WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Oblivious
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Weakest Knight Became a Swordmaster, But Only in Dungeons ◈
Chapter 19: Sparring (2)
──────
“Theodore lost...?”
“Ron Hazely definitely used Wing Unfurling, right...? And Elise’s Flower Dance Sword too...”
“Isn’t he the first first-year to use Wing Unfurling?”
The cadets whispered among themselves as they stared at the sparring arena in confusion, then began to applaud.
Clap clap clap!
Ron Hazely, the last-place cadet, had defeated Theodore Garniel, a mid-ranking cadet.
Despite lagging behind in martial prowess, magic, and everything else.
It was an utterly unbelievable result.
‘That kid...’
Instructor Logan smiled as he watched Ron.
He had not expected Ron to actually win. He truly was an unpredictable cadet.
Ron approached Theodore, who was still too stunned to get up, and looked down at him.
When Theodore barely lifted his head, Ron’s face was... filled with open mockery.
Theodore ground his teeth and growled.
“Are you mocking me right now...?”
“How could I not? It’s this funny.”
“...If we fought again, I’d win. No... You’ll never beat me again.”
“So what? You already lost.”
“What...?”
“You suck.”
Theodore took a direct hit from Ron’s blatant teabagging and fell into no small amount of shock.
It was true that Ron would have no chance of winning if they sparred again.
But as Ron said, what could Theodore do? Official sparring matches only happened once. The result had already been decided.
Theodore knew it too. He knew his desperate words were nothing more than childish self-justification.
In the end, all he could do was tremble and bite his lip. His heart wept tears of blood.
“Well then. Make sure you get treated.”
“Cadet Number 17, you need treatment too.”
“Ah.”
Ron’s injuries were not serious, so a healer immediately treated him with healing magic.
Theodore, whose bones had been broken, was carried to the infirmary. Ron bid him farewell and left.
[Achievement “Victor of the Sparring Match” achieved!]
[Requirement: Win the first sparring test of the first semester of Griffin Knight School’s first year.]
[Reward: You have gained Physical EXP.]
[Your stats have increased.]
[Physical Grade: “D” → “D+”]
‘Ah, sweet.’
Ron checked the notification window that had appeared when the spar ended. A satisfied smile formed on his lips.
Since Theodore had been his opponent, Ron had figured he could somehow overcome at least one sparring match. Thankfully, the strategy he had planned beforehand had worked.
Theodore had been thoroughly on guard against Ron, yet ironically, he had also underestimated him. Ron had exploited that opening.
‘If Theodore hadn’t underestimated me, or if his mana had been stronger, I would’ve had no answer.’
Well, either way.
‘I won, didn’t I?’
Ron walked lightly toward the winners’ seating area.
Meanwhile, the Magic Knight observers stood frozen in shock.
“What in the world...?”
Cloel, commander of the Red Wing Knight Order, trembled slightly before narrowing his eyes.
It was shocking enough that his son had lost to the last-place cadet, but Ron’s swordsmanship also felt completely out of place.
‘Wasn’t he supposed to be a bottom-tier cadet?’
Ron lacked physical ability and mana, but every one of his sword movements was astonishing.
His judgment, attention to detail, and the way he handled mana for each sword technique.
‘It may be too soon to judge from a single spar...’
If Cloel’s guess was correct, it would not be an exaggeration to say Ron possessed considerable martial talent. More than Theodore, at least.
That was why the Red Wing Commander could not easily accept what he had witnessed.
“Instructor Rachel.”
A white fox beastkin woman, Lucia, commander of the White Wing Knight Order, suddenly spoke.
“Yes, White Wing Commander.”
“Was that cadet called Ron Hazely?”
“...Yes.”
Everyone turned toward her in surprise when the White Wing Commander showed interest in a cadet for the first time.
Until now, she had shown no interest in either official Magic Knights or even Griffin Knight School’s most outstanding cadets.
She had only attended this sparring test to observe the unusual case of a fairy’s contractor.
For the observers, it was highly unusual for her to show interest in a single cadet, especially a bottom-tier cadet.
“Ron Hazely...”
The White Wing Commander softly repeated Ron’s name in a meaningful tone, a faint smile on her lips.
Behind her gently opened eyes were faded gray irises.
