Chapter 47

“I thought I was going to lose…”

Adelheid thought as she faced off against a colorful array of Magical Automatons during a five-match marathon.

And the last one was a behemoth that was pumping out magical power like there was no tomorrow, rendering her sword useless against its impenetrable form.

She had somewhat managed to withstand it thanks to her constant training with the Tin Knight, but that only got her so far.

To be honest, at some point during the fights, Adel had half given up on winning.

If the sword wasn’t biting, there was no way to win.

She thought maybe this was it for her.

Just trying to avoid getting hurt, she figured it was best to keep running away, while internally accepting that she was pretty much going to lose.

However, looking back at the results, she found herself grasping onto victory out of the blue.

It felt incredibly strange to her.

Feeling too exhausted to lift herself, Adel simply shifted her reclining position to lay down flat instead.

Her golden hair touched the ground and got dirty, but she had long forgotten the trivialities of appearance since day one of training with the Tin Knight.

Staring at the ceiling, Adel replayed the recent battle in her head.

It had been a remarkable experience.

A sensation where instinct drove her movements rather than reasoning.

A battle that transcended mere thought, moving into a realm of reflexes.

‘The Knight’s instructions were all meticulously calculated; from when I received the command to when I finally moved, every gap was considered.’

Without that level of precision, such results would have been impossible.

No matter how much Adel moved almost unconsciously as she heard her Knight’s words, there would still be a subtle difference from how the Tin Knight would move their own body.

And that wasn’t all.

With just her strength and weight, it wouldn’t have been feasible to stab the wooden automaton’s neck, even at its weakest point.

Yet, the attack succeeded because she accurately predicted the opponent’s timing to charge, countering it perfectly.

Reading how the opponent would judge and act, she supplemented her own insufficient strength and momentum, which was a lesson she felt the battle imparted to her.

‘Amazing. The Knight is truly impressive.’

Adel marveled again.

Her mentor was indeed something else!

Yes, it was truly impressive, but…

[The ‘Tin Knight’ is fired up to clear Levels 6 and 7 as well!]

Could we take into consideration the limits of a human, please?

At this rate, I might actually die!

Even now, her body felt limp, and her shoulders throbbed from clashing with the Magical Automatons, and her wrists ached from swinging that heavy mace.

Not having the courage to voice her frustrations toward the oblivious Tin Knight, Adel’s eyes began to flutter closed.

Just before her consciousness drifted away…

Her stiff, cold back felt like it was being cradled.

***

“Wow, that’s incredible. I can see why Ruben was so impressed.”

With a round of applause, Rene von Lenart approached you.

It was hard to tell the gender of the coach as they marveled at the sight of the sleeping Adelheid behind you.

“There have been skilled individuals who passed the fifth stage before, but she is the first to do it without using magical power. I’d like to establish a Hall of Fame to commemorate this.”

You would have liked to respond that it was a great idea, but alas, you couldn’t find the words.

Maybe if you let the brooch touch them, you could, but Dorothea said that if it got damaged by carelessly showing it to just anyone, fixing it might not be possible, so you weren’t supposed to use the brooch unless in special circumstances.

Instead, you offered a nod as your answer.

Pleased with your reaction, Rene beamed a smile and presented a fan-shaped piece of something.

Something akin to a testimony received from Rowefelt Dojo, it was a part of a circular drawing split into five pieces.

“Lenart Dojo, Rowefelt Branch instructor. By the name of Rene von Lenart, I declare that Adelheid von Lenart has sufficient qualifications to be recognized by this dojo—”

“-Who says so!”

A rough voice abruptly cut off Rene’s words.

The volume was so loud that many of the disciples scattered around the theme park-type dojo turned and stared at the entrance from which the voice came.

Rene’s expression twisted in frustration.

“Those annoying old men are back again.”

“I can hear you, you cheeky brat!!”

An old man with a terrifying physique that almost burst through his somewhat sparse and graying blond hair shot a glare at Rene.

Behind the old man were dozens of middle-aged men with impressive muscle, at least not as scary as him.

The old man caught sight of the token in your hand and growled like a beast.

“The dojo’s tokens are only given to those worthy of bearing its pride and honor! And you’re handing it over to some scrap metal?”

