The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 97

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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 97 38. The Best Student (3)

In the past, many conditions were required to become a knight, but now the barriers to entry have become much lower.

As time passed and aura training methods developed, possibilities opened up even for women who lacked physical strength, and learning opportunities were given to commoners to prepare for demon invasions.

Therefore, unlike before, in today’s era, many talents have emerged who stand out even outside of knight family origins.

However, Professor Ben Barret did not acknowledge this.

He was a person with an outdated way of thinking, as if taken from an antique shop.

He worshipped Jenas, the traditional knight powerhouse, but looked down on Rodisia, the emerging power. He revered those from prestigious knight families but thought little of other knights. He believed female knights had far inferior potential compared to male knights.

Being such a person, he was not particularly fond of Tania Eloise, who was both from a scholar family and a woman.

She seemed like an existence that directly contradicted his words.

‘Anyway, in 10 or 20 years, she’ll just become an ordinary knight.’

Professor Baret made a displeased expression.

Of course, she was producing decent grades now.

But he thought there were limits to that.

A tree with poor roots cannot grow large. Professor Baret had long ago concluded that Tania Eloise’s growth would slow down due to her lack of history and tradition.

‘Rather, what’s promising is Logan Soudway.’

His eyes turned once again toward the year’s second-place student.

The Soudway Family. Though a step below the Crone Ducal House, it was still one of the top three knight families in the Kingdom of Tarasan.

Being the eldest son of such a place was as good as having guaranteed potential. His father and grandfather had also graduated from the Academy as valedictorians and eventually reached the realm of Expert.

Therefore, Logan Soudway would also stand out before long. He would grow even more than now, push aside Tania, and surely claim the top position.

‘So, even if Logan achieves results a little earlier, no one would think it strange.’

Professor Baret smiled with a bitter expression.

He truly thought that way. Meeting with someone from the Soudway Family a few days ago, being treated to expensive food and receiving a famous sword as a gift – he thought none of that had anything to do with what he was about to do.

‘I’m just trying to correct a wrong situation a little faster.’

It was an absurd thought.

Professor Baret was planning to manipulate grades. No matter what excuse he made, the fact that it was wrong would not change.

However, since the Soudway Family’s eldest son would rise higher anyway, and Tania Eloise, a woman cadet without proper background, had reached her limit here – having made such determinations, he didn’t think so.

He was just grateful that Professor David Caren wasn’t present at this moment.

“3rd Year Class A. Is everyone here?”

“Yes!”

“Good. We’ll start the evaluation now. As announced last week, all cadets will engage in one-on-one duels with this professor.”

The students who heard his words showed extremely tense expressions.

Though rumored to have the lowest skills among professors, Ben Barret was still a Sword Expert. Thinking about facing him one-on-one made their knees weak.

“Haha. There’s no need to be too frightened.”

The professor, enjoying the heavy atmosphere that had settled, spoke with authority.

“I will not use an Aura Sword. Furthermore, I will minimize my use of aura as well. I promise to use only one-fourth of my full power.”

The expressions of Class A students brightened.

They listened to the professor’s explanation with somewhat relieved faces.

“Of course, even so, it will be difficult for you to defeat me. I don’t expect that much. Therefore, the grading criteria will be how long you can withstand my sword. Understood?”

“Yes, Professor!”

“Good. I hope you’ll trouble me for a long time. Then let’s start right away. Jay Gardner! Take your sword and come forward.”

“Y-Yes!”

One called student came forward with his sword.

He looked visibly nervous. Being first was burdensome, but more problematic was actually crossing swords with the professor.

‘No, it’s okay! He said he’d only use about one-fourth of his strength!’

That much should be manageable. Without thinking of attacking, if he maintained distance and focused only on defense and evasion…

“Ready?”

“Yes!”

“Then let’s begin.”

“Yes!”

Clang!

Whoosh…

Thud!

However, contrary to the student’s thoughts, the match was decided in an instant.

He couldn’t even receive the professor’s single strike and dropped his sword.

Looking at his sword that had flown far away and stuck in the ground, the student made an expression like he was about to cry.

“Pathetic. You’re too tense and your body is stiff. Are you planning to stand so rigidly in actual combat too?”

