Since we would have to cross swords during the semester anyway, there was no point in lying about something like, "I’m actually from a prestigious magic family, but my dream was to become a swordmaster."
It wouldn’t do any good for either of us.
Moreover, since the students of the White Tiger Tower were wary of Yi Han, it was necessary to ease their suspicions.
"I’ll just hang in there and get my grades, so you don’t need to worry about me!"
"......"
However, the other person’s expression looked quite subtle and complicated.
To be precise, it seemed like they were struggling to figure out whether Yi Han’s words were true or not.
"Uh... I see. I’m from the Moradi family. Just call me Moradi."
"Alright. Nice to meet you, Moradi."
Yi Han shook Moradi’s hand lightly.
Though Moradi was on the smaller side, the calluses and hardened skin on their palm reminded Yi Han once again that they were from a knightly family.
‘Wait, the Moradi family...’
Yi Han had heard of the Moradi family before.
They were a knightly family from the Empire, known for their ironclad rules and their willingness to do whatever it took to protect their territory in the cold north.
But...
‘...
They seem a bit different from the family’s reputation.’
"?"
Moradi looked at Yi Han with a puzzled expression.
‘Well, it’s not like a family’s reputation always matches reality.’
Compared to the earlier opponent, who didn’t care about family backgrounds and just picked fights on a whim, Moradi seemed much more reasonable.
‘I’ll have to smooth things over and ease the suspicions of the other White Tiger Tower students.’
The Blue Rock Sword.
That was the name of the swordsmanship Yi Han had learned from Alarron, an old knight of his family.
As the name "Blue Rock" suggested, Alarron’s swordsmanship was solid and straightforward.
"There are countless types of swordsmanship in the world. Fast, slow, sharp, blunt, heavy, light, simple, complex... You don’t need to learn all of them, and I don’t have the ability to teach them all. The swordsmanship I will teach you is the path of the sword that I have learned and believed in. If you continue to walk this path, you will eventually find your own way."
Alarron, who had practiced swordsmanship for decades, and Yi Han, who had only been practicing for less than ten years, were worlds apart in experience.
So, while Yi Han couldn’t fully understand everything Alarron said, he had one advantage that other nobles didn’t: he followed instructions without question.
To the point where even Alarron was surprised, Yi Han did exactly as he was told, and as a result, his swordsmanship was solidly grounded in the basics.
"The Blue Rock Sword? Your foundation is quite solid."
Professor Ingeldel also praised Yi Han’s stance after observing him.
"Which family are you from? If it’s the Blue Rock Sword, then surely..."
"I’m from the Wodanaz family."
"...?"
Professor Ingeldel hesitated for a moment.
Was the Wodanaz family’s swordsmanship the Blue Rock Sword?
After a moment, Professor Ingeldel, recalling what kind of family the Wodanaz were, asked curiously, "May I ask why you’re learning swordsmanship?"
"Isn’t swordsmanship a basic part of a noble’s education in the Empire?"
Professor Ingeldel gave a bitter smile at that answer.
It wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t the answer he was hoping for.
To a natural swordsman like Ingeldel, swordsmanship was a life-and-death skill, not just a noble’s pastime.
"At first, I thought the same way and learned it like that. But the more I learned, the more I realized that swordsmanship is as profound a discipline as magic. That’s why I came here to learn more."
"... Perfect!!"
"Huh?"
"Never mind."
Professor Ingeldel waved his hand.
He had accidentally let his inner thoughts slip out due to the unexpectedly excellent answer.
A student from the Wodanaz family, a prestigious magic family, taking swordsmanship so seriously? It was a much more admirable attitude than some of the superficial White Tiger Tower students.
‘Did it work?’
Yi Han keenly observed Professor Ingeldel’s expression.
Compared to the crazy Dean Lich, Professor Ingeldel, despite his intimidating appearance, was a straightforward and kind person.
For Yi Han, who had been worn down by crazy professors, winning over someone like Ingeldel was easy.
Even though he had come here just to coast through and get grades, he knew he had to hide his true intentions in front of the professor.
"That’s an excellent mindset."
"Thank you."
"Hearing that makes me want to work harder too. I’ll take you seriously. Now, pick up your wooden sword."
"......"
Yi Han slightly regretted answering so well.
Professor Ingeldel relentlessly drilled the students without giving them a break.
At first, the students, lulled by his friendly and gentle demeanor, let their guard down.
But after being hit a few times, they started to fight back with all their might.
Professor Ingeldel, in turn, beat them down again, leaving them like cowering mice.
‘Wow, this is no joke.’
Yi Han’s swordsmanship still had a long way to go, but he could at least tell how formidable his opponent was.
Alarron, who had taught Yi Han, was also an incredible swordsman, but Professor Ingeldel was no less impressive.
If Alarron was like an immovable rock, then Ingeldel was like flowing water.
What was even more astonishing was that he could move like that despite having a prosthetic arm and leg.
Even students who had trained in their family’s swordsmanship for years couldn’t keep up with Professor Ingeldel’s movements and were mercilessly beaten.
"The movements of the Purple Cloud Sword lack variation. The essence of dual swords lies in their complexity and intricacy! Don’t just swing your swords aimlessly; think more and then strike."
"The Mountain Moon Sword needs to be faster and sharper! Don’t hesitate when thrusting; throw your full strength into it."
