Rumble!
The sky was densely covered with dark clouds, to the point where it wouldn't be surprising if it started pouring rain at any moment.
However, even if the dark clouds gathered and rain poured down, there would be no problem with the Colosseum.
"There shouldn't be any issue with continuing."
"With the amount of money invested, a few raindrops won't affect it."
As long as the formation was deployed, foreign substances couldn't enter its domain.
Unless lightning struck the Colosseum with all its might, there would be no issue.
Even in such ominous weather, the battle against the rock trolls continued. Although no one displayed the massive feats shown by the young lion of the North earlier, the crowd was still amazed.
"Everyone is quite impressive."
"There are a lot of talents this year."
Among the spectators, there were quite a few retired old knights, and their faces showed clear satisfaction as they watched the first-years' fierce struggle.
Although their capabilities were still lacking, their potential was undoubtedly like excellent golden eggs.
"Oh, is that the rumored unusual technique different from their aura method?"
"It's a one-shot technique, but its power is certainly good."
The 18 bear cubs generally received fresh evaluations.
They showed decent capabilities, proving that beating the mage in the War Game wasn't just a fluke.
Some fought better or worse than Barry Cops, but a fierce struggle is a fierce struggle.
Their unyielding posture was excellent.
And next after the bear cubs.
They were the cadets bestowed the name 'Young Master Zoran' by Yi Han, and the evaluation of them was...
Kwaaah!
-Oooooh!
Exclamations of admiration naturally erupted.
Since they learned high-tier aura methods, they were naturally strong, but it was quite an excellent level for their age.
No, beyond considerable, it was outstanding.
They could immediately join a small to medium-sized territory's knight order, and their skill was enough to instantly secure a position as a mid-upper rank knight.
"Amazing, for kids these days, they've learned the basics properly."
"Yes, that's how you do it. Training only in aura methods isn't a shortcut. It's important to diligently learn everything, one by one, with your utmost effort."
If the 18 bear cubs were still lacking in many ways and at the level of decent mid-upper rank mercenaries with much to learn, those guys were at least at the level of knight trainees with a purity uncharacteristic of noble scions these days.
A purity that knows how to strive uprightly without relying on shortcuts.
"Good!"
The old knights who lived in the era of the late king expressed their delight.
Convinced that those children would make a name for themselves before long.
Because if they strive so uprightly, they would make a name for themselves even if they didn't want to.
The old knights, feeling delighted to see knight trainees displaying upright skills after a long time, thought the surprises were over, but at the appearance of the next group, they had to hold back their astonishment.
Kwajik!
Kwuuung!
"...What are those guys?"
"This isn't first-year level. No, they could already choose any knight order and join right now."
"Was Young Master Lionel the only mutant? Hehe..."
Overwhelming the rock trolls...
No, seeing the three playing with them exactly, the old knights let out both admiration and groans at the trio, for whom even in their prime, it would have been hard to guarantee a victory.
"Was he called Kunta? The strength of the barbarian warriors once rampaged across the continent, and now I know why."
"Is he Duke Oppen's grandson? Hehe, as expected of the Sword Duke's family. That bloodline doesn't go anywhere."
"Mercenary King, that monster has finally raised one exactly like himself in his youth."
Far beyond the level of cadets.
They were no longer at a level to be taught, but talents who should become knights immediately.
If the young envy and feel depressed by the flash of their rough gems, the old nod their heads as they witness the vitality of youth.
The old knights knew that the level of young knights in the royal capital had been plummeting endlessly, but seeing so many excellent seeds among those who would take responsibility for the next generation, they were beside themselves with joy.
"Who taught those kids?"
Even as they said that, they knew how to face reality.
They wondered if there was anyone among the recent young ones who taught kids so faithfully to the basics yet in an 'un-aristocratic way'.
The reason they couldn't bring themselves to think that the swordsmanship department instructors made them that way wasn't because they were narrow-minded, but rather because of a lingering doubt born from the laziness of the tenured instructors.
As the old knights' thoughts deepened.
"Hmm?"
