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chapter 52
Blood flowed in a steady stream.
Sharp steel dripped with the lifeblood at its tip.
Peter, standing on the brink of death, could only gulp down his dry throat.
“Scared, huh?”
“This insane guy…”
“You said you wanted to fight with swords. Here’s my sword—but you brought a wooden one?”
“…”
For a moment, silence fell over the training ground.
The knights thought:
This guy is completely crazy.
Among the knight trainees, there were occasionally some who weren’t entirely sane.
But perhaps because they were learning [chivalry] as a foundation,
that wild madness was controlled to a degree.
They’d heard that many wizards were eccentric, but they hadn’t expected this.
“Th-Then, th-th-th-!”
“Shall we go again? This time, I’ll use a real sword. How about it? Want to try again?”
“Peter! Show them your skill!”
“Yeah! You let your guard down! If we go again, you’ll win!”
Peter slowly stepped back and exhaled, taking a moment to calm himself.
The steel magic scattered with a crack.
He quietly recalled the spell the opponent had used.
His understanding of wizards’ common knowledge was completely shattered.
At the same time, no matter how much he simulated it in his mind, he couldn’t find a way to win.
It was physically impossible to counter.
“…I lost.”
“Eh!?”
“Hey, you coward! How can you just admit defeat like that! You @$(*@)!”
“Well, you’re a surprisingly perceptive kid.”
Lawrence smiled and turned his head.
The other knight trainees were fuming, while the wizards cheered loudly.
Our youngest one is fighting brilliantly!
“Did you see that? He’s a monster.”
“Wow, even the top knight trainees can’t do anything.”
“Hahaha! See? No need for me to step in, right?”
The powerful voices of the muscle-bound instructors rang out.
A shout that thoroughly shattered the knights’ pride.
The head of the Magic Tower smirked, while Instructor Argon frowned deeply.
‘I thought the rumors were false, but it seems they were true.’
Recognized by the Duke of the North.
If he had performed like that in the subjugation battle, he must have done something incredible.
There seemed to be more to him, but for now, his skill had to be acknowledged.
“But I still can’t admit it. Didn’t we agree that our principle is to fight with swordsmanship?”
“People armed with chivalric spirit have no conscience, huh. Fine. Then let’s settle this with aura and real swords.”
“Are you serious?”
“Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”
The Magic Tower head was concerned, while Instructor Argon’s eyes shone.
A knight using aura fights differently from a normal swordsman.
On the other hand, Lawrence thought it was doable.
‘Anyway, I have to get used to aura.’
Besides, if he wins here, he might get something else out of it.
“But if I win, you’ll support me with the items I request. I won’t ask for anything unreasonable.”
“Fine. You probably can’t win anyway.”
Instructor Argon tried to send his top trainee forward.
At that moment, Peter raised his hand again.
“If I use aura, I’d like to try again.”
“You?”
“Weren’t you scared out of your mind before?”
“I think using aura might give me a chance.”
“How about you, Bearix?”
“I’m fine. Giving Peter a chance isn’t a bad idea. And no matter who holds command, we’re working toward a common goal.”
The arrogant yet respectful Bearix, who saw through the essence of things.
As soon as Lawrence heard the name, he realized who Bearix was.
‘Silver Golem, Bearix. He was a cadet at this time.’
Anyway, with Peter stepping up again, things just got easier.
A battle with a knight using aura was valuable experience for Lawrence.
He also planned to extract materials from the knights.
This duel carried a lot at stake and was necessary.
“This time will be different.”
“Not using a real sword?”
“Still, we can’t kill anyone.”
“Interesting.”
Still, a knight’s body carries chivalry in its very essence.
Then he too had to control his power carefully.
“Put on your armor. Let’s fight properly.”
“…Alright.”
He, who had been in casual wear, now donned armor with the help of his classmates.
Assuming a glancing hit, first-circle spells like Iron Sword would be no problem.
“Then, begin—!”
Blue aura poured out of Peter’s body.
Despite being common-born, he looked impressive.
If he grew as he was, he could easily become a [Mid-level Knight].
Or, in other words, an [Aura Expert].
‘Still, I can see it.’
Nothing escaped the dragon’s eye.
Since mana was being used, he could read it even better.
Knowing in advance made countering simple.
Bang—!
Just striking the ground raised dust and sounded like bullets raining.
Peter was certain.
No matter how fast a wizard could cast, in close combat, a wizard could never defeat a knight.
‘Especially the moment aura is used, the game is over!’
“Ugh—ha.”
“Ugh!?”
Lawrence suddenly disappeared from Peter’s sight.
Instead, a huge chunk of meat appeared in his vision.
He sidestepped the linear attack and swung the chunk from nowhere.
“I won’t use magic either.”
Open your mouth.
Incoming.
