Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 47

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Chapter 15: Aura Sword

Keinzel smiled as he looked at Abel standing before him.

His face was a mess, showing how much he had been wielding his sword for the past month.

His hair was disheveled, and dark circles were prominent under his eyes.

The duel between the two had been postponed by a week due to a slight incident.

In the ranking match last week, Abel challenged and defeated the knight in 2nd place who had beaten him before.

The knight who had fallen to 3rd place was defeated by Keinzel and dropped to 4th place.

Thus, the match between Abel, now in 2nd place, and Keinzel, in 3rd place, was set to take place after three weeks.

“Did you even get any sleep?”

“Don’t worry. I’m in top condition right now.”

Abel smiled. It was a refreshing smile, as if he had lifted something heavy off his shoulders.

The training grounds where the ranking match was being held were already crowded with spectators.

Keinzel van Zistad, once the worst underachiever in the history of the Stanitz Knight Academy, now proudly ranked 3rd among the rookies.

And Abel Carters, who had mastered the secret swordsmanship of the prestigious Carters family.

Everyone watched in silence, wondering how their duel would end.

Keinzel drew his sword, and Abel responded in kind.

Wagon approached Kundam, who was watching.

“Captain Kundam, who do you think will win?”

“Sir Wagon, isn’t it? It’s been a while. I’d say Keinzel has the advantage with his solid fundamentals and tremendous stamina. Facing his sword feels like basic swordsmanship that never ends, even at 10 stars.”

“But Abel’s blades are sharp too. He’s been swinging his sword like a madman for the past week and has managed to draw two more blades. Abel won’t go down that easily.”

“So he can now unleash up to five blades. As expected of Carters… He was hiding such potential.”

The situation unfolded as Wagon had predicted.

The blades wielded by Abel split into five, putting pressure on Keinzel.

Keinzel bit his lip, deflecting one of the blades aimed at his vital points.

The pressure was on a different level compared to when there were only three blades.

‘They’re targeting me from all directions simultaneously. And they’ve cleverly cut off my escape routes… Was Abel always this strong?’

The sword wielded by Abel drew a trajectory as beautiful as his true self.

If he had been able to unleash five blades in his duel against Kundam, he wouldn’t have been pushed back so one-sidedly.

Enatos Xiphos was a swordsmanship that became terrifyingly powerful with each added blade.

‘If it’s this strong now, what if he unleashes all nine blades…’

Keinzel evaded Abel’s attacks by creating distance. But that wasn’t the end of it.

‘Onion Swordsmanship!’

The two split blades shot forward.

He would face the five blades with that.

In terms of sword speed, Keinzel, who had surpassed the limits of basic swordsmanship, had the advantage.

In the end, just as Keinzel’s attack was about to reach Abel, piercing through the five blades…

Abel raised one corner of his mouth.

And using one foot as a pivot, he rotated his body, easily dodging Keinzel’s thrusting attack.

The dynamic visual acuity he had developed while facing Kain’s sword allowed him to keep up with the movements of basic swordsmanship mastery.

The two fought almost evenly. Abel had grown remarkably in just one week.

A smile appeared on Keinzel’s face.

‘It must be because he ate the food I made and relieved his burden. I’m really glad…’

However, what ultimately determined the victory was stamina.

Abel was a half-elf with better dexterity than humans but lacking in stamina.

Especially, phantom swords like Enatos Xiphos consumed a tremendous amount of stamina.

In the end, after about seven minutes of dueling, Abel collapsed to the ground first.

But he didn’t look bitter at all. Instead, he chuckled as if he felt refreshed.

“…Congratulations, 2nd place. You finally have a ranking befitting the captain of the Yellow Knights.”

Keinzel slowly took a deep breath and supported the fallen Abel.

He felt that if Abel’s stamina improved even a little more, he would become a truly formidable opponent.

“I don’t want to let 3rd place rot as a Meister [master swordsman]. Should I switch with Wagon?”

“If Wagon becomes a Meister, he’ll probably shout ‘Forward, all troops!’ in front of a cliff.”

Keinzel and Abel looked at each other and burst into laughter.

After resting in the shade for a while, the color returned to Abel’s face.

Keinzel leaned his back against a tree and asked.

“Have you ever thought about becoming a knight?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know Count Grexia Wellide, the owner of the Edelweiss Trading Company, right?”

“He’s famous for being a daughter-fool. Why him?”

Keinzel briefly explained Prellia to Abel.

Of course, he changed the curse of the Seven Deadly Sins into a rare disease. If he knew about that, Abel’s safety would be at risk.

Becoming Prellia’s knight.

After thinking about it for a while, Abel opened his mouth.

“I can trust Count Wellide. Some people criticize him for being a money-grubber, but he provided more funds than anyone else during the Seven Deadly Sins War. Can you really call someone like that a simple merchant?”

“Right. So, are you not interested?”

“I’m glad there’s someone who needs even a half-wit like me. But how do you know Count Wellide?”

“Let’s just say it was a small connection brought about by a piece of bread… I’ll explain everything later when I get the chance.”

