Chapter 99: Third Core
The Thermion Knight candidates were each given different numbers according to their abilities.
The rules were simple.
The lower the number, the stronger the candidate, and naturally, the higher the chance of becoming a knight.
In that sense, the fact that the 40th candidate, Boyan, came forward was a pretty good balance. After all, his opponent was a freshman at the academy.
The problem was that he was not an ordinary freshman.
“…I admit defeat.”
The 40th candidate.
Next was the 34th candidate.
Next was the 20th candidate.
Now the 15th candidate.
“…I’m speechless,” Sir Asmar muttered absentmindedly next to Duke Thermion.
“Didn’t I tell you?” Duke Thermion looked as if he knew this would happen. “I did say it would be a waste of time to start with the candidates.”
“Still…” Sir Asmar swallowed the rest of his words.
After all, the duke was being proven correct. Sir Asmar thought Dane was at best a ‘genius freshman’. How strong could a fourteen-year-old be?
Of course, he had watched Dane sparring with Leila before school and had heard rumors that he was achieving some pretty great results, but rumors were rumors.
So, he thought he had picked the perfect opponents…
“None of them can get past three moves.”
The 40th, 34th, 20th, and 15th candidates all failed to get past three moves and lost. Thanks to that, Dane didn’t show any sign of fatigue and his breathing wasn’t even fluctuating.
“… What crazy talent.”
“You said he was fourteen?”
“I heard he’s the same age as Lady Leila.”
“I didn’t know the candidates wouldn’t be able to last against him.”
The reactions of the knights were also similar. They naturally thought, before the spars started, that Dane would be on par with the candidates—or maybe a little better—and that the battle would continue for quite some time.
Then it only took ten minutes to take down four candidates. Half of that time was spent being polite and preparing for the duel.
If this had been a real battle, it would have only taken a moment to end the fight.
“Sogres’ spear technique is impressive.”
“I want to have a turn.”
While some of the knights showed their competitive spirit, Sir Asmar finally stepped forward.
“Listen, everyone. As you have seen, four of our Knightly candidates have been defeated by Master Dane Sogres.”
“…”
“Are there any other candidates who would like to step forward?”
Then a large man who had been sitting stood up and said, “I would like to try.”
He was at least a foot taller than others, and his size was so great that he looked like a mountain.
“He’s finally coming.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
The large man, holding a practice greatsword that was as tall as an average person, stood before Dane and bowed, stating, “The first candidate of the Thermion Knights, Quantas Daggerweld, requests a duel with Master Dane Sogres.”
Despite his size, Dane accepted the duel.
“I accept your request for a duel.”
With that, Dane took the same stance he had taken on the four previous candidates and aimed his spear at Quantas.
“I’ll be in your care,” Quantas said and looked at the tip of the spear pointed at him.
‘All four previous sparring matches ended in an instant. There was no trickery or foul play. This is a strong opponent.’
Quantas was the strongest among the candidates. His number proved this.
Three cores… No, he was a triple-class that was close to quad-class. Therefore, even if Dane was a genius, Quantas winning was normally to be expected.
‘At most, he’d have two cores.’
Lady Leila, winner of the Dantère Cup and the most talented person in the Empire, had two cores.
Well, no matter how strong he was, he’d probably only be that strong一
What was this oppression? Just standing there with his spear pointed at you, Dane gave off a pressure that destroyed your courage to rush in.
Unlike the four previous candidates, Quantas was cautious and serious. He wielded a heavy greatsword but had a very meticulous personality.
He considered Kelthas Redfield to be his most respected role model, and he was now racking his brain over how to defeat Dane Sogres, who was right in front of him.
As Quantas was racking his brain over what to do…
“If you don’t come, I’ll go first.”
His thinking didn’t last long.
Crack!
Dane leaped off the ground in an instant and stabbed with his spear.
‘S-stabbing with his spear?’
Surprisingly, he swung his spear and entered the range of Quantas’ greatsword.
Tang! Thunk!
Twice with the spear’s pole.
Quantas backed away in horror.
He thought Dane was going to attack with the blade, but he quickly turned his arm and attacked with the pole.
That was an anomaly in itself.
In general, it was common for spearmen to keep their distance from sword-wielding enemies in order to take advantage of the range advantage. However, Dane was the opposite.
Now, he was swinging his spear and stealing everyone’s attention.
“Damn, Count Sogres taught him properly.”
“I never thought he would rush in and attack with the spear handle.”
“Any candidate would have gone down instantly. Quantas held out.”
Quantas swallowed hard.
‘What should I do?’
Honestly, he didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t even remember how he managed to fend off those two strikes just now. He was literally working on instinct.
“Your reactions are good.”
In the midst of all this, Dane was leisurely praising Quantas. Then, he suddenly stopped spinning his spear and—
Tatak!
