Chapter 73
Chapter 73
Eriksen Hotsper.
As I had said before, as the eldest son of the Hotsper family—a house with a certain degree of prestige—he had been an extra with a fair amount of presence.
That said, his role had merely been a pitiful one of pestering Elysia.
However, now that the original storyline had been twisted, things seemed a little different.
‘Has he reached Sword Expert.’
No, since he used a spear, it would be more accurate to call it Spear Expert.
There had been a setting that he was a genius, but even so, his proper stage for displaying his abilities should have been the battlefield.
I felt slightly surprised at how fast he had grown.
“I trained hard even after our last spar. Right now, I’m confident I wouldn’t lose.”
“Is that so.”
It seemed I had ended up acting as a catalyst that accelerated his growth.
“…….”
As I talked with Eriksen, I could feel members of the representative teams heading outside glancing at me.
None of them openly showed hostility, but most didn’t give off a very good impression.
Whether he noticed it or not, Eriksen lightly tapped my shoulder again and pointed outside.
“Then I’ll take my leave here.”
Leysias said she had something to do, gave me a light greeting, and split off.
Eriksen looked a little regretful at that, but as if I had been his original target, he turned his head back to me.
“So, what’s your answer?”
“I have no reason to refuse.”
For the sake of growth, I needed to fight a variety of opponents.
He was inferior to Alice, but since he had entered the realm of Expert, he should at least provide a decent feel.
To be honest, I didn’t dislike Eriksen that much.
In the story, he had always been portrayed with a trivial, shallow attitude, but rather, I found myself even liking how his outward behavior matched his inner self.
‘And if things go well, I might also hear something about Carius or Darius.’
Throughout the meeting, Darius had just sat in a corner with his arms crossed, as if plotting something again.
Carius hadn’t deliberately provoked him either, and I too had only observed.
Eriksen would have had more contact with them than I did, so he likely knew more.
“Good. Then let’s meet at the training hall in thirty minutes.”
At the center of the training hall we had rented for the spar, Eriksen loosened up by lightly swinging his spear.
He had definitely grown several steps compared to before.
It didn’t seem like he was swinging seriously, yet the spear pierced the air with a sharp sound.
Sring.
I also drew my sword.
Unlike his, it had no flashy colors or gleaming decorations, but it was a sword I had used since my time at the imperial palace, so I was rather attached to it.
I didn’t know the exact details, but it had to be several times more expensive than the spear he was holding.
Despite the fierce battles it had been through multiple times, aside from a few nicks on the edge, it didn’t have so much as a scratch.
Well, it had been in my palace—there was no way it was an ordinary sword.
“Ah, wait a moment. Shall we talk a bit before that?”
As I took my stance in front of him, Eriksen lowered his spear and waved his hand.
Wondering what he wanted to talk about, I looked at him, and he spoke while scratching his cheek.
“We made a promise before, didn’t we. That if you won the spar, I’d tell you about the movements on this side.”
“…I thought you’d forgotten.”
Given his character, I had thought he would have already forgotten such a trivial matter.
But at my words, Eriksen frowned slightly.
“A man of the Hotsper family doesn’t forget a promise.”
“Then why only now?”
“…Well, that’s because. You looked busy with all sorts of things, and I was busy in my own ways too, so I wondered if it was okay to take up your time with such trivial talk.”
Judging by how he avoided my gaze and made excuses, it seemed his conscience was pricking him as well.
Well, thinking back on it, he hadn’t forgotten.
“But I did pick up quite a few stories in the meantime.”
Eriksen then told me, quite literally, a variety of stories.
That the factions of Carius or Darius had set me as their target, and that they had already attempted several interference operations.
“The people around you are formidable to begin with. And on top of that, Instructor Delke somehow noticed and blocked them.”
Instructor Delke?
When that unexpected name came up, my eyes widened.
Lately, he seemed very busy, and whenever we crossed paths, we only exchanged brief greetings.
I had never imagined he was helping behind the scenes.
Considering the Gawain incident, the instructors should have been siding with Carius and Darius.
In that situation, helping me would surely draw everyone’s glares.
‘I’ll have to repay him later.’
“That’s about all I picked up. Ah, I also heard that they’re scheming something at this Academic Festival. I don’t know the details, but anyway, there’s something going on.”
“…Senior, is it really okay for you to tell me all of that?”
Even if it was a promise made through a bet, I felt a bit worried seeing Eriksen spill everything without restraint.
He had a simple personality, so I wondered if he might get targeted.
But he shrugged and continued.
“Well, I’m not really in the same crowd as them anyway. And I don’t like the way they strut around just because they’re royalty……. Ah, was that something I shouldn’t have said?”
Eriksen scratched his head with a slightly awkward expression.
If he had been hearing things around Carius and Darius, he would naturally know my status as well.
So I shook my head and agreed with him.
“I feel the same way about how unpleasant it is to see those guys strutting around, so let’s call it even on the charge of lèse-majesté.”
“This is an unspeakable mercy.”
We looked at each other and laughed.
