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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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In the office of the head of House Sigmund.
A man stood in the thick darkness.
His name was Cairo Sigmund.
He was the head of the Sigmund Count family and the master of the magic sword, Black Obsidian.
He turned around and said,
“You bastard, you’ve tarnished the family name.”
‘Bastard’
He was referring to his son, Max.
Max, who had suffered a humiliating defeat despite wielding Black Obsidian, didn’t even deserve to be called the son of the head of the Sigmund family.
“…I-In Monday’s practical, I- Guh!?”
Max, kneeling, was suddenly struck by an unseen force as he tried to offer an excuse, and a groan escaped his lips.
The source of the power was none other than the magic emanating from Black Obsidian.
“If you are truly my son, prove it. If you can wield Black Obsidian, you should be able to control this power.”
Cairo said so and extended his hand.
As if drawn by a magnet, Black Obsidian, which was beside Max, flew into his hand.
Cairo pointed the tip of Black Obsidian at Max and amplified the magical pressure bearing down on him.
“Kghhh! Ugh—!”
Max’s blood vessels bulged, and his eyes became bloodshot.
The magical pressure from Black Obsidian threatened to crush his face.
“Control this sword if you want to live. Otherwise, you die here, today.”
Despite his son’s agony, Cairo’s expression remained impassive as he continued to pour magic power into Black Obsidian.
It was clear that if he didn’t relent, Max’s face would be crushed.
‘H-He’s really going to kill me. He really is…!’
Max felt a primal fear, the terror of prey before a predator.
Like prey fleeing for its life, Max desperately mustered all his strength to try and control Black Obsidian.
With the resolve of a man facing his final moments, he channeled the Sigmund family swordsmanship he had rigorously trained in since childhood.
*Woooong! Woooong! Wooong!*
Two forces clashed: one trying to crush Max’s face, the other struggling to break free. The Black Obsidian in Cairo’s hand trembled violently.
But it was only for a moment.
“Hmph. You are not my son after all. This is all you can muster?”
Cairo’s eyes widened.
Like a taut string snapping, the balance between the two forces abruptly shifted.
Max’s control faltered and crumbled before Cairo’s overwhelming power.
“Gaaaaah! Aaaaagh—!!”
Max screamed as the dark magic power emanating from Black Obsidian mercilessly crushed his face.
His nose was flattened with a sickening crunch, his jaw dislocated, and his eyes rolled back in their sockets.
“Aaaaagh!!!”
But then, Max’s hazy, unfocused expression contorted into a demonic visage as he roared.
He began to push back, little by little, against the oppressive magic power of Black Obsidian.
*Woooong! Woooong! Woong!*
The two forces remained locked in a fierce stalemate. A faint smile finally twisted Cairo’s perpetually stoic lips.
Deciding he had seen enough, Cairo withdrew his power from Black Obsidian. The opposing forces vanished as quickly as they had appeared.
“Gasp… Gasp… Gasp…”
Max, his face mangled and distorted, gasped for air.
Cairo approached him.
He knelt on one knee, meeting Max’s gaze, and placed a hand on his head, healing him.
“Yes. That’s the spirit. You’re only useful when you’re struggling to survive.”
Cairo said so and stood up.
Max’s crushed nose and dislocated jaw were completely healed.
“I’ll give you one last chance.”
Cairo said that and released Black Obsidian.
Instead of falling to the floor, the sword floated in mid-air, moving to hover right in front of Max’s eyes.
“Professor Gracia’s class tomorrow…it will be an observation class. A large number of officials from Central will be attending.”
“……”
“Do not shame the Sigmund name. This is your only chance.”
With those final words, Cairo left the office.
As soon as Cairo left, Max grabbed the floating Black Obsidian and stood up.
A venomous determination hardened his tear-filled eyes.
The magic power of Black Obsidian radiated outwards.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Monday morning.
Classroom 11, where Professor Gracia lectured, was somewhat chaotic.
Officials from various important positions in Central were observing the class, filling the back rows.
“Hmm. Is that kid Edgar Fix?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
Most of them were interested in Ed.
They wanted to make contact with the commoner blacksmith who had created the incredible ‘Graham’s North Wind.’
They needed to place their orders for the air conditioner if they wanted to survive this long, sweltering summer.
“He certainly seems unusual.”
Even putting aside the ‘Graham’s North Wind,’ Edgar Fix was a person of interest.
Rumors about him had already spread widely even within the Central Imperial Palace.
Despite being a mere commoner, he was sponsored by the Archmage and the Princess, and he had made a remarkable impression in the class evaluation battles, even ranking among the top students.
His achievements were so impressive that he already had a fan base.
The ‘Imperial Newspaper’ was even boosting its sales by publishing articles about the weapons he used.
-Creak.
At that moment, the classroom door opened, and Professor Gracia entered the classroom.
Most of the officials in the back rows stood up and bowed their heads in greeting.
“Senior, it’s been a while.”
“Greetings, Senior.”
“It is an honor to meet you.”
“We greet Swordmaster Gracia.”
