Chapter 33 : Instructor, the progress is too fast (4)

“To kleppe!”

“To kleppe!”

The resolute shouts of the Kingdom’s Royal Guard reverberated throughout the palace.

It was a greeting for the great King Lucius kleppe and a declaration that the Royal Guard moved under his command.

This was a shout imbued with respect for the king and pride in being part of the Guard.

‘I have to commend their passion, at least.’

Theodore Crowflin smiled as he moved, hearing the booming voices.

Although the highest-ranking knightly order in the kingdom was the kleppe Royal Knights, led by Duke Crowflin, the heroes of the Royal Guard always considered themselves the best.

Their zeal was undeniable.

As those closest to the king, such a mindset was only natural.

“To kleppe!”

“To kleppe!”

However, sometimes it felt excessive.

The knights’ shouts echoed so powerfully it seemed like noise.

With a wry smile, Duke Crowflin slowly entered the palace.

“Theodore Crowflin, Commander of the kleppe Royal Knights, is here.”

Inside, a middle-aged man sat on a massive golden throne, surrounded by numerous vassals who bowed from both sides.

Unusually, half of them were of common birth.

It was a scene that vividly showed kleppe Kingdom’s policy of valuing skill over bloodline.

Without looking around further, Duke Crowflin approached the man on the golden throne, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head in respect.

“I greet Your Majesty, the rightful ruler of kleppe Kingdom.”

“Sir Crowflin, come forth.”

The king’s wise eyes met Duke Crowflin’s.

Having successfully led and nurtured the kingdom so far, he had a keen eye for talent.

He made good use of skilled commoners while maintaining trust in noble heroes with both ability and lineage.

In the swordsman’s field, Duke Crowflin held a unique position, just as Marquis Mulick, the hero of the Great War, did among the magicians.

“Yes. I heard you have urgent matters to report.”

As the king began the conversation, Duke Crowflin lowered his head again.

“It concerns the monster den in the Redwood region that I mentioned before.”

“Hm. You said traces of a monster had been found.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Specifically, it’s the monster that first escaped the den. Recently, with the help of a hero specialized in magic detection, we’ve been able to trace it.”

The kleppe King’s eyes widened in surprise.

They had found the trail of the monster that first escaped the monster den.

If this were true, it would be a major accomplishment recorded across the continent.

“Go on.”

“It extends eastward across the kingdom.”

“East… that would be…”

“Yes, toward the kleppe Kingdom. We’ll only know the exact location if we travel with the detection hero.”

“Hm…”

A heavy sigh escaped him.

A complication had arisen.

Though monsters were a shared threat across the continent, and nations cooperated to eliminate them, entering another country’s territory posed diplomatic issues.

Furthermore, according to the Continental Agreement, a ‘Fifth-Class Hero’ like Duke Crowflin couldn’t simply approach another nation’s borders.

If a Fifth-Class Hero suddenly led an army, it would be challenging for that country to counter.

“You, then, will not be able to deploy.”

In other words, Duke Crowflin, the key to the investigation, would have to withdraw from the operation.

Naturally, this lowered the success rate of the mission.

However, they couldn’t abandon it.

With the first-ever achievement on the continent at stake, handing it over to another country was out of the question.

“Your Majesty, please order the Monster Hunting Unit to deploy.”

Duke Crowflin presented his prepared proposal.

The Monster Hunting Unit.

A secret elite force within the kingdom, composed solely of top-tier heroes.

They were the best unit to deploy under these challenging circumstances.

He then added an unexpected suggestion.

“And perhaps consider requesting assistance from the Academy.”

“The Academy…?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Among the academy instructors, there are talents who could astonish the continent. If they assist in tracking the monster, we could see remarkable results.”

Duke Crowflin’s gaze shifted from the king to Marquis Mulick, who was seated nearby.

Then, almost naturally, a certain swordsmanship instructor came to mind.

He was the key to ensuring this mission’s success.

The special training took place a week later.

As expected, there weren’t many applicants.

The reason was the same as Instructor Akina had previously mentioned.

The special training offered no credit toward grades.

Nor could the content be used as part of the exam evaluation.

In other words, it was only meaningful to cadets who genuinely wished to learn the <Valut Sword Technique>.

However, for new cadets who had just entered the Hero Academy, it was difficult for the course itself to ignite much enthusiasm.

Even those who had originally sought out my class out of interest hesitated to apply for this special training session.

“…At this rate, wouldn’t it be better not to hold the training? It feels like a waste of your time, Lord Edgar.”

The number of applicants was four.

Seeing the small turnout, Ray even tried to dissuade me.

However, I shook my head as if it was fine.

“Even if there was only one cadet, I would still conduct it. The Valut Sword Technique is a challenging martial art to master. If even one student completes it, I would be satisfied.”

Four, in fact, was more than I expected.

If, by the end of this semester, a cadet happened to ‘accidentally’ acquire the <Valut Sword Technique>, that alone would make the training worthwhile.

So, we gathered in the blue marshlands to meet the cadets.

“I’m glad to see you all again after class.”

I looked each cadet in the eye.

One male cadet and three female cadets.

One was a swordsmanship prodigy I had noted before the semester began, another was the one who introduced me to this monster den.

And the remaining two were cadets with tremendous passion for the <Valut Sword Technique>.

