I Possessed a Character in an Academy Without a Protagonist – Chapter 22

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Haa…… Phew…… Phew……”

How many hours had it been?

After exchanging a few blows with Trie, no, after getting hit a few times, my clothes were already drenched in sweat and my breathing was ragged.

“It’s only been 10 minutes so far. You can’t get tired.”

“……”

Fuck. That’s impossible.

It’s only been 10 minutes?

“Then I’m coming in again!”

“……!”

Trie’s figure flew towards me once more.

Even though she clearly wasn’t using any mana, it was already difficult for my eyes to keep up with her movements.

Merely through the sensation ingrained in my body after being hit a dozen times, I instinctively raised my sword diagonally to block.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

A clear impact sound rang out as the wooden swords collided.

Although they were swords made of light wood, they were specially finished to have the same weight as a longsword.

That heavy weight pressed down on my arm, but I managed to endure it by supporting my body with one leg.

It was a wisdom I had gained after being pushed back and falling over due to poor posture earlier.

“Hah!”

Trie turned her sword, aiming for my head with the back of the blade.

Zwerchhau. It was a technique that struck both sides consecutively at head height.

-Try blocking it, Schlus!

At that moment, a translucent figure appeared before my eyes.

It was the activation of the ability ‘Memory of True Self’.

It was a video of Schlus’ father attacking with a sword using the Zwerchhau technique.

His figure overlapped with Trie’s as it rushed towards me in an instant.

In the memory, Schlus tried to block it by raising his sword, but he was struck in the head by the blade flying from the opposite side.

‘Good.’

In that fleeting moment, I learned one thing through the negative example.

I understood that I couldn’t block that technique with my current physique.

Then there was only one way.

Clang!

“Oh.”

Instead of defending, I countered with the same attack.

I charged in with a completely symmetrical stance to Trie’s, colliding our swords.

Then the guards of the two swords interlocked, creating a stalemate where neither could move.

Hmm. Now what should I do from here?

“Don’t space out!”

“Huh?”

As if providing the answer, Trie twisted my wrist.

The moment my center of gravity was thrown off, my ankle caught on something, and my vision spun around in an instant.

As my back slammed into the ground, a suffocating pain struck me.

When I came to my senses and tried to get up, Trie’s sword was already close to my neck.

“That makes it 13 times you’ve died.”

“Haa…… Again……”

“No. Let’s take a break. You’ll die at this rate.”

At Trie’s words, the strength drained from my entire body.

I tried to get up but gave up and lay down, exhaling rough breaths that made my throat sting.

I was so out of breath, I felt like I was going to die.

In contrast, Trie’s breathing was only slightly faster, and she didn’t seem particularly tired.

It could be that she had better stamina than me, but it was more likely that she moved her body much more efficiently.

I couldn’t even properly grasp how vast the gap was between Trie and me anymore.

“But you didn’t let go of your sword until the end. That was good.”

Come to think of it, the sword was still gripped in my hand.

It was fixed there as if glued with adhesive.

It was probably due to the memory of Schlus being beaten by his father every time he dropped his sword, which I had seen several times.

Thanks to that, it seemed like I would never let go of the sword now.

“Is my condition very serious?”

“Hmm……”

Trie avoided my gaze and hesitated for a moment.

Was it ambiguous?

Or was it a state so serious that it was difficult to tell me honestly?

“Yeah. It’s quite serious.”

“I see.”

Those were the words of the person who would become the strongest knight in this world.

It was probably true.

It seemed that both my modern mindset and Schlus’ body lacked talent for the sword.

For me, it made sense since my daily life consisted of staring at a computer all day.

I had some expectations for Schlus since he seemed to have held a sword before, but……

Useless guy.

“Let’s rest for a bit and continue.”

Trie put down her sword, watching my condition.

She didn’t seem tired at all herself.

I felt sorry for wasting her time because of my poor stamina.

Then I had no choice but to cheat.

‘Selection and Concentration. Use 1 second on vitality.’

I muttered quietly in my mind.

