“No, wait a moment.”
Vice Captain Melin intervened with a troubled expression.
“Rather than that, it would be wise to find a suitable opponent. You are aware that Theren’s level is 2- stars, right?”
2- stars.
It was an astonishing revelation.
Theren was merely thirteen years old.
Typically, reaching 2- stars in swordsmanship or magic from a young age happened well into someone’s twenties.
Without exceptional talent, many never even approached the threshold of 2- stars.
“We have many promising young members in our order who would be well-suited to spar with the young master.”
Vice Captain Melin thought to herself that even the newbies could give Chistian a thorough thrashing.
“No, if we are to prove my worth, it should be done properly. I want to challenge Theren.”
“!!”
“Now then, Theren, what do you think? You must have hoped for such an opportunity too?”
Chistian said teasingly.
“Or perhaps, are you scared of facing your older brother?”
Theren gritted his teeth.
The sound of his patience snapping echoed in his head.
“…I will accept the duel.”
Vice Captain Melin sighed.
But deep down, she felt it was for the best.
‘If it’s Theren, no matter what happens, it’s not my responsibility.’
If a knight of the Black Marsh Knights were to seriously injure that reckless fool during the duel, her position could become complicated.
However, Theren was his brother, making the duel a fraternal dispute.
Whatever accidents occurred, her responsibility would be much lighter.
‘Since he’s always despised his reckless brother, he won’t end it lightly. Ideally, crippling him would be nice, but perhaps Theren’s gentle nature will prevent him from going that far.’
She disdainfully thought of the weaker members.
Especially the likes of Chistian, the reckless one, were the worst.
‘Daring to soil the territory of the Black Marsh Knights while being nothing but a pig.’
Such sentiments were common among the other members of the knights order.
“Master Theren, please crush this brat this time!”
“If you send him back in one piece, it’s special training for you today!”
Amidst fervent cheers, they stepped onto the training grounds for the duel.
Chistian had insisted on a duel without the use of magic, using only their bare hands.
“How dare you…”
Theren snarled with a fierce intensity.
Chistian asked Vice Captain Melin.
“What are the rules of the duel? Until the opponent surrenders?”
“No.”
Vice Captain Melin shook her head.
That would be too easy; the fool might surrender after taking a single hit.
“Let’s make it until one is unable to fight.”
It was clearly a rule designed against Chistian.
The onlookers whistled with joy, almost like a festival atmosphere.
Everyone eagerly anticipated Chistian being beaten to a pulp.
“Heard the rules? What will you do?”
Chistian shrugged.
“You’re going to get hit a lot, you know?”
“!!”
Theren’s face flushed with anger.
Just as he was about to retort, something unbelievable happened.
Thud!
Chistian’s fist struck Theren’s face.
Blood splattered, and Chistian smirked.
“What are you doing? The fight already started.”
* * *
In reality, this was almost like cheating.
A duel with magic forbidden and only bare hands allowed.
‘Under these conditions, there’s hardly anyone in the Black Marsh Knights who could match me.’
Chistian was a mere 1- star as a knight.
However, if described using the terminology of the ‘Realm of Light’, he was a 3-star level knight.
In contrast, Theren had only just reached 2- stars.
Chistian was inherently much more skilled.
Even before his regression, he was not at a 3-star level, but a 4-star level.
‘At 4-stars, I could aim for a Vice Captain or even a top official in a medium-sized knight order.’
And it was not just that.
He had undergone a complete transformation.
Though his muscles were not yet fully developed and he looked feeble on the outside, his inner strength was unmatched by anyone.
But no matter how talented, could Theren be, a mere thirteen-year-old child, really stand a chance against him?
‘Not likely. He needs to drink more of mother’s milk… oh, we share the same mother.’
Holding back an inappropriate joke, Chistian swung his fist again.
Thud!
Theren’s head snapped back.
Not stopping there, Chistian closed in on the dazed Theren.
A knee dug into the abdomen.
As Theren naturally bent over from the pain, Chistian swung his fist upward.
Thud!
With a clean sound, Theren fell to the floor.
“……”
“……”
The arena fell silent.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at Chistian, unable to comprehend what they were seeing.
“What just happened?”
“Did Master Theren let his guard down?”
“That must be it, right? Otherwise, this doesn’t make sense.”
It seemed Theren himself was thinking the same.
He gritted his teeth and rose again, though he already looked worse for wear.
His face was bloodied, and his legs trembled slightly, perhaps from the ringing in his head.
“What kind of cheating is this?”
“Cheating?”
“Otherwise, how could I possibly lose to you?!”
Theren shouted furiously.
Chistian smirked dismissively.
“Does this look like cheating to you? If so.”
Thud!
His fist connected again.
“It seems like you need to be hit more.”
Again, Thud!
Blood trickled down from Theren’s nose.
‘Hmm, perhaps that was a bit much.’
Chistian had intentionally chosen Theren for a reason.
‘He needed to be knocked down.’
