Chapter 33: Hilton’s Reckoning

Evan was sparring with Reynold, wooden swords clashing against each other.

“Don’t just rely on brute strength. Use more Mana. Gather your Mana into one point!”

Evan scolded Reynold, pushing him harder than usual.

It looked like he was simply training, but in truth, he was observing Reynold’s swordsmanship while waiting for Hilton.

‘He used quite a potent poison. There’s no way he wouldn’t come.’

He had deliberately informed the maids of his location.

If only to check on Evan’s condition, Hilton would surely rush here.

That was what Evan was counting on.

‘Soul Judgment, was it? I should be able to use it on villains.’

He still wasn’t exactly sure how it worked.

That’s why he was creating an opportunity to test it.

Hilton would never imagine this, not even in his dreams.

Evan calmly blocked Reynold’s attacks, glancing at the wooden sword in his hand.

He noticed a red gem embedded in the hilt.

‘Good, I don’t need to carve out a slot. As long as I use it, it attaches itself to the weapon.’

As expected of an S-grade gem.

As long as he had a weapon, he could use the power of the Soul Judge whenever he wished.

Clang!

Even though it was just wooden swords colliding, a heavy sound echoed throughout the training ground.

At the same time, Evan’s stern voice rang out.

“I told you, you can’t just use strength. Your Mana control is good, so why not use it?”

“Sorry! I guess I lose focus when I try to move and concentrate at the same time!”

While his primary goal was to wait for Hilton, Evan wasn’t just half-heartedly watching Reynold’s swordsmanship.

‘There are quite a few issues.’

Reynold was chosen for his excellent butchering skills—in other words, his potential for Mana control—so that wasn’t a problem.

The real issue was Reynold’s uncontrollable brute strength.

‘He’s not using Mana, just smashing with raw force.’

Even though Evan’s strength was enhanced through Aura Mastery, Reynold was withstanding it.

Purely with strength alone.

His innate power was interfering with his use of Aura.

‘No, I’m not even sure how this is possible with just strength.’

Just how strong was he?

Evan clicked his tongue and continued.

“You want to be a 9th-rank knight, right? You can’t get any stronger just by brute force. That’s it. I’ll tell Alan to oversee your training, so you practice controlling Mana while moving.”

“Ah, understood!”

As Evan was pushing Reynold, Alan came running from the entrance of the training ground.

“Young master, Hilton is on his way.”

“He’s later than I expected. Got it.”

Evan lowered his wooden sword.

“From now on, even if I’m not around, continue your training with Alan.”

“Yes, sir!”

***

A moment later, Hilton entered the training ground, looking around warily.

Evan grinned and waved.

“Hilton! Over here.”

Hilton spotted Evan, paused for a moment, then quickly walked over.

“Ah, haha, brother. I heard you were training in the yard, so I came. Are you feeling alright?”

Hilton openly inquired about Evan’s condition.

Though his intentions were obvious, Evan feigned ignorance.

“Of course. I’m perfectly fine, thanks to the medicine you prepared.”

Evan laughed heartily, patting Hilton’s shoulder.

Hilton’s brow furrowed for a split second, but he forced a smile.

“…I’m really glad to hear that.”

Hilton subtly stepped back.

He must have disliked Evan touching him so casually.

Watching Hilton’s reaction, Evan smoothly continued the conversation.

“Since you’re here, why not spar with me?”

“Huh? Spar?”

At Evan’s gesture, Alan quickly brought over a wooden sword and handed it to Hilton.

“It’s been a while. Come at me.”

Evan tossed the wooden sword to Hilton.

A vein popped on Hilton’s forehead.

‘This arrogant bastard…!!’

It was an obvious provocation.

A piggish wastrel who’d never even practiced swordsmanship, now challenging him to a duel.

To Hilton, this was an unbearable insult.

‘…Brother, are you sure about this?’

Boiling with anger, Hilton’s hands trembled as he picked up the wooden sword he’d thrown to the ground.

“It’s fine. I can handle the likes of you.”

“Is that so? Alright, then I won’t use Aura.”

There was no problem.

Evan was a cripple who couldn’t even use Mana.

Without using Aura, Hilton would simply beat him up within the rules.

Evan gripped his wooden sword with both hands and said, “You attack first.”

“If you insist.”

Hilton gritted his teeth, gripping the sword tightly as he charged at Evan.

A fierce exchange broke out between Evan and Hilton.

Their wooden swords aimed for each other’s vital points, leaving no openings.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Evan blocked Hilton’s unpredictable attacks with ease.

‘W-what!?’

At first, Hilton had planned to beat Evan half to death and vent his anger.

But the outcome was completely different.

‘He’s no beginner!’

By all rights, this wastrel shouldn’t even be able to touch him with a sword.

Yet the duel was evenly matched.

No, Hilton was actually being pushed back.

He almost wondered if he was the rookie, and Evan the veteran swordsman.

If Evan had Mana and could use Aura, Hilton would have been utterly defeated.

‘Why am I struggling against this bastard…’

But he couldn’t accept it.

The result in front of him screamed defeat, but his stubborn pride wouldn’t allow it.

Rage and pride surged through Hilton’s body.

Whenever those emotions flared, Hilton’s strikes grew stronger, slicing through the air with precision.

But Evan’s clean counterattack followed.

Thwack!

“Urgh!”

“What’s this? Can’t even block such a weak attack?”

Did that attack trigger something?

Hilton’s demeanor began to change.