Gracia, who had served as a legion commander in the Great War seven years ago, held such a high position that most of the officials observing the class had to pay their respects.
The only one who could disregard Gracia’s achievements and authority was Alerina, his classmate and fellow legion commander.
“Yo, Gracia. That uniform suits you. You’ve become quite the bookworm.”
“…Alerina.”
“Having fun playing teacher after ditching me? I’m bored to death without you.”
“…You must be bored without a war. You’re obsessed with slaughter.”
At Gracia’s words, Alerina shrugged.
She then untied her loosely tied red curly hair and said,
“Hey~ That’s all in the past. I’m not the same person anymore. I want to settle down now. Wanna get married?”
“……”
Gracia stared at Alerina as if she were a cockroach.
But that was all.
He quickly averted his gaze and walked past her towards the podium.
“Ah~ Rejected again.”
Alerina muttered and nudged her adjutant.
She gave the adjutant a seductive smile and asked,
“Wanna get married?”
“I apologize.”
“Come on, at least pretend to consider it, you bastard.”
Alerina chuckled and playfully slapped her subordinate’s cheek.
The subordinate’s expression was a mixture of embarrassment and suppressed laughter.
Amidst this, Gracia’s firm voice rang out.
“Silence.”
…
His single word instantly silenced the room.
Even Alerina, who was teasing her subordinate, stopped and muttered,
“Oh, he’s got some charisma.”
Gracia then began to announce the details of today’s class.
“As you know, today is the practical sparring day. Each student will participate in one ‘offensive match’ and one ‘defensive match.’ Both matches will be held in the 2,000-pyeong training ground.”
[T/N: 1 pyeong = 3.3 square meters.]
Offensive and defensive matches.
The offensive match was a fight against an opponent ‘chosen by the student.’
Since all students had presented their training methods and weapons in Gracia’s previous class, they were to choose an opponent they thought they could defeat based on that information.
Similarly, the defensive match was a fight against an opponent who ‘chose the student.’
Just as they chose an opponent for the offensive match, they could also be chosen by an opponent who underestimated them for the defensive match.
However, Gracia had taken measures to prevent overlapping choices for the offensive matches.
He had limited the choices based on the students’ skill levels.
As a result, he had created a match schedule where everyone could participate in one offensive and one defensive match without any overlapping choices.
“Then, let the sparring begin. The first match is Anna Silbern’s offensive match. Her opponent is Andy Brunch.”
The practical sparring began.
The two students called by Gracia came up to the podium and placed their hands on the teleportation magic sphere.
Their figures were then transported to opposite ends of the training ground.
Although the training ground was large, spanning 2,000 pyeong, it was mostly an open space, so the two students could clearly see each other’s positions.
[Begin.]
Gracia, who had moved to the training ground to supervise the match, gave the order to start.
The two students at opposite ends of the ground charged towards each other.
[Andy Brunch wins.]
The result was a victory for Andy, who had been challenged by Anna.
In other words, the student in the defensive match had won.
This meant that Anna, who had lost her offensive match, would have her score significantly reduced.
She had chosen Andy, judging that she could win, but she had been defeated instead.
[We will now proceed with the next match. Max Sigmund’s offensive match. His opponent is Edgar Fix.]
And here was another student who had recklessly chosen his opponent without considering his own limitations.
Max Sigmund.
He had chosen Ed solely to avenge his previous defeat, without considering compatibility or power levels.
‘This time, I’ll tear him to shreds.’
However, he had something he was relying on.
A Berserk Potion he had secretly purchased from the black market.
He was confident that with this potion, which he had bought by spending all his savings, he would definitely win this time.
‘Last time, I couldn’t even properly use Black Obsidian.’
Additionally, the last time, he had been defeated without even swinging his sword.
He had fallen for the opponent’s trick and lost without even demonstrating his skills.
Therefore, this time was completely different.
There were almost no obstacles in the training ground for him to exploit, and with the Berserk Potion, his opponent wouldn’t be able to handle his enhanced speed and strength.
Having finished his calculations, Max pretended to drink water and downed the Berserk Potion he had prepared beforehand.
Power surged through his body.
“Oh~ That kid’s interesting. He’s using cheats.”
However, he couldn’t fool Alerina’s eyes.
She was a spellcaster with ‘special eyes,’ a unique trait.
She could perceive the changes in Max that even Gracia couldn’t see.
But despite witnessing this, she didn’t do anything.
She simply shrugged and laughed, amused by the situation.
“Hey, Adjutant. Don’t you think this is going to be fun? That crazy bastard is chugging a Berserk Potion.”
“…Shouldn’t we stop him? What if he loses control…?”
“With our Gracia-chan around, what’s there to worry about? Besides, that guy, he’s the commoner, right? The rising star of the first-year class.”
“Yes, but… still, a Berserk Potion is a bit…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. He’s not going to die, is he?”
Alerina said so and leaned back in her chair.
The adjutant glanced at Alerina as if she were a child and then sighed, turning his gaze back to the front.
Max and Ed’s figures were being transported to the arena.
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I hope the MC is locked in. Suit and all.