Moreover, befitting his position as a professor, Ingeldel recognized all the swordsmanship styles the students displayed.
The Empire had hundreds of famous swordsmanship styles, and if you included those passed down within families, the number was uncountable.
Yet, Ingeldel knew the names of all of them.
"Let’s take a short break."
"......"
"Ugh..."
"Damn..."
The students groaned as they collapsed to the side.
They wanted to curse, but they didn’t even have the energy for that.
Yi Han’s muscles were sore, and his body felt numb.
"The Blue Rock Sword is like a rock. Don’t falter against any attack."
"Uh, Professor, your skill is above mine. How can I not falter?"
"Alright, I’ll keep attacking. Try to block! Go! Go! Go!"
Ingeldel found Yi Han’s weaknesses and exploited them mercilessly.
Yi Han had to block desperately to survive.
‘No matter how I think about it, I must have said something wrong...’
During the break, Yi Han couldn’t help but think that.
No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like he had been hit more persistently than the other students.
Of course, it could have been because of his swordsmanship, but his intuition told him otherwise.
Hadn’t he already experienced what happens when you mess up in front of a professor in <Introduction to Basic Alchemy>?
Should he have just stayed quiet?
‘I didn’t think I’d get beaten more just for scoring points.’
"Wodanaz?"
"Yes, Professor."
"Come out for a quick spar."
"......"
Yi Han really thought he had messed up.
While everyone else was resting, he had to take a beating from the professor alone.
But Ingeldel hadn’t called him out to beat him up.
"This is Dergu from the Choi family. You two will have a quick spar."
"!"
Not only Yi Han, but the other students were also surprised.
Why those two?
‘Isn’t that the guy who picked a fight earlier?’
Yi Han looked at Dergu with a sour expression.
The guy who had asked, "Why is someone from another dorm taking this class?" didn’t leave a good impression.
Moreover, even though he knew Yi Han was from the Wodanaz family, he had picked a fight without thinking twice.
He was clearly the type to charge in recklessly instead of holding back during a spar.
"Understood, Professor!"
With that, the orc glared at Yi Han as if he wanted to kill him.
Yi Han clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘His true intentions are showing.’
It was clear from his face that he wanted to use this opportunity to crush a student from another dorm.
Why the professor had chosen Yi Han out of all the students was unclear, but...
‘Surely I haven’t been marked by the professor just because I’m from another dorm.
He seemed to like my answer earlier.’
In any case, Yi Han had no intention of backing down.
He could have stayed comfortably in his family’s mansion, eating and playing, but he had endured Alarron’s beatings to learn swordsmanship precisely so he wouldn’t get beaten up in situations like this!
The reason Professor Ingeldel had chosen Dergu and Yi Han was simple: at the moment, they were the two most outstanding students.
Swordsmanship wasn’t something you could just learn and immediately display.
The core techniques, the sword forms, required thousands of repetitions and real combat experience to even begin to understand.
For example, take a technique where you aim to thrust at the opponent’s chest but then change trajectory to strike the neck.
If you just used it outright, only an exceptionally foolish opponent would fall for it.
You had to first feint, threaten, or set up a series of subtle movements to make the technique effective.
In other words, understanding a sword form meant being able to apply it fully in combat.
Just knowing how to use the sword forms you’ve learned would allow you to easily handle most mercenaries out there.
Most mercenaries didn’t even know what they were doing, relying purely on instinct and brute force.
In that regard, both Dergu and Yi Han had reached a level where they could understand and apply the sword forms they had learned.
They even infused their weapons with a faint amount of magical energy.
For their age, even coming from knightly families, they had the talent to succeed as knights.
‘How hard must it have been for a student from the Wodanaz family, a prestigious magic family, to practice swordsmanship to this level!’
While Dergu from the Choi family was one thing, it was truly surprising for a student from the Wodanaz family to have such high achievements in swordsmanship.
And that made Ingeldel even prouder.
‘Swordsmanship is as deep and meaningful a discipline as magic.
That student must have felt the same way, which is why he came here with such determination.’
Ingeldel misunderstood Yi Han.
He thought Yi Han had risked his life to secretly practice swordsmanship under his family’s watchful eyes.
In reality, the Wodanaz family didn’t interfere much with Yi Han learning swordsmanship from Alarron.
The Wodanaz family was known for letting each member do their own thing without meddling.
But Ingeldel, unaware of this, saw Yi Han as a diligent and pitiable student.
Now that they had met, Ingeldel felt it was his responsibility to guide Yi Han on his path of the sword.
‘The Choi family’s Mountain Moon Sword is fast and sharp, a swift sword.
In contrast, the Wodanaz family’s Blue Rock Sword is heavy and strong, a great sword.
They’re complete opposites.
Having them spar will teach them a lot.
Having a rival who can challenge you on the path of the sword is invaluable.’
Of course, Professor Ingeldel was also aware that the White Tiger Tower students harbored hostility towards Yi Han, the only student from another dorm.
But that was something that would resolve itself over time.
After being beaten like dogs under Professor Ingeldel, they wouldn’t have time to hate each other.
They’d only have time to hate Professor Ingeldel!
Professor Ingeldel sincerely hoped that the two most outstanding students would positively influence each other, and that this positive influence would spread to the other students.
Swoosh!
As Ingeldel was thinking this, what caught his eye was Yi Han kicking dirt into Dergu’s face.