Chapter 10
The rumor that Jian would be facing Lionel drew a huge crowd of 2nd and 3rd-year students.
“What the heck? This isn’t even a real match.”
“Ugh, we got totally tricked.”
Most students looked like they’d been scammed.
“Hey, you said it was a duel!”
“Sorry… I should’ve checked more carefully.”
They had come expecting an exciting fight…
But it turned out to be nothing more than hitting a fancy scarecrow.
Naturally, their expressions soured.
“Man, I don’t like that Jian guy. Tricking people right from the start.”
One 3rd-year noble, who had a decent reputation, ground his teeth in annoyance.
“Let’s go. No point watching some boring ‘display’ test.”
A lot of people lost interest and left the arena.
Since the crowd had gathered just because of the hype, this was no surprise.
‘Everyone’s so impatient.’
Among them, the student council president, Maratine, shook his head.
He thought — disappointment should come after seeing the results, not before.
Why assume it’s boring already?
‘I’m curious… what kind of swordsmanship will Jian Velomata show?’
Would it be a swift, speed-based style?
Or maybe a heavy, powerful greatsword style?
‘Personally, it’s a shame I won’t get to see Lionel’s swordplay…’
Maratine turned his gaze to the center of the arena just as Lionel appeared from the left entrance.
Clang, clang.
With the metallic sound of his plate armor, the giant over 2 meters tall walked to the center.
Each step radiated a sharp, heavy aura — murderous intent that spread beyond the arena to the stands.
“Holy crap…”
“That aura is insane.”
“So that’s the strongest knight in the kingdom…”
Almost every student froze.
Some trembled in awe, others in fear, and some in competitive excitement.
Most thought this was Lionel’s usual presence.
After all, he wouldn’t go all out in a simple exhibition match.
If the opponent hadn’t even appeared yet, this couldn’t be serious, right?
But Maratine knew better.
‘No… that’s not his normal aura.’
Lionel’s aura right now wasn’t casual — it was thrilled.
The atmosphere itself was screaming:
Lionel was ecstatic, shivering with excitement for this fight.
‘Why though? It’s just a single exchange match… there’s no reason to get fired up like this.’
Could Jian have provoked him somehow?
If so, that was insane.
“Maratine.”
“…Your Highness.”
Princess Aris appeared beside him.
“I have a question.”
Her brows were furrowed in deep irritation, as if she had a splitting headache.
“If a skilled swordsman, right before an important match, asks a woman to hold his hand… what does that mean?”
Maratine blinked. What kind of random question is that?
Wait.
A skilled swordsman, important match…
She’s talking about Jian Velomata, isn’t she?
Which meant… Jian had asked the princess to hold his hand before the duel.
If so, that meant Jian liked the 3rd princess.
‘This is perfect.’
Love was an easy weakness to exploit.
If Jian had feelings for her, it would be much easier to make him defect to the Canaryon Kingdom.
Especially since his family, House Velomata, had been destroyed by Endrich — there’d be little holding him back.
“Your Highness, would a swordsman about to fight seriously ask a random woman to hold his hand? Of course not.”
Maratine looked her straight in the eye.
“It means he has feelings for her.”
“F-feelings…”
The princess’s eyes shook violently.
“I… I see…”
At that moment, Jian appeared on stage.
Maratine glanced at the flustered princess, then focused back on Jian.
The instructor acting as referee spoke:
“Both sides, take your positions.”
Jian and Lionel stood in place.
“…I’ll ask one last time. Are you sure about this?”
The referee looked uneasy, like he thought, ‘This is a bad idea.’
“Haha. No need to worry. I told you, I’ll take full responsibility.”
Lionel’s words were strange. Responsibility? For what?
The referee sighed and backed away, leaving only the two on stage.
“Need time to prepare?” Lionel asked.
“No. You can start whenever you’re ready.”
“Hahaha! Still as confident as ever.”
Maratine’s eyes widened.
He realized what was happening.
“Wait… you switched offense and defense?”
“Yes,” the princess confirmed.
Now Lionel was attacking, and Jian defending.
“Here I come.”
Lionel raised his massive sword — larger than most people — high overhead.
“Holy—!”
“He’s using killing intent!”
The weapon gathered a visible aura of sword energy (검기).
Even those who didn’t know swordsmanship could tell it was dangerous.
“Is he serious? Can the freshman block that?”
Everyone could feel it: Lionel was going all out.
“Sir Lionel! You can’t use sword energy—!” the referee shouted in panic.
But Lionel ignored him, and swung.
BOOOOOOM!
The giant blade tore through the air at a speed even the swordsmanship instructor could barely follow.
“Aaaah!”
“He’s going to die—!”
To the crowd, it was like the sky itself was falling.
Almost everyone believed Jian was about to be crushed.
‘Show me…’ Lionel thought.
Just then, a system message appeared before Jian’s eyes:
[The blessing of ‘Loved by All Things’ activates: When receiving fatal damage, you will dodge it once.]
Jian’s body and sword moved at the same blinding speed as Lionel’s strike.
KRAAAASH!
Lionel’s sword smashed the stage into rubble, carving a crater into the ground.
And yet — inside that crater stood not only Lionel, but Jian as well.
Jian held a broken sword pointed downward.
His uniform was sliced perfectly in half, exposing his bare torso — proof of how close it had been.
“You blocked it! You actually blocked it!” Lionel laughed in delight.
He’d seen Jian move at light speed under the descending blade, twist his sword angle at the moment it broke, and deflect the strike.
“Amazing… truly amazing. In all my years, no one has ever completely blocked my strike like that.”
Lionel admitted it — Jian Velomata’s sword was worthy of recognition.
Jian, breathing heavily, stared at his broken weapon, trembling — not from fear, but from the rush of victory.
Lionel knew Jian’s tragic past — how the Velomata heir had turned into a timid shadow of his potential.
He’d arranged this match to break Jian free of that weight.
And now, seeing Jian’s exhilarated expression, Lionel was certain — the shackles were gone.
“…Good. Very good.”
He retrieved his sword and began walking back to the waiting room.
As he passed the stands, he noticed Princess Aris frozen in shock.
‘If she can win him over, there’d be nothing more to ask for.’
Meanwhile, Jian was dealing with a flood of system messages:
[Mental Strength EX Rank calms your agitation.]
[Mental Strength EX Rank calms your agitation.]
His heart kept racing and calming in cycles.
Even with the automatic mental stabilizer, the adrenaline refused to die down.
‘Damn… I really almost died.’
He looked at his exposed torso — one more millimeter and it would’ve been over.
Finally calming down, he thought:
‘Praise be to the princess’s blessing.’
That passive — dodging a fatal blow once — had just saved his life.
And his Mental Strength EX was just as much a lifesaver.
As he turned toward the waiting room, a huge cheer erupted:
“Wooooo!”
“That was insane!”
“You’re amazing, freshman!”
Applause rained down.
The sudden noise startled him for a moment — but he quickly regained his composure.
Through the crowd, he spotted Aris sitting with Maratine.
‘Thanks. You saved my life.’
He smiled brightly at her and waved.
The princess’s eyes widened so much, it seemed impossible for them to open any further.
