chapter 24
The idea came to me, but it was not possible to implement it right away.
‘This can only be achieved if we trust each other. Felix wouldn’t know, but it’s not something I insisted on.’
If it was Felix, he would be able to gain the students’ trust by collateralizing his family name.
Noah, on the other hand, was supposed to be popular with Sado’s freshmen, but that didn’t necessarily lead to support.
They were feeling vicariously satisfied with Noah defeating the students.
But that’s it.
Noah hadn’t done anything for them, nor could he have done anything for them.
There might be a guy who has a debt for what happened in Hell Week, but that was a short-term incident.
There was no way that a relationship of trust could be formed without knowing each other well.
To make the idea a reality, we needed to get to know each other first.
That took time.
“Right now, it’s from the preliminary round.”
* * *
The preliminaries for the preliminary round were over, but time was vacant until the details of the finals were announced.
While taking classes steadily, Noah honed his senses through midnight sparring, a tradition of the Black Moon Dormitory.
‘So far, the Dalian record in the dormitory is 147 wins and 151 losses.’
It was a bit difficult in the beginning.
He wasn’t used to dealing with other swordsmanship.
I had to be wary of all possibilities because I didn’t know how far to be vigilant, and my heart was consumed twice as much.
The seniors were not easy enough to miss it.
‘At first, I went 1 win and 33 losses, but now it’s half and half right in front of me.’
With a little more, I thought I could break the 50% win rate wall.
“Senior, let’s do it one more time.”
“It’s annoying… … .”
“I’m also a top ranker, so I’ll get some pocket money. I’ll buy you something delicious.”
“Ummm, then just one game… … .”
Ophelia again fell for Noah’s temptation.
Noah was delighted to see him.
‘It was good.’
The Black Moon Dormitory had a tradition of sparring with each other every night.
Even if it’s once a day, hundreds of times a year.
Also, they were all seriously pursuing the extreme of swordsmanship. There was no law to waste even in the obligatory sparring.
“As expected, Ophelia-senpai is the best. Other seniors don’t get along well with one meal now.”
“Rice is important. I am personally interested in your swordsmanship.”
“Then, shall we loosen the sword skill restrictions this time?”
“You want to use sword skills?”
No matter how traditional it was, it wouldn’t be helpful to practice sparring with a difference in level.
Because of this, those who had a difference in skill did not use sword skills and proceeded with sparring.
The fact that Noah, who could not use the intangible sword, had a win rate of close to 50% was due to sword skill restrictions.
“I guess I’ll have to go through some intangible swords to find out. You can’t stay unusable forever.”
“But then I wouldn’t be able to compete with you.”
“What was the record of my senior and I against each other in the last 10 games… … ?”
silence.
Evidently Ophelia’s face was covered with a bearskin, but Noah could imagine the expression.
“good. Then it’s no use crying. Because you won’t see it.”
When the sparring was completed, the two tapped each other’s feet with the tips of their swords.
A sign that you are ready.
At the same time, Noah leaped into the air.
‘fast!’
Without any warning or delay, the intangible swords flying from all directions were stuck where they were standing.
‘If I get stabbed with that, I’ll die?’
Ophelia’s intangible sword was shaped like a harpoon with protrusions like hooks.
Once taken, it’s over.
If you pull it out, it will bleed excessively.
“You escaped upwards. Then it’s over.”
“… … !”
The sense of aura informs danger.
The sword, which moved reflexively, struck the intangible sword flying from behind.
As I turned my arm, I kicked the harpoon that appeared in front of me and turned my body to the side.
The harpoon generated from the side passed by at the position where the body was turned.
Then, he moved the sword with his left hand and gripped it.
With close timing, he knocked out an intangible sword flying from the left.
However, another harpoon was flying from the right side.
An intangible sword that pops out at the same time as you think.
It was a skill that was on a different level from Miana Felix.
‘I can’t stand it at this rate!’
The intangible sword that finishes the attack immediately disappears and regenerates in another location.
Noah withstood the attack with an almost acrobatic struggle, but the situation only grew more and more unfavorable.
There was a limit to avoiding it because there was nowhere to step in the air.
‘I have to go down… … !’
If I wanted to go down to the ground, I blocked the window coming up from the bottom and then rose again into the air.
Ophelia stood on her back and tied Noah up in the air.
“Didn’t you say it wouldn’t happen?”
“Ugh… … !”
“I can finish you even now.”
It was not a lie.
Ophelia stood still and dealt with Noah with only the intangible sword.
Mia did the same, but that was because she couldn’t practice swordsmanship while manipulating the intangible sword in real time.
But Ophelia was different.
Her throwing sword has the power to pierce huge glaciers and pierce prey beneath the surface.
It was next to impossible to prevent it in this state.
“If you go all the way down… … !”
In an instant, Noah’s sword shook like a flame.
Ofelia did not miss that moment.
Poof!
“Slow.”
Ophelia’s face suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.
Confused, Noah let go of his sword and stopped.
Although they were obviously separated by a considerable distance, Ophelia closed the distance in an instant.
It means that not only the ability to handle swordsmanship, but also martial arts has reached a high level.
I don’t know, but even if I put down my sword and fight with only my fists, I’ll be stronger than most high rankers.
“Your attribute conversion technique is powerful, but slow. I don’t know why a guy who can’t even use an intangible sword can use attribute conversion, but it’s absolutely not enough to use in real combat.”
“Hmm, I know. lost, lost So would you please let go?”
Ophelia was holding Noah, who had collapsed in the air, with both arms.
