I’m Not Becoming a Graduate Student! – Chapter 19

“First, everyone over there should go to the storage and bring out the training wooden swords! We’ll be swinging swords all the time, so make sure to grab them beforehand! If you understand, respond!”

“Yes!!”

“Good.”

Following Professor Heruj’s words, the students went to get the wooden swords.

Their expressions and body language clearly showed their annoyance.

Professor Heruj wasn’t a fool; she understood the students’ sentiments.

‘But still, I have to teach them diligently!’

Wizards are inherently lacking in physical activities.

They often skip meals while researching, and their exercise consists entirely of walking and breathing.

They are notoriously weak, collapsing even during lessons from sheer exhaustion.

That’s why the Magic Department asked her to design a class that would get wizards moving, even if just a little.

Thus was born the course titled “Swordsmanship Necessary for Protecting Oneself as a Wizard.”

“I believe some students were scared after seeing the swordsmanship I demonstrated in Week 1! But my lessons aren’t that difficult. Today, we’ll only learn the basic stance!”

Professor Heruj began the class.

She explained everything in detail, from the basic steps to the postures.

In truth, there wasn’t much to explain.

Since the objective was movement, the sword techniques taught were simple.

The ‘Byzantium Sword Technique’ used by the knightly orders of the Byzantine Empire.

The reason for teaching techniques easily found in any marketplace…

Was because the focus was on moving the body rather than mastering the sword technique itself.

“Alright, that’s the basic explanation! Everyone should mimic the upward strike! I’ll watch and guide you! Don’t be shy, just swing away!”

One by one, the students followed the stances.

Naturally, their poses were clumsy and awkward, typical for students from the Magic Department.

However, one student stood out: Clif Devrong.

‘His stance is quite good.’

Was he training? His body was muscular.

His upward strike was more stable compared to the other students.

He must have practiced the upward strike for quite a long time.

“You’re doing very well! Just keep swinging like that. Ah, but when you swing, the tip of your sword is shaking a bit. Just pay attention to that!”

“I’ll keep that in mind! Haha.”

Professor Heruj specifically praised Clif.

Clif shrugged and laughed wide, while she internally sighed at the sight.

‘Look at him getting all cocky just because he learned a little earlier… It’s so embarrassing.’

He was only distinguishing himself among the ‘students learning for the first time today.’

Clif’s technique was nothing compared to the students from the Combat Department.

Even so, seeing him swagger like that wasn’t pleasant.

While skill is important for a swordsman, humility is even more crucial.

A skilled but arrogant swordsman won’t receive good evaluations or treatment.

Professor Heruj knew this but chose not to teach that lesson.

After all, he was just a student from the Magic Department.

He was not a student from the Combat Department she personally taught, and it was just a liberal arts class.

It would be odd to scold him for being arrogant.

While guiding the other students, Professor Heruj caught a hushed whisper nearby.

“…What are you looking at?”

“?”

“I’m talking to you.”

Clif, who had just been sweet-talking the professor, suddenly turned serious.

Though Professor Heruj didn’t give her gaze, her ears perked up eagerly.

The squirrel beastman didn’t miss even the tiniest sounds.

“Wasn’t it nice when you tricked the professor saying you didn’t know barrier magic? But my eyes don’t lie.”

“…”

“Seems like you can’t even swing a sword properly. You should focus on class instead of worrying about others. Act like a commoner… don’t show off…”

A glance revealed Clif having a confrontation with a nearby student.

That student looked scrawny and completely out of place with a sword.

Professor Heruj remembered the name of that male student.

‘Sion… right?’

His name was Sion.

Being a member of the human race without a family name, it was clear he was a commoner.

Especially in the Magic Department, where learning magic from a young age was overwhelmingly advantageous, commoners were a rare sight.

That’s why Professor Heruj remembered his name.

It was short and easy to remember, and his appearance was so unfit for a sword wielder.

At this rate, something might happen.

‘I have to help him.’

How could someone so weak be harassed?

There was a physical difference as well as a class difference.

Reflecting on her past, Professor Heruj recalled how nobles pressured commoners.

– What sword could a Yulseo clan member wield!


– Just live in the great forest. Why would you need to go to where humans are?


– You’re a disgrace to the Yulseo clan.

The Yulseo clan was her official name as a squirrel beastman.

Most of them lived in the great forest and passed away there.

