WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

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◈ The Weakest Knight Became a Swordmaster, But Only in Dungeons ◈

Chapter 1: The Weakest Swordmaster

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"Ron Hazely, you say you dream of becoming a magic knight, so let me tell you this. Even if I wanted to flatter you, I wouldn't say you have the talent to become a knight. Even if you get lucky and are accepted into a knight school, it will be difficult for you to accomplish anything there."

That was what a former mercenary instructor at a cheap swordsmanship dojo had told me seriously.

"Awakening mana is something to celebrate, but... honestly, I've never seen anyone with mana this low before."

That was what a mercenary mage I met by chance said in amazement.

I already knew I lacked talent.

Still, I wanted to become a knight. Why? Because knights were incredibly cool.

So I diligently swung my sword and trained my mana.

Thankfully, hard work had not betrayed me. I got accepted into Griffin Knight School, a magic knight training academy under the Imperial Knights.

Sure, I had barely scraped in as the very last student, but so what? The important thing was that I had moved closer to my dream.

...At least, that was the optimistic thought I had been holding until a moment ago.

"This isn't right..."

I was on the train headed to the knight school.

Worried sighs and muttered words kept slipping out.

The train was packed with cadets headed for the knight school---apprentice knights. You could tell from what they wore.

For the new cadets, it was their first day of enrollment. For the returning cadets, it was the first day of the new term.

Among them, I repeatedly rubbed my face.

'This is Elwi...'

I had recovered the memories of my previous life only thirty minutes ago.

I had calmed down a little by now, but my thoughts were still a mess.

For Elise was a mystery fantasy RPG I had enjoyed quite a bit in my past life.

In short, Elwi.

One day, at the very moment I restarted that game on its hardest difficulty, my consciousness faded away, and I was reborn in this world as a man named Ron Hazely.

Those memories had returned.

'Calm down. Think...'

I forcibly sorted through the torrent of emotions and chaos in my mind.

I put aside anything I could not resolve immediately and tried to focus first on what I could judge.

First, my status window.

Ding.

[Status]

- Tier: 1

- Body: E

- Mana: E

- Realm: Sword User

A translucent notification window appeared in the air.

It was the first thing I had looked for after recovering my past-life memories. I could see it whenever I wanted.

Both my body and mana were E-rank.

Since this body had always been so pathetic, I had already expected it.

According to my game knowledge, the ranking system was based on mana awakeners. That meant I was the weakest among mana awakeners.

'So I have to survive somehow in this body...'

Then, a memory suddenly rose to the surface.

'Wait. Doesn't something happen here?'

The sort of thing that was a cliché, if you wanted to call it that.

A first-day-of-school transportation attack.

According to For Elise's scenario, an incident nearly equivalent to a terrorist attack occurred on this train.

'When?'

Clack, clack.

The sound of the train running along the tracks pounded against my ears.

Then...

Screeeech!!

"Aaaaaah!!"

"Damn it! What's going on!?"

"Yeriel, take my hand!!"

The train suddenly braked, and the inside became complete chaos.

'Aaah!!'

I grabbed the seat tightly and screamed inside. Damn inertia!

Soon, the view beyond the window changed entirely to a blue hue.

An unfamiliar purple sky, barren ground, and rocks filled my sight one after another.

Screeeech!!!

Crash!

"Damn it!!"

"Hold on tight!!"

"Aaargh!"

The train seemed to have derailed as it screamed and tumbled.

Cadets screamed from all directions.

'Help!!'

Then, shortly after...

"Hm...?"

"I-It stopped...?"

The train, which had looked ready to overturn just moments ago, suddenly fell silent.

Even though my feet were clearly against the train floor, I felt a strange sensation of floating.

Then, gently, the train settled onto the ground.

'Telekinesis...'

If someone could use telekinesis on this scale, was it that magic knight instructor Rachel?

There was no doubt that her telekinesis had safely brought the train down. It had happened this way in the original game too.

I let out a breath of relief. My legs were still trembling. Damn, that had been terrifying...