Surprisingly, it seemed Eriksen and I had compatible personalities.
‘It wouldn’t be bad to bring him under me later.’
The Hotsper family’s forces weren’t weak either.
And with Eriksen’s level of talent, even if becoming a Master was a stretch, he had the potential to grow close to that level.
“Alright, then let’s end the small talk here.”
Saying it was about time to start, he raised his spear.
Contrary to his vivid red hair, the bluish spearhead sharpened its edge toward me.
In response, I raised my sword and let my momentum swell.
‘In terms of power, about Elysia’s level.’
If I were to unleash my full presence, the match would end in a single exchange.
No, it was questionable whether a spar would even be established.
If Eriksen faced my presence, which was close to Sword Master, he would be a lamb before a lion.
So I only released momentum comparable to Elysia’s.
Seeing light fill Eriksen’s eyes, it seemed he felt it was worth a try.
“There’s no need to say anything about holding back or such, right, junior?”
“You may come at me as you like, senior.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he slowly moved around me, searching for an opening.
I remained standing still as before.
At an intermediate level, having too many openings actually causes confusion about where to attack.
But Eriksen seemed to have already surpassed that stage, thrusting his spear without the slightest hesitation.
Swaeek!
Short thrusts, clearly meant as probes, followed one after another.
When I blocked them without difficulty, the next attacks came at an even faster speed.
At his attitude, as if testing the waters, a dry laugh escaped me.
‘When I’m letting my guard down, even charging in all at once might not be enough.’
In his usual demeanor, he was as lighthearted as could be, so why did he become this cautious whenever it came to sparring? A spear’s lifeblood was lightness.
If he followed even half of his usual self, he would be more threatening, but unfortunately, I could assert that his current direction was wrong.
‘In that case.’
I reversed my defensive stance.
In a fight between spear and sword, unless one closes into the inner range, the reach difference keeps the spear at an advantage throughout.
But I slowly stepped forward and thrust my sword at high speed.
Clang-! Clang-!
“…Kgh.”
A sharp metallic cry echoed through the training hall.
Seeing me replicate exactly the kind of attack he had used at the start, Eriksen let out his first groan.
But unlike the spear’s assault, which had gradually slowed and grown heavier, my sword only became faster and more lively.
Soon, my sword surged to the point where he couldn’t keep up.
Seven attacks were unleashed in a single breath.
Eriksen barely blocked up to the sixth, but he missed the final strike.
Still, as if proving the name of genius, he bounced his body away and avoided it, but his cheek split slightly, and droplets of blood scattered into the air.
“Hoo…….”
It had been a hair’s-breadth situation where his neck could have been cut.
Of course, I had never intended to go that far, but Eriksen seemed to have taken it differently.
“I’m going properly now.”
He bounced lightly in place, loosening his entire body.
It seemed he had gained some insight from my attack and abandoned his heavy-focused style.
‘A good attitude.’
He quickly identified his mistake, discarded what needed to be discarded, and took only what would benefit him.
Just that alone refined his momentum another level.
Unnecessary waste of strength diminished, and its efficiency was converted into driving force to win.
Seeing him step onto a path I had already once walked, a satisfied smile naturally came to my face.
‘So this is why everyone takes on disciples.’
To grasp the core and grow with just a small hint.
Wooong-
A pale green aura rose over the blue spear.
Having reached the lower tier of Expert, it was still a bit weak to be called complete aura, but with just a little more time, he would quickly climb the steps in leaps and bounds.
That was what it meant to have the right direction.
‘I need to work hard too, so I don’t fall behind.’
I couldn’t keep being dragged down by my current level forever.
If this world were a novel being serialized in real time, readers would have complained about how Leios still hadn’t hit Sword Master yet, calling it a frustrating mess.
I wanted to retort that it wasn’t like I didn’t want to become one, but would readers even understand that.
So all I could do was train in silence.
As I did, I faintly sensed something.
Even if stories were expressed in writing to be seen, there were parts beneath the surface that weren’t expressed.
The latter would overwhelmingly be greater in volume.
Perhaps that was why we could see stories that moved so vividly.
And right now, it was precisely the unexpressed parts that were unfolding.
A hidden story omitted in the original work, where each character honed their blade and trained their body to lead this world forward.
“Ha-!”
Eriksen’s once-unstable aura now took on a complete form, as if he had found the feel for it.
Like a light illuminating the darkness, it sharpened its edge clearly.
And then it collided with my sword.
Boom-!
A vibration strong enough to make my legs tremble traveled up through the tip of my blade.
The blue aura I had ignited devoured Eriksen’s pale green aura and knocked his spear shaft away.
“Kgh?!”
Eriksen dropped his spear and staggered several steps back.
His spear drifted through the air, then rolled across the ground with a loud clatter, deciding the outcome of the spar.
“Tsk, what a shame. I thought I might have a chance today.”
Eriksen scratched his cheek regretfully.
He likely knew that I had held back to some extent.
Even so, he didn’t look discouraged.
Well, keep your spirits up.
Losing is a natural thing.
After all, your opponent was me.