The following day dawned.
Students from the Tower of the Blue Dragon emerged into the lounge, their faces showing signs of fatigue.
They had managed to find out which classes would have pop quizzes by shaking down the undead...
...but in reality, not much had changed.
After all, it was still the students who had to study.
With most classes having pop quizzes, what else could they do but stay up all night studying?
"Wait a minute. Yi-Han, what are you eating?"
Yonaire, sensing something odd, asked.
Yi-Han was munching on snacks brought by the undead.
"You're not serious, are you?"
"Snacks brought by the undead? Yes, they are."
Yi-Han replied calmly.
Of course, it would have been best to throw away such snacks, but in reality, ideals often don't align with practicality.
Given the scarcity of supplies, it seemed wasteful to discard these snacks.
Moreover, these snacks had no effect on Yi-Han. He had already confirmed this the day before.
'Unnecessarily delicious.'
Whoever had made them, the snacks from the skull principal were unnecessarily tasty.
"Wardanaz... giving us decent snacks... and eating spoiled ones himself..."
Other students looked at Yi-Han with tearful eyes, murmuring from behind.
Students who had lived their entire lives in noble families were unaccustomed to someone eating spoiled food for their sake.
"It's not spoiled. It's tasty..."
"Did you all see? This is how we repay Wardanaz's dedication."
"Gainando. Focus on studying! Stop fiddling with the cards!"
"Oh, I'm done, alright?!"
Yi-Han shrugged his shoulders at the sight of his friends encouraging each other and picked up another snack.
<Basic Imperial Geometry and Arithmetic>
Professor Alpen Knighton was slightly surprised at the enthusiasm shown by the students of the Tower of the Blue Dragon.
Of course, fervent passion and academic performance were two different things.
-Mr. Gainando, I understand you are close to Mr. Wardanaz. It might be better for you to learn from him and retake the exam.-
-...Can't I just learn without retaking it? I promise I'll do well in the final exams!-
<Basic Imperial Language and Logic>
Professor Rosine Fluerwerk encouraged her students.
-You are all doing wonderfully. To have such remarkable students, the future of the empire looks bright indeed. Mr. Richmond, 37 points, excellent. Mr. Jozon, 33 points, very good. Mr. Wardanaz, hmm, well done.-
-?-
-Why didn't she say Wardanaz's score…-
The students from the Tower of the Blue Dragon, puzzled, caught a glimpse of the three-digit score on Yi-Han's test paper and quietly closed their mouths.
Sometimes, a friend's academic excellence could be a source of pain.
-Let's keep this to ourselves.-
-The others from the different towers should be grateful for our consideration.-
Evening.
Professor Ingurdel, waiting for the students while watching the sunset, was puzzled to see them running towards him with happy faces.
"What happened to everyone?"
"Nothing, Professor!"
"Please proceed with the class!"
The students from the Tower of the White Tiger looked at the professor with affectionate eyes.
They had been tormented by pop quizzes all day.
It wasn't strange to feel a halo behind Professor Ingurdel, who didn't give exams.
"Ha! Haa!"
"Huaaap!"
Yi-Han watched the students from the Tower of the White Tiger energetically swinging their wooden swords and asked Professor Ingurdel.
"By the way, Professor. I wanted to ask you something..."
"I knew it. You want to ask about the weakness of the Rock Drake, right?"
Professor Ingurdel spoke as if he knew everything.
"...Not at all."
Yi-Han nearly managed to keep a straight face.
Anyone would think that he harbored a grudge against the Rock Drake!
"Wasn't it so?"
"Why would you have such a misconception...?"
"The principal mentioned that you might try to take it down alone next time..."
"..."
"So it wasn't the case. What did you want to ask?"
"Actually, about dealing with the Rock Drake..."
Professor Ingurdel sent a look that said, 'You denied it, yet it turns out to be true.'
Yi-Han quickly explained what had happened.
"...I realized I could alter the nature of my mana, but I'm not sure if that's a good thing..."
"It's definitely a good thing!"
Professor Ingurdel rejoiced as if it were his own achievement.
Changing the nature of one's mana was something even those who had been taught family secrets from a young age couldn't achieve without talent.
And here was a young swordsman who had discovered how to change the nature of his mana on his own.
It was a promising sign that he might someday develop his own swordsmanship.
"Geniuses who dedicate their lives to swordsmanship always create their own styles. Such swordsmanship isn't just a skill, it's the swordsman's pride and self-esteem."
"Uh..."
Yi-Han hesitated.
The conversation was getting ahead of itself.
'I'm not particularly interested in developing my own swordsmanship.'
Yi-Han had no ambition to create a unique style that would make a mark in the history of swordsmanship in the empire.
He had originally attended the swordsmanship lectures for easy grades, after all.
The Azure Rock Style technique he learned from Arlong was sufficient for him, and he had no intention of altering or reinterpreting it.
"Mr. Wardanaz, try blending that nature change with your swordsmanship. You'll naturally see your own style emerge."
Suddenly being forced to mix the changing nature of his mana into his swordsmanship training, Yi-Han felt even more bewildered.
His Azure Rock Style technique was already at a considerable level of completion.
It was natural, having wielded it since childhood.
But if he now mixed in this newly discovered changing nature of his mana, it would cause a lot of confusion until he became accustomed to it again.
Of course, Yi-Han didn't want that.
He just wanted to know what this phenomenon was and how it could be useful...
"Professor, I haven't even perfected my mana circulation yet. Wouldn't greedily adding nature change dull my sword?"
"It's fine, Mr. Wardanaz. The path of the sword isn't that narrow, and you're not lacking in talent. You can handle both."
