The Shadow Sword and a Faked Score

Heave-ho, heave-ho.

The students were training with fervent enthusiasm; even with Chen Gu absent today, their schedule remained unchanged.

The myriad of weapons on the training ground—swords, sabers, hammers, and staves—truly broadened Liu Yu’s horizons.

Her gaze fixed intently on a classmate’s weapon, she attempted to conjure a katana through Weapon Mimicry, yet invariably, it was her familiar silver longsword that materialized.

‘Damn it, I want to wield a katana! I crave a katana! Crescent Moon Iai Slash, Four-Directional Sword Qi, Kurama Sword Dance—argh!’

Lost in these peculiar thoughts, she idly swung her sword at the testing apparatus, eliciting a cold, mechanical voice.

[Unqualified]

“Huh?”

She swung again.

[Unqualified]

“Seriously, how am I supposed to use this thing?”

Liu Yu turned to the black-haired girl nearby for help.

“You can think of it as a training dummy from a game,” the girl explained.

“Its purpose is to test your strength and stability, evaluating you based on the number of successful hits within a certain period.”

“Let me show you. Watch closely.”

As she finished speaking, the girl swung the black sword in her hand, striking the apparatus.

[Qualified]

The mechanical voice announced.

“Just put some force into it.”

‘Why does that sword look so familiar…’

Liu Yu’s attention had been completely diverted.

She glanced at the silver longsword in her hand, then at the black longsword Villy held, finally reaching a conclusion.

“I’ve been bootlegged!!”

With a huff, she reached out to grab Villy’s weapon, but Villy dodged with effortless grace.

A familiar, fragrant breeze wafted past, and before Liu Yu realized it, she was back in front of her own station.

‘So fast.’

It was far from the first time she’d made such an exclamation.

The vampire, the hunter uncle—they were one thing, but for a mere Villy to be so swift?

It was truly an affront to the heavens.

To vent her frustration, Liu Yu channeled her indignation into strength, launching into a furious, haphazard flurry of slashes against the dummy.

….

[Unqualified]

[Unqualified]

[Unqualified]

….

[Qualified]

A different mechanical tone sounded, and a large ‘1’ appeared on the blue screen.

Curious, Liu Yu tapped it with her finger, and the screen instantly transformed.

It displayed her name, student ID, test records, and more; the ‘1’ indicated a single qualified hit.

“Hmm…”

Recalling the “26” she’d seen on Villy’s screen, and comparing it to her own “1,” Liu Yu stroked her chin, deep in thought.

Let it be known, she held absolutely no interest in such childish games of ‘who has more.’

However, the cumbersome use of [Weapon Mimicry] utterly failed to showcase her true capabilities, instead restricting her genuine skill.

This, she deemed unfair.

Moreover,

Miss Villy had brazenly appropriated the model of the [Shadow Sword] without the copyright holder’s permission, which was equally improper.

Therefore,

‘If she crosses the river, I’ll cross the river too. No, that’s not right.’

‘If she breaks the rules, I’ll break the rules too.’

As shadow energy surged to her fingertips, Liu Yu cautiously scanned her surroundings.

Seeing no one paying attention, she lightly tapped the screen.

[Qualified]

‘Okay, this force is perfect. That measly Villy thinks she can turn the tables? She’s destined to be left in my dust her entire life.’

‘Oh ho ho ho.’

Behind her mask, Liu Yu’s lips curved into a wild grin, yet her movements remained unfaltering.

With each successive tap, the number on the screen surged at an utterly preposterous speed.

To be one step ahead was genius; to be two steps ahead was madness.

After the number on the screen soared into a terrifying three digits, Liu Yu finally grew weary of the repetitive task.

Yawning, she toppled straight backward, and just as always, her body met the floor without the slightest discomfort.

The shadows protected her.

Though she might never admit it aloud, Liu Yu knew it deep down.

Her reliance on the shadows had become a habit.

Even though each use of this power further damaged her already fragile body, she would continue to wield it with unceasing delight.

Just as a blind person cannot comprehend a world bathed in sunlight, she now found it impossible to imagine how bleak life would be without the shadows.

If such a day were truly to come, she would rather simply die.

After all, living with such a dilapidated body was far too exhausting.

