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Short but swift footwork.

Jeff couldn’t keep up with Damian’s rapid movements, darting in and out.

Whoosh!

‘Damn…!’

Jeff’s brows furrowed as his sword once again cut through nothing but air.

He simply couldn’t keep up with Damian’s evasive maneuvers.

But the biggest problem wasn’t just that.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

An attack that sent a jolt through his wrist.

He managed to block it, but—

‘That was… close.’

He had almost lost track of Damian’s relentless, surging attacks.

‘My body can’t keep up anymore.’

Was it fatigue?

Jeff shook his head.

It was more that Damian’s movements were becoming faster and sharper as time went on.

“…Huff.”

Damian exhaled lightly, looking at the knight before him.

He had only fought at his full strength once before, when breaking the crystal infused with dark mana.

In other words, he had never fought all-out in a duel against a proper opponent.

However—

‘Using my mana is becoming more natural.’

And this feeling…

The more he exchanged blows with Jeff, the more Damian felt like he was returning to his old self.

Damian gripped his spear tighter and looked at Jeff.

Flinch!

At Damian’s gaze, Jeff instinctively took a step back.

Just by assuming his stance, Damian was exerting overwhelming pressure.

“I’ll finish this.”

“The hell you will!”

Jeff snapped, charging at Damian.

He knew that just defending would lead nowhere.

Attacking first was the only option left for Jeff.

“Hyaaah!”

The kingdom’s swordsmanship unfolded again.

The initial thrust aimed directly at Damian’s chest.

Whoosh!

But once again, the strike missed its mark.

Jeff bit his lip and swung his sword diagonally.

‘If he dodges this…!’

His next move was to surprise Damian with a low slash targeting his ankle instead of the usual upward strike.

But in a sudden flash—

Clang!

“…!”

Jeff found himself standing with his arms raised as if surrendering.

The moment Jeff slashed downward—

“…What the hell.”

Damian’s spear had shot up from below, knocking Jeff’s sword out of his grip.

A sharp pain tingled in Jeff’s palm.

He didn’t need to look to know.

His palm was torn.

How could a kid like this…

“You’re a monster, you little brat.”

Whoosh!

Damian’s spear surged forward, aiming for Jeff’s neck. And then—

Stop!

It halted just inches from Jeff’s throat, ending the match.

Jeff closed his eyes.

“…I’ve lost.”

His raised arms slowly lowered.

Damian withdrew his spear and bowed his head to Jeff.

“Thank you for the valuable lesson.”

“…The pleasure’s mine.”

Jeff swallowed his frustration, returned the bow, and turned away.

A loss was a loss.

He knew accepting it was the only way to move forward.

Step by step, Jeff walked back toward the barracks.

He couldn’t continue judging the candidates in his current state.

Damian watched Jeff walk away, a faint smile on his face.

‘He’s going to get even stronger.’

It was rare to find a knight like him.

Most knights would let their pride get in the way after losing to a common soldier.

But Jeff’s ability to accept and control his emotions meant he would grow much stronger.

“Damian.”

“…?”

Damian turned at the sound of the familiar voice.

It was Leonhark.

“Could I have a moment?”

“Yes.”

Their second conversation.

Damian followed Leonhark to the back of the barracks.

Once they were alone, Leonhark asked Damian,

“You’ve grown more adept at using mana. Who taught you?”

Leonhark already knew Damian could use mana from his time at the training camp.

But normally, controlling mana wasn’t something easily mastered through standard training methods.

Damian shrugged at Leonhark’s question.

“I guess I just picked it up naturally through practice?”

“…Is that so?”

If it was the Neokalitz unit… that was believable.

Leonhark stared at Damian thoughtfully.

‘Could that be why he joined the Neokalitz unit…?’

Damian, who had turned down the knight order, had chosen to join Neokalitz instead.

Leonhark asked,

“So, why did you come here? You haven’t been with Neokalitz for long, and you turned down an invitation to the knight in order to go there.”

Damian chuckled softly at his words.

Was that a subtle complaint about him rejecting the knight order?

Damian replied without hesitation.

“I know the knight order is prestigious, but they don’t see real combat, do they?”

“…Their training is as intense and grueling as actual combat.”

“But it’s still just training. Even when they use real swords in drills, they always stop when things get dangerous.”

Before he knew it, Damian’s expression had turned serious.

Leonhark, too, was staring at him with a stern look.

Damian continued speaking.

“I believe there are senses you can only develop through real combat. The camaraderie that deepens when you fight alongside your comrades is also part of that.”

He didn’t intend to belittle the knight order.

However, few of the current knight order members had ever experienced real combat.

Their training in swordsmanship, spear techniques, and mana cultivation was safe and controlled.