He rushed in again.
Quantas pulled his sword closer to his body, thinking that this was another spear attack.
But no. This time it was the spear blade.
Clang, clang!
The first blade strike slammed Quantas’ greatsword into the ground.
The second strike struck the greatsword and launched it into the air.
Quantas caught sight of his practice greatsword spinning in the air.
Shlink!
Then, the greatsword came down and stuck itself in the ground between Dane and Quantas.
Quantas was dumbfounded, unable to even think of admitting defeat.
‘What just happened?’
A cold sweat ran down his back.
Even though there was a rule that said they couldn’t coat their weapon with mana, wasn’t this too big of a difference in level? Quantas wasn’t able to respond properly to a single strike.
Not a single one.
A strong sense of defeat crept in.
“Incredible. What ridiculous talent.”
“At this point, it’s not the candidates but the knights who should step forward.”
Amidst the voices, Sir Asmar declared the match.
“Master Dane Sogres has won.”
Dane waited for those words to finish before he drove his spear into the ground and walked over to draw his greatsword.
Then, he handed it to Quantas and said, “It was a good spar.”
“…Thank you.” Quantas accepted the sword absentmindedly.
Suddenly, he heard Dane’s advice, and his eyes lit up.
“That was a great heavy sword. Although the attack wasn’t successful, I think it was because you were fighting against a spear-wielding enemy. Next time, if you hold the sword a little looser and shorten your steps by half a step, you will get better results.”
A little looser.
Just shorten it by half a step.
Things Quantas didn’t think of until now.
His own problems, which he had vaguely known about but could not clearly define, Dane now pinpointed and was advising Quantas on how to fix them.
Perhaps…
It was clear that his advice could take Quantas to the next level.
“I will not forget this favor.” Quantas was jubilant, having forgotten about his defeat.
Dane turned around, grinning at Quantas’ gesture of gratitude.
Now, Dane had 5 wins in a row.
The atmosphere had changed. If at first the mood was one of curiosity and a bit of indifference, now it was mixed with surprise, excitement, and even a bit of jealousy.
The source of that jealousy was Leila.
‘He’s really…’
It was time she stopped being surprised. When she actually saw his skills, she couldn’t help but be jealous.
As always, he was ahead. Even here, in none other than her family’s first training ground, under the watchful eyes of her father, Duke Thermion, and all the knights.
However, that jealousy didn’t last long.
‘Someday, I, too…’
Leila clenched her fist and made a silent pledge.
Duke Thermion looked at Leila and smiled happily.
‘Maybe Leila’s best luck was meeting Dane,’ he thought.
It was rare to find someone who always stimulated and enlightened you. In that sense, Leila and Dane reminded him of himself and Arken when they were younger. Though they were close friends, they never wanted to lose to each other in terms of talent.
‘Hmm, by the way…’
What should he do now? Dane had always defied expectations, and this time it was more than expected. Who would have thought that he would defeat Quantas, the strongest among the candidates, in just four moves?
“What do you think, Sir Asmar?”
Sir Asmar hesitated and answered, “Honestly, I don’t think it would be a problem for him to spar with one of the knights.”
“I think so, too. Can you see their expressions?”
Sir Asmar nodded as he watched several of the knights wiggling about. “Yes. Should I choose one of them?”
“What if they lose?”
“That won’t happen.”
“You don’t know how to be objective, Sir Asmar.” Duke Thermion chuckled and placed a hand on his shoulder. “If that boy uses all of his skills, what rank do you think he’ll be able to compete with?”
“…”
Shocking words kept coming without any response.
“I don’t know about you, but just below you would be sufficient.”
“…!”
“If this were a real battle, it might be a different story.”
Duke Thermion wasn’t praising Dane just because he was a close friend’s son.
However, Sir Asmar didn’t want to admit it.
“If that’s true, I’ll have to check.”
No matter how much of a genius Count Sogres’s son was, a knight was still a knight. It was unimaginable that a member of an order that rivaled the Imperial Knights would be defeated by an academy student—a freshman, at that.
Sir Asmar happened to spot someone who caught his eye.
Ranked 30th in the Order, Donny Esteban.
He was the eldest son of the Esteban Barony, one of the most renowned swordsmanship families in the empire. He already had four cores and was growing quickly, so he had enough talent to eventually become the Vice-Captain of the Knights.
Just then, Donny stood up.
“I am Donny Esteban of the Thermion Knights. Your Grace, if it is alright, may I request a duel?”
Everyone was surprised. Needless to say, the candidates and other knights looked quite surprised as well.
“Donny couldn’t stand it.”
“I knew he would come forward.”
Duke Thermion looked at Dane.
Dane nodded. He actually looked quite happy about it.
‘Oh, really?’
