Chapter 28: Hero King

The Martial Arts Tournament continued.

But Artina kept surfacing in my mind.

To the point where I couldn’t even remember which duels had taken place in the middle.

That’s how strong of an impact she’d left.

“This match features the rising star of Rotes Academy and the Swordmaster-approved genius of the blade—Ruan!”

“Waaaaah!”

With a roar from the crowd, a man with blue hair strode out onto the arena.

Short-cropped hair and a refreshing look.

He gave off an air similar to Artina, but somehow different.

If Artina was like a well-honed blade,

Ruan felt more raw, wild and untamed.

“The one to face Ruan is Rotes Academy’s Vice Student Council President and apprentice to the Tower Master—Lina Orca!”

Wearing a wide-brimmed hat and glasses, holding a staff as tall as herself, Lina Orca entered the arena.

The two took their positions with a gap between them.

“I won’t go easy on you just because you’re my senior.”

Ruan unsheathed his sword with a smirk. Lina pulled her hat down and replied,

“Suit yourself.”

“You’re cute.”

Their exchange was met with laughter from the audience as the announcer declared the start of the match.

“We’ll now begin the match!”

With that, Ruan moved.

He charged at Lina directly with blinding speed, swinging his sword fast.

Kang!

The sword was stopped by Barrier Magic, but

He wasn’t fazed, immediately following up with another attack.

A blue glow ran along his blade, and with a motion like a claw tearing through, he smashed through the barrier.

Lina, who had used the barrier to buy a moment, raised her staff.

“Wind Blade.”

A fierce gale rose around Lina, channeled through her staff into blades of wind that shot toward Ruan.

Ruan twisted his body in a bizarre, acrobatic fashion, dodging every blade.

“Wooooaaah!”

“That’s insane!”

The crowd went wild at the exchange of attacks. I, too, was surprised by the level of combat, but

What astonished me even more was something else.

‘No message popped up…’

Yet I understood the principle and structure of Lina’s Wind Blade spell. As if I could use it right away.

It was one thing to gain magic itself, but

This Duel between swordsman and mage was also a lesson in how to fight in such a matchup.

I watched the two, focusing even more.

“Wind Dance.”

Lina used magic to create distance from Ruan, and while doing so, prepared offensive magic to target him.

Ruan dodged Lina’s spells with agile movement and swung his sword.

And whenever a spell tried to hit from a blind spot,

Just like Artina had done, he used the Blue Thread Sword Wind to cut through the magic.

The intense back-and-forth dragged on.

The longer a battle goes, the worse it is for a Mage. Magic consumes Mana, and when that runs out, there’s nothing left to do.

“Wind Prison.”

Lina, knowing this, used magic to immobilize Ruan, then began chanting for a powerful finishing move.

“Raging Storm Wind.”

A fierce tornado formed, sweeping through the arena. Sand and dust rose, obscuring everything.

Boom!

Not long after,

The tornado burst apart and vanished.

Through the swirling sand, I saw Ruan’s sword tip pressed to Lina.

“The winner is Ruan!”

“Wooooaaah! Both of them fought so well!”

“That was awesome!”

With their match, all of today’s scheduled duels came to an end.

“Please look forward to the quarterfinals tomorrow!”

People began to get up, one after another.

I stood up as well.

As I left the arena, I started narrowing down the Guardian candidates. Based on today’s matches, only two names came to mind.

Artina and Ruan.

It seemed likely the two would reach the finals.

Which one would be the Guardian candidate?

If the standard was simply strength, then the winner would suffice. But the Guardian’s standard isn’t strength—it’s the Keywords.

-You can’t form a contract unless the Guardian fits the Keyword.

That’s what Rose had told me.

I recalled the five keywords I’d chosen.

Hero.

Direction.

Passion.

Composure.

Advice.

Both attend the Hero Academy.

In the Duel, they showed ‘composure’ in facing their opponents.

To reach their skill, they must have poured in ‘passion.’

‘Am I stretching things too much?’

I suppose you can always force things to fit, but for direction and advice, I couldn’t see how they’d fit at all.

Maybe my approach was wrong.

Or maybe I just didn’t know enough about Artina or Ruan yet.

‘There doesn’t seem to be any time limit, anyway.’

It would be best to watch their matches closely and gather more information about them.

For now, maybe I should look around a bit.

With the Academy building open, I wandered inside, checking out various places for anything that might help.

Before I knew it, night had fallen.

All those who had come to watch the matches had left, and only a few people remained, heading home.

‘Where am I going to spend the night?’

As I hesitated for a moment,

Someone approached and spoke to me.

“Need a place to sleep?”

“Huh?”

