Professor Briggs’s stance resembled that of a crouching turtle. He held his shield in front, crouched his body as much as possible, and held his sword horizontally for a concise thrust, angled slightly back. Inwardly, he was welcoming this duel.
‘I’ll show him a thing or two this time.’
Having reached the four-star level, he disliked the very sight of the two swords in Patrick’s hands. What he taught at the academy was the effective use of a shield. In fact, during his active days, he had made a name for himself as Jonathan the Iron Wall, using a wide kite shield.
To him, Patrick's fighting style, wielding a sword in each hand, was incredibly grating.
‘Twin swords? Is this a joke? Today, I will show you the true value of shield techniques.’
He slowly advanced, putting pressure on Patrick. His fighting style was that of a typical heavy-armored knight, pressing the enemy with a large shield and sturdy armor. He was confident he could block any attack, no matter how fierce.
And his sure-win pattern was a sharp counterattack after defending first. He had never been pushed back when fighting a knight of the same level. Thanks to that, he had made a name for himself in the upper ranks of the Royal Knight Order during his active service.
‘Come on. Bring it on.’
Watching Jonathan Briggs inching forward, Patrick let out a smirk and spoke.
"You're not a turtle..."
“What did you say?”
"You seem confident in your defense… Very well. Let's see if you can keep up."
“Go ahead and try... Huk!”
A gasp escaped Professor Briggs’s lips. Patrick’s body, which had been in front of him, seemed to blur, and then he lost sight of him. Then, a low voice from behind…
“Behind you."
"Kuk!"
He hastily turned his body, thrusting his shield forward. And at the same time, a powerful blow struck his shield…
Thwaaack!
A brutal sound, unbelievable for a clash between a wooden sword and a round shield, echoed.
‘Wh... what is this...’
Professor Briggs was greatly flustered. He had completely lost sight of Patrick. If Patrick hadn’t deliberately spoken from behind, his back would have been wide open.
This was as good as the match being decided. To him, who couldn't even think straight due to a mix of bewilderment and shame, Patrick said.
“I'm not done yet.”
And Patrick’s twin swords flew at him in succession.
“Keuk...”
Bbaaam! Pwack! Krrack!
They were just ordinary wooden swords, not even clad in aura. But Professor Briggs, who was receiving the attacks, could feel it. The weight of each strike was no joke.
His arms were throbbing. If they were real swords instead of wooden ones, no, if they had just been imbued with aura, he would never have been able to block them. If he allowed even one of these attacks in a real battle, his bones might break and his organs might rupture.
A counterattack?
He couldn't even dream of it. He moved his shield with more focus than ever before in his life to block Patrick’s attacks. He felt a sense of crisis, as if he might die if he missed blocking the two wooden swords raining down on him even once.
Just then, Patrick’s low voice was heard.
"You seem confident in your defense..."
"..."
He's talking?
He was so preoccupied with blocking this suffocating barrage of attacks that he couldn't think, yet Patrick was speaking. He wasn't even breathing hard while launching such a fierce assault? Was that even possible?
‘Is he a monster?’
He didn’t even know it, but Patrick was currently adjusting the speed of his attacks just enough for him to barely block them.
Because…
"I have a bad habit from way back..."
“Keuk...”
Thwack! Thwack! Thwaaang!
The power behind Patrick’s attacks grew stronger and stronger.
"When I see something my opponent is confident in, I just have to break it."
“Kuuuk...”
Thwaaaang! Kra-thwaaang! Krrra-thwaaaaaang!
Amidst the ever-strengthening attacks, Professor Briggs's body sank as if being pressed into the ground. This didn't feel like blocking a wooden sword; it felt like blocking a war hammer swung by a robust knight head-on. And Patrick spoke.
"Should I teach you something good?"
I can't block this. No, I'll die.
“Ugh... Uwaaaaaaaaah!”
Unable to endure any longer, Professor Briggs counterattacked as if in a last-ditch struggle. He opened his shield and thrust his sword towards Patrick in a desperate, all-or-nothing move. It wasn't a thought-out counterattack, but as his fierce strike shot forward, Patrick spoke.
"There's no wall in the world that can't be broken!"
Simultaneously, Patrick’s twin swords left afterimages, multiplying into dozens.
‘Gasp...’
Professor Briggs was aghast. He had never seen such a spectacular yet menacing attack. He had a knack for defense, but this...
‘I can’t block it.’
At that moment, dozens of sword strikes exploded evenly across Professor Briggs’s entire body, not a single one missing.
Th-th-th-th-th-th-th-thwack!
“Keoheok...”
The attack had been controlled to the point just before breaking his bones. Struck all over his body, Professor Briggs collapsed to the ground with a thud. Patrick glanced at the fallen professor, slung one of his wooden swords over his shoulder, and said.
“Next.”
At that one calm word, the training grounds fell deathly silent.
‘My goodness, Professor Briggs...’
‘To break through his defense so easily.’
‘Unbelievable.’
The professors were stunned. They had expected the student named Patrick Schneider to be quite skilled. After all, the trouble he had caused couldn't have been done without skill.
