The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 111

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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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Chapter 111 43. Tarasan Academy is the Best on the Continent? (1)

“I see. A mountain, and mountain ranges…”

“Indeed, a mountain is no different from a small world… handling multiple types of aura wouldn’t be unreasonable.”

“Hmm…”

After Lumian showed his shocking swordsmanship demonstration.

The four figures, including the Knight King, gathered again and began sharing their respective insights.

This was an extremely exceptional occurrence.

Most knights don’t want to reveal their know-how and experience to others. They consider it wasteful to have their foundations exposed.

However, neither the knights of Jenas nor the knights of Rhodesia were people who would be swayed by such narrow-minded thinking.

For the peace and well-being of the continent, they were prepared to give their all.

“I see. While I tried to handle power more smoothly through ‘compression’, you chose to accumulate greater power while increasing stability through the connection of mountains.”

“That’s correct, Your Majesty.”

“Hahaha! Magnificent. I understand it intellectually, but I wouldn’t even dare attempt it.”

He was sincere.

The Knight King had no confidence in elevating his realm in the same way as Lumian Calard.

‘Even if my aura had mountain-like qualities rather than rock, it would have been impossible.’

Lumian’s words certainly made sense.

Multiple mountains are easier to handle than multiple rocks, and easier to connect as one.

However, this was only ‘easier compared to rocks,’ and from his perspective, it was all the same. Both were ridiculously difficult in reality.

“As expected of Sir Lumian. I felt it before, but your aura manipulation ability is something I wouldn’t dare follow.”

“You flatter me, Your Majesty.”

“Not at all. Moreover, hasn’t your body become stronger now? In the past, I barely managed a draw based on superior strength, but now I wouldn’t stand a chance. I’m far behind in aura reserves and manipulation ability, and now even my strength advantage has disappeared.”

“I don’t know where to put myself.”

Lumian said, bowing his head deeply.

Seeing him like this, Philip III burst into laughter again.

No negative emotions like a sense of defeat could be felt in the Knight King’s voice.

His eyes gleaming, he continued speaking.

“However, don’t think you’ll always be above. If I perfectly achieve my goal, I’m confident I can catch up to you.”

“Do you mean that?”

Like the Knight King, Lumian also answered with sincerity.

He and himself were simply walking different paths; neither was wrong.

In fact, when Lumian heard the Knight King’s ultimate goal, he felt a thrill run through his body without realizing it.

‘Compress a giant rock, compress it, and compress it again. Then make it into a single sword.’

If the mass of a rock as large as Mount Tai were completely contained in a sword, and if one could freely wield it, what magnificent swordsmanship would unfold?

Just imagining it made him break out in cold sweat. From an opponent’s perspective, fear would surely arise from the depths of their heart.

“I hope you achieve this soon, Your Majesty.”

“Of course I should.”

As pleasantries were exchanged between the two, Sinsieo’s turn approached.

She was quite excited, influenced by Lumian and Philip III’s words. Though not as much as Lumian, she had gained at least a thread of enlightenment.

‘I who only caused trouble have received tremendous help.’

With guilt still remaining, she had incurred even more debt.

Therefore, the thought of repaying this was desperate. She explained her knowledge, experience, and insights gained so far more earnestly than anyone. She also kindly answered questions.

Accordingly, the expressions of the three men brightened. They showed strong interest in Rhodesia’s swordsmanship and aura manipulation methods, which differed from those of Jenas.

‘What a day this is!’

Especially Bercal Garcia showed the most excited appearance.

In fact, with his level, he wasn’t in a position to participate in the current conversation.

What could he, who was at most in the upper ranks of Expert, possibly say?

Nevertheless, the three masters allowed him to sit with them with hearts as vast as the ocean.

Moreover, they graciously accepted even questions that would obviously seem foolish.

He felt like crying. Bercal was that moved by the current situation.

‘I must remember every bit of today’s conversation.’

Right now his level was too low to fully grasp it, but later would be different.

Thinking this, Bercal wore a pleased expression. His face looked as if he owned the whole world.

“Hmm. Today was truly a meaningful time.”

“I feel the same way.”

“Indeed, Your Majesty. Talking together, I lost track of time. Dawn is already breaking.”

Lumian said, looking up at the sky.

He was right. The dark surroundings had somehow turned gray.

A little more time and it would be morning, time for people to wake up. A little more after that and the swordsmanship competition would begin…

‘Wait, the swordsmanship competition?’

Lumian shot up from his seat.

Sinsieo and Bercal looked at him with puzzled faces, while the Knight King belatedly nodded.

“I see. I know what you’re worried about.”

“Your Majesty?”

“It’s about the swordsmanship competition schedule, isn’t it? There’s someone you must go see?”

“…That’s correct, Your Majesty.”

