41 – The Inferior Knight Who Envied Magic
Two men. Mana begins to surge from the hands of the subordinate.
Neither of them has a basic sword or weapon. That means they are mages. Although they could easily overpower with low-level magic, they chose not to. It was because of what the man just said, which disgusted them.
— A lowly inspector who can’t even use this kind of magic.
It seemed that in this world, swordsmanship was treated as inferior. Magic was the only thing regarded as superior. That’s why Trimein tried to learn magic even though it was absurd.
But unfortunately, I quite like swordsmanship. My master, who was a master swordsman, always said,
“The sword captures a person’s heart and erases their worries as it swings. The blade must be sharp, but it must also have mercy.”
In reality, before I pushed my magic to its limits, I relied heavily on swordsmanship. But I couldn’t stand ignoring swordsmanship with just a meager knowledge of magic. Their magic was despicable.
“This bastard!”
As I started charging forward, the subordinate used magic. Explosive magic. But it was meaningless. I can use an aura that can cut through magic.
All I had in my hand was a ballpoint pen, but it didn’t matter. As long as there was any object, I could infuse it with an aura. I used mana to enhance the size and power of the aura. And then,
Bang!
The subordinate’s explosion magic vanished in an instant.
“How…?”
The subordinate was surprised and took a step back, but it was too late. The distance had already been closed. I immediately stabbed the ballpoint pen into his neck and kicked him straight into the ground. Then I rushed towards the one who looked like the leader.
“Bind him!”
As soon as the subordinate finished speaking, a strange spirit threw a giant chain at me. But in the end, it was just a simple magic. I flicked it away with the ballpoint pen, and it disappeared with a white light.
“What the f*ck… Why isn’t my spirit magic working against a stupid ballpoint pen!”
It was an unreasonable sight, and the subordinate cursed. But it was only natural. As a grand mage, I have deep knowledge of magic rituals and an exceptional ability to find their weaknesses.
But that doesn’t matter at all.
Because you possess the nature of a demon.
“Die!”
The man must have thought that magic wouldn’t work, so he stumbled towards me and swung his fist at me. I immediately dropped my pen and lunged towards him. I parried his extended fist with my arm and immediately drove my fist into his jaw.
The man staggered, but he endured the attack. I immediately kicked him in the leg, shattering his center of gravity. His body went limp. As he fell to the ground, I grabbed his head with my hand and naturally slammed it down with the force of gravity.
Crack!
A loud noise resounded, and blood began to flow from the man’s nose and mouth.
“Unbearable… I don’t know what kind of trash you wrote… but our guild members won’t just let you go…”
He still had the audacity to open his eyes and mumble to me, but it didn’t faze me at all. Until a little while ago, I had been a soldier in the war, and while I couldn’t use mass destruction magic now, I could still use low-level magic immediately, and I could even enhance my aura by using the ability to release the penalty for mana.
In 24 hours, I could even use high-level magic, so I wasn’t afraid even if a bunch of guys came at me. I didn’t hide my true feelings and spoke to the man without hesitation.
“Should I be afraid of a pathetic group like yours, even with inferior bastards like you?”
When I stepped on the man’s head with my foot, he started begging this time.
“If you spare me… I’ll give you money.”
Money… It was useless to me, as I already had more than enough. Even if I mass-produced elixirs in the Tower of Magic, I wouldn’t be able to use up the money until I died. Why would I bother chasing after money? I wanted information more than money.
“What’s the name of your guild?”
“Akir… We’re the Akir Guild.”
I pondered for a moment, and the man laughed and shouted.
“Have you heard of it now? Are you finally scared? The Akir Guild will hunt you down. So kneel right now…”
I stabbed my pen into the man’s throat. And I whispered to him, as he struggled.
“Your usefulness is over. Die now.”
Thud.
Two men fell down in an instant.
“Akirra…”
The reason I hesitated for a moment upon hearing the name was because it was a name I had heard somewhere before. Surely, back in the days when I crazily read over 3,000 novels, I had heard the name “Akir” before.
Other than the fact that he was a member of the Plunderer’s Guild, nothing else came to mind.
“I can’t remember properly.”
It was probably impossible for me to completely recall it now, after 12 years had passed since I randomly read it before the possession.
