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Chapter 183

“I’ll do it!”

Ludwig was full of enthusiasm from the start and sprang up when volunteers were called for. That was just the kind of person he was.

Everyone’s eyes sparkled at the mention of a show match between the Orbis Class and the Royal Class. Ellen, however, looked absent-minded, showing no interest at all, while Scarlett seemed slightly nervous, worried that she might be called.

“Then, one person from the Orbis Class, please step forward.”

“I’ll do it.”

A determined-looking girl stepped forward from the Orbis Class. She had a resolute expression, and introduced herself as B-3, Nilsonia. Adler Belkin from Orbis Class A stood there with his arms crossed, quietly observing the scene.

Nilsonia was the one who would thoroughly defeat Ludwig, making him realize that the Orbis Class members were not to be taken lightly.

“Make sure not to get too aggressive,” reminded the instructor, who seemed fully aware of the rivalry between the Orbis and Royal Classes and had intentionally set up this confrontation.

Ludwig, gripping his practice sword, faced off against Nilsonia.

“Nilsonia, right? Let’s have a good match.”

“...”

Nilsonia did not reply to Ludwig’s greeting. She had a deadly serious expression on her face, as if this was a real battle for her. She was creating quite an intense atmosphere by herself.

“Begin.”

“Ha!”

Nilsonia charged at Ludwig aggressively, showing no intention of holding back. I couldn’t quite remember the details of how I had described the duel, but it was something along the lines of Ludwig being overwhelmed by the superior skill difference, which then resulted in Ludwig pushing himself even harder in his training.

Clang!

As soon as their practice swords clashed, Nilsonia attempted to slide her sword along Ludwig’s and deflect his away. Just as she was about to force her way in, Ludwig’s expression changed. Gone was his previously aimless look, replaced by a sharp focus.

Kang!

Ludwig put more force into their connected swords to counter Nilsonia’s attempt to deflect his blade.

“Ugh!”

Wham!

With just that light push, Nilsonia was sent flying and landed sprawled out on the floor in an ungraceful heap. The outcome was decided in an instant.

“Oh, sorry! Are you okay?”

What was this? Why did he win?

Nilsonia had lost, but I was the one who felt like my brain had short-circuited.

***

The reason for Ludwig’s victory was simple: overwhelming strength. His sheer physical power was so immense that no amount of skill could make a difference. All he had to do was push with his sword, and his opponent would be thrown back before she could even attempt anything.

In the original storyline, Ludwig was always depicted as having physical prowess but lacking skill, which led to his defeat. He was supposed to lose all five of the practice matches, but this time, the results had changed.

Bang!

“Ugh!”

Wham!

“Huff!”

Thud!

“Ugh!”

“A-Are you okay? I’m sorry. Really, I’m sorry.”

Nilsonia could do nothing in the next three practice matches and was thrown about pitifully, simply overwhelmed by the stark difference in physical strength. In the fourth match, she took a low kick from Ludwig, who had spotted an opening, and crumpled to the ground.

Nilsonia sat on the floor with her mouth agape, as if she couldn’t believe she had been so soundly defeated. To make matters worse, Ludwig, despite being the victor, was fussing over her, worried and apologetic, which seemed to make Nilsonia feel even more humiliated.

Ludwig had a knack for making people feel terrible despite his good intentions.

“That’s enough. The weight class difference is too extreme. The match is over.”

In the end, the instructor declared that the remaining practice match was unnecessary because the result was already obvious.

Nilsonia hobbled back to her seat with an undeniable look of defeat on her face and sat down miserably. Even the expression on Adler Belkin, a member of the Orbis Class A, was seriously grim.

Ludwig returned to our side and sat down, scratching his head. It seemed he hadn’t expected things to turn out this way either. He, who was supposed to lose all the matches, had instead won them all—overwhelmingly.

What had changed?

At that moment, the grim-faced member of Orbis Class A, who had been quietly observing the situation, raised his hand. “Teacher.”

“Oh, do you want to have a go too?”

“Yes.”

It seemed unacceptable for them to let this situation end with the Orbis Class’s defeat. Given the military-style discipline of the Orbis Class, if word got out of their miserable loss in a practice match against the Royal Class, it might lead to their whole grade getting assembled and being harshly punished by their seniors.

The girl who had just lost looked not only resentful but also pale, likely fearing the repercussions if this became known.

“Who will be your opponent, then? Will Ludwig go again?”

The instructor looked at Ludwig, who laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.

“O-Oh... I don’t think I would be a match for someone from Class A... After all, I’m the last-ranked in the Royal Class...” Ludwig responded hesitantly.

The last-ranked.

