The Academy’s Ankle Reaper

Since Adolf Roang became a Master, this is the first time he’s taken such a beating since facing the Empire’s rookie Master 20 years ago.

It’s true I was caught off guard.

Once I reached the level of Master, the opponents that appeared before me were always weaker.

Though it’s a boring world where everyone looks weak, it wasn’t entirely bad.

Being the strongest meant reigning over everyone else.

Even now, the Sword Master felt nothing from Atlas standing before him.

He looked a bit feisty, but that was about it.

Wielding a rare sword made of adamantium, Atlas appeared without a trace and was able to parry his blade; but still, that was about it.

I couldn’t perceive anything beyond that.

Looking back now, it felt similar when I faced the “Imperial First Sword” on the battlefield.

Despite being beaten like that, the Sword Master refused to acknowledge it.

The small Academy student in front of him might be his equal… or even superior.

He didn’t want to consider it.

The fact that the brats could reach a level he only attained after crossing sixty… And that he could no longer even sense a Master’s presence.

He couldn’t accept that what was once so easy for him was now failing.

The Sword Master gritted his teeth and raised his sword once more.

He was a Sword Master. There’s no way that brat could be stronger than him.

“I admit it—I was careless… But that won’t happen again. I’ll show you the gap between us.”

“After being hit like that, you still want to fight without Aura Blade? Works for me.”

The Sword Master’s anger rose at Atlas’s nonchalant demeanor.

Even with a Master in front of him, Atlas acted like it was nothing.

Killing intent that would scare an Expert was emanating, yet he couldn’t even land a hit.

The Sword Master charged forward with his sword again.

He still didn’t understand Atlas’s bizarre movements, but standing still wouldn’t change anything.

The Sword Master’s strength activated normally.

An invisible force pressed down on Atlas.

Atlas looked relaxed, but it had to be just bravado.

He judged Atlas to be in a state where moving was difficult and charged forward.

Atlas finally drew his sword as the Sword Master approached.

To think he wasn’t just standing there but could move at all; the Sword Master thought he had to be at least an upper-grade Expert.

Then immediately after, Atlas disappeared right in front of him, and the force binding him was released.

“Whoa?!”

Atlas, who he thought had vanished, reappeared right in front of the Sword Master.

He barely dodged a fierce thrust from Atlas’s long sword, dark as ink.

From there, Atlas’s relentless assault began again.

A clash of attacks that even Experts would struggle to perceive exchanged rapidly.

As they both aimed for openings to slash and thrust at incredible speed, the Sword Master found himself genuinely troubled by the unexpected strikes from Atlas.

Just then, as their cross guards locked, the Sword Master challenged Atlas to a strength contest.

In a strength contest, since Atlas was shorter in height, he would always be at a disadvantage.

If he were facing someone several ranks below him, that would be one thing, but he had no intention of being cocky against a Master.

As Atlas was challenged to the contest, he “stepped into the empty air.”

The Sword Master couldn’t believe the scene before him.

Atlas had risen and was floating in midair.

It felt different from levitation magic.

‘Wha… what is this?!’

There could be plenty of magic that produces similar results.

But magic always leaves traces of mana behind.

There was none to be felt from Atlas’s act of stepping into midair.

And Adolf, the Master himself, understood what that meant.

“It can’t be!! What trickery is this?!”

The Sword Master tried to activate his power again to crush Atlas floating above him.

The adornments of his sword, now touching Atlas’s, began to glow.

Seeing the glowing adornments, Atlas clicked his tongue.

“How pathetic…!”

Once again, the Sword Master’s released power split the air.

And suddenly, Atlas’s voice came from right behind the Sword Master.

– Swish!

“Gah?!”

He was cut in the side.

It didn’t go deep or anything.

His clothing was magically treated, and under that, he was wearing chainmail.

But without that protection, his insides would have spilled out.

“How… how did you cut me without even using Aura Blade…?!”

“You already know better than anyone, right?”

It was shocking that Atlas, who could penetrate defenses that even an Expert’s Aura Blade couldn’t break, didn’t even use Aura Blade.

Various fragments of information converged into a single conclusion.

His strange movements that he couldn’t understand, swordsmanship that rivaled or even exceeded his own as a Master, and… the fact that Atlas, who didn’t use Aura Blade surprisingly, still held the conclusion of being a “Master.”

