Chapter 263

My childhood dream of creating the ultimate swordsmanship.

I could find that romance in present-day Japan.

It was amazing to see how passionate people gathered to practice swordsmanship, and how they could develop it to such a level across generations.

It was a fleeting thought I had after watching a match of Kamikita Emika from back in the day.

However, there was a strange feeling when people in Japan showed great interest in my Unique Magic.

“Is it true that Miss Noname created that incredible magic?”

Just before the match began, Emika subtly asked me.

“It’s not really that amazing.”

“Not amazing? A first circle magic demonstrating such power is hard to find anywhere in the world! Not to mention the genius concept of using the ‘Arhen’ and ‘Hyprit’ runes in first circle magic.”

These people have done quite a bit of analysis.

While not every Unique Magic development works this way, finding the right runes has always been a challenge.

The difference between ‘discovering’ and ‘inventing’ magic depends on the perspective and viewpoint; generally, placing the runes first and then finding the corresponding appropriate magic is what is meant by ‘discovering’ magic.

For example, ‘Akashic Records’ or ‘Alchemist’ magic are such cases.

That’s why it’s possible to exist across eras, whether in past lives or this life.

On the other hand, ‘inventing’ refers to when a magic scholar designs the logical structure of magic with a clear purpose and places appropriate runes accordingly.

The lower the circle of magic, the less freedom it has, and it’s mostly the case that large syllable runes are not used.

In that sense, I was lucky to find ‘Arhen’ and ‘Hyprit.’

“I didn’t come to fight Miss Noname. If we can develop the magic called Adele further together—”

“I thought Kamikita-san was the quiet type, but you sure talk a lot. Were you just flapping your gums when you lost to a European back then too?”

As I tried to provoke her slightly, a fierce energy flickered in Emika’s eyes in an instant.

As expected, she still showed a weak side to such low-level provocation for someone so young.

“I joined the Katsuhata School when I was four, but I only received permission to wield a sword when I turned ten. I believe a smart girl like you understands what that means.”

Emika stepped her left foot forward and lifted her heel slightly off the ground.

At the same time, she bent her knees slightly and took a diagonal stance, raising her arms horizontally above her waist.

“Is it karate or something?”

Having trained for six years without a sword, she probably thought she could win with her eyes closed.

I took a coin from my pocket and placed it on my thumb.

It’s a good item to use as a starting signal when there is no referee.

“Kamakita Emika, I’ve always wanted to spar with geniuses who work hard like my sister.”

“…?”

“When faced with challenges that cannot be solved by effort or talent, I’m really curious to see how others respond.”

* * *

Ping—

The coin thrown by Noname sliced through the air, spinning rapidly.

The metal mass lost its battle against gravity and began to fall toward the cold floor.

Ping—

With a refreshing second sound resonating gently, Noname wrapped herself in aura and charged toward Emika like a beam of light.

In an instant, the distance between them narrowed.

“That stings!”

Noname extended her left leg as she charged forward.

‘Such obvious tricks won’t work.’

However, Emika’s eyes, following the movement, weren’t ordinary either.

Due to her solid guard stance, Noname’s foot blocked her left arm.

To make matters worse, Emika caught her ankle, preventing her kick.

‘If I pull her leg like this, I can destabilize the child’s center and pound down…’

Real battles are an extension of practice.

Emika attempted to replicate a mechanical response honed through abundant experience.

“Are you not going to concentrate?”

In the midst of all that, Noname’s voice pierced through her thoughts.

“Er?”

Noname’s body swiftly turned in mid-air.

The resistance from her leg vanished. It was due to the shift in her center of gravity.

Emika’s decision to not let go of the ankle until the end proved to be a miscalculation.

In her line of sight was the sole of Noname’s slipper.

Kwa-zzi-zi-zi-zi!

A disorienting noise echoed through the assembly hall.

It was the sound of Emika’s aura barrier shattering under excessive impact.

“What…?”

Perhaps due to her deeply crouched stance, Noname’s right foot struck her forehead directly.

An unorthodox spinning back kick.

In that brief moment, Noname abandoned reclaiming her leg and instead extended her opposite leg to press the assault.

Emika’s body leaned back unsteadily.

Sla-ack—

Before her back even hit the ground, Noname grabbed her by the scruff and slammed her down.

Bang—

“Ugh!”

A hard impact hit Emika’s back, and she let out a groan.

“Ah, that was a mistake… I instinctively slammed you down instead of catching you. Are you okay?”

Noname hurriedly released her grip on Emika’s collar, dusted off her hands, and stood up gracefully.

Emika, lying flat on her back, blinked her round eyes in disbelief.

‘Did I just lose my balance from one hit?’

For someone unarmed, rolling on the ground multiple times during a spar doesn’t matter at all.

But with a sword, one must maintain their stance no matter what happens.

That’s why, in Japan, they train the lower body for five or even ten years starting from a young age.

Noname did not sneak attack. Emika was not careless either.

