The Weakest Knight Became a Swordmaster, But Only in Dungeons - Chapter 35

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

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

Chapter 35: Mana Measurement

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The sky embraced dusk.

A female cadet with pale blue hair tied in low twin-tails beneath a beret.

Lara Twislope glanced sideways at her close friend walking beside her, the magenta-haired Elise Lorendia.

‘That was a joke?’

Lara had been unable to shake her confusion for some time.

Letting a guy smell the back of her neck at the Seventh Training Ground, which was deserted enough that people were discussing shutting it down, was just a joke?

Lara could not accept Elise’s explanation at all.

‘She’s never played a joke like that on any other guy.’

Ron was the only person Elise had ever tried so hard to get cozy with.

Come to think of it, even during the personal squire experience at the Torgon Branch of the Red Wing Knight Order.

Whenever she had the chance, all she talked about was Ron, Ron, Ron.

‘She definitely seems to have feelings for Ron. At the very least, something’s begun to grow.’

Lara squeezed her eyes shut and agonized over it.

‘If it’s Elise’s first love, I should support her, but... he’s a pervert.’

Whenever she thought of Ron, she immediately imagined his lecherous face saying, “Hehehe, Lara’s bare legs... lick~” It sent shivers down her spine.

He had never actually done that, of course.

Still, could a guy who had looked at Lara’s legs so suggestively several times really not lust after someone as beautiful as Elise?

‘No way.’

That was why he had gone along with Elise’s ridiculous joke.

‘You like any woman’s bare skin, don’t you? You pervert, Ron Hazely...!’

She felt annoyed all over again.

‘Still, he’s the guy Elise likes, so I should think well of him and defend him... Ugh, how am I supposed to like someone like that...?’

“Hey, Lara?”

“Mm!?”

When Elise spoke to her curiously, Lara jolted and snapped out of her thoughts.

Like a leopardess spotting her prey, Elise gave her a meaningful smile.

“What are you thinking so hard about?”

“My future and the future of the Empire...?”

“You were thinking about me and Ron, weren’t you?”

“No, not at all!?”

“I was joking~ Oh, your face turned red. Is there something embarrassing about your future and the Empire’s future?”

“Urgh...”

Elise smiled sweetly.

Lara was reminded that she needed to be careful even with her thoughts around Elise.

……

The women’s dormitory.

Violet Blackgarden stood before a mirror, quietly staring at her reflection.

“First, the soundproofing spell...”

Whoosh.

Even though she was alone in her room, Violet cast a soundproofing spell around herself.

“Ahem...”

After clearing her throat and taking a breath, Violet covered the half of her face where her eye showed with one hand.

Then she smoothly moved her hand aside. Violet’s pink eye sparkled like a star.

A dramatic, confident smile spread across her face.

“Bow your heads, you wicked Demonkin! Violet, the peace-loving Undead Knight, has joined the battle!”

Point!

Violet puffed out her chest, pointed at the mirror, and delivered the cheerful line in a cool pose.

“Ahhh...!”

A moment later, cringe and a thrilling rush ran down Violet’s spine.

[What are you doing, Master?]

“Eek!!”

At the feminine voice, Violet jumped as though she had seen a ghost.

She immediately whipped her head toward the owner of the voice.

Inside the soundproofing spell, Scally, the skeletal puppy undead servant wrapped in pink mana, poked only its skull out from beneath the bed and stared at Violet.

“What? Since when...!? W-Weren’t you sent back!?”

[Didn’t you summon me yesterday, talk for a while, then fall asleep?]

“Oh, right... Ahhh...”

An overwhelming wave of shame rushed over her, turning Violet’s face bright red.

A thin groan slipped through her trembling lips.

“Um, about what you just saw...”

Violet fidgeted with her fingertips pressed together. Her voice shook with embarrassment.

[My master loves peace.]

“Ahhh! N-No, that’s not it...! I was just getting into the mood a little...! Don’t get the wrong idea...!”

Violet hurriedly denied it, waving both hands so fast they left afterimages.

