Chapter 22

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on January 22, 2025

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(1)

1.

The dawn had not yet broken.

Ivella had secretly slipped out of the dormitory.

Perhaps because she had woken up earlier than expected, or perhaps because she felt inexplicably suffocated, she couldn’t stay still.

Whether it was good luck or bad, her roommate, who was supposed to share the room with her, had been hospitalized due to worsening health.

As a result, Ivella could use the room alone for the time being, and she managed to leave the dormitory without anyone noticing.

Whoosh! Hooong!

The sound of the wind in the deserted forest.

It was the sound of a wooden sword cutting through the air.

Whenever she felt angry or frustrated, she would always swing her sword. It seemed to calm her down.

“Hoo.”

But today was different.

No matter how much she swung her sword, the suffocating feeling wouldn’t go away. No, in fact, this wasn’t just a problem for today.

‘Why is this happening?’

Ivella, who had been swinging her sword every morning, suddenly felt like she had hit a wall.

How should she describe it?

It felt like a huge boulder had suddenly fallen on the path she had been walking on so far. So she couldn’t move forward anymore.

‘I want to overcome it somehow······.’

But it wasn’t easy.

The wall was high, and the boulder was big.

But if she put down her sword, she felt even more suffocated, so she had no choice but to keep swinging it.

But at that moment.

Thud! Kooong!

The ground shook not far away.

Soon, she felt a presence. Someone was approaching. Moments later, the faintly visible figure was quite bizarre.

The body was slightly larger than a human’s, but the arms were excessively long. Like logs.

‘What is that?’

Surely it couldn’t be a monster?

Suddenly, she had such a thought, but she quickly shook her head. There was no way a monster would appear near the Academy, let alone near the dormitory.

But you never know with the world.

Ivella gripped her wooden sword tightly, just in case. And at that moment, someone pushed through the bushes and revealed themselves.

“······Huh?”

To cut to the chase, it wasn’t a monster.

It was just a young man with his upper body completely bare, carrying a large log on each shoulder.

The moment she faced him.

Ivella realized who he was.

“Ah! You are······.”

The barbarian warrior she had seen during the Great Duel exam.

The top scorer who passed the entrance exam.

It was Ulan.

2.

After jumping out of the dormitory window.

Ulan had planned to just take a walk and then return. But as he walked, he felt like running, and as he ran, his body started to itch.

‘I’ll just do some strength training and then go back.’

Right after making that decision.

He pulled out two moderately thick trees and turned them into logs. Then he carried one on each shoulder and ran.

That’s how he ended up running into Ivella.

After a while of silently staring at each other.

Ulan was the first to speak.

“Are you okay?”

“······Huh, yes?”

“You’re bleeding from your nose.”

At those words, Ivella was startled.

It wasn’t a nosebleed. She realized that, without even knowing it, she had been staring at his body as if entranced.

His muscular body drenched in sweat.

His firm chest, arms thicker than her waist, and even his perfectly sculpted abs.

To just walk around showing off a body like that.

It was too much stimulation.

Ivella hurriedly averted her gaze.

A moment later, after the nosebleed finally stopped, Ulan spoke again.

“It’s good to focus on swordsmanship, but don’t forget to take care of your health.”

“I, I will.”

Thankfully, he didn’t notice her gaze.

After letting out a sigh of relief.

“Um, by the way······.”

Ivella glanced at Ulan.

His firm muscles were one thing, but there was something else she wanted to ask. It was the logs he was carrying on his shoulders.

“What are you doing right now?”

“Strength training.”

A blunt answer came back.

It certainly looked like it would help with strength. Of course, only for Ulan. If an ordinary person tried that, they’d just get crushed.

Perhaps because of the repeated glances?

Ulan narrowed his eyes as if on guard.

“I can’t give these to you.”

“Huh?”

“If you need them, make your own.”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t need them.”

Did he think she was going to ask for the logs?

So she shook her head, and Ulan, seemingly relieved, turned his body.

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Finish your swordsmanship practice.”

After answering, Ulan turned around.

At that moment, a thought suddenly occurred to her.

If Ulan, who was much stronger than her, knew a way to break through this suffocating wall, wouldn’t he?

