WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Weakest Knight Became a Swordmaster, But Only in Dungeons ◈
Chapter 17: Sparring Preparation
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─ ‘Violet, could you teach me some combat magic?’
I was about to spar Theodore Garniel.
So I wanted to increase my options as much as possible.
I had originally planned to learn magic step by step, but this time, I felt I needed to get ahead quickly.
My Circle was currently 1+1. Since I was Second Tier, I should be able to master basic combat magic soon enough.
That was why I asked Violet Blackgarden, my friend from a renowned magic family, to teach me magic.
─ ‘I can teach you, but I’m not sure how much help I’ll be...’
Violet agreed in a timid tone.
And now, in a secluded corner of Griffin Knight School.
Violet and I sat side by side on a bench.
After taking a small breath, Violet spoke.
“Mr. Hazely, could you take off your clothes?”
“Huh?”
When I reacted blankly, Violet seemed to realize how her words had sounded.
“Ah.”
She lowered her gaze, her cheeks flushing red.
Tap tap.
Violet nervously bumped her fingers together in front of her stomach and glanced my way.
“First, I need to test which elements you are compatible with...! P-please don’t misunderstand. Normally, we would use a testing device, but we don’t have one right now. In that case, I need you to remove your clothes and expose plenty of bare skin to examine you properly...!”
I had not even asked, but Violet hurriedly poured out an explanation.
Was there anything to misunderstand? A mercenary mage had examined me when I first awakened my mana, so I already knew the process.
“People from magic families like mine undergo this as soon as they are born, but Mr. Hazely must have grown up under different circumstances... Gasp...!”
Rustle.
When I took off my shirt, Violet sharply sucked in a breath.
“M-Mr. Hazely...!?”
Startled, Violet quickly covered her face with both hands.
Her face was hidden, but not her ears, which had turned bright red.
And despite acting as though she was not looking, she spread her fingers slightly to steal glances at my body.
Her reaction was so dramatic that my eyes narrowed on their own.
“What’s wrong? You told me to take it off.”
“No, it’s just that... I wasn’t mentally prepared yet...!”
“Are you embarrassed to see my body?”
“To be honest, this is my first time seeing a man’s bare body... Ahh...”
Wasn’t she getting a little too red? Her eyes were even spinning.
Well, I understood. It could be overwhelming if it was her first time seeing a man naked.
I did not feel especially embarrassed, so I did not make much of it.
“I don’t have to take off my pants too, right?”
“Ah, y-yes! This is enough!”
I sat with my back to Violet.
She placed a hand on my back. Maybe it was because she was a necromancer, but her hand felt unusually cold.
Perhaps from nervousness, Violet’s hand trembled slightly against my back.
“Violet?”
“Ah, y-yes!”
“Are you okay?”
“I-I’m fine. Whew. I’ll begin.”
“Okay. I’m counting on you.”
Once, the mercenary mage had declared that I had zero affinity for every elemental attribute.
I had given up on magic after that, but...
‘Things are different now.’
Too much had changed. Plenty of time had passed too.
Maybe there had been a change.
I held a faint sense of expectation as Violet’s mana gently flowed into my body and swept through it.
At first, I felt warmth. Then cold. Then a tingling sensation. Then a refreshing sensation spreading through me.
Violet placed her hands on my waist, shoulders, and neck after my back, repeating the same process. The hands touching my skin gradually grew hot.
Before long, Violet withdrew her mana.
“Are you done?”
“Yes. ...Gasp! Mr. Hazely, your clothes, y-your clothes...!”
When I turned toward Violet, she sucked in a breath and immediately turned her head away from me. Then she wildly waved her hands through the air.
“Ah.”
Wanting to be considerate, I quickly put my shirt back on.
Only then did she sigh in relief and turn back toward me.
“Mr. Hazely, I think you are compatible with two elements.”
“Oh! Really?”
So something had changed after all!
“Tell me. Which ones?”
“Um, wind and fire.”
Wind and fire?
