Chapter : 07
Duel Trial.
Kaaang-!
With an ear-splitting metallic clang, sparks flew.
The place my reproduced Meteor Sword was headed toward was Delain’s blade.
His sword, filled to the brim with mana, was glowing blue.
“Just as I thought, it didn’t break through!”
Delain blocked my strike and charged at me at the same time.
I immediately sprang backward and shifted into a defensive stance.
No matter how outstanding my talent was, this frail body that had never even properly held a sword—there was no way I could overpower Delain, a knight, with strength.
‘If I try to block it head-on, my arm will be ruined. I have to deflect it somehow…!’
As I thought that and looked ahead—
‘Ah, shit. This won’t work.’
Whether he had been flustered by an unexpected situation, or whether he had felt genuine danger from my sword,
Delain was now swinging his blade at me with a terrifyingly distorted face, not the relaxed expression he had shown until now.
KuKwaaaang-!
The sound of swords colliding?
No, it was far beyond that.
A deafening roar, like a bomb exploding, echoed out as dust filled the training grounds.
“This…!”
“Young Master Delain! Have you forgotten that this is supposed to be a spar?!”
At Dunkel’s voice, Delain suddenly came to his senses.
“Damn it!”
Only then did he seem to notice the amount of mana infused into his sword. Delain hurriedly threw his sword aside and ran toward me.
“Klein! Are you alright?!”
Delain’s urgent voice called out to me.
An overwhelming amount of mana, incomparable to just moments ago.
The instant he blocked the Meteor Sword, it must have burst out instinctively.
Crack!
I heard the sound of something splitting.
It came from my sword.
KwaJik!
The completely shattered blade flew off and embedded itself into the ground.
Compared to my sword, reduced to fragments, Delain’s blade didn’t even have a single chip.
It was my defeat.
“Ah, my arm hurts. I tried rushing in with a trick, but yeah, it was still too much.”
I said that and gave an awkward smile, but the expressions on Delain’s face—and Duke Heinkel’s—grew even stranger.
“Klein, you…?”
“Huh……!”
It was regrettable, but losing didn’t cost me anything.
With that spar just now, I had already injected a wealth of information into my head—Delain’s sword path, techniques, and more.
On top of that, I had succeeded in imprinting my existence onto Heinkel, the head of the family.
All that remained was to wait for a decision.
“…….”
While I was thinking that, Heinkel, who had fallen into brief contemplation, nodded heavily.
“This wasn’t something done out of mere youthful recklessness, was it, Klein.”
Having said that, Heinkel opened his mouth toward me.
“Very well. Do as you wish.”
“Thank you.”
When I said that with a smile, Heinkel nodded, turned his back, and entered the manor.
“Wait, Father! Klein’s mana is—!”
“You, who faced him directly, should know better than anyone, Delain.”
Heinkel cut off Delain’s attempt to object.
“That Meteor Sword just now—if it had been infused with mana, your blade would have been cut in two.”
“But he still couldn’t break through. I should be the one to step in after all—!”
“Think about the position you’re standing in.”
At my firm words, Delain’s protest came to a halt.
“The Empire is steadily looking for opportunities to advance into the north, and the collateral lines have latched onto them. The local powers that should be keeping them in check are all acting independently and won’t unite.”
At my words, which precisely summarized the current state of the north, Delain frowned.
“And yet, there’s only one reason we can claim to be the rulers of the north.”
Picking up on my words, Heinkel added his explanation.
“I, who claim to be the strongest in the north. And you, who follow after me. If even that disappears, Leinrant’s dominance will collapse.”
After nodding at Heinkel’s elaboration, I spoke.
“If you step into the duel trial to save me now, what happens?”
“That would….”
“It gives the collateral line a legal chance to kill Leinrant’s heir.”
Unable to refute my words, Delain lowered his head.
I could see his tightly clenched fist trembling.
‘It must be frustrating. Being unable to do anything because of the title of heir.’
I silently patted Delain’s clenched shoulder.
“If it’s just my one life, it’s not that big of a loss anyway. Just trust me once and leave it to me.”
A second son without any political foundation—
Just as I said that and was about to pass by him—
“It’s not ‘not a big loss’!”
This time, Delain’s shout stopped my steps.
With my back to him, I only turned my head to look at him.
Delain, his face creased into a frown, spoke toward me.
“Don’t think your life is worthless.”
