The Weakest F-Rank Who Breaks the System

Unedited*

"Is the Crossfire Swordsman going to fight?"

"Looks like it..."

"Who’s his opponent?"

"You idiot, don’t you know? It’s Lucius Asturias, the Rising Star!"

"Huh? Everyone’s been talking about that guy lately..."

"He’s showing a talent no one could have predicted... it’s only natural."

Conversations about the two fighters began immediately. Everyone was eagerly awaiting this match, as it was the highest-level one to take place in this hall today—given the time of day and the fact that there was no one of higher rank than these two.

Furthermore, the Crossfire Swordsman enjoys a commendable reputation among the academy’s sword-wielding mages.

With the potential to reach Rank 1,000 in just three years, he is a worthy student who will surely go on to the Main Academy next year.

However, what was most admirable about this swordsman was not his strength, but his experience. Despite his youth, he is always seeking challenges against powerful beasts, so his combat experience is exceptional.

And his mastery of magic is unparalleled within the D-Rankings; it’s even said that most C-Rankers can’t match him in his control over his magic.

That’s why the battle immediately caught everyone’s attention.

Two swordsmen, one duel.

Out of respect, Daniel was the first to move to attack.

He drew his sword, and it burst into flames. He stomped his foot in front of him and sprinted at full speed to confront him.

"Fire Enchantment, huh." Lucius knew that taking that attack head-on was dangerous.

His sword was strong, but he hadn’t upgraded it due to a lack of time. It was still a Level 1 weapon.

Meanwhile, Daniel’s sword was Level 2 and enchanted with powerful fire magic.

He had to make a smarter move.

He swung his sword forward... Some might have thought magic was about to be unleashed, but in reality, there was only a strong gust of wind created by the simple movement.

It had no effect whatsoever, but it was a perfect distraction that allowed him to step to the side and use his sword to strike his opponent’s blade right in the middle of the spell.

The blow was powerful. Although it didn’t draw any mana, it was strong enough to jolt Daniel’s arm, sending shivers through him as if he’d hit his elbow several times in a row.

Daniel’s sword missed its mark and simply sailed past him, striking the ground more than two meters away from Lucius—but it had only just begun.

Lucius took advantage of the huge opening created to approach Daniel from behind and struck him repeatedly with thrusts and a horizontal attack.

CLANK!

The horizontal attack struck right where Daniel’s armor was; it wasn’t meant to hurt him... rather, it was meant to destabilize him.

And it succeeded.

Because of this, Daniel had to enter a passive state, forced to try to break out of it somehow.

BOOM!

BOOM!

Lucius raised his sword to block a powerful magical attack, and his body was sent rolling several meters backward.

"Oh... So that’s why they call you the Crossfire Swordsman."

With a single sword, he could strike twice in the same attack pattern, but in different directions.

Daniel smiled. "I didn’t think I’d be forced to use it to break out of a passive state."

"That’s a nice trick you’ve got there," said Lucius.

"Do you understand it?" asked Daniel, a little taken aback.

"Although many believe that a Crossfire attack requires maximum control over a single spell, the reality is different if you have two spells with the same property but that fire in different directions," Lucius replied.

His words made a strong impression.

The spectators didn’t understand what he meant... but Daniel did.

"You really are talented," Daniel acknowledged. To be able to figure out in an instant what his Crossfire truly was required first-rate insight and knowledge.

And, in fact, in this case, Lucius understood this much better than Daniel himself. In his previous life, he had faced far too many types of Crossfire Swordsmen.

The most notable among them holds the glorious title of Seventh in the Global Rankings: The Dual Swordsman.

His unique ability allows him to wield two swords instead of one; both swords share the same magic without requiring additional mana marks.

In that regard, his unique ability is almost like a bug. Never before in history has anyone appeared with an ability that allows them to do that. He is twice as strong as any normal swordsman, simply because his two swords possess powerful magic and because he can keep adding to it as long as he acquires more Mana Marks.

