I Was the Strongest Sword God in My Past Life

part 4

I confirmed it was burst underfoot, yet again I feel the squirming of a worm beneath my sole.

Dayben rose from his seat.

“Sparring class is at 17:00, right?”

“That’s right. Why do you ask?”

“Shouldn’t you be stepping on it? I’ll crush the hand so it can never wield a sword again.”

From noble mtl dot come

* * *

Sparring class.

Jien sat in a corner of the spectator stands.

‘Who will I face today?’

Arcana’s sparring is an evolved form of the third district’s ‘Bimu’ tradition.

Instead of a Bimu field, a virtual field is implemented as the arena, where familiar weapons are used to face each other, stopping short of killing.

Originally, it was a form of combat close to a life-or-death struggle, repurposed for educational aims in Arcana’s sparring lessons.

‘Yesterday’s sparring was meaningless. To be matched with a bow, the compatibility was just too good.’

Jien fiddled with the wooden sword at his waist, designated for trainees.

Magic tools were banned, and the permissible weapons were limited to bows, swords, gauntlets, maces, and other martial weapons.

The rule was set because if a Saber’s ability had no relation to combat or if magic tools handled elements like special abilities, the sparring lessons would lose their meaning.

‘Today, I hope to be matched with a sword or a spear…’

While Jien was scouting for prey, someone entered with a slouching gait.

“A Saber must be perfect.”

The professor of the sparring class, Kashen, said. However, Kashen was a soul too free for his own good.

His attire was sloppy, and his long hair was unkempt.

When Selfis pointed this out, Kashen famously retorted in Arcana, “Cut off your head instead of your hair.”

“I have one philosophy. A Saber must not be complacent. Again, a Saber must be perfect.”

Kashen, speaking languidly, scratched his ear and then blew on it.

“And a Saber must be well-versed in various fields. In short, both the mind and body must be damn good. Why?”

Kashen made a throat-slitting gesture with his thumb.

“Otherwise, you die.”

With his bad ankle, he unfolded a folding chair that came from who knows where and continued.

“The death of a Saber is a nuisance to both citizens and comrades. So don’t be complacent. Even if this is practice, always spar as if it’s real. Especially those who are attending for the first time, take heed.”

As soon as Kashen finished speaking, the students who were ready came out to the sparring ground.

“Rank 110th Moen. I challenge Rank 72nd Lateka to a duel.”

“I accept.”

The student who challenges and the one who accepts.

The sparring ground was about the size of a futsal field, with a total of five available. Therefore, the number of students who could participate was ten. Despite the large number, Kashen coached the students skillfully from a distance, and soon it was the next turn.

“Rank 37th Dayven. I challenge Rank 162nd Zien to a duel.”

At Dayven’s words, the spectator stands began to buzz.

Dormitory B and Dormitory D.

The difference between Rank 37 and Rank 162 was like that between an ant and an anteater. Although they seemed similar due to their status as students, the difference in their skills was as vast as heaven and earth.

“The purpose of a duel is training. What can you gain by fighting the last-ranked?”

Kashen, who knew this fact better than anyone, asked with narrowed eyes.

Then Dayven, looking around at the 70 students who attended the duel class, said,

“On the contrary. I have nothing to learn. But that guy has a lot to learn, doesn’t he, Professor?”

“Heh, right. It’s good for building resilience.”

Dayven’s cronies giggled and laughed in the stands.

Despite the mockery, Zien’s expression remained unchanged. Kashen perceived Zien’s impassiveness as fear.

“It’s too dangerous. Moreover, injuries sustained in a duel with an opponent ranked more than 50 places apart are not covered by Arcana.”

Kashen pointed to the entrance of the sparring ground, where the duel rules were written in red.

“It’s written at the entrance. To put it bluntly, even if you become an idiot, you won’t get hospital expenses. It’s an accident born from arrogance. And yet, you still want to proceed with the duel?”

“I will.”

Zien was still composed.

Surprised by the unexpected answer, Kashen waved his hand as if to say, do as you please.

“The two of you have a significant difference in skill. I’ve clearly warned you, Zien Russel.”

“If there’s a huge difference in skill… surely there’s something to learn.”

At Zien’s words, Dayven burst into laughter.

“Professor. Look at this. He says he wants to do it. Well, learn well.”

Dayven didn’t know who the man in front of him was. Now that Zien had regained the memories of his past life, he was no longer just Zien.

The one holding the sword now was Saber, revered as a sword deity, who reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship at the age of 27. Zien looked at Dayven with a complex emotion.

‘Is this what a Saber aspirant looks like?’

In Evan’s memory, Saber was a solid wall. A barrier that protected everyone with its strength.

But now, the ruffian cavorting before my eyes was closer to a weapon than a wall.

“Haah… Do as you like. If the person concerned is fine with it… What about the field setting?”

Kashen’s tone had become lackadaisical, as if everything was now a bother.

