Chapter 12
Are You Angry?
“Thank you. I don’t know if I’ll ever need to use it though.”
It was true. I had never truly faced a life-threatening situation before.
Knights often fought monsters and encountered danger, but… that still felt like a distant reality to me.
“I don’t think you’ll ever need to use it either.”
“Do you know how hard I’ve trained? Even if something dangerous happens, I can handle it alone.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
A cool breeze blew past.
I closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the clear weather here.
If there was anything I learned from last semester’s Knight Survival Training, it was the preciousness of mild weather like this.
Weather without extremes, a pleasant breeze – how wonderful.
“Serdin.”
Royce called out to me as I immersed myself in the comfort of the ordinary terrain.
The breeze tickled my cheek pleasantly.
Royce tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.
“It’s nice.”
“Yes, it is.”
The moonlight, the temperature, the humidity… everything was perfect that night.
Of course, in thirty minutes none of that would matter. But for now, it was rest time, and I needed to make the most of it.
I put the whistle Royce gave me into my inner pocket.
I couldn’t imagine ever needing to use it.
Evening Strength Training
The evening strength training was held in the forest.
The task was to cross the forest without touching the ground.
I thought they were joking, but they were serious.
To do so, we had to keep moving while hanging onto trees – it required tremendous strength.
‘Is this what it takes to earn the title of the best knight academy?’
We set out in pairs. I was paired with Risher.
Though he had trembled like a tractor during daytime training, he hadn’t collapsed. That made him a pretty good partner.
Most importantly, we were close, so we’d have good teamwork.
“Next pair, go!”
At the signal, Risher and I started.
The forest was dark and deep. Luckily, the moonlight was bright.
“Serdin, this way.”
“Not there, step here, Risher.”
We kept helping each other forward.
‘At this pace, we’ll finish quickly.’
Though my arms occasionally gave out, a brief rest between branches revived my strength.
We were making great progress.
When we had crossed about 80% of the forest, we paused for a short break in the moonlit darkness.
The cool breeze felt wonderful.
I was already looking forward to stretching my legs out to rest once we finished this.
“We’re doing pretty well, don’t you think, Serdin?”
“I think so too.”
We chuckled together.
“Serdin, let’s keep goi–”
But in the next moment,
Risher suddenly vanished from my sight.
“Ris–…”
Stunned, I stared ahead before looking down.
With a thud, Risher had fallen below.
What… what was happening?
Then he scrambled up and shouted,
“Serdin, something is–”
But his words turned into a scream.
“Aaaagh!”
I panicked and jumped down from the tree.
The mission condition was to never touch the ground, but that didn’t matter right now.
The clouds shifted, and moonlight shone where Risher had fallen.
A huge monster was piercing Risher’s eye with its sharp claw.
My heart pounded.
I blinked repeatedly, but the scene didn’t change.
I instinctively reached for where my sword should be.
Of course it wasn’t there.
This was strength training; I hadn’t brought it.
“W-what do I do…?”
The monster raised its claw again.
If I didn’t stop it now, Risher would die. That premonition struck me hard.
I grabbed any branch near me and ran at the monster.
Holding it with both hands like a sword, I swung it down at the creature.
I had never tried imbuing sword energy into anything other than a real sword.
But if I could infuse a wooden sword with sword energy…
I struck the monster.
Nothing happened.
‘Why? Why isn’t it working?’
Before I could think further, the monster turned its attention to me.
Risher lay completely still.
I was more terrified by that fact than the monster itself.
I jumped up onto a tree to avoid the charging creature.
It slashed at me with its massive clawed foot.
I swung my body to propel myself higher up the tree.
The monster missed and glared up at me.
‘What should I do?’
Was there anything I could do without a sword?
If I jumped down and twisted its neck… could I do it?
Ideas flashed through my mind, but none felt like a real solution.
If it were just a rank-5 monster, I could take it on barehanded. But this…
The creature turned its head towards Risher again.
