Reincarnated as a Genius Prodigy of a Prestigious Family - Chapter 319
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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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Reincarnated as a Legendary Talent Genius of a Noble Family Episode 319
206. I’ve Learned Something
Dane Sogress is an undergraduate student.
That major premise is precisely why Professor Esteranza thinks ‘this time for sure.’
‘He handled the puppet well, but a Second Knight Order General Knight is different.’
In fact, this kind of invited expert sparring exam is mainly conducted at the senior level.
But this lecture is, strictly speaking, at a level targeting 2nd-3rd year students.
The reason they could invite someone was because of the justification of ‘enhancing the department’s reputation.’
In the end, that case of one person scratching the armor in 5 years was actually a senior’s case.
‘This time will be different. I absolutely won’t go easy.’
By the way, these invited experts don’t swing their swords carelessly.
Rather, because they’re practice swords and not real ones, they give their all.
As a result, even seniors have no choice but to lose before crossing swords a few times.
Of course, there’s something to learn in that process, and in peaceful times like now, just witnessing such swordsmanship once gives you a lot to take away…
But that only applies when you’re at a level where you can cross swords a few times.
Underclassmen?
It’s fortunate if they can achieve even the first sword strike ‘exchange.’
Therefore-
“This is ridiculous.”
“If it’s a General Knight level… and assuming he won’t go easy, we’ll all be finished in one hit.”
“How are they going to measure this…? Maybe if you survive one sword strike you get full marks, something like that?”
Unrest arose among the students.
They had been excited about the General Knight position and the knight order entrance exam opportunity, but everyone realized the reality.
At minimum, problems should have answers hidden in them so they can be solved, but this far exceeded that level.
It was a bonus that the seniors who had no choice but to participate in the lecture due to retaking courses burst into bitter laughter.
‘The Professor made a reckless move.’
‘Department prestige is important, but this seems a bit much…’
‘Is he conscious of that fellow Dane?’
The underclassmen don’t know well since they’re still busy with department life.
However, the seniors who now have to watch the professors’ moods and prepare for employment while observing the flowing trends and political relationships had already roughly caught on to the situation.
The reason Professor Esteranza is forcing through such an unreasonable exam now.
It’s not simply to enhance the Swordsmanship Department’s competitiveness and prestige, but to give Dane Sogress, who brought them ‘shame,’ a hard time.
Of course, only a few like Professor Esteranza think that way; in reality, almost none of the Swordsmanship Department students were hostile toward Dane.
They just…
Were envious of that ridiculous talent.
“Group 1. I will call out the order. Please do warm-up exercises in advance in the order called.”
Professor Esteranza continued with a faint smile.
“By the way, it would be best not to complain about the order. Count Dormant here is skilled enough to handle dozens at the undergraduate level without breaking a sweat.”
And finally, the first person he called was-
“Dane Sogress. Group 1, first order.”
It was Dane.
The ulterior motive was so obvious that Leila, not Dane himself, inwardly burst into bitter laughter.
‘To think the Professor’s hostility is at that level.’
Professor Esteranza had also prepared quite thoroughly.
No matter how much they say it’s undergraduate level, if that were really the case, they wouldn’t need to divide into groups 1 and 2 but could finish all exams in one day.
Proof that even General Knight level gets tired.
In that sense, he meant to make Dane fight in perfect condition to ensure his defeat.
“Dane.”
Leila, knowing Dane’s skill, looked at him and said.
“You can do well, right?”
That wasn’t meant as encouragement.
It was somewhat complex-
In other words, asking if he would ‘handle’ this situation well.
Dane’s answer was naturally simple.
“Of course.”
Dane stood up from his seat and brushed off his bottom.
Though many gazes were focused on him, he took calm steps without caring at all.
Then he approached the weapon rack next to Professor Esteranza and picked up a practice sword.
“Since you’ve recorded the best grades in lectures so far, you have no complaints about the order, right?”
Then came Professor Esteranza’s question. Seeing how he bothered to ask, he must be quite concerned.
Dane just nodded slightly regardless.
“I don’t mind.”
Then he passed Professor Esteranza and stood before Count Dormant, showing proper courtesy.
“I am Dane Sogress, first year of the Autonomous Department. I will learn from you.”
Count Dormant smiled as if he had been waiting.
“So you’re that famous Dane Sogress. I’m Aren Domont, General Knight of the Imperial Second Knight Order. Nice to meet you.”
He continued asking.
“I hear you really do wield a sword.”
Count Dormant clicked his tongue as if disappointed.
The reason for asking was simple.
Count Sogress is famous for spear arts, so his son should have inherited the spear arts tradition.
Seeing proper spear arts isn’t easy even for a knight of that level.
Of course, this was asked because Dane already had tremendous talent in various fields including swordsmanship, spear arts, and magic…
“It’s swordsmanship class time.”
Dane’s answer was brief, and Count Dormant couldn’t argue.
“Ha. That’s right.”
It’s swordsmanship class time, so he wields a sword.
Perfectly logical reasoning, nothing to refute.
But when Dane says it, it sounds a bit different.
“Good. I look forward to it.”
Count Dormant smiled warmly, nodded, then took his position.
The two faced each other.
The surroundings were quiet.
Not even the sound of gulping dry saliva could be heard.
In any other case, the students would surely be whispering among themselves, but they were all wide-eyed.
The Academy’s greatest talent in history, Dane Sogress.
The fellow who had easily attended any Swordsmanship Department lecture and amazed the professors-
Might finally show his real skill.
By the way, Count Dormant is a Penta-level warrior.
‘I wonder how long he can last.’
