Chapter 19. 10. I Think He's a Genius
Smack!
"Ugh!"
"Hmm, seems I chose the wrong sparring partner."
He's much stronger than I thought. The swordsmanship professor Karen muttered. Freckles rubbed his sore hand, his face flushed red. He had just failed to receive Lumian's strike and dropped his wooden sword.
However, he didn't look resentful at all. He hurriedly greeted the professor and returned among the children, then scanned faces to nominate a new sparring partner.
'That child should be a decent match.'
"Kahal Bratan! Come forward."
"......Yes."
The second one called was Kahal Bratan, the leader of the big guy family. Like Freckles, he also wore a haggard expression and slowly stepped forward.
He looked at Lumian with a thoroughly frightened expression.
He couldn't even muster the courage to face him.
'Damn it, if it were last year, I would've played with him for a while and then let him win......'
But this year's Lumian was different.
The guy who had changed as if he'd become a different person was scary and burdensome. The big guy had already lost before even crossing swords.
Smack!
"Kugh!"
"......I chose the wrong partner again this time."
Professor Karen muttered again. This time she was even more surprised than in the first match.
Because Lumian's skill was far exceeding her expectations.
Of course, the sparring partners Rak and Kahal Bratan both looked to be in very poor condition, but separately from that, Lumian's swordsmanship was incredibly clean.
Unwavering and heavy. And fast.
It was good enough for him to go somewhere and brag that he learned from her. A faint smile spread across the professor's lips.
'After causing trouble all year, he's made tremendous progress!'
Of course, it's too early to praise him now. She hadn't fully grasped Lumian's skill yet.
She moved her eyes again to search for a suitable opponent, and the students lowered their heads to avoid her gaze.
'I don't know how strong he's become, but if I step forward and lose......'
'I'd rather lose fighting Teoro, I don't want to fight the current Lumian.'
'I probably won't lose, but just in case......'
All the upper-ranking students in the class had similar thoughts.
But Lumian's mind was the exact opposite of theirs.
He wanted to fight a decent opponent as soon as possible.
'Freckles and the big guy weren't satisfying.'
Winning against guys who were trembling nervously wasn't cool at all.
Still, he needed to show a brilliant performance against someone with decent skill and recognition to properly announce his abilities.
Lumian looked at the children with the eyes of a hawk hunting prey, and the upper-ranking students in the class, while disapproving of such Lumian, couldn't easily volunteer for sparring.
But not everyone was avoiding Lumian.
The owner of a cold impression who always maintained an expressionless face.
Teoro Shutgarne raised his hand slightly and spoke.
"Professor. If possible, I would like to compete with Lumian."
"Teoro!"
"......!"
"Hmm. Very well."
The professor's permission was given, and exclamations burst from here and there.
To think that he, who vied for second place in the grade, would volunteer. The children expressed surprised reactions one by one at this unexpected situation.
"What's with Teoro? He never stepped forward unless told to."
"Isn't he curious? Honestly, you're curious too, about how strong Lumian is."
"Well, I am a bit curious. Actually, I was thinking about going out myself, but Teoro beat me to it."
"Me too. Well, since Teoro went first, it's a shame."
Children saying things they didn't mean.
And all of them believed in Teoro's victory without a doubt.
It was natural. Teoro Shutgarne was a skilled person that even upper-ranking seniors in the third year found difficult.
But that was only the thoughts of those who didn't know the circumstances.
Teoro's mind was completely different.
'I can't win.'
Teoro thought as he received the wooden sword.
It may seem like he's starting from a losing position, but this is an undeniable fact.
The enormous amount of aura Lumian showed when facing Boomer, and the aura manipulation ability that was even more amazing than that.
Thinking about that, it was true that his will to win disappeared.
But ironically, his fighting spirit didn't diminish at all. Rather, like faintly burning charcoal, his heart was being heated up.
'If I cross swords with him...... there will definitely be something to gain.'
Teoro looked at Lumian with blazing eyes.
Taking his stance, he spoke in a serious tone.
"Please take care of me."
"......"
Lumian wore a complicated expression.
He had been constantly thinking only about 'how to defeat the opponent in a cool way.'
Then suddenly Teoro intervened, and was burning with enthusiasm on his own, so from Lumian's standpoint, it was truly embarrassing.
'Today isn't the day for this, I'd rather ask separately.'
Of course, he didn't dislike Teoro's appearance like this.
From a veteran knight's perspective, there was nothing more pleasant than a knight aspirant being active in learning.
Lumian wasn't stingy with teaching, so it was even more so. In fact, numerous knights of Zenas gained enlightenment through sparring with him and showed remarkable growth.
A faint smile appeared on Lumian's face.
