The Academy’s Ankle Reaper – Chapter 70

The exchange meeting was held at the Special Arena again.

There was no need to change the environment, but special measures had to be taken during the matches to prevent any serious injuries to either side.

The spectator seats were packed with students, and those who couldn’t find a place to sit were getting ready by sitting on the stairs.

I was worried seeing the full seats, but thanks to Lucia, River and Amy were able to watch the matches from the VIP Room this time as well.

“Wow, it’s so crowded!”

“I guess it’s because everyone has a break at the same time. Thank you, Lucia.”

“…Ugh… I’d be bored alone too.”

As we took our seats, a holographic view of the arena appeared, and golems were busily moving about to start the basic setup.

Although it had been a few days since we decided to get closer, there was still an awkwardness between Lucia and the two of them.

Honestly, if you counted, it would probably be quicker to find out how many people could hold a proper conversation besides Atlas…

The main reason was that I hadn’t approached to become friends with them but rather was stuck in the position of being Atlas’s friend… meaning I wasn’t advancing beyond being a friend’s friend.

The relationship became awkward in an instant when Atlas wasn’t around, but this time I resolved to muster the courage to speak.

I was too anxious about the atmosphere between Atlas and River that had been floating around since the morning.

“…I have something I want to ask…”

“To me?”

“…Did something happen with Atlas yesterday…?”

“What do you mean? I just stopped Atlas from trying to beat up Clover Academy students…”

“…That’s really it?”

It wasn’t unusual for Atlas to get into disagreements with others.

It hadn’t even been two months since entering the Academy, and I could count the number of people who had had conflicts with him on my fingers.

But if that was all, it didn’t explain the suddenly changed atmosphere between the two of them.

Just as I was about to ask another question, a Sword Master descended from the sky, fluttering a red cloak.

“Hello~~!! Academy students!”

The Sword Master’s grand performance continued even at the exchange meeting.

Fireworks exploded in the air with him, accompanied by exciting music played by the golems.

“Soon, our swordsmanship exchange meeting between the two Academies will begin! This exchange meeting is a time when the swordsmen we take pride in will display as much of their trained skills as possible!

It’s nerve-wracking to see the skills of the students who will shoulder the future.

The goal of this exchange meeting is not victory or defeat, but the lessons we can learn from it. By crossing swords, we can learn about each other’s strengths and weaknesses and improve towards a better level.

Also, let’s not forget that this is fundamentally an exchange meeting.

Both sides participating will treat each other with respect and honor. We should approach this with an attitude of valuing each other rather than focusing on who wins or loses.

I heard there’s gambling on who wins… so keep it moderate, okay?

If anyone gets rowdy because of a loss, I won’t just sit back and watch!”

At that moment, some people swallowed hard, but it didn’t seem to be visible to the three in the VIP Room.

“Lastly, I’d like to add one more thing. I hope this exchange becomes a time for students from both countries to get to know each other.

The war is over, and we are all moving towards the same goal.

With the demons still lurking, we must unite and combine our strengths.

Haha, I find myself getting longer-winded as I age…

So then… let the swordsmanship exchange begin!!”

The Sword Master neatly finished his speech and received thunderous applause as he entered the VIP Room on the opposite side.

Beyond the tinted glass, I could see the Principal already inside.

“So, Atlas is going to come out as the vanguard, right? Is River trying to get back at him?”

“He said he wouldn’t go…”

“…What are you talking about?”

“I just mentioned that Atlas tried to beat up Clover Academy students yesterday because he was insulted by River.

It seems like he chose the exchange meeting as a way to fight without any real consequences, but… oh, it’s starting.”

The doors on either end of the arena opened, and one person stepped out.

I thought he’d used the Special Arena the most recently.

As soon as the two entered the arena, a magic circle unfolded around them, and holographic representations of their forms appeared above the arena.

This time it was a special buff called “Sacrificial Lamb.”

From now on, in all matches happening in that arena, the contestants would not receive any physical injuries.

Their damage would be absorbed by the homunculi prepared outside, and the score for that would be displayed on the hologram to determine victory or defeat.

If the damage exceeded a certain threshold, the match would be interrupted immediately, so even if the winner continued, they would eventually be forced to switch out due to accumulated damage.

“You’re not using your usual sword, are you?”

Usually, Atlas carried a sword on his back, but this time it was strapped to his waist.

It seemed rather short for the kind of sword he’d typically choose.

He always used a longsword about his height, after all.

Having a weapon that small when he was already short would give him plenty of disadvantages… so if he chose to show it off, there must be a reason.

Then suddenly the arena shook.

Atlas had abruptly unbuckled the short sword from his waist belt and thrown it to the ground.

——————————-

I thought a lot about it.

How could I make them the angriest?

In this exchange meeting where the buff “Sacrificial Lamb” was active, it would be difficult to inflict direct damage, so just hitting them wouldn’t be enough.

Since they had started it with their dirty words, it would be fitting to give them even greater psychological humiliation.

It wouldn’t bother them much if I knocked them out in one blow.

But what if the opponent had no weapon?

How furious would they be to lose to someone with bare hands?

So, I thought, let’s make a statement by saying I could do it with just one finger.

How arrogant to say that against an opponent holding a true sword.

Just as I anticipated, the vanguard from Clover Academy reacted with great irritation.

The moment I threw down my sword and pointed my finger, his face rapidly turned beet red.

“Get your sword ready… You might not be getting hurt, but you can still get injured.”

“Don’t worry, that won’t happen.”

“You’ve been warned one last time. Lift your sword.”

“Chill out. I’m not trying to insult you. Objectively speaking, I feel I should start with this kind of penalty to make it somewhat fair. This is my sword.”

“I’ll chop that arrogant tongue off!!”

As soon as the match began, the vanguard brandished his sword and quickly closed the distance.

His blade was surrounded by a ferocious, blazing aura, and as he charged in, the anger was evident.

His downward swing wouldn’t deal a significant hit.

With a resolve to end me, he executed a fierce thrust aimed at my torso.

‘He’s got the basics down.’

This student was certainly skilled enough to be the vanguard.

Though he was still just a student level.

– Crash!

A sound like something being smashed rang out, but the vanguard’s Aura Blade sliced through the air.

The blade that missed its target now hung uselessly in the air, trembling aimlessly, and…

“Guh…”

My finger had perfectly struck his chest.

An attack that should have penetrated could not, as a complex formation materialized upon impact, preventing my finger from piercing through his chest.

And the hologram showed a bright red mark on his body.

This visually represented the damage inflicted by my finger.

It was similar to how games typically displayed damage in my previous life.

If no damage was taken, it shown white; minor injuries were yellow, and serious wounds were red.

Was it so hard to understand that holding up a single finger against an opponent wielding a sword meant that it had equal might?

My finger is lethal enough to pierce through a knight’s plate armor.

If magic hadn’t intervened, it might have pierced right through.

Even though the homunculi absorbed the damage, the pain was still there.

The vanguard, feeling a sensation like his lungs had been punctured, collapsed to the ground, coughing incessantly.

“I told you, this is unbalanced.”

“Guh… hack…”

It seemed he could no longer speak.

– Winner: Academy!

In the now-cold arena, the golem’s mechanical voice coldly announced the victory.

——————————

The following matches were no different.

“Cawack?!!!”

– Winner: Academy!

The next student from Clover Academy also fell after enduring only a single blow.

He had confidently rushed in like the vanguard but ended up with my finger in his chest before he could launch an attack.

An unreal sight of knocking down an opponent without suffering any damage with just a single finger against someone holding a true sword was enough to stir the audience.

Even those who had watched me fight multiple times seemed flustered by the sight of me not even holding a weapon.

With the vanguard down, the next intermediate student was taking their time to come out.

It seemed like they were having an emergency meeting inside.

While I was thinking about how to approach them, the intermediate student… or rather, the vanguard suddenly stepped out and shouted to the sky.

“That’s a violation of the rules..!! We came here for a swordsmanship exchange, not a martial arts exchange!! That guy isn’t holding a sword, so he should be disqualified!!”

It seemed he didn’t like that I wasn’t holding a sword.

But I’d already anticipated this reaction.

I took out my prepared statement.

“This is my sword.”

“What do you mean that’s a sword?”

“Yeah, I’d call it a finger blade if you want. Why do you think that’s not a sword?”

“That’s just your finger, not a sword!!”

“Does a sword have to be made of iron? There are swords made of stone before iron, and there’ve been swords made from bones. So does that mean they’re not swords?

There are also swords made of ice; does that mean a sword made of ice isn’t a sword? If I die from being hit by an ice sword, doesn’t that mean I died from ice, not from a sword?

So if I die from being hit by an iron sword, isn’t it that I died from a chunk of metal, not by a sword?”

Some might think it’s a sophistry, but I just need to persist in my argument.

I was genuinely using my finger for swordsmanship, and this didn’t operate in my favor at all; it could only work against me.

“A sword… meaning a blade, if it has a sharp end and can cut, anything can be called a sword. My finger is just made of bone and flesh…”

I picked up the short sword I had thrown down.

When I stabbed its center with my finger, a hole punctured clean through the iron blade.

It looked like an ordinary finger wrapped in aura, yet it effortlessly made a hole in the iron… not shattering it, but perfectly puncturing it in the center.

At that moment, the sight was surreal.

Then I grabbed the belt strapped to my waist and slashed it with my blunt finger, and it effortlessly cut through like a razor.

“Since I can penetrate and cut through iron plates, it holds no shame as a sword.”

Though it appeared to be a tiny finger, as I repeatedly cut and jabbed, the vanguard could hardly utter another word, merely gaping at the bizarre scene.

“And… what kind of martial arts do you think I’m using right now? I’m strictly using swordsmanship.”

I had just used my finger as a sword, so all the techniques were pure swordsmanship.

Just then, the Principal’s voice echoed over the amplifier from above.

[…] After deliberation, we have unanimously decided that this is indeed swordsmanship. The exchange meeting will proceed.]

“What?! The Sword Master acknowledged it?? How come??”

The leader from Clover Academy exploded in anger, unable to accept the decision, but it didn’t matter.

Did they really think the Sword Master would side with them? Though they had their fingers broken, it’s a little much to ask for a disqualification.

“Hehe… Leave it to me, seniors.”

The sharp-featured man from Clover stepped forward to calm the raging leader and entered the arena.

His snake-like impression and sharp eyes narrowed at me.

“I’ve already figured out your weakness. I’ll finish you off myself!!”

For a brief moment, I felt like demonic energy was leaking from him…?

‘Did I see that wrong…?’

No matter how reckless one might be, would anyone really lose control in front of so many people and let their demon side show?