"..."
Yi-Han clenched his teeth and nodded. Then, he turned away, feeling lonely.
Dolgyu spoke from beside him.
"I heard that. Yi-Han, you're trying to apply the changing nature of your mana to your swordsmanship? Impressive. Our tower's students haven't even thought about it, only focusing on mana circulation."
"I've always been serious about swordsmanship."
"Of course, I knew that. A student as dedicated to swordsmanship as you is rare even in our tower. By now, your friends must also feel your sincerity."
"..."
Yi-Han inwardly sighed at Dolgyu's response, taking his joke seriously.
Well, it wasn't Dolgyu's fault...
"I'd appreciate some sparring help. It'll take a while to get used to the new swordsmanship, and the others won't be as understanding."
"Of course, Yi-Han. But if the other friends hear about your situation, they will also help."
'I doubt that.'
Yi-Han and Dolgyu clashed their wooden swords.
Given Professor Ingurdel's words, Yi-Han knew that each week, he would be asked, "How has your swordsmanship changed?" So, he had to show some results.
His first goal was to disrupt balance.
Fortunately, Yi-Han had a reference for his objective.
He remembered seeing a squire from the White Wood Knight Order who used Absorption Sword technique during their last visit.
Labda of the Engge family wrapped his sword with a magnetic-like mana that disrupted the opponent's balance with each strike.
Of course, there would be more complex techniques at higher levels, but Yi-Han didn't need that much.
What mattered was showing Professor Ingurdel a level of practice that said, "I've been practicing like this!"
"What are they doing over there?"
"Wardanaz is practicing Absorption Sword."
"What? Isn't that a technique from the Engge family?"
"That Wardanaz..."
The students from the Tower of the White Tiger looked at Yi-Han with a mix of surprise and awe.
Already possessing swordsmanship skills ranked among the top, he was not content to stop there but was delving into developing new techniques.
He was indeed greedy when it came to swordsmanship.
"We can't fall behind!"
"Wardanaz, when it comes to passion for swordsmanship, you can't beat us!"
'I'd like to smack each of them.'
Struggling against Dolgyu's attacks and staggering, Yi-Han was internally fuming.
He was irritated and frustrated with the unfamiliar sword technique...
It felt like he had returned to his early days of sword training.
"Yi-Han, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Let's continue."
Regardless of his mood, Yi-Han was the type to press on if it had to be done.
Frustrating as it might be, if Professor Ingurdel wanted it, what could he do?
He had to produce results to show him.
'When an attack comes, stop it. Again, when an attack comes, stop it.'
Instead of executing the fluid motions of his swordsmanship, Yi-Han focused solely on defense.
As the alteration of the nature of mana was difficult, it was necessary to let go of other aspects.
His target was one: to use the Absorption mana to pull and halt the opponent's action when an attack came.
Clang, clang, clang, clang-
Dolgyu's rapid attacks repeatedly struck the blade, but suddenly, the sword hesitated in midair, failing to return to position.
"Did you see that? Just now, Yi-Han?!"
"Yes, I saw it."
Yi-Han sighed inwardly in relief.
'At least I managed to succeed once.'
Pouring mana into the hand indiscriminately without worrying about waste, and infusing mana into the wooden sword just enough not to break it, were tasks of differing difficulties.
Swordsmen who had not reached the stage of continuously circulating mana through their swords like their own bodies had to extract mana as needed and infuse it into their swords for combat.
This method led to significant mana waste, but it was a necessary sacrifice.
However, for someone like Yi-Han, other considerations were required.
The concern was not to infuse too much mana and break the sword!
To demonstrate Absorption Sword, he had to infuse mana into the sword with each collision, requiring even more focus.
"Yi-Han, your swordsmanship belongs to the heavy and strong mid-sword style. If you can disrupt balance merely by blocking, your counterattacks will become even more powerful."
"Thanks, Dolgyu."
"Let's continue then."
"...Can't we take a break?"
"Yi-Han, what are you saying? If you don't continue after a realization, the swordsmanship won't stick."
Dolgyu, knowing Yi-Han well enough, was surprised by his words.
Professor Ingurdel chimed in.
"That's right, Wardanaz. It's better to continue."
"Actually, my mana is..."
"?"
"?"
"...It's nothing. Let's continue, Dolgyu."
"Alright. Understood!"
Yi-Han, who was about to make an excuse of running low on mana, gave up and sighed.
'Damn it. I just wanted to take a break...'
Both Dolgyu and Professor Ingurdel knew Yi-Han too well. Knowing he could do more, they relentlessly pushed him, even when he wanted a brief respite.
The next day, Yi-Han massaged his sore muscles as he headed to Professor Boladi classroom.
His entire body ached from practicing the unfamiliar sword technique the day before. Usually, he wouldn't easily succumb to exhaustion, but this time, he was so tired he could have just collapsed.
'I'm afraid to open the door.'
It was daunting enough to meet in perfect condition, let alone in his current, imperfect state.
With these thoughts, Yi-Han opened the door.
"Good day."
Professor Boladi, standing like a statue, opened his mouth as Yi-Han sat down.
"Have you completed the <Autonomous Cold Shield>?"
"Uh... Not yet."
"Prepare."
"Just a moment."
"?"
"The Rock Drake is..."
Yi-Han regretted bringing it up.
Why had he dug his own grave when Professor Boladi hadn't even mentioned it?
"Do you want to know the weakness of the Rock Drake?"
"That's not what I..."
"It seems the principal's words were true. As I said before, you're too hasty."
"..."
Yi-Han truly felt aggrieved.