Then my pounding heart gradually calmed down, and my breathing became quieter.

Even after 1 second passed, my breath didn’t become ragged again.

I had discovered that by using ‘Selection and Concentration’ on the vitality stat like this, I could reset my fatigue.

However, it was a bit disappointing that I couldn’t split the time into less than 1 second, even if I divided it.

If I could divide it infinitely, I could use 0.01 seconds on vitality and run all day without getting tired.

They were quite clever to prevent such abuse.

“Let’s continue.”

“Huh? You’re done resting already?”

“Yeah. I’m fine now.”

“Oh. Okay…… Then let’s continue.”

As I stood up again, Trie raised her sword and assumed a stance.

Seeing her widening her eyes and putting strength into her legs, fear rushed over me as if I had encountered a fierce beast.

She couldn’t look more stupid normally, but the moment she drew her sword, her aura burst out like crazy……

I swallowed my saliva and stood across from her, raising my sword.

“This time, let’s spar while using the internal circuit as well.”

“Alright.”

It seemed Trie was going to teach me swordsmanship while operating the internal circuit as well.

Certainly, the method would differ when fighting barehanded versus fighting with monstrous physical abilities.

I used ‘Selection and Concentration’ on mana attunement for 2 seconds.

Then I activated the internal circuit. For only 2 seconds.

The mana energy generated from the circuit was instantly converted into mana by over 99 percent due to mana attunement.

I felt strength rising in my body.

With this, I could endure for about 3 minutes.

After that, I would have to make an excuse that I ran out of mana.

“Ready?”

“Yeah.”

Trie pulled one leg far back to charge.

I would get beaten up hard again.

But they say you learn everything by getting hit.

As long as I could become strong enough to defeat most extras, I could endure this hellish training countless times.

“Hah!”

With a shout, Trie’s wooden sword flew towards the space between my eyebrows.

***

“Haah…… Hah……”

“Phew.”

Schlus, gasping for rough breaths with his chest heaving. His entire body was covered in blue bruises.

Trie wiped the sweat running down her forehead and looked at him with a somewhat pitiful expression.

It wasn’t because she actually found him pitiful.

She was pretending to find him pitiful.

‘His learning speed is too fast. No matter how I look at it, he has talent.’

Schlus’ growth rate was enough to surprise Trie.

It was clear that Schlus had learned swordsmanship before.

But that was it. Although he showed signs of having learned the basics, his movements were rough and unrefined, indicating he hadn’t trained for long.

What was peculiar was the speed at which he absorbed teachings.

Once he was thoroughly beaten, he never fell for the same attack or trick again.

Every time Schlus got up after falling, his posture, movements, everything had completely changed.

He would counter Trie’s attacks and attack her with a completely changed style, as if he were a different person.

His physical abilities were nothing special, but his judgment was bold and he showed no fear of the sword.

Ordinary beginners only think about blocking the flying blade, but they can’t think of counterattacking.

“Sorry. I’m out of mana now……”

“Is that so? Then let’s stop here for today.”

Moreover, Schlus was born with an internal circuit of a master level.

Trie had noticed it during the first Combat Magic class, but after directly clashing swords, it was even more overwhelming than she had thought.

Although his output plummeted towards the end, at its peak, it even surpassed Trie’s output.

She barely suppressed him solely due to the difference in mana control ability and swordsmanship skill.

Even Trie, who had never taught anyone before, could tell. Schlus was a born swordsman.

If taught well, it seemed he would quickly reach the level of a high-ranking knight.

‘This is the first time my heart is beating so fast……’

Trie felt her heart racing and excitement rising.

It was the first emotion she had felt since deciding to walk the path of magic.

Perhaps this was how her father, who had taught her, felt.

Now she understood why her father had been so harsh, constantly scolding her for being terrible.

It was to make her never be satisfied with her current position. It was a lie to make her run towards the end of her talent.

Trie decided to use her father’s wisdom as it was.

Because the end of Schlus’ talent was still far away.

“The next sparring session…… uh…… hmm……”

“……?”

