All-Master Player Of The Academy [EN]: Chapter 75

38. An Honor – 1

The sparring match held no surprises.

No matter how many opponents he faced, the two students, still just Users, didn’t stand a chance against a skilled Master.

“Ugh…….”

“D-Don’t you think you’re being a little too harsh right from the start?”

“If you said that on the battlefield, the enemy would be delighted,” Pridion retorted.

Turning his attention from the defeated students, Pridion focused on Ian.

‘Now, this is the real deal.’

He set down the wooden sword and picked up a real one.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“I don’t mind.”

Ian also held the sword he had recently acquired.

Pridion glanced back and forth between his sword and Ian’s, a look of surprise on his face.

“My sword is not to be taken lightly, but that sword… where did you get it?”

“Instructor Scranda gave it to me.”

“Is that the reward you brought back? A sword from the Dwarven City. Amazing.”

Ian grinned and pointed his sword at Pridion.

Instantly, Pridion felt his body tense, his muscles coiling.

‘Incredible. On par with me…? No, a little better.’

He had accepted the Academy’s invitation to become a senior instructor, but he was never truly invested.

What fun was there in teaching mediocre kids or students who had just become Masters and were full of themselves?

When Rakid was around, at least there was the enjoyment of exchanging blows, but after Rakid gave up his sword, Pridion couldn’t find any satisfaction in the classes.

But now, such an opportunity had presented itself.

‘I’m glad I didn’t quit.’

He smiled contentedly and gripped his sword.

“Here I come!”

As Kirke attempted to assist, Ian shook his head.

‘I’m fine even without it.’

Holding his sword lightly, Ian slowly inhaled.

At that moment, Pridion felt his body lock up.

Ian, smaller and thinner than himself, felt like a towering mountain.

‘Incredible.’

On the surface, Ian didn’t even seem to have a proper stance.

Yet, Pridion had no idea how to attack.

Swallowing hard, Pridion gripped his sword tighter.

If he made a mistake, he would lose.

He gritted his teeth and decided to go all out from the start.

“Haaap!!”

With a loud shout, his sword came down swiftly.

Ian lightly deflected the fierce attack aimed at his head.

But this was a defense that Pridion had anticipated.

-Wooong!

With a low hum, an aura blade [a weapon made of condensed magical energy] materialized in his other hand.

He was about to thrust it forward.

‘I’ve won.’

Ian’s already moving sword wouldn’t be able to block this effectively.

Just as Pridion smiled, confident of victory,

he felt a prickling sensation on his neck.

“……Huh.”

Before he realized it, Ian’s sword was touching his neck.

‘I couldn’t see it.’

When exactly did his stance change?

When did he move his sword?

Pridion, unable to move the created aura blade, broke out in a cold sweat.

‘On par with me, or a little stronger?’

He bit his lip tightly.

‘How pathetic.’

It was beyond his reach.

Perhaps only the Sword Saint, the Forest Keeper, or the Emperor might be at this level.

Losing his will to fight for a moment, Pridion slowly lowered his sword.

“Even until the Heroic Feat Festival, there seemed to be a chance…….”

What on earth happened during the vacation?

The strong guy had become even stronger.

Pridion returned his sword to its scabbard and sighed softly.

“I’ve never fought the Sword Saint, the Forest Keeper, or the Emperor. At best, I’ve wandered the battlefield and crossed swords with a few Masters.”

“Is that so?”

“In other words, I’ve never fought a truly strong opponent.”

And without hesitation, he bowed.

“Although you are a student, it is an honor to fight against someone as strong as you.”

The two who were watching were astonished that a senior instructor showed such respect to a middle school student.

“I knew he was strong, but is Ian strong enough to beat Instructor Pridion?”

“How strong is Ian…….”

Whether Widia and Park Bare were in shock or not, Pridion didn’t notice.

While he silently went to a corner and sat down, replaying what had just happened, the two ran to Ian.

“Hey! Ian!”

“What are you?! Why are you so strong?!”

“I’ve been saying it consistently, but I guess I have to say it again. I’m much stronger than you guys think.”

“There has to be a limit to how strong you are…….”

“Then are you a Master?”

‘Can you use an aura blade?’

As Widia looked at him with sparkling eyes, Ian nonchalantly raised his hand.

-Woo Woong!!

It was closer to sword energy than an aura blade.

But the shape is similar, so you could say it’s the same thing.

Seeing that, the two gaped.

“Then why are you in the intermediate class?”

“You should be a senior student right away……. No, do you even need to be a student at your level?”

At their questions, Ian shook his head.

“Rakid was a Master, but he was a student.”

“Well, that’s true……. Then when are you going to take the promotion exam?”

“I’m not going to take it. I have a promise with Instructor Aranse, so I have to keep it.”

As Ian answered, the two tried to ask him something else.

But they were quickly interrupted.

“Widia! Park Bare! What are you doing! Continue training!”

Pridion, who had gotten up from his seat, was calling them.

Hearing that, the two ran back and shouted.

“Hey, Ian. Let’s talk again later!”

The special class continued.

Of course, Ian didn’t have to take classes from Pridion.

What could he teach when the one who was supposed to teach had been defeated?

When the class excluding Ian was over, Pridion addressed the two exhausted students.

“Ian, you don’t have to take swordsmanship and personal combat classes. I’ll give you the highest score.”

“That’s good then.”

As Ian nodded, Pridion hesitated.

