The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

John Hofston was a loyal knight serving the Titan.

His father had also sacrificed himself for the Titan, and so had his father before him, continuing the lineage of loyal knights dedicated to the Titan.

The Titan family was worth serving even if it meant burning one’s life away.

If one were to be a servant, it made sense to serve at a noble house, and being a knight of the Titan was exactly that.

To find a better condition to be a knight than here, one would have to go to the royal family.

John proudly held his family in high regard.

The Cronos Titan he served was indeed a giant in many ways.

Aside from the Master, there were only a handful of people in the empire who could rival him in extraordinary military might, charisma as a ruler, and the ability to manage his territory prosperously—he was a ruler without equal.

However, such a Titan had recently fallen on hard times.

The root cause was none other than the sudden death of the family’s pillar.

As an unprepared heir took over, the Titan began to descend into chaos.

Though he was trying his best, many issues that had been suppressed under the overwhelming charisma and capability of the former head, Cronos Titan, began to emerge like a flood once the weight was lifted, and the new lord, Metios, was struggling to manage them.

‘The lady isn’t incompetent, but fundamentally lacks something.’

In John’s evaluation, Metios had nothing to be ashamed of when it came to operational skills compared to the former head.

John thought of someone who was no longer in the Titan.

‘If only the young lord were here…’

The firstborn of the Titan, Atlas Titan, who had dashed out to become a knight, the one who should have been the head of the family.

From the very beginning, it was the youngest son Atlas who was set to become the head, so he had undergone harsh training as the next head and had become a monster who easily excelled at it.

Though he was born with a significant flaw as the heir of the Titan, aside from that, he was undoubtedly the most fitting person for the Titan.

That single flaw was indeed a major drawback for the previous head.

“Did you think the position of the Titan’s head was such an easy one?”

Thus, he was so elated at the mere fact that he had entered his office, but he forced himself to contain it.

He felt a killing intent so sharp it was almost electrifying when he lightly provoked him.

‘Yes, this is it.’

What was lacking in the current head, Metios, was this intimidating presence.

A ruler is someone who ultimately reigns over others.

This overwhelming pressure and strength that prevents subordinates from even daring to challenge—this was lacking in Metios.

‘I should provoke him a bit more. I’m curious how much he’s grown since then.’

Deep down, John had a hope that Atlas would inherit the Titan’s position as he wished.

“If a dog dares to bite its master, there’s no choice but to beat it down.”

The killing intent emanating from Atlas came to a sudden halt.

With the experience he had built up over the years, John realized that this was the calm before the storm.

‘This is dangerous?!’

He promptly pulled the sword leaning against his desk.

–Ka-gak!!!

As soon as he drew the sword, Atlas’s sword charged right at him, clashing and sending golden sparks flying.

Perfect timing, Atlas had leapt up to attack John’s upper body behind the desk, so if he used this opportunity, he could blow him away and set up a counterattack.

“Ugh?!”

But, the sword didn’t budge.

Instead, John’s arm was pushed back as he took Atlas’s blow.

The power coming from that small frame was not something he could comprehend.

Trying desperately to hold his ground, John found his feet leaving the ground.

–Wajangchang!!

Then, he crashed through the window behind him and fell out of the building.

“Ugh… guhh!!!”

If John fell on his back like this, the force from the drop would add to the impact, driving Atlas’s sword deep into his neck.

He had to avoid that at all costs, so John managed to shake off Atlas in midair and landed on the ground.

“See…!! Young master, you’ve reached the pinnacle at your age!”

It was a staggering strike.

He thought, had he misjudged even a little, his head could’ve been severed right then.

Likewise, as John was now on the pinnacle, cold sweat was rolling down his back.

“Alright. I will test how far you’ve grown, young master!”

Auras began to blaze around his sword.

Atlas became more interesting to him.

Aside from the minor issue of being short, he could see Cronos in his figure.

He would definitely get beaten senseless if he said that to him, though.

He wanted to see just how far the small successor left by the former master had come.

Though he had over fifty years of experience swinging swords, it was also what allowed him to see certain things.

He was convinced that Atlas seemed to be at a much higher level than he was.

The expert pinnacle was a level without limits.

Though a higher rank called the Master existed above it, there was a wall… no, an endless cliff between expert and master, meaning being strong does not automatically make one a master.

There were undoubtedly individuals stuck at the expert pinnacle, unable to grasp the master’s enlightenment while continually growing stronger.

Just because one had reached the pinnacle did not mean they were all on the same level.

