On My First Day Undercover, the Organization Collapsed - Chapter 20

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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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The Organization Collapsed on My First Day of Infiltration Episode 020

 

 

Why Are You Good at This?

 

 

Denial of reality!

Professor Elcanto received the physical fitness test result sheet and trembled with shaking hands.

The Teaching Assistant couldn’t bring himself to add any words and just waited quietly.

 

‘How much chaos will there be when I go back?’

 

Obviously, several display case glasses would break, and this time maybe even the windows would shatter.

Since things are going to break anyway, it would be nice if the snack box and the snacks inside broke together too.

 

“….”

 

Professor Elcanto remained silent.

 

‘This can’t be happening. How can I live with this embarrassment!’

 

That damn teacher.

How did he create such a difference in less than two months?

He hadn’t been wary, let alone paid attention.

This kind of competitive structure?

He never even thought about it!

It was just ‘liberal arts’ after all.

A subject that neither professors nor students cared about!

It was only maintained because of the school rules.

Until now, no liberal arts instructor, not even professors, had ever considered ‘improvement’ in liberal arts classes.

At best, they would recite theories or rather have students study their majors instead.

 

‘What kind of person is he really….’

 

At this point, a slight sense of respect began to emerge!

Though he was startled and quickly suppressed it, he really had no choice.

Delev and Celia, scions of two Great Houses, were one thing, but he could even make a barely-admitted student like Yurio achieve this?

 

‘No, it’s not over yet.’

 

Professor Elcanto gritted his teeth.

The selection test score ratio was 3 for physical strength and 7 for swordsmanship.

Students good at swordsmanship usually had high physical strength too, so it didn’t mean much, but in this situation, the story was different.

 

‘My students will definitely take swordsmanship.’

 

Professor Elcanto had started thinking of them as ‘my students’ at some point.

In fact, the classes he conducted during liberal arts were just self-study and some private tutoring for a few wealthy family scions?

The rest of the students were neglected or studied on their own.

No one thought that was wrong.

Anyway.

 

“When does the swordsmanship test start?”

“Since we declared a 1-hour break, there are 20 minutes left now.”

“Prepare thoroughly. Got it?”

“Yes, understood.”

 

Tiron quickly bowed his head and left his seat.

While doing so, he cast a glance toward Ziel.

Ziel was still in a motionless stance, watching over the students’ rest.

Growing curiosity.

In the meantime, a sense of awe secretly peeked in!

 

‘Is he really a former Imperial Guard instructor?’

 

Ziel’s background that he had once deeply speculated about.

Strict training methods.

The way he didn’t even care about the students’ backgrounds!

And though only he knew this yet, the way Delev treated him very respectfully and Celia followed him around.

 

‘It’s certain. He’s from the Imperial side.’

 

Tiron hesitated.

 

‘Then should I try to get on Teacher Ziel’s good side rather than Professor Elcanto’s….’

 

The harsh university faculty society.

Tiron too was destined to choose a side eventually.

 

 

Those with the best reaction to the unexpected results were naturally Ziel’s students.

 

“We really did improve. I didn’t know we’d be at this level.”

“I thought the other kids were just pretending to be bad on purpose because they were so terrible.”

“We’re really good, right?”

“Hey, only we who took classes from Teacher Ziel are good. I was really worried about whether to participate in the selection test.”

 

There were even two students who had forgotten their dismal grades from admission.

 

“Karen. We really passed the physical fitness test, right?”

“That’s what I’m saying. How could we do this?”

 

Yurio, who barely made it into the school.

Karen, whose admission score was close to last place, though not as bad as Yurio’s.

Seeing their remarkable physical improvement with their own eyes, they couldn’t be happier.

 

“Honestly, I didn’t believe it, you know?”

“Dodging attacks all day and running all day… That was it, right?”

 

The grueling Self-Defense Arts class and Long Distance Running class.

Though it didn’t feel that way subjectively, now he could finally cast aside all doubts completely.

But the real test starts now.

 

“We will now proceed with the swordsmanship category test.”

 

The physical fitness categories had a total point allocation of 3.

Swordsmanship, with its total allocation of 7 points, was the highlight.

First was the Sword Dance.

 

“You will have 30 seconds to demonstrate your swordsmanship. The scoring will be conducted by the professors.”

 

Before they knew it, two other professors had joined Professor Elcanto and were sitting with extremely stern expressions.

Swordsmanship.

A category where family differences were as stark as with Breathing Techniques!

 

‘This is where the comeback begins!’

 

As Professor Elcanto had hoped, Ziel’s students didn’t receive very good scores in the Sword Dance.

The difficulty of quantitative evaluation.

The fact that the same swordsmanship could look different depending on a family’s prestige.

These were the two reasons.

In that sense, it was a category that raised questions about fairness, but that wasn’t particularly important.

What mattered was that the professors had made this decision.

 

“Hmm.”

“Ooh.”

“Impressive, isn’t it?”

 

As ‘intended,’ students from Great Families or prestigious houses received considerable scores.

 

“Too monotonous.”

“Doesn’t seem to consider real combat at all, does it?”

