I Was the Strongest Sword God in My Past Life

part 5

“Die!”

“Who says I don’t have a magical tool?”

The cold gaze of Zien.

Like Dayven, a sacred mark glowed on the back of Zien’s hand.

Dayven’s face was painted with shock, but it was already too late. In Zien’s hand was the jet-black sword, the magical tool Heukhyang.

Clang-!

The resonance of iron.

Sword and greatsword collide.

Sparks fly.

“Who said that?”

Really, such talk would disappoint Heukhyang.

“Eek! How could you!”

It wasn’t just Dayven who was surprised. The instructor, Kashen, also doubted his eyes upon seeing Zien’s magical tool.

A magical tool, as the name suggests, is a tool made of mana. The higher the synchronization and quality, the more mana the magical tool contains.

‘That sword…’

But Zien’s sword was beyond the normal range. The mana it contained far exceeded the average.

‘Something’s strange. How high must the synchronization be?’

Usually, the mana in one’s body and the mana in a magical tool are similar. For Zien, a failing student, to emit such mana was abnormal.

However, that was because of an unspeakable reason, having inherited the mark from a past life, and Kashen, unaware of this, only grew more puzzled.

Clang-!

‘His movements as well.’

Kashen let out a sigh.

Considering the weight of a greatsword, it’s inefficient for defense. One must withstand the destructive power of a greatsword. So, the usual answer is to evade. But Kashen saw a different answer in Zien’s swordsmanship.

‘He pushed the sword into a place without force. He dispersed the center of gravity while deflecting the attack.’

Could he himself make such a bold choice? If he failed to deflect due to being overpowered, it would result in a fatal wound.

But high risk, high return. If one could adopt a perfect stance like Zien…

‘The distance closes!’

Chiiing!

‘Then what remains is a battle of speed. Greatsword versus sword. It’s obvious who is faster.’

As Kashen predicted, Zien’s sword strike was faster. Using the recoil of his body, Zien struck Dayven with the back of his blade. The spot he struck was the back of Dayven’s head.

“Crack… Gargle.”

Even as Dayben fainted, foam at the mouth, Kashen did not stop Jian.

‘Sigh… A decade’s worth of congestion is finally clearing.’

Why?

Kashen.

That’s the kind of person he was.

* * *

Just like his usual messy character, Kashen’s office was disheveled. Kashen pushed all the cluttered papers on his desk to one side.

“Haah, where should I even begin?”

The sparring class was forcibly ended by Kashen.

[To pull out a magic tool during a duel. Dayben, you’re suspended. And Jian, follow me.]

It was because Dayben had crossed a line during the duel. Although Jian had used a magic tool as well.

“You’ll be treated as self-defense. Don’t worry about it.”

“Yes.”

“I called you here because of the report. The principal needs to know about this situation.”

“That’s true. If you write down exactly what you saw today, the principal won’t believe it.”

“Good, you catch on quick.”

“The reason for my strength is that I healed the residual mana, and the swordsmanship and magic tools are the results of self-study during the 10 days of training time given by the principal… You can write that down.”

“Self-study for 10 days…”

Kashen sighed as if he wanted to say something.

“Indeed, a professor suits Romina better. I should have just continued being a Saber. At least a teacher would dig into how one became stronger in such a situation. I’m not curious at all.”

Kashen lit a cigarette.

“Do you smoke too?”

“Smoking on campus could be risky for you.”

“It doesn’t matter. If I get caught, they can fire me. Just remove the gates and keep going. That’s what a Saber does, right?”

“You really are far from being a professor.”

“You see it too, don’t you?”

As Kashen chuckled, Jian gave a sly smile.

“Yes.”

“Don’t ask me any more of those cliché questions like ‘how did you get stronger?’ Like the infinite number of gates, there are infinite opportunities, and if power was hidden, there must have been a reason for it.”

Jien was surprised.

It was a necessary process at some point. If pressed further, he had intended to give a suitable reason. But the man before him said he wasn’t curious about such things.

‘I vaguely know. You won’t tell me the truth anyway.’

Kashen crushed his cigarette carelessly and sat down on a chair.

“And well, honestly, it was satisfying. How annoying it is for a young one to be caught up in aristocracy. I had planned to pit him against Number One someday and smash him to pieces. But you know, don’t you? There are no Number Ones among the commoners currently enrolled.”

“The commoners have less support compared to their talents.”

Suddenly, Jien’s mouth tasted bitter.

A hundred years have passed, and yet this problem remains the same. But even if it’s unfair, there’s nothing to be done. The world is inherently unfair.

“…Yes, I retired from active duty due to an ankle injury, not of my own volition. That’s also why I became an instructor.”

Kashen glanced at the desk frame. A photo of a younger-looking Romina and Kashen with their arms around each other.

By their attire, it seemed like an inauguration ceremony.

“Ah, I’ve been rambling.”

Snapping out of his reverie, Kashen scribbled something on a blank sheet and continued.

“I’ll submit the report as you said.”

“Thank you.”

As Jien bowed, Kashen coughed awkwardly.

“Yes… The sharper the sword, the easier it breaks. Dayven has been suspended, but the Storm family won’t let it pass quietly. I trust you understand what I mean.”

Is this how the man expresses himself?

How immature must one be to wrap simple words like “Don’t make enemies,” “Take care of yourself” in such roundabout expressions?

