7. The Lower-Year Ranking Decider (2)
No. 3 closed the distance in an instant and thrust out her sword.
It was a swift sword strike of vicious speed, but Jaden blocked it simply by bringing his sword down.
It was a simple sword path, but precisely because it was simple, the downward slash carried all his strength. When it met the thrust head-on, a small shockwave burst out.
It had been created by two second-stage swordsmen, beings who had surpassed ordinary humans, clashing with all their might.
But if that were all, there would have been no reason for a shockwave of this degree to erupt.
“Insane……”
“They’re already at that level?”
A faint blue haze rose from both their swords.
It meant that, incomplete though it was, mana had condensed there.
Though it was so weak that it could hardly be compared to the complete manifestation of mana at the third stage, they had still managed to imbue their swords with mana.
That was no different from saying mana had accumulated throughout every part of their bodies.
“As expected…… you achieved it too.”
It was a realm only those who had reached the end of the second stage could attain.
“There are only a few months left…… We have to beat the third-years.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
At Jaden’s words, No. 3 gave a small nod as if in agreement, then moved again.
For a brief instant, an illusion appeared and vanished from her sword moving at tremendous speed, as though dozens of blades were thrusting in at once.
Since she had not reached the third stage, she could not create true afterimages, but with incredible speed and haze-like mana, she had imitated them, if only for a moment.
‘Galaxy Meteor Sword?’
The moment Jaden thought of the Divine Sword Clan’s Galaxy Meteor Sword, his expression hardened and he swung his sword like mad.
All he was doing was swinging his sword quickly and simply, but the basic sword forms he had practiced for so long that they moved like part of his own body struck away every one of No. 3’s attacks with flawless posture.
‘If it hadn’t been for the crow-tit, today would have been difficult.’
Every time he trained, the crow-tit helped with recovery and the circulation of mana, and thanks to that, his mana circuits themselves had expanded considerably. At the same time, he had also been able to accumulate a great deal of mana, which was why he could hold out like this.
Even now, as he knocked away thrusts coming in from blind spots, he could feel chunks of mana being shaved away in an instant.
After repeating that several times, his mana had already decreased quite a bit.
“You won’t win if all you do is defend.”
“I was just about to attack.”
At No. 3’s words, as though he had been waiting for an opportunity, Jaden deflected the sword thrusting straight toward him with his own and drove in along No. 3’s blade.
“Kgh!”
Though flustered by Jaden’s attack slipping through an opening, No. 3 repelled him with powerful mana and widened the distance.
Then, as if he would absolutely not let this chance slip by, Jaden’s attacks continued.
“He’s experienced.”
“Seriously. He knocked away all that monstrous swordplay and stabbed right into an opening.”
Watching the duel, the children analyzed their swordsmanship in their own way.
No. 3’s swordsmanship was a swift sword, while No. 13’s was basic swordsmanship.
But with seasoned technique, he overcame the limits of his swordsmanship.
Moreover, once No. 13 began attacking, the Imperial Basic Sword Forms he had learned from the knights started to manifest.
In any case, the foundation of all swordsmanship began with basic swordsmanship.
As the basic sword forms, developed from those fundamentals, sealed off every direction and pressed No. 3 in, even the mighty No. 3 had no choice but to struggle.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!
“Monster.”
“That’s crazy.”
She shook off the pressure that would have made them cry surrender on the spot, unleashing dozens of thrusts in every direction to break free from Jaden’s suppression.
Having pushed back Jaden’s sword in succession and relieved the pressure, No. 3’s eyes flashed as she attacked again.
But as if his battlefield-hardened experience had not gone anywhere, Jaden deflected No. 3’s rapidly approaching attacks. Minimizing his mana consumption, he pressured No. 3 once more, and she faltered as her momentum broke.
She, too, was forcing herself to unfold her sword art.
High-level sword arts contained profound principles, so their power could increase as one’s realm rose, but conversely, they were taxing sword techniques for those at a low realm.
As if proving that, No. 3’s arms gradually began to tremble.
No matter how talented she was, she was still a greenhorn who had not even entered the third stage yet.
In the end, No. 3’s sword was knocked away by Jaden’s sword, swung with perfect posture.
“I lost.”
When No. 3 admitted defeat, Jaden gave a light nod.
Then she bit her lip for a moment as if frustrated, said they should fight again next time, and disappeared.
‘Talent to this degree…… Just who is she?’
Although in his previous life he had been toyed with by the imperial family, he had not climbed to that position for free.
He had made his share of achievements on countless battlefields, and in the process, he had personally witnessed the swordsmanship of those called geniuses and masters dozens of times.
Yet until the very end, there had not been a single person like No. 3.
‘She seems connected to the Divine Sword Clan…….’
It was swordsmanship he had seen a few times in his previous life. No matter how poor his eye was, he could definitely distinguish at least the basics of the Galaxy Meteor Sword.
After all, it was a top-tier sword art comparable to the Lion Sword Forms.
Since they were the basic forms of the Galaxy Meteor Sword, they could be learned even in the regular military, but No. 3’s swordsmanship had too much skill fused into it to say she had learned it from the military.
‘Well, it doesn’t matter.’
In any case, it had nothing to do with him.
What he had to do now was graduate early from the academy, so even running toward that single goal was not enough.
With that, Jaden sorted out his thoughts and raised his sword again.
Then the children looked at Jaden with strange expressions.
The unofficial strongest among the first-years, No. 3 and No. 13, had finally settled things, and contrary to expectations, No. 13 had won.
‘No. 3 was a monster too, but…….’
They had felt it when he first fought monsters as well, but No. 13 possessed a seasoned quality that someone his age could never have.