At Ludwig’s words, not only the two Orbis Class members but the students from the general classes who were attending the lecture visibly flinched. Even though Nilsonia was in Orbis Class B, losing to the lowest-ranked member of the Royal Class was effectively saying she’d lost to a bottom-tier opponent.

‘Wow. This guy. He sure knows how to piss people off, doesn’t he? Is that a talent?’

Of course, if we ranked everyone by actual skill, the order might be different, but it was true that, on paper, Ludwig was the lowest-ranked member of the Royal Class. Still, saying that here would only serve to make the Orbis students furious. It was like rubbing salt into their wounds in front of everyone.

He was basically implying that the lowest-ranked student in the Royal Class was this strong...

“Hm, alright. Class B should challenge Class B, and Class A should challenge Class A then. That does seem fair. Then, someone from the Royal Class A, step forward.”

The teacher had fallen for Ludwig’s “I’m so weak” act, and Adler or whatever his name was appeared to be more than happy with this arrangement as he stood there quietly and watched us.

“Hey.”

Tap.

I tapped Ellen on the shoulder and she tilted her head, looking at me with questioning eyes.

“...?”

“Why don’t you go? What are you doing?”

‘Go and win this!’

I wanted Ellen to deal with that obviously enraged guy because I sure didn’t want to face someone that pissed off.

Ellen gave me a blank look before shaking her head.

“No.”

“... What?”

“You go,” Ellen murmured quietly. “Go and win.”

Suddenly, memories of drinking at the villa in the Edina Archipelago came flooding back. Ellen had mentioned that I had to at least make it to the quarterfinals. It seemed like she wanted to see how well I could handle the Orbis Class.

‘Go and win.’

At those words, Adler’s expression twisted. He probably thought that Ellen considered him not worth dealing with personally, as if he didn’t even merit her attention.

“If you lose, you’ll be in trouble,” Ellen added.

Of course, she didn’t even glance in Adler’s direction.

‘Am I your Pokémon or something? Do I have to go when you say, “Go, Reinhart!”?’

“Damn it, if I win, you’ll be the one in trouble,” I muttered, feeling like I was being treated like a Pokémon.

Nevertheless, I stood up from my seat.

***

My opponent was Adler Belkin, A-8 of the Orbis Class. Unlike Nilsonia, who was a girl, Adler was a guy. He had a cold demeanor, but it was obvious that he was highly displeased.

In the Royal Class, students were ranked purely by talent, and their ranks seldom changed. However, the Orbis Class was different. Their ranking system was fluid, with students’ ranks and classes constantly shifting based on their performance each semester. This class emphasized effort, and therefore their rankings were often changed according to diligence and results.

Since we were in the second semester, there had been likely changes in the rankings compared to the first semester. While in the Royal Class, the number didn’t necessarily equate to rank, in the Orbis Class, your number was your rank. Therefore, Nilsonia, whom Ludwig had just faced, was probably ranked about 13th in the Orbis Class.

Of course, there were also students specializing in magic and academics among them, so Nilsonia’s rank wasn’t strictly a measure of combat ability.

Nevertheless, being A-8 in the Orbis Class meant that Adler Belkin was the eighth-strongest first-year student in the Orbis Class.

Looking at it more broadly, out of the Temple’s total student population of over a hundred thousand, there were about ten thousand first-year high school students.

While entry into the Royal Class was decided based on talent, the students of the Orbis Class were chosen by skill. So, excluding those in the Royal Class, the boy standing in front of me was likely the eighth most capable student among all freshmen when it came to combat, and this included students in the general classes as well. This was why he had earned his place in the Orbis Class.

Thinking of it this way made it seem quite daunting.

A guy like him was glaring at me as if he wanted to kill me.

“Alright, this is the first of five practice matches. Both of you, try not to get too worked up over the results.”

‘Um, teacher? The opponent already looks pretty worked up. Why does it seem like you’re enjoying this?’

The declaration to start the match was announced, and I stood in a defensive stance, ready to counter. However, instead of approaching, the guy kept his distance.

“You, you’re Class A Number 11, right?” he said.

“Uh, yeah.”

“So you’re the lowest-ranked student in Royal Class A?”

“Hmm...”

If I wanted to make him even more irritated, I could confirm his assumption. But was there really a need for that?

“Well, not exactly. Things don\'t work the same way in the Royal Class. The number isn’t a direct representation of rank or skill.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “You might have just pulled a dud.”

I pointed to my Royal Class classmates, who were watching with a slight grin on my face.

“I’m in Class A, but out of all the Royal Class students attending this lecture, I’m actually the weakest,” I said.

“... What?”

Was it really necessary to make him feel any worse?

Of course there was! When people got too emotional, they made mistakes!