“Are your eyes broken? This person is merely receiving it on behalf of the real recipient, who is the girl over there!”

Rene’s tone and attitude towards the old man were brutally sharp.

And the old man didn’t bother hiding his contempt for Rene.

“That’s still a problem! All the true experts in this dojo are right here with me. What’s that girl done to prove her strength? Did she defeat those toys you’re bragging about? Handing over a token for that pathetic reason would just tarnish this dojo’s honor!”

“The head instructor of this dojo is me! I get to set the standards for issuing the tokens! Not you and your decrepit gang who were unceremoniously booted out after getting trampled on by petitions!”

“Oh, so you’ve been kicked out, huh? I meticulously taught the basics of martial arts, only for those ungrateful rascals to betray their master and seniors just because it got a little tough!”

As the old man glared across the dojo, disciples looked down at the ground, unable to meet his gaze.

While some shot back glares at the old man with dissatisfaction, they were few and far between.

“Enough already. There’s a limit to how much respect a senior can demand.”

Rene warned in a cold voice, but the old man scoffed.

“Who gets to decide how much is enough? That’ll be sorted out as we go along.”

He threw a piece of parchment at Rene.

Receiving it, Rene frowned but unfolded it to see the contents.

“Wow, crap.”

A vulgar curse came out of her refined mouth.

The old man seemed to relish her discomfort as he chuckled.

“You see? That’s a direct order from the Duke. Your dismissal as the head instructor, and your appointment is canceled! Under the management of the TikTok lord, we need to determine once again who’s truly suited to lead this dojo. Got it? You’re not the head instructor, thus the token you handed over is rendered void!”

“This senile old coot! I thought there were a few unfamiliar faces, but did you bring all your connections to whine about being wronged? How petty of you! Trying to overturn a settled match through connections?”

“Ha! Say all you want. The day the TikTok lord proclaims my victory, I’ll knock this toy dojo down and turn those scraps into junk!”

“Hey, you miserable being! Do you even know how much money I spent rescuing those precious beings!? Stop with the nonsense!”

“You should just retreat quietly, Rene!!”

“Right! So what if you can dismiss the head instructor; do you honestly think we’ll acknowledge defeat?!”

“Head instructor my foot! You just stuck that label on because you got your name taken away!”

“We like the way we’re taught now!! You old timers who only know how to use the juniors, get lost!!”

What started out as an argument between Rene and the old man quickly escalated, with their followers joining in, turning it into a chaotic market fight.

While there had yet to be any physical conflict, that balance was teetering precariously.

You found yourself deep in thought.

Consideration struck you about whether to chop down that old man blabbering in front of you along with his followers.

Sure, you could vaguely understand the ‘scrap metal’ jab because of the ‘Tin Knight’ being aged and outdated, but the fact that they were invalidating the effort your apprentice put in to earn that token rubbed you the wrong way.

If you hadn’t been carrying Adel, you may have already split that old man’s head open with your sword.

As if sensing your mood, Rene lowered her head to you with an apologetic look.

“I apologize for dragging you into this annoying matter. Normally, you wouldn’t feel the feelings of a human, but I can sense them from you. Please leave this to us and go back. You can ignore that old man’s nonsense; once I receive the recognition from the lord again, there won’t be any issues.”

You looked at Rene silently before nodding your head.

Just as you began walking toward the door…

“Hey! You can’t just leave without handing over that token!”

“What good is talking to a toy? Let’s just grab it back!”

Some of the old man’s crew grabbed you, and instead of apologies, they began spouting off nonsense.

Seeing this, Rene widened her eyes.

“What the heck are you all doing?!”

And at that moment, you had no desire to entertain any further pointless bickering.

-Bam!

A middle-aged man met your foot with his shin and seized up, unable to make a sound as he cradled his injured leg.

Stretching your left hand out instead of the one that held Adel, you grabbed the bewildered older man by the back of his head and drove him straight down onto the crumpled form of his fellow on the ground.

With a heavy thud, both men crashed down to the floor.

It seemed like a bit of blood was oozing out, but oddly enough, that didn’t concern you.

So, who’s the next to challenge me?