By Zephyria When I went to bed, my body, heated up to its fullest, felt soft and I fell asleep as if lying on clouds, but it wasn’t so when I woke up. It seemed I had played too excitedly, as my whole body was sore.
It was clear I had underestimated my still-undeveloped body. I felt a part of my overused meridians had been injured and swollen, and lying spread-eagled on the bed, I let out a hollow laugh.
Thinking about how I had been giddy with just one victory, acting like a thirteen-year-old child and grinning all afternoon, was absurd and embarrassing. I felt I didn’t want to get out of bed just yet.
Sliding down from the high bed, I sat in the lotus position on the carpet as I was accustomed to.
Despite everything, I was reminded once again that I, too, am a martial artist.
I had lived my life with the ultimate dream of claiming a higher position by competing against others, yet I had mistakenly believed I had shed all my burning desires in my past life. I had deceived myself, telling myself I competed not to win, but to protect.
Yet, isn’t it a path that all martial artists who wield a sword cannot escape? Did I not possess the same thirst for battle that I saw in Edwin’s eyes?
Once I let go of what I thought I was carrying on my shoulders, I felt the urge to leap and play again. It was laughable and shameful that I had blamed others without realizing it.
After Circulating Qi and regulating energy, I went down for a meal, and familiar faces followed me, saying they had come to study together.
I could already picture them neglecting their studies to chatter, so I entered the small conference room in the library that I had visited with my camping class companions on Friday.
Shayden and Benjamin, of course, but Marianne and Jenny also followed me, carrying their study materials.
And so, the five of us sat around, each spreading out our respective studies.
However, with three people more interested in other things than studying, there was no way any studying would get done. Marianne, who had been pretending to scribble something in her notebook, suddenly asked, “So, did you make up? With Edwin Kiadris?”
“Mmm.”
“Yes or no, tell us properly.”
“The word ‘make up’ is not appropriate. I agreed not to prevent him from talking to other Department of Magic students as a reward for winning the sparring match, but he never apologized for what he did wrong to me.”
“Uh? …Well, yeah, that’s true, but…”
“Just as there are allies and enemies, there are also those who are neither. …I suppose we’re at a point where we don’t bother each other. He doesn’t seem to intend to harm me anymore, so that’s fine.”
It was the same in the Central Plains.
Even setting aside the Demonic Cult, it wasn’t just the Orthodox Sects, which championed righteousness and chivalry, and the reckless Evil Sects.
Aside from a few great Noble Families that could clearly fall under the protection of the Martial Arts Alliance while claiming the name of Orthodox Sects, countless small and medium sects stood between the Orthodox and Evil Sects, struggling to fend for themselves.
The Martial Arts Alliance was distant, and if one lacked the strength to defeat a master of the Evil Sect in their own town, humans would bow their heads against their will. Haomun was a prime example of this.
Haomun was an intelligence organization formed by people of low status.
The courtesans, who grew up watching people sell laughter, and the servers who wiped tables and cleaned inns, pooled their information, piecing together scraps of gossip overheard from patrons like a patchwork quilt, and sold it along with drinks.
These scraps sometimes became weapons or shields in the hands of the Martial Arts Alliance, and sometimes in the hands of the Black Snake Sect.
Those who sold laughter and drinks were inevitably close to violent individuals. After all, the patrons who came to enjoy entertainment and drinks were often the dissolute bastards of the Evil Sect rather than the prim and proper elders of the Orthodox Sects.
They used fists and money to cajole and threaten, so no matter how upright one wanted to be, they couldn’t remain so. Therefore, the Martial Arts Alliance would sometimes join hands with them, and when they didn’t need them, they would abandon them first.
Namgung treated Haomun the same way.
I knew that the people of Haomun often criticized the hypocrisy of the Orthodox Sects.
However, if you kept them close, after being poisoned by the internal energy-scattering poison from a server a few times, you would become cautious even for the sake of your own life.
This was because you never knew when their clumsy hands might drag someone else into their hell.
I defined my relationship with Edwin Kiadris in that way.
He was someone who was neither Orthodox nor Evil, and there was no need to keep him close by my side. It was enough to meet him when necessary and ask or request various things.
His inferiority complex towards his brother or his own unfortunate family history were trifles compared to the sorrows of the Central Plains, and I didn’t pity him much.
“Th-then, why did you look at me so wistfully…?”
“Huh? I told you I didn’t.”
“Really? Was it just one sparring match and that’s it?”
“Ah. It wasn’t just that.”
“It wasn’t just that either?”
“We agreed to spar one more time. The sparring itself was quite fun.”
“And yet you didn’t make up?”
“Well…”
I fell into thought for a moment. Indeed, Edwin Kiadris’s appearance and demeanor were so similar to my friend Young Master Moyong that they looked like brothers. Yet, it was difficult to easily explain in words why he couldn’t be readily accepted into my circle.