Looking at each of them, I could tell they were the most outstanding cadets in my class.

Without delay, I explained the training plan to them.

“The special training will be held as one-on-one, tailored practical sessions. I’ll personally observe your combat skills and correct your stances.”

“O-One-on-one?!”

A female cadet with sky-blue hair was surprised and asked again.

Miren Tillope.

A member of the Tillope Count’s family, she had shown the most enthusiastic attitude in the <Valut Sword Technique> class.

Perhaps due to the shared heritage as a mage family, she had followed my lessons with eagerness and displayed a notable understanding of the sword technique.

‘Her talent in swordsmanship doesn’t seem particularly outstanding…’

Among the current first-year swordsmanship cadets, there was Kaela , who possessed the highest potential, and Lucas from the Viscount Chadbell’s family, who exhibited orthodox swordsmanship skills.

There was even Reese, who seemed to possess a power beyond that of a mere swordsman.

Compared to the other cadets participating today, Miren’s talent indeed fell short.

But I had trained countless students with similarly ambiguous talents.

And each one of them, I had shaped into capable swordsmen.

Miren would be no different.

“Very well, Miren Tillope. You’ll go first.”

“W-What?”

Miren’s bewildered eyes were lost on the path ahead.

Creeeek—!!

Around seven Proto monsters swarmed the area.

Amidst them, Miren frantically swung her sword, while I directed her from a stable position.

“Faster! Faster! The Valut Sword Technique relies on speed! Cut through the enemies at your utmost pace!”

“Yes, yes!”

Though her reply was hesitant, her body moved without pause.

Even if they were low-level monsters, they were creatures capable of killing a person at any moment.

A slight lapse in focus could lead to serious injury.

That sense of urgency kept Miren moving.

Of course, I was there to prevent such situations, but in this special practice, that survival instinct proved to be highly effective.

“Forget about thrusting in your head! Try to evade using the connection between the third and fourth stances!”

“W-Wait! This is moving too fast, instructor!”

“Think while you move! The answer is already in your mind! What’s left is just to embody it!”

The notion of talent only applied to the highest-tier heroes.

Just a first-tier hero who had just awakened at the first fork in the road.

And the very basic level of the Valut Sword Technique.

Learning it didn’t require anything grand.

Just throw them into the situation and let them roll around in it.

They roll, they see, and before they know it, they reach a level of mastery.

That was my teaching method and the reason I valued this special practice.

“Uh? Instructor, do I have to do this?”

“I’m not sure if that’s even a question.”

“Uh, uh?”

“Stop standing still!”

“Yes, yes!”

After the stormy one-on-one session with Miren concluded,

the second student to step up was Reese.

She, who had introduced this monster lair to me, looked taken aback at the thought of herself practicing.

However, there were no exceptions.

No matter how special this “Blue Swamp” was as a monster lair, what mattered most to me was the smooth education of the Valut Sword Technique.

Nevertheless, Reese awkwardly mimicked the Valut Sword Technique and dealt with several Proto monsters.

‘It seems like she used magic at some point.’

There were strange traces of mana in her battle here and there.

Though it was too fast to be called magic, the mana emitted from her sword was even more so.

—Was Reese truly a student of the swordsmanship department?

That question I’d often tossed around with Ray gained more credibility in that moment.

But I decided to put that aside for later and moved on.

The third student was Kaela.

“Master! The slashing motion here is the sixth stance, right?”

“No, you’re turning to the right, not the left. If you’re turning left, the direction of the fifth stance needs to change first.”

“Ah, like this?”

“Perfect.”

“Hehe. Then I’ll review the remaining stances we practiced earlier!”

As expected of the top talent in the swordsmanship department, Kaela didn’t have any parts that needed correction.

She had nearly single-handedly defeated an intermediate monster, Kelleil, even before the semester started.

Naturally, she wouldn’t struggle against low-level Proto monsters.

However, she seemed somewhat inexperienced in operating the Valut Sword Technique, so I briefly corrected her on some finer points.

That alone allowed Kaelana to grow a level with her outstanding absorption skills.

—And finally.

“…Instructor, don’t I have anything that needs correction?”

“Excellent. As expected of the heir of the Chadbell family. If you’re fine with it, why don’t you hunt that group of Proto monsters over there?”

Lucas didn’t have much that needed correcting.

So, I let him face more Proto monsters to gain practical experience.

Sometimes, students need to be thrown into situations to grow stronger.

Time passed, and as the special practice neared its end,

“Edgar!”

Ray approached me from afar, having been observing.

However, her expression bore a more serious tone than usual.

“There’s an enormous amount of mana detected up ahead. Intermediate, or maybe advanced…? It’s hard to gauge precisely.”

Hearing that, I turned my head to see the area around us, which had changed considerably from the entrance.

We had unwittingly ventured quite deep into the Blue Swamp.

And there.

From the place Ray pointed with her finger.

Goooooo—!

A truly powerful surge of mana was undulating.

● Author’s Note

Thank you to my reader Cream for the 100 coin sponsorship.

It’s been a long time since I’ve received sponsorship, so I feel a bit unfamiliar and dazed.

Thank you for reading!

I will strive to repay you with diligent updates.


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Dawnless
Dawnless
2 months ago

Thanks for the chapter