'If the grade's second place loses to a guy who was a failing student until last year, it would be quite embarrassing......'
He really liked Teoro who stepped forward despite accepting that.
If he didn't respond to his enthusiasm, he wouldn't be a proper knight.
'I'll do as you wish.'
Having made up his mind, Lumian also took his stance.
Professor Karen, confirming that both students were ready, announced the start of the sparring with a powerful voice. At the same time, their swords shot toward each other.
Whish!
Sweeek!
Teoro Shutgarne versus Lumian Callad.
The moment the fight between Class E's top honor student and underachiever, two people who seemed completely mismatched, began.
***
20 minutes passed.
A short time that would be tight even for a simple meal, but 20 minutes when competing in swordsmanship was never like that. Continuously attacking, defending, and evading while holding a heavy sword was not an easy task even for decent soldiers.
Moreover, if the opponent was the academy's top prospect, Teoro Shutgarne, it would be even harder. Just having held on until now, Lumian could be said to have done his part sufficiently.
However, what Lumian showed in front of the students was not just that much.
Swish!
Smack!
Squeek!
Lumian's sword dug in at sharp angles. It wasn't just once. Like the heavy rain pouring in summer, his attacks continued without stopping.
Sweat beads flowed down Teoro's forehead. His movements of avoiding, blocking, and avoiding again were undoubtedly as beautiful as Lumian's attacks.
But who was advantageous and who was disadvantageous was clear.
Surprised voices flowed from the mouths of Class E students.
"Teoro is......"
"Being pushed back?"
"And one-sidedly at that......"
It was an unbelievable thing. Some of the children even pinched their cheeks to check if they were dreaming.
Of course, they didn't wake up from a dream. This was reality.
The eternal last place of the Knight Academy, Class E's disgrace Lumian was overwhelming the grade's second place Teoro!
The students fell into shock. Especially a few upper-ranking children who thought Lumian was below them were showing reactions close to astonishment.
But the person who was much more surprised than them was someone else.
It was none other than Karen, the swordsmanship professor who presided over the sparring and an official knight of Tarazan.
'This is...... not a simple sparring!'
Who had better skill, which side was disadvantageous or advantageous, anyone could tell. No matter how terrible eyes one had, anyone could distinguish who was more tired and struggling.
If a slight insight was added, one could understand the sparring situation more specifically.
Actually, the upper-ranking students noticed how Lumian occupied the advantageous position.
'He noticed Teoro's weakness in lower defense from the middle of the sparring, and after that, he persistently targeted only that area!'
It was a thought close to the correct answer.
Indeed, Teoro was showing difficulty with lower defense, and Lumian was cruelly targeting that part repeatedly.
But that repeated lower attack was not a desperate ploy to lead the sparring to victory...... but just an action to train the weakness.
That Lumian was going easy on Teoro and adjusting his power appropriately, the students didn't notice.
To notice that, the difference in skill between Lumian and the students was too great.
'How can such a thing happen!'
Professor Karen couldn't close her open mouth.
When Teoro seemed to adapt to one pattern, Lumian immediately attacked the lower part in a different way.
When he adapted to that too, he increased the power, increased the speed. After overcoming even that, he mixed in slight deceptions to make the opponent even more troubled.
And all of that was working as a very valuable experience for Teoro.
'It looks even better than when I teach directly.'
Hehe, Professor Karen let out a hollow laugh.
It was beyond absurd, and no thoughts came to mind. He just blankly watched Lumian's 'instructional sparring' for a long time.
"Phew, I lost."
"Good work."
"You're the one who did the work. Phew, this is the first time I've had such a satisfying sparring."
'Of course. Whose instructional sparring is this?'
If he felt nothing after receiving instructional sparring from the one who raised the Knight King, there would be a problem.
Fortunately, Teoro was an excellent student who followed his intent 100 percent.
Lumian, feeling rewarded, smiled broadly.
At that time, Professor Karen's voice reached his ears.
"We'll end today's class here. And Lumian Callad, follow me."
"Yes, Professor."
'Seems he was quite surprised.'
Lumian answered politely and examined the professor's expression.
He seemed not just quite surprised, but enormously surprised.
Of course, he understood. A guy who was struggling enough to worry about repeating a grade until last year showed this much skill, so he couldn't help but be bewildered.
But what Lumian was curious about now wasn't the professor's reaction.
If it were another student, all their nerves would have been focused on the call of a current knight, but not him. There was something much more important remaining for Lumian.
Glance.
Before following the professor, his eyes swept over the students.
Accurately, he swept over the female students' expressions.
'Not bad reactions.'
Lumian, with a satisfied expression, followed behind Professor Karen.