TLN: A few swordsmanship concepts here. Seigan no Kamae stance in particular is mentioned here, you can google it if you want to know what it is.
Allen Rodoru has been changed to Allen Rhodes, since they seem to be using western name. However, the sword stances are in j.a.panese so I"m not sure where this is set.
The failure swordsman and the swordsmanship academy – 1
I heard a voice.
「Eh?…..that"s strange….it"s not time yet….too early….he got up…!」(???)
When I slowly opened my eyes, I could see a vivid sky.
I seem to be on my back.
(Ah?……what was I…..?)
My blurred vision gradually cleared and with it, my senses cleared also.
Cool earth.
The smell of leaves.
Dry mouth.
Dazzling sunshine.
And a voice calling out to me.
「Allen! You"re up early! Why are you sleeping here!?」(???)
In front of my eyes was the dorm mother Paula, who was looking down at me from above.
「!?」(Allen)
I got up in a hurry.
「What year is it, what month is it, what hour is it, what minute is it, what second is it….!?」
I immediately tried to confirm the current time.
Paula shrugged her shoulders with an amazed expression.
「Huh…Allen? Are you still dreaming?」(Paula)
「Ah, no. That"s right…it just finished」(Allen)
I escaped from that 100 million years loop of h.e.l.l and returned safely to the real world.
「That"s right, the hermit of time is…!?」(Allen)
I pulled out my sword and observed the surroundings.
But….there was no sign of him.
「Hermit of time…? Allen…are you really okay?」(Paula)
Paula called out with a serious expression.
「No…that is….excuse me…」(Allen)
「If you say so, it looked like you were having a nightmare….was it a bad dream?」(Paula)
「I suppose….maybe….」(Allen)
Perhaps it was a dream.
No, it must have been a dream.
Taking common sense into consideration, it"s impossible for there to be something like a 100 million years b.u.t.ton.
「It looked like a pretty bad dream….did it feel real?」(Paula)
「…I don"t remember too much, sorry」(Allen)
That was a lie.
In fact, I remember it clear as day.
But saying such a stupid story will only make her laugh.
「Then, you should go back to the dormitory quickly! Have you even had breakfast yet!? If you don"t eat soon, it may be all gone by now!」(Paula)
Then she spun on her heels and walked towards the dormitory.
「S, sorry….」(Allen)
I followed behind her, whilst offering my apologies.
Until, at the edge of my sight - a red b.u.t.ton gleamed.
There is no way I could mistake it.
That is….
「The 100 million years b.u.t.ton…!?」(Allen)
I trembled.
Perhaps it was…..not a dream….?
I swallowed my saliva and slowly picked it up.
(If I push this….will I return to that h.e.l.lish world…?)
No…it"s okay.
If it"s real, then even if I get sent back there, I can just cut the world apart and return again.
If it"s a dream, then when I press this nothing will happen.
Either way I"m not at a disadvantage by pressing the b.u.t.ton.
「Fuu」(Allen)
Taking a deep breath - I pushed the b.u.t.ton.
But nothing happened.
「…as expected」(Allen)
The hermit of time.
The 100 million years b.u.t.ton.
The prison of time.
It was a dream after all.
Of course that"s the case.
There is no such thing as fairy tales in reality.
Then, when I threw away the b.u.t.ton, I noticed something strange about it.
The 100 million years b.u.t.ton had a large sword slash on it.
(Eh…? Was that mark there before….?)
I approach the thrown b.u.t.ton and look closely again.
「Come on Allen! Stop loitering and come quickly!」(Paula)
Paula"s voice could be heard from the street in front of me.
「Wa, Wait!」(Allen)
Following Paula, I returned to the dorms.
Paula = Gared Dozaru
She is the dormitory mother for the dorms where I live.
With a big body at 2 meters tall, she exudes a powerful aura.
She was currently wearing a black shirt and a white ap.r.o.n.
She always rolls up her sleeves when working, and no matter how many times I see it, aren"t her arms thicker than mine by at least 3 times?
At first, I was very scared and felt she was difficult to approach, but in reality, she is a very kind person.
I finished the breakfast Paula had made and put my hands together.
「Thanks for the meal!」(Allen)
「Aiyo! You ate pretty well today! Good work!」(Paula)
Paula hit me on the back and smile graciously.
「By the way, shouldn"t you be getting to school?」(Paula)
「!?」(Allen)
At that moment, my heart jumped with a DOKUN~
I remembered, I promised to fight Dodriel at 9am this morning.
「Wha, what time is it right now!?」(Allen)
「Nn, it"s a little past 7am」(Paula)
Saying that, Paula pointed to the clock on the wall.
「Is that right….」(Allen)
It takes 3 hours to get from here to the swordsmanship academy no matter how fast you run.
