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Bang!
Mons's door burst open as if it would break.
"Who is it!"
Mons, drawing his sword and looking at Davian's room with a startled expression.
"...Glacea-nim?"
"Yes, it's me. Mons."
Glacea strode into Davian's room.
"Is Master okay?"
"Huh? What? Of course, I'm fine."
"I'm sorry. If someone had gotten into Master's room, I should have noticed it beforehand."
Glacea tapped Mons on the shoulder and cut in between them.
"No human can sense the presence of a spirit. Well, there are some, but hardly any. Don't be discouraged, Mons."
"Ah, is that so."
"Mons! Have a sword duel with Davian. I want to see an ice sword clash with a real sword for the first time in a while."
"A duel?"
"Yeah. A duel."
Glacea stretched out one arm towards Davian and shouted.
"Cold-blooded man. Davian Naone, the knight of the ice sword, emerges! And his opponent is!"
He stretched out his other arm towards Mons.
"Mons...! Oh, wait. What's your last name?"
"...I'm a commoner, so I don't have a last name."
"Really? Anyway. Again. Okay! Davian Naone's opponent is Mons!"
Unable to resist Glacea's enthusiasm, Davian and Mons went out to the backyard of the dormitory and stood facing each other.
Not a large space, but suitable for a simple sword fight.
"Then, while we're at it, shall we see how much you've improved, Master?"
"I've improved a bit. Don't be surprised."
"Hahaha. That confidence. Very good. But what about the sword?"
Swish!
A stream of water spouting from Davian's hand, which was wearing a metal glove.
The water pillar froze instantly.
Crack!
The water pillar broke, revealing a smooth blade.
Mons's eyes widened.
"That... it's not just a sword in shape."
"It's the first time I'm using it properly too."
Mons's eyes closely examined the blade.
"Very well. Come at me, Master."
It was the first proper sword duel since he had landed a counter on Brenton after being beaten up.
Davian had no idea where to start.
'Then first.'
He started to imitate the sword dance Bonita had shown him at the gym last week.
A fairly sharp sword strike swooped down on Mons.
Mons looked surprised.
But Mons was no ordinary practitioner.
One of the people leading the Naone family's private army.
A talented individual who entered Elton Academy eight years ago.
At the time, he was the top student in the first year of the swordsmanship department.
He had to quit the academy without advancing to the second year, but he had never neglected his training since.
Mons, lightly dodging Davian's attack, raised his sword with a swish.
Mons's blade gently touched Davian's sword.
Swish.
Davian's sword was pulled along by Mons's movement.
A movement as if a magnet was attached.
"Uh, uh?"
Davian tried desperately to detach his sword, but Mons's sword stuck to it and followed in the direction he applied force.
Then, it pulled Davian's sword in its own direction again.
'I have to get away!'
Whoosh.
Davian instantly drew up the inner energy from his dantian and leaped backward.
"What, what? What is that swordsmanship?"
"It's hardly swordsmanship. It's just using the opponent's movements."
"Amazing. It's also annoying from the receiving end."
"I'm more amazed by that sword. I thought it was ice, but it's harder than I thought. Come at me harder this time."
"Okay. Here I go!"
Davian carefully made sure that his sword path wasn't disrupted and increased the speed of his sword to the fullest.
Basic and the strongest attack.
Diagonal downward slash.
Whoosh.
Davian's blade cut through the air and approached Mons.
Mons lightly raised his sword to meet Davian's sword.
'...!'
Mons, who had crossed swords, was startled and pulled his sword back, avoiding Davian's sword.
"What? Why did you stop blocking and dodge?"
"If I had blocked it, my sword would have broken."
"Really?"
Glacea's laughter was heard.
"Giggle. The more I see it, the more amazing it is, Mons. You noticed that instantly and pulled your sword back? Too bad. I wanted to see a metal sword cut for the first time in a while. Mons's level is too high."
"You flatter me, Glacea-nim. Now, come at me again, Master."
"Okay. Here I go again!"
This time, he didn't imitate the sword dance he had stolen with his eyes, nor did he swing basic sword strikes.
He simply imagined the sword path at the end of the sword and drew Davian's own path of the sword.
High stance. Middle stance. Low stance. If there was a gap, he aimed for the gap, and if there was no gap, he launched a strong attack to create a gap.
But Mons blocked all of Davian's attacks with a smile on his face.
He blocked the attacks that weren't strong head-on and deflected or dodged the attacks that were powerful.
Then, in between, he made counterattacks that made Davian's heart sink.
Davian had to stop the duel every time Mons counterattacked.
Because each one was a sharp attack that would have cut off his breath in a real battle.
That's how the long duel ended.
Mons was still full of energy compared to Davian, who was panting for breath.
"Still, you're really amazing, Master. How long has it been since you picked up a sword? I've never seen anyone's swordsmanship improve so quickly."
"So what? After fighting you today, I realized I'm really hopeless. I thought I had improved quite a bit."
"There probably aren't many students in the academy's first year who can beat Master."
"That's the problem."
"Yes?"
"There shouldn't be any. The fact that there are a few is the problem."
"Oh my, Master, you're too greedy. How long has it been since you started learning swordsmanship?"
At that time.
Glacea slowly approached Mons.
Glacea was showing a lot of interest in him, especially today.
"Mons."
"Yes? Glacea-nim."
"You're not from the Raon Duchy, are you?"