Emika staggered and barely managed to rise from her position.

“How about it? I need to draw my sword, right?”

Noname smiled, her eye bags curling up.

But Emika couldn’t draw her sword.

Raising a sword against someone six years younger was itself a shameful act.

Moreover, acknowledging the recent moment of defeat was unacceptable to her pride.

“I think I understand now why someone with such outstanding talent lost.”

“Is it because of a lack of practice?”

“No. It’s because of too much practice.”

“…?”

Even in the post-match press conference, her master and other instructors stated that the defeat was due to insufficient practice.

But ‘too much practice’? What kind of nonsensical reasoning was that?

Noname shrugged her shoulders and explained the reason.

“Just now, I thought if you had anticipated my attack, you would have definitely won, right?”

“Well, of course…”

It’s hard to balance on one leg, but when both feet are off the ground, a person can no longer move.

Noname demonstrated her recently displayed technique and showcased her next move.

“There are still two arms left, right? Why do you think you can support your body only with your legs?”

Even if Emika were to take a kick that would crack her skull and didn’t release her legs, Noname would still be able to press the assault using both hands on the ground.

“It’s just like how both sword wielders are the same now as they were back then… Against whom did you mainly practice, sister?”

“Of course, with my seniors and instructors… Ah.”

“All of them must have been sword users.”

Even with the same level of skills, left-handed table tennis players have an advantage.

In reality, victories aren’t solely decided by stats like strength or agility.

“This is why prejudice is scary. I believe you unconsciously thought your turn would come after my attack ended. You’d have to recover your sword after all. But our bodies are not that simple.”

In fact, Emika was likely unable to fully exhibit her talent because she had trained under the assumption that her opponent was a swordsman.

“Victory depends on knowing yourself 50% and knowing your opponent 50%. You are practically 90 to 10 skewed.”

“Noname… are you really a genius?”

“This isn’t something only a genius could know. It’s just that various experiences allow you to grasp such facts.”

Noname glanced around and spotted the wooden sword that Emika had entered with at her waist.

It was a practice wooden sword, and it was even sheathed in a splendid scabbard.

Suppressing the urge to grab the back of her neck in disbelief, Noname said,

“Can I borrow this for a moment? I can use it however I want, right?”

“Ah, yes. I don’t mind.”

“Look, this sword— didn’t you hear that you should view the sword as your double?”

“In the Katsuhata School, we base our philosophy on the belief that ‘the sword is the essence’.”

“Wow, that’s quite arrogant thinking. Are you telling me that if you lose hold of the sword in a life-and-death match, you die? I mean, sure, the probability of death is 99%, hence the warning to treasure your sword, but it’s not actually like that. What would you do if your sword breaks or gets destroyed during a match?”

“My sword will never break.”

“So what if it did?”

“That’s impossible, Miss Noname.”

“Ha…”

Noname couldn’t hide her discomfort and let out a deep sigh.

‘Why is she being so obstinate when I’m just trying to give some advice?’

Noname infused her aura into the wooden sword.

Looking at the state of the wood, it seemed like it had been made a long time ago.

“Sister. There’s no such thing as absolute in this world. Let me show you right now.”

Every object has a limit to how much aura it can contain.

Humans evolved to possess aura hearts because the other organs couldn’t hold the aura being generated.

If an aura exceeds the limit, it starts to emit color and spread out, or even explode, which is the phenomenon commonly referred to as ‘sword energy.’

‘But what if I try to put in more than that?’

Overconcentrated potential energy creates a ‘contradiction.’

Noname intended to pour all her aura into the wooden sword to break it.

What matters is not the amount of aura but the intensity.

Even if just for a very short time, she needed to inject more than ten times the available amount.

The golden aura of Noname filled the wooden sword.

The density was quite thick, leaving Emika wide-eyed in surprise.

She could feel the color of the aura, its temperature, and even catch a hint of lavender fragrance.

‘Why isn’t it exploding?’

However, it was Noname who was panicking.

She had never focused on infusing aura like this in her life.

The wooden sword greedily absorbed Noname’s aura, showing no signs of bursting at all.

If anything, that just made her more determined.

‘If I can’t break this, I won’t sleep out of embarrassment tonight.’

Having already boasted to Emika, not being able to break just this practice wooden sword would be the greatest disgrace for Noname.

[Lazy: Medusa]

Green sparks crackled and entwined around the wooden sword.

Since she couldn’t break it with her aura, Noname intended to change the properties of some of the aura inside the sword to collide opposing auras.

Dealing with two types of aura at the same time made beads of sweat roll down Noname’s forehead.

“Huff! Now!”

Bang—

“Kyah!”

Wooden fragments scattered in all directions, even flying toward the nearby children.

“Are you okay, kids?”

“Yes! We were surprised by the sudden loud noise!”

Fortunately, the fragments fell at their feet, and no one was hurt.

The wooden sword shattered into pieces so small it was unrecognizable.