“It can’t be… No, it doesn’t matter!! Regardless of what you are!!!”

The Sword Master stepped back dramatically and raised his sword toward the sky.

A sharp noise resonated from the sword body as it began to unleash its aura.

“I’ll crush everything!!!”

Raging torrents of aura burst forth from his sword into the sky, breaking the ceiling and soaring high without a care.

—————————————————

Pieces of the ceiling fell from all directions, but thankfully this time it wasn’t underground.

Once a few fragments were brushed away, the clear sky was visible through the now-holes of the ceiling.

‘I was expecting someone with a title like the Sword Master to be impressive… but he just lost to the Commander.’

It hadn’t even been long since the original story began, and yet here he was, dead already, so I didn’t hold too much hope, but it was beneath my expectations.

Perhaps he was stronger in the past.

“You’ve been broken.”

“What are you talking about…!!”

After losing to the Commander, did his spirit break? Watching the remnants of the once Master crawl pitifully on the ground stirred a bit of sympathy in me.

Even in the face of a force that could swallow everything, I felt nothing.

The scene would make even Experts tremble in fear, but to the Master, it looked no more threatening than a herbivore puffing itself up to scare its predators.

It seemed like he was trying to conceal the weakness of his true nature by aiming for a flashy appearance.

“Hey old man… Every Master has their own ‘law.’ Use it. Why can’t you ‘use it’ anymore?’”

“You knew that too, huh? But I’m sure you’ve tasted it several times already… How could you not notice…?”

“That’s just gravity magic emanating from your sword. Can you really call such a thing a Master’s law?”

The Sword Master’s face turned red.

That must’ve hit the mark.

The technique he’d used against me several times to make my body feel heavy was magic.

Magic that intensifies gravity in a specified area… and he didn’t even use it himself, harnessing the power of an artifact instead.

It seemed that flitting through the air endlessly could also remind one of the Commander who flies while riding his sword, but that was thanks to an artifact that draped a flying cloak enchanted with flight magic.

I had been suspicious since we clashed.

Having faced Masters repeatedly, it didn’t make sense that he looked so composed.

With a combat sense and physical ability that diverged sharply from those of Experts, plus the fact that he’d attained a Master’s law, it should be a normal fight where we both break a sweat.

Yet facing off against the Sword Master, it felt oddly serene.

“You… you’re no longer a Master.”

Yeah… it felt like I was dealing with an Expert.

“You say I’m no longer a Master? You must not have experienced it! You wouldn’t know what that level entails! See this? This is a Master’s Aura Blade!!”

The Sword Master emphasized the Aura Blade he held above his head.

It was indeed an incredibly powerful Aura Blade.

If he swung it down, it could easily take down a castle.

“That’s not a Master’s Aura Blade. Your mind isn’t balanced, so you can’t control it; such a display can be achieved even by an Expert.”

With every word I uttered, the Sword Master’s expression shifted.

Every single word I let slip was like a dagger piercing his heart.

“How pitiful… Have you completely broken your spirit after losing?”

I had never seen such a thing before.

Reaching the level of Master requires an immense self-identity.

To ascend to the Master level, one must possess a powerful self-identity strong enough to say, “This is the way it should be,” and to see the Master, who had broken and thus lost some of his abilities, it was a truly shocking sight…

If scholars heard of this, they’d faint.

“You think you can’t win with your own strength… so you’re trying to rely on another’s power to do it…”

“No! You don’t know what you’re talking about…!!”

The Sword Master struck down his Aura Blade.

An Aura Blade that could completely shatter the castle wall came crashing down with a terrifying sound.

“Even if this isn’t the direction you wanted, you’ll leave your name in history. The first Master to lose his Master’s level.”

As I witnessed that scene, I gripped my sword.

I could dodge it with a quick space shift if I wanted to, but that wasn’t the way to go now.

River was behind me… I had to inform the Sword Master, who could no longer accept the truth of not being a Master, about the truth.

I had to remind him of what he had forgotten.

“It seems you’ve forgotten, so let me show you again. This is the Aura Blade of a Master who has reached the peak.”

From the Squirette, a brilliant flash of white light burst forth.