novelraw Chapter 99 : Chapter 99
Chapter 99 : Chapter 99
099
As I entered the classroom, I saw a few unfamiliar faces.
“Who are you?”
“I am an auditor. I heard that auditing is freely available.”
“This is the first time an upperclassman has come to audit.”
“Is it not allowed?”
“No, it's fine. What's your name?”
I observed the student carefully.
The direction of a person's pupils is different when they are accessing past memories and when they are creating something new.
If the pupils are directed to the top left, it means they are recalling past memories, and if the pupils are directed to the top right, it means they are creating new content.
“Becker.”
The moment he said his name, his pupils slightly went up to the top right and came back down.
He was lying.
“Class?”
“Graduation class. I came back after a three-year leave of absence.”
His pupils were directed to the left.
It could be the truth, but it could also be that he was recalling a memory he had read in the past.
“A leave of absence. Well, you do look quite old for a graduation class student. In fact, isn't it not a leave of absence, but being held back?”
At my words, a few of the entrance class students burst into laughter.
It seemed they found it amusing that a student who was much older and looked more outstanding than them was being held back.
I called out the other students one by one as well.
“Rowen. I’m in the advancement class, but I came to listen because I heard your class is very good!”
When he said his name, his eyes went to the right. When he paused for a moment and talked about the class objective, they went to the left.
It was also a lie.
“Telma. Graduation class, and I also repeated a year before coming back!”
Right.
Lie.
“Taipel.”
Lie.
Lie.
Lie.
There were twelve new students participating in the class today, and all twelve of them did not reveal their real names.
Their identities were obvious.
They were sent by the surrounding kingdoms and various other places to scout this place.
“Hmm, is that so.”
I said that and looked at the students.
The students did not seem to pay much attention to them.
It was thanks to the prior warning.
“Alright. We have quite a few auditors today. So let's go over the basics once, and then in the afternoon class, we'll have a class on Aura.”
“Yes!”
At the students' answer, I slowly moved to the front of the blackboard.
“Most of the senior students who have come to audit probably don’t have the textbook. So the theory class will be conducted using the blackboard.”
The Imperial Army had faithfully responded to our intentions.
The day after the soldiers returned.
A letter from the Imperial Army was delivered to Gwen's chairman's office.
The preface stated that they were interested in the educational system provided by Akarind Academy.
It said that since the Empire and the Belmein Kingdom were long-time allies, they would like to request a technology exchange, and if a technology exchange was not possible, it would be fine to receive an instructor or a student.
And at the end, a footnote was added, saying that if dispatching a student or instructor during the semester was burdensome, they would want a graduate or a student who was being held back, in the spirit of respecting the academy's education.
The main point was probably in the last sentence.
We did not respond.
Instead, we secretly leaked the contents of that sentence.
It wasn't difficult, as there was a line that had been opened while we were creating discord in the Goldline Merchant Guild.
And the result was this.
'Give the spies only the minimum information.'
So what I prepared was Cassian's Basic Swordsmanship class.
The students had already finished the curriculum up to the intermediate level.
From now on, the students had no choice but to awaken and realize their Aura on their own.
I had already arranged to hold one-on-one interviews with the students who needed them.
“I’ll briefly talk about the basic swordsmanship. The basic swordsmanship is a journey to find why I swing the sword.”
I slowly began to explain the basics.
As I was writing on the blackboard, old memories came flooding back.
“Everyone has different reasons for swinging a sword. My reasons and your reasons are all different. So your stance should also be different according to that reason.”
Instead of blindly following the swordsmanship of an outstanding person, you have to modify your body according to your own body, your own style, and your habits.
And if the swordsmanship you have learned is different from the direction you are pursuing, you have to know how to discard it boldly.
“From the posture of holding the sword to the wrist after holding the sword. Every part of the body has a reason and purpose for being in that position.”
Perhaps because my level has risen.
I began to see parts of the basic swordsmanship, which I had once thought was the best, that needed to be revised.
“Especially this elbow part is important. When you all use Aura, this elbow is the passage that sends the Aura out to the arm. Let’s say we are drawing well water and pouring it into a pitcher.”
Not much time had passed since I had awakened, but I had swung my sword thousands of times in that time.
How to swing it, how to refine my thoughts.
More information was in my head than when I had written the basic manual before.
I wanted to release this to the students as soon as possible, even if it was just a little.
“If the lid of the pitcher is wide, a lot of water comes out at once. And if the lid is narrow, the water comes out in a thin stream. The moment I establish my will towards my opponent, I need a posture that allows the energy I send to the sword to flow the best.”
In order to send out Aura, a posture of extending the arm was basically important.
But it was difficult to apply force with the arm fully extended stiffly.
So the important thing was the combination of at what timing and how to extend the arm.
“The shoulder is also important to extend the arm. The shoulder is……”
Interesting.
It felt more like I was organizing the various theories I had created myself than giving a lecture.
'Is this really the right way to train the arm?'
Or.
'The way to plant my feet seems to be connected to my shoulder and back muscles.'