“No!”

Emika sulked and sat down heavily on the floor.

“See? There’s no absolute. If this happened during a match and the sword broke, what would you—”

“Our treasure!”

“Huh?”

“What have you done, Noname!”

“No…”

“This is the treasured sword of the Katsuhata School that was bestowed upon us by our master!”

Tears streamed down Kamikita Emika’s usually stoic face.

What Noname had broken was not just a wooden sword, but Emika’s heart.

* * *

Tap—

The old man set down the teacup with steam wafting from it.

“We are grateful for your prompt approval for the inspection, but honestly, I’m feeling rather uneasy, Principal Gu.”

Across from him, Principal Guonyu filled his cup with black tea again.

“Don’t mention it. The days of hiding talents are over, aren’t they? I simply hope the children can have broader experiences through mutual exchanges.”

“Broader experiences, huh…”

The old man’s white eyebrows drew a line.

Koizumi Yoshihiro, he was a senior member of the Katsuhata School and Emika’s personal instructor.

Emika’s trip to Korea, initiated by her obstinacy, had a somewhat abrupt state.

In defiance of the Council’s resolute opposition, she declared her intent to visit the academy during her rest period.

Visiting someone else’s educational setting could be considered quite rude, but thankfully Principal Guonyu had an open mind.

“I heard that Kamikita-san recently encountered a wall.”

As Principal Guonyu indirectly mentioned the national exchange event, the old man’s hand trembled slightly.

“Ha ha… It seems there isn’t a person in this world who doesn’t know about it. I feel utterly ashamed.”

“No need to be ashamed. It’s beneficial for geniuses to encounter walls early. After all, children tend to overcome them, so I believe it’s crucial for adults to trust and wait for them more than ever. I hope this opportunity allows Kamikita-san to gain something through our Noname.”

“If I’m not mistaken, isn’t Miss Noname eight years old this year?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Principal Guonyu beamed with a smile.

Inadvertently, Koizumi noticed that Principal Guonyu was treating both Noname and Emika as if they were on the same level.

No matter how much she was disregarded, equating Emika to a six-year younger child was unacceptable for him.

“I heard that Miss Noname has never officially sparred before.”

“That’s right. She is too small, so it has become difficult for this year… She can really pack a punch, making even her seniors look weak, so isn’t it unfortunate?”

“Haha, yes, it’s unfortunate…”

Unlike those accustomed to veiled language like the Kyoto locals, it was hard to grasp whether Principal Guonyu’s words were sincere or not.

Koizumi’s mind was flooded with thoughts when Principal Guonyu clarified his stance.

“There’s a saying in Korea: Even an eighty-year-old can learn from a three-year-old. To assume that Miss Kamikita has nothing to gain because Noname is young would be a great mistake.”

“I never intended to belittle Miss Noname; I apologize.”

“Of course, I also hope that Noname feels the towering walls of the world through Kamikita-san. Noname is still young. Moreover, after being trapped in a capsule since childhood, her actual social experience is barely over a year. That’s why I allowed this meeting, hoping she doesn’t remain confined to this academy.”

Principal Guonyu had recently received reports from her homeroom teacher about Noname.

She had held her classmates in thrall during lunchtime, teaching them magic and aura.

Although some parents had objected quietly, the children had all chosen to participate ‘autonomously’, leaving no room for teachers to intervene.

However, it was also true that Noname had become excessively arrogant recently.

This could quickly turn detrimental to her.

“I heard that young Japanese magicians don’t shy away from using Western magic alongside swordsmanship… Noname is a complete expert in that area. Does the Katsuhata School still oppose such things?”

“Is that even a question? It’s merely a hindrance to reach the essence of the sword.”

“Haha, I understand. But even if there’s a bit of an age difference, there will surely be mutual insights as we converse. I wouldn’t mind a bet.”

“Principal Gu, you have always had excellent insight; I trust you. Ah, I’m good on the tea.”

It had already been an hour since Emika said she would briefly meet with Noname.

As the painfully dull meeting with the principal dragged on endlessly, a bodyguard for Emika knocked on the principal’s office door.

With one arm draped over the chair’s back, Koizumi turned his head to see a sorrowful-looking bodyguard.

His hair seemed to be disheveled, as if he had run in haste.

“Sensei! Sensei! Something awful has happened! You need to come quickly!”

“What’s going on? What terrible thing has happened?”

“The treasure…! The treasure given only to the heir of Katsuhata…!”

“The treasure? Are you talking about the legacy sword?”

“Yes! The legacy sword has… been shattered…!”

“Shattered? How did that happen?”

Koizumi couldn’t believe his ears.

‘A sword that has been passed down from the 19th to the 3rd century has shattered?’

Turning his gaze back toward Principal Guonyu, she also wore a frown, unable to hide her panic.

“In just a moment’s distraction, the children were tussling amongst themselves…”

“Tussling? How could a legacy sword shatter from just tussling? Tell me clearly!”