A stiff, hardened voice.
At those words, I was momentarily left speechless.
“At the very least, I’ve never thought of you that way.”
At the single sentence that followed, a hollow laugh escaped me.
‘Seriously…. He’s exactly like that bastard Berkel.’
Those upright eyes, without even a hint of hesitation or doubt.
Unlike me, he was the descendant of a true hero.
“Priest Garrison hasn’t been coming at all lately~”
At noon on the day of the duel.
I prepared to head to the training grounds while looking at Arin, sprawled on the sofa in my room and stuffing her mouth with cookies.
“It actually worked out better. Thanks to that, I’m free from water torture.”
“Eeh~ I’m bored, Young Master.”
“Do some work. Honestly, you’re so lazy.”
I said that, but there was no helping the cold sweat running down the back of my head.
‘I brushed it off as something the Empire-side Necromancer did, but he’s not someone who’ll back off that easily.’
Unlike my necromancy, which left no traces, the soul-returning technique that bastard used left very clear marks.
Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult to find my traces there, but given who the opponent was, letting my guard down was dangerous.
‘I need to come up with countermeasures. At least my father is here, so it should be fine, but….’
As I opened the door while thinking that, Dunkel was waiting for me there.
“This is the sword you ordered.”
“Oh, so it still made it in time?”
I drew the sword from its scabbard and checked the blade.
An item lightened to the point that it was almost like a wooden sword.
Crafted by the artisans of the ducal family, there wasn’t a single flaw to be found.
“We made it exactly as you requested, but be careful. The moment the swords clash, it will break.”
I nodded at Dunkel’s warning.
No matter how skilled the artisan, it was still an iron sword.
With the weight reduced, the durability was bound to be lower.
After hanging the sword at my waist, I headed toward the training grounds.
“What about the guests staying with us?”
“They’re all gathered at the training grounds. They seemed quite excited, saying they never thought they’d see a duel trial again in their lifetime.”
“I suppose so.”
Once Heinkel’s permission was given, the plan moved forward at lightning speed.
A duel trial taking place for the first time in decades.
Most nobles shook their heads, saying the second young master had gone mad, but among them were some who sent looks of goodwill like this.
“Are you planning to win them over?”
“It’s impossible for now. Just enough to let them see my face.”
For the sole reason of wanting to witness the northern tradition once more, the local magnates had remained here for over a week.
For someone like me, who was now properly acknowledged by neither the direct nor the collateral line, this was practically my only option.
“Oh, you’re here?”
“To think you’d really come alone….”
When I arrived at the training grounds, what greeted me were the faction of the Count Cornwell family and several local magnates.
And there was my father, Heinkel, who was serving as the overseer of the duel.
“Kuahaha?! I never thought you’d really come in person, Young Master!”
A hoarse, phlegm-clogged voice.
When I looked toward where the voice came from, a hulking man over two meters tall was standing there.
“Not as intimidating as Garrison.”
I muttered that and walked toward him.
An arming sword in one hand, a net in the other.
It was a loadout that was practically the bane of northern knights, who primarily wielded two-handed swords.
‘He must have been sharpening his knife, expecting Delain to come from the start.’
I gave a bitter smile as I looked at Randel, smacking his lips in apparent disappointment.
So I wasn’t even worth considering, huh?
“Young Master Klein.”
Randel spoke as he lightly tapped my shoulder with his sword.
“I’m not the type to give opportunities like this, but today I’ll make an exception.”
Randel’s face as he said that was full of mockery.
“Even now, admit your rudeness toward Count Cornwell and kneel to apologize. Then I may show some mercy with my hand—.”
“Mercy my ass.”
When the coarse words slipped from my mouth, Randel stopped speaking.
“Young Master, what did you just say…?”
“Use proper honorifics, you bastard. Does the Emperor not even teach his knights what’s up and down?”
I deliberately prodded him by bringing up the Empire.
Judging by how his face immediately stiffened, the effect seemed pretty good.
“Well, I guess it makes sense. A guy who doesn’t even know where his own home is—no wonder the Emperor would toss you aside.”
“Pfft!”
When I added one more line, laughter burst out from a corner.
A gathering of local magnates.
It was the laughter of a woman seated among them.
“Ha! Seriously….”
It was a hackneyed provocation, but the reaction was unexpectedly intense.
Randel let out a hollow laugh, as if trying to laugh it off.
