Chapter 1
Life in second place is always fierce.
Rather than receiving praise from people, one must live bearing the label of 'not as good as first place.'
They must chase after first place ahead of them, yet that distance hardly narrows, while from behind, other pursuers chase right on their heels.
That pressure does not disappear until one surpasses first place.
Luke Schnelden was born as the eldest son of the Schnelden family, such a second-place household.
-"By whatever means necessary, you must accumulate more mana than those Cornelio bastards."
-"You can't surpass House Cornelio that way."
-"More, more, more!"
Those were the words he had heard most since birth.
His father... no, the ancestors of Schnelden had all supposedly lived with those words on their lips.
Perhaps they all had an inferiority complex about being second place; they had even nearly changed their family motto to 'Surpass Cornelio.'
But Luke was a little different.
To him, the people of House Cornelio were admirable.
The daring swordsmanship born of blessed physiques and vast mana.
And the unique composure that came with being the strongest household.
Each and every one of them looked admirable in his eyes.
Especially Melvin Cornelio, who was of the same generation as himself—whether in swordsmanship, chivalry, or looks, he was truly a man perfect in every way.
He hadn't told his father, but honestly, Luke admired Melvin.
If his father and the Schnelden ancestors harbored a sense of inferiority and an inferiority complex toward Cornelio, then to Luke, Melvin was simply a mountain he wished to climb.
And today, he had crossed that mountain.
No, it felt like he soon would.
-"Everyone failed to surpass them because they've been too busy chasing Cornelio all this time."
He spoke as if that were the reason, but in truth, he too had merely been chasing Cornelio all along.
Only now had he changed his way of thinking.
As if like the protagonists in novels, something had flashed in his mind, and he realized in an instant what he and his ancestors had been doing wrong all this time.
He even realized how to fix it.
If he passed this method down to the family now, the centuries-old wish of his forefathers could finally be fulfilled.
However, there was one major problem to do so.
He had to survive here first.
Kwa-aaaang!
Immediately after, an earth-shattering roar that threatened to tear his eardrums rang out.
It was the Demon Dragon's breath, which would melt anything without a trace upon the slightest contact.
The moment that breath reached right before his nose, someone snatched Luke's body away.
* * *
"That was dangerous just now."
Melvin Cornelio, the patriarch of House Cornelio, spoke.
His entire face was dyed red from blood flowing down his head, but the man had not lost his dignity.
"If you hadn't overdone it, I would have dodged it myself."
When Luke clicked his tongue, Melvin also showed a faint smile.
"Don't lie. You must have been thinking about something else."
"Sharp bastard, as always……"
"You've been told this for over 20 years, and you still have no intention of fixing that vulgar tone?"
"I do keep up a certain dignity outside. I just can't put on airs in front of a friend."
"Fine, but don't let your guard down against the enemy."
Melvin chided Luke, yet his eyes never left the Demon Dragon.
It had been a full three days since they began battling the Demon Dragon.
Even so, he showed no sign of losing focus.
No wonder they call him the greatest swordsman on the continent.
"I've found a way to bring down the Demon Dragon."
Luke continued with a grin.
"I've also found a way to surpass you."
"……."
The man who wouldn't even look back if his family died beside him during battle flinched.
Was it because of the first remark, or the one added after?
Luke couldn't ask.
Swhaaaak!
Because the Demon Dragon's tail was flying toward them in a wide arc.
Luke rolled across the ground to avoid the tail, while Melvin struck it away with his sword.
"Hoo, so you have a way to defeat the Demon Dragon?"
Melvin spoke, supporting himself with his sword.
Luke had fought many battles alongside Melvin until now, but this was the first time he'd seen him look so exhausted.
It seemed Den Hog the Demon Dragon was a formidable opponent even for him.
"There definitely is. But……"
"But?"
"I need some time. It's a complete overhaul from the roots, and it's still incomplete."
"Are you asking me to buy you time?"
"I'm counting on you."
"……."
Melvin fell silent for a moment.
For some reason, his eyes seemed to waver.
Perhaps he wasn't used to situations like this.
He had always been the protagonist who appeared at the last moment to resolve everything.
But now was different.
It was Luke, not Melvin, who had found the way to end the three-day battle with the Demon Dragon.
Melvin likely knew that as well.
"Very well."
Having made his decision, Melvin stepped forward.
"Prepare as quickly as you can."
"Of course. I don't want to see you lose to anyone else either."
Without replying to those words, Melvin shot toward the Demon Dragon.
What kind of expression was he making?
'I'll ask him that over a drink when this battle is over.'
To do that, he had to start preparing immediately.
Even for Melvin, fighting the Demon Dragon alone would be difficult.
The first thing Luke did was.
Pah-kang!
He scattered his own mana core.
'I'll approach this completely differently from the start.'
Amidst the hellish battlefield, Luke slowly closed his eyes.
He would be completely defenseless, but that was fine.
The greatest swordsman on the continent—and his friend—was watching his back.
Trusting Melvin, Luke proceeded to the next step.
* * *
A short while later.
Luke's eyes snapped wide open.
'Done!'
