[21st Round] Sword King Parpar
If I recalled properly, the Sword Princess was jealous of Alex’s “Sword King” title.
Sword Princess.
The strongest among women received such a nickname, which she found not at all suitable.
As a swordsman, not a woman, she wanted to be called the “Sword King.”
“The Sword King?”
“What’s wrong? The title is vacant. Or do you want to register me as emperor?”
“Oh no!”
Alex, who married the armless Snow Woman, was now much stronger than during the 4th curriculum.
Quite frankly, He had reached a level enough for him to even challenge me.
Now he had become the Sword God.
Naturally, the “Sword King” title, which was below it, had been vacated.
However, if I claimed it for myself, it would be a clear provocation towards the Sword Princess.
“Are we done here yet?”
“O-oh, yes. You are registered under the name of Parpar, who originated from Moskar. 33 years of age. Profession… Sword King. A tournament for applicants who have decided to challenge the Duke’s beautiful daughter is held each time 64 people pass the initial test. Even if it annoys you, you need to pass this test too. Take this piece of paper and show it to the guards at the entrance.”
“Mr. Manager, how many applicants are there at the moment?”
“Fifty-six including mister Parpar. The tournament will not start until eight more people apply. From experience, it will probably take about four days to complete the quota.”
“Thanks.”
I made my way to the academy entrance next to the reception area.
“Are you here to get tested?” One of the guards asked.
“Yes.” I handed the paper over to him.
“Thanks. This seems to be your first time, but you look confident. Everyone’s usually nervous.”
“I’ve challenged her before when I was 22 years old. Hmm. Not sure if I was 22 years old then. I don’t remember anymore.”
But I did.
I challenged the Sword Princess, even though Lanuvel told me fighting her without the Holy Sword was too reckless.
“Ah! So you already have experience. That’s impressive. For ten whole years, you’ve done nothing but prepare for your next fight against her, never once marrying anyone else or trying again.”
“I’m a romantic.”
The age of marriage in the world of Fantasy was quite diverse.
On the Northern Continent, men were 18 years old, and women were 16 years old.
It differed depending on the continent and country. Additionally, if their population were greatly reduced due to war or natural disasters, that bar would be lowered.
This was different from Earth.
They hadn’t come up with a convenient weapon that would eliminate hordes of monsters without requiring much effort from the owner.
In other words, the survival of a group of people depended on the size of their population.
When a king or feudal lord concluded that their territory was under threat due to their small population, they would encourage even the youngest of their people to marry and have children. In critical cases, they even made it compulsory.
But I declared my age to be 33 years old, making me seem like a bachelor who was very late in getting married.
▶ Appearance: When in fact, you’re actually a seasoned veteran when it comes to marriage.
‘You got it all wrong, Trainee Teacher! I still have a pure and innocent heart!’
The academy guards, who considered me a bachelor, were very friendly to me.
My fantasy career was 200 years running.
I could earn a good reputation with the locals just by breathing.
“Haha! I will personally root for you, Sir Parpar.”
“I will support you too. Oh! 11 years… I wouldn’t have been able to tolerate it.”
“If you change your mind later, please let me know. I know a widow.”
“Follow me. I’ll take you to the training ground.”
“Thanks.”
After accepting words of encouragement from them, I quickly made my way to the training ground for the test.
“Hiya!”
“Ha!”
“Hiya!”
There I saw people of both genders training with swords in their hands under the scorching sun.
All of them were academy students who had received recognition for their talents, ultimately turning them into potential knights.
Among them was my son Chris.
▷ Race: Human
▷ Level: 249
▷ Job: Prince (Strength of the nation = Willpower ↑)
▷ Skills: Gifted Z, Sword Mastery MAX, Omnipotence MAX, Charm MAX, Willpower MAX…
▷ Status: Training, Awakening
Fraudulent stats.
His skills’ ranks were impossible to obtain at such a young age.
Even though my experience gain was always multiplied by 5 due to my Hero profession and trained tirelessly for ten years, unlike Chris, I still couldn’t get a MAX-ranked skill, let alone a Z rank.
I knew why.
He had the perfect combination of Gifted and Omnipotence skills!
His level was low because he didn’t particularly hunt monsters, but it was still significantly higher than the other students.
▷ Race: Human
▷ Level: 94
▷ Job: Noble Daughter (Bloodline = Charm ↑)
▷ Skills: Charm S, Swords Mastery A, Sword Aura B, Sociability C, Dexterity C…
▷ Status: Heart palpitations
That was the stats of the girl spinning around my son.
Her low skill rank wasn’t a problem, but her spine and pelvis weren’t impressive.
For some reason, she made me feel uncomfortable.
“Sir Parpar?”
“Oh! My apologies. I was watching how these weak— outstanding students train.
“Hahaha! I know how you feel. Whenever we watch Master Chris train, whom the princess loves so much, we often lose track of time. I feel proud and relieved every time I think that boy will become the next owner of this estate.
“Is that so…”
“I’m sorry, but this is where I take my leave. The test will be carried out by a knight who also happens to be an instructor at the academy.
“Thanks.”
“Good luck, Sir Parpar.”
I turned around and parted ways with Guard A.
Oh! I recognized the tester.
Knight L, the old man who loved the Sword Princess, the only daughter of Duke Q, like she was his granddaughter.
He was the one who tried to turn a normal test into the embodiment of hell to make sure his precious Sword Princess wouldn’t go to some fool.