There is no chance of reducing that time by an hour.
But I didn"t have the choice not to go.
To other people, it would seem as if I had ran away from the duel.
「I"m going…!」(Allen)
「Be careful! Don"t get injured!」(Paula)
「Yes…!」(Allen)
Then, I leapt out of the dorm.
I ran.
Running and running - I just kept on running.
The『Duel』system was set up by the swordsmanship academy.
If the opponent is late by even a second, they will lose by default.
(Probably….there"s no way I can make it in time)
But I could not just stay in my room.
After a while I somehow managed to make it to the academy. Immediately, I went to the duel reception area in the 2nd school building.
「I"m sorry I"m late! My name is Allen Rhodes, I applied for the duel at 9am today! Can I still partic.i.p.ate!?」(Allen)
The gla.s.ses wearing man looked over the paper in his hand and raised a voice 「Oya?」
「You came here too early. There"s still one hour before the duel starts」(Gla.s.ses Man)
「…eh?」(Allen)
There"s no way that"s true.
It was about 7:50 when I left the house.
It"s impossible that I arrived at the academy in only 10 minutes.
However the clock on the wall was certainly pointing to 8am.
(Did I really do that….maybe the clock at the dorms is broken…)
Anyway…this is good.
「Haa…..thank goodness」(Allen)
I had dodged the worst outcome.
Now I will use everything in my power — in the duel against Dodriel.
Since I arrived too early, I satisfied my hunger at a nearby shop to waste time.
Although I had breakfast a while ago, I became hungry again.
5 minutes before the scheduled time, I headed towards the gymnasium where the duel would take place.
I was immediately overwhelmed.
「What is…..this….?」(Allen)
Even though it was so early in the morning, the gymnasium was overflowing with students.
「Uwaa, the failure swordsman has appeared!」(???)
「He"s finally appeared! Swinging the sword day in and day out is so unsightly」(???)
「We should thank Dodriel! He"s going to send this troublemaker out of the academy!」(???)
I closed my ears to the words that rained down from my fellow cla.s.smates.
「Wh, why….」(Allen)
Whilst I was confused, I heard laughter in front of me.
The person who was laughing - standing in the centre of the gymnasium, was Dodriel. Smirking, he looked at me trying to hide my unrest and his smile turned vulgar.
「Ahaha. Should I praise you for not running away, Allen?」(Dodriel)
「Do, Dodriel! What is this…! I did not hear about this!」(Allen)
I pointed to the students surrounding the gymnasium and questioned Dodriel.
「Iya, I was surprised as well. Somehow it seems that the information that Allen was fighting me was leaked…it seems these people have some bad hobbies」(Dodriel)
Saying so, he shrugged his shoulders.
「You….」(Allen)
There was no doubt. It was this guy who leaked the information to gather the students of the academy. It seems he intends to embarra.s.s me publicly.
Really…how ill-natured do you have to be…
「Drive the failed swordsman away!」(???)
「Kyaa! Dodriel-sama! Good luck!」(???)
While the voices of the students wishing for my defeat and the victory of Dodriel intensified, a male teacher entered the gymnasium. Although he was surprised by the number of students, he did not say anything and instead walked towards me.
「It is now the promised time. So I"d like to start the duel between Dodriel Barton and Allen Rhodes」(Male Teacher)
…I see, he"s not going to say anything about this situation.
A duel can only be fought with equal conditions.
Naturally, this makes duels a fair system.
(Although this academic inst.i.tution should stay neutral and fair themselves, they still refuse to say anything about this….)
It seems the academy also wants to drive me out here.
(d.a.m.n it….)
All I could do was bite my lip in frustration.
「GOHON~ Both of you are you ready? Well then - begin!」(Male Teacher)
Without a single word extra, the beginning of the duel was announced.
「Shall I finish it quickly Allen? It"ll hurt….but I"ll do it if you cry and beg me for forgiveness」(Dodriel)
Dodriel pulls out the sword from his waist and raises a disgusting smile.
「…..don"t make light of me….I"ll show you!」(Allen)
Similarly, I pull out my own sword from my waist and put it in front of my stomach. The basic swordsmanship stance - Seigan.
A heavy air permeated the battlefield.
During which, I gaze at Dodriel"s sword patiently.
A beautiful blade can be seen in the distance.
I remember him boasting that his sword was custom made by a master craftsman, it had an excellent cutting edge.
Meanwhile, my sword cost 1,000 gold - one of the lowest ranks that can be found everywhere.
(Maybe….no I will definitely lose this duel)
Sword, skill, talent - I can"t compare to him in any of these.
(But I can"t retreat here…)
Even like this, I have my own pride.
(Since you disrespected my mother, I must make you withdraw those comments…)
Whilst my fighting spirit burned brightly, I stared into the eyes of Dodriel.