I spun the pen in my hand.
“…Because we can’t spar without professors…? Do we… have to say… there’s no need to become close.”
“Huh?”
“For example… with Young Master Benjamin Claudian, you can spar with him anytime without Professor Sanson, right? Your realms are similar, you know each other’s boundaries, and you use roughly similar weapons… You can tolerate minor injuries, and you can control the extent of the damage to some degree. Then you feel like you’ve become friends.”
“That’s true.”
Benjamin chimed in with a hint of pride, and I nodded.
“Yes, that’s right. But Edwin… I realized that his way of attacking and his methods of dealing with attacks are such that sparring is impossible without professors in between. Before the sparring, I thought I might be able to become friends with him, but it doesn’t seem easy.”
“Because he’s uncontrollable?”
“You could put it that way. It’s a power I’m not familiar with, so I don’t know how to handle it. If I mess up, it feels like the sky will fall and the earth will flip over. I can save myself, but there’s no way to prevent the surroundings from becoming a wasteland.”
“No, that’s true, but…”
“If I accidentally cut off his arm, it would be an even bigger problem. So, if we’re going to spar, we have to set aside a specific day and have people in between… But that’s just a matter of scheduling, so there’s no need to become friends with him.”
“What about him as a person, apart from the magic?”
“Mmm… Why would I deliberately associate with someone with a bad personality?”
“…Ah…”
“He didn’t seem to like me much either.”
“Mmm…”
Marianne, with a somewhat forlorn look, slammed her book open and said, “Let’s just study.”
Jenny, who had been listening silently beside her, smiled and offered her hand to Marianne. Marianne, with a pained expression, placed 2 silvers into Jenny’s hand.
The thought that they might have made a bet about me made me chuckle hollowly, but since I myself had sparred after making a bet, I decided it wasn’t something to shun and changed my mind.
However, Shayden, who was still between third-rate and second-rate, spoke with a serious expression, saying he wanted to extend his training schedule. I replied that consistently cultivating oneself is a good thing and that he had thought well, praising him greatly.
❖ ❖ ❖
The exams were over.
During the exam period, life felt like no life at all. Even while putting food in my mouth and chewing, I mumbled unfamiliar names, and before going to sleep, I read notes as recommended by Damian and Jenny, calling it a foolproof secret method.
At least I didn’t forget to Circulate Qi and regulate energy and train my body every dawn, and I spent my mornings in Basic Swordsmanship and Advanced Swordsmanship classes, so it was fortunate that I appeared normal on the outside.
When I drew my sword alone, I often lost focus, lost in thought, but when discussing Martial artists of Hwagyeong and their profound realms, all worldly worries vanished, which was good for calming my mind.
My exam scores weren’t bad either. In fact, they were quite good.
In the Basic Class of Magic and Formula Principles, I managed to get just over 70% to receive the basic score.
In the Elective World History class, I ranked slightly above the middle, having succeeded in filling in the blanks but missing two out of five essay questions.
As always, I missed about two or three questions on the Imperial Genealogy, and for the hunting and camping class’s alternative assignment, I completed and submitted it just the day before, regardless of its content or quality.
Thanks to Marianne and Shayden’s help in completing the basic answers for Mana and Aura class, I managed to memorize them and get a decent score.
The thought of having to repeat such things several more times made me dizzy, but for now, I was so exhilarated that I felt I could do anything. So, when Damian’s schedule, which included exams until Friday morning, ended, I didn’t refuse the invitation to go out and have fun with a few close friends.
And on Friday morning, I received a letter with a red seal.
To my surprise, it wasn’t bad news.
It was the news that Michael had cried his eyes out in frustration and anger because, despite studying diligently for two full months, he still couldn’t enroll in the academy.
My father’s letter, saying that the blood relatives of the Ernhardt Baronetcy would be coming up to the capital over the weekend and asking if I could meet him for a short while, brought a smile to my face.
The letter had been sent a few days ago, but it was clear they had already departed, so I asked my friends for understanding regarding our prior plans and decided to meet my family.
Shayden informed me of a system that ensured students didn’t encounter trouble when wandering around at night. For the first time since coming to the academy, I filled out an overnight leave request form.
According to the letter, they should have arrived at the academy by Friday morning, but their lack of contact made me anxious, so I went out to the main gate a little earlier and loitered.
I had deliberately chosen to wear my uniform rather than casual clothes.
My heart fluttered with curiosity about how Michael, who had never seen me in uniform, would react. I smoothed my expression several times, unsure of what to do.
Then, as a carriage bearing a familiar family crest arrived right in front of me, I couldn’t wait for the carriage door to open and rushed towards it.
Throwing the door open, I saw a child with wide, round eyes and, knowing he would hug me, I spread my arms wide. Without even catching my breath, I tightly embraced Michael’s warm, small body.
My Middle Dantian felt full and overflowing.