‘Could those two be because of Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak and Flame Demon Sword Hwama?’
Wind from the Ravenous Wolf Sword, fire from the Flame Demon Sword.
My body had originally been incompatible with every element, but had the abilities of those two swords made me compatible with wind and fire?
‘Come to think of it, in Elwi...’
Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak could not be obtained in the game, so I would skip that.
But when someone became the owner of Flame Demon Sword Hwama, their fire attribute rating increased, right?
More precisely, it was a side effect of the trait bestowed by the sword. The Ravenous Wolf Sword seemed to work the same way.
Fwoosh.
Whooosh.
Violet raised both hands.
A flame rose above her right hand, while a small whirlwind formed above her left.
“As I mentioned before, I can barely use any magic besides black magic because of the price I paid to learn it. These basic spells are about the only combat elemental magic I can show you right now... Still, I know study methods and training methods for learning magic, so I won’t be completely useless...”
“That’s more than enough.”
I was currently Second Tier.
I could pick up basic magic easily enough.
“In that case, alright...”
“Thanks, Violet. I’ll treat you after the spar.”
“No, no! You don’t need to go that far...!”
“Then how about we make time to hang out one day?”
“...!”
When I asked with a bright smile, Violet’s eyes widened and the corners of her lips trembled.
Violet had been a natural outsider in Elwi. After spending time with her, I had quickly noticed that she simply enjoyed ordinary time spent with friends.
I figured she would like an invitation to hang out. I wanted to as well.
As if trying to hide her anticipation, Violet’s voice gradually grew quieter.
“B-but... would that really be okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Okay...”
Violet’s cheeks turned rosy, and a shy smile spread across her lips.
“Hehe...”
...Her bangs cast a shadow over her eyes, making it look like an ominous smile, but I had grown used to it by now and let it slide.
“Um, Mr. Hazely. Would you like to learn it through a crash course, or properly...?”
Huh? There was a fast way to learn it?
“By the fastest method possible. I don’t care how.”
I wanted to reach a usable level before the spar.
But Violet looked troubled.
“A-are you really sure...?”
“Huh? Yeah. I’m sure...”
Was there a problem?
“Alright. Then...”
Time passed.
Whoooooosh!
I stood still as I was enveloped by the whirlwind Violet had created.
My body ached slightly in various places, but it was not powerful enough to injure me.
It seemed too weak to even defeat a low-level monster. I could endure it easily.
─ ‘The fastest way for someone who has awakened mana but never learned elemental magic is simple. You need to expose yourself to elemental mana you have a high affinity for. Mr. Hazely, just keep raising your mana.’
‘What a barbaric method...’
She was literally forcing it into my body.
‘Still, I can feel it soaking in.’
It felt as if wind mana were suddenly rising inside me in resonance.
Then.
[Your stats have increased.]
[Mana Grade: “D” → “D+”]
‘Ooh!’
My mana capacity had increased too. It definitely seemed effective.
Ah, would Magician Ron Hazely finally be born today...!
‘...Wait a second.’
A sense of dread suddenly rushed in like the tide.
The elements I was compatible with were wind and fire, right?
Then next was...?
“Mr. Hazely, I’ll go get someone...!”
Not long after, Violet returned with a healer from the knight school staff.
“Wait, Violet. Don’t tell me...?”
“I explained the situation and brought them here. We absolutely need a healer this time. It may hurt, but for the sake of Mr. Hazely’s path in magic...!”
Maybe it was because she was helping me learn magic.
Violet’s eyes shone seriously with determination.
An intense sense of unease washed over me.
“Healer, is this really alright...?”
“This is elemental mana awakening training, correct? I have already confirmed that the power of the spell Cadet Violet will use is within an appropriate range. And I will begin treatment immediately if necessary, so there is no risk of death.”
The healer answered matter-of-factly.
‘No risk of death?’
The fact that death was even being considered was the problem here...!
Damn it. Instead of Magician Ron Hazely, I was about to become well-done Ron Hazely.
