Episode 49. Sun’s Sword (1)

The day after showing Iris the spiciness of the Republic.

[Don’t contact me for a while.]

I clicked my tongue as I looked at the message floating on the Hero Watch.

“Was the ginger tea too much?”

I felt a slight regret, but at the time, there was no other choice.

‘How could I resist?’

I’ve always thought I didn’t have a hobby of enjoying others’ pain, but seeing Iris, who boasted that this level of spiciness was nothing, crying with snot and tears, I couldn’t resist the urge to torment her.

‘Well, what’s done is done.’

The best thing to do now is to wait quietly until her anger subsides.

“Let’s see then…”

Originally, today’s class was supposed to be a duel class only for the Warrior Department candidates, but last night, a notice came out saying it was canceled due to Professor Lucas’s health issues.

“What? He was fine yesterday. What health issue?”

Curious, I sent a message through the Hero Watch, but there was no response.

‘Well, it’s probably nothing.’

It’s Professor Lucas, after all. Even if his condition is bad, he’ll probably recover quickly and come back as if nothing happened.

“I’m meeting Berald in the evening…”

So, I have free time from now until evening.

‘Should I go to the training grounds?’

It’s better to move my body than to stay cooped up in the dorm room with nothing to do.

‘Though it’s not as easy to use the training grounds freely as during the break.’

Originally, I planned to borrow money from Juliet before the break ended to apply for a private training ground, but that plan fell through when I ran into Berald in the middle of my “work.”

‘Well, it can’t be helped.’

Because of the duel with Instructor Vincent yesterday, there will be more attention on me than usual, but I can’t just swing my sword in the cramped dorm room.

“Hmph.”

I grabbed my sword and headed to the training grounds.

Perhaps because the break hasn’t been over for long, there weren’t many candidates using the public training grounds.

“Huh?”

“Is that him? The one from Combat Training Class C?”

“Hey, he even beat an instructor. How can he be at the bottom?”

“Why would he do that? There’s no benefit in being last.”

“I don’t know. Some in Class C even compare him to Yuren Helios.”

“No way, that’s an exaggeration.”

“Right? They’ve never even had a class with Yuren, so why the fuss?”

Of course.

Even though there weren’t many candidates, it didn’t mean I wasn’t attracting attention.

‘What a mess.’

I smiled wryly as I saw the candidates whispering to each other as soon as I entered.

I passed by the candidates and headed to a corner of the large public training grounds.

After putting down my towel and water bottle, I started some light warm-up exercises with martial arts.

Whoosh! Hah! Bang!

The sound of fists and feet cutting through the air echoed loudly.

It was so intense that it was hard to believe I wasn’t using any magic power.

‘My body has improved quite a bit.’

When I first returned, my body was at the level of “someone who just worked hard without knowing anything,” but after consistent training for about two months, there’s been a significant change.

A well-defined six-pack and a lean upper body with no excess fat.

The muscles from my waist to my thighs and calves were so developed that they reminded me of a big cat predator.

Some might wonder why I train my body so hard when I can just strengthen it with magic power.

But that’s the lazy thinking of a mage who only uses magic by releasing it externally.

‘If you can strengthen a branch with magic to make it as strong as steel, why not just use a steel weapon?’

The same goes for the body.

Even if you use the same amount of magic power, there’s a huge difference between strengthening a weak body and a trained one.

‘It’s still not enough.’

Thanks to what I learned from Berald, my body has improved quickly compared to the time I’ve invested, but to achieve a near-perfect body like in my past life, I can’t slack off on training.

“Hoo.”

As my body started to heat up, I drew the sword at my waist and began serious sword training.

“Haa.”

I took a deep breath and swung the sword in my hand.

First, the four forms of the Sun Sword.

Upward slash, downward slash, horizontal slash, thrust.

The four basic movements of swordsmanship, which are the foundation of everything, unfolded one after another.

Whoosh! Hah! Swish!

Although I call it the Sun Sword for convenience, the swordsmanship I wielded had changed so much that it no longer resembled its original form.

‘It changed even more after my level increased last time.’

I thought that even if Yuren from my past life came back to life, he wouldn’t recognize this as the swordsmanship he taught me.

‘It’s fine.’

Even if it’s changed so much that the original form is hard to recognize, the fact that the root of my sword is Yuren remains unchanged.

‘So.’

Whoosh!

Sweat dripped down my forehead.

