Luca felt his heart flutter slightly.

No, to be precise, Luca Traverse within him felt anticipation.

‘Finally, a new swordsmanship technique…!’

Kryphi, who had promised that he would create a swordsmanship tailored to Luca, so he could definitely defeat Wylde.

At last, he said he had completed the technique.

“I referenced several swordsmanship styles, but right when I felt the completeness was lacking, I became inspired while sparring with Lady Eltima Cross. I’m confident this swordsmanship will suit you best, Luca.”

“Oh…!”

Kryphi boasted with absolute assurance.

Luca’s anticipation only grew bigger.

Seeing Luca’s face—slightly flushed, a rare sight—Kryphi smiled with satisfaction.

“Well, shall we go try a taste of it right now?”

“Right now?”

Paperwork was stacked high on Kryphi’s desk.

Concerned for how busy Kryphi was, Luca seemed to hesitate. But Kryphi smiled brightly.

“Don’t worry about me. My body doesn’t require sleep anyway; I can just stay up all night.”

“… Then thank you.”

Luca stopped resisting and immediately agreed.

He too was eager, after all, to see the new swordsmanship quickly.

The two headed to the training ground that was personally allotted to the head of the Swordsmanship Department.

The interior was neat.

From the start, Zeritz had reached such a high level that he never needed to actually swing a sword around for practice.

“Then, shall we do it as we did the first time we met?”

“If you mean the same as the first time…”

The duel from their first meeting.

A match where Kryphi didn’t use magic power, and Luca put all he had into the fight.

Kryphi smiled, spinning his sword.

“This time, too, I’ll only use the enchantment to keep the blade from breaking.”

“Huh…”

Luca hesitated.

Unlike before, Luca had now grown a lot stronger.

If he went all out, Kryphi might get seriously injured.

“Ah, of course, I know you’ve become astonishingly strong compared to back then. Even if you try to hide it, the aura you emit is different.”

Kryphi seemed well aware.

Nevertheless, he seemed confident in himself.

“But, Luca, don’t worry. I’m much stronger than you think.”

“Is that so.”

“Ah, but… just one thing…”

Kryphi slowly opened his eyes.

Flinch.

Luca flinched as their eyes met.

Kryphi’s amber eyes blazed with refined killing intent.

In those eyes, predator-like, Luca was reflected.

“This time, I’ll open my eyes properly. Is that acceptable?”

“… Yes.”

Those were the eyes of the Imitator, infamous as the nightmare of warriors.

With that gaze, even if Kryphi didn’t use magic power, it was impossible to predict victory.

‘… No. I’ve become much stronger too.’

But Luca soon steeled his resolve.

A warrior speaking weakly before battle was unthinkable.

Luca slowly drew his sword.

KURUNG!

At the same time, clouds gathered in the ceiling of the training hall and thunder rumbled.

Kryphi marveled at the sight.

“You’ve gained even more wondrous strength, I see.”

“My master once said my weakness was not handling my power properly.”

CRACKLE! ZZZAP!

Sparks danced across Luca’s whole body, and lightning flickered in his eyes.

“Please verify if that’s the case again, won’t you?”

“Haha. Surely it seems a bit dangerous this time.”

Kryphi chuckled, twisting his sword hilt.

Click.

The blade, drawn slightly from its sheath, gleamed blue-white.

At the same time, all emotion faded from Kryphi’s face.

“Let’s see how much you’ve grown.”

KWAJIK!

Again, lightning struck inside the training hall.

* * *

“…?”

Luca stared blankly up at the sky.

The ceiling of the training hall had shattered under his power.

The blue sky was perfectly visible overhead.

“Well, well, perhaps the vice-headmaster will scold us for this.”

Kryphi spoke leisurely beside him, gazing at the sky too.

His body was unscathed, not a scratch on him.

“…”

Luca looked at himself.

His gym uniform was in tatters.

What was remarkable was that there wasn’t a single scratch on the bare skin visible through the torn clothing.

‘What in the world…?’

Luca couldn’t understand what had happened to him.

He’d done his best.

Up till the midpoint, he even thought he was pushing Kryphi back.

—Impressive. Then I’ll show you the real swordsmanship.

But the moment Kryphi said that, everything flipped.

He felt like a fish being filleted.

The lightning around his body was sliced away, Kryphi’s blade seemed to brush every inch of him.

He tried blocking with his sword, but it felt like trying to cut a waterfall.

Nothing was sliced, only the water pressure pushing his blade away.

‘I… I definitely got stronger, though…?’

Luca had, indeed, grown stronger.

But Kryphi was just that much stronger still.

“How is it? The swordsmanship you’ll learn.”

“The swordsmanship…”

At the mention of swordsmanship, Luca paused, then spoke bitterly.

“Can there be such a huge difference just from swordsmanship alone?”

“There can. You just experienced it, didn’t you?”

“But… isn’t it just because you’re… strong?”

Luca nearly said the words, ‘It’s just that you’re strong, isn’t it?’ out loud.

Realizing this, Kryphi burst out laughing.

“Do you think I could overwhelm you like this without using magic power, simply because I’m strong?”