Duke Thermion grinned inwardly and agreed.
“Alright.”
“Thank you, Your Grace.” Donny then immediately entered the circle and bowed. “I am Donny Esteban of the Thermion Knights. I would like to request a duel with Master Dane Sogres.”
“Donny Esteban. I accept your request to spar.”
Dane raised his spear, but this time it was a little different. The pressure he gave off was different.
Without a doubt, both Dane and Donny raised their core’s mana
It was a completely different atmosphere than before. As long as they didn’t let mana flow onto their weapons, everything else was possible.
In other words, it was predictable that it would be completely different from the previous five duels.
‘It’s about to begin.’
Everyone there likely expected Donny to win.
Going easy or not, it would be more shameful for the Thermion Knights if he didn’t.
But just one…
‘Dane will win.’
Only Leila trusted that Dane would win.
Claaaang!
The spar had begun.
* * *
He was a quad-level warrior, and he was probably the strongest opponent I’d ever had a formal sparring match with in this life, aside from my father and Professor Kelthas.
However, I wasn’t afraid or nervous. Rather, I was looking forward to it.
Clang!
I was definitely lacking in power. It might be because my body hadn’t fully developed, but it was also because of the difference in the number of magical cores between me, who currently only had two, and the knight, who obviously had four.
No matter how much ancient magic I possessed, the difference in physical abilities due to the difference in magic cores was clear. However, I wasn’t being pushed around.
“Oh my god.”
“He’s holding out against Donny and even fighting back?”
Rather, I actively repelled Donny’s attacks while rushing in and even counterattacked using the techniques I learned while rolling around on the battlefield.
Thud!
Among them, a counter aimed at Donny’s arm landed.
“…!”
As expected of a Thermion knight, he didn’t even groan. Instead, he ran toward me as if nothing had happened.
Clang!
He had good talent and destructive swordsmanship. However, he lacked experience.
“I wish you’d put some more effort into this,” I said.
“…How dare you?!”
He definitely got agitated easily. He seemed to have forgotten the pain in this arm and started dashing at me more forcefully.
Clang, clang! Thunk!
The difference lies in basic physical strength.
“Do you think I’m putting more effort in now?” Donny demanded.
“I guess so.”
Donny probably thought he was pushing me back, but the moment I saw an opening…
Thump!
I swung my spear with as much force as I could muster and struck Donny’s blade away.
“Ugh!”
Donny took a big step back in surprise. His eyes were filled with disbelief.
If things went as planned, I could attack there and end it. However, at that moment, there was something I had to do for a more complete victory.
“…?”
Donny looked puzzled at the sudden lull when I didn’t attack him. I didn’t care and just stood there for a moment, tapping my throbbing chest.
Slowly, I thought it was time. It was time to move beyond two cores and move towards three cores. It was now a balancing act.
Two circles created from ancient mana.
Because of this, it took quite a while to get to Third Core…
Not anymore.
Whoong.
For a brief moment, I could feel it as I closed my eyes. It felt like my core was about to expand to three.
“Just in time.”
I didn’t know why, but after creating two cores, my growth became quite slow. However, after I got two pieces of condensed Ancient Magic and created two circles, things changed a little.
The mana that had been slow to gather until then finally picked up speed…
At that very moment, preparations were complete to create a new core.
Was it because of the excitement of battle?
Whoong.
I smiled broadly, feeling a new core in my chest.
Third core.
I felt a much more intense force coursing through my body than before.
Yes, this was it. The thrill of creating a core. It had been quite a while since I’d felt it, so I wanted to savor it for a long time, but unfortunately, it seemed like I wouldn’t be able to.
I rolled my spear, which felt much lighter, and aimed it at Donny.
“Here I come.”
Thunk!
Much faster, more powerful, and more precise than before, I leaped off the ground and rushed towards Donny in an instant.
Thud!
That was the end.
“…This is ridiculous…” Donny muttered with a face full of disbelief as he looked at the tip of my spear, which had stopped right in front of his chest.
His sword was not yet extended.
In other words, I closed the distance between Donny and subdued him before he had a chance to react.
“You hid your skills,” Donny said, as if he were incredulous.
I thought for a moment and then answered, “Would you believe me if I said that my skills have improved in that bit of time?”
“…What the hell?”
There were often ridiculous things in the world. Like now, a third core was created at an incredible moment.
Of course, even if I hadn’t created my third core…
I would have won with ease. After all, my past life’s senses were so much more sophisticated than Sir Donny’s.
“I admit defeat.” Donny dropped his sword.
“Master Dane Sogres… has won,” Sir Asmar said in a trembling voice.
And at that moment, I was thinking about something other than the joy of victory.
Growl.
Was it because I’d won six spars in a row?
I was so hungry.
I had to eat a tart later.