For the villagers, it was odd to see a herbivore squirrel wielding a sword.

The discrimination she faced was not just from that.

– What kind of beastman could wield a sword?


– Could you stay away? You smell like an animal.


– A squirrel beastman? Can they fight properly? Just choose someone else.

The Yulseo clan is a rare presence in a human-dominated imperial society.

Naturally, they have faced much discrimination.

Especially the prevalent mindset that ‘how could a herbivore squirrel wield a sword?’

Despite overcoming such discrimination and oppression, she now teaches swordsmanship at the world’s top academy.

Leveraging the unique agile and bouncy steps of a squirrel, she developed the “Yulseo Sword Technique,” which delivers powerful strikes to the opponent’s weak points.

Having created her unique sword technique and gained recognition made this possible.

Professor Heruj saw Sion’s figure reflected in her childhood.

“Ugh.”

“…You’re laughing? What the heck…”

Unable to bear it any longer, Professor Heruj approached the two.

Clif also couldn’t hold back and walked towards Sion.

‘If this continues, we’ll be late!’

When Clif started to reach out his hand, Heruj realized it was too late.

An explosive situation loomed.

Just as Professor Heruj was about to leap forward, gripping the hilt of her sword—

Swoosh!

Sion’s sword moved.

Professor Heruj caught sight of that elegant arc.

It was nothing like the shaky swings of Clif.

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‘…Ah.’

In the eyes of Professor Heruj, who had wielded a sword all her life, it was clear.

The direction of all that power—feet, ankles, knees, waist, shoulders, elbows, wrists… and the sword.

The harmony of all those forces and their control was practically artistic.

While Sion’s physique looked frail and the power he exerted was weak…

That power was perfectly… no, rather doubled in its effect on the sword.

Feeling danger, Clif stepped back and stumbled over his own feet.

Thud!

Clif fell on his backside.

That disgraceful sight didn’t even register in her mind.

Even now, Sion’s sword trajectory was vividly painted in her eyes.

In a situation that felt like time had stopped, the only one moving was Sion.

‘…Is he trying to pull something on me?’

A swordsman capable of creating such a sword trajectory…

Clif wouldn’t even last a moment against him.

If Sion wielded his sword earnestly, even a training wooden sword could inflict serious injury.

But Sion’s reaction was unexpected.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were coming.”

“What…?”

“It’s dangerous to approach without saying anything during sword practice. Do you want to get up?”

“Y-you jerk…!”

Sion nonchalantly extended his hand towards the student who had insulted him.

If Professor Heruj could hear, Sion’s ears would’ve clearly caught the insults hurled at him.

He was mocked for being a commoner, and various curses were thrown.

‘What character…!’

This was a level above Clif’s pretentiousness.

A flawless sword trajectory, something that would take years to master.

And the ability to embrace the one insulting him with such maturity and kindness.

“Y-you jerk…!”

But Clif ignored that kindness and threw a punch at Sion.

The venomous words of a bitter loser made her brows furrow.

Professor Heruj wasn’t the type to tolerate seeing a ‘gem’ smeared with dirt.

She swung her sword towards Clif’s fist.

Swoosh! Knock!

“Who the hell are you?!”

“Are you talking to me by any chance?”

“Uh… Professor…?”

The smiling face of Professor Heruj had vanished.

Even those who looked serious would feel chills at her expression.

Clif was helplessly kicked out of the classroom.

“If you don’t leave in three seconds, I’ll accept it as a challenge to my authority as a professor. Three.”

“Professor…”

“Two.”

“I’m s-sorry!”

With wooden sword in hand, Clif bolted away.

Clif fell on his behind, leaving his pants muddy.

Professor Heruj eyed Clif’s hasty retreat with a glare.

Once that dirty runaway disappeared from sight, she turned around.

Her eyes sparkled brighter than ever before.

“I hope you can show me that upward strike again!”

“…Huh?”

“That was amazing! Just until a moment ago, your stance was terrible and you kept getting distracted, and I was worried… but that upward strike was incredibly precise! It wouldn’t be the first time you swung a sword, would it? If so, you have amazing talent!”

Bouncy!

Professor Heruj circled around Sion incessantly.

Her tail was wagging vigorously like a dog.

‘He’s at least the level of a Combat Department student! …No, maybe even better!’