[I know how you feel. Learning the secret of the world, carrying out a secret mission with Ron Hazely, and truly accomplishing something huge must have made you start to feel excited. Like you’ve become a hero in a fairy tale or an epic, or the protagonist of a novel.]

Scally continued calmly.

[And when it was all over, you even clung close to Ron Hazely on the way back and enjoyed his warmth and touch... It was a perfect story.]

“Stop, please stop... I feel like I’m going to die of embarrassment...”

Violet covered her face with both hands, shaking her head as she pleaded miserably.

As Violet’s undead servant, Scally could feel her master’s emotions. The other undead servants were probably the same.

That was why Violet could not easily deny it.

[Anyway, it was definitely a righteous cause. You helped Ron Hazely, and together, you stopped an incident that could have resulted in tremendous casualties. If that isn’t heroic, what is?]

“A hero...”

Violet lowered her hands as she looked down.

“I don’t know about anything that grand... What I did just now was only because I got carried away for a moment, too. But I realized something this time.”

[What?]

“The people after me are a problem, but the enemies Mr. Hazely has to fight are far stronger than I expected. Mr. Hazely was fighting such dangerous battles to protect people.”

Determination filled Violet’s pink eyes.

“Outside a Dungeon... I want to become someone Mr. Hazely can rely on. So I want to look for different ways to help him from now on. And while I’m at it, I thought it would be nice if I could protect people too.”

She did not need a grand title like hero.

She simply wanted to help Ron Hazely and protect him.

[Hmm...]

Scally watched Violet’s serious expression, then stated decisively.

[Love.]

“W-Wahahaha...! Wahahaha! Wow, that was funny...! That was a really funny joke, Scally...!”

Violet laughed unnaturally, her face bright red.

* * *

“There is an aspect of this final exam that will be decided based on Mana Capacity. Since some time has passed since the semester began, we will measure your Mana Capacity again to reflect your current level of growth.”

The entire personal squire experience period had ended.

Griffin Knight School, Mana Measurement Room.

The first-year cadets, including me, stood in orderly lines as an instructor with a calm expression addressed us.

‘The end of the first semester... It’s already right around the corner.’

Chapter 1, Act 8 of For Elise, the final exam, was about to begin.

I would have to achieve something there, earn an achievement, and gain physical experience points.

Measuring Mana Capacity again before the exam was closely related to what the final exam involved.

“We will measure Mana Capacity in order of academic rank. Elise Lorendia, come forward.”

“Yes~”

Elise, our protagonist and the class idol, walked toward the mana measurement device, her magenta hair swaying behind her.

The cadets watched Elise with admiring eyes and flushed cheeks. It was a sight I had grown used to by now.

Elise placed her hand on the mana measurement device and poured mana into it.

Everyone had already used the device twice, once during the entrance exam and once shortly after admission, so there should not have been a cadet who did not know how to use it.

Whoosh.

Fwoosh!

The indicator on the mana measurement device glowed with a vivid blue light. It was responding to Elise’s mana.

“Wow...”

“What? Did she get stronger already...?”

“Could that light always shine so brilliantly...?”

The cadets murmured in admiration.

Mana measurement sessions usually had a relaxed atmosphere, so the instructor tended to allow quiet chatter.

Soon, the instructor wrote something in a folder and spoke calmly.

“Elise Lorendia, B.”

The cadets were stunned.

“Oh my gosh...”

“No way...”

“Wasn’t she B- at the beginning of the semester? She already went up?”

“They could just send her to a knight order as she is.”

“Wow, she’s amazing, just like you’d expect.”

Assuming someone had above-average talent, their mana usually grew quickly until D+.

I had achieved the special achievement, A Step Toward the Ultimate, and had risen especially quickly thanks to achievement rewards.

However, it became drastically more difficult from C- onward.

Not only were there enormous gaps between C-, C, and C+, but there were also major differences in ability even within the same grade.

The gaps became much greater in the B grades, and there was no need to mention the A grades.

‘After all, reaching Physical Grade A and Mana Grade A is the minimum requirement to reach the Swordmaster’s Realm.’

Anyway, Elise’s B grade was far beyond a cadet’s level in terms of mana alone.

