The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

What would it feel like to have a finger stuck in your head?

I’ve heard that the brain has no pain receptors, so you don’t feel pain, but if it were to burrow in like this, it would probably feel pretty strange.

As I tried to move my finger, a middle-aged man, drenched in cold sweat, let out a scream.

“Th… that’s too much!!!!!”

Was it because he was using the power of a demon, or was it just the fear of something wriggling in his head? The man collapsed with foam at his mouth.

After seeing him faint, I pulled the finger out of his head.

It was lodged in deep enough to reach the second joint, yet strangely, there wasn’t a drop of blood on my finger.

Logically, there should be a hole the size of my finger in his skull, but there wasn’t even a scratch.

‘Does permitting the penetration of the blood channels mean that’s how the settings work?’

Though I scared him, I didn’t actually stimulate the blood channels.

I wanted to confirm whether he was truly a demon or not, but… what would happen if it got revealed that a demon participated in the exchange meeting?

‘… Probably, the exchange would end right here.’

If that happened, I wouldn’t be able to take down Margaret, who was supposed to come out as the captain.

I had come to the exchange purely targeting Margaret, but things got complicated when she became the captain.

If she had taken the lead, I might have been able to take her down by the second round.

Still, I couldn’t just let someone suspected of being a demon walk free.

‘Hmm… Okay, let’s deal with that guy after the exchange is over.’

After all, everything would be finished before he even came to his senses.

————————–

There was no significant change after that.

The fourth contestant, just like the others, was unable to withstand even two rounds and fell.

What had started as a not-so-long exchange was swiftly heading toward its conclusion.

The final participant from Clover Academy approached with steady steps.

Though their gait seemed quite confident, their face did not.

They were trying hard to act otherwise, but it was clear that they were cornered from just a glance.

Clover Academy wasn’t just defeated; it was utterly crushed to the point that they couldn’t even think of it as “We fought well, even though we lost.”

Their captain certainly couldn’t evade responsibility for this.

Margaret stood in front of me and said, “Did it really have to be like this..? I acknowledge that you’re strong. We brought them all here after careful selection, and yet it turned out like this… But did it really have to be this way?”

Her voice was trembling.

“If you’re that strong, you could’ve taken it a bit easier… This is just an exchange meeting…!!!”

“You acted disrespectfully first.”

“Me…? I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“Don’t you remember what happened yesterday?”

Suddenly, Margaret fell silent.

“Ha… was that it… Oh, I think I remember now… You were right beside that girl, weren’t you…?”

Margaret, managing to speak again, chuckled in disbelief.

“What was so great about taking that person’s side? I see, that guy Holy is indeed quite the talent.

What about you? Are you just a pet? Is it that you can’t stand seeing your master humiliated…?”

“… Seems like you really want to die.”

I needed to change my plans a bit.

Having already humiliated her thoroughly, I wanted to end it with a few blows, but since she kept throwing out unpleasant remarks, I would have to give her what she wanted.

“That’s what I want to say…!!!”

Aura blazed around Margaret’s sword.

The vivid aura was on a whole different level compared to the four who had come before; it was clearer than actual flames.

That brilliant Aura Blade was proof that she had reached the Expert rank — she was no ordinary student anymore.

“The plan hasn’t changed much..!! I just have to win against everyone else by myself!”

There was a reason for her confidence.

If it had flowed like an ordinary exchange without me intervening, guaranteeing a complete victory for the Swordsmanship Research Club would have been challenging.

The minimum cut for the Royal Knight Order, which only allows entry for thoroughly proven strong individuals, was the Expert rank.

In the Adventurer’s Guild, just reaching the upper level awarded you the minimum Gold Plate.

If one’s skills were certified there, they could even earn the Platinum Plate, placing them among the recognized strong.

Those at the lower tier of experts could reach their level with diligent training done the right way; they were entirely different from the realm of the Expert rank.

Though Expert-rank Margaret was undoubtedly a very strong swordsman…

Conversely, it meant she was still probably weaker than the veteran Expert Andy.

“Haah!!!!”

Armed with the blazing Aura Blade, Margaret lunged at me.

If she attempted sword grappling, I could win a lot easier, but sadly, my fingers weren’t enhanced with aura.

It was the martial art I learned from the Beastmen, which allowed me to manipulate my body as a weapon, making my soft flesh feel as hard as steel.

In an instant, Margaret’s arm moved, showing a premonition of her attack.

Seeing the aura swelling in her sword, she likely intended to use her aura to attack the entire space, not just a singular target.

This was quite a fierce attack to just wait for and counter.

Now, it was time for me to take the initiative.

As I picked up speed, Margaret was thrown into a panic.

She had definitely lost sight of me.

Until then, she matched her attacks to the speed of mine, but I had never moved this fast before.

As she was about to make a big attack, she quickly turned her head when I had completely vanished from her sight.

And there I was, waiting in front of her.

“Slow.”

-Thunk!