Or.
'If I deliberately block the Aura before releasing it, I can send it out faster and more fiercely. If I combine the timing of tightening and loosening my body with the timing of releasing the Aura, I can give a little more power.'
Things like that.
If I utilized this method, I felt that the students' swordsmanship could also advance to a higher level.
The notes on the blackboard were filled, and pictures to supplement the notes were added.
Ding-dong—.
And before I knew it, the bell had rung.
'Hmm?'
I was so engrossed in the lecture that I didn't even realize that two hours had passed.
A pity.
If I just organize and add a little more like this, the basic swordsmanship could become even more solid.
"Let's end it here for today. I've supplemented some of the things you all basically know. If you don't understand something well, we can talk about it later."
I looked at the spies sitting among the students.
The spies had slightly dazed eyes.
Well, since they were outstanding people to the point of being sent to infiltrate the academy directly, this level of class would be something they could easily follow.
They might be wondering why they were learning such basic things in the second semester.
'There's no need to give too much information to the spies.'
Yes, it's good to end the class at this point.
Because there's a lot more to talk about in the future.
I packed my things and left the classroom.
* * *
“Pan. Didn’t the teacher say he was going to be lax in class?”
Bridget said to Pan with a fed-up expression.
“You know the teacher’s personality. He can’t be lax in this kind of thing.”
“That’s true, but isn’t this far beyond the level of lax or average?”
“Um……”
Pan kept his mouth shut and looked at the blackboard.
As Bridget said, today's lecture was on a different level.
Teacher Cassian's usual lectures were also of a very high level, but today's lecture was two or three times higher than that.
He had analyzed the entire body part by part and broken down how it was used in swordsmanship.
The students could now use the advanced swordsmanship just by taking the data and combining it according to their own sword intent.
'I want to go out and train right away.'
If it weren't for the class of another subject, it was a class that made him want to get up and run to the training ground right away.
He could see the hope that he could advance to a higher level with just a few more swings of his sword.
He didn't swing his sword, nor did he show his level.
Just by teaching the theory, he had allowed them to glimpse the next level.
'Our teacher is really amazing.'
The students were in awe.
'Crazy, what did he say?'
'……This is the academy's entrance class?'
'H-here, wasn't this a third-rate academy?'
'Why is a person like that in a rural academy! No, what is this class content! And why are the brats around here all understanding this!'
The spies were horrified.
Because they hadn't understood even a quarter of the supposedly simple lecture.
It was an absurd level.
Every single lecture felt like a whip was being raised, saying that they were swinging their swords incorrectly.
They couldn't even offer a rebuttal.
Every single piece of content was too perfect.
From the worries they usually had to how to break through the walls they were facing, to why the masters around them had outstanding skills.
It solved all the worries they had while swinging their swords.
'This is… a swordsmanship lecture?'
They were all from academies in their respective countries where they were said to be the best of the best.
Even they had never heard a swordsmanship class like this.
The spies stayed behind and exchanged glances.
They all knew why they were here.
It was to obtain information about Aura from that teacher named Teacher Cassian.
Among the instructors witnessed by the Imperial Army, two could handle Aura.
They were the graduation class instructor, Freutche, and the basic class instructor, Cassian.
Freutche was an instructor who had been at Akarind Academy for a long time, and according to the Imperial Army's understanding, he was very fond of his students and taught them with passion.
There was a high probability that a spy would not be successful in approaching such a person and trying to get information.
But now, Cassian, who was conducting this basic class, was different.
He looked like a fop, was extremely weak, and was a person who strongly argued that a pitiful student should be handed over to the Empire.
He had no affection for his students, but he knew about Aura, and he was the most third-rate instructor in a third-rate academy.
They had come to target such a person.
'If this person is at this level, then what is Instructor Freutche's level?'
Just imagining it made their mouths and throats go dry.
The spies who had exchanged glances nodded their heads.
'For the time being, let's focus on this class without any operational activities.'
'We report the minimum to each other.'
'Let's be tactful. Are you not going to take this class then?'
'Who said they wouldn't? Huh? If someone has to report, we'll talk it over and coordinate?'
Perhaps because they had been spies for a long time, their minds seemed to connect well without even exchanging a single word.
And there was someone watching the entire process from a corner.
It was Shasha.
'…It's going as the teacher said.'
She was a spy sent by Abrahal, who could be said to be the de facto owner of the Goldline Merchant Guild, to keep Avril in check.
She had great skills and was quick-witted.
'……But I would have done the same.'
Shasha's eyes turned to the blackboard.
She had felt it when she had taken the class with the mercenaries before, but the level was absurd.
'He said he would give a simple theory to keep the spies on their toes.'
This was going to keep them on their toes in a different way.
Could it be that Teacher Cassian was planning to convert all the spies here and take them as his disciples?
Shasha laughed at the sudden thought and tried to dismiss it, but it somehow didn't feel like a joke.
'No way. He must have a plan.'
Of course, Cassian had no plan.