Dayven replied briefly.

“Desert.”

“The rules?”

“We’ll go with a declaration of surrender.”

As Dayven finished speaking, the ground turned to sand. This technique, which brought the mysteries of the Gate into everyday life, contained the science of Zone 1, incomprehensible to the layperson.

“Hey, feeling better, are we? Found some newfound confidence?”

Despite Dayven’s taunt, Gian swung his wooden sword without reply.

Whoosh.

Swinging the sword, Gian felt a comforting ease settle in his heart.

– Sparring Ground 3. Gian Russel. Dayven Storm. Enter.

Soon, a mechanical sound clanged through the sparring ground.

– Starting in 3 seconds.

“By the way, I heard you had a tough time with the residual mana?”

Dayven spoke softly enough for only Gian to hear.

– 2 seconds.

“It’s just as well. I never wanted to attend school with someone like you.”

– 1 second.

“I mean, the lowly swine without pride or responsibility.”

At Dayven’s words, Kashen, of lowly birth, scowled.

In this moment, with all eyes of the audience intently focused.

Dayven had no worries about winning or losing. His only concern was how to paint the victory… That was all.

‘I’ll make you cry out in surrender in just one minute.’

– Begin!

In an atmosphere as tense as thin ice, the duel between Gian and Dayven began.

At the sound of the whistle from the machine, Dayven charged mana into his legs and stomped the ground.

Perfect acceleration.

Where Dayven stood, sand sprayed, and like an arrow shot forth, his body raced towards Gian.

“Start with the legs!”

As Dayven used acceleration to duck, the wind grazed his hair. Perhaps due to the lack of tension, his posture was flawless, without a single mistake.

Now, all that was left was to lay Zien down with a sword charged with acceleration.

But.

Thud.

Dayven’s body tilted sideways as he was struck on the head with a wooden sword.

“What?”

Thwack.

The side of his face stung from the wooden sword’s blow. When he came to his senses, he found himself kissing the sand on the ground.

“Cough, what, what’s this, pfft, ptui!”

It was just one move, but Zien’s cut was noble. A sword that had dueled with sword spirits, split demons, and pierced the Demon King. This was the sword that saved humanity.

It was of a different caliber and weight.

In the end, Dayven’s spirit was crushed.

Not a sound could be heard from the spectators who had witnessed the entire event.

Even the students engaged in sparring seemed to look at Zien’s field as if by agreement.

The students didn’t grasp the subtleties of Zien’s single move, but they clearly saw the last-ranked defeat the 37th in one blow. At this moment, nothing was more important than that simple answer.

How much longer did the silence last?

“…Wow.”

“He won in one hit…”

“What just happened?”

The silence began to break.

The words popping from the stands were all of admiration.

“Isn’t Dayven ranked 37th?”

“That guy, even his magical tools are swords.”

“But he lost in swordsmanship?”

“Pfft, how did he get knocked down in one hit?”

Despite the distance from the stands, Dayven could hear every sound of mockery.

Normally, losing a sparring match wouldn’t elicit such a reaction. But to be knocked out in one hit by the lowest-ranked…

“Eek. Eeek!”

This wasn’t just a blow to his pride. In a broader sense, it was a disgrace to his family. Dayven rose from his place, not just touching the sand, but clutching it.

“Thinking it was just a lucky shot…”

Swoosh!

“Don’t mess around!”

After scattering sand, Dayven charged forward. He aimed to thrust his wooden sword into the unprotected solar plexus of Gien, who was blinded by the sand.

But.

It was as if a glass wall existed, Gien’s front simply slid away.

‘…A mana barrier!’

To think he deployed such a high-level mana technique in an instant? Dayven’s stance crumbled in his panic.

And in that gap, Gien spun around gracefully.

‘Up? No, is it down?’

With the momentum of his spin, Gien’s wooden sword struck Dayven’s.

‘…!’

And just like that, the sword split in two.

Though both wooden swords collided, only Dayven’s was broken.

“That is…”

Catching sight of this, Karsen let out a sigh.

‘He split the wooden sword purely with swordsmanship. What in the world?’

Is this the same person he knew as the failing student?

The murmurs grew louder, and Dayven muttered, looking at his broken wooden sword.

“How can this be…”

“Admit defeat.”

“Admit? A half-baked brat without even a magic tool…”

Dayven sneered bitterly.

His wooden sword was already broken, and he was unarmed. Yet, Dayven charged at Gien. In that moment of collective astonishment in the stands, Dayven’s stigma shone.

A soft blue light (靑光) emanated from the back of his hand. Breaking the rules, Dayven had summoned a magic tool.

“Try blocking this with your precious wooden sword!”

Dayven, screaming wildly, now held a greatsword in his hands. They were too close for even Karsen to intervene.

‘It’s over!’

Dayven sneered again. The rules of the duel no longer mattered to him, forbidden magic tool or not.