Knock. Knock.
“This is Charles Buckeller. Judge Len Arzen is here.”
“come in.”
Charles winks at Ren and opens the door.
Huge bookshelves and books filled both sides of the room. The young president, who was working with his back to the sunlight coming through the window, casts his gaze toward the two people.
Lyana Windrunner, president of the Imperial Academy, who will lead the next generation of empire talent.
Her soft wavy red hair flows over her shoulders, and her clear golden eyes shine brightly.
She took off her gold-rimmed glasses with a string on the left side, put them down on the desk, and stood up.
“nice to meet you. “Sit there.”
As Ren and Charles sat on the sofa on one side, the woman who brought out the tea introduced herself.
“This is Lyanna Windrunner. “He is the president of the Imperial Academy.”
“This is Ren Argen. “This time, I came for the review as a representative of the Third Sword Lord.”
“I heard.”
After leisurely taking a sip of tea, she looks at Ren with a charming smile.
“Sir Ren Argen’s name has been spreading around the world.”
“It just so happened that it happened that way.”
“You defeated the devil who almost destroyed the Holy Kingdom? Incredible. “I heard that both the Third Sword Lord and Rosaria’s Legion Commander Landaldro were stuck.”
“That was the situation. “I was fine because I used my divine power.”
She leaned back on the sofa and grinned.
“You are humble.”
“I was just telling the truth.”
“I’m looking forward to this time. “I wonder how Lord Ren Argen will judge it.”
“I will try.”
Liana’s golden eyes move slowly. He looks intently into Ren’s eyes, as if trying to penetrate into his inner self.
“Why are you doing that?”
“Do you ever plan on returning to the Empire?”
“… … Are you telling me to return to my family?”
As Ren’s expression hardened, Liana shook her head.
She leisurely took a sip of tea and spoke again.
“If it stagnates anywhere, it will rot.”
She looks at Charles, prefaced by an unexpected remark.
“That’s also why I appointed Charles Buckeller to the position of head professor.”
“… … thank you.”
Charles bowed his head.
“I want young talent. I’m not saying I’m a young president. The world changes and people adapt to it. “I believe that not only the empire but the entire continent has been at a standstill for over 100 years.”
Suddenly we move on to something profound. Her expression was still relaxed and carefree, but her eyes were infinitely serious.
“The fall of Northern Ein Bayer. From the Brillant Kingdom’s attack to Bastian’s occupation… … . “Why do these things happen?”
“Are you saying it was because the continent stood still?”
“yes. If you asked me to pick the 5 biggest recent events on the continent, those 3 would be included. And Sir Ren Argen is involved in all three cases. I think that’s because Lord Ren Argen is the one who adapts best with the times.”
This was a new perspective again. Because they adapt best to the changes of the times, they are involved in all events that occur due to the changes.
She was saying this.
“If it weren’t for Sir Ren Argen, all three incidents would have had a bigger impact and brought disaster to the continent.”
“… … “What do you want to say?”
“The flow of the world is constantly changing, but humans on the continent are still standing still. That is why events occur due to changes in the flow. Now we need talented people who can adapt to the changes in line with the trend. And the Imperial Academy is the best talent training institution of today, building talent to lead the future.”
“Are you asking me to join the academy?”
“that’s right. “I would like to invite Lord Ren Argen to be a professor at the Academy.”
“You still don’t know much about me, do you?”
She laughed at those words and glared at Ren.
“Are you sure you’ve heard me so far? Or are you just pretending not to know?”
“… … .”
“Your achievements prove it all. That’s what I’m judging you for and trying to recruit you. Of course, we will keep an eye on this review as well.”
She shakes her shoulders and takes a sip of tea.
“Anyway, think about it. Because we have a lot of time. A talented person like you would be too precious to rot away at Brilliant, right? An empire is something that can exert more influence on the continent. “You know, so I won’t say any more.”
She looks at Ren as if she has more to say. Charles suspected that Ren would feel bad about Liana’s words being so explicit.
“Can I watch the swordsmanship of the children who will take the test tomorrow?”
“As much as you want. “I don’t know the content of the test, but that’s about it.”
“thank you.”
Ren stood up. She also stands up, holds out her hand, and shakes it.
“Think about my offer carefully. “See you tomorrow.”
“see you tommorow.”
Charles and Len went out.
‘Return to the Empire… … .’
As she said, if you go to the Empire, you can foster more talent than you can in Brilliant.
‘Liana Windrunner has a point.’
The future is more likely to shine if we raise people who know how to adapt to change and survive.
You might think about her suggestion, but it will most likely end in thought.
Training future talents at the Imperial Academy was only suitable for people like Leah and Windrunner, but not for people like herself.
Just as everyone has their own right, Ren didn’t think there was a place for him at the Academy.
“This is the sword training range.”
Following Charles’ guidance, I entered the training hall at the swordsmanship academy.
I could see the cadets sweating hard and practicing swordsmanship.
They all look at Charles and say hello, then turn their gaze to Ren next to him.
“oh… “I guess that person is Ren Arzen.”
“Is it really Ren Argen who came to judge the graduation exam?”
“Is he really a master?”
“you idiot! Even though he’s not a master, would you think the Third Sword Master would have Ren Argen serve as a judge?”
“But how did an Arzenite receive the stigmata? that’s interesting.”
There are stories about Ren everywhere.
As soon as Ren’s presence was known from the entrance, it spread within the academy in an instant.
Ren walked after Charles, ignoring the cadets’ stories.
The place the two arrived was a training room that only senior cadets could use.
