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Chapter 126: The Duel Begins

Two figures stood face to face in the training arena.

I had intended to stay away from the sword during summer vacation, but it seemed like a compromise was necessary since the one invited by the Lionel family was none other than the swordsman’s disciple, Hunter Choi Yeon-woo.

Picking up the sword, I thought how this would actually be a good opportunity. I hadn’t been neglecting my training, but it was hard to gauge my skills objectively after hanging around stronger opponents.

‘There’s no way I can beat Albert…’

I had no idea what level of expertise Albert Lionel possessed. However, it was clear that he was among the top two freshmen, battling for the championship alongside Namgung Seong. I could guess he was at least halfway through the Expert realm, if not at the peak.

Of course, mastery isn’t everything in a fight.

Just because someone was an Aura user, it didn’t mean they couldn’t defeat an Expert. I knew that better than anyone. After all, my past self—who couldn’t manipulate mana at all—had made a meal out of many traitors of the Demon King cult.

However, in a sparring match rather than an actual fight, the difference in levels became quite significant.

My spar against Namgung Seong, who was unable to kill me, didn’t help much in terms of skill improvement.

“Phew…”

“Are you ready? I am!”

As Yeon-woo sighed and fiddled with an elegant wooden sword, Albert cheerfully responded.

He seemed thrilled at the thought of clashing swords. With a hint of annoyance, Yeon-woo replied, “I’m fine with the spar, but was it really necessary to gather an audience?”

Albert scratched his head, looking troubled by her remark.

“I didn’t call them on purpose… Sorry.”

Many people were sitting on the ground around the training arena, watching them with shining eyes.

They were all servants of the Count’s household. Among them, the head butler, Jurgen, had even positioned himself as the referee, standing to the side.

“No, I was too harsh. They’re all swordsmen, so it makes sense…”

The crowd eagerly nodded at Yeon-woo’s half-sighing comment. The family was known for their obsession with swords, making it difficult for others to fit in.

‘Better to finish this quickly and go home.’

Deciding in her mind, Yeon-woo nodded heavily. That was the signal.

Jurgen took a deep breath after checking the stances of the two.

“Set… Go!!”

His booming shout echoed across the arena like something from a battlefield, and while Yeon-woo stared blankly, wondering what on earth he was doing, a golden shadow darted into her peripheral vision.

“You coward!!”

“Isn’t that what happens in a battlefield!?”

It sounded like a reasonable argument, but it was utter nonsense. No one shouts like that to announce a fight on the battlefield.

To Yeon-woo, it looked like they were trying to prank her.

But regardless of her surprise, her body was already moving. Her eyes quickly scanned her surroundings in an instant. There wasn’t much technique involved—just an ordinary horizontal slash, neither fast nor slow.

Yeon-woo stepped back to steady her stance and raised her sword to block. A strong impact reverberated through her arm, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle.

However, Albert’s sword, as if expecting to be blocked, slipped smoothly along her blade and aimed for her head.

“Crap…!”

Despite her defense, Yeon-woo hurriedly leaned back, barely avoiding the strike that aimed for her head. Only then did a series of thoughts rush through her mind.

The Lionel family was uniquely focused on achieving both strong and soft sword techniques at the same time.

While those two concepts weren’t completely contradictory, Lionel had aimed to incorporate extreme strong sword techniques and soft sword techniques into a single strike.

It was different from the supreme swordsmanship of Namgung and the notorious soft sword approach. It was both fierce like a lion and cunning like a fox.

The family’s legendary technique: the Lion’s Sword.

This was the first time she faced it directly, but it was well known that Lionel’s foundational swordplay was often considered ‘the hardest to defend against.’

“I have no idea why it’s called the Lion’s Sword…!!”

As she furiously clenched her jaws and reversed her previously leaned back body, she caught sight of Albert, his lips twitching with amusement as if her words were the funniest thing he’d ever heard.

‘Is he…laughing?’

Of course, seeing him act so smug twisted Yeon-woo’s stomach.

This punk ambushed me and is now laughing?!

“Like a wave.”

With her words, her blade surged with energy. As she initiated the flow of her sword technique, she voiced the command.

It was a switch, or an associative invocation. Having performed this technique hundreds, if not thousands of times, her aura core seamlessly executed the routine.

She exerted force in her grasp while letting go of tension in her wrist. In a thrust, speed and power are key. The extending sword shot out faster than Yeon-woo’s mind could envision.

“Wha?!”

Whoosh!!

Albert was startled by Yeon-woo’s thrust, swinging his sword in reaction.

