[Chapter 5]
All students at the 'Cradle' gathered at the central training ground for the sword fighting evaluation.
"Everyone, line up!"
Over a hundred students lined up in rows and columns with tense expressions.
Although Pankration was also an evaluation subject, swordsmanship was still the most important.
The twelve-year-old students at the Cradle already possessed the eyes of warriors.
Chief Instructor Fan Mark and other instructors checked on the students.
Fan's eyes suddenly lit up while examining the lined-up students.
"Zeke! Where is Zeke?"
No matter how much he looked, Zeke was nowhere to be seen.
Other students glanced around and started murmuring.
The instructors shouted.
"Be quiet!"
"Who dares to talk before the sacred evaluation?!"
The students tensed up again and stared straight ahead.
Just then.
Clank! Clank!
Someone walked sluggishly from the end of the training ground with a claymore slung over their shoulder.
It was none other than Zeke.
Everyone was speechless seeing Zeke walk confidently despite being late for the evaluation.
Zeke carelessly stood somewhere in the last row.
Seeing this, Fan glared at Zeke.
"Zeke Draker. You're late and can't even find your proper place?"
An ordinary student would have been intimidated by Fan's low voice alone.
But Zeke had experienced everything possible on the continent for 20 years.
He wouldn't cower from mere pressure from Fan.
Zeke turned his head around and moved to an empty spot in the front row.
Thud!
He took his place, planted the claymore he had been carrying on his shoulder into the ground, and raised his head to look up at Fan.
''Zeke Draker. What exactly happened?''
Though Fan was irritated by Zeke's behavior, he decided to proceed with the evaluation since nothing could be done about it now.
"We will now proceed with the sword fighting duel, the most important part of the Cradle student graduation evaluation."
Though called a duel, it was a brutal evaluation method where deaths wouldn't be surprising since real swords were used.
Fan continued slowly.
"Your advancement to the Academy and class placement will be determined by combining your year-end evaluation scores and the results of your Aura awakening after next month's blessing ceremony."
All students except Zeke gulped at Fan's words.
While other students were focused on advancing to the Academy, Zeke was different.
'Aura awakening.'
It was one of the main reasons he was treated like trash in his previous life.
The problem was that Zeke was a healer class in this life too.
Having the talent of a healer rather than a swordsman, Zeke couldn't awaken an Aura.
Zeke's heart pounded.
'I can't be treated like trash in this life like in my previous one.'
He needed to prove something definitively before the blessing ceremony.
After the boring explanation about Cradle graduation procedures ended, Fan looked around at the students and spoke.
"We will begin the sword fighting duel, the final evaluation test."
Fan turned his gaze to Zeke in the front row.
"Zeke, come up to the training ground."
Though suddenly called first, Zeke silently walked up to the training ground.
Fan frowned seeing Zeke with the claymore on his shoulder.
"Are you really going to use that sword?"
Zeke looked at Fan and said.
"Is there a rule against it?"
Though there was no rule against using a claymore, no one in the Draker family, which advocated being knights among knights, carried themselves like some mercenary.
The students also sneered at Zeke's appearance.
"Does he think a bigger sword makes him stronger?"
"The Pankration must have been just luck."
Fan also clicked his tongue internally at Zeke's appearance.
'Was it a pointless expectation?'
Just as he was about to call Zeke's opponent.
"Instructor."
Someone called Fan.
Fan looked at the student who called him.
"Reina Tourn."
A genius who had awakened her Aura even before the blessing ceremony.
She was a talent worth noting even in the Draker family.
"Please allow me to duel with Zeke Draker."
Fan hesitated slightly at Reina's words.
Though he was curious about Zeke's skills, he questioned whether Reina would be an appropriate opponent for Zeke.
'How many students could even block three strikes from Reina's sword?'
As Fan hesitated to answer.
"Why are you hesitating? She wants to duel with me."
Zeke, standing on the training ground, spoke while looking at Reina.
Fan said to Zeke.
"Are you really going to duel with Reina Tourn?"
Zeke answered by raising his sword without speaking.
With things having come this far, Fan couldn't stop it either.
He nodded toward Reina.
Thud!
Reina stepped up opposite Zeke.
Unlike Zeke with his claymore, she held an ordinary arming sword.
Zeke felt a strange excitement looking at Reina.
'A duel with the Flash Knight. What an honor.'
Reina silently drew her sword.
Zeke also raised his claymore.
Reina felt something strange seeing Zeke's sword stance.
'It's different.'
They had trained together at the cradle for 5 years.
She was familiar with Zeke's sword stance from watching him practice many times.
Zeke used to struggle with even proper sword grips.
He needed a specially made training sword that was half the weight because regular swords were too heavy for him.
But now he was naturally holding a claymore that was larger and heavier than normal swords.
'His body has grown slightly larger and gained muscle compared to a week ago, though subtle.'
According to common sense, such dramatic physical changes were impossible in just a week.
'I'll know once our swords cross.'
Reina stepped forward.
Despite his calm exterior, Zeke was actually tense inside.
'Reina Tourn. The most talented among the next generation of pure blooded awakened Drakers at the cradle ceremony.'
In his past life, he couldn't even come close to matching her at the cradle.
But things are different now.
Zeke felt heat radiating from his entire body.
That's when Fan shouted,
"Begin the match!"
As soon as he called out, Reina moved first.
She charged forward and swung her sword at Zeke.
Her powerful strike hit Zeke's claymore.
The clash of swords rang out like a giant bell.