Mons's eyes shook rapidly.
"Yes, yes? What are you talking about? Duchy? I'm just a commoner with no family to boast about."
"That's strange. I can see the Raon family's style in your swordsmanship."
Davian asked.
"Raon Duchy? What's that?"
Glacea widened his eyes and asked back.
"You don't know? The Raon Duchy? It's the family that made the biggest contribution to establishing the Alkancia Kingdom. It's the family that received the title first after the Alkancia Kingdom was created. Where are they located now?"
"Really? I've never heard of them."
At that time.
Mons's heavily sunken voice was heard.
"They're gone... They disappeared eight years ago."
"The Raon family disappeared? Who would dare to eliminate a family that contributed to the founding of the nation? Their bloodline had great talent in swordsmanship for generations. That's why they promised to be the sword of Alkancia forever."
"That's... they were framed for treason and all died."
Glacea's eyes shone sharply.
"Framed? Mons, you're from the Raon family, aren't you? You naturally say it's a frame-up. If you protect a family that has been accused of treason, you'll have your head cut off right away."
"Ah..."
Glacea's sharp logic.
Mons was caught off guard.
"I can clearly see the Raon family's secret swordsmanship, so why do you keep saying you're not? You are, right? Mons."
He wouldn't have shown it like this if he were outside.
He had been careless because it was a one-on-one duel with no one watching.
'I must have unconsciously used the family's swordsmanship.'
The joy of Davian's rapidly growing swordsmanship was too great.
Because he was only focused on Davian's movements, he couldn't control his own movements.
Mons shook his head as if he had given up on everything, then slowly opened his mouth.
"...Eventually, I would have had to tell Master someday. Glacea-nim is right. I am from the Raon Duchy, which was annihilated for treason."
It was the first time Davian had heard of it.
Mons is from the Duchy? And a Duchy that disappeared for treason?
"What? Treason?"
"Yes. On the day of the annihilation, I was spared because I was at Elton Academy, but soon the Royal Guards even barged into the academy. The person who took me in after I hurriedly ran away and wandered through the forest was Master's father, the head of the Naone family."
"Father?"
"Yes. He saved my life. From that time on, I erased my name and surname and lived as Mons, a servant of the Naone family. My real name is..."
Mons's mouth, which was about to say his name, was tightly closed.
His lips trembled as much as he gritted his teeth.
The closed lips slowly opened again.
"My name is... Mondres Raon. The last survivor of the Raon family, who was massacred by the royal family."
Kanzar City, the capital of the Alkancia Kingdom.
'Exitium', an ordinary back alley bar on the outskirts of the city.
A man wearing a black hood headed to the restroom behind the building.
He was wearing a hood that wizards often wore, but the dark and thick hood couldn't hide the man's sturdy physique.
The man looked around once, then turned back without entering the restroom door.
Standing against the wall behind the restroom, he pulled on a brick and suddenly the ground right next to him caved in.
In fact, the floor didn't collapse, but a door installed under the soil opened.
Below the door, there was a long staircase leading down to the basement.
The man stepped down the stairs one by one and descended into the darkness.
Creak.
After the man's figure completely disappeared into the darkness, the entrance door installed on the floor closed.
As soon as the door closed, a pile of dirt poured down from the roof of the restroom building.
The poured pile of dirt covered the door that had opened a little while ago, erasing the traces.
The man walked down for a long time.
When he reached the end of the stairs, a wide space revealed itself.
Several magic orbs emitting light were dimly illuminating the space.
"You're late, Merlin."
"I was being followed."
"Followed?"
"Yes. I think I'll have to stop my activities for the time being. I'll stay quiet until the suspicion is cleared."
"Indeed, those Alkancia guys aren't easy either. I heard that Rubens's Elton Academy project, which he had worked on for a long time, also failed?"
Another man walked out of the darkness and said.
"It's hard to say that's a failure. The plan was perfect and the execution was flawless."
"Then why are the academy freshmen still alive?"
"There was just a variable. From what I hear, there was a great guy among the freshmen."
"Then the next thing to do is decided."
"Of course. We must eliminate the variables that interfere with our work without delay."
The man who walked out of the darkness lightly moved his wrist.
Swoosh!
A metal object that escaped from his wrist reflected the light of the magic orb and cut through the space.
"Keuk!"
A dagger was deeply embedded in the neck of the man who had just come down the stairs, Merlin.
Merlin grabbed his neck with surprised eyes.
Red blood flowed out between his fingers.
The man who threw the dagger turned his head and looked at Merlin.
"I was being followed. That's a pity. You've worked hard, Merlin."
A man sitting at the table asked.
"Was it necessary to kill him? You could have sent him back to the home country."
"It's better to eliminate variables, as I said just now."
Merlin, who was making a hoarse voice, finally collapsed on the floor.
The man sitting at the table looked down at Merlin's body.
"Still, it's a pity that Merlin was the one who made a big contribution eight years ago. Didn't he play a decisive role in wiping out the Raon Duchy, who claimed to be the sword of Alkancia?"
"He made a big contribution, but it's right to eliminate any variable that could hinder us, even a little. Well, shall we deal with the next variable?"
"Are you talking about that academy freshman?"
"That's right. That freshman who defeated the Gray Witch."
"It won't be easy to deal with him without being noticed, as Elton Academy will already be on high alert."
"When has our 'Exitium' ever had an easy mission?"
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