The assigned dormitory boasted a facility condition that was hard to describe as anything but poor, even as a polite remark.
"If you have skills like yours, you could easily become the top of S-Class…"
"Ah, you really talk too much."
After the meeting, Veris couldn't hold back any longer at Gunther's incessant grumbling as they moved his belongings to the dormitory.
The guy was so talkative that it was becoming difficult to listen. No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say that he had reached the limits of Veris's patience.
"That means my sincerity has reached you, brother. Isn't that right, Sir
Arwen?"
"Indeed, it is."
Well, well.
Veris could only shake his head at the unexpectedly harmonious response from the two.
For some reason, even if Gunther was like that, Arwen was also showing a negative attitude towards Veris entering B-Class. It must be uncomfortable for someone who has been together for half a lifetime to see their companion enter a different class, but they would still be living in the same western district of the academy.
"And brother, you must not forget our promise. Once you finish unpacking, we'll do it right away."
"...I got it."
"Let's go!"
Gunther, looking excited at Veris's response.
It had been a while since they left the dean's office in the faculty building, and Gunther's whining had started from that moment. Veris had been trying hard to soothe him because he found it so unbearable, and what Gunther wanted was simply to have a spar, which Veris gladly accepted.
Of course, contrary to Veris's intentions, Gunther's whining continued.
"Lady Arwen, you'll be observing, right?"
"...I have a prior engagement."
"What? Arwen... has a promise?"
Veris looked at her in surprise at Arwen's calm response.
It seemed that this elf, who always boasted a haughty expression, had made a friend just a few days after coming to the academy. What a rare occurrence.
"...a diligent 'female student'."
For some reason, Arwen emphasized that her promise was with a woman. But that wasn't something Veris was particularly curious about.
"What kind of wind blew for Arwen, who is endlessly lacking in sociability? Did she meet someone with a broad mind?"
"That's quite an unfiltered evaluation to say in front of the person in question."
"Is that so?"
With such frivolous talk, Veris continued to organize his belongings. The assigned dorm room was so small, and since he had brought only a few things from home, he was able to finish unpacking quickly. The only consolation was that the dormitory was a single room.
"Brother, let's move to the training ground right away."
"I'll handle the cleaning."
"Thank you, Lady Arwen!"
And thanks to Gunther's urging, Veris had no choice but to leave the room quickly. He had only unpacked and tidied up a bit, but seeing Gunther, who seemed so eager that he was even humming, it looked like he was genuinely in a good mood.
* * *
─ Swish.
"...I'll go all out."
Gunther, holding the old iron sword placed in the training ground, had lost all his usual lighthearted demeanor and looked at Veris, who stood calmly before him, with a serious expression.
Have you ever heard the story of a boy who wanted to touch the sun hanging far away?
Gunther knew that the boy in that fairy tale resembled him quite a bit.
The man before him, drawing a sword for sparring with a composed face, was like the sun in the sky to Gunther.
Why did he regard him as the sun and look up to him so reverently? There was no particular reason. It was just that Gunther, who had an exceptional intuition since childhood, might have realized it on his own.
─ Slash!
"Haap!"
With a desperate shout, Gunther concentrated all his strength in his lower body. And then he charged forward rapidly. He was confident that there were few new students at the academy who could withstand such a sudden charge.
─ Whoosh!
However, Veris simply evaded Gunther's attack by slightly twisting his upper body, and Gunther continued his assault with the following movement.
'He's not someone who would allow an attack from the start!'
Without even retrieving the thrusting sword, he followed up with a horizontal slash.
The sword, filled with the energy of mana, unleashed a strike of extraordinary speed from its tip, but once again, Veris simply took a step back to easily avoid the attack.
"Gah!"
Instinctively, after failing two attacks, Gunther did not hesitate. Since the enemy had easily brushed off his attacks, it was now time for the opponent's counterattack.
Retrieving the sword that had been thrust forward, Gunther swung it again and stepped back. As expected, his prediction was not wrong; Veris's downward slash fell where Gunther had just been.
Gunther felt a cold sweat break out.
The difference in skill? He had expected that. No matter how much he was called a genius swordsman of the empire, the man before his eyes was a true monster who had long surpassed that level.
There was no basis for it. Gunther realized, through an inexplicable feeling of 'intuition,' that Veris was not his match.
