Chapter 93. The First Boss, Leang (11)

A beam of light that absorbed the surrounding light.

Leang couldn't even react.

By the time Leania realized she had drawn her sword, the beam of light had already passed by her side.

Bang! Rumble-!!

"Ahh!!"

The scream that erupted wasn't from Leang.

It was from Leania, the head of the Lester family.

"Oh no! I did it again!"

Leania rushed past him and headed toward the back.

Leang couldn't help but be shocked.

Because the wall behind him was split vertically.

'Is this... the One Flash?'

Leang tried to regulate his breathing and calm down.

It's even more powerful than I heard.

'No, is this even swordsmanship?'

Leang stared blankly at the trace of the One Flash.

Even a child could tell that Leania had deliberately missed.

If it had hit, or even grazed, his body would have disappeared.

'...The training ground, patched up like a rag. It's because of this.'

Leania's 'One Flash' is so powerful that even a protective barrier enchanted with magic is useless.

It's an incredible skill. He really wanted to learn it.

He would bet everything he had on it.

"Ah!! It's completely broken!? What do we do with this?"

Leania panicked, a sight unbecoming of a noble of her stature.

Seeing this, Leang couldn't help but think:

'Cute.'

Of course, he immediately erased that thought from his face.

"Umm... Darling and the butler were warned that if they break it again, sparring would be forbidden... What do we do?"

Leania, scratching her head in confusion, snapped her fingers as if a good idea had come to her.

"Right! If we say Luna did it, they might let it slide. Let's do that."

Being a noble of high status, her thinking is quite unique.

'She's really good at passing the blame.'

While he thought it was a bit different, she was still a noble from a prestigious family.

It's natural for her to shift the blame to her subordinates.

'Well, I don't think she's a bad person. In a prestigious noble family, it's natural for subordinates to take on the menial tasks, right?'

Leang was under a huge misconception.

He didn't know that Luna was just a baby who had just started to walk.

In other words, Leania planned to get out of this situation by using Luna's cuteness.

But Leang, unaware of this, couldn't help but think that way.

"Lord Leania?"

"Hmm? Ah... Don't worry. I can handle this."

Leania, who said this, bit her nails.

...It doesn't look like she can handle it at all.

But he couldn't offer to pay for it, being poor as he was.

Leang bowed his head slightly and said:

"I can't help much, but I'll assist with the repairs. It's partly my fault, after all."

"R-Really? That would be great. One less person to scold. Ahaha, what a relief."

She was happy that she had one more person to help.

'She's a bit of a klutz.'

Just a moment ago, she seemed like a very impressive person.

The Lester family is a very mysterious family.

The head of the family is afraid of being scolded, and there's a Luna who can destroy walls.

It's a family full of mysteries.

"And I would like to stay here for a while to train. Is it possible to have a small room?"

"Hmm... Sure. It seems you're on the verge of a great breakthrough."

A great breakthrough. Leania is right.

Currently, he is undergoing a significant change within.

Leang clenched his fist tightly.

'Improving the family's swordsmanship? Not necessary.'

If he can use a powerful secret technique like One Flash.

The Fleure family can rise above being a third-rate family.

It started around that time.

When his thoughts began to change.

* * *

A month passed.

Leang knew he was good at analysis and started to analyze everything about the One Flash.

Occasionally, Leania would come and spar with him.

...After the second sparring session, there was a small incident where Leania was banned from entering the training ground.

He was able to figure out some of the secrets and subtleties of the One Flash.

Of course, theory and practice are different.

'Using different muscles, I had to give up some of the swordsmanship from other families...'

But the Lester family's swordsmanship was worth it.

It was worth giving up everything he had built over the past five years.

The first secret technique of the Lester family.

One Flash (一閃).

Crack!

A beam of light flew and cut through the bushes.

'Success!'

Leang clenched his fist in joy.

He could only succeed once in twenty tries.

But the important thing was that he had successfully demonstrated it in front of Leania.

Just as he was expecting praise and advice.

"...It's a shame."

"Huh?"

"It's a shame that you chose an easy but dishonorable path over a difficult but honorable one."

Leania's demeanor was different from usual.

Her eyes were different. They weren't the usual dull look.

They were calm and serious, with a sense of gravity.

'Some kind of weight...'

It felt like she had grown, several times larger than him.

"Sir Leang."

"Yes...?"

"It seems I was wrong. I thought helping you would be beneficial, but it led to the opposite result..."

Leang couldn't understand what Leania was saying.

He could use the One Flash, couldn't he?

Just a little more, if he could see and analyze your One Flash a little more, I would definitely...

"The path you should take is not this one."

"Is my effort lacking?"