“That cadet is interesting.”
* * *
“Mr. Hazely...!”
“Thanks to you, I won, Violet! Thank you!”
“M-Me...? How could you possibly say that...?”
At the winners’ seating area, I beamed and held both hands out to Violet.
She looked greatly flustered, but raised both hands as well, so we high-fived with both hands.
“Ah...”
Violet looked down at her hands, her face turning red as she smiled contentedly.
“Hehe...”
“Hey, Turak. I joined the winners’ club too!”
“Hm. Welcome, comrade. That was truly a sparring match worthy of a warrior.”
Turak nodded in satisfaction.
I had no idea what Turak’s standard for being warrior-like was, but he said things like that whenever I showed even a little bravery.
I decided it probably meant something good and let it go.
The seats around Violet were empty. It was obvious that the other cadets had deliberately left space around her.
Nice and comfortable. I sat beside Violet.
The nearby cadets glanced at me with puzzled expressions, but since none of them spoke to me, I ignored them.
“You look very happy, Mr. Hazely...”
“I’d been waiting to stomp that bastard. Man, that feels satisfying.”
Theodore was not the only one who had been itching to beat me up.
And because I had a chance of winning, I had been able to fight without being terrified.
I felt like I could happily brag about this sparring match for around three days.
The sparring continued. Then...
“Next! Elise Lorendia and Lara Twislope! Step forward!”
The atmosphere in the arena changed completely.
Even the cadets who had grown bored by the consecutive matches focused on the sparring arena.
Elise, the top first-year cadet and a fairy’s contractor.
Lara, the second-ranked first-year and the young lady of a prestigious swordsmanship house, a Fish Sword wielder.
It was truly the highlight of this sparring test.
‘This should be fun.’
Seeing their battle in real life instead of through the game naturally filled me with anticipation.
“Begin!”
Whoooosh!
A raging storm of flower petals.
Within it, Elise launched sword strikes while Lara skillfully controlled her Fish Swords to fight back.
A fierce exchange unfolded. Every cadet stared with their mouths open.
So did I.
‘Holy shit. What is this level...?’
I thought I’d fought pretty well, though?
My spar with Theodore was starting to feel like child’s play.
Damn it. My resolve to brag about the match for three days slowly shrank away along with my confidence.
Magic and sword strikes flew chaotically enough to fill the entire wide arena, while savage booms and the sounds of air being sliced echoed without pause.
‘I can’t see.’
It was difficult to follow their movements with my eyes.
Then, Lara used her Fish Swords as bait, rushing Elise and swinging her sword.
‘Huh...?’
The flow of battle and Elise’s preparatory movement felt familiar.
Could it be?
Elise’s sword soon drew a crimson streak of light.
Screeeech!
Clang!
Lara’s sword scraped along Elise’s blade as though it had been pulled in, then bounced away.
At the same time, the mana imbued in Lara’s sword scattered everywhere. Her eyes widened.
‘Wing Unfurling!’
That was definitely Wing Unfurling, one of the forms of the Lightwing Sword.
But the mana used in it was far greater than what I normally used. It was much stronger than my Wing Unfurling.
The cadets were impressed.
I was flustered.
‘There’s no way Elise can already use Wing Unfurling...?’
Originally, Elise only succeeded at Lightwing Sword’s Wing Unfurling during the second semester of her first year in For Elise.
There had never been an exception across the first, second, or third playthroughs.
So how had she already mastered that technique? Her growth was progressing far faster than expected.
Whoosh!
Elise’s sword stopped before Lara’s throat.
Lara sighed, squeezed her eyes shut, and raised both hands.
“Ugh, I surrender...”
“Lara Twislope surrenders! Elise Lorendia wins!”
When Instructor Logan announced the result, the cadets cheered.
Perhaps it was only fitting for the knight school’s popular star, but the cheers pouring toward her were enough to fill the entire arena.
The spar had been spectacular too. It was a treat for the eyes.
“Hm?”
Amid the cheers and applause, Elise’s gaze somehow turned toward the winners’ seating area.
Toward me.
Then Elise...
“Hehe.”
She narrowed her eyes playfully, smiled, and held up a V sign beside her cheek.