[Attention, passengers!]

An amplified announcement powered by mana echoed throughout the train.

[This is an emergency! A massive gate suddenly appeared on the tracks, and the train entered it! We are inside a dungeon! For your safety, please follow the knights' instructions!]

"A dungeon...?"

"I've never seen a sky like that before."

Passengers and cadets stared out the windows with alarmed expressions.

The sky and ground both looked ominous at a glance. Wow, what a desolate place.

'This is fucking ridiculous...'

I wiped at my eyes.

Past the prologue of Chapter 1 and into Act 1 of Chapter 1.

The story where the knight school cadets, including the protagonist, suddenly fell into a dungeon had begun.

"Over there, that's..."

"Monsters...!"

Had the train's noisy arrival drawn their attention?

Black wolf monsters emerged one after another from behind the rocks, their red eyes gleaming.

"Grrrrrr...!"

"Graaaah!!"

The wolf monsters formed a pack and rushed at the train.

Drool clung to their exposed sharp teeth, while claws as long as daggers glinted dangerously.

...They looked strong!

"W-What do we do!?"

"We fight! What else would we do!?"

"Draw your weapons!!"

Maybe it was only natural for knight school cadets.

Far more cadets prepared to fight than fell into panic.

As expected, elite confidence and courage. The Empire's future was bright!

'Please, future knights...!'

I was going to hide!

I crouched deep inside my seat, where I could stay out of sight. The seat was built in a way that made it possible.

Sure, it was an embarrassingly cowardly moment, but what else could I do?

I had placed last in the entrance exam, and my stats were the worst among knight school cadets.

If I tried to face wolf monsters that dangerous, I would obviously be taking the express route to the afterlife.

Besides, there were only a few escort knights on the train. Only the bare minimum had been assigned.

'...These are the perfect conditions for the main cast to shine.'

The moment I thought that, all sorts of sounds of slaughter and explosions came from outside.

Crack!!

Slash!

Splat!

A spear glowing with blue mana cut through the air and took the wolf monsters' heads.

An arrow wrapped in mana pierced straight through a wolf monster's heart.

'It's the main cast.'

I had seen all of this in the game.

The one who fired the arrow had to be the protagonist. I could tell by the mana of a fairy. They were probably in another carriage right now.

Now, led by the protagonist and the other main characters, the cadets would defend the train.

'Good... Ah.'

Then a sudden worry struck me.

'Wait, wait. Isn't this hard difficulty...?'

My final memory from my past life was restarting the game on hard difficulty.

If that was true...

'Things are definitely going to go horribly wrong, aren't they?'

For Elise had the same main story each playthrough, but the details differed.

In particular, the third playthrough on hard difficulty, the one I restarted, had a bleak and brutal story where many people died.

'A lot of cadets die here...'

That was right. The weak died.

People like me.

'...Then.'

Looking down at my hands, I remembered creating a character in For Elise.

When creating a character, you could choose a unique ability.

Because I wanted to try playing with a dramatic and distinctive build, I chose a special hidden unique ability in exchange for setting my starting stats as low as possible.

It was also one of the final unique abilities that could only be unlocked by collecting every achievement, playing through multiple times, and meeting the requirements.

'Do I have it? My unique ability.'

The moment I thought about seeing it, a notification window appeared in the air.

Ding.

'It's here...!'

Relief spread across my face.

[Unique Ability]

"Swordmaster's Soul"

Description: Can be activated while inside a dungeon. All stats rise to A-rank, and the passive skill "Swordmaster's Realm" is applied. The effect disappears upon leaving the dungeon.

It was an insane ability that conditionally made me a Swordmaster, the highest realm a swordsman could reach.

It was limited to A-rank at first, but with further growth, I could reach S-rank and even EX-rank.

I wiped away the cold sweat that had gathered on my forehead.

I took a deep breath.

'All right. What now?'

Would I interfere with the story recklessly?

Would I twist the story in an unexpected direction?

I did not think for long.

'I don't have a choice.'

