47 – Midterms – 2
Academy’s midterms are held throughout the week. It is the mind of the professor who takes the exam quickly on Monday and Tuesday and lets the students go, or on Wednesday and Thursday to give them a little more time to study.
The content of the test is also different for each subject. There are some subjects that just take a normal written test, but there are also cases that take a special test for that subject.
The basic swordsmanship I class was also one of those subjects. Befitting the subject of swordsmanship, the test was 100% practical.
“As announced in advance, the test will be conducted through sparring with opponents of similar skill. Winning or losing will of course affect grades, but more important than that is the content of the sparring. If you win, you will always get good grades, and if you lose, you will not get good grades. Don’t obsess over winning, focus on showing what you’ve learned.”
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Mr. Helford, still looking like a bandit, tightened his neck. Even though it was not an indoor lecture hall but an outdoor gymnasium, his voice resonated with power. Perhaps because it was a full-scale Dalian, the test was decided to be held at an outdoor gymnasium. It was the first outdoor gymnasium after the semester started, so everyone seemed excited, but everyone kept their mouths shut as if they were nervous.
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Me? I honestly didn’t mind too much. I hate to say this, but aside from Wilhelm, there is no other student in the academy with the skills to deal with Mikhail. Perhaps even the teacher can win depending on the situation. It was the result of Mikhail’s memory.
Helford took a quick look at us. He chuckled and clicked his tongue, as if he didn’t like the nervous students.
“I can’t show even half of the things I normally do because I’m so nervous. Relax your body hurt.”
It was probably meant to ease our tension in its own way, but everyone stiffened their bodies as if they were trembling more. Helford sighed as if he had given up.
“Yeah, well, it’s the first test and it’s the first time you’ve ever had a sparring session with students, so there’s no way the tension will be relieved just because I say it. Just don’t get hurt. Does anyone have any questions?”
I raised my hand. Helford’s eyebrows curled slightly at the sight of my behemoth.
“Oh, yes. Mikhail, go sparring with me.”
He answered before I even asked a question. Dealing with the teacher, I felt sympathy for the eyes of the students around me. It was because my original partner, Wilhelm, took a leave of absence, so I lost my partner.
But I rather liked it. It’s a headache if someone gets hurt after fighting a clumsy opponent. Of course, a false sword is used, but it does not end with just bruising if it is hit incorrectly. Besides, since you said you look at the process, not the win or loss, it doesn’t matter if you lose. Of course, if you win, it’s almost 100% guaranteed.
No matter what you do, as long as you win, you’re good. Teachers give students to lose in sparring and squeeze points? What are you trying to hear from behind? Halford’s observations so far indicate that he was a relatively good teacher, but he did not have a great work ethic either.
If there’s one thing I regret, it’s that I can’t defeat Wilhelm. At the meeting last week, I asked Seol-ah who would win if Wilhelm and I fought.
Seol-ah put on a sad face at my question. It’s a look that says, “Why do you care about someone who took a leave of absence anyway?”
“I don’t know why men like it so much because who is stronger and who wins. There’s no need to fight anyway.”
“You don’t have to fight?”
“Yes.”
Seol-Ah declared.
“There are no monsters or anything like that, and the electrons of war didn’t come out until the end of this work. An assassin targeting Lily? When Lily sent an assassin, she sent it, but I never got hit.”
“Then why did you put in settings like the shield that protects the north and the best weapon in the empire?”
I immediately thought of the Grand Duchess of Sirius. The shield that protects the north, the best martial artist in the empire. These are titles that seem like something anyone can see. Having one of the main characters come from a family like this and there’s nothing to fight about? Doesn’t the writer know about Chekhov’s gun? Even when I asked my question, Seo Ah shook her head.
“Nandle? It’s just that the writer wrote it in moderation because everyone else wrote it that way. Honestly it’s cool The shield of the empire that protects the cold and barren borders of the north, the best samurai who have produced strong men from generation to generation.”
“If Grand Duchess Sirius is talking about it, it really wasn’t cold at all. It snowed quite a bit. When I asked before, the yield of the manor was amazing.”
There’s nothing quite like it.
“I told you last time. It hurts my head to think about the setting of this novel. Anyway, as far as I remember, there is no description of you pulling out your sword skills until the end of this novel.”
Anyway, since it’s a romance, I thought I wouldn’t have to go to the front and fight, but I never thought it would be that peaceful. I didn’t necessarily want to fight, but from the point of view that longed for a sword master in my heart, steam leaked. Seol-ah smiled, perhaps reading my hopeless expression.
