Volume 1 - CH 18

The lessons began.

Almark was surprised when he saw the swords that everyone had used for practice. He had imagined a wide sword like the ones in his room, but in fact it was like a thin rapier with a reduced blade. And its use seemed to be limited to poking and prodding.

I've never used it, Almark thought.

In a real battle, this sword he would not choose to use such sword .

The slender blade was convenient for twisting through gaps in the a heavily armed enemy, but it was too thin. It could be broken just by taking an attack from an enemy's ax or spear.

He had fought mercenaries with a variety of weapons, but none of them had used such a thin sword.

After thinking about it, then he realized that he was the only one who was expecting a real battle, and chuckled.

Yes, wars haven't been occurred here for a hundred years. Swordsmanship is just a form of culture.

After a short period of practice, they split up into pairs, put on tanned leather protective equipment, and began to practice a match.

Although the swords were wrapped in a soft resin to prevent injury even if they hit the target, the fighters fought surprisingly vigorously.

Among them, Wallis was the one who showed the most graceful movements. No matter who he faces, he wins easily, even though he doesn't seem to be taking it seriously. He certainly seems to be exceptional when it comes to martial arts.

Morgen, as he said himself, did not seem to have much talent here. Even with his protective equipment on, one can see that he is hunched over. It was not so much his physical skills, but his lack of fighting spirit that kept him on the run.

Nelson, on the other hand, seems to have good physical training and moves quite well. He said his father was a knight's squire, so perhaps he is particular about swords.

Torque is striking against the boys around him. He is confident in his ability, and he is hitting hard. If it was just about power, he might be better than Wallis.

As for the girls, most of them were sitting back and doing their best to push each other around, as if they were playing a game. However, there was one group that was doing moves that rivaled those of the boys.

It was Wendy and Leila.

Both of them are nobles, so they may have been trained earlier than the others, but even so, they move well.

As Almark watched on in admiration, the two continued to fight heatedly, but in the end, Leila's strike struck Wendy in the chest.

After the match, the two girls wiped off their sweat and talked to each other with smiles on their faces. They seemed to recognize each other's strength. It was unexpected to see Leila's expression like that, let alone Wendy's.

At that moment, a rapier was suddenly thrown in front of Almark's eyes.

"Take it, newbie."

It was Torque.

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of Almark with a group of his followers.

"We don't need weak guys in our class."

Torque laughed as he watched Morgen's limp and shuffling body.

"I'll be your opponent," he said

"Did you have teacher Bowen's permission?"

Almarc asked, and Toruk cocked his chin.

"He didn't see it anyway."

Bowen was in the middle of tutoring another student. He was teaching with gestures, as if he were an enthusiastic instructor.

Almark shrugged and picked up his sword.

It was much lighter than he had expected, but the material was not bad. It didn't seem to require that much force.

Well then, I''m going to go out of my way to ask for your assistance. I need armor ......"”

"Galein, lend him yours."

Torque ordered the boy standing behind him. The boy chuckled and took off his armor.

Almark stood in front of Torque, wearing a sweaty tanned armor. Standing in front of the Torque , Almark looked awfully small.

“Here i came ."

Torque observed Almark's figure from top to bottom as he looks at him.

"Hmph, you northern brat. What's a northern brat who can't even use light magic doing here?”

At his words, Almark raises his eyebrows a little.

“This is no place for a savage like you. Go back to your country and kill other. people "

As he said this, a full-throated strike flew toward his stomach.

Almark took no effort to defend himself .

A loud clang echoed throughout the martial arts arena, and everyone turned to watch.

Torque was knocked out of his stance and swam, then took a couple of steps and hurriedly readjusted his stance.

"You son of a bitch!"

A blood vessel could be seen floating on the right side of his forehead.

"You use such vulgar language that I can't believe you're an aristocrat."

Almark wondered inwardly how far he would go to provoke him.

He had been waiting for the right moment. Torque was definitely going to come at him. He would pretend that he was forced to tag along and drag him into coner . He had decided this since he saw Wendy's tears yesterday.

When he looked behind him, he saw that everyone was watching with bated breath. Wendy was looking at him with a pale face. Bowen, the instructor, was also looking at him, but he showed no sign of trying to stop him. Maybe the director of the academy had something told him something about the situation.

“Don't get too carried away just because you avoided hit once,"

.He looks at Wendy for a moment, who looks worried.

( Don't worry. I will return the favor.)

Leila, on other hand has a cold expression on her face.

Wallis, class representative, is also looking at Almark with cold eyes.

Who is this guy? Almark wondered. The atmosphere suggests that he is probably a high-ranking member of the aristocracy,...... but his eyes are like the eyes of a mercenary who has fought many battles in the past.

"I'm going to kill you."

It was first time when Almark laughed thinly at Torque's words.

I"'m afraid to ask it , but have you worked as mercenary,?"

Torque's face turned red with anger. "That' s about it," Almark thought. That's enough provocation,

"Shit."

He said something that did not sound like a student of the academy, and then launched a strike with all his might. This time, he aimed at the face. There was no protective equipment, and the area was bare. Almark dodged it with a slight twist of his body . The female students who were watching screamed. Torque was upset when he dodged not once, but twice, a strike with his full strength. He slash at Almark's face, throat, and chest with a force that could have killed him, but Almark did not even move an eyelid, as if he was in a trance. Torque was soon out of breath.

'You coward, you're running away from me like a little .......'

As Torque cursed in frustration,  he suddenly dropped to the ground. The next thing he knew, Akmark's  rapier was hitting his armor chest with a light thud.