First of All, I’m Drinking - Chapter 65

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 65

 

Crash!

 

Though it was a sudden ambush, there was quite some distance, so Ragnor leisurely defended against my sword.

 

“You are…”

 

Ragnor’s pupils dilated.

 

One exchange of offense and defense.

 

After what could be called a probing swordplay, we retreated far apart and observed each other’s movements.

 

The distance was roughly 50 meters.

 

“Huff, huff!”

 

Tanya was panting and hid behind me.

 

“Thank you.”

 

She expressed her sincere gratitude to me.

 

If I had ignored Tanya’s plea for help, she would have been defeated by Ragnor and eliminated.

 

1st and 2nd place from the first screening.

 

Though their ranks differed by only one step, the gap in skill was stark.

 

‘Was he this strong?’

 

Ragnor von Grantuan.

 

I had heard he was a genius who never lost his first place ranking for an entire semester at Byeolmaseong.

 

But seeing him directly like this, he wasn’t someone who could be evaluated with just such descriptions.

 

They say he’s called the next-generation world’s greatest swordsman in the Holy Kingdom.

 

Honestly, I thought it was somewhat exaggerated.

 

‘It wasn’t exaggerated but rather understated.’

 

Ragnor’s ash-colored eyes gazed at me.

 

“Hmm.”

 

As if trying to assess me, he looked me up and down.

 

“Who was it again… Ah, right. You’re 5th place from the first screening, right?”

 

“…”

 

“What? Are you ignoring me?”

 

Ragnor smiled at the corner of his mouth.

 

“Don’t be so stiff. Even though we’re competitors now, we might soon become schoolmates living in the same place, right?”

 

Does he want to have a conversation?

 

There was no reason I couldn’t oblige him.

 

“For that to happen, it seems like one of us will definitely be eliminated here?”

 

Ragnor chuckled at my sarcasm.

 

“Well, if we go to the end, naturally one will be forcibly sent home. And that will probably be you with high probability.”

 

“That’s quite some confidence.”

 

“It’s confidence with basis. You know what? Among all the trash in this exam site, there wasn’t a single person who could exchange even one bout with me. Not even one bout.”

 

The other examinees were all those who passed the first screening too.

 

Did they all get knocked out without being able to withstand even one exchange in battle with Ragnor?

 

“On the other hand, you just exchanged swordplay with me on equal terms.”

 

Deep interest seeped into Ragnor’s eyes.

 

“Among my peers, even when I was in the Holy Kingdom, there were hardly any guys capable of that. I guess the continent really is vast?”

 

When he was in the Holy Kingdom would include the time he was enrolled at Byeolmaseong.

 

What a monster of a guy.

 

My strength was the result of the extraordinary privilege of reincarnation combined with my past life’s experience.

 

The truly amazing one is a guy like this.

 

Though we hadn’t exchanged many bouts, even in that short time I could realize it.

 

Excluding magic.

 

Unless I displayed all the heights I had achieved as a human so far, I couldn’t win.

 

Crackle—!

 

I immediately opened my aura.

 

My original plan was to only reveal 3-star level aura to the world.

 

That was also the average achievement of first-year students at Millennium Academy.

 

‘That won’t be nearly enough.’

 

If I responded half-heartedly, I’d be the one getting beaten instead.

 

Right.

 

If he’s such excellent material that he achieved this much despite being only a seventeen-year-old greenhorn.

 

‘I should show him the respect he deserves.’

 

Ragnor stared intently at the radiance of aura blazing from my entire body with emotionless eyes.

 

“4-star…”

 

My current exact level is 5-star.

 

But no matter how bad the situation, I couldn’t reveal all of my 5-star aura.

 

That would draw too much attention.

 

“What the hell!”

 

Irin, who was hiding behind a rock and watching, was shocked after confirming my power level.

 

“I knew you were hiding something!”

 

Actually, Irin’s level was also 4-star, but in our duel, I had overwhelmed Irin with technique using only 3-star level aura.

 

Since I possessed even the same weight class as her, she must have realized she wouldn’t even be a match if we fought properly.