But seeing the veins bulging on his forehead, my smile only deepened.
“I said let’s keep things pleasant, but you just have to flap that mouth of yours…. Not knowing your own place.”
Randel spoke with a smile, but his face was filled with dense killing intent.
“Pleasant, my ass.”
Meeting his gaze, I drew my sword from its scabbard.
Compared to the killing intent that priest bastard used to give off, something like that didn’t even measure up to a rat.
“You never planned on letting me live from the start, did you?”
When I said that and smiled back at him, Randel’s eyes narrowed.
And the very next moment.
“So you noticed, huh?”
Randel, now right in front of my nose, was swinging his sword at me.
Bwoong-!
‘The moment you block it, the sword will break.’
Recalling Dunkel’s warning, I tracked the blade with my eyes.
As he lunged at me, I combined the information flooding into my head.
The sword’s trajectory, his line of sight, even the movement of his muscles—everything.
“I’ll grind you into dust like this!”
KuKwaang-!
The tremendous strength he unleashed gouged a chunk out of the training ground floor.
“Kuhaha! A loudmouthed bastard like you dares to—!”
Randel’s words, thinking he had me, were cut off midway.
“Wh, what?!”
I was no longer where his sword had struck.
At the moment he swung, I had already gotten behind him.
“W-was that just now?!”
“That was Young Master Delain’s footwork. It’s a technique that takes at least four years to master—how did he?!”
The knights of the north, Leinrant, were those who fought in the frozen tundra.
That was why their swordsmanship, unlike the Empire’s hegemonic blades that poured mana recklessly, minimized mana consumption to the extreme.
Ultimate cost-efficiency, drawing out maximum effectiveness with minimal mana.
That was precisely why I, who had no mana, could use Delain’s swordsmanship.
“You rat bastard…!”
As he turned around, I stepped back to evade his upward swing.
Whether it was rage at realizing he’d been toyed with, Randel’s eyes, teeth clenched, glared at me as if to kill.
“Wow, you look like some wild boar, huh?”
“Kraaaah-!”
Enraged by my words, Randel hurled the net toward me.
A weapon that spread out in a fan shape, blocking all paths.
The moment I got caught, he was probably planning to slam me to the ground and beat me into a pulp.
Chwarreuk-!
Instead of dodging the net spreading toward me, I charged straight ahead and plunged forward.
“W-what?!”
Instead of avoiding the net and widening the distance, I dove straight inside.
Startled by my unexpected action, Randel’s eyes went wide.
“Bringing that to deal with Delain was a good idea, but you didn’t think it through.”
A leather net that firmly blocked a wide area.
That weapon’s greatest weakness was its tremendous weight, rivaling even a greatshield.
Piiing-!
At my high-speed upward slash, Randel hurriedly twisted his body.
But with the net already spread wide, his movements were restricted.
“Alright, now it’s a binary choice, Randel.”
“You bastard…!”
“Drop the net and get a chance, or keep holding it and die!”
As I said that, I aimed for his abdomen—and then his waist.
An arming sword with a short hilt but a long blade.
Now that I had already closed in to point-blank range, there was no way to block unless he let go of the net.
“You damn bastard!”
In the end, he swung his sword at me while letting go of the net in his left hand.
KwaJik!
With a metallic clang, my soft blade snapped cleanly in half.
“Ha! Serves you right, Klein! Now your sword is—!”
“It’s become the perfect shape to beat you down!”
The blade had been reduced to nearly the length of my elbow.
But in this kind of close-quarters brawl, such a short blade was actually more advantageous.
Skeok!
I cleanly slashed Randel’s wrist as he reached out to grab me.
Even with a body reinforced by mana, he was still human flesh.
The sharply honed blade easily carved through his meat and severed bone.
“Aaaagh?!”
Randel’s left hand spun once through the air before collapsing onto the ground.
“M-my arm! My armmmmm—!”
Unable to endure the pain, Randel collapsed onto the ground.
Blood was gushing like a fountain from his severed wrist.
“R-Randel?!”
“What?! How did Young Master Klein do that to Randel—?!”
“So it was true?!”
Randel’s screams echoed through the training grounds, now filled with shock and disbelief.
“The words you just said—I’ll return them to you exactly.”
After watching him for a moment, I approached with my broken sword pointed at him and spoke.
“Kneel, you bastard.”