Leaving him alone would only result in endless nagging and annoyance, so Chistian created this opportunity.
Well, perhaps the exchange of blows could foster some brotherly love, though the punches were unilaterally from his side.
‘And there’s another important reason too.’
Chistian had provoked Theren for that ‘purpose.’
“But you, you bleed a lot from the nose. Hey, you’re not crying, are you? Hmm, sorry… should big brother stop?”
“AAAGH!!!”
Theren screamed, whether in agony or fury.
Finally, Chistian provoked the reaction he had intended.
Flash!
Theren’s fist was enveloped in dark energy.
He had unleashed his magic.
“AAAGH!!”
Theren, losing all reason, hurled his magic-wrapped fist at Chistian.
The members of the Black Marsh Knights, including Vice Captain Melin, were taken aback. Melin realized her mistake.
‘If that magic hits, it could kill!’
No matter what, a death would make her position very difficult.
But it was too late to intervene.
Melin’s face paled.
However, Chistian secretly smiled.
‘Bingo. Just as planned. I was wondering what I’d do if he kept his cool.’
It had all been according to plan.
Chistian glanced at Vice Captain Melin.
‘Now, watch closely with both eyes. See how I handle this.’
Through this duel, he intended to catch the eye of Vice Captain Melin.
Melin belonged to the Dark Magus lineage of the main house.
And she was a figure who would rise to the level of a 6-stars master in the era of destruction.
The method was simple.
Show something shockingly effective.
‘The method for the weak to stand against the strong is simple: just redirect the force.’
The problem is, there must be a balance of power to be able to redirect it.
If you touched the magic barehanded, you’d be fatally injured before you could redirect it.
So Chistian used a different approach.
Chistian glanced at Theren’s eyes.
Theren was flustered by his own lethal attack.
Perhaps because of his confusion?
The flow of magic was unstable.
Chistian now directly faced the incoming magic.
The swirling magic looked like dancing flames.
Within the irregular energy, a weak spot appeared momentarily.
Chistian did not miss this fleeting opportunity.
With the palm of his hand, he struck that weak spot, and the magic surrounding Theren’s fist scattered with the impact.
“Ah?”
Theren’s eyes widened in shock.
And that was the last of it.
Thud!
The punch connected squarely.
Theren fell backwards, knocked out cold.
“……”
The hall fell silent.
The knights of the order could not fully comprehend what had just happened.
“What happened? Why did the magic…?”
“Did Master Theren retract his magic to avoid injuring that scoundrel?”
It was the only conclusion they could draw from the spectacle, as disrupting the flow of incoming magic to neutralize it was considered absolutely impossible by their standards.
However, there was one person who reacted differently.
Vice Captain Melin, the most powerful mage present, her face set in stone, her eyes a mix of astonishment and disbelief.
‘Success.’
Chistian saw Melin’s reaction and smirked inwardly.
“Is this sufficient to prove my worth?”
“…Yes.”
Melin slowly opened her mouth.
She tried to hide her confusion, but Chistian could see right through her thoughts.
Chistian smiled broadly.
“Then, I look forward to working together.”
It was time to exploit the resources of the Black Marsh Knights.
* * *
From that day, Chistian trained at the training grounds along with the Black Marsh Knights.
However, he did not participate in the same regimen.
They shared the same space, but their training was entirely separate.
The Black Marsh Knights followed their prescribed knightly training routines, while Chistian worked on his basic physical conditioning alone.
Although he did not cause the disruption the knights had feared, they still frowned upon his presence.
“It’s like having a fly buzzing around.”
“He’s quieter than I expected.”
“Even a scoundrel knows his place. He wouldn’t dare to make a scene here in the Black Marsh Knights.”
“How long will this act of diligence last? Two days?”
“I give it a day.”
“I say half a day.”
Despite his victory over Theren, the knights still held a low opinion of Chistian.
They believed that Chistian had won by cheating and that his last move, neutralizing the magic, was misinterpreted as Theren being lenient.
“If it were me instead of Master Theren, I could have taught him a lesson.”
While the knights grumbled among themselves, a stern rebuke cut through.
“Are you all just chatting idly? Seems like everyone has too much free time.”
“Vice Captain?”
“Instead of wasting time talking, swing your swords more!”
At Vice Captain Melin’s command, the knights refocused on their training with an unusually sharp intensity.
‘Why are they acting like this?’
‘Is it because of that scoundrel, making everyone uneasy?’
It was a partly correct guess.
Melin frowned.
‘That duel. What exactly was it?’
She had been shocked from the start of the duel because of Chistian.
***
Here is the Glossary/ Characters/ Settings of this novel!
If you have any suggestion for better names or words, feel free to share your suggestions! All the names and words chosen are all due to my own judgement, so some wording may not be to your taste.
You guys get payed to train, so just train…
Kinda annoyed when employees chatter too much during work time, understand that the work sometimes lesser, but these guys only need to train, talk too much when they only need to swing their sword? PAY CUT!
xD