“It’s not really a substitute, but… Spar with me sometimes.”

An instructor asking a student for guidance.

Perhaps embarrassed by that, Pridion scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

But on the path to becoming stronger, what does it matter if one is an instructor or a student?

“Sure. I’ll take one relic [a valuable magical item] per sparring session.”

“If it’s that much… Thank you.”

“But not too often. I have a lot of things to do.”

“Things to do? Is there anything I can help with?”

“Ah, it’s nothing like that. I have to take liberal arts classes and study for other major classes.”

“Well, the Academy doesn’t just teach swordsmanship. Ah, right. If you want, I’ll let you take advanced classes.”

“The intermediate class is enough for now.”

Pridion was quite disappointed at Ian’s refusal.

As soon as the swordsmanship class was over, Park Bare and Widia told everyone that Ian had defeated Pridion.

But everyone’s reaction was lukewarm.

“Hey, Ian is a Master, you know?”

“I predicted that he would be.”

“I predicted that you would say that.”

The two frowned at the reaction of the Class B students.

“Why are you reacting like that?”

“Hey, he’s someone who can take down a Drake [a type of dragon] in one hit, so wouldn’t he be a Master at least?”

“Isn’t it foolish not to have noticed what Ian has done so far in the first place?”

As Haryun said in disbelief, Park Bare and Widia were speechless.

“Ian, how strong are you anyway?”

As Wildy asked, all the students in the classroom looked at him with curiosity.

Facing those gazes, Ian replied nonchalantly.

“Well, I guess I’m much stronger than you guys think.”

“Wow…… Seriously, it’s no joke. What did you learn and how did you learn it?”

“I learned good things and practiced hard. Then, see you tomorrow.”

As Ian smiled and picked up his bag and put Myae on his shoulder,

the door burst open.

“Ian, do you have a moment?”

It was Aranse.

He approached Ian, who was about to leave, and handed him some documents.

“I’m planning to prepare for welcoming the Imperial Academy and practice for the class during this holiday. Is that okay with your schedule?”

“This holiday.”

He had a promise with Priest Aout this holiday.

As he explained the situation, Aranse was very disappointed.

“I can’t break a prior engagement. Okay. I understand.”

“But is practice even necessary?”

“We need to compare the curriculum of the Imperial Academy with our curriculum. We need to grasp how much they will do by setting the maximum.”

Ian’s knowledge far surpassed that of most instructors.

Everyone was anxious about the arrival of the Imperial Academy.

As such, if he participated in the practice, the instructors would be able to conduct the class more stably.

“This holiday is a bit difficult, but I’ll make time at night after class.”

“That would be fine. Thank you.”

Aranse gave Ian a gentle smile.

“You’re welcome.”

“I don’t know how grateful I am to have you.”

“Why are you suddenly like this? It’s cheesy.”

“Just because.”

Aranse smiled awkwardly as if he had said something unnecessary and left.

As he left, Ian also went outside, and the students who had heard the whole story were impressed.

“As expected, it’s no joke.”

If he was just moderately outstanding, they would be jealous.

But it’s not even that, so only a sense of admiration sprouts.

“I think taking that guy would raise the status of the family itself tremendously.”

“But does Ian’s family still treat him badly?”

As Haryun asked, Grajien nodded.

He had been with him for a long time during the vacation, but Ian didn’t say he would go to the Brandon Barony, and they didn’t call him there.

Occasionally, it seemed like Ian thought of them as almost strangers.

“After looking into it through the Relic Society, they still hate Ian and grind their teeth.”

“Crazy.”

“Hey. If he was my family, I would carry him around every day.”

Even the nobles were creating a situation that they couldn’t understand.

That’s how narrow-minded they were.

And they were typical small people who coveted small things and missed big things.

The intermediate students, who had received good teachings at home and learned properly at the Academy, really couldn’t understand.

“And Ian is a bit like that.”

He keeps all the rewards for his achievements and doesn’t send them to the Brandon Barony.

It seemed like the Brandon Barony hated him even more because of that.

“Wow. Amazing. There aren’t even people that shameless in the South.”

“What have they done? Shouldn’t they apologize first if they want to receive something?”

“If they had the mind to do that, they would have come when he won the Heroic Feat Festival.”

Even Bala, who has a good personality, was fed up, and Wildy was bitter.

“I’m worried about Ian. I hope he doesn’t get hurt because of that.”

“Him?”

Everyone in this place thoroughly denied her opinion.

Ian moves as he pleases and has the power to handle it.

In addition, he has nerves like a lifeline that doesn’t care about what others think.

What kind of wound would he receive, who seems like not a drop of blood would come out even if you stabbed him with a knife?

Grajien smiled at Wildy.

“I doubt the knife would even go in in the first place.”

Ian, who came out of the classroom, headed to the Temple of the Sun as usual.

Priest Willis, who saw him coming in, smiled brightly.

“Have you arrived, Saint.”

“Yes, Priest Willis. What should I do today?”

“You can just rest today. There’s nothing special to do. Ah, and one more thing.”

Willis handed over a letter sent from the main temple of the Sun Cult.

“As a thank you for successfully holding the Great Prayer Meeting last time, the cult is planning to provide support to the Brandon Barony. What do you think?”

At his request, Ian grinned.

“There’s no need to do that, so just give me the relics.”

What have they done to deserve support?

As always, he coldly cut off the support that would go to the Brandon Barony.