 

“He’s certainly impressive, but…”

 

Tanya, who had somehow stuck close to Irin’s side, voiced a worried observation.

 

“Can he win with 4-star level?”

 

She was right.

 

Crackle—!

 

Blue aura flashed from Ragnor’s sword.

 

Of course, his entire body was also wrapped in aura like armor.

 

He even infused aura into the weapon in his hand.

 

In other words, Ragnor’s level had already reached 5-star, Sword Expert.

 

‘4-star cannot defeat 5-star.’

 

This was a truth commonly accepted in the world.

 

Though differences naturally arise with each level gap, the gap between 4-star and 5-star was particularly severe.

 

Unless one wielded a sacred-grade weapon.

 

A 4-star knight’s sword would just be mercilessly cut through by an aura blade’s cutting power.

 

It doesn’t matter.

 

My goal wasn’t to defeat Ragnor in the first place.

 

Just enduring would be sufficient.

 

‘Winning would be problematic in its own way.’

 

From the moment a direct confrontation with Ragnor was established, the plan to avoid standing out seemed to have gone completely awry.

 

“…”

 

A suffocating tension lingered in the air.

 

It was Ragnor who took the initiative.

 

Ragnor charged at me with lightning speed and thrust his sword.

 

Clang!

 

I deflected Ragnor’s attack by flowing my sword diagonally.

 

Surprise seeped into Ragnor’s expression.

 

There was no time to savor that.

 

Whoosh!

 

Ragnor’s sword came flying from a different angle.

 

This time too, I deflected the attack using minimal force.

 

The core of the battle lay in this part.

 

‘I mustn’t block.’

 

The moment I recklessly take Ragnor’s attack head-on, my standard-issue iron sword would be miserably crushed by his aura blade.

 

Don’t block it, deflect it.

 

Enduring with minimal force while watching for opportunities and aiming for a counterattack was the best option I could choose.

 

Clang clang clang!

 

The sound of blade scraping against blade.

 

As I continuously deflected his attacks without allowing them through, Ragnor’s mouth opened.

 

“Not bad?”

 

Ragnor’s eyes widened greatly.

 

Hadn’t he said that no one had lasted even one exchange until now?

 

In contrast, I was continuing the battle for dozens of exchanges, let alone just one, so it was worth being surprised.

 

Clang clang!

 

The pattern repeated of Ragnor attacking and me barely deflecting his attacks.

 

“Tch.”

 

I clicked my tongue while parrying Ragnor’s horizontal slash.

 

‘I need to look for an opening.’

 

This bastard.

 

He’s not just high in weight class, but technically perfect as well.

 

There was no gap to exploit.

 

Any ordinary guy would have shown a weakness long ago.

 

‘Am I actually going to lose this?’

 

Even though I’m fighting while hiding my strength.

 

Losing to a greenhorn who’s thousands of years younger than me?

 

Damn it. Does this even make sense?

 

Kwaaaaang!

 

Ragnor’s momentum intensified.

 

Realizing I wasn’t an opponent to go easy on, his destructive power increased another level.

 

“I’ll acknowledge it.”

 

Ragnor’s blade grazed my collar.

 

“You’re the most impressive among peers I’ve met in my life. I’ll give it my best too.”

 

“What’s with that old man way of talking…!”

 

“I’ve actually lived with old folks. Please bear with me.”

 

Sword strikes pour down like rain.

 

Even deflecting them is starting to become burdensome.

 

I glared at Tanya and Irin and shouted angrily.

 

“Hey you damn bastards! Help me out a bit! Don’t just watch!”

 

Irin scratched the bridge of her nose and replied.

 

“Even someone who loves fighting like me has one cardinal rule! I absolutely never gang up on someone.”

 

What the hell is this crazy bastard saying right now.

 

Tanya went even further.

 

“Sorry. Thanks for helping me earlier. I’ll watch the situation and run away at the right timing.”

 

Since we’re competitors anyway, there’s really no particular reason for those guys to help me.