“But…”

“If there’s no difference in swordsmanship, then why would anyone bother practicing it these days? Everyone would just train their magic power. Yet swordsmanship survives, precisely because the difference it makes is significant.”

It was something said in the original story too.

Said by none other than Zeritz, Kryphi’s master.

Luca should have felt sad for stealing even that narrative, but he was too shocked to think it.

‘Could the gap be this vast?’

He had grown conceited.

He had defeated countless strong opponents, overcome dangerous situations.

He had gotten stronger, and thought he wouldn’t encounter real danger anymore.

But he was wrong.

After fighting someone at Kryphi’s transcendent level, he was convinced—he could never win.

Luca remained silent.

“Haha, why the long face?”

“…”

“Hmm… are you perhaps feeling frustrated?”

Frustrated.

Kryphi’s remark seemed meant to provoke him.

But Luca couldn’t deny it.

‘That’s the only way to put it.’

Frustration was the emotion that best described his heart now.

He had been over-confident, and was now thoroughly—no, utterly—overwhelmed.

He almost felt like crying from the humiliation.

“How strange. Luca, isn’t this the time you should feel happy?”

“…?”

“This swordsmanship is yours. Shouldn’t you be happy at the prospect of obtaining such power?”

Kryphi looked genuinely puzzled.

Luca bit his lip, then spat out his words.

“If I learn this swordsmanship, do you think I’ll be able to do it like you, master?”

“Of course not. What I just did was me using the swordsmanship I’ll teach you, in my own style.”

Kryphi shook his head in horror.

Luca bit his lip harder.

Blood welled at his lip.

“…?”

Seeing that, Kryphi paused, then looked apologetic.

“I’m sorry. My manner of speaking is always like this…”

“?”

Luca glanced at Kryphi, and Kryphi scratched his cheek, saying,

“That’s not what I meant. I meant that if you learn this swordsmanship, you’ll be able to wield it better than I do.”

“…”

“I’m not joking or trying to lift your spirits. I created this technique precisely so you could do that.”

Kryphi left the rest unsaid.

‘Of course, it isn’t truly perfected just yet…’

There was no need to say that to Luca right now.

Kryphi gently shook his head, then extended his hand to Luca.

“So, please don’t lose heart. It’s simply proof that making me your teacher wasn’t a bad choice.”

“…”

Luca stared for a moment at the proffered hand, then took it, rising to his feet.

Brushing dust from his body, he grumbled.

“Still, couldn’t you have gone easier on me?”

“Haha, forgive me. If I held back against the current you, I’d wind up dead after making it this far!”

“… Hah.”

Luca sighed, turning his head to the side.

“Fine. Thank you for today.”

“Ah, Luca. If you have time, would you like to try practicing this?”

“…?”

At Kryphi’s sudden suggestion, Luca looked at him curiously.

Kryphi grinned, producing an apple from who-knows-where.

“If you can do this, you’ll definitely pick up the swordsmanship more easily.”

“… Excuse me?”

When Kryphi demonstrated his training method, Luca’s face went blank with disbelief.

“… Are we learning circus tricks instead of swordsmanship?”

“When I did this on the battlefield, my companions loved it. Fond memories.”

Kryphi looked wistful for a moment, then shook his head gently and smiled wide.

“The real lesson will be after the exams. You worked hard today, and I wish you great results on your tests!”

“… Thank you.”

He found himself looking forward to the conclusion of the exams.

* * *

Eventually, time passed and the exam period arrived.

The exam period lasted five days in total.

The first day was a light test on the common curriculum.

The second day, written exam for major subjects.

The third day, practical exam for major subjects.

The fourth day, a test on general subjects for each department.

The fifth day, wrap-up and additional make-up tests.

Normally, all exams finished on the fourth day, and if unforeseen problems arose, the fifth day was used for additional tests.

Since common subjects were the same, the four—Luca and friends—were together.

As they gathered, Archiond approached.

“So, it’s finally exam day. Did you all prepare well?”

Luca looked at him and replied coolly,

“Of course. I’m looking forward to it. You’ll be the one with a drawn face, after all.”

“Haha! You really have a nasty personality~.”

Archiond burst out laughing and walked away.

“Then, I’ll be looking forward to next week!”

Milia pouted.

“He comes up just to make a big deal out of nothing.”

“That’s just the way he is.”

Luca replied indifferently, glancing sidelong at Ottbo.

His face was rather pale, as if he was quite nervous.

“Heh, Ottbo, do you want me to ask Professor Kirius to give you a counseling session?”

“Eh? Ah, no!”

At Luca’s remark, Ottbo jumped in alarm, then took a deep breath.

Seeing that, Milia said bluntly,

“Such fuss. With skills like yours, what are you worrying about?”

“But still…”

“Oh, please. Just because you lost one restriction—unbelievable.”

At Milia’s comment, Luca let out a soft chuckle.

“As a spectator, how do you predict the score?”

“As long as you don’t lose to Isella, you’ll be first. And Ottbo, unless he pukes during the exam…”

Milia shrugged.

“He’ll definitely be top of the Magic Department, that’s for sure.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep