20: Pick Up the Sword (1)

The Krono Swordsmanship school aimed to create positive swordsmen.

It wasn’t a comfortable atmosphere because of the tight and arduous curriculum, but they weren’t always strict.

Because it wasn’t an army.

But despite that, today the atmosphere of the trainees was a lot brighter and cheerful.

It was all thanks to Ahmed’s words in the auditorium.

“I am giving you a chance to freely swing swords, as long as you don’t overdo it. Don’t keep looking at them and swing them.”

“And feel it. The power which comes from your body while swinging your sword after 4 months.”

There was nothing more exciting for those kids who had been banned from touching sticks for 100 days to be allowed to handle swords.

About 100 trainees moved to the large gym, chatting with their friends, humming or smiling.

Among them, the one who looked the most excited was Judith.

“Turtle, Turtle, give me the treasured sword, or else, I will roast you. If I don’t get the best, I’ll bake you.”

“….”

“What, why are you looking at me like that?”

“… nothing, it was just my first time listening to such a song. A bit overkill.”

“Yeah? In the place where I lived, a lot of people sang this song.”

Judith tilted her head at Irene Pareira’s bewildered expression.

She didn’t think too deeply. Smiling again, she went back to humming the song.

“Thick- Thick- I’ll give you an old sword, a new sword. If you serve me, I’ll fry …”

“…”

Irene was still puzzled by Judith’s song but didn’t bother anymore.

Rather, the reaction came from behind.

“Have you gone crazy? Isn’t that right, Sir Lloyd?”

“Hmm.”

Bratt Lloyd slightly at Lance Peterson’s words.

Judith’s mood was different from usual, and even he noticed it.

In the beginning, she never allowed anyone to approach her, like a hedgehog.

‘No, the hedgehog is sticking with him. And is acting like a snake.’

Anyway, such a person was acting brightly.

Lance Peterson spoke once more.

“Did something go wrong after drowning?”

“Well, I guess nothing went wrong seeing her stick to the person who saved her.”

“Well that is true… but it’s still ridiculous. But does this kind of behaviour make sense?”

“I know. Just looking at her gives me goosebumps.”

“I know. I know.”

Two other people agreed with Lance Peterson.

They ridiculed the change in Judith, who seemed cheerful and bubbly.

And they looked at Bratt.

When one crushes down their rival, it is normal to have a pleasant reaction.

But Bratt’s thought didn’t stop with Judith.

The boy looked at the silver-haired Ilya Lindsay, who was walking ahead of them.

‘Irene Pareira and Ilya Lindsay… Did something happen between those two?’

Not many would have noticed, but he felt it.

Ilya, who only showed special favour to Irene, was different.

Instead, it looked like they were becoming more distant.

It wasn’t certain. Because the only basis for his judgement was the awkwardness when the two of them passed each other in the auditorium.

But it wasn’t an interesting thing for him.

‘If I watch them closer, I’ll know.’

Bratt nodded and kept the matter in his head.

However, he didn’t keep thinking about it.

It was because he was looking forward to what would happen.

He clenched his fists.

He felt power that was incomparable to before.

Bratt looked at Judith and then to Irene, who was next to her with a pleasant smile.

‘It was said that he hardly trained the sword.’

Which meant that Irene wouldn’t know. The restlessness Bratt felt for the past 4 months. The excitement a person trained in the sword would feel.

Which meant Irene couldn’t compete with him. Despite him showing excellent performance in the midterm.

‘At least while he is still in school…’

It was when Bratt was lost in thoughts.

Suddenly, the appearance of a large hall unfolded in front of the trainees.

A completely different scene when compared to the midterm.

A much cleaner room than the fitness room and a much wider open space greeted them.

But that wasn’t what the children noticed.

Numerous colorful wooden swords were displayed in one corner.

Flames flared in their eyes.

“As I said before, for two hours you will be given a chance to wield a sword. Make sure you pick up the wooden sword you want under the guidance of the assistants!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

Ahmed informed them. And the assistants led the trainees to the weapon stand. The process was swift and smooth.

It was because even they knew.

The kids were already interested and trained in sword fighting, that was why they entered Krono, which was the best on the continent, and therefore these were kids who have been walking down the path of the sword for years.

Making them wait any longer was like torture.

Thud, the process of selecting a wooden sword by the trainees proceeded in an instant.

And after a while, the sound of strong cheers and swords being swung reverberated in the sword hall.

“Hmmm!”

Woong!

“That!

Woosh!

“Hmph!”

Wheeik!

The trainees were wielding the swords as if they cared about nothing else.

Some of them looked a little shocked too.

