My vision darkened,
and I was on the verge of blacking out.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Ding-!]
A cheerful chime echoed through, yanking my consciousness back.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Unique Trait {Defying Heaven} nullifies abnormal status 'Fear'. Unique Trait {Defying Heaven} nullifies abnormal status 'Terror'.
The Unique Trait {Defying Heaven} forcibly yanked my mind back to the surface.
I'd been seconds from passing out for good—but losing consciousness now meant it was over.
It hurt like hell, like I was on the brink of death.
Every cell in my body screamed with every twitch.
Yet the terror of that troll, the dread of pain and death—they were nullified as soon as they cropped up.
Fear and terror slipped from my mind.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙Title {Pioneer} assists your actions.
Action assistance.
My muscles torn, bones crushed—I shouldn't have been able to move.
Yet the Title {Pioneer}'s effect found a way to make the impossible body move.
A body that absolutely shouldn't move... did.
Muscles ruptured, bones shattered all over—yet some alien force filled in the gaps, propelling my body forward.
Mana.
This unfamiliar power I'd never handled before flowed naturally through me.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙[Ding-!]
A now-familiar translucent window popped up in the air.
⚔ STATUS ⚔
Acquired Skill {Mana Manipulation}
{Mana Manipulation lv. max}
The foundational skill for all swordsmanship and magic.
- Enables mana manipulation.
- +2 Magic Power per level
- Additional Magic Power +20
*Level fixed at max due to Title {Pioneer}'s action assistance.
It was a stroke of luck beyond imagination.
The {Mana Manipulation} skill normally unlocked automatically at the end of the first semester at the academy.
But it was essential for acquiring any other skills except Basic Swordsmanship or Basic Magic—the bedrock of all sword arts and spells.
Sword techniques powered by mana were overwhelmingly more potent than you'd expect.
Even Basic Swordsmanship with mana could slice through a troll's hide with ease.
That said, Basic Swordsmanship came first in the game, so the system didn't allow mana infusion.
'But this is reality.'
The reason mana-dependent sword arts were so powerful? Because you could channel mana into the blade.
'I can do it.'
I knew it instinctively the moment I acquired the skill.
I could infuse mana into my sword.
The alien force coursed through my body and into the blade.
A subtle, precise blue aura cloaked the sword, honing its edge razor-sharp.
I locked eyes on the troll ahead.
It was already regenerating its eye, but that didn't matter.
I was certain.
Certain I could cleave the troll down.
Certain I'd win.
'The tables have turned.'
I gripped my blue-glowing sword and advanced on the troll.
The troll, regeneration complete, lumbered toward me.
Thud—thud—thud—
I steadied my stance.
Focused power into my legs.
The alien force gathered in my legs, replacing ruptured muscles and shattered bones.
Boom—
I kicked off the ground, leaping at the troll with speed on another level entirely.
The gap between those who wield mana and those who don't was beyond comprehension.
It let me push past limits, challenge the impossible.
The troll reacted to my leap, swinging its massive hand.
A beat faster, I twisted my body midair.
Whoosh—
The troll's hand barely grazed empty air.
In the same motion, I swung my sword.
Diagonal slash.
The blade sheared through the troll's wrist without resistance.
Splat—
Blood gushed from the deep gash.
Roooaaarrr—
The troll screamed and thrashed.
"Shut up—"
This was different from before.
I could track the troll's movements now,
and its swinging arms didn't feel so threatening anymore.
Before its regeneration finished,
I landed cleanly and reset my stance.
Slicing the troll's thick neck in one go was near impossible.
I had to jab quick attacks to create openings before it healed fully.
Boom—
I kicked off again, leaping at the troll.
Its massive single eye, freshly regenerated, twisted in agony.
Thrust.
I shot my sword arm straight out.
Once more, no resistance—
the blade tip plunged into the troll's eye.
Squish—
Rooooaaaaaarrrrr—
The screams intensified, thrashing wilder, but it was different now.
I yanked the sword free, using the momentum for a high leap.
Midair, I repositioned and swung at the troll's shoulder.
Vertical slash.
A long gash carved into the troll's shoulder.
The first strike hit before full regeneration, followed by two more—
the accumulating wounds slowed its healing, dulled its movements, created gaps.
I landed and prepped another leap.
Aiming for the neck.
Boom—
In an instant, I soared to neck height.
That absurdly thick neck—
Too much for one slash.
Still, I swung.
The blade parted flesh without a hitch.
And again—
Using the troll's shoulder as a foothold, I spun and slashed once more.
Two strikes in a flash
severed the thick troll neck clean through.
Basic Swordsmanship - Variant
Double Slash
The troll's head separated fully from its body.
At the same moment, the surroundings shifted.
The troll's corpse vanished,
and the dense trees and forest crumbled away.
The practical exam was over.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Academy Chairman Eris and her disciple Lena couldn't close their gaping mouths in astonishment.
Aden, the perfect scorer on the written exam,
had put on a nonstop show of jaw-dropping feats from the start.
He'd aced every question—including impossible ones—in just twenty minutes.
And that was hardly all.
In the practical, he'd dismantled every beast with precise, flawless movements.
No mana in his sword.
No special, systematic techniques.
Just average freshman strength and Basic Swordsmanship.
Yet that blade tip pierced hides tough enough to resist all but mana strikes—in a single blow.
The power from its edge defied belief.
Swordplay so refined and beautiful, even a veteran knight with thousands of repetitions would struggle to match it.
Efficient motion, optimal power distribution—maximum devastation with minimal force.
No way this was a freshman's work.
Especially when he matched the Black Fang's speed,
landing that perfect-timed strike that took its life—even Swordsmanship Professor Lena Kyle had to admire the precision and cleanliness.
But both the Chairman and Lena figured that was the end of it.
No matter how precise or clean, with plain strength and Basic Swordsmanship,
no matter the unreal power output, it fell short of slicing troll hide.
And at first, that's how it looked.
Climbing trees to dodge attacks,
judging the hide too tough and targeting the eye instead—brilliant decisions, stellar swordplay, but still, that was it.
Soon the troll's roar shook him,
he couldn't evade the incoming arm and took a direct hit.
His tiny frame flew against a tree compared to the troll's bulk,
a thunderous crash echoing out.
Eris and Lena
both foresaw the obvious end.
This irregular genius who'd burst onto the scene—
his talent shone, but unripe; the troll was a true monster, an insurmountable wall.
That's when the twist came.
He who should've been critically wounded from the tree crash stood up like it was nothing.
As if everything before was just play,
even through the screen, his aura had clearly changed.
Soon, a precise blue aurora enveloped his body and sword.
Unmistakable mana manipulation.
Overwhelming mastery, at that.
"Sword... Master."
Lena murmured low.
The Chairman was just as stunned.
If it'd only been mana manipulation, they might not have been so shocked.
Rare, but entrance exam geniuses did awaken it sometimes.
What floored them was the finesse, the precision.
No freshman could wield mana like that.
It was Sword Master territory—
lifelong sword devotees touching the pinnacle.
He leaped.
On a whole other level of speed, closing on the troll, dodging the swing, severing the wrist.
Troll hide, tougher than steel, parted effortlessly before the blue blade.
Blood sprayed from the stump as the troll writhed in pain, but he didn't stop.
Next, the eye.
Then the shoulder.
Finally, clean double-strike on the staggering troll's neck.
No wasted motion, pristine execution.
The neck severed fully, background collapsing in the feed.
Dinggggggg—
The alert for one examinee's practical exam end blared,
yet Eris and Lena stared blankly at the screen, awe unabated.