Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty

From that first probing blow, Roland knew he was no match for an Extraordinary Professional, even if the man was only using a tenth of his power.

Only by unleashing his full power might he have a one-percent chance of victory.

So, aside from his Trick, he wouldn’t hold anything else back!

The moment [Concentration] activated, Roland’s vision suddenly tunneled.

The flickering afterimages of the candles, the steam rising from the gaps in Gandar’s Armor, even a pearl button slipping from a noble’s coat in the stands.

Every detail decomposed into slow motion before his eyes.

Then, in the next instant, Roland shot forward.

As he shot past the weapons rack, he snatched up another Iron Sword with his left hand.

The two blades carved chilling arcs of light through the air.

"Dual-wielding?"

Gandar’s brow furrowed slightly at Roland’s choice.

Even with his power as an Extraordinary Professional, his right and left hands were not perfectly coordinated.

From his perspective, unless one had mastered the art of dual-wielding, using it rashly would not only fail to increase one’s strength but would actually diminish their combat prowess. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

As for the extent of Roland’s mastery of the technique...

Looking at the young man’s somewhat inexperienced face, Gandar gave a noncommittal shake of his head.

Honing such excellent Swordsmanship at his age was already no easy feat.

He highly doubted that, on top of that, Roland could also possess a dual-wielding technique that could be called a masterstroke.

And while the renowned Knight was lost in thought, the searing heat of [Fermented Battle Intent] was already creeping up Roland’s spine, vertebra by vertebra. The roar of his surging blood seemed to thunder in his ears.

With a grunt, Roland ducked low and lunged. His left sword carved a crescent arc straight for Gandar’s knee, while his right sword slashed upward in the opposite direction, aiming for the gap in the Knight’s faceplate.

The bizarre posture, which required him to practically fold his body in half, looked remarkably fluid thanks to his astonishing flexibility.

But upon seeing this, Gandar simply swung his Iron Sword, his blade intercepting Roland’s despite moving second.

"CLANG!"

A seemingly casual block stopped both swords at once, sending a shower of sparks from the point of impact.

Though his strike was blocked, Roland’s assault didn’t falter.

In the span of thirty-two breaths, he launched seven waves of attacks.

At times, his twin swords struck like vipers, and at others, they became a spinning hurricane of steel.

But Gandar effortlessly parried every attack with his deceptively simple Sword Skills, the clang of metal echoing through the hall like a continuous melody.

’Not a bad dual-wielding technique...’

Gandar nodded to himself, parrying with just one hand.

As the fight wore on, Roland could keenly feel the changes in his body under the influence of [Fermented Battle Intent].

At first, his initial lunge was only slightly faster than usual; the arc of his sword was still clear enough to follow.

But by his third strike, the blade was already trailing a faint Residual Shadow.

The displaced air formed a tangible current that knocked over the silver knives on a nearby table.

Thirty seconds later, his movements began to defy logic.

During his sixth change of direction, his boots scraped deep grooves into the floor. A shift in his center of gravity that would have previously required two steps to adjust could now be accomplished with a mere twist of his waist.

His twin swords moved so fast they were starting to blur together.

During one parry, the sparks from the impact of the blades actually formed a brief, continuous line of fire in the air.

A minute later, fine beads of blood began to ooze from his skin, only to instantly evaporate into a red mist in the intense heat.

His over-stimulated muscle fibers caused his joints to groan under the strain, but the resulting boost to his Power was equally terrifying.

A simple overhead chop actually forced Gandar’s Iron Sword down by an inch. As its tip bit into the marble floor, fine cracks shot out like lightning, spreading over three meters away.

Though Roland had no time to check his Professional Panel, he could clearly feel the surge in his Power and Agility.

And what’s more, that increase was still climbing.

After effortlessly dodging another vicious strike, a brow twitched behind Gandar’s faceplate, and a flash of interest appeared in his eyes.

’This kid...’

Seeing that Roland’s stamina hadn’t been depleted by the fierce battle—and that, on the contrary, his attacks had grown stronger and his speed had quickened—he couldn’t help but lose some of his relaxed posture.

’Is he using some kind of special Combat Skill?’

Gandar wasn’t the only one to notice this change; so did everyone else present.

Before the fight began, the spectating nobles had worn contemptuous sneers, certain it would be a one-sided rout.

But as the battle continued, their expressions slowly froze.

Each of Roland’s strikes was sharper than the one before, and each lunge was more ferocious than the last.

Their elegant composure had vanished.

A crystal wine glass even slipped from the fingers of a young noble.

He paid no mind to the red wine that splashed across his expensive silk suit, staining it red.

His eyes widened, fixed on the figure in the center of the hall, who was moving faster and faster.

Roland’s twin swords had become a blur of Residual Shadows, and the explosive clang of metal striking metal was enough to make one’s eardrums ache.

As the battle raged on, the nobles’ murmurs swelled into a clamor.

"This is impossible..."

"Not even an Extraordinary Professional can keep getting stronger in the middle of a fight!"

But the reality was right before their eyes.

Roland’s sword was shattering their perception of what was possible.

But Roland had no time to heed the chatter of the onlookers.

The side effects of [Fermented Battle Intent] were slowly starting to manifest.

"Damn it!"

Noticing the edges of his vision tinged with red, and realizing his once-subtle feints and counters were being replaced by primitive hacking, Roland cursed to himself.

As his Spiritual Power continued to drain, his mind, sharpened by his [Concentration] Trait, began to race.

Just as his consciousness began to blur, he finally caught a subtle flaw in Gandar’s movements.

While parrying, the Knight’s left shoulder had hesitated for half a beat!

’An opening!’

Seizing the opportunity, Roland unhesitatingly stepped back and twisted his waist, his entire body coiling like a spring compressed to its absolute limit. He contorted himself into a posture that seemed to defy human anatomy.

His right leg lunged forward, nearly parallel to the ground, while his left leg stretched back to its limit. His torso twisted like a fully drawn longbow.

’[Flowing Slash]!’

With a roar in his mind, the power accumulated within Roland’s body erupted.

All the force from his previously parried blows, the residual momentum deflected by Gandar’s Iron Sword, now converted into a spiraling power that surged up from his heels.

With a CRACK, the marble floor beneath his feet fractured into a spiderweb pattern.

The instant his twin swords crossed in a slash, they moved so fast they tore two intersecting vacuum waves through the air. All the candles in the banquet hall flickered and dimmed.

Seeing this, Gandar didn’t grow careless; he immediately swung his sword to block.

"VMMMM!"

The grating sound of twisting metal set one’s teeth on edge.

For the first time in the duel, Gandar was forced to take a small step back. He looked with some surprise at the three-inch-long sparks that burst from his Iron Sword.

The trajectory of what should have been a perfect parry was shattered by the sheer force of Roland’s suddenly amplified power.

’Interesting...’

Just as Roland’s blades were about to strike Gandar’s body, a playful smile suddenly touched the Knight’s lips.

He suddenly twisted his wrist at a bizarre angle, generating a powerful vortex of air.

Roland felt his Iron Swords suddenly pulled by an invisible force, his Sword Momentum instantly deviating from its intended path.

"BOOM!"

Amidst a deafening crash, the two Iron Swords slammed into the ground three paces from Gandar.

The hard marble floor shattered on impact, the very center of the crash site pulverized to dust.

Thrown off balance by the bizarre vortex, Roland was sent flying sideways by the residual force.

With a series of violent crashes, his body plowed through several tables, finally landing hard amidst a spray of splintered wood.