"It's not that. You think the strength of swordsmanship comes from a prestigious family, don't you?"

"Isn't that obvious?"

Leania shook her head.

"No. The strength of swordsmanship comes from here."

Leania pointed to her chest.

"The heart. Strength accumulates here, not in the shell of a prestigious family."

Strength accumulates in the heart? And a prestigious family is just a shell?

He couldn't agree with either. Especially the latter.

"The heart? Are you speaking metaphorically about the mana circle? I don't understand what you mean."

"Any family's swordsmanship is the same at the beginning and the end, only differing in the middle. I don't understand why you're taking the wrong path. You have a great foundation, so why..."

"I'm not taking the wrong path! No! I know this is the right path!"

Was he upset that he had shouted?

Leania started to push him away.

Leang tried to resist, but it was useless.

'What kind of strength...!'

She dragged him away with one hand, despite his robust build.

When they reached the boundary between the village and the castle.

"Return to where you belong."

He was being expelled. Accurately, he was being kicked out.

Leang was taken aback.

"Why are you doing this all of a sudden? Is using the One Flash a crime?"

"No, it's not. It means you should stop wandering here."

"I'm not wandering! I've finally found the right path, so why...!"

"...Words won't get through to you now. Think about it slowly. I believe you, the smart Sir Leang, will realize it on your own."

Bang.

The castle gates were firmly closed. He had been kicked out.

Just for following the One Flash.

'He must be afraid of my talent.'

If I analyze more, he might take the One Flash away. That's what he must have thought.

But.

- Sir Leang, the strength of swordsmanship doesn't come from a prestigious family. It comes from here, the heart.

Why does that statement pierce my heart?

Leang started to cry. He didn't know why.

Tears just came.

"...Please."

Don't kick me out of the temple.

Tell me what I did wrong.

Show me the path I should take.

While Leang was crying.

"I'll tell you, you idiot!"

Suddenly, a demon appeared in front of Leang and thrust a contract at him.

Leang was already holding a sword in his right hand.

A demonic sword, overflowing with dark energy.

The dark energy began to climb up his right arm, putting pressure on Leang.

"Ah!"

Leang finally woke up from his long dream.

Chirp chirp.

Leang, drenched in sweat, opened the window.

It was already morning.

* * *

"Demons are classified into upper, middle, and lower demons. Is there a demon higher than the upper demons?"

Elesster's class.

Several children quickly raised their hands, and Yuridia was called on.

"There is a supreme demon. They are called 'Legion' and are generally referred to as 6th rank, but it's also fine to call them six demons or six children."

"Correct. Well, the latter part seems to be a bit subjective... but it's not a bad term."

Hahaha!

The children's laughter echoed in the classroom.

Elesster started writing something on the board.

More accurately, a writing tool was flying around, drawing something.

'Magic... I want to use it too.'

Of course, I can use it later.

There are as many magic-type hidden pieces as there are swordsmanship pieces.

The problem is that I can only get them after the final exam, during the summer break.

Until then, magic is like a cake in a picture for me.

'I could use the Divine Imitation, but...'

There are many better skills stored now.

It would be a waste to use a [Divine Imitation] slot for personal desires.

While he was feeling disappointed.

"Do you all know what this magic circle is?"

A symbol with a star inside a circle, inverted.

The symbol of upper demons, the inverted pentagram.

"5th rank and above demons, they have this inverted pentagram symbol floating behind them. Some don't, but what you need to remember is not that."

Elesster placed both hands on the lectern. The atmosphere became heavy.

It means she's about to say something very important.

"Run. If you see this symbol, you must run."

Upper demons are a different class of beings.

If there's an inverted pentagram, it's at least 5th rank. It can be considered an upper demon.

At the student level, it's impossible to fight, so you must run.

"Remember this formula."

The writing tool danced again, listing numbers on the board.

123456789 – Star

987654321 – Rank

"A 1-star knight and mage can handle a 9th rank demon. A 2-star can handle an 8th rank demon. What about a 9-star knight?"

"A 1st rank demon."

"Correct. Of course, demons use different magic, so it's not absolute. Even if you can handle a demon, don't be complacent."

A simple formula to judge the strength of a demon.

Why make it so complicated when you can just match the star number?

'Demons are basically 'reverse' by nature.'

Beings that act in opposition to human actions. That's what demons are.

That's why people in this world attach a lot of meaning to 'reverse,' which symbolizes opposition.

As a Korean who pursues extreme efficiency, I can't understand this.

Isn't it? A 1-star knight for a 1st rank demon, a 9-star knight for a 9th rank demon.

If it were like this, you could instantly compare power without memorizing the formula.

'Upper demons...'

The inverted pentagram symbol on the board captivated my gaze.