The Academy’s Hard-Headed Swordmaster

The Academy cafeteria was fantastic, so much so that even the First Prince had sung its praises.

True to the Academy’s founding principle of nurturing exceptional talent, all meals were provided free of charge.

With both free and delicious food, naturally, every student dined there without fail.

It was the meeting place where students who otherwise wouldn’t cross paths outside of class could interact.

Kyle, having found a suitable spot, picked at his food while conversing with Sera, who sat across from him.

“So, what’s the exam about?”

“The Knight Department exam is different every time. It’s one of three things: target assassination, target abduction, or target protection.”

“That’s a lot of variety.”

“Well. I’ve never actually played as a Knight myself, so….”

Listening to Sera, Kyle tilted his head, a puzzled expression on his face.

“Wait, you? You’re supposed to be the ultimate veteran who’s done everything in this game.”

“……Everyone has their specialties.”

She averted her gaze as she said this.

Knights were boring compared to other classes, or something like that – that was why she hadn’t played one herself.

Of course, she had watched videos of other people playing and read the wiki, so she was better off than he was, with his complete amnesia.

‘How can she remember a 15-year-old, dead game?’

If he had that kind of memory, he would be studying magic, not swordsmanship, or scouring the Dairus Empire for hidden pieces to monopolize.

Of course, since he couldn’t do that, he’d given up on hogging all the opportunities from the start and stuck with swinging a sword.

“Well, I guess there’s nothing we can do to help with this exam, huh?”

“They said the Magic Department is creating the testing grounds. Can’t you secretly manipulate it to help me?”

“Who? Me? You don’t actually think I study and comprehend magic to use it, do you?”

“Then how…?”

“The way I use magic is the same as in the game. I just click a button that appears in front of me, and the magic fires off… If I were to actually study and apply it, it would probably take me as long as it takes other Magicians to learn magic in real life.”

“So, that means….”

“This exam, we’re each on our own. Well, I doubt an Aura Master like you would fail the exam.”

Indeed—with the majority of the first-year students being Aura users, and only one Expert among them, it would be absurd for him, a Master, to fail.

Sera knew this too, so she wasn’t worried about Kyle.

After all, the Academy couldn’t create an exam question that a Master couldn’t solve.

* * *

“Everyone, you have your magic tools equipped, right?”

““Yes!!””

The students responded loudly to the Professor’s question.

The Professor nodded, seemingly pleased with their response.

A moment later, a massive magical barrier, cast by the Professors and students of the Magic Department, enveloped them.

They were then abruptly dropped into a special mindscape created by magic.

A grand-scale magic spell, involving the principal and all the Magic Department Professors, swallowed them whole.

The magic tools worn by the students reacted to the spell, completely separating their minds and bodies.

“Whoa, this is awesome.”

In essence, it was a kind of virtual reality created through magic.

I enjoyed the texture of the trees around me while looking for bugs.

Gawain had told me that finding errors in the magic would severely deduct points from both the Magic Department and the students.

‘I should find them first and hide them.’

His fiancée and childhood friend were in the Magic Department.

It wouldn’t be good for their scores to be reduced.

I poked and prodded the trees with the equipment provided upon entering the virtual world, even digging into the ground.

Surprisingly, the fidelity of this world wasn’t far behind reality.

It made sense, considering it was a large-scale spell cast simultaneously by hundreds of Magicians.

‘Let’s see.’

I unleashed my Aura Blade to see if it could withstand it.

However, the moment the Aura Blade touched the world, it began to tear apart with a sizzling sound.

“Uh oh, what’s happening?”

Startled, I quickly retracted the Aura Blade, and the torn parts of the world began to slowly restore themselves.

It was then that I realized this world was made of magic itself.

And the Aura Blade cut through everything. Magic, metal, anything.

‘The Aura Blade is destroying this world itself.’

That meant he couldn’t fight using the Aura Blade.

It was better this way. It also meant that his opponents wouldn’t be able to use Aura Blade either.

I sheathed my sword and started rummaging through my other equipment. I found a compass, a map, and a mission order.

[Mission Order]

—Sir Kyle Meyer, rescue our abducted agent at the following coordinates (E.44° W.21° S.107° N.99°).

“So, this is what they meant by not testing written exams.”

No matter how much you memorized theory at a desk, not many people could apply it directly in practice.

Conversely, some people couldn’t absorb theory no matter how much they studied, yet they somehow managed to apply it remarkably well in practical situations.