Their combat skills were undoubtedly exceptional.

Even if they were deployed in real battles, their strength would far surpass that of ordinary soldiers.

But that was the extent of it.

When faced with a truly dire situation, how many of them would be able to cope?

When real war breaks out and lives hang by a thread.

‘Only those who have genuinely faced death will survive.’

Damian had firmly made up his mind.

“…So you came here because you thought there would be real combat?”

Leonhark asked Damian.

Damian nodded.

“This unit was created for that purpose, wasn’t it?”

“What’s your basis for that?”

“If it weren’t, why would they offer such luxurious pay, privileges, and the status of an independent unit?”

Leonhark felt a lump in his throat at Damian’s words.

He fell into thought, unable to respond immediately.

“…How old did you say you were?”

“I just turned fourteen.”

“…”

Unbelievable.

If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes and heard it directly, he wouldn’t have believed it.

Leonhark nodded as he looked at Damian.

“I understand your thoughts well. And you’ve passed.”

“Thank you.”

“The two with you earlier, are they your comrades?”

“Yes, they are.”

Leonhark nodded.

“They’re also accepted. There’s no need for them to wait for the official announcement.”

Damian’s lips curled into a slight smile.

Just as he expected, they had all passed.

Damian bowed his head in gratitude.

“Thank you.”

“No need to thank me. There was no favoritism; it’s just that your skills were exceptional.”

Leaving those words, Leonhark turned and headed back toward the evaluation grounds.

Vincent, who was overseeing the evaluations, called out to him.

“Instructor, where have you been?”

“I went to see the boy who sparred with Jeff.”

“That kid from earlier? Do you know him?”

“I saw him once at the training camp.”

Leonhark seemed to ponder something for a moment before speaking again.

“Captain Vincent, how about we try the operation we discussed earlier with that boy and a few of the other promising ones?”

“Pardon?”

Vincent looked puzzled.

“Aren’t they too young?”

“You saw his skills.”

“I did, but…”

Honestly, he wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it himself.

The boy’s age on his records was just fourteen.

He had only been enlisted for a year.

Yet this ordinary soldier had bested a knight of the Monster Knight Order purely on skill.

“Does his age still matter?”

“…No, sir.”

Vincent shook his head.

Having already defeated Jeff, there was nothing left for Damian to prove.

Besides…

“There are other promising recruits as well, especially the two who were tested alongside that boy.”

“They came together as comrades.”

“…Does the Neokalitz unit secretly train a special forces team or something?”

How could regular soldiers be that strong?

The other two had different styles, but they were almost on par with the testing knights.

Though they ultimately lost.

But that was only because the knights had enhanced their bodies with mana.

If they hadn’t used mana and were on equal footing…

“Alright, we’ll give that operation a try.”

Vincent’s words made a faint smile appear on Leonhark’s lips.

* * *

The room was adorned with numerous swords and shields hanging on the walls.

Armor with elaborate engravings was displayed on one side.

In the center, a middle-aged man sitting at a desk opened a box in front of him.

“…Is this it?”

“Yes, it’s a potion currently being sold to high-ranking noble families in the Baroque Kingdom.”

“Hmmm… Has the Baroque Kingdom’s technology advanced this much?”

The man’s secretary, standing before him, shook his head.

“It doesn’t seem to be that. Rather, it appears they are receiving much higher-quality herbs and materials than before.”

“Can something like that change so suddenly?”

The man asked.

It was an abrupt change, too sudden to be natural.

The secretary replied.

“…It’s unclear, but it seems something happened near the Kaldeson Mountains that run through the Baroque Kingdom.”

“Find out what that is.”

“Yes, sir.”

The secretary nodded.

“If something this good exists, shouldn’t it be presented to the Empire?”

“You’re absolutely right.”

The man picked up the potion from the box.

Its rich scent suggested it was a premium potion.

“If something like this were to spread among the Empire’s young prospects, imagine the possibilities.”

“I will expedite the process.”

“See to it.”

As the secretary left, the man stood up.

The recent war with the Spanian Kingdom had ended.

The Empire had seized considerable resources and land from the defeated Spanian Kingdom.

Yet, the Empire was still thirsty.

Very much so.

“Where will we find the source to quench this unending thirst?”

He murmured softly, staring out at the cityscape through the window.

If the city could expand even further and the Empire’s influence could spread across the entire continent…

“Hahaha, it’s thrilling just to imagine.”

But the man’s expression quickly hardened.

He had no intention of leaving it as just an imagination.

“Once they start moving…”

The time was approaching.

A subtle, dark smile spread across the man’s face.

The Empire was already secretly aiming its blade at the continent.