Chapter 80
Chapter 80
The Artenia Continent was divided into two continents, east and west.
The Eastern Continent was mostly plains, and unless it was a specific region like Britain, it was rich in resources and culturally developed.
The reason the Ribera Empire could be called the strongest nation on the continent was because it had seized hegemony over that fertile Eastern Continent.
The Oscal Empire likewise dominated the Western Continent just like the Ribera Empire, but perhaps because it was a rough land with a higher proportion of mountains than plains and teeming with monsters, its reputation was relatively low.
‘Today, I’ll shatter that prejudice.’
Bertrand was the representative of the Senior Academy, one of the institutions participating under the banner of the Oscal Empire.
Ribera and Oscal were empires that each represented their respective continents, so they could not rashly wage war under the pretext of establishing a hierarchy.
Once two giants moved, it was inevitable that the entire continent would be engulfed in flames.
Because of that, the Oscal Empire strove to gain the upper hand over the Ribera Empire in various fields.
The Academic Festival, in particular, was a venue for showcasing each nation’s talent.
Great honor was bestowed upon the victor.
For that reason, they had selected elite talents, admitted them into academies, and poured in enormous investments for over a decade, but overcoming the wall of the Bayern Academy had been difficult.
Last year as well, when he had been in his second year, he had fiercely crossed swords with Louis of the Bayern Academy, who was the same age, over the seat of the marksman.
Last year as well, after advancing to his second year, Bertrand had confidently participated in the Academic Festival, but after a fierce duel over the marksman’s seat with Louis of Bayern from the same year, he had met defeat.
Though it had been a match decided by the margin of a single sheet of paper, Bertrand had not despaired.
Rather, he had mulled it over, used it as nourishment for his own growth, and after dedicating himself for a year, he had achieved results he could be satisfied with.
And now, today, he participated once more in the marksman’s tournament in order to finally surpass the name Bayern.
Fortunately, his second opponent had been selected as a student from the Bayern Academy he had so fervently desired.
‘That first-year who participated this time as an exception.’
Bertrand looked at him with gleaming eyes.
Light brown hair, an impeccably handsome face, and a slender build—it looked as though he had abandoned strength and chosen speed.
“I am Bertrand of the Oscal Academy.”
But Bertrand never let his guard down.
After all, hadn’t his opponent overwhelmingly crushed his foe in the first bout? That had been true for him as well, but the sword light that had flashed through the air was not something to take lightly.
‘In speed, I won’t lose either.’
Through a year of blood-soaked effort, he had entered the lower tier of Sword Expert.
Considering his age, it was truly an outstanding achievement.
In fact, in recognition of the fruits of his talent and effort, it had already been decided that he would join a renowned imperial knight order immediately after graduating from the academy.
Defeating the Bayern Academy would be the starting point where he took the first step of his life story.
Thud-!
As he stepped forward, a fierce aura surged through his entire body.
At the heavy, dignified presence unbefitting of a student, the crowd erupted in cheers, and dignitaries from various nations who had come to observe let out low exclamations of admiration.
“What do you think. This is Bertrand of the Senior Academy. He’s one of the top contenders for victory in the sword division of this marksman’s tournament.”
“He’s decent.”
Isaac gave a rough reply to the official beside him who continued explaining various things, then focused his attention on the stage.
Certainly, Bertrand’s level was not low.
He must have worked hard with a fair amount of talent.
“…What a waste of an opponent.”
Along with his quiet murmur, the tournament began.
The moment the signal sounded, Bertrand powerfully swung his sword.
Flashing sword light embroidered the air.
At the splendid attacks that struck several times per second, the audience let out cheers.
Bertrand, too, looked at his opponent with a confident expression.
“Hooh.”
Ostia did not even draw his sword.
He merely twisted his body lightly in place, narrowly avoiding the blade again and again.
Bertrand thought the man was quite capable.
Standing before so many people must have been a rare experience, yet there was not a hint of tension.
Rather, there was even a sense of lightness to his movements.
‘As expected of Bayern. This won’t be easy.’
But he had not yet gone all out.
There were still about three days left until the finals.
If he expended too much strength from the start, it could interfere with the later schedule, so he intended to control his pace.
‘But with my sworn rival Bayern right in front of me, how could I do that!’
A dazzling light burst forth from his sword.
Mana that bloomed at the tip condensed, honing a sharp momentum along the blade.
“……!”
Ostia, too, seemed flustered by that, widening his eyes as he looked at him.
Feeling an unprecedented exhilaration, Bertrand swung his sword fiercely.
‘I remember now.’
Bertrand of the Senior Academy.
It was a name that was definitely in my memory, but only a vague impression surfaced, as if shrouded in fog.
His swordsmanship was fairly good.
Probably superior to Darius, and capable of fighting Carius to a close match.
But his opponent had been too bad.
From the outset, he had pressed the attack without rest, so I had accepted his strikes, wanting to see just how far he could go.
The more brilliantly he blossomed, the more attention would be focused on me when I cut him down.
In the midst of that, the moment he even used aura, I finally realized where I had heard the name Bertrand before.
‘Bertrand, the youngest general of the Oscal Empire.’
His outstanding talent had been recognized since his academy days, and he had joined the knight order at the youngest age, rising smoothly until he became an imperial general.
But the other side of that was, of course, anything but ordinary.
After losing to Carius at last year’s Academic Festival, he would have been destined to lose again this year as well.