The sword, imbued with gray aura, fiercely tore through the surrounding space.

‘Don’t worry, Yuren.’

Even if you forget.

I remember.

– Don’t be too tense when swinging your sword.


– Clear your mind, go slowly.


– Think about where the sword wants to go, not you.

The lessons you taught me.

The realizations you shared.

Even after hundreds of years, even after thousands of years.

Vividly, clearly.

I remember.

“Hoo.”

I caught my slightly ragged breath and sheathed my sword.

‘Well, I remember, but I don’t fully understand.’

Honestly, even now, I think “think about where the sword wants to go, not you” is nonsense.

‘That guy always says things that sound profound. Who can understand that?’

As I chuckled, reminiscing about the time I learned swordsmanship from Yuren.

Clap clap.

Then, I heard clear applause.

I turned my head toward the sound and saw.

“Impressive.”

A young man with radiant golden hair like the sun.

“You…”

“Ah, I’m sorry for sneaking a peek at your training without permission.”

The golden-haired young man bowed politely.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yuren Helios, a third-year Warrior Department candidate.”

“……”

I was speechless at Yuren’s unexpected appearance.

Perhaps misunderstanding my stiff expression, Yuren scratched his head with an awkward smile.

“Sorry for showing up unannounced like this.”

“Ah, no, it’s fine. But why did you come looking for me?”

“I happened to see Dale-nim in a duel yesterday.”

“Ah.”

So he saw my duel with Instructor Vincent.

“After seeing the duel, I really wanted to cross swords with Dale-nim.”

So that’s why he came to the public training grounds, even though he has his own private training ground.

‘This guy is still the same.’

Ever since I knew him, if he heard someone was good with a sword, he’d go after them like a hungry hyena.

I swallowed a chuckle and nodded.

“Alright.”

I was actually wondering how to approach Yuren and build a relationship, so I couldn’t miss this opportunity.

“Ah… Thank you!”

“Speak comfortably. We’re the same year.”

“Okay, I’ll speak comfortably.”

“Shall we duel here?”

“No. I have a private training ground, so let’s go there. There are… too many eyes here.”

Yuren turned his head and looked at the murmuring candidates.

Perhaps because Yuren was here.

Candidates who weren’t there before were now gathering in the training grounds as if to fill it up.

“Let’s go before more people gather.”

“Okay.”

As Yuren led the way, the crowd parted like the Red Sea.

‘Wow, I thought I was getting a lot of attention lately, but compared to Yuren, it’s nothing.’

Well.

The candidate in front of me is the descendant of the famous “Sun’s Sword,” Reynaldo Helios.

It’s only natural that he gets this much attention.

“This is my training ground.”

“Wow! The facilities are great.”

Though not as large as the public training grounds.

The neatly organized interior, training equipment covering the walls, and even a private shower and sauna.

The facilities were embarrassingly better than the public training grounds.

‘Seeing it in person makes me want it even more.’

Like a country bumpkin who just came to the city, I looked around Yuren’s private training ground and swallowed my drool.

“How should we duel?”

“However you want.”

“Hmm… Then, how about we start without using magic power?”

Yuren suggested cautiously.

‘He must know I have low magic power.’

Yuren has much more magic power than most professors, let alone candidates, so he probably thought it would be hard to have a proper duel with me using magic power.

‘Well, he’s not wrong.’

Unless I use a Holy Mark Amplifier.

Even just the difference in magic power is more than ten times, so in a duel using magic power, I’d be at a disadvantage.

“Alright, let’s start without using magic power.”

“Thank you.”

I stood in front of Yuren with a training wooden sword in hand.

As Yuren operated his Hero Watch, a hologram appeared in the center of the training ground.

[Duel mode confirmed.]

[Duel starting in 5 seconds.]

[4, 3, 2, 1.]

As the numbers in the air disappeared.

Whoosh!

Yuren and I dashed forward at the same time.

And.

* * *

“Huff, huff, hah!”

Yuren, breathing heavily, collapsed to the ground.

“Th-this can’t be…”

He trembled as he looked at his sword lying on the ground, unable to believe it.

I drank from my water bottle, waiting for Yuren’s shock to subside.

“Dale!”

Yuren jumped up and rushed toward me.

He grabbed my hand tightly and shouted with a trembling voice.

“Who… who taught you that swordsmanship?!”

Who else?

‘You did.’