< 85. The season goes beyond spring to summer (2) >
#85
“Give me the sword.”
It was a strangely excited voice. Ronan shrugged his shoulders and handed me La Mancha. It was a moment when I lightly grasped the hilt of her sword with butterflies. Sigh! Blood-red mana began to pour out through the blade.
“Fuck. “What is this…!”
Ronan was scared and took a step back. It felt like the sword was bleeding. The mana which was bright red like fresh blood that had just spurted out was so dense that it could be mistaken for a liquid.
It was so large that it could not even be compared to Balzac’s time. Red mana poured out without stopping. The mana that covered the arena floor soon rose to the students’ ankles.
“Ugh! “What is this?”
“blood…?”
“I feel bad…!”
The students were in a state of agitation. La Mancha’s sword body was flashing an eerie red that made you wonder if it wasn’t originally that color. As a butterfly watching the strange phenomenon I muttered to her quietly.
“Ferocious but flexible. “It looks exactly like its owner.”
“What the fuck did you do to my knife?”
Instead of answering she gripped the hilt of her sword harder. The mana that was flowing throughout the arena began to be absorbed into La Mancha again. In just a few seconds a clean floor was revealed. I took my eyes off her sword body and looked back at Ronan.
“To conclude what you are seeing now is the true form of this sword.”
“Is that red thing a bitch?”
“okay. “When I gave her mana her latent power was revealed.”
Nabirose’s eyes were sparkling with interest. She was like a child who had been given a new toy. She continued as she took her La Mancha for a spin.
“Very well-made weapons add color to the user’s attacks. Like my Ursa or the Pale Lord of the Dukes of Grancia. The same goes for your sword.”
“It looks like Old Man Rice Ball used some strength.”
“yes. It is worthy of being ranked as a famous swordsman. “I’ll tell you how little you know about this sword.”
Suddenly she swung her sword as if aiming for the scarecrow. Liquid sword energy was fired along a narrow path.
However there was a significant difference from what Balzac showed. If his sword energy was like a wide spray of water from a bucket Nabi Rose’s sword energy was closer to a torrent pouring in a straight line. Quagwang! The scarecrow swept away by the torrent of sword energy was uprooted from the ground. But the sword did not stop there.
“uh?”
“hmm?”
Ronan and Nabirose’s eyes widened at the same time. The torrent of sword energy spread out and hit the wall behind it. Quagwagwagwang! All students’ attention was focused on the sudden explosion of sound.
“Aaaah! What else?!”
“Instructor!”
Soon the dust settled. Part of the wall was horribly destroyed. The stone wall which was well over 1m thick was worn away like a cliff that had been hit by waves for hundreds of years. Big and small holes and spiderweb-like cracks covered the inside of the scar.
“Plague….”
It was a formidable force. The days of fighting so barbarically were so unfair that it felt unfair. My hands were shaking just thinking about being able to use such technology someday.
But that wasn’t what mattered now. The wall seemed dangerous.
Even if the wind blows it will collapse. Ronan was about to tell that kind of joke. Grumble! Suddenly the severely damaged area collapsed.
“ah.”
The students screamed. The refreshing wind blew back my bangs. A beautiful lawn stretched out beyond the collapsed wall. Ronan and Nabirose stood still for a long time and looked at the scene. Nabirose said.
“It’s harder to control your strength than I thought.”
“What should we do now?”
“I’ll have to fix it later. “Is there anything I can do?”
I’m glad Adeshan isn’t there. She let out a sigh and muttered softly. Nabirose returned La Mancha to Ronan. The moment he took the hilt of the sword the red sword body returned to its original black color.
“Fuck.”
Ronan feeling somewhat dirty frowned. It was like watching a lover who was having fun with another bastard but then turned cold towards him. Butterfly Rose is a Sentai sword master so the fact that he could not bring out the power of his sword more than a mosquito like Balzac even if he struck it made him unbearable.
“Let’s get started quickly. “It’s so bad that I can’t stand it anymore.”
“good night. Let’s start by feeding mana to the sword. “Assume a standing posture and relax your body.”
“Can’t we just learn sword techniques first?”
“There is an order to everything. “If you don’t rush and just take it step by step you will become a swordsman who can participate in the Sword Festival without difficulty.”
Ronan raised his eyebrows when he heard that it was a sword festival. He had decided to ask but then forgot.
“that’s right. What on earth is the Festival of Swords? “Zaifa said something about that.”
“hmm? “Didn’t you know?”
“Before I enrolled here I came from all over the countryside.”
“To put it simply it is a place where idiots who think they are the strongest gather.”