 

On the other hand, the swordsmanship displayed by students from Minor Houses like Karen and Yurio received mercilessly low scores.

Still, the students couldn’t protest.

Because that was Sword School’s logic.

 

“We will conclude the Sword Dance test.”

 

Professor Elcanto looked at the updated score sheet handed to him by the Teaching Assistant and smiled with satisfaction.

 

“Very good.”

 

Though not all of Ziel’s students had dropped to the bottom, the rankings that had been split roughly in half were now well mixed.

 

‘One more left.’

 

Last was the long-awaited sparring.

What good would physical fitness do?

They wouldn’t be able to win in sparring anyway.

Reflexes?

Even if they improved somewhat, the difference in swordsmanship was stark.

Professor Elcanto thought so, at least.

Meanwhile.

 

“Teacher, it’s swordsmanship now.”

“That’s right. It’s the final category.”

“Swordsmanship is… honestly, I think it might be a bit difficult.”

 

Ziel responded to Tiron’s words with a flat, emotionless voice.

 

“If by difficult you mean it’s hard for my students to win, I disagree.”

“What?”

“They will win.”

“Come on, even so…”

 

Swordsmanship and Breathing Techniques.

The reason one must be born into a Prestigious Family.

A premise difficult to overturn.

 

‘Just by improving Physical Strength and reflexes a bit?’

 

Tiron cautiously added.

 

“What you taught them might help somewhat… but it still seems difficult.”

“No. They will win. They’ve gained confidence too.”

“Confidence?”

“Yes. Since they confirmed their confidence in the Physical Fitness Test, it will carry over to the swordsmanship test. The books say the difference between students having confidence or not is very significant.”

 

‘What’s with the sudden book talk again.’

 

“And Physical Strength and reflexes will be of great help.”

“Is that so.”

 

Tiron just shrugged his shoulders.

It was strange to say, but Ziel didn’t seem like someone who could be persuaded.

Whether this was trust or just seemed like stubbornness, he wasn’t sure yet.

Time passed like that until the final test.

 

“Test opponents will be selected based on current rankings, matching you with opponents of similar rank. Even if you lose, points will be awarded for performance during sparring, and all points earned so far will be included to determine results as fairly as possible.”

 

There was some murmuring, but the atmosphere was generally accepting.

It was actually better than randomly assigning opponents.

Students with lower scores might not even get to swing their sword properly before losing.

 

“Sparring will last for 5 minutes. Victory conditions are the opponent’s surrender declaration, fainting, or other reasons making further sparring impossible. Finally, please note that using foul play will result in immediate defeat.”

 

The precautions were announced and finally the first sparring participants were called.

 

“Student Maris Sopen.”

 

Right from the start, a scion of a considerable noble family.

Though he had the disgraceful record of being humiliated by Ziel, the Sopen Family’s recent reputation was at a considerable level.

And Maris was a student who had received the Sopen Family’s generous support without reservation.

 

‘Please, anyone but Delev or Celia. Please.’

 

As Maris clasped his hands together and prayed, his sparring opponent was called.

 

“Student Yurio Harmatan.”

 

‘Yes!’

 

Maris cheered inwardly.

So much so that it showed outwardly.

Karen sent him a contemptuous look at that sight, then encouraged Yurio.

 

“Do well and come back, Yurio.”

 

Yurio stood up with a trembling heart.

 

‘I can do this.’

 

The Sopen Family’s influence was certainly considerable.

Right below the Five Great Families.

On the other hand, Harmatan was a family from the Northern Outskirts that many people didn’t even know the name of.

Yurio had entered this place with only one thought: to elevate his family’s name and repay his family members.

But now he had gained one more new goal.

 

‘To grow. I can do it.’

 

All thanks to Ziel.

Yurio briefly made eye contact with Ziel as he stood up and walked, just for a moment.

Ziel’s words suddenly came to mind.

 

‘Fear.’

 

Amazingly, Teacher Ziel had ‘modified’ his breathing technique.

It was truly an impossible thing.

It was still a fact that no one except Karen knew, and he had no intention of telling anyone in the future.

Thanks to that, he had overcome a considerable portion of his fear.

Barely passing admission.

A nameless family.

He was already overcoming the helplessness that came from these two things.

 

‘Right, let’s do this.’

 

Just then.

 

“Student Yurio Harmatan.”

 

Ziel approached and said a word.

 

“Do as you’ve been doing.”

“Y-yes. I understand.”

“Noble family and background aren’t important.”

“…!”

 

Then Ziel gave the same advice to Maris.

 

“Noble family and background aren’t important, Student Maris Sopen.”

 

They were the same words, but the meaning that came across was different.

And the reaction in accepting them was also different.

 

“…I don’t think so though?”

 

Maris showed his rebellious spirit again while he was at it.

Regardless.

 

“Right, I understand.”

 

Contrary to Maris’s intention, Ziel just nodded and left it at that.

 

‘Noble family and background aren’t important? What a joke.’

 

He absolutely couldn’t accept it.

Nothing was more important than that.

The family’s background!

The family’s funds!

The family’s support!