She even looked delighted, as though she were basking in accomplishment.
‘That expression...’
I knew it.
It was the expression and gesture Elise made when she was showing off.
“Ooooooh!”
“My heart!”
“She’s so pretty...”
The cadets in front of me were freaking out. What was this, an idol concert?
Meanwhile, the cadets around me seemed to realize who Elise had been looking at and turned toward me all at once.
Shock, surprise, jealousy, envy.
Expressions filled with all sorts of emotions entered my view.
‘What are you looking at?’
I wanted to snap at them, but every cadet here was stronger than me, so I wisely decided to keep my head down.
More importantly.
‘Now I get it...’
I understood the meaning behind that cute expression and gesture directed at me.
‘Did she master Wing Unfurling this early because of me?’
It was hard to call that excessive self-awareness.
The reason Elise had wanted to train with me as a two-person team was because I had been the first first-year cadet to succeed with Lightwing Sword’s Wing Unfurling.
She had trained with me, gradually getting the feel for the Lightwing Sword, and watched me use Wing Unfurling during the Subjugation Test and this sparring match.
It seemed she had finally learned Wing Unfurling ahead of schedule.
Without meaning to, I had helped Elise grow.
‘If that counts as a gain, then it’s a gain.’
I gave her a thumbs-up.
Good job, Elise. You deserve praise.
...Now keep growing strong and save my ass.
“...”
Elise lowered her hand and widened her eyes slightly as though my reaction had been unexpected. Then she soon grinned.
Nice. That was heartwarming.
But...
‘Why is she glaring at me?’
Lara looked meaningfully at Elise, then started glaring at me as though I were some kind of pervert.
Was she still misunderstanding that I lusted after her legs? It wasn’t like I could explain this either...
Fine. She could misunderstand all she wanted.
“Grr...”
“?”
For some reason, Violet was beside me with her eyes half-open, warily watching Elise.
Like a cat baring its teeth to protect its prey.
‘What’s with her now?’
It didn’t seem like she was trying to keep another woman away because she liked me.
I couldn’t easily figure out what she was thinking.
...
“With this, the first sparring test of the first semester of the first year is concluded!”
“Yes!!”
“Those who lost in the first sparring round will be reorganized into new groups and spar again! Understood!?”
“Yes!!”
The second sparring round for the losers was part of a side-story event rather than the main story.
And a minor one at that.
In other words, Chapter 1, Act 6 of Elwi had effectively come to an end.
“Rest is also part of training! Go back and get plenty of rest! All cadets, dis...!”
Just as Instructor Logan was about to call for dismissal.
Click, click.
Footsteps sounded behind him, and an oppressive presence settled over the area.
“...!”
Instructor Logan turned around with a tense expression. The cadets looked in the same direction.
A white fox beastkin woman dressed in a white knight uniform approached, accompanied by two knights.
“Attention, everyone!!”
Instructor Logan shouted sharply.
“Salute the commander of the White Wing Knight Order!”
Snap!
Everyone followed Instructor Logan in giving a hand salute.
‘The White Wing Commander?’
That white fox beastkin, as white as snow on a winter day...
Was that Lucia, commander of the White Wing Knight Order?
The pinnacle of the Imperial Five Wings. There was no need to say more. She was a major figure.
Seeing her in such lifelike detail, she radiated an almost mystical aura.
The White Wing Commander had her eyes gently closed. It was because she was blind.
With a faint smile, she lightly returned the salute alongside her knights, but did not stop walking.
‘What is this?’
The White Wing Commander was not supposed to appear this early.
Had she simply come to see Elise? Had the story been twisted because Elise had already used Lightwing Sword’s Wing Unfurling?
As all kinds of questions and guesses tangled in my mind.
Click, click.
The White Wing Commander passed Elise.
‘No way...?’
In the tense silence, the Magic Knights, instructors, and cadets all focused their attention on her.
The White Wing Commander’s footsteps...
...stopped in front of me.
“Hello, Cadet Ron Hazely.”
The White Wing Commander greeted me warmly, her face turned in my direction.
Then she asked.
“Would you like to become my personal squire?”
“...Pardon?”
Without thinking... a stupid question slipped from my mouth.
Author’s Note
Thank you for your support, (private)!!!
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