Yet, Jien didn’t find Kashen’s immaturity bad. In fact, he liked it.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

* * *

After the brief conversation, Jien left the professor’s office.

But there were a man and a woman waiting for him outside the office.

“Ah, is the meeting over?”

“I came first, so I’ll speak first. Don’t butt in, Riel.”

Riel pushed up her glasses and ignored Hamon, speaking directly to Jien.

“Hello? You’re cuter than the rumors say. I’m Riel, a sophomore. But don’t call me senior so stiffly, just call me LC.”

“Hey, Riel!”

Hamon called out loudly, but Riel cheerfully continued to ignore him and spoke on.

“Ahem, it’s not that I… As the head of the newspaper club, could I possibly ask you for an interview?”

“I’m Hamon, a second-year too. The head of the Magic Sword Club. By the way, ‘Magic Sword Club’ is short for ‘the gathering of students whose magical tools are swords.'”

The lively Riel, with her notable freckles, and the muscular Hamon, who brings to mind a rock(?).

Jien silently watched the two as the atmosphere suddenly became buoyant.

“Yes?”

‘What’s with these guys? Today’s schedule is already 30 minutes behind. With mana training this afternoon and potion making for tomorrow’s outing, there’s a mountain of things to do… Wait, the newspaper club?’

“Ah, caught off guard, aren’t you? Actually, this special feature is called ‘The Freshmen of Blue.’ It features many famous ones here. You know the girl who’s number one in mana potential, right? The Scarlet Witch. And a celebrity from YS Management and…”

As Riel rambled on, Jien cut her off.

“So what?”

Taken aback by Jien’s boldness, Riel trailed off, ‘Uh…’. But only for a moment. She grinned and poured out words like a waterfall.

“The truth is… I planned a feature on just 7 people, but we’re one short. I thought about just picking anyone from the top ranks, but that’s not fun, right? Not a scoop. But then I heard about you today. Ha, I’ve even decided on the title. ‘The Awakening of a Failing Student!’ The title alone is killer, right? Please help out, will you?”

Riel bowed her head and rubbed her hands together pleadingly. The sudden loud voice started a buzz among the students.

“Isn’t that a second-year senior?”

“And she’s begging?”

Jien sighed and said,

“…I don’t have the time.”

“Ah, pleaseee! You see? This special feature is really important to me! If this feature bombs… the club funds…”

Jien intended to grant the interview but played hard to get for a purpose.

Of course, my decision to do the interview wasn’t because I wanted the attention or to help the newspaper club.

It was because of my past life’s principle of paying back any humiliation twofold.

“You said you needed a scoop?”

“Yeah, so? Why, will you do the interview?”

“Alright. I’ll do the interview. But there’s a condition.”

Riel nodded eagerly, as if her neck might break from it. Into such eager ears, Jien whispered something.

“…Is this possible? Well, if you’re scared, you can back out now.”

“Scared? Of course, it’s possible. Our newspaper club, no! Journalism doesn’t fear pressure. The only thing we fear is our subscribers.”

“Good. Then I’ll do the interview. Contact me when you’ve scheduled it.”

“Really? No backing out?”

She’s a woman of incredibly high spirits.

With her goal achieved, Riel left, and the overwhelmed Hamon finally spoke up.

“Well, I’ll keep it short. Join our club, Jien.”

“Isn’t it too early for club activities?”

“Perhaps. But it’s fine to decide in advance. If we don’t move quickly, we’ll miss out on the first-years. Let’s get a head start.”

“What exactly does this ‘Magic Sword Club’ do?”

At Jien’s question, Hamon smiled contentedly.

“Good question. The forms of magical tools are incredibly diverse. From weapons like spears and shields to gloves and cloaks, even to the body itself. Their forms are countless.”

Jien had seen in his past life that mana itself could be a magical tool. Namely, the ‘Light of Healing.’ Therefore, Hamon’s digression held no interest for Jien.

“But! There is one form that makes up the majority of magical tools.”

‘It’s swords.’

“Exactly, swords! Our Magic Sword Club is a group where students with sword-shaped magical tools share information and swordsmanship. It’s much more helpful than clubs that just take pictures and hang out.”

“So, you’ve come to me all of a sudden because you want to recruit me to the club?”

“Well, to be honest, I originally went to see the first-year’s duel because of Dayven. His magical tool is a greatsword. Lucky me. Thanks to that, I saw your swordsmanship. Join our club! Jien Russel.”

Hamon’s earnest appeal.

Jien thought he should at least consider joining the club. After all, he would have to join one eventually. But that was still a distant story.

“I’ll think about it.”

To Jien’s response, Hamon replied heartily.

“Right. It’s good to be cautious. If you have any questions, feel free to drop by.”

“Yes, I understand.”

As Jien bowed politely, Hamon left with a hearty stride.

‘An interview, huh? I’m looking forward to it.’

To think the chance to repay his humiliation would come so soon, Jien was someone who generously returned both debts and favors, with interest.

* * *

[Disciplinary Report]

‘This is it.’

Selfis couldn’t hide his surprise as he read the name in Cashen’s report.

‘Jien Russel? Isn’t he the bottom-ranked? Hmm, how long has it been since the interview? Probably about a fortnight. No need to look. The repertoire of a troublemaker is predictable. Pass.’