Moreover, their impression of the Imperial Basic Sword Forms, which they had been training in until now while secretly looking down on them, had completely changed.
It was because they had personally witnessed the terror of those basic sword forms as they broke through all of No. 3’s fearsome swift sword strikes and drove her into a corner.
When the knights used them, they had thought it was simply because of the difference in realm, but the basic sword forms that pressed forward while drawing perfect sword paths were an entirely different sword art.
After that day, among the first-years, the sight of them sparring with each other began to be seen from time to time.
Because the academy did not permit official ranking matches, during personal training time, they secretly decided their order among themselves and held ranking matches.
They began sparring in order to sort out the rankings among themselves, excluding the monstrous No. 13 and No. 3, and although the professors knew this as well, they deliberately pretended not to and let it pass.
After several months passed like that, the rankings within the first-years had been settled to some extent.
Except for No. 13, No. 3, No. 1, and No. 2, the rankings changed every time, but in the larger framework, the hierarchy ultimately did not change.
Up to No. 30, their rankings shifted among themselves, but they rarely fell below that, and the same was true for those up to No. 100. Rather, the ones who fought bloody battles were the numbers below them.
From the 100s to No. 300, the rankings changed so often that they fluctuated every time.
“No. 180, you were ranked 102nd last time, so are you going to spar with someone in the top 100 today?”
“I dropped. I’m 137th.”
“Ah…… was that it? The rankings change every time, so I’m starting to get confused.”
Jaden gave No. 180 an apologetic look.
In truth, there were too many students up to No. 300, and because the rankings changed every time, it was not easy to memorize them.
The only reason he had at least memorized a few numbers was that several students, including No. 180, came to him every time asking him to teach them some know-how.
Thanks to that, he was able to become quite close with a few students, including No. 1 and No. 180.
For reference, No. 2 had made himself a leader and formed a faction, while No. 3, surprisingly, had gathered the female students and was getting along well with them.
Judging by how she acted toward him, she seemed like the type to go around alone, but unexpectedly, her sociability did not seem bad.
“The lower-year ranking decider is coming up soon, right?”
“Yeah, they say it’ll start with the second-years.”
At Jaden’s words, a student nearby, who seemed to have heard something, told him.
It was a system where first, the second-years and third-years fought to determine the rankings, and once that was done, the third-year students who had fallen and the remaining second-year students would face the first-years.
If they fought one by one in order, it would take too long, so at first, those with the same number would fight each other; if they lost, they would gradually move down, and if they won, they would move up.
Win or lose, at first one’s rank would shift by fifty places at a time, and every time the number of spars exceeded ten, that amount would be reduced by ten places.
It was a system in which they continued sparring while gradually narrowing the range of fluctuation, and naturally, it was bound to take a great deal of time.
Even so, they proceeded this way to prevent anyone from feeling unfairly treated and to assess the students accurately.
Perhaps because the lower-year ranking tournament had drawn so near, tension hung among the first-year students.
And understandably so, for there would undoubtedly be people who fell behind, and if that happened, they would have no choice but to part ways.
Though their average level had reached that of the second years, there were inevitably students who fell short of that level, and in the end, they would have no choice but to drop out at this line.
The students were clearly aware of it as well.
That if they somehow clung to this line and kept following along, they too would be able to grow stronger.
This path was a radiant road that only elites could walk.
That was why they trained all the more desperately, and the more they did, the stronger they became.
While everyone was charging ahead with only the lower-year ranking tournament in sight, the ranking tournament between the second and third years finally began.
The second years, too, had felt a sense of crisis because of the first years and had prepared like mad, so they had a certain confidence of their own.
And that confidence began to be shattered miserably the moment the ranking matches started.
Because just as the second years had prepared, the third years had also prepared diligently.
If the second years had started training out of a sense of crisis toward the first years, the third years had begun striving because of the second years.
Thus, the gap between the two did not narrow.
At their young age, the gap of a single year was not easy to close.
Unless one possessed truly exceptional talent, that gap was not something that could be narrowed so easily. And as if to prove it, the second-year students began dropping to their knees one by one.
Even the top second-year student failed to surpass the third years and fell to his knees.
“Not much to it.”
The third-year No. 1 said, looking at the top second-year student as if utterly unimpressed.
The top second-year student, who had once again lost to the student who had taken the top spot back when they were freshmen, lowered his head.
Unlike most of those who had skipped a grade as freshmen and remained in the lower ranks of the third years, this guy had eventually seized the No. 1 seat among the third years.
‘He really is impressive.’
He was the one who had defeated him, but he had no choice but to acknowledge his talent.
That was how difficult skipping a grade was, and even the current top third-year, a genius, had not managed a double promotion.
“Hey.”
“……Yeah.”
“Is the top first-year really that strong?”
They were the same age and had entered as freshmen together, but at the question from someone one year above him, the top second-year student nodded with a bitter expression.
“Sounds fun. I hope he hurries up and comes up so I can have a match with him.”
The third-year student, formerly one of the elite freshmen and now firmly seated in first place, smiled like a mischievous brat, as if he found it amusing.
“It’d be a problem if he’s as boring as you…… He’ll be better than you, right?”
At the third-year student’s words, the top second-year student gave a bitter smile.
“Well…… you’d have to be strong enough to beat down trash like you to be called a genius.”
At the third-year student’s words mocking him, the top second-year student thought to himself.
‘You’ll get crushed too.’
Thinking that, the top second-year student prepared for his next match. If he had grown even stronger than what he had seen back then, then at the very least, he should be more than capable of crushing the guy who had beaten him.