The reason for training knights was for practical application, so this was likely meant to cultivate individuals who could be immediately useful in the field.

“Well, this works for me.”

I used the map, compass, and my orienteering skills to pinpoint the coordinates on the mission order.

Then, I simply ran. I zipped past the trees, quickly arriving at my destination.

However, reaching the destination didn’t mean the end of the task.

I frowned as I saw a massive palisade and hundreds of soldiers patrolling and searching the surrounding area.

‘……So, they’re not just going to hand me the points.’

I belatedly realized that the Knight Department wasn’t the only one using the magic tools.

The Military Department students had also equipped them and entered the virtual reality.

And—if the Military Department students were being tested, it would naturally involve their command of soldiers, their tactical prowess, and strategic thinking.

Unlike the Knight Department, which focused on individual combat skills, the Military Department learned how to effectively utilize the power of an organization.

‘Aha, so—.’

The Military Department’s test was to stop him, while his objective was to breach their defenses and rescue the agent.

Realizing this, I drew my sword and moved forward.

‘Tough luck for them….’

How unlucky to be stuck with me and fail their exam.

Of course, I wasn’t going to go easy on them out of pity.

If I showed mercy, my own score would suffer.

‘Let’s see.’

I circled the palisade, identifying weak points and heavily guarded areas, and began formulating an infiltration route.

The soldiers were diligently patrolling, but to the eyes of an Aura Master, they were full of holes.

“Alright then—let’s go.”

‘Snap’

I tore off some nearby branches and fashioned them into primitive spears. They would probably break after a couple of impacts, but that was fine. That was the intention.

After crafting a few spears, I infused them with Aura and hurled them with all my might.

High into the sky.

After launching dozens of spears skyward, I climbed over a weakly defended section of the palisade and infiltrated the base.

* * *

The Military Department students realized that this exam was far too easy.

They had heard from their seniors that the exam content changed every time, but they hadn’t imagined it would be this simple.

‘What? Dozens of students commanding hundreds of soldiers to stop a single Knight Department student?’

Even the strongest Knight Department student in their year would be at most an Expert or lower.

Someone of that level wouldn’t be able to penetrate hundreds of soldiers.

They firmly believed their Professor had pulled some strings to give them an easy pass with good scores.

There was no other way to explain such a simple exam.

However.

‘KABOOM—!’

“Wh-What was that!?”

An explosion roared from somewhere.

There were no Magicians present, and the Knight Department students wouldn’t have been given explosives, so it was a sound that shouldn’t have been heard.

The startled students immediately rushed outside to assess the situation and discovered that the main gate, constructed from the palisade, had been shattered.

“Intruder!”

Their bodies moved before they could fully grasp the situation. An intruder.

The Knight Department student had finally revealed himself.

It was better to attempt something and fail than to be eliminated without doing anything.

Thinking this, the students led their soldiers towards the direction of the explosion.

Strangely, however, only shattered pieces of wood were visible; there was no trace of the intruder.

“……What in the world.”

As the puzzled students began searching the area with their soldiers, dozens of spears rained down from the sky.

It was like a bombardment.

The Aura-infused wooden spears caused massive explosions upon impact, and the soldiers caught in the blasts collapsed and rolled on the ground.

Belatedly, the students looked up and gasped at the sight of dots floating in the sky.

“No way, this is—.”

Before they could finish their sentences, the students were swept away by the falling spears and perished. And only then did they realize.

There was a reason why dozens of students had been gathered here.

* * *

“Good, it looks like they’ve all gathered over there.”

Thanks to the distraction created by the spears, there weren’t many soldiers guarding the abducted agent. I could assassinate them silently.

I eliminated the magically created soldiers and entered the room where the agent was being held.

Since the agent was also a magically created doll, there was no need for conversation. I quickly slung the doll over my shoulder and was about to leave the room when—

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“……Old man?”

Gawain stood blocking the exit.

Why was the Knight Department Professor here?

My confusion was short-lived as Gawain drew his sword with a ‘shing’.

My expression hardened at the sight.

“Old man, aren’t you from the Knight Department?”

“Indeed. And I am also the examiner for the Knight Department students.”

“Ah……That’s what this is about.”

No wonder it seemed too easy. There was a catch.

I sighed and placed the doll down, drawing my sword.

Neither of us could use Aura Blade, but that didn’t matter.

“Come at me, youngster.”

My opponent was a war hero who had lived as a Sword Saint for decades.