I wanted to live, and I was only increasing my chances of doing so.

To begin with, wasn't my very existence an irregularity? The original story was already completely wrecked.

And if this place was destined to become a fucking bleak story anyway, then I had even more reason to interfere.

[Dungeon detected.]

[Would you like to activate the unique ability "Swordmaster's Soul"?]

'Yes.'

The moment I willed it.

[Activating the unique ability "Swordmaster's Soul"!]

[Status]

- Tier: (7)

- Body: A

- Mana: A

- Realm: (Swordmaster)

"......!!"

Mana surged through me like a volcanic eruption, and intense heat rapidly rose through my body.

An enormous amount of mana, as vast as the sea, churned within me.

It felt as if my body, akin to a barren land, had been filled with water until it became a boundless ocean.

It was a sensation I had never experienced before. I could not think of a fitting way to describe it, but if I had to choose something close...

'Omnipotence...'

Whoosh!

I effortlessly reinforced my body with overwhelming mana.

'Holy shit...'

My whole body felt as light as a feather, and I was certain every muscle in my body would move exactly as I wished.

No, it felt as if I could turn imagination itself into reality.

I was already hidden, so no one could see me.

While the cadets were focused on the wolf monsters, I quietly opened the window on the opposite side and stepped outside.

Like a sudden gust of wind, I did it in the blink of an eye.

'I feel free.'

Even walking through a dream could not feel this good.

Still, now was not the time to marvel at my physical abilities.

'First, is that guy here?'

He had not appeared in the first or second playthroughs, but in the third, there had been something dangerous on top of this train.

A demonkin who would say embarrassing lines like, "Heh heh, a bloody wind shall blow..." while striking a pose, then enter the battle just as the wolf monster defense was ending.

If they were not here, I could return in relief, but...

'If he is here...'

It would confirm that this world was the third hard-difficulty playthrough of For Elise.

Whoosh!

I lightly jumped up and landed softly on top of the train.

I had meant to make no sound, and that was exactly what happened. I felt like an assassin.

Soon, I saw someone familiar.

Their body was similar to that of an adult man, but wings made of thorns stretched from their back.

Their red eyes turned toward me. Veins bulged across his dark green skin.

[What... are you...?]

His cracked voice, as though the air itself were splitting with a screech, reached me.

Unfortunately, their presence proved my fears had become reality.

'Demonkin, Orankel of the Red Eyes.'

Proof that this was hard difficulty, and the demonkin who would massacre people on this train.

In the original game, they would confront the protagonist here before leaving safely.

Then, during the early and middle parts of the story, they would lead a monster army and give the player a hellish experience.

'Normally, seeing something like that would have scared the hell out of me...'

Strange. I was not scared at all.

My heart was calm, and my mind was sharp. Did my unique ability affect my emotions too?

Still, seeing that bastard in person instead of game graphics was disgusting.

If I were not in this state, I was confident that I would start sobbing and run away the moment I saw him.

Shing.

I drew my crude iron sword and lowered it diagonally.

My vision was clear. My heart beat steadily.

'I think I can cut him down without a problem.'

All I knew was the basic swordsmanship and rough mercenary swordsmanship I had learned at that cheap dojo, but...

I was certain that would be enough.

[How laughable... You came here to die...]

After seeing my fighting spirit, Orankel the demonkin drew his sword as well.

Fsssh.

A faint purple demonic aura wrapped around Orankel's blade. It was an energy that could invade flesh and organs.

[As you wish... I will grant it...]

Slash!!

Orankel swung his sword.

A slash infused with demonic aura shot toward me faster than an arrow.

'Slow.'

The scene looked slow.

No thoughts came to mind. From the moment I decided to fight, the only thing filling my head was the intent to cut him down.

One step forward.

My body moved like a wavering heat haze.

As if I had vanished, I silently leaped in an instant and avoided the purple slash.

[......!]

Then, a single diagonal upward strike.

Slice.

[...Huh?]

After that simple cutting sound, the demonkin Orankel’s head flew off.

Footnotes:

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