell over the training ground.

Professor Lucas, who had proposed this duel, and the candidates who had come in droves to watch something interesting, all stared dumbfounded at Felix, who was vomiting on the floor.

Felix Odman.

A noble from an imperial baronial family, a candidate who had awakened the Holy Mark of the “Sea God,” passed down through generations.

His personality was unbearably arrogant, and his manners were non-existent, so he wasn’t well-liked within the academy.

But there was one thing he was acknowledged for.

“Felix lost in swordsmanship?”

“And so overwhelmingly?”

Pure swordsmanship without the use of magic power.

In a “non-magic duel” like this, where the use of magic was restricted, Felix was a contender within the top 50… no, the top 30.

But Felix had lost.

And not just lost, but was utterly crushed without even getting a proper swing in.

‘What kind of swordsmanship was that just now…’

Professor Lucas, recalling the swordsmanship Dale had displayed, wore a confused expression.

Known as the “Hunting Dog” for his keen insight, he could tell.

The swordsmanship Dale had just displayed was unmistakably…

‘Sun Sword?’

Sun Sword.

The strongest swordsmanship in the empire… no, the strongest on the continent, created by the legendary hero Reynaldo Helios, who sealed the Devil God 500 years ago.

How could Dale, who wasn’t even from the empire, let alone the Helios family, use it?

‘No, it’s different.’

Calmly continuing his thoughts, Lucas shook his head.

‘The basic form looks similar, but it’s different from the Sun Sword I know.’

He had seen Yuren Helios, the eldest son of the Helios ducal family and the rightful successor of the Sun Sword, use it himself not long ago.

Dale’s swordsmanship, while resembling the Sun Sword at a glance, was clearly different.

It was as if the Sun Sword had been broken down and transformed to suit him.

If anyone else had seen it, they might not have even noticed the similarities to the Sun Sword.

‘Even if the similarities to the Sun Sword are coincidental… it’s absurd that Dale could wield such a level of swordsmanship.’

There’s a reason he’s at the bottom.

For three years since Dale enrolled, he had consistently ranked last in overall evaluations, not just because of his lack of magic power compared to other candidates, but also due to his hopelessly poor physical skills.

But how?

How could he suddenly possess such astonishing swordsmanship, as if he had become a different person overnight?

“What are you doing? You said you’d come first. Not coming?”

Before Lucas’s questions could continue, a low voice broke the silence.

Tap, tap.

Dale tapped the floor with the tip of his wooden sword and took a step forward.

“Then I’ll go.”

“Ugh…”

Felix, who had been vomiting on the floor, staggered to his feet.

“You… damn brat!”

With a face twisted in rage, Felix charged at Dale.

And they clashed.

-Wham!

“Ugh!”

Once again, Felix’s sword didn’t even touch Dale’s clothes.

Felix, sprawled on the floor, trembled in disbelief.

At first, he might have been careless, but this time, that wasn’t the case.

“How…?”

Only then did the rumors he had heard yesterday flash through his mind.

The rumor that Dale had sent Professor Lucas flying. And the rumor that he had subdued Camila Bediche with one hand.

They were all absurd rumors, so he hadn’t paid them any mind.

‘Were those rumors all true?’

Felix frowned and shook his head.

‘That’s impossible.’

Even though he had just been knocked down without getting a proper swing in, the deep-seated prejudice he had built up over the years made him deny the reality before him.

“…Dale Han.”

Gritting his teeth, Felix gripped his wooden sword tightly.

“Let’s see how long you can keep this up.”

The Holy Mark on Felix’s left chest glowed, enveloping his body in a faint blue light.

Magic power.

The divine breath that only those who had awakened their Holy Mark could wield spread throughout his body.

“Haap!”

Whoosh!

Felix’s sword swung with an explosive speed incomparable to before.

“Felix Odman!”

Professor Lucas, who had been watching the duel, urgently stood up, but he couldn’t stop the already swung sword.

“Come on, try blocking this!”

Listening to the fierce cry that pierced his ears, Dale looked at the wooden sword enveloped in blue light.

Pfft.

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

‘Come to think of it, Yuren said something before.’

If one reached the pinnacle of the Sun Sword, they could split the sky with just the sword, without using magic power.

‘Well, I’m not at the level of splitting the sky yet.’

But he should be able to split a wooden training sword made of oak.

“Inhale.”

Taking a deep breath, he pulled the sword to his shoulder.

Leaning slightly forward, he concentrated his entire weight on the sole of his foot.

Like a compressed spring, the force concentrated in his sole exploded upward, directed toward the blade.

And.

He slashed.

Clang-!

With a clear metallic sound that shouldn’t come from a wooden sword, the wooden sword in Felix’s hand was split in half and fell to the floor.

“…Huh?”