As soon as I saw him, I gritted my teeth.
I got my ass kicked that time.
“Let me introduce myself. My name is Lolikun. Since my back’s beginning to give up on me due to old age, I decided to start educating young students of the academy. Although I look like an ordinary old man, I’m still a count, not an ordinary knight, so behave accordingly. You can call me Instructor Lolikun, Count Lolikun, or Sir Lolikun. Whichever you prefer.”
“Count Loli.”
“Don’t call me that. That nickname is only for the young lady and my lord.”
“Let’s begin the test already.”
“Even though I introduced myself as a count, you still behave so impudently… Hmm? What is that ring you’re wearing? Oh! Are you royalty?!”
“Yes,” I replied, showing it to him.
Knight L’s brows twitched.
‘Hey! Stop wasting time.’
“Let’s finish the introductions here and proceed with the verification process. Put your right hand on this ball. Don’t be afraid.”
“I’ve done this before.”
The soccer-ball-sized green crystal ball was a magical tool for measuring experience and level.
It showed more accurate numbers than magic glasses.
“Your level must be above 300.”
“I see.”
At the moment, I was just level 1, which was no different from a newborn baby. It fell far below the standard set by Knight L.
However…
WOOOOOOOO!
Experience was a Fantasy resource created by the power of the Demon Lord and the director.
I couldn’t generate experience points on my own, but I could trick this primitive tool.
“Level 580!”
Knight L was amazed.
Transcendental entities such as my dear friend Noebius and Connoisseur Shakespeare easily crossed level 999, but that was unreachable for most locals and monsters.
If a person’s level exceeded 100, he was already in the top 10%. And if they exceeded 200, they would belong to the top 2%.
Due to the nature of their job, which more often than not made them fight only the strongest opponents, it became it more difficult for heroes to realize that.
“Let’s move on to the next test.”
I could have made my level higher, but I deliberately adjusted it to the Sword Princess’s level.
In doing so, she would mistake me for an equal opponent.
“Now, this ball.”
“Tool for viewing jobs, right?”
“That is correct, Sir Parpar. It’s a very valuable magical tool specially crafted by the Tower of Sage.”
“Specifically crafted…”
Would I be able to deceive it?
Knight L, holding me back from trying to put my hand on the ball, said, “Before you begin, I want you to know that this is just for reference.”
“I know.”
“The ball will change its color depending on one’s profession. Wizards are blue, warriors are red, artisans are green, and scientists are yellow. White represents nobles, and black represents a profession that shouldn’t be openly discussed. Bright glows signify dignity, and the darker the color, the more skillful they are in their profession.”
“I know.”
“There have been cases where the measurement results were so bad the applicants became unhappy. That’s why I needed to give you a fair reminder.”
“I got it.”
“Now then, you may proceed.”
Finally!
This time, I was unable to influence the magic instrument.
The magical structure turned out to be more complex than the one used to measure experience points.
FShshshshshh!
It didn’t take long for the result to appear.
“Hmm?”
“This…” The crystal ball turned so black that it absorbed almost all light from external sources while emitting a bright obsidian glow.
That made me curious.
In my 1st round, when I took the profession test as a Hero, the ball turned hot pink.
Its glow also seemed to be much more intense than my 1st round.
Knight L, whose face turned white, swallowed.
“Interesting result,” I said.
“Y-yes, extremely so. You have a job that shouldn’t be talked about in public, but you also show strong signs of dignity. A color like that…”
“Let’s move on to the next test.”
“Okay…”
After that, I took a simple written test given to all students to test their literacy.
And then I got my chance.
“Gha?!”
“Phe?!”
“Kya?!”
I sparred with the students of the academy.
They used the warriors hoping to get the Sword Princess’s hand in marriage to hone their students’ actual combat experience.
If the challenger lost the fight or were to be seriously injured, they would be disqualified!
I, of course, passed without a problem.
“Even my mood has improved now.”
“You are a very strange man…”
I was given a legal and official chance to punish the girl hanging around my son.
If she wanted to become the MAX-Class Righteous Hero’s daughter-in-law, then she needed to work on her pelvis!
The final test was “welfare.”
“Sir Parpar. You are allowed to give a gift to our lady. If she likes your gift, you can skip the tournament and challenge her right away.”
“That’s called bribery.”
“Hahaha!”
Knight L’s expression made it clear he wanted to give me a piece of his mind, but he decided to just laugh it off.
“Here’s my gift.”
I handed over my ring.
“Are you serious?” Asked Knight L, whose smile had disappeared.
Royal family ring.
Members of the royal family could be punished if it was passed onto the wrong hands.
I answered cheerfully. “I’ll still get it back from her anyway.”
▶ Delight: It’s so romantic…
‘Trainee Teacher understands me!’
However, Knight L didn’t support my optimism.
“I have seen many young men from noble families who also gave their signet rings and then lost.”
“I am different.”
“They also said so at first. Let me give you a piece of advice, Sir Parpar. Don’t confuse reality with fantasy.”
“Give it to her.”
“I hope you don’t regret it later.”
“Count Loli.”
“Lolikun!”
“Let me give you a piece of advice, Count Loli. Sometimes reality is more like fantasy.”
The tournament was held the very next day.
A friend of mine, the manager, assumed it would start only after four days, but it began much earlier thanks to the eight people who joined voluntarily after having their spines grabbed by the passing Hero A.
I was really lucky.