"...A cute child has come out?"
"Hehe, surely that child isn't trying to fight right now?"
They thought all the first-years had come out.
There were female cadets, but the young ladies who filled their grades with debates and other subjects mostly forfeited the final subject.
But no way.
"How bold."
"Hehe, vividly reminds me of Duke Oppen in the old days."
The female cadet who boldly stood on the stage.
Levi Fort drew her sword and stood proudly in front of the rock monster with her frail body.
* * *
"Phew!"
Levi Fort's heart trembled.
In Vulcan, her senior disciples hunted wild boars and gained experience by catching mutant bears during marches, but for the immature and unimpressive Levi at the time, participating in such hunts was impossible.
Even in the War Game the day before, the girl only gave instructions; in fact, she did nothing more than get a fork for a fully set table.
Yet, with so many people looking at her with strange expectations, Levi felt nothing but bewilderment and pressure.
Still.
'Coming out here was my choice.'
So even if she was scared, she couldn't run away.
Everyone tried to stop her choice.
'Isn't your grade already sufficient with other things?' and 'There will be another chance next time, so don't do it.'
There were many who tried to persuade her.
However, Levi Fort humbly accepted all her shortcomings and stood in this place.
'I must prove myself!'
Levi steadied her trembling and focused only on the cold grip of the rapier.
The girl, wearing light leather armor, gradually moved one hand back, slowly extended her front foot, turned her body sideways, and kept her gaze forward.
A sword stance that any noble child would basically learn.
Taking a posture well-known as the basic sword stance of striking points or fencing, the girl gripped her rapier firmly.
[GRR?]
The rock monster lowered its posture at the appearance of a much weaker opponent than expected.
Her momentum was so insignificant that it mistook her for a small animal like a rabbit.
However, Levi.
"Thank you for ignoring me."
Hoo-uk!
Stepping off with her foot in that exact posture, the rapier parted the wind.
An instantaneous shift of the center of gravity using *Gyeong* and the reinforcement of the sword.
And this rapier precisely...
Pu-uk!
[GRR!?]
Stabbed deeply into the rock monster's eye.
It accurately pierced into that minute pupil.
Just before the monster writhed in pain and violently thrashed about, Levi quickly retrieved her rapier and moved directly to the monster's left flank.
A movement technique as natural as flowing water.
It was a section that showed how hard she had practiced the basic steps until the leather of her shoes wore out.
"Phew, phew."
She bought time to catch her breath.
Fortunately, since she moved to the side where she stabbed the eye, it would be difficult for it to find her.
Because the only weakness of the rock monster was its narrow field of vision and faint senses.
Levi accurately pierced the clumsy points of the artificial monster.
However, letting one's guard down was strictly forbidden.
Kwaaang!
'It's regenerating after all.'
The monster, whose eye was rapidly regenerated and restored to its original state, chased the girl.
Unlike its earlier carelessness, its expression was now rampant with rage.
But the girl was clever and knew how to keep her cool.
As if remembering Arno's advice.
'Sir Arno said so, if our 108 Arhats maintain a calm perspective and watch for opportunities, we can have an excellent match.'
Just as he said.
Maintaining her calm, she could see.
That this monster was indeed made artificially.
Compared to wild beasts, it was no different from a model.
However, she wasn't confident if she could truly beat that monster with her weak physical strength and clumsy swordsmanship.
A tiny anxiety surged up, making her heart tremble once again, but...
— Wake up!
Flinch!
The instructor's, her master's, roar echoing in her mind snapped her wide awake.
— The best defense is offense, and the best offense is swinging your sword while looking a step ahead of your opponent. That swordsmanship like fencing that nobles learn as basic etiquette was originally a swordsmanship created on the battlefield. So as long as the swordsman's capability supports it, it can be a powerful swordsmanship.
'Yes. I understand.'
Although it was merely a shout echoing in her mind, Levi followed it faithfully.
Just as the instructor said, even if it was clumsy, the swordsmanship she learned wasn't just weak.
