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chapter 5
The Swordsmanship Test
Rando Bellins picked up a practice sword. After swinging it a few times, he glanced back.
He saw the page, with a gleeful expression, running after the sword he had thrown.
As Rando Bellins stared, his deputy, Vector, approached him.
“That kid… do you know him, sir?”
Rando looked at Vector, who shrugged.
“No, you left the sword with him, so I wondered if you knew him.”
“…He looks familiar.”
“I see.”
A page’s life is a cruel one. They perform all sorts of menial tasks as a knight’s page, and if they end up with a bad knight, they might spend their whole life doing chores without ever becoming a knight themselves.
Of course, merely having been a knight’s page is a respectable line on one’s record, but even considering that, the life of a page is a constant struggle.
Yet here was Rando, commander of Viktor, who didn’t normally take pages, showing interest in one?
“Leaving a sword with him too… you could have just left it with the others.”
“I wanted to. Call it whimsy.”
Rando stared at the direction where the page had disappeared, speaking to Vector. Vector’s eyes went wide.
“Hey, everyone! Did you hear? The commander’s being whimsical!”
“Tomorrow the sun will rise in the west, huh?”
“Or maybe we’ll have to eat our meals through…?”
Viktor’s regular soldiers erupted into loud chatter. Rando’s whim was a shocking event for them.
“You seem relaxed.”
Then Rando’s cold voice rang out. Immediately, Vector and the soldiers snapped their mouths shut like clams.
But it was already too late.
One should have known that words, once spoken, cannot be taken back.
“Today, we’ll run special training equivalent to the number of wounded.”
Rando’s stern gaze swept across the soldiers. As he turned his head, their faces went dark.
‘We’re dead today too.’
‘Oh no… Mari, I won’t be home today either.’
‘All because of that deputy!’
Viktor’s soldiers trembled silently, screaming inside.
“Fall in!”
“Yes, sir!!!”
At Rando’s command, the soldiers snapped into rigid formation.
“Commander, don’t worry about preparing the recruits.”
Vector, the deputy, smiled, but suddenly someone grabbed him. He turned to see it was the soldiers.
The invisible fire in their eyes blazed because of the grueling training Vector had caused. Before Vector could even speak, they grabbed him by the collar and refused to let go.
“D-deputy… ugh!”
“Deputy, come talk with us.”
With Vector’s desperate screams echoing, Rando smiled faintly.
Knight and soldier.
Between a knight, with both status and ability, and ordinary soldiers, an invisible gap always exists.
But Vector bridged that gap. He maintained the relationship between Rando and the soldiers, and because of him, Viktor could exist.
Clang.
“Rando Bellins.”
At that moment, the commander of the Iron Bear Knights, clad in full plate mail, approached Rando.
“I trust you are ready.”
Today was the day for the Iron Bear Knights to spar with Viktor.
No matter how undefeated Viktor’s unit claimed to be, they could not match the Iron Bear Knights, who were composed entirely of knights.
Still, this duel was arranged because the Iron Bear Knights looked down on Rando and Viktor.
The undefeated Viktor.
Rando Bellins, the strongest knight in Auwis.
Normally, the commander of either the Iron Bear or the White Eagle Knights should have been Rando. But he never became a commander.
Because of his unbending steadfastness, which would break rather than bend.
Rando Bellins was a knight who followed only the sword and chivalry. He maintained neutrality in all political conflicts.
The issue was that he wasn’t just any knight—he was considered the strongest in Auwis.
An undefeated knight leading an undefeated unit.
The fact that Rando remained neutral irritated both factions, so Viktor was assigned to challenge his dominance.
For a knight to be put in charge of ordinary soldiers is a humiliation unless it’s wartime.
Yet Rando never showed a single complaint. The orders came from his lord, Erigo Garden, whom he had sworn loyalty to.
And Rando turned those ordinary soldiers into the undefeated unit known as Viktor.
Not only did he have talent with the sword, but he also showed his ability as a commander, further raising his reputation.
This match was meant to humble him.
No matter how strong Viktor was, they could not defeat an order of knights.
Recently, Rando and Viktor had defeated a two-legged cavalry unit. Even the Iron Bear and White Eagle Knights had lost to that cavalry unit once, yet Viktor, made up of ordinary soldiers, triumphed.
Rando and Viktor’s fame rose, and comparisons between Viktor and the knights riled the Iron Bear commander, who then proposed this duel, forming today’s event.
“Today, we will show that Viktor’s achievements were mere coincidence.”
The Iron Bear commander’s eyes burned with envy and jealousy. Even the Iron Bear Knights did not regard Viktor kindly.
But Rando received their envy and jealousy calmly, like a fortress.
“By all means. If you show it, I am ready to accept it.”
The Iron Bear commander glared at Rando, then returned to his place. Rando, too, went back to Viktor and took the lead position.
“White Eagle Commander. You will be the witness and mediator of today’s duel.”
The head of the White Eagle Knights would oversee the duel. As he stepped forward, a commanding presence radiated from him.
Boom!