Lumian answered with a surprised expression.

He wanted to ask ‘How do you know that?’ but couldn’t dare do so to his former lord.

In fact, that wasn’t what was important right now anyway.

“Today is the day of the Tarasan Swordsmanship Tournament finals. And fortunately, the person you’re rooting for made it to the finals. I heard she fought a magnificent semifinal match against a squire from Rhodesia.”

The Knight King rose with a laugh and approached Lumian.

Then he patted his shoulder and continued speaking.

“Her final opponent is a boy named Lucas Young, a squire from our Jenas. He’s outstanding in passion, skill, and talent. Miss Tania Eloise is probably quite nervous.”

“…”

“It seems she’ll need your support, so how about we adjourn here? We’ll arrange another meeting later. It would be a shame to leave after seeing you just once. Hahaha.”

Hearing Philip III’s words, Lumian looked flustered. His gaze swept toward Bercal and Sinsieo in turn.

Everyone had smiles on their faces.

They found the current situation quite amusing. Of course, they also had feelings of support for Lumian.

“Today’s conversation was enjoyable. I hope we have another opportunity like this.”

“I will never forget what Sir Lumian Calard told us today.”

“Uh, um…”

Somehow the atmosphere had turned to everyone wanting to send him off.

Lumian’s face reddened.

He felt like he had instantly become a child. Of course, when it came to romance and women, he was indeed a child.

‘No, why are these people so interested in others’ private lives? Besides, we’re not even in that kind of relationship yet…’

Yet?

Lumian’s expression hardened.

His flustered feelings intensified.

Had he already taken Tania into his heart?

Or was it just a thought that came from going with the flow due to the pushing atmosphere?

‘I don’t know. I’ll think about it later.’

“…For now, since time is urgent, I’ll go ahead.”

Lumian bowed to everyone.

Then he left the tent and quickly ran toward the Academy.

It was a terrifying speed. Watching the long trail of dust, the Knight King asked Bercal.

“This is quite a dilemma – who should we root for?”

“…Still, shouldn’t we support our own country’s knight?”

Bercal said with a serious expression.

Though he respected Ryan Fromhart, he was ultimately a knight of Jenas.

Watching the two, Sinsieo let out a quiet laugh.

“…Hmm? Lord Lumian? Where did he go? Where did Lord Lumian go?”

And Semu, who had been sleeping in the corner throughout the entire conversation, finally woke up.

Seeing the drowsy face of the creature, the three knights burst into hearty laughter.

* * *

“Phew!”

While the three knights were having additional conversations, Lumian arrived in front of the female dormitory in an instant.

Perhaps because it was still early, there was no one walking around.

He decided to wait until Tania came out and found a nearby bench to sit on. His expression was extremely troubled.

‘What should I say?’

Since returning from Red Mountain, Lumian had been with Tania 4-5 days a week. In other words, he had been with her almost every day.

On top of that, he had made a promise. To help and cheer her on every day during the Swordsmanship Competition.

Yet he had barely managed to watch only the first round and skipped all the remaining days, so he had nothing to say for himself.

‘I can’t tell her the truth, so I’m sorry but I need to come up with some excuse to cover it up… Damn!’

It was when Lumian was thinking of excuses.

Tania Eloise emerged from the dormitory.

She wore clothes suitable for physical activity. It seemed she was planning to warm up with some dawn training.

‘I haven’t finished thinking yet.’

Of course, it was fortunate that their paths crossed, but he couldn’t shake the thought that she could have come out just a little later.

Then, Tania also spotted Lumian.

She walked over with a smile. Her face looked remarkably fresh and clear.

She didn’t feel at all like someone facing the finals of the Swordsmanship Competition. Lumian forgot about his worries from just moments before and wore a puzzled expression.

‘What? I thought she would definitely be anxious.’

Tania Eloise was strong.

But sometimes she was weak. She was just pretending to be strong.

Of course, after receiving Lumian’s guidance, she had gained more confidence and her heart had become stronger, but it was hard to think she would be completely fine even on an important day like today.

‘But her current expression doesn’t seem to be fake…’

“Ah!”

Lumian, who had risen from the bench, let out an exclamation.

And he stared intently at Tania.

Until she approached and was smiling brightly right in front of him.

“How is it, Teacher?”

Tania suddenly asked a question.

Her voice was full of strength.

He could feel a firm and strong heart, as if she wouldn’t yield no matter what difficulties came her way.

Lumian, who finally realized something, smiled back and answered.

“You can graduate from the mountain now, my student.”

* * *

“Oh, it’s starting.”

“It is, it is! They’re coming up!”

“Who will win? Lucas Young will probably win, right?”

“That’s likely the case, but… shouldn’t we still cheer for Tania Eloise?”

