Chapter 125: Evan (2)

The Evan I saw in Paragon was truly a god of murder.

He acted instinctively, knowing what movements were optimal in any given situation.

Whether to attack or defend against the opponent’s actions.

If attacking, how to attack to inflict the maximum damage; conversely, if defending, how to do it with the least loss.

As if a supercomputer in his head was spitting out the results, his sword had no unnecessary movements.

And so it was fast and concise.

His sole purpose was the opponent’s death.

He didn’t discriminate between weapons, be it a sword, axe, dagger, or blunt weapon, that the opponent used.

He even used his own body as a means to achieve that purpose.

Thus, he was a murderous chariot, his entire body a weapon.

Without mana, aura, or visions.

With only the skills he had acquired to survive on the battlefield, he became a warrior who would not lose to anyone.

In a way, the experiences gained from crossing the line of death could be seen as his own unique ‘vision’.

So I was curious.

About the vision he possessed, and the circumstances that led him to become a war mercenary and acquire that vision.

…Ultimately, about Evan, the person himself.

“Follow me.”

Evan took me to a secluded place.

Though it was a secluded place, it was just the garden located behind Eden Hall where the lecture had been.

Since it was lunchtime, I thought there would be at least one or two people, but the garden was empty, and Evan walked inside and stood in the center of a place where the bushes grew thick like a maze.

Then he turns to look at me.

“First, let’s talk about the tuition fee.”

Without realizing it, dry saliva went down my throat.

I knew he wanted money, so I had blurted out something about tuition fees.

But, to be frank, I don’t have that much money either.

I’ve been sending it all to Luis to use for the reconstruction of Shadow.

Therefore, I had to talk to Luis and get support, but if the tuition fee was expensive, I doubted Luis would provide support.

‘I hope he names a reasonable price.’

Just then, Evan’s voice was heard.

“Pay whatever you want for the tuition.”

I blinked my eyes.

“Huh? Whatever I want?”

“Yes. If my teaching was of great help, pay accordingly. If it wasn’t, pay less. It’s up to you.”

Honestly, I didn’t understand.

A man who even bounty hunts on the weekends to earn money isn’t being greedy about money here?

“So if I’m not satisfied with the education, it’s okay to pay 1 shilling?”

“That’s right.”

Evan, who nodded his head, added.

“But that won’t happen. You’ll have no choice but to be satisfied.”

Ah.

So it was confidence.

So a smile naturally formed on my lips.

As it happened, I too was thirsty for growth.

Name: Gerard

Age: 30

Occupation: Thief / Frey Academy 888th Class Cadet

Level: 57

Strength: 58

Agility: 106

Stamina: 55

Mental Strength: 74

Traits ─ Versatile / Instinct / Endurance / Memory and Understanding / Coolheadedness / Sharp Perception / Gaius’s Insight

In the meantime, while I wasn’t paying attention, I had achieved considerable growth by catching various villains and magical beasts, including Zad, and successfully completing requests.

Was that all?

I had also obtained a new artifact called ‘Agnis’ and lost visions like ‘Dark Sprint’, ‘Ghost Step’, and ‘Stealth’.

Along with Clatter’s evolution, Dayle and Luis were also growing progressively, and Yuria, my future right-hand woman, was growing up well.

In conclusion, not only myself but also those around me were growing without any problems, but perhaps it’s true that a person’s greed is endless, as my thirst for growth had only intensified.

It could have been because of anxiety.

Ivan, who was chasing me fiercely from behind.

The approaching death flag and the constantly changing situations that defied expectations.

In such a situation, a meeting like this.

‘It’s a thank you, rather.’

The unexpected appearance of Evan was an opportunity for me.

A skilled person who did not appear in the original work.

His fighting style was purely based on experience and instinct, close to its raw form, and I had no doubt that there would be much to learn from such an Evan.

I was also curious about this person.

Meaning, I could also receive teachings separately.

“So how are you going to teach me? I’d like to hear the plan first.”

“Gerard, who do you think is the greatest swordsmanship master in the world?”

“Pardon?”

Evan responding to a question with a question again.

Fortunately, it seemed he didn’t expect an answer, as he immediately continued.

“It is war. A war where lives are at stake. That chaos where you can’t rest your arms for even a moment, where you have to be on edge in preparation for a sudden surprise attack and constantly survey your surroundings. One life per breath. Otherwise, the one who dies is me. The hell where you’re not even given time to think about how to cut or how to block.”

“……”

“In that time, you must kill the opponent first. Action precedes thought, and the body, pushed to its limits, transcends them. A body trained in such a way is a killing weapon in itself, and the sword used, though its edge may be dull, glints sharper than any other.”

As if he had taken it out of his subspace, a sword was in his hand.

“Come at me.”

“……Huh? Suddenly?”

“I told you. The war where lives are at stake was my greatest teacher. That’s how I teach. I don’t know any other way.”

I understood what Evan meant.

But this is inside the Academy.

What, is he really going to kill me?

How is he going to bring about a life-or-death war?

──It was when I was harboring such doubts.

“You seem to be thinking too much. If you have no intention of coming first, I will go first.”

With his words, he threw away his scabbard and charged.

Swish!

I heard the sound of the air being torn right in front of my eyes.

What I saw when I lifted my head was a black dot that had already come right in front of my nose, Evan’s sword unhesitatingly piercing the center of my forehead.

At its ferocity and tremendous speed, I hurriedly used Backstep to pull my body back.

But as if he had anticipated that movement, he swung his arm once.