 

Their excessively honest trash behavior is beyond making me angry.

 

“Ha.”

 

As I let out a short sigh from being so dumbfounded, Ragnor giggled as if something was very funny.

 

“Your skills are good but your popularity isn’t? What kind of behavior did you usually show to be abandoned even by your companions.”

 

That seemed to be the deciding blow.

 

A deep and profound displeasure began to surge up.

 

Blood rushed to my head and my vision gradually darkened.

 

“Ah… this is annoying.”

 

Slash!

 

A streak of fresh blood spurted.

 

“…!”

 

Ragnor clutched his right arm and hastily retreated.

 

Red blood was trickling down from his torn sleeve.

 

Ragnor stared intently at the wound carved into his right arm, then turned his gaze to me.

 

“…What did you do and how?”

 

His face was full of doubt and shock.

 

I shrugged as if it was nothing special.

 

“I should have at least one trump card too.”

 

I had secretly activated magic power to enhance my body.

 

Magic power that doesn’t materialize but only works within the body isn’t visible from the outside.

 

Although I succeeded in landing a hit on Ragnor, I was overwhelmed by a deep sense of defeat.

 

‘Damn, how embarrassing.’

 

I couldn’t control my momentary anger and got serious against a kid.

 

Considering the years I’ve lived, it was behavior completely inappropriate for my age.

 

“Hey.”

 

As I opened my mouth, Ragnor’s gaze focused on me.

 

“It seems like I’ve already lost this fight.”

 

“…?”

 

Ragnor looked at me with a puzzled expression.

 

He wouldn’t understand what my words meant, so it would just sound like nonsense to him.

 

I expressed my respect with sincerity.

 

“You damn impressive bastard.”

 

“…I don’t know what you’re saying. By my standards, I think you’re impressive too.”

 

That was the moment.

 

Rumble-!

 

Irin arrived with a sound like thunder and swung her axe at Ragnor.

 

Ragnor ducked his upper body and leisurely dodged the axe.

 

But another ambush was waiting in that direction.

 

Swoooosh-!

 

Tanya’s dagger rushing like lightning.

 

“Kuk!”

 

Ragnor hastily twisted his body.

 

This time it was quite close.

 

But Ragnor ultimately evaded all the ambushes.

 

It was truly monstrous reflexes.

 

“Tch.”

 

Irin clicked her tongue as if disappointed.

 

“Too bad. We could have gotten him.”

 

“You didn’t really think we actually abandoned you, did you?”

 

Tanya stuck her tongue out slightly while looking at me.

 

‘These guys.’

 

Their earlier lines were camouflage to divert Ragnor’s attention away from them.

 

In reality, they had been watching for opportunities and preparing an ambush.

 

Unfortunately, it ended in failure.

 

“Haha, that was a bit dangerous just now?”

 

Ragnor burst into hearty laughter.

 

I just learned for the first time that he could open his mouth that wide.

 

He seems to find this situation very enjoyable.

 

“I guess I was a frog in a well all this time. Indeed, the world is wide and there’s much I don’t know. I’m glad I came to study abroad.”

 

Suddenly, Ragnor’s atmosphere changed.

 

If before he had a calm and intellectual feeling, now I could sense a faint madness.

 

Did that bastard eat something wrong?

 

I wondered why he was suddenly acting like this, but now it didn’t matter.

 

“You guys are the best. I’ll clash with everything I have….”

 

Crack!

 

Ragnor’s sword, surrounded by aura, shattered into pieces.

 

Ragnor stared at his broken sword with trembling eyes in disbelief.

 

“Hey, you bastard.”

 

I said I didn’t need to win.

 

The reason I said just enduring would be enough.

 

“Did you think a standard iron sword could withstand an aura blade?”

 

The low-quality standard swords distributed to all examinees couldn’t fully contain the techniques of Sword Experts.

 

Due to continuous overuse of aura blade, its durability had hit rock bottom.

 

“What will you do now as a swordsman without a sword?”

 

Toward the flustered Ragnor, I asked coldly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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