The blade didn’t move in a predictable way—it was two-dimensional in a way that made it difficult for human eyes to perceive distances properly. Perhaps due to the fundamental difference in skill, Albert still managed to parry her thrust effectively.

However, the way her sword was deflected gave Yeon-woo the opportunity to take advantage.

“Like a dragon’s tail.”

With a furious whirl, her aura surged with pain. Its flow carried an unmatched potency.

She didn’t attempt to resolve the recoil; instead, she slightly twisted its direction. Riding the centrifugal force, she spun her body and swung her sword with full power.

Before her, Albert smiled—a smile that suggested he wasn’t perturbed in the slightest.

Life within the Academy hadn’t been bad. He’d learned various things and improved. Yet despite his growth, the lack of exhilaration left something to be desired. There was no bone-chilling fear, no excruciating pain. It lacked the blood-soaked battles where swords were aimed at each other’s throats.

Some might call it madness. Others might label it a peculiar taste.

But a true golden lion of the era would simply call it “the way of the lion.” An excited smile spread across Albert’s face.

‘What’s up with him, why is he sma-’

Before Yeon-woo could finish her thought, Albert lunged toward her like someone diving into a pond, clearly thirsty for a thrill.

He had lost his mind. His aura coiled around his sword perfectly, and if hit directly, even a wooden sword could kill a person.

Albert surely knew that. Yet he jumped in anyway. Simply because it felt like the thing to do.

Bang!!

Albert’s sword slammed against Yeon-woo’s. The impact was intense, unmistakably the power of a family that pursued strong sword techniques, and yet, the force of the dragon’s tail only slightly diminished.

Yeon-woo wondered at that fact.

‘How is it that the force remained the same after colliding?’

If something collided, the shock of the dragon’s tail should have conveyed itself. Yeon-woo assumed that Albert would be sent flying backwards.

But that didn’t happen. Albert stood his ground, simply swinging his sword again as if rewinding a video.

“This guy…!!”

As realization dawned on Yeon-woo, Albert bared his teeth in a lion-like grin. He struck with force, then slipped away smoothly.

Albert transferred not just the impact that should have reached his body but also the feedback that should have returned to Yeon-woo back to her instead. As a result, the shock of the dragon’s tail had been slightly ‘neutralized.’

It felt like a feat worthy of the term “superhuman strength.” This method resonated harmoniously with the teachings of the martial arts guru.

To overpower strength with softness, the nuance of ‘the pear blossom grafting’ and the idea that strength is broken by greater strength, were fully contained within it.

Once Yeon-woo had her epiphany, Albert didn’t hold back. He struck, collided, and retracted. Like a child delighting in their toy, he relentlessly engaged with his sword.

It was a bizarre situation. Yeon-woo sought to land a decisive strike, while Albert persistently thwarted it with numerous counterstrikes.

To put it succinctly, they were engaged in a clashing war of blades. A power struggle amid clashing swords; neither had any rational sense. Anyone observing could easily grasp that the balance would shatter if either side gave even an inch.

If this were a real fight instead of a spar, either would surely retreat. Yet the reason they were entangled like this was──.

‘Huh? Is this punk really not backing down?’

‘Let’s see how this goes, huh?’

…Just like anywhere else, it was a battle of stubbornness.

Meanwhile, not too far off, Shar and Tae-oh were calmly enjoying some snacks while watching the spectacle, sighing softly at the fierce struggle between the two.

“They’re still just kids, after all.”

“Yep, absolutely.”

Before long, tension crept onto their faces.

Albert had pending power but his arm felt sore. Yeon-woo was realizing that just a few more strikes would render his power completely dead.

The eyes of the two stubborn kids met. Albert scoffed as if saying, “Is that all you’ve got?” Yeon-woo smirked back in defiance.

In that instant, there was a flash of light.

Kiiing!!

With a sharp sound, a fierce gust of wind swept through the arena. The intensity of their powers surged to new heights.

The servants watching the sparring, now in a frenzy, were wide-eyed. What they beheld were the colors of sunset and gold. Though distinct, the two flames blazed with a similar radiance in the training ground.

Among those gazing dumbfoundedly, a butler muttered in awe.

“Is that… the Aura Blade…!!”

Neither Albert nor Yeon-woo had protective barriers like those in the Academy, yet the spirited duo dared unleash the Aura Blade. In this clash of wills, they were too riled up to care about the spectators.

…Meanwhile, a middle-aged man stood by the gates of the Count’s territory, scowling at the explosion of power soaring into the heavens.

“…One of them is my son?”

He donned a lion’s mane cape, symbolizing his status as the roaring golden lion amongst the twin lions defending the kingdom, and hurriedly dashed toward the arena.

(To be continued in the next chapter)

 

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