Thinking of the earlier strike, there was no need to hold back; he raised all his power to clash against Atlas.

“Testing, you see.”

However, in contrast, Atlas remained eerily calm.

He simply raised his sword with a chilling gaze.

And then he struck down.

“You’d have to be on a higher level than me for that to work, wouldn’t you?”

Immediately, John’s Aura Blade crumbled and slammed into the ground.

–Kugugung!!!

“Ugh… ugh…!!!”

It wasn’t just the Aura Blade that was crushed.

His entire body was being pressed down into the ground by some invisible force.

It wasn’t like he was caught off guard. He had gathered all his strength, and yet it had been smashed straight through.

He felt nearly every bone in his body about to break under the pressure as if a giant was trampling down on him, but amidst that, John felt a sense of euphoria.

‘If only… Cronos had seen this scene…!!!’

This technique… was undoubtedly the ‘Greatsword’ that Atlas had been unable to use properly due to his small stature in childhood.

A vision swordsmanship of the family that only a select few could employ, symbolizing the head of the Titan.

With a single strike, John had no choice but to submit to Atlas.

The rightful successor of the giant had appeared.

Ultimately, height was needed to effectively wield the Titan’s vision swordsmanship, the Great Mountain Sword, but even if Atlas was on the shorter side, if he could wield it better than anyone else, that was no flaw.

“Ugh…!”

Even feeling like he could lose consciousness from the pain, John somehow rose and knelt.

Falling before the new giant of the Blade Mountain was out of the question.

“I greet the master of the Mountain Range.”

“Stop with the nonsense and get up; I haven’t even finished yet.”

Atlas swung his sword with one hand this time.

Though it seemed like a light motion, a storm surged along the blade, crashing John’s body into the wall.

“Cough…! Young master…!”

As soon as John’s body fell from the wall, he knelt and bowed his head.

“I’ve been waiting for your arrival this entire time…”

“Who are you bowing your head to? The head of the Titan is now Metios.”

“That person cannot bear the weight of this perilous Blade Mountain. If you truly care for the lady, why can’t you understand that you must take over…!”

Before his words could finish, Atlas struck his sword down again, sending John, who was gasping for air, crashing to the ground.

“Cough?!!”

“Does Metios disappoint you? Then you should lend him your support to lessen the load; if not, why are you even here? Trying to enjoy power under your master’s authority?”

“You know very well that the position was left for you by the lord! In the end, you didn’t return, and it went to the lady… If you came back, the rightful owner would obviously be you!!”

“I was the one who gave up that position!! The rightful one is Metios. Judging that there is no better fit than my younger sibling, I passed it to him! And who are you to judge Metios’s qualifications!”

Outside, things began to get noisy.

With the shattering of windows and the sound of shouting, it seemed all the warriors of the Knight Order were rushing over.

“C-Commander?!”

“What’s going on here!!”

The heavily armored knights rushed in, drawing their swords and surrounding the area.

“Everyone… put your swords away…!! It’s not what it looks like!!”

John panicked as he faced the knight who brandished his weapon.

“Look, besides you, most don’t even recognize my face; what qualifications do I have to be eyeing this place?”

John couldn’t say anything.

——————–

John’s loyalty towards the Titan was genuine.

But the Titan he was loyal to also meant the Giant.

All this time, the reason he had been acting arrogantly was that he had been looking for a true successor with the kind of strength to suppress him.

Thus, he had tried to be crushed beneath the Great Mountain Sword, compelled to yield.

The retainers, those fellas, had clearly been getting a kick out of testing the true successor, so he had no choice but to endure more punishment.

“As long as I’ve decided to pass on the position, Metios’s will is my will. If you wish to pledge loyalty to me, then first submit to Metios.”

“…Yes. I will obey the orders…”

With his bones likely cracked or broken, John managed to rise and kneel again, taking the pose of respect.

Next, he intended to kneel before Metios.

And it had to be done in front of everyone.

First, he picked up the sword he could urgently use.

But this alone wouldn’t be enough.

“John Hofston, I have a question to ask.”

“What is it? I will answer anything.”

“Where is the headquarters of the Intelligence Division currently located?”

At the mention of the Intelligence Division, John’s words momentarily halted.

“…Are you planning to take care of the Intelligence Division today?”

“There’s nothing I can’t do.”

John pondered for a moment before finally speaking.

“I will inform you.”

Once he took care of the Intelligence Division, he’d have all the swords he desperately needed.

‘I had intended to take some time off during the holidays…’

He had originally meant to drop by and see his younger sibling, but things were getting more and more complicated.