“Of course! Tania will definitely win! Tania Eloise! Fight!”

“Waaaaah! Tania Eloise! Tania Eloise!”

The long-awaited Swordsmanship Competition finals.

After all the tedious processes had passed, the two finalists finally stepped onto the stage.

One was Tania Eloise, a proud student of Tarasan Academy who had defeated Violet Porter, an elite from Rhodesia, in the semifinals.

The other was Lucas Young, considered a promising talent who would lead Jenas’s next generation, having overwhelmingly defeated all opponents so far.

People swallowed nervously as they watched the two glare at each other.

Most of the Tarasan people hoped in their hearts for Tania’s success.

‘I’d like her to win, but it’ll be difficult.’

‘Just making it to the finals is amazing. Even the 4th-year top student couldn’t handle her.’

‘Still, I hope she puts up a good fight. I hope she can make Lucas Young struggle even a little.’

Due to harsh reality, it was too much to expect Tania’s victory.

However, they couldn’t help but hope for her to fight well. They were, after all, citizens of Tarasan and wanted to cheer for Tarasan’s knight cadet.

But when the referee’s voice announcing the start of the match echoed, and Lucas Young infused his sword with aura.

Wooooooong!

And when the blade was dyed with intense light, the audience couldn’t help but wear despairing expressions.

“What! An Aura Sword? Could he be an Expert?”

“Idiot, no! An Expert’s aura flows along the blade like flames. That’s just glowing without any energy flowing outward.”

“But it’s different from Tania’s semifinal match, right? It’s shining much brighter than that.”

“That’s…”

It was when the blonde man who had been scolding was hesitating.

A man sitting quietly nearby continued the explanation instead.

“It’s because he’s broken through the second gate toward becoming an Expert.”

“The second gate? Ah, those three gates.”

The person who had asked the question nodded.

He also knew about the three gates toward becoming an Expert. It was such a famous story that even those ignorant about swordsmanship had heard of it at least once.

He slowly nodded, thinking “I see,” then looked at the taciturn man with a surprised expression.

“He, he broke through the second gate? Isn’t that extremely difficult?”

“That’s right. I heard Lucas Young is currently 17 years old, and at this level, even if he can’t reach the Knight King, he could be said to have talent positioned just below that.”

“What, so he’s a genius among geniuses?”

“Goodness, how can this be.”

The questioner and the blonde man who had initially scolded wore dejected expressions.

It wasn’t just them. A gloomy atmosphere was forming throughout the audience seating.

Lucas Young, the genius of Jenas, had finally revealed his true ability!

At this cruel fact, the hearts of the Tarasan people died. They cast pitying glances at Tania Eloise with downcast faces.

“Tania Eloise has only broken through the Lower Gate, right?”

“Probably? That’s why her sword’s light is dimmer than Lucas Young’s.”

“Damn. Isn’t breaking through just the Lower Gate amazing? Most Experts are in their 40s! At 16 years old with that level, she has the strength to win the championship, but…”

Half worry, half regret. And a bit of awe for Lucas Young, who had achieved tremendous success at the age of 17.

This was the current atmosphere in the audience seating.

Of course, among them, a few people, especially Joel Cockman who had suffered a humiliating defeat to Tania, were watching the stage with malice instead of worry.

‘Serves you right! Acting all high and mighty with that trivial skill, and now you’re about to be humiliated in the finals!’

It was an absurd thought.

He was the one who had acted high and mighty with trivial skills, and he was the one who had been humiliated.

No one could look down on someone who had defeated a trainee knight from the powerful nation of Rhodesia and made it to the finals. His malice was only stabbing himself, not Tania.

Joel Cock didn’t know this fact. He didn’t want to know either.

He just poured out curses more earnestly and fiercely. He looked as if he thought that the more he did so, the more Tania’s strength would drain.

Of course, needless to say, the wishes of a loser consumed by inferiority complex had no effect on her whatsoever.

“Hmm.”

Rather, it was the opposite.

Was it coincidence?

As Tania glanced around, her gaze caught Joel Cock’s face.

He was startled and pulled his upper body back.

And he touched his own face.

It was disgustingly contorted.

In contrast, Tania Eloise’s expression was infinitely relaxed.

Suddenly, an inexplicable anxiety welled up. It was the moment Joel Cock opened his mouth to utter profanity.

Ziiiiiiing-!

“…!”

He couldn’t say a word.

That wasn’t all.

The man who had first asked the question, and the blonde man sitting beside him.

Just like them, the countless people of Tarasan who had been cheering for Tania with sympathetic expressions—all of them stood with their mouths agape, unable to take their eyes off the stage.

It was a scene as if time had stopped.

Breaking through that silence, a cry filled with shock burst out from the upper seats of the arena.

“Expert!”

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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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