The weighty military discipline emanated, surprisingly, not from the Iron Bear Knights, but from Viktor.
“Viktor. Advance.”
At Rando’s command, a weighty presence surged from Viktor.
Thump thump thump!
The synchronized, powerful footsteps of Viktor pressed upon the Iron Bear Knights.
[Rando Bellins: ★★★★☆]
Huff.
Meyer’s eyes widened and his nose twitched. Above Rando Bellins, he could see something floating.
‘Four… Four-Star Knight.’
The knight hailed as the strongest in Auwis had reached four stars.
Seeing that someone like Gillot was only one star, a four-star knight was arguably the strongest in the region.
‘If Rando is four stars, what would five stars even be like?’
The Iron Bear commander conversing with Rando also caught Meyer’s attention.
[Stan Meyer: ★★☆☆☆]
‘Just two stars?’
The Iron Bear and White Eagle Knights represented the Garden family. Recalling, Stan Meyer was Erigo Garden’s cousin, and the head of one knight order. Yet he was only two stars.
Comparing with Gillot, it’s just one star difference.
But Meyer, having observed the Iron Bear Knights’ training, frowned. Even to an ignorant eye, they were impressive. A unit like that, yet only two stars?
‘Then the gap between one and two stars might be much bigger than I thought.’
One star, two stars. It may seem small, but it wasn’t. Reality hit him.
‘Just one star, two stars… by their standards, I’m…’
A bitter smile crept onto his lips. Probably no stars at all. Meyer gripped Rando Bellins’ sword tightly, telling himself this wasn’t the time for hesitation.
Thump thump.
‘What kind of swordsmanship will be here…?’
Even with Gillot’s one-star techniques, Meyer, who had never wielded a sword before, could now practice formal swordsmanship.
Mastering it would take effort, but merely being able to observe and imitate another’s swordsmanship was an incredible ability.
‘Please, something good… something good.’
Meyer muttered as he gripped Rando Bellins’ sword. Suddenly, a lightning-like shock struck his brain.
‘Ughhh!’
This was completely different from holding Gillot’s sword. Meyer nearly screamed but couldn’t; his mouth wouldn’t open.
It felt as if each brain cell was burning. A second passed like a millennium.
[Do you wish to acquire Rando Bellins (★★★★☆)’s Sword of Hardship (★★★★)?]
“I-I-I saw it!!!!”
Meyer jumped to his feet, holding Rando Bellins’ sword with both hands.
Silence.
Realizing he had shouted, Meyer noticed the sudden quiet and made a guilty face. Reality snapped back. The pages and knights glared at him.
Meyer covered his face slightly and sat down, preparing for recognition.
“I-I’m sorry.”
Because of Meyer, the tension between the Iron Bear Knights and Viktor eased.
Stan, the Iron Bear commander, snorted and muttered that he would punish the page responsible after the duel.
Rando watched Stan carefully, then swung his practice sword.
“Again.”
“Bring it on!”
The duel resumed. Meyer, pushed to the edge of the gathered pages, crouched outside, unable to hide his excitement.
‘Th-this is the Sword of Hardship…’
Rando Bellins’ signature swordsmanship as a four-star knight.
The Sword of Hardship described Rando Bellins’ life itself.
Viktor became the undefeated unit because, no matter the enemy’s attack, they stood like deep-rooted trees. After breaking the enemy’s sharp advance, they exploited the gap to secure victory—a strategy that never failed.
Always at the forefront was Rando Bellins.
His swordsmanship focused on defense. By prioritizing blocking enemy attacks, he became known as the undefeated knight.
This principle swirled in Meyer’s mind. He was thrilled to learn not formal techniques, but Rando Bellins’ swordsmanship.
Clang! Clash!
The Iron Bear Knights collided with Viktor. Meyer watched, eyes wide, as Rando, at Viktor’s forefront, calmly took the blows like a ferocious bear.
This was more than swordsmanship—it was a teaching tool.
‘The perfect chance to see in reality what I’ve only imagined!’
Meyer strained his eyes to follow Rando. Standing like a thousand-year stone, rooted, Rando calmly endured the enemy’s strikes—a wall of steel.
Unshaken by attacks, his steadfast stance perfectly mirrored the man himself.
As Meyer marveled, a shadow fell over him—another page blocking his view.
“What are you doing, punk?”
The page puffed up and growled at Meyer, clearly annoyed at his sudden movement.
“You… I’ve never seen you before. When did you become a page? And you… without basics….”
“Move.”
Meyer pushed the page aside, keeping his eyes fixed on Rando.
The page blinked, dumbfounded, then leapt up with an explosive glare.
“Words won’t do. You, follow me.”
Grab.
The page grabbed Meyer’s collar to lift him. Meyer used the sword scabbard to hook the page’s leg, forcing him to trip naturally.
‘Garden formal sword technique.’
Thud!
The page, caught by the scabbard, fell twice, enraging him.
“You, you… where did you learn that…?”
Smack!
Meyer struck the page with Rando Bellins’ scabbard, pulled out his tongue, and pushed the unconscious page aside.
“Ah, now I can see.”