“So, if you lose to me,” I said, “that means that you’re just a complete weakling.”

Ellen’s “Go, Reinhart!” had gotten me out on the battlefield, and Reinhart had just used “Taunt” on his opponent.

“... Get ready to die.”

It was super effective!

***

This guy definitely knew how to fight.

Kang! Kaang!

His strength, agility, and swordsmanship skills were all impressive.

I kept retreating as the duel went on, making sure not to give him any openings to exploit when our swords clashed.

Although I had been tutored in swordsmanship by Ellen, I still only had about half a year’s worth of training. I had some combat experience, but I had never faced someone like him.

After all, this was the Temple which was filled with students receiving professional training in wielding weapons.

And this guy had earned his spot in the Orbis Class purely based on his skill.

Adler was not some half-baked swordsman I had faced in the Dark Land. He had trained in swordsmanship far longer and far more rigorously than I had.

Kang! Kaang! Kang!

As I kept stepping back and parrying or not even attempting to push forward, he kept probing for openings, trying to force his blade through my defenses.

He sneered. “Is retreating all you know how to do? Is this what it means to be the weakest?”

His strength surpassed mine, and his skill was certainly superior as well.

However, his excitement made his sword movements janky, and I could sense how badly he wanted to land a solid hit on me.

Unlike Nilsonia in her match with Ludwig, I stayed calm, retreating and giving him no chances to thrust or break through, prolonging the duel.

Still, I couldn’t keep retreating forever. He aimed a stab at my chest, and I parried his sword away with a half-swording technique and attempted a counterthrust, aiming for his neck.

Feigning continuous retreat before launching a sudden counterattack.

“Hup!”

However, he seemed to have anticipated my move. As if he knew exactly what I was planning, he twisted his sword aside and twirled it around, deflecting my counterattack.

Even as I was being bested, I couldn’t believe what was happening.

“Don’t mess around,” he said, aiming his sword at my neck with an expression of utter contempt, as if looking at an insect. It was a clear defeat for me.

“The first match goes to Orbis Class. Return to your positions.”

There were a total of five matches. Ludwig and Scarlett seemed quite surprised that I had lost. Ellen, on the other hand, gave me a dour look, as if she was disappointed.

This guy was definitely skilled, and had managed to defeat me, the weakest in the Royal Class, in the first match—albeit not effortlessly.

Adler openly mocked me after winning the first match. “People say the Royal Class is full of those who rely on talent alone and do not put in the effort. Looks like you’re one of them.”

He had measured me and found me wanting: I had kept on retreating and then botched a clumsy counterattack.

“I don’t think there’s any point in continuing to battle with you. How about someone stronger?”

He seemed confident he could not be defeated now that he had assessed my weakness.

“Hey, since we’re on the topic, let me ask you something,” I said.

“... What?”

“You mentioned talent, didn’t you?” I gave him a sly grin. “Actually, my talent lies in supernatural power.”

I adjusted my grip on the practice sword and pointed the tip of the blade at him again.

“I haven’t used my supernatural power yet, since I thought you might find it unfair.”

He treated me like someone who relied solely on talent without putting in the effort. The truth was, I hadn’t used my talent at all in that last exchange.

“So, can I start using my supernatural power now?”

I purposely hadn’t used my abilities, and Ellen probably looked slightly annoyed because I had faced him without using my supernatural power and had ended up losing.

“In other words, can I actually start relying on my talent now?”

‘What will you do?’

My second taunt made his eyes turn cold. His disdain for talent was clear. He had presumed that I was someone who relied solely on innate ability, but I had fought him with skill earned purely through hard work.

If this guy wanted to surpass the Royal Class, he had to overcome my supernatural power.

That was enough to provoke Adler.

“Do whatever you want.”

“Alright, here I come then.”

“...”

‘Type A.’

I could have called upon the close combat preset for close-quarters sword fighting, but I decided to take a different approach.

‘Strength enhancement.’

I maximized my muscle strength only.

He approached and thrust his blade at me. His move was designed to catch my blade with his own, and then follow up with a series of strikes.

Unlike before, when I had evaded or parried his sword, I didn’t hold back this time.

“Hup!”

Instead, I simply smashed his blade aside.

Crash!

With a single swing, his practice sword shattered, scattering debris across the floor of the training ground.

He stared in disbelief at the broken practice sword and then at me.

One strike—just one—and the practice sword had been destroyed. If the sword hadn’t broken, he would have either been disarmed or sent flying along with it.

A heavy silence fell over the training ground.

I threw his earlier words right back at him. “So, is there a point in us continuing this further?”

If our swords clashed, his practice sword would shatter, and if it didn’t, I’d still disarm him with a single blow.

For all further attempts, the outcome would be obvious.