It had been nothing but theory, and he hadn't even had time to verify it, but he had done it nonetheless.
Hastily improvised as it was, it was still unstable, but this much should be enough to slay the Demon Dragon.
'Are you watching, Father?'
At that moment, Luke thought of his father in heaven.
'This very moment is when we Schneldens surpass Cornelio.'
Without delay, he drew his sword.
Hwi-u-u-u-ung-!
A blizzard began to swirl around him.
The gazes of both the Demon Dragon and Melvin fixed on Luke at the same time.
Both seemed bewildered by Luke's changed appearance.
"Hoo."
The moment Luke exhaled heavily.
Tat.
A single line was drawn from where he stood to the Demon Dragon.
And snowflakes burst into magnificent bloom upon the Demon Dragon's chest.
The Schnelden family's secret technique, the Snow Wind Sword.
Luke had finally made the twelfth snowflake bloom.
'So this is the final bloom of the Snow Wind Sword.'
His impression upon seeing that snowflake?
It was incredibly beautiful.
How could it not be beautiful, when it was a snowflake that even the first patriarch of Schnelden had never seen?
But he couldn't afford to simply admire the snowflake.
He had to break it to cut off the Demon Dragon's breath.
Luke twisted the sword embedded in Den Hog's chest.
Jjaeng-geurang!
The snowflake that had bloomed on the creature's chest shattered, and black blood poured forth.
He could see the creature's gleaming black eyes.
Its two eyes were wide with disbelief.
It must be quite surprised.
It probably never dreamed it would die here.
["If only I had a little more time……"]
"Shut up already."
["Human, this is not the end. I, Den Hog, cannot end here……"]
Kung!
The Demon Dragon, Den Hog.
At last, the creature fell.
The three-day battle without rest was over, and the Teron Continent was saved.
And not by Melvin, but by his own sword—by Luke Schnelden's sword!
But that joy was short-lived.
Luke fell to his knees.
It was partly due to three days of fatigue and injuries, but more than that, it was the price of having forcibly used power moments ago.
'This carries quite a bit of risk. I'll have to devise a safer method for the family.'
Luke's mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of returning to the family and passing down this method.
If every Schnelden could use this method, only then would the day come when Schnelden surpassed Cornelio.
'I can finally surpass them.'
His body hurt as though it were breaking, but the corners of his mouth kept twitching upward.
He couldn't hold back a smile at the thought of finally surpassing Melvin, the man he had aimed for his whole life.
Melvin approached him.
"Splitting one core and resonating those cores? To attempt such a reckless challenge in this situation—truly, that's so like you."
"'The ordinary can never surmount walls.' Our ancestors said it so much my ears grew calluses."
Melvin's expression grew complicated.
Luke couldn't tell what he was thinking right now.
"If you can truly use that method stably, you would be able to surpass me."
Melvin sat down beside Luke.
To others, he might look no different from the usual Melvin, but in Luke's eyes, he looked somehow different somewhere.
That was something only he could know, having been Melvin's friend for 20 years.
"You……"
"And if you pass that method down to your family, it would only be a matter of time before Schnelden surpasses Cornelio."
Melvin cut off Luke's words.
"Didn't you say earlier that you should let down your pretenses in front of a friend?"
The atmosphere around him grew increasingly ominous.
"Then perhaps I should be honest with my heart as well."
"What's wrong with you?"
That wasn't the friend Luke knew.
"My core collapsed in this battle. Even if I return, I won't live long."
Melvin's voice trembled.
Luke knew something was wrong, but his exhausted body refused to move at all.
"But you are now the hero who slew the Demon Dragon. You'll return to your family and pass down your new secret technique, won't you?"
A bitter smile formed on his lips.
"Luke, my friend. The world called me a hero and a Sword Saint. I too thought I was such a man."
"Y-…you can't mean…?"
"But thanks to you, I realized. I was neither hero nor Sword Saint."
Melvin snatched the sword from Luke's hand.
Resistance was meaningless from Luke, whose strength had already left him.
"The moment you made the twelfth snowflake of the Snow Wind Sword bloom, do you know what the first emotion I felt was?"
The sword drew closer.
"It was fear."
The sword that had pierced the Demon Dragon's heart now aimed at Luke's heart.
"Luke, I am afraid. I am afraid that your family will overtake mine."
Melvin screamed as if deranged.
"I am afraid of falling behind!"
Puwook-!
And that sword dug into Luke's heart.
"Kuaaaaaack!"
A scream burst from Luke's mouth.
But there was no one to hear that scream.
Except for the bastard he had thought was his friend until moments ago.
"I'm sorry, Luke. I'm truly sorry."
Tears began to fall from Melvin's eyes.
To Luke's eyes, that was even more horrifying.
"I will repay this debt in the afterlife. So for now, just die like this—for me."
Luke couldn't respond to such bullshit.
His throat was already filled with blood, so he could only make gurgling sounds.
"You…… bast……"
Luke's vision gradually blurred.
The continent's second strongest swordsman, and the hero who had slain the Demon Dragon.
For the death of such a man, it was a far too miserable end.