He was going to die. We both were.
My hands trembled – not from muscle strain, but fear.
I had to at least stop it from attacking Risher.
“Over here!”
My trembling voice barely escaped my lips.
The monster didn’t hear, so I shouted again.
Finally, it turned back to me.
And in that moment, I remembered.
‘The whistle – just in case.’
The whistle Royce gave me.
With trembling hands, I searched my inner pocket. It was still there.
The monster charged at me.
At the same time, I blew the whistle with all my strength.
The silent note filled the forest.
I jumped down from the tree and ran.
Would Royce really hear this?
Was I going to die anyway?
I was running, but my mind was blank. I didn’t even know how my feet were moving.
I wanted to check if Risher was okay, but I couldn’t get near him.
As I scrambled in panic, the monster suddenly cut in front of me.
Its claw swung towards my stomach.
“……!”
But in that instant,
An arm wrapped tightly around my waist and yanked me back.
The air grew heavy.
The monster froze mid-motion.
Looking back, I saw the shadowy form of Necroquod, Royce’s demon beast.
Necroquod was a mass of black smoke shaped like a wolf, with a single glowing red eye staring at the monster.
Royce swung his sword once, and the monster let out a screech before collapsing.
Silence returned.
In the dim night, all I could see was the creature that had nearly killed me.
“……Ah.”
I stood there, breathing heavily, dazed.
Royce still held me tightly from behind.
His strong arms wrapped around me, I couldn’t even think to push him away.
Leaning weakly against him, I placed my hand on my chest. My heart was pounding furiously.
Could I have died just now?
Yes, this world wasn’t a novel – it was reality.
Knighthood was truly dangerous.
Royce pulled me even closer, his arm around my shoulders.
“Senior, I–”
“……Just a moment.”
His low voice vibrated against my ear as he buried his head into my shoulder.
“Are you angry?”
“……No.”
His voice was sunken and his breathing heavy.
I asked softly again.
“Were you scared?”
Royce didn’t answer. He just buried his head deeper.
I didn’t know why he was like this, but somehow, I understood his feelings.
I stayed there silently until he finally lifted his head.
Aftermath
Leaving the infirmary where Risher lay, a heavy silence lingered.
The rank-3 monster had escaped from a nearby research facility due to negligence.
“At least he’s alive,” Haeryl said, trying to comfort everyone.
Risher had severe injuries to one eye and his right leg.
They said he would probably lose sight in one eye, and his leg would require months of rehabilitation.
He’d have to take a break from the academy.
But he was alive – that was a relief.
When I heard he’d survived, I nearly fainted from relief.
‘But… what did I do?’
Could I have done more to prevent his injuries?
Leaving the infirmary, I walked outside for a while.
Yesterday’s weather was exactly the same, yet it felt completely different against my skin.
“Serdin.”
Royce walked beside me.
I looked up at him.
He was always strong and steadfast.
From the first time I saw him, during survival training, during our spars – always unbreakable.
‘But…’
I thought I was strong too.
But after what happened to Risher, I realized I wasn’t.
Even though he hadn’t died, even though he’d eventually return to the academy, I was shaken to my core.
“Serdin.”
Royce called my name softly. I didn’t know what expression I wore, but it probably wasn’t good.
His hand gently brushed under my eyes, warm and kind.
In this moment of utter brokenness, I realized I was holding on thanks to him.
Simply because he stayed calmly by my side.
‘If I’m this weak over this much…’
What about Royce in the original story?
How did he feel when his vice-captain and friend of years died?
The thought made my chest ache.
“What’s wrong, Serdin?”
When I stared at him, he stopped and asked.
“It’s nothing.”
I reached out and hugged him tightly.
I didn’t know why – I just wanted to.
“Serdin?”
“Just… for a moment.”
I quietly patted his back.
And he too gently placed his hand on my back, softly comforting me.