After finishing her measurement, Elise returned to the cadets. She glanced in my direction.

For some reason, Elise wore a smug smile and subtly formed a V sign with her index and middle fingers toward me.

‘Why don’t you give that look to your competitors?’

It was not like I was her rival. Why was she showing off to me?

‘Still, we’re fairly close...’

I gave her a thumbs-up.

“Pfft.”

Elise let out a small laugh.

‘Well, I’m glad she’s doing so well, like a protagonist should.’

She would keep growing stronger. She would reach the Swordmaster’s Realm too.

Keep growing and protect me, all right...?

“Next, Lara Twislope. B-.”

“Another B grade...”

“I’m suddenly starting to question my life.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

The cadets chattered.

As expected of a genius main character, Lara also had a high Mana Capacity.

“Violet Blackgarden, B-.”

“As expected of a necromancer.”

“She has so much mana...”

“Scary...”

Perhaps because they were afraid of Violet, no one openly spoke badly of her.

“Henry Twislope, C.”

“Turak, C.”

“Theodore Garniel, C-.”

The measurements continued until it was finally time for the last person.

“Ron Hazely, come forward.”

As the lowest-ranked cadet, I was last.

I might have performed well during the Sparring Test, but all my previous test scores had been terrible...

Besides, everyone worse than me had either dropped out or been expelled. There was no way I wasn’t still last.

As I walked forward, the cadets’ gazes gathered on me.

“Ron Hazely will be in the D grades, right?”

“Thinking about his spar with Theodore last time, probably...?”

“He used to be at the very bottom of E grade.”

“It’s impressive that someone who was at the bottom of E grade at the start of the semester has survived this long...”

“He must have had some genius potential. He even used Wing Unfurling before. I’m rooting for Ron. Surviving this long at D grade is impressive.”

“He’s still just some lowly D grade... He’ll hit his limit eventually.”

The cadets’ quiet whispers reached my ears.

I barely stopped the corners of my mouth and my shoulders from rising.

They still thought my Mana Capacity was in the D grades? That weak version of me was already dead.

“Place your hand on it.”

“Yes.”

Whoosh.

I placed my hand on the mana measurement device and poured mana into it.

The indicator began to shine brightly.

“Huh?”

“What...?”

Confused voices and exclamations came from behind me.

The instructor’s eyes widened briefly before they spoke.

“Ron Hazely... C-.”

Ah... So it had finally been revealed.

My exceptional Mana Capacity...

Soon, the cadets began whispering.

“C-?”

“Really?”

“In one semester?”

“How...?”

“Didn’t he use some trick to manipulate it again? It’s Ron Hazely.”

“Could he even do that?”

“Was Ron Hazely really a genius...?”

Their intense reaction was completely different from when the cadets with C-grade Mana Capacities had received their results.

It was only natural. The weakest cadet with E-grade Mana Capacity had risen to C- in a single semester.

Anyone would be surprised by such unprecedented growth.

Excitement naturally rose within me.

‘Stand in awe.’

From now on, I was no longer Griffin Knight School’s weakest student. I was Ron Hazely, bottom-tier for real.

‘...Huh? Wait.’

Was that wording a little pathetic...?

Whatever. I decided not to think too deeply about it.

When I turned my head, I suddenly met Theodore’s eyes. The reddish-brown haired cadet was staring at me with a surprised expression.

‘Oh, we’re both C-, aren’t we?’

How nice. Today, I felt an especially strong sense of kinship with him.

Did people of the same C- grade understand each other?

‘Well, enough getting carried away.’

Even if we were both C-, there was an unignorable difference between a beginner like me and a seasoned cadet like Theodore. I should respect what deserves respect.

That was enough showing off.

Meanwhile,

Violet watched me with a friendly smile, Elise with a bright smile, Lara with a startled expression, and Turak with a blank expression.

“Ron Hazely, return to your place.”

“Yes.”

I returned to my spot under the cadets’ admiring and astonished gazes.

……

“We will now begin the final exam!”

Chapter 1, Act 8 of For Elise.

The final exam arc had begun.

Author’s Note

The illustration announcement has been updated!