‘No. Forget it. Don’t say weak things.’
I slapped my own cheek.
Get a grip. You need to grow stronger, Ron Hazely!
After steeling my resolve, I shouted with vigor.
“Alright! Let’s go, Violet!”
“Yes!”
And then.
Fwoooosh!
The fire magic Violet unleashed engulfed my body.
...It was summer.
……
Lightwing Sword. Flower Dance Sword.
I knew every form of the Lightwing Sword. I had already gotten the hang of it when I was in the Swordmaster state.
On the other hand, I did not know every form of the Flower Dance Sword, but after training with Elise several times as a two-person team, I had become familiar with some of its movements.
So when I reached the Swordmaster state in the Blue-Flame Forest Dungeon, I fought magical beasts with the Lightwing Sword and Flower Dance Sword for training.
As a result.
Shing!
That sensation still remained in my body like an afterimage.
Late at night, at Griffin Knight School’s Seventh Training Ground.
“Haa, haa...”
Alone, drenched in sweat, I practiced the movements of the Flower Dance Sword.
It was terribly lacking compared to when I had been in the Swordmaster state, but it was still easy enough to understand how I should swing it.
Other swordsmen had to put in horrifying amounts of effort to reach such swordsmanship principles, but after a single trip into a Dungeon, I could simply glimpse them and go, ‘Ah, so that’s how it works?’
Feeling guilty, my ass. This was fucking great.
‘Still, it doesn’t feel like I fully understand the Flower Dance Sword.’
It didn’t seem to suit me, and it didn’t feel practical either.
It felt as though it would only become complete under certain conditions.
Was the problem that I had only learned it by recalling some of the swordsmanship Elise had shown me and her Flower Dance Sword from the game?
‘Would it work if I applied elemental magic?’
Just as I was thinking that...
“Wow, it’s the Flower Dance Sword?”
“Oh, shit!”
A cheerful voice suddenly drilled into my ears from over my shoulder.
Startled, I quickly put some distance between us and turned around.
Elise Lorendia, a female cadet with magenta hair, came into view.
Elise burst into laughter as though she had just watched a hilarious joke.
“Pfft, hahaha! Ah, that’s funny...!”
“What’s so funny...?”
“Ah, sorry, Ron...! Pfft... You didn’t notice me coming? I did sneak up on you, but it’s not like I was being extremely careful?”
“I didn’t notice at all...”
That hurt my pride. She was basically telling me that my sense for presences was terrible.
With a smile still on her face, Elise looked toward my mock sword fitted with magitech weights.
“Have you been practicing what you saw while training with me?”
“Yeah, more or less. You’re not uncomfortable because I copied your swordsmanship, are you?”
“Not at all. I actually think it’s interesting.”
After training with Elise several times as a two-person team, we had become close enough to speak freely with each other.
It helped that Elise was not especially shy around strangers to begin with.
“You were preparing to spar Theodore Garniel, right?”
“Huh? You know about that?”
“I saw it on the sparring list.”
“That’s right. He’s a mid-ranked cadet, so I need to prepare properly.”
“You have terrible luck with matchups. But do you really need to prepare that hard? It’s okay if you lose. There’s a second round of sparring anyway. It should be much easier then.”
“I’m going to win.”
I answered firmly.
Whenever I thought about how I had burned my entire body trying to beat Theodore, my stubbornness only grew stronger.
Of course, burning my entire body was not a metaphor. It had really happened.
“Hmmm?”
Elise narrowed her eyes and smiled meaningfully. What was with that?
“Oh, Elise. Don’t tell anyone what you saw here. I need to save at least a few trump cards for myself.”
“Don’t worry. I haven’t told anyone anything about you. Hmm... At least, not about your techniques?”
“You told them other things?”
“Who knows?”
Elise answered slyly. It seemed she had talked about personal things.
Well, Lara hadn't gotten the wrong idea for no reason.
“Seriously... So, what brings you here?”
I asked as I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead with a towel.