“N-No!”

“I’ll hear excuses during the next class. Next! Lewis Harper!”

The next designated student swallowed hard and came forward.

Though he was more confident in his skills than the previous guy, the pressure from the professor was still beyond imagination.

It was hard to believe he was only using one-fourth of his aura. Eventually, he too failed to last 30 seconds and dropped his sword.

And similar situations continued for a while after that.

“21 seconds.”

“48 seconds.”

“1 minute 17 seconds.”

“2 minutes 1 second. You worked quite hard. Good job.”

“Th-Thank you…”

The praised student returned to his seat with a proud smile.

Other students were dropping their swords without lasting more than an average of one minute. In such circumstances, being the only one to exceed two minutes was something to be proud of. Other children also burst out with “Ooh!” admiration and showed envious reactions.

However, such atmosphere quickly subsided.

The year’s second-place student and eldest son of the Soudway Family, Logan Soudway, was finally called.

“It’s Logan.”

“How long will he last?”

“Won’t he last 3 minutes?”

“No, maybe he’ll exceed 5 minutes. It’s the Soudway Family.”

“Well, either way, he’ll last much longer than us. I’m curious.”

The children’s eyes showed anticipation, envy, and curiosity.

Receiving all their attention, Logan Soudway stepped forward to face the professor.

Watching him bow his head with discipline, Ben Barret smiled with pride. Logan also showed a confident smile.

It felt like the results were already determined. The two who exchanged glances simultaneously raised their swords.

“Let’s begin.”

“Yes!”

Clang!

The duel began with a light clash of swords.

“Ooh, amazing!”

“Wow, this is really incredible.”

“His skills have improved tremendously?”

The cadets watching Logan’s swordwork all showed surprised expressions.

He was flawlessly defending against the professor’s relentless sword strikes.

Watching Logan Soudway show a solid defense like a fortress wall while occasionally making piercing attacks, all the cadets couldn’t close their mouths.

No one could suspect anything.

It was natural. Professor Ben Barret hadn’t specially reduced his aura amount just because it was Logan Soudway.

He had simply met separately yesterday to practice their exchanges beforehand. Blocking sword paths he already knew wasn’t particularly difficult.

Clang!

“Grr…”

Of course, he couldn’t keep facing Logan indefinitely.

If it dragged on too long, his own reputation would hit the ground. The professor, who delivered a strong strike at an appropriate moment, showed a satisfied expression.

The result flowed from his lips.

“Logan Soudway. 7 minutes 37 seconds.”

“W-Woooow!”

“No way! He lasted 7 minutes?”

The cadets who had been holding their breath while watching the sparring match all exclaimed in unison.

It was truly an insane result.

Although there was quite a difference in class rankings, even the cadet who ranked 3rd in the class had only achieved 2 minutes and 1 second.

But 7 minutes and 37 seconds – more than triple that time. It was unbelievable.

Even after Logan’s sparring match ended, the students all expressed their amazement.

“Wow, this is really incredible.”

“Logan, when did you get so strong?”

“Hahaha, I just trained hard…”

“Tania, you should be nervous this time?”

“That’s right. Of course, Tania is incredibly strong too, so who knows what will happen.”

The cadets who had been praising Logan now turned their attention to Tania.

While there might be tension between the second and first place students, to the rest of the kids, they were both just friends from the same class.

Moreover, since Tania handled herself well in public, there was hardly anyone who disliked her. Therefore, all the kids offered words of encouragement to Tania as well.

“Good luck, Tania.”

“Show us something cool like Logan did!”

“…”

Of course, Logan Soudway and Professor Ben Barret viewed Tania unfavorably.

Since her first year, they had continuously tried to break her spirit. They had kept up their constant interference.

However, she had not yielded. Rather, she had shown such remarkable charisma that she had won over most of her classmates who had initially ignored her.

Even this displeased Professor Ben Barret.

‘Is it because she’s from a Scholar Family? She’s incredibly skilled at playing politics. If that’s the case, why does she want to be a knight…’

“Next, Tania Eloise!”

His mood was clearly reflected in his voice. The children who had been chattering noisily held their breath and looked at the professor.