In other words, the situation in which Noah was held in the arms of the princess.
She lightly came down to the ground and released Noah.
“I didn’t know that I would lose my limbs this far.”
“If you’re at a clumsy level, it’s hard to beat a proper intangible sword user without an intangible sword. It’s not because the stages of the realm are divided for nothing.”
“It definitely feels like fighting with each limb removed… … Why can’t I?”
The 4th level sword skill, attribute conversion is possible, but the 3rd level sword skill, the intangible sword, is not.
This was generally inexplicable.
Besides, Noah himself couldn’t figure out why.
Only then could he not be able to use the intangible sword for the rest of his life.
“If there is a problem, it is usually for psychological reasons. Rarely, there is also the uniqueness of swordsmanship.’
Ophelia seemed unlikely to be the former.
Noah’s sword was dignified without a single doubt.
If you were limiting yourself to something, whether it was conscious or unconscious, it would be obvious.
‘Then it’s the latter… … .’
“Wouldn’t it be better to ask the grandfather who taught you swordsmanship?”
“It must be hard to get a proper answer, right? It looked like this even when I was in the mountains, but my grandfather only said that it was not the time yet.”
“Isn’t it time?”
“Because I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Noah scratched his head shyly.
“Then shall I teach you?”
“Are you a senior?”
“I can’t solve the problem, but I can teach you how to organize my writing as an example.”
Ophelia is ranked 15th in the Night Ray rankings.
If it was her teaching that was already evaluated as being equivalent to that of a skilled knight, it would be hard to buy even with money.
Even more so, if you stick to it and give private tutoring, you will be able to solve the intangible sword problem much faster.
“Hey, thank you then. But what kind of change of heart did you have… … ?”
Ophelia brought her index finger to her lips.
“secret.”
That night.
Ophelia, who had finished sparring in the middle of the night, could not fall asleep easily and was lost in thought on the roof.
“Even though he has such skills, he said it wasn’t the time yet… … .”
In sparring using swordsmanship, Noah never defeated his seniors.
However, that did not mean that Noah was unconditionally weaker than them.
Because within the limits of Dalian, the actual battle and the conditions had to be different.
“Swordsmanship that skips the intangible sword… … .”
Ophelia had seen such swordsmanship before.
Her hometown, the tip of the north, was an outback bordering the demonic region.
A place where there are more demons than people.
Except for a few tribesmen who have lived there since time immemorial, no one lived in such a place.
A stranger who came to such an outback.
‘I’d like to buy something to eat. Can’t you live for a year?’
‘Are you thinking of going into the magical area? It looks like you haven’t mastered the martial arts, so why do you commit suicide like that?’
‘Will a person who is about to commit suicide buy a year’s worth of food?’
The man who bought the preserved food for a ridiculous amount of money put all his luggage on a sled and disappeared into the Masu area.
And exactly one year later.
‘Damn that’s not a year’s worth! I ate it all in nine months, didn’t you guys scam me?’
‘Were you alive?’
The man came back intact as if he had broken up the day before.
‘How can I do without an Aura?’
‘The world is full of Auras, but why is it that my body has no Auras?’
The man formed a sword skill casually.
‘Even if I see it like this, it’s quite a famous article?’
‘Could you teach me swordsmanship?’
‘fence?’
Living at the edge of the north was a struggle every day.
He needed strength to protect his family from demons.
‘I can’t stay here for long.’
‘Then, even if it’s just a direction so that I can train alone… … !’
‘It can’t be helped.’
For a week after that, Ophelia learned swordsmanship from a man.
It was a process of completely dismantling and reassembling the concept so far.
The man’s teachings raised northern swordsmanship to a whole new realm.
‘If you think that’s not enough, go to Night Ray. That’s enough to pass the entrance exam.’
The man left without saying that, but Ophelia had no intention of leaving this place.
It was a swordsmanship he learned to protect his family from the beast.
Where would you go leaving your family behind?
But strangely, after that, the monsters that appeared every day suddenly stopped coming.
The tribesmen, who found this strange, scouted out to the entrance of the Masu area.
The reconnaissance team that crossed the iceberg witnessed a shocking sight.
A mountain range that has become a canyon.
The corpses of countless demons.
‘What the hell is that guy… … ?’
Ophelia, who realized that the beast’s threat had disappeared, immediately packed her things.
who he is I didn’t know anything about where it went.
But if you go to Nightray, won’t you be able to learn something?
In conclusion, it was clear.
By the time Ophelia gets used to the Night Ray, the bulletin board in the school no one cares about.
A familiar face was there.
[Wanted]
Name: Cain Vagrant
Classification: Express
Sin: Treason
Even with an unbelievable crime.
“Noah’s swordsmanship resembled Cain’s swordsmanship.”
Noah said that he lived alone with his grandfather and learned swordsmanship.
Maybe Cain also learned swordsmanship from that grandfather.
Even if it wasn’t the same swordsmanship, they would be related in some way.
“Staying with Noah might give you a clue about Cain.”
Even if it wasn’t that, Noah’s swordsmanship was amazing even to her.
Ofelia wanted to know why this swordsmanship was made this way.
‘And I’m also curious about Aslan’s thoughts.’
It was Noah who came to the Black Moon Dormitory first.
But is it just a coincidence that Aslan decided to accept him?
I wasn’t sure if it was a coincidence or not.
But one thing was certain.
“It’s going to be very noisy in the future.”
With the advent of Noah, the winds of change began to blow in Night Ray.