But even if there was a clear difference, there were still lines to be drawn.
How could he express this bizarre situation where his all-out attack was simply twisted and negated with a single step?
"I'm coming again!"
Gunther, who had widened the distance in anticipation of Veris's counterattack, shouted and charged at Veris once more.
He didn't expect to win. He just wanted to see even a fragment of the power that his brother possessed. That was Gunther's thought.
─ Whoosh!
Without a moment's hesitation, Gunther executed a cross slash.
The speed of the charging swordsman's thrust was something that could be easily anticipated, regardless of who the opponent was. Therefore, Gunther changed his attack.
'Just a little!' Let it connect.
─ Whoosh!
Gunther's wish was rendered meaningless as two consecutive slashes cut through the air.
Even though the slashes sliced through the air, this time Gunther did not retreat; instead, he chose an attack that was dizzying in its intensity.
Unlike the initial thrust, the slash was useful for applying techniques. Gunther had not forgotten that fact, which he had learned through years of training.
─ Whoosh, whoosh!
For an ordinary student, the dazzling and desperate series of attacks would be enough to make one's head spin. But Veris, the opponent, was easily evading that onslaught, creating a cruel disparity.
'It's falling.'
As Veris's sword rose above his head while evading the attack, Gunther gritted his teeth.
Could he block that attack when the sword fell?
There was an absolute difference in power. If that was the case, it might be better to choose evasion rather than defense.
─ Slash!
In the brief moment of hesitation that crossed Gunther's mind, he did not hesitate to act. As Gunther took a back step, the old iron sword fell right where he had been standing.
A chill ran down his spine.
It was just an ordinary straight slash, devoid of any mana or energy. But the pressure that attack carried was anything but ordinary.
Gulp.
A shiver coursed through his body, and the cold sweat on his back had already soaked his clothes.
If it weren't for the pommel on the hilt of the training sword, it wouldn't have been surprising if he had dropped the sword several times.
But even in that tension, Gunther instinctively knew. He realized that Veris, who was sparring with him, was not showing his full strength.
"Brother, I have a request."
"What is it?"
"...Please go all out."
"All out, you say."
Veris stroked his chin, seemingly pondering Gunther's request.
But that contemplation didn't last long, and soon Veris nodded and replied softly.
"Alright."
─ Whoosh!
The air in the training ground changed in an instant.
Gunther knew that this was not an illusion. This was the spirit of the one he dreamed of.
Just by holding a sword, the mana of nature responded. Just by taking a single step, the earth seemed to scream in surprise.
One step.
─ Whoosh!
'Huh?'
Just by Veris stepping a foot closer to him, Gunther saw it.
It was as if his whole body was being sliced apart, blood spraying as he fell.
A grin.
In the face of this chilling phenomenon, Gunther couldn't help but smile.
Look. His intuition was not wrong. His arms trembled with fear, and his legs wobbled, making it hard to stand still, but Gunther did not give up and charged forward.
In the blink of an eye, Gunther reached Veris and was about to strike with his sword… or so he thought.
'What?'
It was literally a fleeting moment. But Veris, who had been standing before him, vanished from Gunther's sight, leaving him at a loss for words.
─ Whoosh!
At that moment, which lasted less than a second, the sound of the sword slicing through the air reached Gunther, forcing him to turn his body.
Next to him, the training sword approached like a massive mountain, and Gunther's body froze in place.
──── [ Death ]
They say that when one is on the brink of life and death, they see a flash of memories. It felt as if childhood memories were swirling in his mind, gripping Gunther's entire body in a freeze.
But fortunately, the place where Gunther stood was the training ground inside the academy, and his opponent was a swordsman so strong that he was incomparable to him. Thanks to the motionless iron sword before him, Gunther was able to preserve his life.
"Ha, haha."
In an instant, the atmosphere had shifted dramatically. But Gunther, feeling rather good, couldn't help but laugh.
Of course, it wasn't because the situation was funny that he laughed.
It was simply that.
"Wanting to see a fragment of the power you possess seems to be a bit greedy."
"It wasn't bad."
Thud.
As Veris's sword, in its usual tone, returned to its sheath, Gunther finally felt his legs give way and he sat down.
He had worked tirelessly to avoid becoming a shameful person.
But facing that power directly, he could only admit that he had been arrogant.