His sword is an offensive sword. It attacks so aggressively, it does not permit any counterattacks. Much like surging waves.
Even if I challenge him in a sword fight from the front, I can"t see anyway of winning.
(If I don"t counter him….it will be a one shot kill….)
After all, he is a genius.
I will lose if I make any mistakes.
(So I have to try and exceed his aggressive attacks)
I need to find a gap in his intense swordsmanship and give him a sharp blow.
Even if I can"t win, I can at least injure him.
That was my strategy.
(Now, let"s begin…)
I concentrated my spirit and waited for Dodriel to make the first move.
However, no matter how much I waited. He didn"t move at all.
On the contrary, whenever I tried to get closer, he kept moving away. Keeping me at a fixed distance.
(….what? What are you plotting?)
I suspect this is part of Dodriel"s『Rotten Personality』
「Ardis…..what did you do!?」(Dodriel)
He abandoned his fearless smile and looked at me in horror.
「…what are you talking about? I don"t get what you mean?」(Allen)
「Don"t f.u.c.k with me….even though your just a failure of a swordsman…!」(Dodriel)
Then he began moving around the arena in a shuffle, whilst maintaining a considerable distance and gnashing his teeth hard.
Staying in the stance of Seigan no Kamae, I keep him in my sight.
(…..is Dodriel"s mind okay?)
I know him just as well as he knows me.
He"s short tempered, but a genuine genius. He may be stalling, but he"ll surely come attacking any time now.
Then after 1 minute, 2 minutes pa.s.s - A change comes over Dodriel.
(….come!)
At the next moment
「UOOOOOOO!」(Dodriel)
He released a roar and bolted straight towards me.
「…」(Allen)
Feeling the pressure from his spirit, I opened my eyes wide and held my heart tightly.
However, what met my eyes was a funny sight.
(Haa?)
No matter how much time pa.s.sed, he still refused to get close to me.
More precisely, he was approaching me like a child playing with a sword. Slowly, but reluctantly running here.
(What is this Dodriel guy thinking…?)
The answer to my question was solved immediately.
(I see….I guess I have no value enough for him to get serious…)
「There is no value in fighting you seriously」– I"m sure that"s what he"s trying to say.
It was regrettable.
I didn"t think I would be made a fool here.
At the very least, I thought he would fight me seriously.
(b.a.s.t.a.r.d…)
Several seconds later I clenched my fist and gnashed my teeth.
Finally, Dodriel got close enough to me and began attacking.
「Rainflow - Heavy Rain!」(Dodriel)
A large and rough thrust which almost seemed to scream「Please avoid」followed by a series of thrusts.
(Such an attack…there"s no need to use my sword)
I avoid the slow consecutive attack with the most minimal movement, it was enough to make me yawn.
「Na!?」(Dodriel)
Dodriel, who had finished his attack quickly jumped backwards with a pale face.
「A, Allen….? It seems you are pretty lucky today, to not be finished immediately by my sword…」(Dodriel)
「….?」(Allen)
「But, now my body has finally warmed up. The next blow will be 3 times faster than my previous attack. That lucky dodging of yours won"t happen again」(Dodriel)
「No, what are you talking about…?」(Allen)
This time I had doubts.
「Hidden Rainflow - Pa.s.sing Shower!」(Dodriel)
Dodriel charged again, sticking his sword out straight.
It was not a consecutive series of strikes like before, it was a simple one-point concentrated thrust.
But,
(…..isn"t it at a similar speed to the one earlier?)
It is still on the level of a blow that children would use when play fighting.
Dodriel, who had committed to the lunge, had left himself completely open.
It was almost like he was provoking me「Please cut me if you can」
(d.a.m.n it…why must you humiliate me like this…)
I had grown numb from his repeated provocations, wielding my sword I swung it towards him.
「This - are you serious!?」(Dodriel)
The vertical swing that I had released to intimidate him - branched into seven copies, capturing Doriel"s whole body.
「Ka, haaa..!?」(Dodriel)
At the same time, the guy who got hit with all seven slashes immediately let go of his sword and was blasted into the wall of the gymnasium.
The atmosphere of the venue calmed down instantly, as if splashed with cold water. All that could be heard was the drinking of saliva.
「…ha?」(???)
A stupid voice was leaked due to the situation not going as expected.
「Do, Dodriel Barton has lost. Winner, Allen Rhodes!」(Male Teacher)
Even after the male teacher who was acting as the referee announced the result, the gymnasium was still wrapped in a strange silence.
I was convinced at that time.
(It was not a dream…!?)
The more than a billion years I spent in that different world was not a dream.
(Dodriel"s movements looked strangely slow, I thought he was playing around with me)
It turns out that it was due to my strength!