Then the sword, which should have stopped because it couldn’t physically reach, didn’t stop there and stretched out, digging an inch deeper toward my brow.

‘You crazy bastard!’

Startled, I hastily bent my waist into an L-shape, and Evan’s sword grazed over my nose by a paper’s width.

It was a divine skill to the point of being bewildering, but what was more bewildering was the decisiveness in the sword.

‘This person. He really tried to kill me?’

But it didn’t end there.

My intuition, which had sensed the crisis, continuously sounded the alarm.

I hurriedly took out a longsword from my subspace and swung it upwards fiercely.

Chaang──!

His sword, which had been falling at a right angle, collided with my longsword and was deflected.

A tremendous repulsive force was felt, and I ended up taking a few more steps back.

Fortunately, his continuous attack did not follow.

“Are you crazy? Are you really trying to kill me?”

I hurriedly regained my balance and asked accusingly.

“……”

There was no answer.

His face, set in a hard, straight expression, was just exuding killing intent.

“Excuse me!”

“I believe I told you. I don’t know any other way.”

My mouth closed.

Immediately after, I let out a dry laugh inwardly.

Right.

He said it like that and even showed it through his actions, so if I kept denying it, then the one denying it would be the fool.

‘Okay. Fine. Let’s do this.’

Well, I was curious too.

To what extent I could utilize the swordsmanship I had learned so far, and to what level they would be effective.

The first half of the Royal Swordsmanship, the Lion Sword and the Dual Illusion Sword.

Come to think of it, all the swordsmanship I had painstakingly learned had been a supplementary means for me, and I had never used them as my main skill.

“Are you going to just think this time too?”

“I’m coming.”

Let’s unfold it to my heart’s content here.

Kaang!

His pupils, which had blocked my vertical slash, widened for a brief moment, and then a smile of amusement formed on his lips.

“It seems you’ve finally found the will to do it properly.”

Soon, I was swinging my sword frantically.

Kang! Kkagang!

The phrase ‘state of selflessness’ was fitting.

I couldn’t think of anything.

The only things I could see were the two swords dancing in the air.

As my thoughts disappeared, everything around me turned black, and as the surroundings became invisible, all of Evan’s movements became clearer.

I could see better, feel better, and hear better.

Kiiing!

The sound of iron clashing with iron filled the space.

And the steady heartbeat and the breath exhaled from my mouth.

Occasionally, when the steady rhythm was broken, a burning sensation as if a fire was lit somewhere on my body would rush in, and my breathing would become ragged, but the more that happened, the more my sense of touch sharpened, my heart beat fiercely, and my body became faster.

‘Hoo-uk! Hook!’

His body had also changed at some point.

Just like I saw in Paragon, he was wearing armor all over his body.

I’m not sure since when.

I was just swinging my sword frantically and stabbed a gap, but with a ‘ttang’ sound, my palm ached as if it would break.

So I knew by feeling first.

‘Ah. He’s wearing the armor I saw back then.’

It must be an artifact.

But, not really.

It didn’t matter.

His body, clad in armor, had changed to an all-out offensive, disregarding defense, and accordingly, the number of scratches on my body increased, but nothing changed.

I just continued to swing my sword in time with the rhythm.

Peok!

The flow was broken.

A strong force struck my side, and my waist bent instinctively.

It wasn’t a sword, but an elbow that hit me.

My body’s center of balance was thrown off.

I didn’t try to resist or get up in a hurry.

I ducked my body and relying as much as possible on my senses, I swung my sword.

At the end of it, were his blue eyes.

His sword was already slashing at my shoulder as I had ducked, but I didn’t dodge.

A true mutual destruction.

But I saw his eyes tremble slightly, and I lunged my body forward.

Kaaaang──!

Finally, with an intense noise that seemed to tear my eardrums, my body was pushed back.

The surrounding scenery, which had only looked black, also began to be visible again.

Evan stood blankly, having distanced himself from me.

“What was that last move?”

He asked softly.

“An ultimatum.”

“……An ultimatum?”

“Either kill or be killed.”

“A gamble.”

“Gambling is also a skill.”

He stared at me for a moment and then chuckled.

“Alright. I admit it. I was underestimating you.”

He sheathed his longsword.

Then he opened his subspace, put his hand inside, and took out a greatsword the size of a house.

“From now on, I will be seri……”

It was then.

“Stop!”

A figure leaped out from the bushes like a nimble cat and inserted itself between the two of us.

“Are you okay, senior!?”

……Uh.

It was Yuria.

“Ah, Yuria. This is, well……”

Yuria’s expression, as she examined my body, hardened coldly.

I only just noticed it…… but my body was a mess.

My whole body was covered in stab wounds, and my clothes were in rags.

It was a perfect situation for a misunderstanding.

And as expected.

“How could you do this? I. I thought of you as a comrade, even if for a moment.”

Yuria, who had shot up, vented her cold anger as she looked at the man in armor.

“……No. Yuria. This is, well.”

I quickly tried to stop Yuria.

But Yuria, who was already excited, didn’t listen to me until the end.

“Did you follow us and infiltrate the Academy? Why? Don’t tell me you thought we ran away with the bounty?”

Saying so, Yuria took something out from her bosom and threw it in front of him.

Plop.

It was a money pouch.

“That measly bounty. I had set it aside to give to you when I met you anyway!”

“……”

“Take it. And get out of my sight right now.”

“Yuria. That person is my lecture professor.”

At that moment, Yuria’s body trembled as if struck by lightning.

“……Pardon?”

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