“Student, student.”

A gentle male voice interrupted her melancholy.

“Are you feeling unwell? Do you need to go to the infirmary?”

Liu Yu looked up, and an exceptionally handsome face entered her vision.

This person was one of the unfortunate souls Chen Gu had called in to cover a shift.

His name, she recalled, was Hoshino, and he seemed to be quite popular on campus.

How did she know?

The fervent gazes from across the room were practically threatening to devour him whole.

Ignoring the hand extended to help her up, Liu Yu simply stared fixedly to her left.

Curious, Hoshino followed her gaze, where a pretty black-haired girl was diligently practicing.

“…”

Under the combined stares of the two, Villy knew she could no longer feign ignorance.

With a hint of impatience, she walked over and grumpily pulled up the ‘idiot’ who was playing dead on the floor.

“Get up!”

“Yay, I won!”

Uttering incomprehensible words, Liu Yu happily slumped onto the black-haired girl’s shoulder, blowing vigorously into her ear.

Villy’s cheeks flushed, and she casually pinched one of Liu Yu’s ears, hidden beneath her hat, twisting it counter-clockwise.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow…”

Amidst the pained cries, the girl’s true voice slipped out, prompting Hoshino, who was watching nearby, to remark with interest.

“You two junior students seem to have a very good relationship.”

“No, we don’t!”

“No, we don’t!”

They replied in unison.

Then, as if something occurred to her, Liu Yu retorted, “What do you mean ‘two junior students’? I’m a boy! If your eyes are that bad, you should donate them to someone who can see.”

Considering that the girl’s current identity was, after all, Liu Yu, Villy quickly chimed in.

“That’s right, that’s right. Liu… Student Liu Yu is indeed a genuine male, merely possessing a rather neutral voice.”

“Oh? A junior student, then… My apologies for assuming.”

Indeed, there were some boys in this world whose appearance and voice closely resembled those of females.

Hoshino apologized for his poor eyesight, but his peripheral vision caught an astonishing number on the screen behind Liu Yu.

“Qualified count: 106!?”

‘Is the machine malfunctioning?’

‘Or am I hallucinating?’

He rubbed his eyes, only to find the number on the screen utterly unmoving, forcing him to accept that this improbable figure was indeed a reality.

“Student… Liu Yu, if I may ask, have you been the only one using this machine during this period?”

Perhaps the data from the previous user hadn’t been cleared—that would make sense.

Fabricating an excuse he barely believed himself, Hoshino grew visibly nervous.

As a senior student in the combat department, he understood precisely what such a number signified when achieved by a freshman only two days into the course.

‘Could it be that we finally have a genius emerging here?’

A mix of joy and apprehension stirred within him.

“Of course! Who else but yours truly?”

Liu Yu declared, patting her chest.

Hadn’t she gone through all this trouble precisely to see the astonished expressions of passersby?

Now that someone who appreciated her ‘skill’ had arrived, it was time for a proper show-off.

Still, one crucial audience member was missing.

Liu Yu turned Villy around, pointing at the screen and urging.

“Look, look!”

“Look at what?”

Already curious about what the two of them were making such a fuss over, Villy focused her gaze, and the ludicrous number flashed into her sight.

She fell silent.

“You…”

Villy, taking Liu Yu by the arm, led her aside and said, exasperated, “Can you please stop pulling these stunts? If you keep this up, no one will get any peace.”

She knew with absolute certainty that this scoundrel had used a cheat to fake the data.

If news of this got out, it would undoubtedly cause a massive uproar.

A headache began to throb as she considered the potential repercussions.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want Liu Yu to shine.

Rather, the girl’s identity was simply too sensitive, and she couldn’t transform back into Liu Yu at the moment.

If she were exposed to the public eye, her true identity would inevitably be revealed.

Of course, Villy also harbored a bit of self-interest.

If this unfortunate child’s identity were exposed and she was sent back to the inner realm, wouldn’t all the goodwill she’d recently built up be for naught?

Growing increasingly annoyed, Villy turned Liu Yu’s head to face her, staring directly into her eyes as she threatened.

“Student Liu Yu, you wouldn’t want your connection with [Vanguard] to be exposed, would you?”