The Weakest Knight Became a Swordmaster, But Only in Dungeons - Chapter 6

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Oblivious

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

Chapter 6: Friend

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[You do not meet the requirements to use the abilities of “Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak.”]

[Requirements]

- “Fourth Tier”

- The realm of “Sword Expert”

‘Of course.’

The next day, in the dormitory.

Just as expected, Ravenous Wolf Sword Kalzak refused to lend its power to my usual self.

Naturally. I didn't have the ability to wield the power of such a fine sword.

If this thing had a will, it would probably be confused right now.

The human who picked it up had clearly been a swordsman at the level of a Swordmaster, but now I'd become a pathetic Sword User.

‘I’ll keep it for now and only use it when I’m in my Swordmaster state.’

An ordinary sword would struggle to withstand the full mana of my Swordmaster state. That was why I had restrained my mana output to a level my sword could endure.

But Kalzak should be able to handle a higher output. I was already looking forward to it.

Promising myself I'd use it later, I put it back into storage.

‘I need to prepare for the next test too.’

The periodic culling at Griffin Knight School was just around the corner again.

‘...I’m training one hundred times harder.’

Maybe it was because I had obtained the Ravenous Wolf Sword. My motivation was burning.

It was like getting rare high-level equipment early in a game, then playing obsessively because I wanted to use it as soon as possible.

So I went to the training grounds and devoted myself to training.

Several hours later.

“Ughhh...”

I had to crawl back to the dormitory.

I'd pushed myself too hard...

* * *

Several days later.

Long deep-purple hair cascaded down in waves. Pink eyes were fixed on a tray.

Violet Blackgarden, a black mage and necromancer, was eating strands of pasta one by one by herself.

It was the first-year student cafeteria at the knight school. Quite a few students were eating their meals.

Yet for some reason, nobody was sitting anywhere near Violet. It was unnatural enough to stand out.

“Over there... that black mage.”

“Ugh, let’s go somewhere else...”

The quiet conversation of passing students flew into Violet’s heart like daggers.

She nearly let out a pained cry.

‘I should’ve just eaten outside...’

Violet was sad.

The pasta tasted good, but bitterness lingered in her mouth.

At the start of the school year, Violet had been optimistic. She believed she would be able to enjoy life at knight school with friends.

Ron, the weakest student. Turak, the barbarian.

Hadn't she worked with them and built a friendship(?)?

That alone should have been a miraculous achievement.

But after that...

“Sob...”

Nothing happened...!

Until now, she had accepted her lonely situation as though it were only natural, so it didn't feel particularly unfamiliar.

But Violet had briefly tasted the sweetness of the possibility of making friends.

The contrast was inevitably devastating.

With a hollow smile, Violet lowered her gaze to the side.

Her pink eyes seemed to have taken on the color of the deep sea, like her sinking emotions.

‘I probably read too much into it. Haha... It’s ridiculous that I thought something as small as that could lead to a good connection... Didn't I just force my way between those two on my own? Yes, that’s it. Besides, who would even like a black mage? That was presumptuous of me. And I’m not even fun to be around. Right, nobody would want to be friends with me. Nobody. There’s no way there could be. Who would want to get close to me?’

This must be my fate too.

She still had not found the mysterious expert who had killed the demon during the train incident.

Nothing was going well.

It was then, as she lamented to herself.

“Oh, hi.”

“!”

At the sudden sound of the voice she wanted to hear, Violet’s head jerked.

She quickly looked up with wide eyes. A male student was sitting across from her, placing his tray on the table.

It was Ron Hazely, Griffin Knight School’s weakest student, with light brown hair.

‘Huh? Why is he...?’

Why was he talking to her?

Violet could not easily close her mouth, which had fallen open without her noticing.

“You’re Violet, right? I’ve heard your name.”

“Ah, yes! Hello... Um, well...”

“I’m Ron Hazely. You helped me during the run last time.”

“Ah, yes. Mr. Hazely... I knew your name too.”

She could not bring herself to say that she had repeated the name Ron Hazely to herself hundreds of times and could never forget it.

“Mind if I sit here?”

“You’re already sitting.”

“I wasn't actually planning to ask permission.”

“Pardon...?”

“Let’s eat together.”

“...!”

There was an easygoing smile on Ron’s face, with neither wariness nor hidden motives behind it.

