"Oh oh oh! The contestant Ikki Kurogane has won once again!"
"The 'Chivalry of a Failed Knight' who has never shown his strength since entering Hagun Academy, and even repeated a grade last semester due to insufficient credits, has unexpectedly made a kingly return this semester, becoming a favorite to win the championship in one fell swoop!"
"Now, let us shout this winner's new title!"
"uncrowned king of swords! uncrowned king of swords! uncrowned king of swords!"
As the sound of victory broadcasted, all the students watching the match let out surprised cheers.
For no other reason than the youth on the stage at this moment had created a miracle unimaginable to ordinary people.
Relying only on his strength as an F-Rank Knight, he actually managed to defeat several Magic Knights of much higher rank; it could be said he is a unique existence.
Many low-ranking students in the academy have begun to view this youth named Ikki Kurogane as their idol, and many female students have even come to ask Ikki Kurogane for advice.
However, when they came before Ikki Kurogane, they discovered something else.
"Kurogane... classmate?"
"Why do you look... so exhausted? Did you not rest well last night?"
The Ikki Kurogane appearing before the students seemed to have more dark circles under his eyes than usual, and he even seemed to wobble slightly while walking, as if he might collapse at any moment.
Not just Ikki Kurogane, even the three people standing beside him gave off the same feeling.
"Haha! I indeed didn't rest very well. I've been practicing so hard lately that I completely lost track of time."
Ikki shook his head somewhat helplessly, and the events of the past few afternoons gradually came back to mind...
"Today's guidance ends here. Your bodies have about reached their limit. Go back."
The expressionless beauty casually sheathed her Ephemeral Sword and turned to leave. Behind her were Ikki Kurogane and Arisuin Nagi, the two students guided by Jingliu.
Meanwhile, in the distant mountains, an incredibly intense battle also broke out. Flames and water appeared simultaneously; without a doubt, it was Stella, Kurogane Shizuku, and their instructor, Teacher Skirk.
"Phew! It's finally over!"
Arisuin let out a rare sigh of relief. Although Teacher Jingliu was very strict during instruction, she truly cared for her students.
After noticing that Ikki Kurogane and Arisuin Nagi's stamina was about to run out, she immediately stopped the mock battle and prepared to end today's lesson.
However, just when both of them thought today would end like this, a familiar voice came from beside them.
"No! It's not over yet!"
Ikki Kurogane struggled to crawl up from the ground, but his gaze remained fixed on the distant flames and water. A strange light flickered in his eyes, containing both a youth's pursuit of a higher level and a youth's determination not to fall behind.
"In the past, I didn't know the realm of Desperado existed in this world, so my training was always within limits, keeping the intensity at a level I could accept."
"But now... after seeing a wider world, how could I possibly still train according to my previous levels?"
Ikki Kurogane knew that he was weaker than everyone else, the lowest F-Rank Knight, with no future to speak of in the world.
The ridicule of others, the targeting by his family—all of this was too oppressive for Ikki Kurogane. Aside from enduring it, the youth could only constantly hone his skills to make up for the gap between himself and those geniuses.
However, when the realm of the "Desperado" was placed before Ikki Kurogane by Jingliu, the youth's thoughts changed immediately.
A Desperado... can increase their magic power?
Increasing magic power meant Ikki Kurogane's knight rank could rise. In the future, he might no longer have to suffer the contempt of others, and might even be accepted by his family again. Most importantly...
If I break through to Desperado, will my father have a change of heart regarding me?
Ikki Kurogane's father, named Itsuru Kurogane, is the current head of the Kurogane Family and also the mastermind targeting Ikki at school.
The mockery from classmates was arranged by him, and Ikki's repeating of the grade was also his doing. This man had held no expectations for the F-Rank Ikki Kurogane from the very beginning.
Precisely because he is Ikki Kurogane's father, even if this man does nothing, a single word is enough to destroy Ikki Kurogane's will and thus affect the youth's future.
Ikki had very complex feelings toward his father; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so easily affected.
And now, Ikki had learned one thing from Jingliu...
A Desperado is a strategic-level existence. As long as one becomes a Desperado, they can expand their influence to the maximum. When that time comes, can Itsuru Kurogane, knowing Ikki Kurogane has become a Desperado, still target Ikki like before?
Of course it would be impossible!
Given the Kurogane Family's situation, they would most likely choose reconciliation, right?
A face-to-face apology plus re-accepting Ikki Kurogane—these things would definitely be indispensable.
So, how could Ikki Kurogane sit still?
"So Teacher Jingliu, please continue to train us!"
"I absolutely, absolutely will not let this unique opportunity slip away!"
In any other world, Jingliu would certainly not have agreed, because continuing to train with an exhausted body is not training at all, but overdrawing one's future.
As the sword champion of the Luofu, Jingliu had naturally seen countless swordsmen who broke themselves. They should have had better futures, but because of overtraining, they overthrew everything they had.
But this is the world of Chivalry of a Failed Knight, and here there is the realm of the "Desperado"!
The Desperado realm is too special; even if it means overdrawing one's future, reaching this realm is worth it.
Moreover, a Desperado can transcend fate; whether it's an overdraft or not isn't even certain!
Coupled with Ikki Kurogane's identity, the possibility of success is definitely very high!
"Have you truly decided?"
Staring into Ikki Kurogane's eyes, Jingliu spoke slowly, seemingly giving the youth time to hesitate.
But how could Ikki Kurogane, who had long since made his decision, possibly give up?
"Please!"
"Then let us continue."
Of course, there was one more thing Ikki Kurogane didn't say out loud.
And that was that the battle on Stella's side hadn't ended yet!
How could he admit defeat here?
Ikki's talent was already inferior to others; if he even lost in terms of effort, how could he ever become a Desperado?
—
Meanwhile, on the other side.
"Teacher Skirk, let's continue!"
The red-haired and white-haired girls struggled to stand up from the ground. Looking at the sword light and shadows constantly appearing in the distance, the stubbornness in their eyes grew deeper.
"It's not over on Ikki's side yet! How can I be the first to give up?"
"In terms of effort alone, I don't want to lose to anyone!"
Although the two sides were not on the same battlefield, their thoughts were surprisingly consistent; neither wanted to be the first to finish...
Competing in strange places?
The dark circles under the eyes also came from this.
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