Therefore, he too was focusing on how long Dane could ‘last.’
Of course, even this was generous.
The opponent is just an undergraduate student.
Even if he’s a student who made achievements worthy of the Emperor’s attention and built fame, that’s all he is.
That’s what he had thought.
“Sparring begins.”
Until before the first sword clash.
Clang!
It was truly an intense, swift, and even heavy charge.
“…!”
Dane’s sword, which had instantly kicked off the ground and rushed forward, was positioned precisely above Count Dormant’s head.
Which means-
If he hadn’t blocked it, and if this had been a real sword, his head would have been split open.
He had even let his guard down for a moment.
If he had been even slightly late, it would have been disastrous.
‘What is this…!’
The speed was one thing, but there were no openings to exploit during the charge.
He was the supervising knight of the Imperial Second Knight Order.
His combat experience was extensive and his skills were beyond question.
Yet even he found it difficult to find openings in such an incredibly precise charge.
‘It was like watching the Captain.’
It was only for a brief moment, but that’s how it felt.
Of course, compared to the Knight Captain, his overall strength and speed were clearly lacking.
This fellow was still a ‘boy’ after all.
His body was still not fully trained.
But-
‘It’s chilling. If mana had been added….’
Since this was sparring, mana was excluded, but at this level, what level would he reach if mana were added?
Clang, claaang!
His thoughts couldn’t continue further.
No, they couldn’t continue.
Because Dane had stepped back and charged through that short distance, delivering two more sword strikes.
‘He’s experienced. It even feels like… he knows where I’ll block.’
It was truly ‘barely’.
Defending against those two sword strikes, that is.
“Is the supervising knight… going easy on him?”
“Did that just look easy to you?”
All three sword strikes so far had been Dane’s attacks and Count Dormant’s defenses.
In other words, something impossible was happening.
Clang, claaeng! Clang!
A dizzying exchange of sword strikes continued.
This time Count Dormant also launched a counterattack.
‘He’s sweeping low. Then…!’
Stepping back, he would strike the fellow’s exposed upper body as his center of gravity shifted.
That was the plan.
Swish!
Until Dane, who had been striking upward, suddenly twisted his sword path to aim for his neck.
Claaang!
It was just an instant.
The process of hastily twisting his wrist to hold his sword vertically and deflecting the thrusting sword.
Long experience.
If he hadn’t blocked it with that….
‘His throat would have been torn.’
A chill ran down his spine.
How long had it been since he broke out in cold sweat during sparring?
Thud.
Count Dormant stepped back for a moment.
Meanwhile, the surroundings were even quieter than before.
Could the sound of insects be heard so clearly even during the day?
Thanks to this, Professor Esteranza’s expression was truly a sight to behold.
‘This… wasn’t how it was supposed to be?’
According to the plan, no matter how talented Dane Sogress was, he should have exchanged a few sword strikes with Count Dormant and then been defeated.
That’s how it should be.
That was what he had expected within his common sense.
But why….
Did it look like he was not just holding his own, but overwhelming his opponent?
“Count Dormant must be going easy on him after all. Right?”
“He said he’d give his all. Apparently not.”
The undergraduates, especially the lower-year students, were saying such things.
But some of the upper-year students were sensing something strange….
Though not an upper-year student, Leila clearly understood this situation.
‘Dane isn’t showing his real strength.’
The Dane she had sparred with would never stop at just this level.
However, right now he seemed to be considering various things.
Not just simply winning, but something else as well.
And one more person.
‘He’s someone who even defeated demons, so this much is nothing.’
Benatio showed an expression of complete lack of surprise.
No matter how much mana was restricted, could someone who had defeated demons really not beat ‘just a supervising knight’?
This was a natural development.
Anyway, for various reasons, Count Dormant’s mind was extremely complicated.
‘If I lose here, it won’t just be embarrassment.’
That Dane Sogress was a genius was a well-known fact. But that wouldn’t be enough to cover up a defeat.
He would literally become ‘the Imperial Second Knight Order supervising knight who was defeated by an Academy undergraduate’.
No matter how strong Dane was, that wasn’t an important fact.
The regular knights who were training hard to rise to his position and the superiors who valued appearances would….
‘It’s gone. Definitely.’
It would be difficult to guarantee this position in the future.
Grrrr.
Count Dormant realized he truly had to give his all.
Thud!
The sparring continued.
Clang, claaang!
Once again, swords crossed several times and the entangled swords in the air separated as an intense exchange continued.
No, could this be called intense?
It might seem so to the observers, but from Count Dormant’s perspective, it felt like walking on thin ice.
Then-
Claaang!
When they had clashed swords head-on three or four times.
Crack.
Suddenly, Dane’s sword broke.
“…!”
“…The sword broke?”
It was the signal indicating the end of the sparring.
But it was such a sudden event that even Professor Esteranza found it difficult to declare the end.
Of course, swords breaking during sparring was common enough….
Was this due to regret?
As a warrior, regret that the high-level exchange just now couldn’t continue further.
Of course, from Count Dormant’s perspective, it was a situation where he had aged ten years.
“The, the winner. Count Dormant.”
Thus, the first sparring match came to an end.
With Count Dormant’s ‘victory’.
However, everyone would soon realize.
“I’ve learned something. Count Dormant.”
“Y, yes. It was a very excellent sparring match.”
Unlike Count Dormant who was breathing heavily, Dane had a very composed expression as he raised his hand and pointed in a direction.
There lay Count Dormant’s armor—
And two places on that armor were cracked open.
The armor that had been perfectly fine until before the sparring match.
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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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