Ivella hurriedly called out to him.

Like grasping at straws.

“Um, excuse me······!”

“······?”

“Um, did you see it?”

“See what?”

“My swordsmanship.”

Of course, he had seen it.

Ulan had good eyesight.

“I saw it.”

“How was it?”

“It looked like dancing.”

The moment Ulan answered.

Ivella was startled.

‘Huh, how did he know?’

As he said, this was a sword dance passed down through the Count Deorg family. A sword dance (劍舞) used to liven up banquets.

The only swordsmanship she had received from her family.

‘They probably meant for me to not waste time holding a sword and just dance at banquets······.’

But Ivella wasn’t satisfied with just the sword dance.

Although it originated as a dance, she had spent a long time and effort refining it.

And as a result, her sword dance had been reborn as a fairly powerful practical swordsmanship.

‘To think he could tell at a glance.’

He must be quite knowledgeable about swordsmanship.

After hesitating for a moment, she soon looked at Ulan with a determined expression. Just then, Ulan spoke first.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Ah, yes. It’s just that······.”

It seemed he had read her expression.

Pretending to be flustered, Ivella quickly composed herself. Then she spoke with a serious face.

“If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me if there’s anything I need to improve in my swordsmanship?”

“I don’t know swordsmanship.”

As soon as Ivella finished speaking.

Ulan firmly refused.

It might sound a bit cold, but there was no helping it. It was true that Ulan was a novice in swordsmanship.

A born warrior, Ulan.

He had learned to fight from birth, but he couldn’t teach anyone else.

Swordsmanship, archery, spearmanship, martial arts, etc.

While others had to learn these skills from someone, Ulan had naturally mastered and used them as easily as breathing.

So he couldn’t tell Ivella what needed to be fixed in her swordsmanship or how to improve it.

Perhaps because of this firm answer?

Her face darkened. Seeing this, Ulan moved his tightly closed lips.

“However······.”

There was one piece of advice he could give.

A piece of advice possible because they had once been comrades.

“If a short piece of advice is okay, I’ll give it.”

“Yes! That’s fine.”

Her expression brightened instantly.

As if she had never had a dark expression, Ivella’s face lit up. And Ulan immediately recalled memories of his past life.

When was it?

It must have been a night when he couldn’t sleep. Ulan, Ivella, and Delia had lit a campfire and chatted.

Meaningless topics and meaningless stories.

In the middle of it, this topic came up.

‘If you could talk to your younger self for just one minute, what would you say?’

Ulan answered that he wouldn’t let his brother die, and Delia said she would stop her younger brother from learning magic.

‘And Ivella······.’

She talked about her sword.

「Honestly, my family’s swordsmanship isn’t good enough to hold onto my talent. So if I ever get the chance, I’d tell myself to abandon my family’s swordsmanship first.」

Recalling her words at the time.

Ulan repeated them.

“First, abandon your family’s swordsmanship.”

“······Huh?”

“You have talent in swordsmanship. But your family’s swordsmanship isn’t good enough to hold onto that talent.”

Abandon her family’s swordsmanship?

Ivella made a strange expression.

Of course. To a noble family that valued honor and face, telling them to abandon their family’s swordsmanship was extremely rude.

If it had been Himel in this situation, he would have immediately challenged Ulan to a duel. Of course, Ivella didn’t care about her family, but it was still a sensitive statement.

‘To say something like that without hesitation······.’

Ivella was shocked.

Meanwhile, whether she was shocked or not, Ulan kept recalling memories of his past life.

「Next, I’d say you lack power in your sword. Your sword path has too many unnecessary movements, and your breathing is too long.」

“And you lack power.”

“Po, power?”

“Increase the power in your sword, and reduce the unnecessary movements. Also, shorten your breathing.”

This was quite practical advice.

Ivella engraved Ulan’s advice into her mind without missing a single word.

“Finally, find a swordsmanship that is uniquely yours, not your family’s. Then you’ll reach the level of a Master much sooner.”

“Ma, Master level?!”

Her turquoise eyes widened.