Turning, I saw the old man who’d been on guard earlier. He was dressed smartly now, not in his guard uniform, and somehow looked different.

He seemed much more dignified.

“Come with me.”

“…Yes, sir.”

I followed the old man as he walked.

“What’s your name?”

“Yongje.”

“Yongje?”

Not thinking it necessary to correct him, I nodded.

“That’s right.”

“I’m Ropen.”

The place Ropen led me to was a villa deep in the forest.

It had quite an atmosphere.

When we entered, Ropen lit candles and a fire in the hearth. Then he brought out something to cover myself with.

“Use this.”

“Thank you.”

“Have you eaten?”

Growl.

“I’ll get something ready, so just relax.”

Early the next morning, I saw Ropen outside the window. Bare-chested, he was swinging a wooden sword.

Swish!

Swish!

His body, despite his appearance, was solid.

Covered in scars from deep wounds here and there.

‘He said he was a knight, didn’t he?’

We’d talked a lot over dinner.

Ropen was a former knight, who’d spent decades in a famous Knight Order. As he aged, his skills diminished, and he left the order, retiring.

After a long break, finding it too lonely, he took up work as an Academy guard.

He said, having dedicated his life to the sword, he just wanted to keep wielding one.

“You’re up?”

Ropen finished his morning training and returned.

“Yes.”

“I’ll wash up and make breakfast. Wait here.”

“Hold on.”

He let me stay the night, after all.

“Clean.”

I used magic to wipe away Ropen’s sweat and odor. He didn’t seem surprised—perhaps it wasn’t the first time.

“Ah. Right, you said you were a Mage.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

After Ropen changed clothes, we had breakfast and talked as we headed back to the Academy.

“How long have you worked at the Academy?”

“This is my second year.”

“Then you must know Artina and Ruan well?”

“Of course. They’re favorites to win this Martial Arts Tournament.”

“In your opinion, who’s going to win?”

“Ruan.”

Ropen answered firmly.

“Not Artina?”

“She’s afraid of losing.”

When we reached the Academy, our conversation ended naturally.

Ropen went to change into his guard uniform,

And relieved another guard who had been on night duty.

“Go inside and get some rest.”

“Yaaawn. You’ve worked hard too.”

Before long, people started arriving to watch the Martial Arts Tournament.

There was fierce competition for the best seats.

More people came than I’d expected, making it hard to talk with Ropen again.

‘Maybe I should try watching from a good seat today?’

Yesterday I’d come too late and had to sit far away. I entered the arena with the crowd and—

The back-and-forth in the fight grew ever fiercer.

The longer the fight, the more disadvantageous for the Mage. Magic consumes Mana, and when that runs out, there’s nothing they can do.

“Wind Prison.”

Knowing this, Lina immobilized Ruan, chanting to prepare a powerful finishing move.

“Raging Storm Wind.”

A ferocious tornado swept through the arena, raising a sandstorm that blocked out all vision.

Thus, the first match was set: Artina versus Ruan.

A duel that could practically be called the real finals.

“Artina and Ruan! Ruan and Artina! In this early glimpse of the finals, who will win? Let the match begin!”

Both stepped into the arena.

Facing each other, they drew their swords.

Shiiing!

The sunlight glinted off their blades.

In the next instant, both figures vanished.

Kang!

The sound of blades clashing was heard, and then they appeared.

They exchanged blows.

Artina swung her sword with weight and power; Ruan’s swings were sharp and instinctive.

Kang!

Kaaang!

After a not-so-short period of probing each other,

“I surrender.”

Suddenly, Artina declared her surrender, and the match ended anticlimactically.

“The undefeated champion until last year, Artina, has surrendered! Ruan advances to the semifinals!”

“…What’s with this bitter aftertaste?”

“That’s really it? Surrender?”

“Uuuuu!”

Watching Artina turn away without a hint of regret, I recalled Ropen’s words.

-She’s afraid of losing.

I think I understood how she felt.

Maybe she was so afraid of truly losing that she surrendered first, so she could comfort herself that she didn’t lose by skill.

‘So does this make Ruan the Guardian?’

Just as my mind began to get tangled,

I expected the Academy’s strongest to put on a show. But that’s it? All that waiting for nothing. Ugh, what a bore.

“So annoying.”

Pouting, Ruan poured Mana into his sword and swung. The blade, filled with black Mana, extended out—

And targeted the stands.

KWAANG!

He smashed through the pre-erected barrier, sweeping through the audience seats.

A Mage stationed nearby quickly cast a double barrier, preventing casualties.

But that was only the beginning.

Ruan went berserk, flinging his Mana in all directions.