“I don’t understand. Fighting is hard and painful.”
“Every man lives with a sword master in his heart.”
“Wow.”
She hated it. Anyway, isn’t wow too much?
“So who will win, me or Wilhelm?”
“You win. Wilhelm is portrayed as being out of his mind because of me.”
“I don’t think he can beat me even if he stays awake.”
“Well, even in the original work, it seems that you are stronger.”
It’s not a big deal, but it makes me feel good. Strength goes into the shoulders. There is nothing wrong with the old saying that a man is a child even when he gets older. Seeing me like that, Seol-ah asked as if she was dumbfounded.
“So good?”
“Yes. Honestly, it feels good.”
“I’m not a kid.”
“You are a child compared to Seol-ah.”
“Hey!”
She suddenly screamed at the story of my age. Because I’m secretly sensitive to stories about my age. It’s funny that she asks me to call her older sister. I don’t know if I want to be treated as older or not.
“No, last time I asked you to call me older sister.”
“So you called me sister? It’s not.”
“Then can I make fun of you for being old if I call you older?”
“Can you do it?”
Seol-ah looked at me and glared at her eyes. Every time she sees her, she feels, but she seems to care that she is older. At this rate, I hope she notices that her title of older sister and her treatment as a friend cannot come together.
“No more questions?”
Helford’s deep voice brought me to my senses. The other students must have asked some questions while I was lost in my thoughts. The students were keeping their mouths shut as if they really had no more questions. Tension flows in the quiet gymnasium.
Helford looked around and stood in the center of the arena. And he finally announced the beginning of Dalian.
“Then come forward in front of attendance number 1 Bastian and number 8 Cain.”
The two men who were called out by Helford’s command came out to the center of the arena, hesitantly. Both are mediocre students. These are the kids I’ve seen before. Both of them are just average. To be honest, it’s not a matchup that I’m very interested in. So I turned my eyes to another place other than the couple’s confrontation.
Cordelia. She was sitting among her new friends. Her index finger nails kept scratching at her thumb nails, but her eyes couldn’t keep them away from the swordplay. She is still in a cold war with her, not a cold war. I haven’t seen her face properly since I came in during the exam period.
Still, I told her that the tinkerer broke her gossip. She wondered if she had to say it, but she also thought it would be funny to hide it. She didn’t seem to be hurt or bothered by the fact that someone was swearing behind her back. She seemed a bit used to it, which made her feel a little sad. However, Cordelia seemed a bit puzzled by the fact that I dared to stop them.
“Next! Those who have finished sparring can go and sit on the other side.”
The sparring between the two is over. Bastian or something seemed to have won, so he went to the stand opposite and sat down with a bright expression on his face. Cordelia looked blankly at the two of them coming down from the center of her arena, and she snorted in excitement. She was in a state of bewilderment, but seeing others sparring must have fueled her enthusiasm. Looking at her pretended, there was a lot of strength in her shoulders.
After that, sparring continued. It did not take long for students of similar abilities to collide with each other. The human body is not something that can move normally even if the physical strength is slightly reduced like in a game. A sword is not something that you wield until its durability reaches 0, and then becomes powder the moment it reaches 0.
Of course, if your stamina is reduced or injured, your actions will be restricted, and if you hit the sword a few times, the blade may be damaged or even break. Of course, the sparring was done swiftly. In addition, perhaps because a sword is a thing that goes away when only one hit, Helford immediately finished the sparring once a proper effective hit was received.
Thanks to that, my turn came quickly. Helford called my name out loud. I got up from my seat and took a deep breath. The eyes of the surroundings are focused on one body. Awe-inspiring glances around. I didn’t like it, but I also didn’t hate it that much.
I know. Between first graders, I am practically a loner. It’s true that I don’t have many friends anyway, although they may feel that I’m ostracizing them. Now I have no more friends than Cordelia. Maybe it’s the best bullying in the first grade?
But it’s not because I have serious flaws or because other students hate me. I’m not sure if it’s okay to use it for a man, but I’m like the so-called ‘flower on the cliff’. High status, honestly, a lot of pride, and even a little bit of body. Originally, it is difficult for people to approach someone who is too proud.
There is a saying that there is a woman of 7. When women are divided on a scale of 1 to 10, it is said that a moderately excellent woman with a score of 7 is more popular than a woman with a score of 10. I strongly agree with that statement. Perhaps, by that standard, Mikhail would be a man of 12?