At that moment, confusion and emotion flooded Violet’s heart.

She barely managed to hold back the corners of her mouth from rising and avoided Ron’s gaze.

“I, um... I don’t mind...”

After that, the two of them chatted normally.

They talked about where they were from, which classes were difficult, and accidents that had happened during training. All sorts of things.

Ron mostly led the conversation, while Violet shyly smiled and responded.

‘This is fun!’

Before meeting Ron, Violet’s mood had been at negative seventy-five percent.

Now, it was at positive two hundred percent!

“Violet, you don’t usually eat at this time, do you?”

“Yes, there are usually too many people around this time...”

Since so many people avoided her, she deliberately aimed for times when there were fewer students.

Either early or late.

“I have something to do later today, so I’m eating now. ...Huh?”

Only then did Violet sense something strange.

Had he been wondering why she did not eat in the student cafeteria at this time?

Then that meant...?

“It would’ve been nice if we’d eaten together sooner.”

Ron casually tossed out the words, as naturally as the wind passing by.

Suddenly, thunder crashed through Violet’s mind.

‘This...! This situation...!’

The corners of Violet’s mouth trembled.

It was clear.

This was undoubtedly the grand beginning of her making a friend too!

Meanwhile, unlike Violet, who was purely delighted, Ron was smiling as he sank into deep thought.

‘It would be good to get close to her. And I want to.’

In Elwi, Violet was a necromancer who commanded a powerful undead army.

She had chosen the path of a magic knight, so she was only an apprentice knight for now. But in terms of strength alone, she was at a level that could give even renowned knight orders trouble.

However, because her role in the original story was small, Ron felt more at ease becoming friends with Violet than with the major characters who had an especially great impact on the original story.

Ron also had a convenient excuse.

During the long-distance run last time, Violet had helped Ron, whether out of suspicion or goodwill.

Moreover, he had taken a liking to Violet’s selfless nature, and he did not want to leave her lonely like she had been in the original story.

“You said you had something to do later, right?”

“Yes...”

“Let’s do this again!”

“Ah, take care, Mr. Hazely...”

Ron gave her a gentle smile with his eyes and left.

Violet blankly watched where Ron had gone, then clasped her trembling hands together and covered her mouth.

‘He said... let’s do this again?’

Violet’s visible eye opened wide, and a sparkling light appeared in it.

As though charged with static electricity, her deep-purple hair seemed to float slightly upward.

‘Did I... make a friend!?’

There had not been a more moving moment since she came to knight school.

* * *

“Starting now, we will begin the Subjugation Test!”

The day of the test.

We had left the knight school grounds and arrived at a mountain range near Mount Holton, where we had dealt with the Gate Dungeon last time.

The students were divided by their starting points and placed in different areas of the mountain.

Originally, Act 3 of Chapter 1 of For Elise was supposed to unfold here, and many students were meant to die.

But because I had already dealt with the root cause, this would be a pure test.

The instructor shouted.

“The top ten students who defeat the most golems within the time limit will receive merit points! There is also one especially powerful golem, and defeating it will earn you additional merit points!”

According to what I had seen in the original story, the golems’ stats should range from D to D+ rank.

And among them was a powerful C- rank golem.

The “powerful golem” the instructor mentioned referred to that C-minus-rank golem. There was no way I could defeat it.

“It is acceptable to kill a target someone else has missed, but if you cooperate to defeat a target, it will not be counted toward any of your individual hunting totals! So act strictly on your own!”

“Yes!!”

“Also, as announced, expulsion is on the line for this test! Any student who cannot defeat even ten golems will be deemed to lack even the minimum qualifications! You will be expelled! Does everyone understand!?”

“Yes!!”

Ten or more of those golems?

The hurdle kept getting higher. Damn this culling.

According to the story, the difficulty would keep increasing from here on out.

After the chaff was sorted out again and again, the remaining kernels would become official magic knights of the Empire.

“If you are deemed unable to continue the test or give up midway, your hunting total will be finalized at that point! Keep that in mind!”

The instructor looked down at his bracelet.

A red light blinked on it. Soon, the light changed to green with a beep.

“Then we will begin! Everyone, move out!!”

Thud thud thud!

The students rushed into the mountain.

‘Wow, they’re fast.’