KWAANG!

KWAGAGAGAGANG!

Spectators leapt from their seats and ran for the exits.

“Kyaaaa!”

“Aaaagh!”

The Instructors waiting nearby rushed in to subdue the rampaging Ruan.

Slash!

With a single swing from Ruan,

All their heads went flying.

The overwhelming gap in power filled the arena with terror. Every Instructor and student nearby ran for their lives.

“R-Run!”

“Isn’t that an Aura Blade? How do we stop a Sword Master?!”

“I-I’m going first! Out of the way!”

Chaos reigned in the arena.

Even if I wasn’t of this world,

To prevent further damage, I deployed Absolute Barrier.

That should buy enough time for people to escape.

‘This makes Ruan definitely not the one.’

He was anything but a hero—he didn’t fit the Keywords at all.

“What, you’re not running away after all?”

Artina stepped in front of Ruan, sword drawn.

Rather than trembling from Ruan’s fearsome aura, she seemed more shaken by her own fear of losing.

‘A trauma, maybe?’

Artina could barely stand as Ruan grinned and charged at her.

His sword raised high.

At this rate, she’d die without even reacting, so I drew upon Mana from the Dragon Heart.

I used Absolute Barrier to protect Artina.

And then Ropen, now clad in armor, appeared and sliced at Ruan’s waist.

Ropen caught his breath, positioning himself in front of Artina.

Ruan, touching his wound, gave a twisted smile.

“Hehehe. Who are you?”

“How did a demon hide its demonic energy so well?”

“Took a lot of effort to sneak into human society. How was it? Perfect disguise, right?”

“…Are there more of you?”

“I’m the only one here. But do you really think you can beat me with that battered body?”

Ruan swung his sword, brimming with demonic energy.

Ropen could never block that blade.

‘A head-on fight is impossible.’

All I could do was use protective magic to defend him. Using my remaining Mana, I activated Absolute Barrier.

However, Ruan’s sword cut through the Absolute Barrier and struck Ropen.

Shraaak!

A line was carved across Ropen’s chest, armor and flesh splitting as blood spurted. Ropen clenched his teeth and endured.

“Ghh!”

“Oh? You can endure that?”

“My duty is to protect the Academy. No matter what, I will protect it.”

“Kuheheheh. I love that. I also love shattering such conviction.”

Ruan swung his sword again.

Shraaak!

Shraaaak!

He purposely didn’t kill—just inflicted wounds so Ropen would bleed out slowly.

“Kh…!”

Even so, Ropen stood firm, clutching his broken sword.

Seeing this, Ruan whipped up a sword wind and sent it flying.

At that moment.

“Stop!”

I dashed forward, sword in hand. Deflecting Ruan’s attack that targeted Ropen, Artina stepped in front of him.

“Mister, please run.”

“I won’t… retreat before a demon.”

“…You’ll die at this rate.”

“There are times in life when you can’t back down, even in the face of death.”

“Why? Why go that far…?”

“If I fear death, I can’t protect the things I cherish.”

Ropen gripped his sword hilt with a determined expression.

“I will protect them. Even if it costs me my life.”

Seeing this, Artina bit her lip hard, then lifted her sword toward Ruan, her face calm at last.

“Then, I’ll fight with you.”

Wooooong!

A blue Aura Blade formed on her sword. She charged at Ruan and swung her blade.

“Haah!”

“That’s not how you wield that power!”

Though she’d forged an Aura Blade through realization and resolve, the difference in experience caused her to be overpowered by Ruan.

KWAANG!

Artina and Ropen were sent flying by Ruan’s attack.

Seeing this, I dashed forward.

I summoned wind to cushion their landing and set them gently on the ground.

‘The five Keywords.’

Hero, Direction, Passion, Composure, Advice.

Both Artina and Ropen fulfilled all five Keywords.

‘My intuition.’

Rose had told me.

To trust my intuition.

So I felt like I understood now.

Something indescribable—something you just feel.

“You again. A Mage? Whatever. I’ve lost all interest. I’ll just kill you all at once.”

I crouched down and used healing magic to stop the bleeding from Ropen’s wounds.

“Why… aren’t you running away?”

“Because I’ve found the person I was searching for. Sir Ropen, join hands with me, and let’s defeat him.”

“Is that possible if I join hands with you?”

“Yes.”

Thud.

Ropen took my hand.

[Would you like to appoint as Guardian?]

A message I hadn’t seen before appeared.

“Ah.”

A golden light flowed out, pouring into Ropen’s body.

[Appointing Guardian King Ropenheim Odenberk (SS) as Guardian.]

[Guardian’s Blessing temporarily raises rank.]