Nabi Rose’s explanation continued. The Festival of Swords was a kind of ritual and meeting held by swordsmen from all over the continent. It was said that only strong people who have proven their skills can participate and those who pass the ritual will have the right to challenge themselves to search for the Holy Sword. Ronan tilted his head.
“The holy sword?”
“okay. “It is a legendary weapon that no one has ever found.”
The holy sword was a legendary weapon hidden somewhere in Farzan the sacred land where the sword festival was held. They said that the name Holy Sword is just a pseudonym and that no one has ever seen the actual weapon so it is impossible to confirm what kind of weapon it is.
However it is said that the number of swordsmen continues to grow due to the legends that have become more diverse over the years. [It will appear before the eyes of the strongest swordsman.] [The holy sword can cut through anything.] The kind that drives ambitious men and women like me crazy. Ronan also shook his head as if he was interested.
“It sucks.”
“Even if it is not a holy sword it is a place worth visiting. The best prosecutors from each country and the powerful people who wandered the wilderness are gathered in one place. “Most people will accept you if you apply for a sparring match.”
“…Tell me honestly. How many people did you kill?”
“I think there were about twenty people in total. “I only killed a few people.”
It was a tone steeped in longing as if recalling beautiful memories. Ronan felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
According to Zarodin he pierced the coconut shell with his little finger and drank it.
‘As expected it shouldn’t clear up for a while.’
Ronan with all his questions answered grabbed the hilt of his sword. Nabirose taught me how to feed mana to the sword as I said before.
The point was to transfer the mana in the body to the sword and hold it there. After concentrating my mind it wasn’t long before a faint cloud of light came up along the blade. With butterflies I nodded his head.
“good. Just wait for five minutes. “After waiting five minutes I swing my sword.”
“5 minutes? “Isn’t it too short?”
“For others yes. Then I will time it.”
“For others?”
What does it mean? Instead of answering Nabi Rose took out a pocket watch. Ronan snorted. Anyway even though it was small it wasn’t easy to last five minutes while firing a sword.
As I was thinking exactly that the light in my sword faded. Ronan’s brows narrowed.
“Huh?”
“47 seconds.”
“No wait a minute. “Why is this like this?”
“Don’t take it easy just because you realized the sword energy first. “Just focus your mind and try again.”
Nabi Rose reset her pocket watch as if she had expected it. Ronan his pride hurt took his stance again.
I was already starting to feel dizzy but it was none of my business. As soon as he grabbed the hilt of the sword a wave of light came up the sword body again.
****
“1 minute 23 seconds.”
“Fuck!”
The halo of light disappeared. The sun was already setting outside the building. The setting sun seeped in from beyond the collapsed wall dyeing the arena scarlet.
“It’s a plague…! Huh why does this keep turning off?
My head was pounding. Sweat was flowing like rain. After class ended there were no other students left in the arena.
Ronan cursed and lowered his sword. I couldn’t tell how many times I tried this. Nabirose said.
“That’s enough for today. “You know that your body is different from others right?”
“Ugh…that can’t be possible….”
“Then how long are you going to do this?”
“Of course…until it happens.”
“Tsk that’s foolish.”
Nabirose turned his back. bang! She entered her own office and closed the door.
Well you might be bored. Ronan who had been standing still and giggling slumped down. I could feel the blood vessels all over her body swelling as if they were about to burst.
“Fucking curse.”
The longest record so far was 3 minutes and 41 seconds. Ronan belatedly realized why Nabirose reacted that way.
Because he was cursed his mana amount was ridiculously low compared to others. That’s why he said that even if he reached the level of a sword user he would have a hard time enduring it.
He realized how sick his body was. Ronan who had been mumbling lay down completely. The high ceiling and the dust floating in the setting sun caught my eye. Suddenly something cold fell on his forehead. Ronan startled raised his upper body.
“Oh shit it’s a surprise. which…”
“Take it.”
“…Instructor?”
Nabirose was standing holding a large canteen. There were water droplets forming on the tin surface as if it had been filled with ice water.
She wordlessly held out the canteen to Ronan. Ronan who sat down and emptied his canteen wiped his mouth and said.
“Puha… why are you giving me this just because I did a good job?”
“If you cool down and give up I’ll be able to get off work too.”
Nabirose said coldly. To be precise it seemed like they were making an effort to look like that. Ronan chuckled and raised his body using his sword sheath as support. She took out her pocket watch and opened her mouth.
“Ronan. You’re just not good at handling mana. It is already one of the strongest in the entire school. “You know best.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you in such a hurry? “I’m still a freshman so I’ll have plenty of time.”
Ronan twisted his lips bitterly. Originally it was a training that would have taken several months. After infusing mana into his sword and consuming it he repeats the process of increasing the amount of mana through practice.