Zeke was pushed back while holding his claymore. Reina sharply changed direction to the side and struck again.
Another sharp crash rang out as Reina's sword met the claymore.
Zeke simply blocked Reina's sword without moving.
Among the cousins watching from the stands, Leon spoke first:
"Zeke's already finished."
Leon sneered with a twisted smile.
Jacken, sitting beside him, silently watched Zeke.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
While Reina's fierce attacks continued, Zeke only retreated without striking back once.
Leon shouted from the stands:
"Reina! Stop playing around and just finish him!"
That's when it happened.
"You fool,"
Jacken sharply rebuked Leon.
Leon glared and said,
"What did you say!?, you bastard.."
Jacken turned to glare at Leon.
Leon flinched and backed away, forgetting his earlier anger.
He knew his skills were no match for Jacken's.
"Do your eyes see this as Reina playing around?"
At Jacken's words, Leon finally sensed something was off about the atmosphere.
The expressions of Owen on the opposite side and the instructors, especially Chief Instructor Fan, were frozen stiff. Or rather, they seemed shocked.
Jacken drove the point home,
''That bastard Zeke… he's completely toying with Reina."
Leon's face turned pale at those words.
In reality, Zeke was indeed taking it easy while parrying Reina's sword.
'So this is the sword of the Flash Knight from the cradle days.'
It was a sword with precise and powerful force that seemed impossible for a twelve-year-old.
Naturally, Zeke in the past couldn't swing such a sword at the same age.
But to Zeke who had returned after living an unimaginably harsh life for 20 years, Reina's sword seemed like child's play. His initial tension and excitement had long since disappeared.
He was now conducting an instructional match, deflecting Reina's sword while guiding her toward better sword paths.
'Fast and strong, but that's all. Rather, it lacks individuality from being too textbook perfect.'
While good fundamentals were important, she swung her sword too much by the book. Reina, who had been swinging her sword following Zeke's guidance, seemed to realize something was wrong.
She withdrew her sword and stepped back.
"Huff… huff…"
Reina caught her breath while holding her sword and glaring at Zeke.
She had never lost her breath during practice matches with peers before.
But the Zeke before her now didn't seem like a peer at all.
It felt more like practicing with an instructor.
Seeing Reina hesitate, Zeke lowered his claymore further.
'Let's break that form a bit.'
Suddenly Zeke moved quickly to close the distance with Reina.
He glided forward as if sliding, and Fan was shocked to see his footwork.
'Is that you? How does he know that technique?'
In truth, Flash Step wasn't much of a technique.
It was a fundamental skill of quickly moving to close distance and bringing the opponent within attack range.
Though it sounded simple in explanation, it could only be mastered through actual combat experience crossing life-and-death situations.
Just then, something appeared before Zeke's eyes.
Even while closing the distance with Reina, Zeke read the message that appeared:
[Active Skill 'Flash Step' has been registered.]
'So skills can be registered like this too.'
Zeke's Flash Step was different from the usual technique.
He closed the distance instantly like a ghost, leaving no trace.
This was only possible for Zeke, who had several times more muscle fibers than others.
Whoosh!
Zeke burst forward instantly, as if he had folded space itself.
At the same time, Zeke's claymore came flying.
Reina quickly took a defensive stance.
Bang!
The claymore struck her sword forcefully
."Ugh…''
Her wrist stung from blocking the sword strike without proper stance.
But that wasn't the end.
Zeke's claymore drew a strange trajectory and struck her sword repeatedly.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Zeke wielded the huge, heavy claymore as if it were an extension of his hand.
Reina couldn't help but be flustered as sword strikes came from completely unexpected directions and angles.
Before she knew it, she had lost her pace.
Whoosh!
Zeke's claymore came straight at her.
'No!'
Reina instinctively drew upon the power of aura.
Bang!
Reina's aura-infused sword deflected Zeke's claymore.
Clang!
Zeke couldn't withstand Reina's aura-enhanced strike and lost grip of his claymore.
Whoosh!
Thud!
The deflected claymore stuck straight into the training ground floor.
Everyone thought Zeke had lost when he dropped his sword.
But then an astonishing situation unfolded.
"This is…"
Zeke rushed straight at Reina the moment he lost his claymore.
Closing the distance with Flash steps, Zeke struck Reina's throat with his palm.
Gack!
Reina stepped back while clutching her throat.
Jacken and Leon gaped at the sight.
Knights were taught never to let go of their sword, even at the moment of death.
Indeed, Reina still gripped her sword tightly even while clutching her throat.
Leon jumped up from his seat and shouted.
"Are you crazy?! This is a sword duel! I won't accept this kind of dirty fighting!"
Zeke turned to glare at Leon.
Leon flinched and stepped back upon meeting Zeke's fierce gaze.
Even the Chief Instructor Fan was troubled over how to judge Zeke's unorthodox attack.
That's when it happened.
Reina lowered her sword with a stern expression.
And slowly opened her mouth.
"I lost."
Reina Tourn admitted her own defeat.
Even though she had used aura, which she had resolved not to use against trainees, she couldn't defeat Zeke. But that wasn't the only reason she admitted defeat.
'If that had been a dagger instead of a palm strike…'
It was her complete defeat.
The trainees in the training ground and even the instructors evaluating were left speechless.
Zeke picked up his fallen claymore, shouldered it just as he had when entering, and left the training ground.
Fan finally regained his senses and announced the match result.
"Z-Zeke Draker wins!"
Everyone at the training ground was shocked by Zeke's victory.