“Nothing special. I come to this training ground sometimes too. It’s nice and quiet. I happened to see you here, so I decided to say hello.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
It was believable. Elise had been a training fanatic in Elwi.
And there were only a few indoor training grounds that stayed open until late at night.
There was nothing strange about running into her here by chance.
“Hmm...”
With her hands clasped behind her back, Elise walked toward me with light steps and a cheerful grin.
Then she stopped right in front of me, leaned forward slightly, and tilted her head.
“But you’re pretty good, you know? I didn’t think you’d reach that level of completion. If you support it with mana, it could become really threatening.”
“It’s reassuring to hear that from a master of the Flower Dance Sword.”
“You’re subtly flattering me too. You’ve got some sense, Ron. But unfortunately, there’s one thing you overlooked!”
“Something I overlooked?”
“Can you give me that?”
Elise held out her hand and glanced at my mock sword.
I wiped the sweat off the hilt with my towel and handed her the mock sword.
“The Flower Dance Sword I’ve shown you so far was designed to work with my fairy magic. In other words, it’s exclusive to Elise Lorendia.”
Elise pointed at her own face with an index finger and proudly puffed herself up.
“Ah... I did feel like something about it was inefficient.”
“Right, because it doesn’t suit you. So...”
Shing!
Swish!
Whirl!
An upward diagonal slash to the left, followed by a downward diagonal slash. A thrust aimed behind her, then a turning motion that coiled back into a reverse slash...
Red flower-petal mana scattered through the air with each pass of the blade.
Elise continued through the Flower Dance Sword’s movements after that. The sequence flowed elegantly without a single wasted motion.
‘It’s much simpler than what she usually used against me?’
Elise’s Flower Dance Sword usually had large, dazzling movements.
Since it was a sword style focused on dominating an area, I had not thought much of it...
I never imagined Elise’s swordsmanship was an improved version.
“Like this! Learning the original Flower Dance Sword will help you. You can decide how to use mana and what magic to apply to each form depending on the situation. What do you think? Doesn’t it suit you much better?”
“Oh...!”
“Mhm, that’s a good reaction, Ron Hazely. You make it worthwhile, you know?”
After finishing her demonstration, Elise returned the mock sword to me.
My delight at seeing the Flower Dance Sword was brief. My questions only grew.
“Thanks, but... why are you helping me? It’s not like you have anything to gain from me.”
“What a shame. I was hoping to get something out of you.”
Elise covered her mouth with one hand and smiled playfully.
When I stared at her with half-lidded eyes, she continued.
“Hmm, the reason I’m helping is just... because it looks fun?”
“Wow, that’s really unconvincing...”
“Hehe. The truth is, I’d rather you didn’t get eliminated here.”
“Huh?”
What was that supposed to mean?
Did Elise have any reason to care that much about me?
“Goodbye, Ron Hazely. I hope you make it through. I’ll be cheering for you.”
Elise gave me a sunlit smile and waved before turning her back on me and leaving.
“Hmm...”
...Did she like me?
‘No, that can’t be it.’
What nonsense.
This was Elise, who had firmly turned down the advances of handsome men born into high status.
Besides, nothing had happened that could make Elise interested in me.
‘Then is it just because she finds me interesting?’
Maybe Elise’s interest in me was greater than I had expected.
That was the only answer I could think of.
‘Either way... I doubt she means any harm.’
Then I would simply accept her goodwill with gratitude.
I recalled the feeling of using the Flower Dance Sword while in the Swordmaster state, then began practicing based on the movements Elise had taught me.
My eyes widened. It was incredible.
‘It fits like a glove.’
It felt as though I had put on clothes tailored perfectly for me.
I considered giving Elise something later as thanks.
……
“I will now begin the first-year sparring test!”
Before I knew it, the day of the sparring test had arrived.
Author’s Note
I made it to Plus!
Thank you for reading!
Footnotes:
“...It was summer.” is a Korean online-fiction meme used deadpan to imply an overwhelmingly intense experience.
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