But he had no time to spare. In order to use mana like others I had to scrape it out of my veins for a whopping 20 years. Ronan lifted himself up using his scabbard as support.
“Because it’s not really enough.”
He took a moment to catch his breath and then headed back to the scarecrow. The scarecrow who had to wait five minutes to be cut down did not have a single scratch on his body.
‘It can’t go on like this.’
I had to come up with something new. It was okay to transfer the mana in his body to the sword but holding it was a problem. He couldn’t handle the constant mana consumption from the sword with his weak mana tank.
Still I felt like my head was cooling down a bit after drinking the cold water. It was then.
‘…Cooling it down?’
Suddenly a bright idea passed through Ronan’s mind. The ideas that started in cold water grew one after another.
Cools something hot. Warms up something cold. Remove excess. Fill in what is lacking. Ronan who finally got the result laughed as if he was amazed.
‘You just have to fill it up as you use it…!’
I was bound by the preconceived notion that mana exercises had to be done in a straight posture. If I practiced while consuming my sword energy the problem would be solved. A swarm of red light came up on La Mancha’s sword body. Nabirose held up his pocket watch.
“Then I will time it.”
Ronan nodded. He immediately tried the Mana exercise he had learned from Jarudin. He seemed to have been warned that it might be dangerous to try to change the position before mastering it but it was none of his business. Ronan took a few deep breaths and raised the corners of his mouth.
‘It’s worth it.’
He was unfamiliar. But it wasn’t to the point where he couldn’t do it. Seaaaa- Soon a strange breathing sound began to escape from between Ronan’s lips. I felt my mana draining out and being replenished at the same time.
“hmm?”
Time passed by two minutes but La Mancha had not lost its shine yet. Nabirose who noticed that Ronan was consuming mana and practicing at the same time laughed.
‘Did you realize how to do things in parallel even before the seasons changed?’
I couldn’t see or hear anything. The only remaining feeling was the mana circulating through her sword and body. How long has it been? Ronan came to his senses when he felt someone tapping his shoulder.
“Instructor?”
“…time is up.”
“What already?”
It felt like less than 3 minutes had passed. Butterfly Rose wordlessly turned the pocket watch over and held it out in front of him. The clock started on the hour and showed 12:13. Ronan’s eyes widened.
“13 minutes…!”
“Now swing the sword while maintaining that feeling. “You can do that well.”
Ronan silently remembered. He didn’t even have to answer. The sword and hand disappeared from sight at the same time.
…Paang! The sound of the strike rang out only after a considerable amount of time had passed since the sword strike was drawn. With butterflies I nodded his head.
“That’s great.”
Crispy! Dozens of lines appeared on his scarecrow. As soon as Ronan sheathed La Mancha the body cut into dozens of pieces collapsed.
“…under.”
Ronan laughed. His fingertips were trembling slightly as he experienced this sensation for the first time in his life. It was a completely different speed than simply cutting with the flow of mana. If I could maintain this condition I felt like there was nothing I couldn’t cut. Nabirose said.
“You finally did it. Do you think you can maintain that status in real life?”
“…for a few minutes.”
“Then that’s it. “This is enough for today.”
There was silence. Neither of them said anything. Nabirose was just turning his back to leave work. Ronan who had been standing still for a while suddenly grabbed her shoulders and shouted.
“Fuck! Did you see Butterfly Rose?! Did you see it? “I did it!”
“okay. “Well done.”
“It’s all thanks to you! “Come here damn it I’ll carry you and run a lap of the Phileon!”
“It is the result you achieved. And call me instructor.”
However despite Nabirose’s sanctions Ronan did not stop. His body was completely dominated by the sense of accomplishment that exploded belatedly. He didn’t stop smiling even after he was caught by both ears while trying to carry Butterfly Rose.
“her.”
The sight was so funny that a faint smile appeared on Nabirose’s lips. It was a car I was reluctantly considering giving me a piggyback ride on. Rumble! Suddenly the ground near the collapsed wall began to tremble. In an unexpected turn of events two people placed their hands on the hilt of the sword at the same time.
“what?”
It felt like it was alive. Soon the shaking ground rose and closed the collapsed hole. It happened so quickly that there was no time to react.
Even the original engraved reliefs on the wall which had been filled with no gaps for even a needle had been restored. With butterflies I frowned at her.
“This magic…”
“It’s been a while. Butterfly Rose.”
At that time a familiar voice was heard from behind. Ronan and Nabirose turned their heads at the same time. A skinny man was standing in the setting sun. She frowned at the sight of her evil friend.
“…Jarodin?”