But I clearly knew the title. Before I was possessed, I confirmed it through the authentication information of the Trying Man.
[The Diary of an Inferior Knight’s Growth]
Even if I only knew the title, it would be fine. If I talk about this and that later, I will remember the contents. With that thought in mind, I engraved the name Akirra in my mind and walked towards the diary of the Trying Man once again.
“What a regrettable guy.”
Trying Man was a swordsman. A swordsman who never skipped a day of training and diligently sharpened his sword. As evidence, the body of the guy I was possessed in wasn’t huge, but his muscles were well-developed and there were blisters and calluses all over his palms, indicating how long he had been holding a sword.
[Today, I swung my sword for 12 hours. They say effort never betrays. I will be more grown tomorrow than today.]
One of the diary passages of Trying Man.
“Why… It wouldn’t have been necessary to pursue magic to this extent.”
Magic is indeed superior, but swordsmanship is by no means inferior. If one works hard and reaches the level where they can use sword techniques, the battle between a swordsman and a mage will be determined by their skill and sense. Ultimately, it’s not about what aspect is superior or inferior, but about the person wielding the weapon.
“I think I know why, though…”
[Fortunately, I got into the Academy, but everyone ignores me. I’m the only one in the Academy who can’t use magic… Why did I have to pass? If I had failed, I wouldn’t have to go through this humiliation… It’s hard because everyone looks down on me. But if I work a little harder, someday I won’t be like them.]
[Today, I was beaten countless times in front of Leviah. The embarrassment was worse than the pain. I couldn’t even properly fight back in front of the girl I liked… How great would it be if I knew how to use magic… Then I wouldn’t have to go through these irrational things… I want to die. No matter how much I train in swordsmanship, I can’t see the future.]
[Today, my pants were stripped off in front of Leviah. But it was okay. Because Leviah stood up for me. She yelled at those bastards to back off. But I was worried. I hope those guys don’t bother Leviah for no reason.]
[I thanked Leviah for helping me and asked her out on a date. But why isn’t she responding… It seems like she’s a bit busy.]
I confessed and got rejected. Levya, who was interested in magic, said she liked someone who could talk about magic. It’s a miserable day. If only I could have learned magic too.
Trying Man. MacDoras closed his diary and remembered what happened a few days ago.
The nickname “trying man” that he found out through his leadership ability.
MacDoras had searched for his name on the Milsoga forum.
—
List of Tryingman’s Posts (in chronological order)
“I’ve started liking someone. How should I confess?”
“I posted about liking someone before, and we’re meeting today.”
“I confessed and got rejected… I don’t feel emotionally connected.”
“What should I do if the person I have a crush on doesn’t respond to my messages?”
“The person I have a crush on seems to be interested in magic… But I can’t use magic myself…”
“Is there a way to learn magic?”
“I heard there’s a potion to learn magic, so I tried to find it. It’s coming in a large shipment soon.”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Weird… I took the potion, but my body isn’t moving well… Is this normal?”
“The potion I mentioned before… It doesn’t seem to have any effect, so I took several bottles at once… If I take it, will I be able to talk to her too?”
“Did I take too much of the potion? I feel a bit hazy. But it feels good. If I learn magic, I’ll definitely get into the top rank and make that girl notice me again. I won’t be bullied at the academy anymore.”
—
Trying Man was just an ordinary person with a crush. However, his name caught my attention because it was familiar from the company. The reason for this was that I had observed him closely in the past.
The reason I observed Trying Man in the past was that there was another verified user called Suyang Buddhas who possessed the same name as him in a different time period.
Suyang Buddhas. When I checked the verification information, the name used in the novel was Levya, suggesting that she was a girl. By the way, Trying Man’s name was Kae.
It was common for someone to become obsessed with the same novel, but the problem was the posts written by Sooyangbudle (Levia).
—
Sooyangbudle’s Post List
[Today, I helped someone being bullied at the academy. It was scary, but I think I did well, right?]
[I decided to be friends with the person I helped before. They seem nicer than I thought after talking to them.]
[The person I helped contacted me to say thank you… They want to meet up, but should I go?]