He summoned Aura throughout his body.

Faint afterimages began to appear around him.

[Phantom Sword Technique.]

A skill that creates illusions to deceive the opponent’s eyes.

But at the same moment, Evan activated what he had prepared.

[Soul Appraisal of the target is complete.]

[The target is classified as Evil. The Mark of Evil has appeared.]

[Would you like to judge Hilton Kerthen? (Y/N)]

In truth, Evan could have finished Hilton long ago.

Ten moves at most.

But he held back solely for the sake of Soul Appraisal.

‘The mark has appeared.’

A skull icon floated above Hilton’s head.

The system had deemed Hilton Kerthen evil.

‘Let’s begin.’

Evan activated Soul Judgment without hesitation.

***

At that moment, a powerful wave surged from the Soul Judge’s gem embedded in his wooden sword.

Bzzzzzt!

With a bizarre sound, the scenery before him instantly changed.

It was as if snow had fallen—everything around him was pure white.

The floor, the walls, even the spectator seats.

It looked like a massive, circular arena made entirely of white.

If anything, it resembled a Colosseum.

As the scenery changed, Hilton began to panic.

“W-what is this? Where are we?”

Evan silently looked around.

‘So it can change the field itself.’

Among S-grade items, there were many with abilities that defied common sense.

But this was an exceptionally rare case.

A message appeared before Evan’s eyes.

[Welcome to the Judgment Hall of Souls.]

[This is where Soul Judgment is carried out.]

[Everything that happens here is recorded only on the soul, not the body.]

[However, if the judge loses, the judgment is nullified and the target can freely exit the hall.]

[Beginning the judgment of Hilton Kerthen.]

A faint smile appeared on Evan’s lips.

‘It only affects the soul? So there’s no real risk of dying here?’

He still didn’t know the full details of the judgment, but there was no problem with dealing with Hilton right away.

And if he lost, Hilton would escape with significant risk attached.

‘Not that I have any intention of losing.’

Evan glared at Hilton, his killing intent clear.

Sensing it, Hilton smirked in disdain.

“Brother, what’s with that bloodlust? Ugh, it’s disgusting—stop glaring at me like that. Who do you think you are?”

Hilton’s attitude shifted completely.

“I can’t keep up this act anymore. I don’t know where this is, but I’ll kill you first and figure it out later. Did you really think you could get away with your pathetic existence?”

Hilton hurled the wooden sword in his hand at Evan.

Whoosh!

Evan calmly dodged the flying sword.

“Looks like you’ve got nothing but a wooden sword left. Too bad. Not that I was planning to let you live any longer anyway.”

Hilton sneered, drawing a real sword from his waist.

It was a splendid blade, gleaming with a gentle silvery light.

Clearly, he had spent good money on it.

Hilton pointed the blade and slowly advanced on Evan.

“Don’t expect to die easily. I’ll make sure you pay for all your past misdeeds—slowly and painfully.”

Evan’s lips curled into a faint smile.

“Challenging me to a real duel, are you? Foolish.”

“Don’t you get it? You’re a moron right to the end.”

At that moment, Evan threw his wooden sword at Hilton.

Swish!

Hilton sliced the flying sword in two with his blade.

Hilton’s brow furrowed at the incomprehensible provocation.

“Idiot. You just threw away your only weapon—”

He couldn’t finish the sentence.

“…What’s that sword?”

At some point, a real sword had appeared in Evan’s hand.

A greenish aura radiated from the blade.

That energy sent a chill down Hilton’s spine.

‘First time using this for real.’

An S-grade sword purchased with a hidden reward token.

Sword of Jormungand’s Fang.

A hidden weapon imbued with the power of poison.

[Grade: S]

[Type: One-handed Sword]

[Attack Power: 50~160]

[Durability: 70/70]

[Usage Requirement: Level 50+]

[Effect: +100 Attack Power, +20 Agility, +30% Attack Speed. Upon equipping, user is poisoned and takes continuous poison damage. Can use three special abilities.]

[Venomous Serpent’s Poison: On hit, deals poison damage equal to 10% of attack power per second, stacking up to 5 times (stacks last 10 seconds).]

[Paralysis Venom: At 3 stacks, reduces all target’s physical abilities by 30% temporarily.]

[Predator’s Rush: Increases movement speed toward poisoned targets, up to 150% based on stacks.]

[Other: A weapon named after the infamous world serpent. Its powerful toxicity requires caution.]

The sword’s effects were like a serpent latching on and subduing its prey.

[Stack duration: 10 seconds. As long as I keep attacking within that window, I can incapacitate my opponent. A dangerous weapon.’]

He needed to keep slashing within ten seconds to stack the poison.

The more the target was cut, the weaker their body became from the poison.

‘Even for an S-grade, these abilities are ridiculous.’

But there was one problem.

The sword inflicted a deadly poison on the user—a fatal penalty.

Just ten seconds of use could bring the wielder to the brink of death. Truly a double-edged sword.

However.

‘It doesn’t apply to me.’

[Poison Resistance skill activated.]

Evan immediately attached the Soul Judge’s gem to the sword.

“I only just got this blade, and now I get to use it already.”

Hilton, who had been advancing, stopped and grew wary.

“I don’t know where you found that sword, but a cripple who can’t use Mana is no threat to me.”

Hilton assumed his stance, drawing out his Aura.

Evan gripped his sword tightly, quietly circulating his Mana so Hilton wouldn’t notice.