Felix stared at the split wooden sword with a dumbfounded expression.

“What… is this?”

The power of magic had many effects, too many to count on one hand.

But the most basic effect was one.

The enhancement of pure ‘physical force.’

Even a thin branch that looked like it would break could be used to drive a nail, thanks to the miraculous power of magic.

‘He split my sword in half without using magic?’

And with a regular training sword?

‘That’s impossible.’

To put it in perspective, it was like cutting a solid iron rod with a branch.

No, wait.

Even if you could bend an iron rod with a branch, how could you ‘cut’ a wooden sword imbued with magic with a regular wooden sword?

This was impossible, regardless of the presence of magic.

In fact, a training sword was just a wooden club carved from oak.

“What kind of trick did you… Ugh!”

Thud.

Before Felix could finish his sentence.

A fist swung like lightning struck Felix’s jaw.

Felix’s body collapsed to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.

“……”

“……”

There were no cheers for the winner, no jeers for the loser.

In the silence that fell like a curtain.

I leisurely turned to Professor Lucas and spoke.

“As promised, the suspension period is reduced to four days, right?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

Professor Lucas nodded with a bewildered expression.

He looked like he couldn’t understand the situation even after seeing it with his own eyes, but I didn’t bother to explain.

Even if I did, he wouldn’t understand.

“Then. I’ll see you next week, Professor.”

After a polite bow, I headed out of the training ground.

It must be almost lunchtime.

Candidates were bustling around the academy.

“Four days.”

Since today was Tuesday, I had about six days of free time until the weekend.

‘I have a lot to do.’

Having decided to live a new life, there were mountains of preparations to be made.

‘I won’t lose anything anymore.’

Until now, my life had been nothing but loss.

My most precious friends, my siblings, my seniors, my lover.

I couldn’t protect any of them.

I lost them all.

‘Even if I can’t decide how this body will end, I can decide how to live.’

This time, I won’t lose anyone.

I’ll protect them with my own hands.

“Let’s go.”

With determination etched deep in my heart, I headed to the dormitory.

* * *

“I knocked on your door but got no answer, so I wondered where you were. Turns out you’re here.”

In the hallway leading back to the dormitory.

A familiar voice reached my ears.

“…Iris?”

Even after pouring out my emotions yesterday, was it not enough?

The moment I saw Iris, my eyes welled up again, and a lump formed in my throat.

“Dale Han… right?”

“Ah, yes.”

I barely managed to nod, suppressing my emotions.

Iris approached me with graceful steps.

Her eyes, shining with a blue light as if holding the sky, came closer.

“…Ah.”

The only unfamiliar thing in her otherwise familiar face.

Seeing her as she was before losing her eyes to the curse of the Mine made my heart pound as if it were broken.

Well.

It couldn’t be helped.

Even with her eyes covered by a black blindfold, she was more beautiful than anyone in the world. How much more so now?

The baseless rumor that she was the reincarnation of one of the seven gods felt almost true.

“Hmm.”

Iris, who had come close, scrutinized me up and down for a while, then turned her head to look around.

During lunchtime, when candidates were flocking to the cafeteria, the dormitory hallway was eerily quiet.

‘Iris.’

Looking at her before me, I recalled her from my memories.

She, who was always gentle and kind, so much so that the title of Saint didn’t feel out of place.

She, who hesitated even to step on a small bug, had such a tender heart.

She, who held my hand every day with a worried expression, asking if I was okay, if I was hurt, even though I would just come back to life in the blink of an eye.

The more I remembered her, the more my eyes stung.

And then.

-Smack!

A sharp pain and my head snapped to the side.

“Huh?”

As I touched my cheek and a dazed sound escaped my lips, Iris roughly grabbed my collar and spoke.

“Hey, why are you speaking casually to me? Do you know me?”

Huh?

Excuse me?

Miss Iris?

“Well, we’re in the same grade, so casual speech is fine. But what was that yesterday? Huh? Why did you lay hands on my friend, you bastard?”

“……”

In my confusion, it wasn’t hard to understand why she was so furious.

From her perspective, it was only natural.

A fellow candidate she had never even spoken to suddenly approached, threw her friend and bodyguard to the ground, and then started crying in front of her.

For anyone… no, even for someone extraordinary, it was enough to make them angry.

“Sorry. Yesterday, I… lost my mind for a moment. I’ll apologize properly to Camila later.”

“Hmm.”

She was about to snap at me more, but when I apologized so readily, she loosened her grip on my collar.

“Heh. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but since you apologized, it’s fine.”

Iris shrugged and stepped back from me.

“Ah, by the way. You must forget what happened today, okay? Otherwise…”

She smiled.

With the same voice I remembered so clearly.

A voice so gentle.

“You’re dead?”

She whispered.