Trie trailed off as she watched Schlus staggering to his feet.

She was about to say she would come back tomorrow, but looking at Schlus’ condition, it seemed too much.

“Let’s do it in three days. I’ll come at 9 o’clock, just like today. How about that?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to do it a bit earlier? Before losing the feeling.”

“No. I have a schedule.”

Trie found herself lying without realizing it.

With that level of injury, it was obvious that his body would ache for at least 3 days even if he only went about his daily life……

“Thanks for the sparring session. I’m sorry I can’t repay you right away.”

“No. You said you’d teach me magic after the midterms. It’s fine even if it’s a bit late.”

“I’ll walk you to the front gate.”

“No. Rest. I’ll go by myself.”

“……”

Trie left the training room, leaving behind Schlus, whose breathing was still rough.

His attendant guided Trie out and bowed her head.

She was a rather young and pretty-looking child.

The thought crossed Trie’s mind that Schlus wouldn’t lay a hand on her…… but she decided to forget about it, thinking it wasn’t her concern.

“Right……”

Come to think of it, she had forgotten to ask Schlus something.

The girl in a nun’s habit she had seen when entering.

She was definitely Iris von dem Flechette, the Saintess of Flechette, whom she had only heard about in rumors.

She had hesitated to ask what business such a person had with Schlus, and ended up forgetting about it.

She thought about going back and asking now, but-

“No. Later……”

Trie shook her head and decided to ask next time.

***

Lunch after intense exercise was special.

It would have been delicious even if eaten to the point of being full, since it was made by Emilia, a top-class chef.

“I’m going out.”

“Yes. Where are you going?”

“I’m going to a cafe.”

“By cafe, do you mean…… the place we visited together last time?”

“Yes. That’s right. Would you like to come with me?”

“No. I will stay and guard the mansion.”

Emilia slowly shook her head.

Actually, I didn’t want to take her with me either, I only asked out of courtesy.

I didn’t want someone by my side who only intended to monitor me.

“Um, Mr. Hainkel……”

“Yes. Miss Emilia. What is it?”

Emilia hesitated and spoke, which was rare for her.

What? Was she trying to make a request or something?

“I know this is a presumptuous question. Why do you use honorifics with me, a commoner, while using casual speech with other nobles?”

“Hmm……”

I wondered what she was asking, but it wasn’t a particularly presumptuous question.

With kids like Erica, Iris, and Trie, casual speech came out naturally because they were classmates.

But with Emilia, who was just someone I had a contract with, I automatically used honorifics.

Even if she was an employee I had hired, I couldn’t bring myself to give orders in casual speech.

It might be a behavior that was difficult to understand in this place with a class system.

“I’m not sure. I don’t really know either.”

“Pardon?”

Even if I explained it in detail, there was no way she would understand, and I didn’t want to explain it.

So I just gave a vague answer.

It was already water under the bridge anyway.

I should make her head a bit complicated by pretending there was a special reason.

Leaving behind a stunned Emilia, I left the mansion.

“Wow……”

Even though I had been to the streets of the capital many times, it seemed I still wasn’t used to it.

Exclamations kept escaping my mouth involuntarily.

I wanted to take a leisurely tour sometime.

It would be nice to travel around the Empire. Or visit the Great Forest where the beastmen lived, or the desert where the elves resided.

I would have to go there someday anyway.

There was no need to rush.

As I walked, admiring the picturesque city, I arrived at my destination before I knew it.

The shaded alley with the sun shining obliquely, and the semi-basement cafe and bar at the end of it.

As soon as I opened the door, a pleasant jingling sound rang out.

“Welcome.”

As I entered, receiving a greeting from Eric, the director of the Intelligence Agency, my body froze.

That man with his back turned.

Just seeing his back made my heart pound.

Since he was the one I had depicted in my mind countless times, I felt like I knew him just by his back of the head.

That damn bastard slowly turned his head.

“……”

“……”

Siegfried Hertlocker.

That was my first encounter with the damn protagonist.

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