Academy Ankle Reaper

18. Who threatens with a sword to gamble?

To the average students, Lemnos using a flashy sword of flame and pressuring him looked much more advantageous.

It was because Atlas, who wasn’t even using an aura blade, seemed to be in a hurry to dodge without even being able to counterattack properly.

“As expected, Lemnos is overwhelming!”

“Look at those dwarfs being so confident that they just avoid it!”

“You can’t even use the Aura Blade!”

“End it, Lemnos!!”

Most of the stadiums are rooting for Lemnos.

It is a matter of course.

Because Lemnos is not just a nobleman, but the five pillars that stand at the center of the empire.

Apart from winning and losing, if you bet on Atlas for no reason and get caught, even if Atlas won, you will suffer throughout the semester.

The win-loss bet between Lemnos and Atlas, which seemed tense, ended before the game started, and it was said that the gap between Atlas 2 and Lemnos 8 widened.

It seems that Atlas, who looked so scary in the hallway because of the sense of intimidation, actually looked very small after entering the arena.

As a supporter of Atlas, River Seymour felt great pressure from this atmosphere in the audience.

“Is Atlas okay?”

“I’m going to win.”

River immediately answers Amy’s question.

At first glance, it seems that Lemnos is charging and Atlas is in a hurry to dodge the attack.

But it was visible to River, who had already sparred with Atlas several times.

That his expression was full of composure,

The fact that Lemnos seems to be launching an onslaught, but no effective hits have ever been made,

“Because Atlas is the man who defeated me.”

“No, I meant that if I beat Lemnos, I won’t leave it here and there, including the other Five Pillars, so it’s okay..”

It was a completely different story.

A shy River cleared his throat once.

“That… Atlas thought so too… Would you have done it?”

It’s not even a duel where you have to win to lose your money.

It was a duel where even if you win, you lose, even if you lose, you lose.

Looking at you proudly accepting it, what would Atlas think?

—————————————

‘Let’s leave them later.’

I remember the faces of the people in the audience who say that they are small people and avoid cockroaches.

Ordinary students seem to think Lemnos still has an advantage, not understanding how miserably I am beating Lemnos.

Is it because I don’t use Aura Blade?

However, those who have eaten a knife know how disrespectful it is to only use a regular long sword against an opponent who uses an aura blade.

I don’t understand why the crowd still thinks Lemnos has an advantage.

Not much has changed.

Lemnos wields a Flamberge, and I dodge.

If there’s anything that’s changed, it’s not just avoiding…

“My side is empty.”

-Fuck!!

“Keep!!”

The degree to which he was evading and at the same time inserting a fist into an empty place was different.

Attack Attacking while maintaining the sword of flame, one by one every time it misses, would consume quite a bit of physical strength.

“Take it. It’s not over yet.”

“Even if you don’t tell me.. I know!!”

Lemnos, who was knocked down by a slap in the shin, picks up Flamberge again and gets up.

As if responding to the fighting spirit, the Flamberge burned, but the splendor of the rising flame was not like the first time.

Lemnos loses his grip and drops his sword, and I kick it back and ask him to pick it up.

The reaction from the crowd is the worst.

It seems that the crowd, who thought I was at a disadvantage, noticed that the atmosphere was strange.

“How many times do you miss picking up a knife?”

“Me too… Know..!!”

I have already repeated this several times.

Every time I fell helplessly to the ground, the Flamberge’s flame went out, then I got up and the Flamberge’s flame got weaker again.

As the flames weakened, the noisy crowd reacted differently.

This is the moment when the doubt that Lemnos is really losing right now gradually turns into certainty.

“The legs are empty.”

-Seoguk

“Ugh!!”

I thought the tension would disappear if it was the same as always, so this time I really cut the empty left calf with a long sword.

I wanted to cut off my ankle, but I endured it because I thought it would be more humiliating.

Lemnos knelt down on his left knee as his legs were weakened by the sword not only being slightly cut on the outside, but also deeply penetrated.

“Heo-euk.. Hee-eok..”

Edgar Lemnos was close to the limit.

Flamberges only burned a feeble flame that seemed likely to go out at any moment.

His thick arm resting on the floor is trembling like an aspen tree, and blood is seeping out of his left calf, which has been deeply cut.

And in front of it is me, taking a relaxed posture, as if asking me to come in at any time without breaking a drop of sweat.

“With something like this… !!!”

I couldn’t even put strength in one leg, but somehow I managed to stand up.

It looks like it is standing up, but it is actually a one-legged state in which it supports its body with only one right leg.

I managed to raise my sword, but with one leg and a trembling sword, it was impossible to use proper technique.

“aaa!!!”

All the sharpness he had shown at first had dulled, and while avoiding the yawning upper cut, he kicked the right leg, which was the only one supporting Lemnos’ body.

“Keah!!!”

Lemnos falls miserably on his sandy floor.

How many times have I already fallen… All over Lemnos’s body, dirty dirt was smeared.

I could see Lemnos’s body trembling as he lay face down on the sandy floor.

I think it’s about time to put an end to it.

Then Lemnos hit the arena’s sandy floor with all his might.

“Why… Why… I can’t win…!!!”

My voice is trembling as if I was very angry at the fact that I gnawed on it while slowly raising it.

“I poured my whole life into the sword!! I can proudly say that I worked harder than anyone else…

What’s the difference between me and you, so… Such a big difference?! “

The cry of evil was like a scream.

Russell also rigorously trained his successor, but Lemnos would have done more, not less.