I don’t go out first and try to expand my network like Wilhelm, I only hang out with the members I always go to. There is no need to talk to others first. Even if it’s me, if there’s someone like that, I won’t talk to them first.
So it’s only natural. I calmly received the gaze of the people around me and slowly approached the center of the gymnasium. Helford is already waiting for me in the center. I looked back towards Cordelia one last time just before we started fighting.
She was staring at me with her hands clasped very tightly. Her eyes met. She lowered her head, perhaps ashamed of the fact that she was focusing on me. I smiled and then managed my expression. Still, it’s dealing with a teacher in its own way, but what would you think if you were smiling smirk?
I clenched my wooden sword and looked at Mr. Helford in front of me again. Her broad shoulders and bulging forearms. He announced the start of the match with a serious voice that holds a lot of weight.
“Let’s get started.”
He never ran into me first. Still, just because you’re a teacher, does a seon-gong yield? But I also chose not to rush into it. I, no, the memory of Mikhail, who was moving my body, did not find any special gaps in him.
As expected, it’s impossible with my own strength. I was a bit disappointed. Recently, even if I moved my body purely by my will, not by Mikhail’s memory, I was expecting a little more natural movements. However, after a little concentration, the memory of Mikhail began to help me by itself. It seems that I still need the help of this unknown power to really show my skills properly.
I moved along the path guided by Mikhail’s memory. A diagonal cut from the top right to the bottom left that can be said to be the most basic of swordsmanship.
-Cheong!
A metallic sound that I didn’t want to hear echoed along with sparks. Of course, Helford simply blocked my sword by bringing his own sword. He sprinted and pushed my sword away with force.
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Me and his sword got entangled. An obvious power struggle. Helford possesses tremendous strength befitting his size. Obviously, when the swords collided for the first time, I was in a position to press down, but in an instant, he became a position to press on top of me. It is an obvious fact that pressing from above is more advantageous than pushing from below. Continuing to fight for strength like this is not a very wise choice.
I gave my strength at the moment and slightly pushed his sword away. His sword floated in the air, and I turned his wrist wide, aiming for the gap. Naturally, the sword also turned in the opposite direction. My sword points toward Helford’s empty left head. A neat reverse blade cut that went in in the blink of an eye.
But Halford didn’t just take the instructor’s seat either. His sword, which returned to its original position before I knew it, once again blocks my sword. This time, as if he would not allow such a surprise attack, his sword naturally rode into mine.
Cheating Geek. Helford’s crossguard slithered like a snake, completely blocking my sword. What do we do? Helford’s class taught that in this case, cut the sword through half-swording.
But Mikhail seemed to have a different idea. I kicked him as hard as I could. Puck. A dull sound resounded, like a leather bottle being kicked. I thought that with this much power, of course, he would go round, but Helford only took a slight step back. His body was stronger than expected. But my offensive didn’t end there. I clung right to him.
– Bang!
And then Cheolsan High School, which is directly connected. His horse hit the iron mountain high ground with a strong shoulder. A louder, duller sound rang out than before. Exhilarating sensation. The thing just went right into the stomach. Gagging. Still, it must have hurt quite a bit, Helford’s mouth hung open. No matter how strong a person is, it is not possible to be fine even if a vital point is hit.
With a strong shock, his arms opened wide. I immediately swung the sword and brought it to his throat.
Helford stared blankly at my sword for a moment, then stood up. Even though he was hit like that, he recovered quickly as if it wasn’t a very big blow. Instead, his expression was as if he had eaten one shot.
“I don’t remember teaching this type of martial arts in class.”
“I was in a hurry.”
Helford reprimanded me. I feel like a student who gets scolded while solving problems with mathematical formulas that I have studied in advance. Looking at it, there is no difference.
He smiled dejectedly at the fact that he was defeated in an unexpected way, and opened his mouth.
“The next person comes up.”
Even though I say I look at the process, not the win or loss, I won’t give my score low. Many of these students saw me win, but they gave me low grades for no reason, to hear what they said. I thought about it before, but the teachers here are all human and care about their reputation. You will have to think about it after retirement, and the public opinion of the school has a considerable impact on each person’s evaluation.
I sat down, wiping off the sweat with a handkerchief after I moved it for a moment. I felt a warm gaze directed at me. It’s a bit unconventional, but it’s a natural reaction since he beat the teacher. Among them, I turned my eyes in the direction where the gaze was particularly strong.
‘Oh, my face will be pierced.’
Cordelia was staring at me very intently.
–