As I jabbed my finger into Margaret’s forearm, the sword she had been tightly gripping fell to the ground.

Realizing it was an intentional blow to make her drop the sword, she glared at me as if she wanted to kill me.

She probably thought she wouldn’t let it go, but it was inevitable.

This time, I targeted her nerves, not just her arm.

Just like how a frog’s legs jerk when stimulated by electric shock, her nerves reacted involuntarily, causing her muscles to move on their own.

“Hey, your sword fell. Do you want to try fighting without it?”

“Ugh…!!”

As Margaret panicingly went for her sword, I kicked it away, sending it flying far off.

Watching the sword fly helplessly, it looked like she wanted to dash after it right away, but knew she’d have to expose her back to me if she did, so she immediately gave up.

It was impressive how quickly she made that decision.

Why did that expert, who judged so well, say something to annoy me like that?

“What are you doing? Pick up your sword.”

“If I turn my back, you’re just going to attack me, right…?!!”

It wasn’t so much that I wanted her to make such a move. I was thinking of letting her hands go limp until she couldn’t move anymore, just as I did with Edgar.

“If you want to fight bare-handed, I don’t mind at all.”

“Don’t think that’s a trick only you can use!”

A blue aura swirled around her hands.

It’s easier to channel aura into the body than into the sword, so being at the expert level, she proficiently coated her hands with aura and took a stance similar to mine.

It was the stance of a dagger fighter.

It seemed she thought forming a faint Aura Blade with her hand would produce the same destructive power as before.

“Do you think that will work?”

…….

“Gah…!!”

As Margaret came in for a close combat, mimicking what I had done, she was destroyed.

She had toppled over numerous times, her body covered in dirt, limping and unable to move her waist properly.

At this point, she had been stabbed in so many places: the left shoulder, thigh, side, solar plexus, collarbone, and back.

Strangely enough, half of the places where she was stabbed had bypassed magic and burrowed in, stimulating her blood channels, causing those areas not to move anymore.

Since I realized when I lodged my finger in the middle-aged man’s head, the buff on the arena only reacted to significant damage; it did not properly function for ambiguous attacks that might or might not cause wounds.

Though it looked like fingers had sunk into her body, they didn’t inflict any real harm.

Not landing a single effective blow while getting hammered continuously, I strategically controlled things to ensure her hologram indicator only glowed orange.

The aura wrapping around Margaret’s hands was losing strength, and it seemed ready to extinguish at any moment.

With one arm and one leg unable to move due to injuries and blood loss on her side, she was in a situation where she should collapse any second. Yet she would not kneel.

Gritting her teeth, she glared fiercely at me.

“Ha… you… you’re toying with me…?”

“If you dislike it, I can lay you down right away.”

Margaret released her stance.

In such a pitiful state, not able to bend her waist properly and limping, she stared blankly at the sky… or rather, at the VIP Room.

Was she looking at the Sword Master?

I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, but she seemed to have that expression as if she had given up something.

“Ha… haha…”

Suddenly, Margaret began to laugh.

Just a moment ago, she had been gritting her teeth and enduring, yet now she was laughing at the VIP Room, as if feeling a sense of defeat.

“No… that’s enough. After all… we’re done here.”

In that moment, Margaret plunged her hand into her bosom.

I tensed, wondering if she was about to bring out a spell, but nothing came out from that position.

Instead, she tightly grasped something hidden within her clothing.

“So let’s all die together.”

“What?”

Margaret’s face still carried a smile.

From her center, a dark magic aura burst forth, filling the arena.

————————————————-

The Sword Master, watching the exchange from the VIP Room, looked quite displeased.

Seeing the students he had brought being beaten so thoroughly, it was understandable why he’d be upset… Considering their skills, it looked like they genuinely intended to win, but disappointing results emerged instead.

‘That student must be the one Linda mentioned I should keep an eye on.’

To defeat swordsmen wielding Aura Blades using just a single finger… The principal couldn’t help but recall Linda from her academy days.

“Um… I’ll step out for a moment.”

As the captain and now the leader were on the brink of losing without even laying a hand on Atlas, the Sword Master nervously clicked the lid of his pocket watch and rose from his seat once more.

“Are you going to the waiting room again…? Wouldn’t it be better just to leave the students alone since it’s just an exchange meeting?”

As soon as the second match ended, the principal noticed the Sword Master quietly slipping into the Clover Academy waiting room.

He probably intended to put some pressure on the students after their repeated losses… Losing miserably on foreign soil could affect morale, so he at least wished to manage that situation.

Having faced the Sword Master on the battlefield during his younger days, the principal could imagine just how much pressure he might be imposing on the students, so he decided to intervene. Nevertheless, it was futile.

“Haha, of course not. Masters are people too, you know. They have bodily needs just like anyone else.”

With an expression that seemed to ask if he would do anything of the sort, the Sword Master put on a friendly smile and stepped out the door.

“Then, please take care of things here, Principal.”

As he left with a smirk, the principal felt a foreboding, sensing something ominous on the horizon.