“... Too slow! So sluggish! Are you waiting for the enemy to present themselves for you to slice?!”
“... Can you not even hold your sword steady?!”
“... Where are your eyes looking?!”
“... Don't use that clumsy magic of yours! Don't you know your own level? Are you trying to give the enemy an itch?!”
Kunon's scolding echoed continuously across the training ground.
Those who had already been scolded drooped their heads in dejection. They had suffered not only mental blows, but physical ones as well.
However, they were the lucky ones, as at least their turn was over. Those still waiting in line were trembling with fear.
It had been over half a year since Kunon began his practical combat training program.
Now, with the final assessment approaching, he planned to test the students' learning outcomes.
And so, the dozens of students in this class were currently lined up to receive his “assessment.” Indeed... it was a very physical testing method.
At this moment, a girl with curly blonde twin-tails stepped forward. She was cradling an exquisite wand adorned with a green magic crystal at its tip. Unlike those before her, her expression was completely calm.
“Instructor, please guide me!” Fran pointed her wand at Kunon without a shred of hesitation.
Kunon narrowed his eyes, a sinister grin spreading across his face. “Indeed~ I certainly should give you some thorough guidance—!”
Whoosh!
The moment the words left his mouth, Kunon's figure blurred. Fran only had time to catch a fleeting shadow before she was completely enveloped in his presence.
“Eh?!” Fran was startled and frantically tried to cast a spell.
“Wind—”
“Too slow!”
Clang!
The wooden training sword struck Fran's wand directly, knocking her off her feet.
After rolling on the ground and getting covered in dust, Fran stood up, feeling a bit dizzy, and said angrily, “H-How could you launch a sneak attack?!”
Kunon snorted with utter indifference, “Is saying that on the battlefield going to help you? Do you have even a shred of crisis awareness?!”
“I—” Fran bit her lip, knowing he was right. She then raised her wand and immediately began chanting.
Whoosh—!
“I told you, you're too slow!” Before she could even finish half the chant, Kunon had already closed the distance.
“Ah—!” Panic seized Fran's heart, and the half-cast spell was instantly interrupted.
Thwack!
The wooden sword tapped Fran's head with moderate force.
“Ouch!” Fran immediately clutched her head, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.
Kunon lowered his wooden sword and criticized her ruthlessly, “Look at you, this is simply pathetic! How many mages have you seen who stand completely still while casting spells? And just because the enemy charges at you, you panic to the point where you can't even release your magic?”
“Let me tell you, a truly competent mage can successfully cast their magic even if the enemy's sword has already pierced their heart! You are simply the worst student I have ever taught! You fail! Go stand with the others!”
Fran pouted, looking incredibly aggrieved. With an angry snort, she stomped over to the group of students who had already completed their assessments.
“What are you looking at!” Shouted at like that, the students who had arrived earlier immediately averted their gaze, not daring to look at her anymore.
Meanwhile, Kunon proceeded to the next person. “—Next!”
After a few more people had gone...
...
“Instructor Kunon, please guide me!” Ander held his wooden sword and assumed a stance facing Kunon.
“Hmm, not bad. Your stance is quite practiced.” Kunon nodded, then raised his own sword. “I just hope it's not all show—!”
Even as he spoke, Kunon launched an attack, just as he had done with Fran.
Clang—!
A crisp, resounding clash echoed.
Ander's figure slid back several steps. He had raised his sword horizontally above his head, blocking the incoming strike.
“Oh~ Not bad. You're the first one to parry my strike today! But how many more can you block?!”
With that, Kunon unleashed a flurry of rapid, storm-like attacks.
Clang, clang, clang...
Ander parried desperately, forced backward under the sheer weight of the pressure, with absolutely no opportunity to counterattack...
“He's so strong! Go, Ander!”
“To think he could trade so many blows with the Instructor, while we couldn't even block one.”
“Yeah, Ander has got to be the strongest among us, right?”
“Of course, is that even a question!”
“Maybe he really will join the Allied Coalition and go to the front lines in the future!”
“That's true. Wow, does that mean our town is going to produce a great figure in the future...?”
Ander, Ander, Ander! All day long, it's nothing but Ander! These guys are so annoying! What is Ander anyway? If I hadn't been careless just now, I wouldn't have been defeated so easily! If Shulim showed her real skill, ten Anders wouldn't be her match!
Clang—!
The sounds of clashing swords came to an abrupt halt as Ander fell to the ground, his wooden sword flying to the side.
“Your fundamentals are quite solid,” Kunon offered a word of encouragement.
But then he sternly added, “However, your crisis awareness is still far from sufficient! Just now, if you had noticed the change in the ground beneath your feet, you could have blocked at least a few more moves. Remember, when fighting an enemy, besides watching their movements, you must also pay constant attention to the changes in your surroundings. The factor that decides your victory or defeat could very well be hidden somewhere nearby!”
“Yes, Instructor Kunon! I'll keep that in mind!”
“Very well. Go on over!”
As Ander walked away, Kunon raised his voice and yelled again, “—Next! Automatically hurry up! Stop dawdling, look at what time it is!”
The testing continued.
Aside from the exception of Ander, the others still failed to block even a single strike from Kunon.
Gradually, only one person remained in the line waiting to be tested...
...
“Instructor Kunon, please guide me,” Shulim said as she stood calmly in front of Kunon.
Staring at the poised and composed girl before him, Kunon's gaze narrowed slightly. “... Are you not going to use a wand?”
Shulim's grades in magic class had always been overwhelmingly in first place, so under normal circumstances, she should have been using a wand like Fran.
But now, Shulim's wand was slung across her back, and she held a wooden sword in her hand instead.
Shulim replied flatly, “Instructor, either is fine with me.”
“I see. If that is how you wish to fight, then so be it.” Kunon thought nothing of it. After all, Shulim also possessed Non-Elemental Affinity, so there was nothing wrong with her fighting with a sword. “Get ready, then. I'm going to at—”
Before he could finish the word “attack,” Kunon intended to launch a sneak attack just as he had with Fran and Ander. However, just as his feet twitched slightly before he could even take a step, a terrifying pressure instantly enveloped him.
Cold sweat instantly drenched his back, and Kunon froze completely in place. It felt exactly like being confronted once again by those terrifying, invincible beasts of his past.
What... What is this feeling?!
If I charge... I'll die?
His extensive experience in life-and-death battles frantically stimulated his nerves, all pointing to a single message—
Run!
“Instructor Kunon? Is something wrong?” The seemingly harmless, utterly ordinary, and cute girl before him asked.
Thump, thump, thump...
Yet, Kunon could not squeeze out a single word. His heart pounded violently, completely out of control.
“Instructor Kunon—” Shulim wanted to step closer to see if something had suddenly gone wrong with him.
But as she drew closer, Kunon felt as though he were about to suffocate.
“Mr. Kunon~!” Just then, a voice called out from the edge of the training ground.
Whoosh—!
The terrifyingly ferocious aura instantly vanished without a trace.
Rate on N.U.