[The person I helped confessed their feelings to me when we met today and I was so surprised… What should I do from now on?ㅜㅜ I don’t have any romantic feelings for them at all…]
[My male friend keeps insisting on meeting up, but now it’s getting uncomfortable. How can I distance myself from him?]
[Anyone who knows how to distance themselves from a male friend without hurting their feelings…]
—
Even someone who didn’t know them could tell. The object of Tryingman’s unrequited love was Sooyangbudle.
Tryingman and Sooyangbudle both posted about their worries, but their directions were different.
Tryingman’s majority of posts were about how to confess to his female friend, while Sooyangbudle’s majority of posts were about how to kindly reject a male friend’s confession.
Although they posted on the same forum, it seemed that they never saw each other’s posts. The Milsoga thread had thousands of posts every day. Unless you were like me, spending the whole day obsessively reading, it was normal to miss a lot of posts, even if they were related to you. And even if they saw each other’s posts, they would probably think that the other person was just someone in a similar situation, since they couldn’t see each other’s user information.
But as the administrator, I could tell.
By looking at Tryingman’s post timestamps and titles, and the novels they were obsessed with, and then looking at Sooyangbudle’s post timestamps and titles, and the novels they were obsessed with, I could see that they were talking about each other.
One was yearning for success in love, while the other was uncomfortable and trying to push away. Feeling sorry for them, I left a comment.
Tryingman
[Title: What should I do if the person I have a crush on stops contacting me…]
[Body: I don’t want to give up…]
ㄴ Administrator: It seems like she just doesn’t like you. How about giving up?
ㄴ Trying Man: I don’t think that will work. I really like her a lot. Maybe if I show excellent results in this Academy’s mid-term assessment, she might see me differently. So I’m just waiting for that. I know a thing or two about dealing with darkness… The problem is that she really loves magic…
ㄴ Administrator: If you have any questions about magic, ask me. I’ll tell you.
ㄴ Trying Man: Really? Do you know a lot about magic?
ㄴ Administrator: Of course. I am a grand sorcerer, after all.
I felt complicated as I read Trying Man’s diary. It was easy to find out which academy he attends and where it is located. It was all written in detail in the diary.
But I had a dilemma.
The system’s words asking me to help Trying Man. What could be a way to help a man who is already dead?
Could it be to fulfill his unrequited love?
“That can’t be.”
While I was contemplating, a bright light began to shimmer from Trying Man’s diary.
I walked as if possessed by that light.
The last page of the diary. At the bottom, there was a small writing. The words written with such strong pressure that pierced the paper had a message.
— In reality, I wanted to become a knight recognized by everyone with my sword.
“So this is it.”
In order to escape from torment, to impress his unrequited love, and to not admit his own weakness, the boy desired magic. But his true desire was different.
He wanted to be acknowledged with his swordsmanship that he had worked so hard for, whether it be by the people around him, his unrequited love, or even himself.
That’s all.
Suddenly, Tekeroman came to mind. Even if he hadn’t reached the level of a master swordsman, he would never give up and continue to wield his sword, always thinking proudly of himself as a knight. If he hadn’t died like this, perhaps Kaell could have become a knight like Tekeroman someday.
[You have successfully understood the aspirations of the trying man.]
[You have obtained 100 administrator points.]
[A usable weapon will be provided.]
Once again, light began to shimmer in a corner of the room. A sword that hadn’t been visible before caught my eye. The hilt was worn out, but judging by its sharpness, it was probably the one Tringman had used.
I raised his sword and headed outside.
– In fact, I wanted to be acknowledged by everyone with this sword.
In this novel where his swordsmanship was considered inferior, the man who constantly wielded his sword but eventually succumbed to despair and turned to magic.
Like Icarus in the myth who wanted to soar high in the sky but melted and fell to his death, Kaell died while pursuing magic.
However, it was only in death that Tringman (Kaell) realized that what he truly wanted was swordsmanship.
Perhaps this story ended as the foolish human’s last venture into the unknown. It should have ended with a tragic ending.
If only I hadn’t come here.
“If this can be even a little bit of comfort.”
I will fulfill the dreams of the boy who can no longer achieve them.
“And I should also seek revenge on those annoying bastards.”
With that thought in mind, I, Tringman, or rather, Kaell, headed towards Tristain Academy where I was currently enrolled.