Unlike other places, there weren’t that many cadets here. This was because there were many senior cadets taking care of their physical condition before the graduation exam.
“There it is. “He’s one of the guys I wanted to ask for guidance.”
A guy with a huge body and a scary look. Although it was not as good as Urucan, who inherited the blood of the giants seen in the last castle, that cadet was also a guy with quite overwhelming physical strength.
He is catching his breath while holding a large ax the size of his upper body in his hand.
“Nocturne!”
When Charles calls him, he looks our way.
“hello.”
He just nodded his head and said hello.
“This is one of the two I’m most looking forward to in this graduation exam.”
“This is Nocturne Daris.”
I look at Charles as if asking who he is. Ren immediately introduced himself.
“It’s Ren Argen.”
“yes? uh? oh… … .”
Nocturne looks down at Ren with an exclamation.
“He will look at your skills. “Just try it like you normally train.”
“All right!”
Despite his appearance, he has a quite cheerful personality.
Huh!
The ax cuts through the air smoothly with the sound of cutting through the wind.
Powerful yet smooth movements appropriate for body size. What is especially impressive is that he is swinging the ax as if he is fighting an invisible opponent.
This means that he has always enjoyed imagery training. You must be well trained to picture the fight in your head to be able to fight without any problems in real life.
“That’s great.”
“thank you!!”
Perhaps with all his might, he takes a deep breath and bends his back to 90 degrees.
“However, I am too obsessed with your power. Make good use of the weapon’s characteristics and your strengths, but you must always be able to consider the unexpected variables of your opponent. “The hypothetical enemy you faced a little while ago was an assassin, right?”
“uh? “How did you know?”
‘How do I know? I know it well because I learned the assassin’s skills myself.’
Ren smiled and answered.
“I don’t think I’ve ever really gotten along with an assassin before, but I’m clumsy. “If you were a really good assassin, you would have already been stabbed three times in your vitals.”
“… … is that so?”
Looks a little downcast. Ren deliberately set the bar higher. You never know what kind of enemy you will encounter in real life.
“Other than that it was good.”
“thank you!!”
Nocturne’s expression brightened again.
“work hard. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
“yes!”
“It’s over there too.”
Two people training in swordsmanship in the corner.
‘uh?’
One of them looked quite familiar to Ren.
“Evan Marshall, Senna. “Come here.”
Two sword-wielding men approach Charles’ call.
“hello.”
“hello. “This is Senna.”
“A long time. Evan Marshall.”
“I never thought I’d see you here again. Mr. Ren.”
“Do you two know each other?”
Charles asks with a surprised face.
“We had a brief relationship before.”
“I received help from judge Ren. thank you! Since then, my skills have improved so much that I am now able to take the graduation exam!”
Evan bows his head again and says hello.
‘It seems like your personality has changed a bit?’
At the time, I felt a bit stiff because I had a lot of pride, but I think it has softened a lot now.
“Ren will take a look at your swordsmanship. “Get ready.”
“All right.”
“I’ll try.”
“Let’s just spar with each other.”
The two people agree to Ren’s proposal and take a seat.
Since it was a training sword, there was no chance of serious injury.
“Fight carefully. “Because there’s a test tomorrow.”
Charles said in a worried voice.
“start!”
As soon as he shouted, the two men clashed. A fairly intense battle.
‘… … Evan will win easily.’
Although Sena’s skills were outstanding, Evan was in control of the fight from beginning to end.
There was no sign of the trend turning around.
‘But it’s strange… … .’
Since this is a training sparring match, he may not be doing his best, but somehow he seems to have more energy left. I especially feel this way about Senna.
Looking at the status window, there is nothing particularly strange… … .
Kaang!!
Evan’s wooden sword blew away Senna’s sword.
As for the match, Evan wins as Ren expected. But there was no sign of regret on Sena’s face.
“You two… … .”
Just as he did with Nocturne, Ren gave feedback to the two and then watched the other children following Charles’ guidance.
As I was watching the kids’ swordsmanship for a while, I heard Nocturne and Senna’s voices in the distance.
“Tsk, I don’t think I’ll be able to pass the graduation exam anyway, so are you just doing it half-heartedly? “Pathetic bastard.”
The way he spoke and intonation was so different from what he used with Ren.
From Noble mtl dot com
Hearing a sound coming from beyond the wall, I walked to the entrance and glanced inside. I saw Nocturne cornering Senna and saying something.
“This is why I hate things that are not noble. Are you saying that those who are there work harder? Look at Lord Ren Argen! Even though you were abandoned by the Arzen family, you climbed to that level on your own, right? “How amazing are you?”
“… … .”
“Tsk. Don’t think about meeting me at the exam tomorrow. “I will kill you half so you can never pick up a sword again.”
After saying that, Nocturne turns around carrying a large ax on his shoulder.
Sena gritted her teeth as she glared at Nocturne’s back.
‘You were an aristocratic supremacist.’
Ren shook his head and went back.
The next day came.
The day the graduation exam begins. For a week from today, all classes other than those taking the graduation exam will be restricted.
The first test is a combat test.
A barrier is set up in the huge testing center set up on the academy campus, and the environment changes every round.
A method in which cadets taking the graduation exam are randomly formed into teams in a many-to-many format and compete in a randomly selected setting.
Ren, who was sitting at the judges’ table, was excited about the interesting test format.
“how is it?”
Lyana asks after seeing Ren’s expression.
“great.”
“This is the Imperial Academy.”
“okay.”
“I look forward to the review.”
“Look forward to it.”