Blocked by an unyielding wall, he eventually despaired, and just like with Gawain, he cornered himself.
However, while Gawain had fallen of his own accord, the difference was that this man had taken the hand of an evil being.
When Bertrand’s mind reached the extreme of exhaustion, a demon race member who hid his identity came to him.
If he took his hand, he would obtain what he desired.
Under normal circumstances, such words would not have held any sway, but for Bertrand, whose body and mind had both been utterly tattered, there was no longer any room left to discern reason.
In the end, he took the demon’s hand, and as if nothing had happened, he regained his vitality.
He finally rose to the rank of general at the youngest age in the empire, but from the moment he reached the peak, the fall began.
Using the past as leverage, the demon took away Bertrand’s mind and body.
And when the demon realm’s forces invaded the Middle Realm, he incited a rebellion, and in the aftermath, the Oscal Empire walked the path to destruction.
The fall of the Oscal Empire affected the entire Western Continent, and I remembered that at least several million people had died.
Even within the story’s timeline, that part had been the darkest.
‘I want him.’
Both his talent and character were not bad.
He had lost to Carius twice in a row and walked a wrong path, but if someone were to hold onto him, such a thing would not happen.
Swaaaaaash-!
A sword wrapped in aura swung toward me.
Judging by how a suitable amount of strength had been released at the tip, he intended to stop just before the cut.
I grinned at that and took the stance for drawing my blade.
White lines connected here and there in front of me, indicating the trajectory his sword would take as it moved.
But with this level of difference in skill, I did not need to borrow the system assist’s help to subdue him.
Slash-!
A cluster of blue light surged in the air.
My sword, drawn from its scabbard, was wrapped in blue aura and traced a sharp single flash.
“……?”
Bertrand failed to react to it.
He tried to stop his sword right in front of my nose, but without a shred of hesitation, I cut his blade apart.
Clang!
Hearing the sound of the halved sword rolling across the floor gave me a strange sense of déjà vu.
Bertrand stared back and forth between his severed sword and me, his mouth agape.
“Th, this is…….”
He seemed unable to believe the scene unfolding before his eyes.
He checked his sword several times, but the broken blade showed no sign of returning to its original form.
In the end, only after the announcement declaring the winner did he lower his head with a dazed expression.
“Do you want to become stronger?”
I stood before him and whispered softly.
Amid the situation where countless people were cheering our duel, it might not have been audible, but at my words, Bertrand snapped his head up and met my gaze.
“Your sword is brimming with talent. And yet, the fact that you lost to me means your effort was lacking.”
“…What would you know.”
He seemed to be holding himself back because of the eyes on him, but he could not stop his eyes from reddening.
At the sight of him glaring at me with bloodshot eyes, I snorted lightly and waved my hand.
“If you truly think that way, then that’s as far as your capacity goes. But.”
“…….”
“If you want to change, come find me before the Academic Festival ends.”
Then, without hesitation, I turned my body and left the stage.
‘The bait has been cast. Now all that remains is to see whether he bites or not.’
If he accepted my proposal, I intended to keep him under me, just like Gawain.
If Gawain had been overflowing with talent in magic, then Bertrand was overflowing with talent in the sword.
But if he refused.
‘Then I’ll have to eliminate future trouble.’
It was standard practice to uproot a cancerous mass before it grew.
“Good work. You won in such a flashy way.”
When I returned to the stands, Petra was already seated there, having finished her own tournament.
As I was about to drink the water she handed me, Petra asked with a curious expression.
“By the way, what did you say right after the match ended?”
“I saw some promise, so I wanted to keep him under me.”
“……?”
“Why are you making that face?”
When I asked back at Petra’s utterly unexpected expression, she scratched her cheek in embarrassment.
“No, it’s just that I thought you were strict with others, even if not with yourself. I never expected you to praise someone else.”
“…Do I really look that narrow-minded?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Petra stuck out her tongue and scolded me, telling me not to say such mean things.
“If you fought me, who do you think would win?”
“Well.”
It would probably be fifty-fifty.
If Bertrand acknowledged his limits and accepted my words, he would have the advantage, but with his current ability, Petra’s victory was expected.
“Hm.”
Perhaps she read that thought from my expression, because the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
But soon after, she pointed toward the stage where the tournament was ongoing and spoke to me.
“By the way, you know the event’s gotten overheated because of you, right?”
“Overheated?”
At the unfamiliar remark, I tilted my head, and she let out a small sigh and explained.
“You took down your opponent so stylishly that everyone got competitive. Everyone’s been trying so hard to look good. And right over there, you can see someone whose rivalry toward you has been ignited.”
Where Petra’s fingertip pointed, Darius was fighting his opponent.
He did not overwhelm them in a single stroke like I had, but he pressed his foe like a storm, relentlessly driving them back.
In the end, before long, he claimed victory.
Given the gap in ability, he could have decided the match in one exchange from the start.
“…Hm?”
As soon as the tournament ended, Darius turned his head and looked this way.
A sharp hostility settled over his emerald-tinged eyes.
At the distinct animosity that could be felt without explanation, a smile naturally spread across my face.
Carius could not participate as the previous year’s champion, but since Darius was in the same swordsmanship division, as long as he did not drop out, he would end up facing me.
“This is interesting.”
I truly looked forward to seeing whether he could still make such an expression even when standing right in front of me.