Lemnos, who was the strongest among his peers and thought he was the best, couldn’t believe this situation.

Lemnos didn’t just lose.

I won by using only normal swordsmanship with a long sword and fighting without using an aura blade.

For Lemnos, who brought the family’s treasured sword and even used arcane swordsmanship, he must feel that his life has been denied…

“Tell me what the difference is?”

But that’s it.

It seems to me that you have changed your life or not?

“The first difference is that you’re saying that.”

I look like an old man, but in my time. When I was Edgar’s age, I swung my sword like crazy in the middle of the knights even though I had achieved achievements that were not suitable for my age.

It was all an effort to grow taller, but there is no shame in the fact that I ran to improve my skills.

‘This world is made that way.’

If you have a little talent, hard work, and self-justification, you can go anywhere even if you hit a wall.

Although only a few people noticed it.

“You put your whole life into a sword? Really? So what’s that mean game of kings?

Why is a guy who wants to move forward satisfied with looking back?”

I wonder if it’s okay to just look forward and run, but look back at yourself now. Conceited that he became a bit stronger among his peers, so he shrugged his shoulders and shrugged it off..

If you want to get stronger, you’ll have to sharpen your knife at that time. My brain is gone”

“…Are you guys going to judge the value of my efforts!!”

Remnos somehow stood up and shouted as if he was unfair.

“I may not understand now… “

But if you look back after the boiling emotions have calmed down, you will know better what I mean.

The fact that he was now blocked by a wall, looked down instead of up, and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Think about it in bed.”

-Thump!!!

Immediately after, my fist was inserted into Lemnos’ abdomen, and Lemnos’ body, which had barely been able to stand up, flew in the air for a while before crashing into a wall.

As if it flew down the hallway yesterday.

The weak body of Lemnos did not move anymore.

This is my victory.

-Edgar Lemnos is incapacitated, so the winner of the duel is Atlas Nemea.

The announcement of my victory in the duel followed, and I listened in anticipation for the fanfare of victory that would follow.

“aaah!!! My money!!!”

“This is a scam!!!”

“I put all my student loans here, huh??”

The gamblers who bet on Lemnos from all sides scream.

I won, but all the cries of screaming “Why did I win” Are all criticizing me, but they are enjoyable.

This is the victory fanfare I was expecting.

Cry more because it sounds good, because I remember everything you guys said to me during the duel.

Who threatened you with a knife to gamble?

————————————————

The one who greeted me as soon as I left the arena after the duel was Andy with a smile.

Did you say that you paid a monthly salary for the academy?

“Kya~ As expected, my skills aren’t going anywhere! There’s no way the Imperial Knights will ever lose to the Five Pillars, Master!”

“You seem to have won a lot, but I’ll buy you a drink later.”

“If you go into a bar with you, you will be kicked out.”

– Puck!

I got angry and immediately slapped Andy in the stomach.

Andy-senpai and Lemnos both have to raise their arms as hard as they can to get their jaws out, so it’s easy to hit their stomachs.

“Keah!!”

“Senior, that’s right.”

“You already hit me!!”

“That doesn’t even go into the shaft that was hit.”

The fact that I went into a bar and was kicked out actually happened after I became an adult, so it makes me even more angry.

“Ike, then I’m done… I’ll buy you a drink later!”

As soon as she hears footsteps across the hallway, Andy disappears in the other direction.

First of all, it’s still a secret that Andy and I have a senior-junior relationship.

“Atlas!!”

It was River and Amy who appeared from across the hallway.

River was waving his hands with an excited face as if he was so happy.

“To not even use an aura blade against that flame sword… That was amazing! The other guys let out a sigh every time you gained an advantage, how nice it was to see..! You should have seen it too!”

“You heard rave reviews at the end. I am satisfied with that.”

“Right, it was surprising that half-swording was done in the middle. It’s a skill that isn’t taught these days because you can’t use that skill with the Aura Blade.”

“Lemnos probably didn’t learn. So it worked out well.”

“The handling of the flame sword was also amazing! With a mediocre aura blade, you can only get eaten by the sword of flame, so if you don’t have skills like yours, you won’t be able to even try to cope with not facing swords at all.”

River, who usually wears such a sharp expression, reviewed the techniques I used in today’s duel with his eyes shining like a child, and gave his appreciation.

‘Yes, I liked this.’

Amy’s expression was a bit dark, but she wondered if she was still in this state.

River likes stories of heroes.

He likes stories of winning against adversity squarely.

And he also likes to fight because he likes to put himself into the character.

This is also the reason for his personality that he will fight in a duel if he is dissatisfied.

It’s embarrassing to see you like this.

Let’s deal with her until the evening meeting with Lucia.

————————————————

It is a refreshing morning.

I won the duel, and all the foolish guys will shut up, so I don’t have to worry about the disciplinary committee, and there is no expulsion.

On my way to the academy after a morning workout, I saw students everywhere holding a copy of the newspaper.

It’s rare to read that many newspapers.

I wonder if the results of yesterday’s duel are clearly posted.

If you’re curious, let’s buy a copy.

“What? The duel is invalid… Atlas was found guilty of cheating in a duel and the Disciplinary Committee… ?”

In the newspapers, the details of the duel were clearly written. However, what was written was very different from what I thought.

“Ha… This is how it comes out…”

I tore the newspaper to shreds on the spot.

These guys really won’t let you go.

Torn pieces of newspaper fly into the air.

The instigators who wrote that article will be torn like this.