Of course, as someone walking the path of the sword, she had secretly set it as a goal, but she never thought it was realistically possible.

After all, in the Empire, there were only five knights who had reached the level of a Master.

‘And all five are from great noble families.’

Elites who had devoted themselves solely to swordsmanship with the immense support of their families.

On the other hand, Ivella was a lowly illegitimate child.

She had no support, and there was no stepping stone for her to climb.

Perhaps that’s why? She suddenly felt this way.

‘Is he making fun of me?’

Her delicate brow furrowed.

But she realized that wasn’t the case.

Because his eyes were too serious for it to be a joke.

“You can do it.”

“······.”

“You will definitely reach the level of a Master. The only variable on your path is timing.”

Ivella closed her mouth.

Seeing his eyes filled with strong conviction, she was momentarily speechless. Eyes that believed without a doubt that she would reach the level of a Master.

Under that strong belief, Ivella bowed her head.

It was the first time she had received such a gaze.

Not even when she was living with her mother as a child. Not even when she first entered the Count’s family, had she received such a gaze from anyone.

So she closed her mouth and lowered her head.

She didn’t know how to react. Thankfully, Ulan didn’t mind her reaction.

“That’s the end of my advice.”

After closing his mouth, Ulan turned around.

Then, carrying the logs again, he leisurely disappeared towards the male dormitory.

How long had it been?

Only after Ulan’s presence had completely disappeared did Ivella slowly raise her head.

Her cheeks slightly flushed. A dazed expression.

A moment later, as if possessed, she began to swing her sword. A sword dance different from before, infused with Ulan’s advice.

Putting a little more power into her sword.

Boldly cutting out any movements that felt slow or unnecessary.

And taking shorter breaths.

After a considerable amount of time had passed.

Her sword pierced through the air.

Swoosh!

A sword strike that shot out like a flash.

Looking at the sword that had extended straight without any hindrance, Ivella let out a breath she had been holding.

“Hoo, hoo!”

Her breathing had become rough.

Sweat droplets formed on her forehead and rolled down her chin.

She felt like she could collapse at any moment, but her mood was at its peak. It felt like the wall that had been suffocating her had been broken through.

“······Amazing.”

Just by changing a few things.

She had broken through so easily.

“He really is knowledgeable about swordsmanship.”

This wasn’t advice someone who didn’t know swordsmanship could give. To say he didn’t know swordsmanship despite this, he was being too humble.

“No wonder he was the top scorer.”

After expressing her honest thoughts.

Ivella’s cheeks flushed. The words she had heard from Ulan came back to her.

「You can do it.」

You will definitely reach the level of a Master.

Hearing those words, she felt her chest swell with emotion. It was the feeling of having her talent recognized by such a strong person.

“Hehe.”

Ivella’s mouth slightly opened.

A small laugh. Instead of a stiff expression, a bright smile bloomed on her lips, like any other girl her age.

Then she realized something belatedly.

“Ah, right. I forgot to introduce myself.”

Ivella knew Ulan’s name, but he didn’t know hers.

But there was no need to worry. Since they were now classmates, they would surely meet again someday. Ivella thought so.

“And let’s drop the formalities.”

For some reason, she had been overwhelmed by his experienced gaze and had spoken formally without realizing it, but upon reflection, there was no need for that.

At Arsen Academy, the entrance exam was only open to those under twenty. So, no matter how old he was, he was at most nineteen.

“I hope we can meet again.”

Next time, she wanted to properly introduce herself and thank him. Thanks to him, she had washed away her suffocating feelings and broken through the wall.

As she smiled again.

Suddenly, a voice echoed through the forest.

-This is an announcement from the Magic Department.

A businesslike voice that echoed loudly throughout the Academy. It was an internal broadcast.

-Ulan Bator, Delia Arpen. The two students are to report immediately to the 9th floor of the Magic Department’s main building, the Dean’s Office.

Ulan was suddenly called.

But Ivella paid more attention to the name called alongside Ulan.

‘Delia Arpen.’

The second-place scorer who passed the entrance exam after Ulan.

And one of the most famous freshmen this year, from what she had heard.

‘The top two being called.’

Are they going to give out some kind of award?