[Strength]
[Haste]
Crack—!
“Ugh!?”
A blow strong enough to shatter a sturdy troll bone.
Plus the recoil from charging forward.
If Peter were a baseball, it would have been a grand slam out of the field.
Crash, bang, bang—!
Peter fell backward, hitting the back of his head on the ground.
With a single blow, he foamed at the mouth and passed out.
“Seeing that and dodging…?”
“Instructor, wouldn’t it be better to recruit Prince Lawrence instead of Peter?”
“….”
How is that a wizard?
Instructor Argon could only tremble.
Meanwhile, Bearix’s expression shifted slightly.
“Interesting kid.”
Somehow, he felt like he wanted to get along.
The knight trainees were all boring anyway.
#2
“So, you’re taking all of this?”
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
“No, it’s fine for us. These were troublesome to handle anyway.”
Lawrence requested leftover swords from the trainees’ practice and broken armor.
They were certainly rough with their equipment.
Instructor Argon dismantled them but kept his promise.
The Magic Tower head was naturally satisfied.
<How can one entrust command to those blinded by honor and achievements? Well done.>
That was the evaluation of the Magic Tower head.
With emotions aside, Argon saw a lot.
“Lawrence Montemer, you’re eleven years old this year, right?”
“Yes.”
“Wow… such a natural knight. Ever thought about being a knight instead of a wizard?”
“You know the Montemer family well. And there’s no need to increase competitors.”
“Maybe because you’re a wizard, you’re clever. Judging by your actions, you’d make a fine knight.”
It was a shame.
He lost and he was a wizard, but with that solid body and extraordinary reflexes, he would have been an incredible knight…
Recalling what he experienced in the North, Lawrence politely shook his head.
“Then I’ll take these.”
“Do so.”
“A bit of bickering, but let’s do our best in the operation.”
“…Alright.”
They were moving toward a common goal.
Once rankings were sorted, one had to acknowledge it cleanly.
At least the Empire Central Academy, training talent for the Empire’s frontlines, taught that.
Thus, the knight trainees didn’t hold grudges.
They even approached him friendly.
Like a high school sports club, perhaps.
“What are you going to do with all this?”
“Useful for something.”
“Wizards are amazing. See you in the operation.”
“Next time, fight me again. I’ll be stronger than today.”
Lawrence nodded at Peter, now fully conscious after healing magic.
They didn’t seem bad, so they could get along.
He hummed a tune as he headed back to his room.
With plenty of materials, he wouldn’t have to worry for a while.
‘Items used by paladins, knight training materials, dolls, scrap, a set of armor, and two swords.’
A massive haul.
Lawrence pushed all the materials into a pocket dimension, out of sight of anyone.
Then, looking at the broken troll tomahawk, he licked his lips.
“I’ll need Rachel to bake this…”
Perhaps he had swung too hard.
Strong enough to break a troll’s bone.
Indeed, aura power was immense.
Without dragon eyesight, he couldn’t even have reacted.
‘No matter how fast the incantation, if it doesn’t hit, it’s useless.’
And one more thing:
[Defeated an enemy using aura.]
[Dragon Body grows due to valuable experience.]
[Hatchling: 75%]
[Hatchling passed 70%, new abilities added.]
[Can now create 4th circle artifacts for ‘Engraving’.]
[Number of artifacts that can be transplanted +1]
[Dragon scales grow tougher.]
[Dragon eye’s reflexes improve.]
[Can register one more guardian.]
“Oh?”
The extra guardian slot was particularly useful.
Plus, 4th circle engraving and slot expansion.
The duel with the aura-wielding knight was extremely valuable.
With an additional guardian slot, his plans could progress faster.
‘Nothing is more important than information.’
If he involved Ades, he could actively counter Medea’s schemes.
To eventually engulf the family and make it his own, he had to take it step by step.
Lawrence envisioned the future as he headed to his room.
“Alright, time to start the work.”
He selected useful materials.
Not top-tier, but decent.
[Scratched paladin supply helmet]
[Medium: Mana, efficiency +10% for sacred power engraving]
[Worn-out training armor]
[Extraction: Engraving – High Concentration]
[High Concentration: Slight increase in incantation speed, efficiency in concentration-related tasks]
[Grade: 3rd Circle]
“This should do. And…”
Finally, it was time to use the materials from the orc obtained in the preliminaries.
A decent one among non-elemental magic.
[Knight’s Sword]
[Extraction: Engraving – Non-elemental Boost]
[Non-elemental Boost: Enhances non-elemental magic, aura, physical abilities]
[Includes Dragon Scale, Haste, Strength]
[Grade: 4th Circle]
“This is it.”
A passive skill, and a brokenly strong one at that.
How could he resist this?
Lawrence immediately took out his pen.