In this case, Daniel ranks at the bottom among this type of mage-swordsman, but his potential is high.

"Let me see what you’re capable of, then, Crossfire Swordsman. I’m curious to see how far you’ll go."

Once again, Daniel and Lucius faced off.

The sound of their swords barely clashing echoed throughout the area.

Daniel had greater power. His strength was impressive, which was to be expected. His actual rank is D, so he’s stronger than Lucius, who is Rank E.

However, the fact that Lucius could match and even surpass him left everyone speechless.

At one point, Lucius began attacking him more head-on; the strength of an E-Rank rivaled and surpassed that of one of the most powerful D-Ranks.

Although, that brought up another dilemma... Was Lucius really an E-Rank?

The system says yes... but the Ranking places him among the top spots in Rank D, above Daniel.

CLANK!

Just as everyone was wondering the same thing, a powerful attack shook Daniel’s body, and his sword fell, rolling across the floor.

Before Daniel could even comprehend what was happening, Lucius managed to attack him head-on, knock his sword away, and position himself behind him, forcing him to surrender.

"You’d reach your full potential against someone who fights differently than I do," Lucius told him. "I can see you have a wealth of experience; you should make the most of it. I think your true ranking is closer to 1,000 than to 2,000."

Daniel didn’t turn around, realizing that Lucius wanted to tell him something in private. He decided to shield his words with his body so that only he could hear them.

"Let me tell you something."

"Your progress will be steady, just as it has been so far."

"Thanks to your skill and combat tactics, you’ll be able to advance to high ranks."

"But don’t focus on seeking out Rank D spells right now—they only provide a little extra attack power, and for someone like you, they’re useless."

"Try teaming up with mercenaries to hunt for Rank C marks and higher... That is, if you ever want to become a Rank S. If you don’t, you’ll be eternally doomed to remain at Rank B or A. Because your Starter Set isn’t that great."

"You have my respect. If you do well, in the future, you’ll be one of the pillars of this island," he said, then turned to leave. "By the way, if you’re interested, you can come see me. I like talented people."

After that, Lucius and Clara left.

Daniel was left deep in thought... He had lost to someone who hadn’t used magic even once.

There wasn’t even a hint of mana usage. There were only sword tactics and extraordinary movements without any magical intervention.

Someone who had been walking with him approached. "Big brother, are you okay?" he asked in a low voice.

"I think I’ve found a guy who’s even more incredible than I imagined," Daniel laughed.

"Really?"

"Did you see that? He didn’t use any mana."

"I saw it." His younger brother nodded. "He’s way better than you."

"I know. It’s no wonder he’s the rising star..."

-

"What do you think of that fire magic? Do you think I could ever beat him, if I fought him or someone like him?" Clara asked after they left to find more opponents for Lucius.

"That’s hard to say. He’s a pure attacker; you’re a support."

"I figured as much..." Clara suddenly lost heart.

"It’s not impossible. I once knew a support-type mage who was able to stand up to one of the best 1-on-1 fighters I’ve ever met. Nothing is impossible."

Clara turned to look at him. "Really? A support standing up to a fighter?"

"He beat him several times, actually," Lucius recalled.

It wasn’t that long ago.

The fighter in question is none other than the Dual Swordsman.

And the support...

"R-really? How did she do it?" Clara asked immediately.

"Why don’t you look him up on The Wall? His videos are all over the place." Lucius replied, and without waiting for her answer, he searched on his The Wall.

He scrolled down to the Global Rankings and opened a woman’s profile.

She’s a dangerous woman.

Ranked #14, Rocío, the Empress of Water.

"If you want to learn how to be a good support player, she could definitely help you. If you ever get the chance to meet her, you should ask her to train you."

"T-T-The Empress..." Clara swallowed hard and, with a helpless smile, shook her head. "Even if I used all of my family’s influence, I could never get in touch with Empress Rocío."

Lucius found that amusing.

The first time he came into contact with that dangerous woman, he was a 14-year-old boy trying to find his place in the world.

"Someday you’ll surely have her."