Professor Heruj recalled his stance.

Surely just moments ago, he had been flailing around with his swings.

But suddenly he executed the upward strike perfectly.

‘This is a genius! A rare talent that appears once every thousand years!’

In just one day, he raised the proficiency of his upward strike by about 99%.

Even though his physique was below standard, and he was a student from the Magic Department…

Such minor details didn’t catch the eye of Professor Heruj.

‘Wasting a talent like this on learning magic would be criminal… I have to do whatever it takes to get him into the Combat Department!’

Her mind raced furiously.

As a professor, it would be disgraceful to just let go of a student with such a genius talent.

The madness began to claw into her eyes as she gazed at Sion.

“Um… Professor?”

“If possible, I would like you to meet me at the lab after class! I’ll teach you everything! One-on-one!”

Professor Heruj continued to close in on Sion, leaving him perplexed.

*

‘Who knew I’d be able to execute the upward strike that perfectly!’

With Professor Heruj clinging to him, Sion felt like he was about to die from embarrassment.

The upward strike he cast to intimidate Clif.

The power of it shocked even himself, and though it was a training wooden sword, its destructive power was substantial enough to pose a serious threat to Clif.

The problem was how glaringly obvious it was.

After all, just a moment earlier, he couldn’t even hold a stance without getting scolded by the professor.

Now, all of a sudden, he could swing so cleanly?

“Sion, student, is a genius in swordsmanship! If you stick with me, you could be a squad leader, an S-class adventurer, or a master swordsman… anything is possible!”

Professor Heruj’s eyes sparkled excessively.

As she kept closing in on him, Sion backed up until he hit the wall of the training hall.

Now, there was nowhere left to escape.

Then it was time for him to face her head-on.

“Um… I’m sorry, but I have prior commitments…”

“Then how about another day!!!”

“Well…”

“How about tomorrow? Oh, no! I’ll share my timetable with you! After checking, we can find a suitable time.”

“Ah…”

Professor Heruj showed absolutely no signs of letting Sion go.

With no space to back away, he thought of escaping sideways, but for some reason, he couldn’t move at all.

‘…Her tail?’

Now that he noticed, her fluffy tail was tightly wrapped around Sion’s waist.

It held him like it had no intention of letting go.

Ultimately, Sion resigned to his fate.

“Then I’ll consider Wednesday evening!”

“…Understood.”

“Great! Now, let’s return to the class!”

Bouncy!

Professor Heruj briskly returned to the training hall as if nothing had happened.

Sion sneakily moved back to his position.

‘…Everyone’s staring at me.’

Despite pretending not to, everyone was indeed looking at Sion.

More than half were openly staring, and among those who weren’t, many were peeking sideways.

With every needle-like gaze, Sion felt his stomach churn.

Amidst that barrage of attention, Sion quietly wielded his sword.

“Then, today’s class will conclude here! Sion, you must not forget our appointment on Wednesday evening! Alright, class dismissed!”

Professor Heruj left the training hall with bouncing steps.

She seemed twice as cheerful as when she entered the class.

Singing a tune was even audible.

The reason was obvious.

“Hey, Sion, what’s up?”

“…What is it?”

“What’s with this sword skill you were hiding?”

Patrick chimed in, playfully hitting Sion’s shoulder.

Beside him, Geivolg naturally settled into place.

“That was impressive, Sion! And being favored by Professor Heruj is no small win! Her Yulseo Sword Technique is globally renowned!”

“Right? Winning the World Swordsmanship Tournament and catching the headlines is still a hot topic to this day.”

Though Sion found their chatter dull, Patrick and Geivolg continued without pause.

They spoke about how she was the most famous person from the Yulseo clan, how she won the global swordsmanship competition.

The more he heard, the less he understood why such a truly remarkable person was so interested in him.

Thinking about Wednesday evening made Sion shudder.

“I guess it doesn’t matter… I just want to rest in the dorm….”

“You don’t care? How about transferring to the Combat Department now?”

“That’s a bit…”

“Haha! Sion, it’s okay to think seriously about it. You’re strong enough to make a fool of the professors with the barrier magic! It’s a dilemma of happiness between the two!”

“If you say it like that, it sounds misleading!”

As Sion snapped back at Geivolg’s words, the three of them exited the training hall.

…Sion’s face looked exceptionally worn out in just a matter of minutes.