“Yes.”

Tania answered calmly and picked up a sword from the weapon rack.

It wasn’t the sword she had used until last semester.

A heavy sword she had begun learning anew a month ago.

Confirming this, Professor Ben Barret openly snorted with derision.

“Tania Eloise.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Are you joking right now?”

“What do you mean…”

“Don’t tell me you’re planning to face me with a heavy sword you’ve only practiced for a month?”

“…”

Tania did not answer.

It was a silence that meant affirmation. The professor let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.

“I’m disappointed, Tania.”

“…”

“Even if you’re stuck somewhere, even if you need a new breakthrough, you should find it within what you have. Going down a completely different path is nonsensical. Do you understand?”

“I apologize. However, I personally thought the newly changed style suited me well, and I judged that I could achieve sufficiently better results.”

“…!”

Her classmates looked at Tania with surprised expressions.

She had always acted cautiously in front of professors. Of course, her current statement wasn’t impolite, but it was certainly much more aggressive than usual.

Ben Barret felt this too. His face turned red as he kept letting out hollow laughs – “Hah, really, haha.”

After a few seconds passed like this.

Sharp words burst from Professor Baret’s mouth.

“I heard that heavy sword you learned was taught by that second-year top student.”

“…That’s correct.”

“Sometimes there are kids like that. Brats who get lucky and stand out when they’re young, thinking their life is set because of it. Seeing how you dare to ignore even a professor’s advice, I suppose you’re completely full of yourself?”

“…”

“Well, fine. This midterm evaluation result will tell us. Prove it. Prove that your choice was right.”

Whoooong-

Professor Baret raised his sword.

That wasn’t the end of it. He secretly drew up more aura without the students noticing.

About one-third of his power. If he used more than that, the students might become suspicious.

‘But this should be enough!’

He wore a rotten smile.

One minute. No, I’ll finish this within 30 seconds.

I’ll make you feel to the bone how arrogant it was to think you could face a professor with a heavy sword you’ve only learned for a month.

With such thoughts, Professor Baret opened his mouth.

A fierce voice flowed out.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Good. Come at me.”

It was right after those words fell.

Tania’s sword, held in an overhead stance, came crashing down at a terrifying speed.

CRASH!

“Grrrgh!”

His entire arm ached. Professor Baret’s eyes widened in shock.

He couldn’t understand what had just happened. From his disrupted stance, he looked at Tania with a bewildered expression.

What is this?

What just happened?

His thoughts couldn’t continue.

Tania, who had already taken the same stance again, was bringing down her sword with an indifferent expression.

Startled, he raised his sword.

CRASH!

“Grrrrgh!”

This groan was even louder.

It was loud enough that the students who had been watching with interest were startled, loud enough for everyone to feel that he was genuinely in trouble.

Professor Baret, his face contorted, quickly drew up his aura.

One-fourth, one-third – he had no time to worry about such things. To block that girl’s sword, he couldn’t afford to hold back.

But his stance was the problem.

He had received two powerful strikes that far exceeded his expectations. Having blocked the incredibly heavy sword head-on, his stance was completely broken.

In such a state, drawing up aura belatedly was futile.

In the professor’s eyes, Tania’s third heavy sword strike came into view.

Watching her sword tip gradually enlarging, he let out a desperate battle cry.

Whiiiiing-!

“GRAAAAAAAH!”

Slash!

…Thud!

The match was decided.

It was a short time of less than 5 seconds. Tania held her sword that had been cut by Professor Baret and obediently stepped back. It was a complete defeat.

However, no one thought of her as the loser. The students’ gazes moved to the professor, specifically to the blade he was holding.

Whoooong…

An incomplete Aura Sword of deep red color, flickering like flames.

It was a clear violation of the rules.

And an obvious disgrace.

An Expert using a full-power Aura Sword against a 16-year-old knight cadet!

Professor Baret’s face turned as red as his aura.

“I’ve learned something valuable.”

With those words, Tania Eloise bowed her head to him.

Blood trickled from her mouth due to internal injuries, but she wore an extremely refreshed expression.

Seeing this, Professor Baret’s face had turned beyond red to a deathly black.

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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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