The original name of the sparring sword that was the origin of fencing was Escrime.
It was a swordsmanship that simultaneously contained the meaning of defense and attack, and even now, there were those who were praised as masters of the sword just by learning Escrime.
— Anyway, the basics of all swordsmanship lie in thrusting, slashing, parrying, and striking. So just remember one thing. That you will unconditionally obliterate your opponent.
'Yes, Master.'
Hoo-uk!
Levi was an honor student.
Because she didn't forget her master's teachings and knew how to put them into practice.
The girl used the same tactics and continued to attack the monster.
Sometimes stabbing its eyes, watching for gaps, striking its jaw, neck, and ankles with the blade of her sword, and slashing again.
If it seemed dangerous, she would evade and take a defensive stance.
The important thing here was that she only mixed in *Gyeong* appropriately when executing an attack to amplify its power, and absolutely must not use *Gyeong* for evading or other movements.
'I need to preserve my stamina!'
Levi repeatedly responded while observing her overall stamina distribution and the monster's condition.
Anyway, it was an artificial monster with nothing but instincts.
Toying with it was an easy task.
What was needed, however, was the boldness and steadfastness to stand in front of the monster.
And Levi had.
'I can do it!'
That boldness and steadfastness, that thing called guts.
It was just something her master had beaten into her through cramming, but even if it was crammed, it was a disciple's duty to put it into practice.
Levi Fort, even if she fell and got exhausted, persistently charged in, and finally...
Kwuuung...
"Haaak, haaah...!"
39 minutes 59 seconds.
It was the time it took for the girl to be the first, and the only one, to defeat the monster.
* * *
"........."
Silence filled the air.
The astonishment that unfolded because no one had predicted Levi's victory slowly spread around.
No, it wasn't just her peers, but probably everyone watching the stage hadn't predicted this situation.
Although that victory was merely the monster collapsing on its own after the power of the blood that made it up ran out, no one gave a narrow-minded evaluation.
Because belittling a swordsman who had tried her utmost and was battered all over was something even a total idiot wouldn't do.
"That girl, she's amazing. Isn't she, young master?"
"...Yes, she's valiant. She definitely has talent."
"Bear girl, her body is weak, but she has a good head. And she has a warrior's heart. That's why she won."
"Warrior's heart?"
"In our tribe, we always respected those who had a warrior's heart even if they lacked talent. Those with a warrior's heart always became great warriors."
Bone structure, talent, ability, etc.
If one had these things, their learning would certainly be fast, but even so, very few became warriors in the true sense.
Because there were only a few who could actually execute excellent swordsmanship on the stage of real combat.
In that sense, Levi Fort was excellent.
Because she couldn't be anyone other than someone with a warrior's heart and a valiant will.
Therefore, the praise Kunta just spat out was the highest compliment a barbarian could give to another.
"The bear girl will grow strong. Maybe even stronger than Kunta."
"...It means I shouldn't let my guard down just because I'm stronger than her right now. I understand well."
The valiance the girl showed was more valuable than the sword aura Roen had shown earlier.
Everyone watched the girl with serious expressions, and gradually, cheers poured out for her.
Although it took more time than anyone else, it was an honorable and excellent...
Yes, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a brave knight's duel.
She was worthy of the cheers.
"Ah...."
Levi was still panting heavily and her whole body was drooping, but involuntarily her head was lifted in the face of the passionate cheers pouring toward her.
'What happened?'
It still didn't feel real.
She just swung her rapier in a state of selflessness, repeatedly thrusting and retreating like a coward.
But at some point, the monster stopped moving, and she slumped down as well.
So it didn't feel real.
She didn't know if someone like her really defeated that monster, or even how she fought back against a monster ten times bigger than her.
It felt like her mind had become a blank slate.
But the sound of applause, the passionate cheers for her, forcibly awakened her to reality.
"I... won..."
She won.
Done entirely on her own, literally the first victory of her life.
...Ulk!
Levi Fort's eyes welled up with tears.
How could she express this overwhelming emotion?