It was because all of that existed that the Great Families still held power, and he could be here too.

 

‘I’ll show you. What it means to have a different family background.’

 

His feelings toward Ziel were still not good.

Since it had come to this, he wanted to win properly and break that teacher’s pride once.

That damn handsome nose of his.

 

“Both students, please come to the center of the auditorium.”

 

The two finally advanced to the center of the auditorium.

Maris was grinning.

 

“Don’t waste your energy and just give up, okay? You know it won’t work.”

 

Instead of responding, Yurio swung his practice sword once through the air.

Maris wore a mocking smile.

 

“Right. Struggling isn’t bad either.”

 

Unlike Yurio, Maris hadn’t changed.

The reason he’d been quiet all this time was because of Delev, not Ziel.

The Head of Sopen Family, his father, had told him this.

If you go, build the deepest friendships possible with the children of the Great Families.

That would play a huge role in the future when Sopen Family becomes known as one of the ‘Six Major Families’.

 

‘I need to finish this quickly.’

 

Maris didn’t even glance at Yurio and looked at the other students instead.

Then his eyes accidentally met Celia’s.

When he deliberately smiled at her, Celia turned her head away.

 

‘Is she being shy?’

 

She wasn’t.

 

“Why are you calling me, Mila.”

“Who do you think will win?”

 

She had just turned her head because someone called her, and the timing happened to coincide.

Perhaps this was better anyway.

 

“I hope Maris loses.”

 

Because Celia disliked Maris.

 

“Why, because he’s too clingy?”

“I really hate it. He keeps asking me to eat together and last time he suddenly gave me a letter too. Then he tells me not to feel burdened.”

“What a crazy bastard.”

“Exactly.”

 

Unfortunately, Maris had no idea what kind of conversation was taking place.

 

“But it doesn’t seem like Maris will lose, does it, Celia?”

“I just wish he would.”

 

Even Celia didn’t actually think Maris would lose.

She disliked Maris as a person, but at least she’d heard the name Sopen Family more often than Harmatan Family.

From Rihart’s perspective, Sopen and Harmatan were pretty much the same thing.

 

“Then, let the sparring begin.”

 

The sparring finally started.

 

“Hey. Yurio. Attack first.”

 

As soon as it began, Maris spread both arms as if showing mercy.

 

“That should make it a bit more balanced, don’t you think?”

 

Yurio looked at Maris for a moment before responding.

 

“Sparring is about each person doing their best.”

“That’s only true when both sides are evenly matched. This is me doing my best. We need to balance things out. That makes it more entertaining to watch, right?”

 

About to respond further, Yurio readjusted his grip on his sword.

 

“Fine. Then don’t regret it.”

“Regret what…”

 

Thud!

 

In an instant, Yurio kicked off the ground and charged forward rapidly.

 

‘What?’

 

Maris doubted his eyes for a moment.

The charge was faster than expected.

And-

 

Slash!

 

Much sharper than expected.

 

Trickle.

 

Something flowing down his cheek.

It was.

 

“What the hell…”

 

Blood.

Maris touched his cheek with his hand in disbelief and trembled.

Practice swords have no edge.

However, they can still inflict wounds.

If backed by sufficient speed and strength.

The auditorium fell silent too.

Even the professors were a bit surprised.

 

“Did student Maris just allow that attack?”

“Hmm. That’s surprising.”

 

Then one professor let out a low exclamation.

 

“Now that I look at him, it’s that student. The barely-made-it student. The one who entered in last place.”

“Pardon?”

“You professors didn’t attend the final entrance test, so you wouldn’t know.”

 

Professor Elcanto and another professor listened to what the professor had just said.

 

“That student’s Physical Strength was really terrible. But looking at this selection test, his Physical Strength has improved tremendously… Anyway, so he was eliminated without even attempting pull-ups, but he completely turned that around.”

“So…”

“Yes. In the final test. His Swordsmanship was at quite a high level, wasn’t it?”

 

Harmatan.

A Noble Family once called a Prestigious Family.

That lofty status declined and fell to the bottom after about 200 years.

Their Swordsmanship also declined together, but Yurio was a talent who awakened even that lost Swordsmanship on his own.

Though he barely got in, entering the Academy with a naturally frail body meant…

 

‘Does that mean there was a good reason for it?’

 

While Professor Elcanto was thinking, something amazing happened.

 

Thwack!

 

Maris began to be pushed back and allowed another attack.

 

“That’s the Harmatan Style Swift Swordsmanship right there.”

 

That Swordsmanship that attacks with tremendous speed, causing opponents to suffer defeat without knowing why.

Naturally, Physical Strength must also be guaranteed, but Yurio now had considerably less reason to worry about that Physical Strength.

 

Thud!

 

“Ugh!”

 

This time it was the chest.

A Thrust that would have been a fatal wound in real combat.

This time the Students were murmuring.

 

“What, what’s going on?”

“Yurio is winning? Why?”

“Whoa, he’s incredibly fast? I can barely see it?”

 

And Celia muttered blankly.

 

“What… Why is he so good?”

 

It seemed like she was starting to get interested.

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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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