But this...
This was beyond their common sense. He had far surpassed the upper limit of skill a first-year academy student could possess.
"..."
"..."
"..."
In the training grounds, which had become so quiet you could hear a pin drop, Patrick beckoned to the professors with his finger and said.
"Don't be scared, come on over. I'll be gentle, okay?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
Seeing Professor Briggs twitching on the ground, his words weren't the least bit convincing. Don't people often use the expression 'to be at a loss for words'? It’s an expression often used when people witness an unbelievable sight with their own eyes and find themselves unable to speak.
Just like right now.
Thud.
He was the seventh. Professor Ekanor, a five-star knight who had risen to the position of deputy commander's aide in the Royal Knight Order during his active service, collapsed to the floor. With this, seven academy professors had been unilaterally beaten and knocked down by a first-year student.
Even the onlookers watched this surreal scene, thinking, "Does this even make sense?" At this rate, who was the professor and who was the student? Does this make any sense?
A position as a Knight Faculty professor wasn't something you won in a poker game; most of them were veteran knights who had left a solid track record in the Royal Knight Order during their active days. And yet, these people couldn't handle a first-year student who had just entered the academy this year.
Who on earth could have imagined this? There's a limit to how much the world can be turned upside down. How could anyone have imagined this?
If the battles had at least been somewhat plausible, it would be another story. The seven professors who fell to Patrick were all defeated one-sidedly. Without being able to do a thing.
Starting with Jonathan the Iron Wall.... Bennarix the Strong Sword. Zabrick the Titan Knight.
Sunaber the Storm Knight. All these men who once had renowned names were defeated.
"Their titles are all so grand, but their skills don't live up to them."
Patrick’s indifferent remark mercilessly stabbed at the consciences of the defeated professors. At this point, they had no choice but to admit it. That first-year student was stronger than the academy's professors.
Overwhelmingly so.
"Good heavens, if he's stronger than five-star knights, just how strong is he?"
“It must mean he's at least a six-star. At the very least.”
"Six-star? Even so, a six-star..."
"And he didn't even use aura, did he? If they had fought properly..."
"If they fought properly, what?"
"Wouldn't it be... a bit better?"
"Tsk, tsk, do you think a fight between two five-star swordsmen would be decided that easily?"
"... Hmm."
“Even without using aura, he won almost as if he were toying with them. That's something that can't happen unless there's at least a one-level difference in their realms.”
"Now that you mention it…"
The spectators in the gallery watched with their mouths agape. Currently, the strongest student at the academy is Princess Isabella. With the fourth and fifth years away on knightly training, she, the top student of the third year, is effectively the strongest among the students.
And Isabella's level is three-star. But that first-year is at least a six-star…
“Does this make sense? How can he step into the realm of a six-star at that age?" “Whether it makes sense or not, it's happening in reality, isn't it?” "That's true, but..." "Ha... haha... calling him a genius seems like an understatement.”
Everyone who had come to confirm Patrick’s skills now realized. He wasn't just a promising talent or a reasonably useful individual. A figure who might appear only once in an era.
A person who influences their surroundings just by existing and ultimately changes the times. Usually, when a little time is added to the footsteps of such people, that is what becomes a legend. They might have just become living witnesses to the first chapter of that legend.
“Who's next? Aren't you coming?”
Patrick spoke nonchalantly, tapping his shoulder with his sword, but no one felt he was being arrogant. Even with the same words and actions, the listener's impression changes if the speaker's status is different. Patrick was a master.
To the extent that such behavior could be fully tolerated.
“W... well then, I'll be next...”
“Wait, I'll do it.”
“No, it's my turn this time.”
“Since when was there a turn!?" The professors vied with one another to face Patrick. Rather than being angered by his disrespectful attitude, their desire to learn a thing or two from a rare master took precedence.
Seeing this, Patrick grinned and thought.
‘Their fundamentals are sound.’
He would have been disappointed if they had shown reluctance to duel him out of concern for their dignity as professors. But the academy’s professors were instead scrambling to be the one to face him. The higher one’s realm, the more desperately one needs the teachings of a master.
This is because the stronger you become, the fewer people there are who are stronger than you. Moreover, the Atronia Kingdom was a weak nation with poor knightly strength. The existence of masters was bound to be scarce.
But now.
Right before their eyes was a clear master, stronger than themselves. What was Patrick’s level? Where did he obtain such power?
Those were matters for later. The only thing important to them was the desperate urge to feel the strength of that monster with their own bodies, right now.
“I will do it.”
Pushing past the other professors, a man stepped forward wielding a halberd with an abnormally large axe blade.
“Professor Baroque.”
“Any complaints?"
"..."
"No, I have no complaints. None, but..."
Marox Baroque.
A man with the somewhat storied moniker of 'the Pulverizer'. He was a bit clumsy at teaching students, but his own skills were undeniable. Among the academy professors, perhaps only Professor Leit could definitively defeat him.
And that man had stepped forward to face Patrick.