Even the two words, a sense of accomplishment and thrill, would hardly be able to express all the emotions she felt right now.
And she realized.
Now, in this place. That she had truly broken the shell that enveloped her.
That she had become a swordsman in the true sense.
"Uwaaaah!"
The girl, unable to contain her joy, opened her arms wide, raised them high to the sky, and shouted like a scream.
—Waaaaah!!
The spectators who saw this looked on with delight, thinking she was doing a victory performance.
Isn't it excellent showmanship?
It was a misunderstanding, and it was a moment that would create a dark history where Levi, whenever she tried to sleep later after coming to her senses, would kick her blanket in shame and mortification, but right now, she didn't care about anything.
She was just conveying the roar of joy.
As Levi looked up at the sky and poured out her joy—
"—Huh?"
—Her complexion immediately turned pale.
Huuuuung!
......What is that?
Levi Fort stared blankly up at it for a moment, but her daze was only brief.
Saaaah!
An unknown chill welled up, and terror engulfed the girl.
Rumble—!
Dark clouds.
The dark clouds that had been looking down at the ground suddenly began to rotate dynamically.
The dark clouds forming a circle like a whirlpool gradually widened in the center.
"What is that..."
"...."
Starting with Levi's reaction, the number of people who read the ominous movement of the dark clouds gradually increased, and without anyone having to say it first, everyone looking up at the sky saw the same sight and felt the same chill.
The center of the dark clouds that brought deep fear, resembling pitch-black darkness.
And from within that dark space.
Swoosh!!
The [Hand of the Giant] appeared.
"!!!!?"
...People couldn't even scream.
An unidentified arm that suddenly appeared.
It was excessively large, and excessively horrifying.
Thus, it was terrifying, and it even took away their will to escape.
The emergence of a being that showed it was impossible to resist and even impossible to run away from sometimes paralyzed a person's crisis instincts entirely.
"R-Run..."
Levi Fort, who hastily stood up, wanted to scream for them to run away, but her voice wouldn't even come out properly.
She was already in a state where all her stamina was exhausted, and a monster of that size was falling from the sky.
It was slowly coming out, but the ominous aura emanating from the monster's arm made her body unable to move an inch.
*Fear*.
An aura that large beasts and monsters innately emit.
It naturally instills fear in creatures and paralyzes their bodies.
For fragile humans, they couldn't even dare to think of resisting that.
Death approaches.
It was the only thought people could conjure up right now, and they didn't even see their lives flashing before their eyes.
Only the dark shadow that grew thicker as the arm approached covered them.
Drip.
"Ah...."
At some point, tears flowed from Levi's eyes.
In the face of the fear of death where even resistance was impossible, a person could only shed futile tears, and Levi hung her head.
The day of victory she considered the greatest moment of her life.
She felt emptiness and sorrow that the day of victory was dyed in despair in an instant.
...But why.
Shring.
"Why am I holding my sword?"
In the final moment of her life.
Levi discovered herself still drawing her sword and wanted to find the answer along with her question.
Why she was drawing her sword.
......The girl was curious.
"—That's called struggling, and there's no reason for a person to struggle to live, bear girl."
"!!"
An answer that solved her question was heard, and Levi suddenly opened her eyes wide and looked in the direction the voice came from.
There was.
"I'll praise you for holding your sword until the end, and I'll give you a top score, Cadet Levi Fort."
"Aah!!"
There was the most reliable master on the continent as far as the girl knew, and Levi Fort unknowingly felt relieved and cried again.
Tears of relief different from the despairing tears just a moment ago.
"A grown girl crying."
He scolded the crying girl but smiled warmly at her.
Feeling impressed by the girl who didn't give up until the end.
But this was only for a moment.
As he looked up at the sky.
"—Did you make our bear girl cry?"
Yi Han, he growled and strongly kicked the 600kg log spear floating in the air by his psychokinetic slave.
Kwung—!
With all his might.
—*Guanri Spear* (貫日槍).
Although it might not be able to pierce the sun, a ballista that could easily pierce a fortress wall was shot into the sky.