It had been so long since they held a sword, they even thought that they’d never get to hold it.

And the rise in their physical power, their every movement and their balance, everything became smoother.

“Woah, how do I move this well? I used to think that if I did it three times, I would get it right at least once…”

“Even when I swing it more violently, my center doesn’t collapse anymore!”

“Even though it’s a wooden sword, isn’t this a bit too light?”

Some didn’t even know they were talking to themselves as they swung their swords over and over again, unable to hide their excitement.

Ahmed smiled as he looked at the happy faces of the trainees.

‘Of course. It isn’t just their strength and stamina.’

Right, it wasn’t their strength.

The systematic and effective training and recovery system of Krono raised the physical abilities of all trainees.

Not only intuitive aspects such as strength, endurance and speed, but areas such as coordination, balance and accuracy also changed.

Of course, just because such things couldn’t be seen doesn’t mean that the difference couldn’t be noticed.

The trainees boasted their swordsmanship, inspected every nook and cranny of their body’s movement. After doing so, they became delighted.

However, the pleasant atmosphere didn’t last long.

Gradually, as time passed, the tension and excitement subsided.

‘Easy one…’

‘Nobody, nobody is seeing me.’

‘Damn it! As much as I have grown, so have the others.’

Right.

The joy of holding the swords made them forget that they were all competing.

They were happy with just their growth.

Not a single person around them was weak.

The trainee’s eyes gradually turned sharper as they realized the truth. And they got busy.

They focused all their attention on understanding the level of others.

“…”

“…”

One, one, and another person.

The eyes of the children, who had been concentrating on the moves of their mates, gathered on one person.

Was it Ilya Lindsay?

Nope.

It wasn’t Judith, or Bratt Lloyd or any other rankers who stood on the podium during the award.

It was Irene Pareira.

Seeing him not pick a sword and look blankly at the sword rack, someone thought.

‘Did he ever train with a sword before?’

No, they knew he learned a little.

Right, it wasn’t very long. At most, a month of training. The children who remembered that nodded their heads.

Irene wouldn’t know. How long the kids have been waiting to hold a sword.

For them, who never let go of their swords, the last 4 months were painful.

The old kid would never know.

Which was why Irene looked so relaxed.

“Oh.”

“He’s moving.”

Did he feel their gazes?

Irene, who had been still so far, moved.

As he strode towards the weapon rack, some were in favor, and some had some hostility.

And the boy reached for a sword.

Thu!

Much bigger and heavier than a usual one.

A great sword that would make any person gasp in pain because of its weight.

However, it wasn’t a burdensome weight to Irene.

Feeling the difference in his body, Irene closed his eyes.

“Phew”

The deadbeat noble has wasted his life.

The deadbeat noble has led a lazy life.

The deadbeat noble has trained for a very short time with the sword.

The lazy one doesn’t even know what to do with a sword.

That was right. Nothing could be denied.

‘Even then.’

The deadbeat noble had been looking forward to this day more than anyone else.

In the longing which couldn’t be satisfied with just looking at the man in the dream, he had to control his mind and body by holding onto the sword pendant hanging from his neck.

Which was why he couldn’t move right away.

As he was given the opportunity, he took some time to move.

But now he had to do it.

Irene, who managed to calm his heart, exhaled again.

He could feel his entire body trembling in excitement.

“Phew.”

Actually, he was unaware.

Were the feelings his own? Or were they a manifestation of the man in his dreams? He couldn’t figure it out.

Of course. That didn’t matter to him.

Shaking off his thoughts, he raised the great sword,

And,

Woosh!

He lowered and slashed it harder than anyone else.

“Uh?”

Judith went silent.

It was because of Irene Pareira.

The only reason she was looking at him was to see him wield a sword.

What Irene showed was vertical slashing.

It was one of the basic moves of the sword, so simple that it was not much different from a diagonal slash that fell from right to left.

It looked powerful as the great sword struck down quickly, but there was nothing special about it.

However, something felt strange.

‘What?’

A strange sensation of an itch in her mind.

Judith looked around as she couldn’t explain what she was feeling.

Most of the children who were looking at Irene looked away.

But some didn’t.

“…!”

“…”

“…”

Instructor Ahmed looked at the boy with a stiff face.

Karaka looked at a boy with a completely different expression than usual.

Among the trainees, Ilya Lindsay had a different reaction.

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Her eyes had gone a little wide as if she could feel that something was different.

And then, there was one man who overcame all the others and stepped in front of the boy.

“Irene Pareira. I am asking you for a duel.”

Bratt Lloyd, more serious than ever, posed in front of Irene.