“I’m looking forward to that. But are there no conditions? He wouldn’t just pick anyone as a knight.”

“He said he’d welcome anyone as long as they’re a Sword Knight.”

“So, a knight should be able to manifest an Aura Sword. I’ll have to practice handling mana more for a while. But will you be okay, Keinzel? If the Second Season progresses like this, you’ll become a Chevalier class [elite knight] right away.”

Concern was evident in Abel’s eyes.

To wield an Aura Sword, one needs a method of training to handle mana [spiritual energy]. If you’re from a martial arts family that has been learning it since childhood, there’s no problem.

But Keinzel was a fallen noble with nothing. He wouldn’t have a proper mana training method.

Without it, he would have to hire an exclusive sorcerer.

Keinzel smiled and replied.

“Does becoming a Chevalier class mean I’ll be blocked by the Aura wall this time?”

To handle Aura, one first needed to become familiar with mana, the energy that permeated the world.

With a training method, one could convert mana into Aura and accumulate it in the body. But without a training method, one had to manifest an Aura Sword using only their innate Aura.

It’s hard to make delicious food with insufficient ingredients.

The same goes for Aura.

Abel said with a sincere expression.

“We’re friends. If you need anything, I can grant even a slightly unreasonable request.”

Being in a place full of mana makes it easier to feel it.

That was the first training that senior class trainee knights received.

“You’re offering to lend me your exclusive sorcerer?”

“Yeah. I was thinking that if you increase your Aura even a little from now on, you might be able to manifest an Aura Sword within a year.”

A pleasant smile appeared on Keinzel’s face. He hadn’t realized Abel thought of him this much.

“Don’t worry. I’ll manifest an Aura Sword in a different way.”

“A different way?”

Abel asked eagerly, but Keinzel only smiled.

What kind of expression would Abel make if he told him that he could become stronger by cooking?

He would definitely get angry and tell him not to joke around.

‘Mana training methods and Aura have nothing to do with me. There’s only one Aura Sword slot left… If I fill this, I’ll be able to use the Aura Sword, which is the symbol of a Sword Knight.’

The best plan to fill the last remaining Aura Sword slot popped into Keinzel’s head.

@

In the following training, Keinzel earned two Savior grades and three Platinum evaluations.

And before he knew it, the Second Season training was coming to an end.

Billy, the instructor in charge of the Chevalier class, explained the outline of the training.

“After completing this training, you will be promoted to the Senior Class.”

Cheers erupted from here and there.

“This means you will begin practicing handling Aura in earnest. Usually, 50% of the trainee knights give up here and return home.”

In the Rookie Class, you create a vessel to handle Aura.

In the Senior Class, you fill it. Most trainee knights fail to handle Aura there and return home.

And only those who overcome all of that become Chevalier Class and learn how to manifest an Aura Sword.

“Knights swing their swords to become even a little stronger than yesterday! The important thing is the desire to become stronger!”

Keinzel clicked his tongue as he watched Instructor Billy giving an enthusiastic speech to the trainee knights.

‘He gets too fired up every year at this time. So, to put it simply, one Chevalier team and two Rookie teams will be doing an annihilation battle.’

And the captain of the Chevalier Class is a Sword Knight who can use an Aura Sword.

Keinzel will be on a team with Kundam and fight against Vincent, who has become the captain of the Golden Knights.

The Rookies have twice as many members, but the Chevaliers have always won the annihilation battle by an overwhelming margin every year.

There has never been an upset where the Rookies won.

That’s how big the difference is between someone who has obtained an Aura Sword and someone who hasn’t.

Keinzel’s eyes gleamed.

To obtain an Aura Sword, you have to move the other person’s heart with cooking.

At first, he filled one slot by opening a heart that had been closed for ten years.

And he was able to fill the second slot by giving someone the courage to reveal a secret.

Then the last remaining slot is…

“Vincent, I’ll have to fill it through you.”

Vincent, who was a classmate when they became trainee knights, but had already gone so far ahead.

He was always behind the ridicule and sneers towards Keinzel.

It was still a mystery why Vincent, who had everything, was like that.

But being able to manifest an Aura Sword was proof that he could stand on the same starting line as Vincent.

Keinzel recalled the report he had obtained from the Count.

It contained everything about Vincent’s eating habits, from his place of origin to his favorite restaurants, and what he liked and especially disliked.

Of course, it was Detective Siegfried who did the legwork, but the Count took the credit.

He said it wasn’t too difficult to obtain through the chefs who worked at Sven’s mansion.

For the next week, the Rookies will be given time to analyze the opponent’s strength.

During that time, he must prepare a strategy with Kundam, the captain of the Black Knights, to defeat the Golden Knights, with Vincent as their captain.

Once you grab a sword, there will come a time when you have to fight an opponent who is far stronger than you.

The purpose of this training is to learn how to calmly deal with such situations.

And by facing an overwhelmingly strong Aura Sword, you gain the motivation to move forward.

‘But what if someone on the Rookies’ side can manifest an Aura Sword?’

A smile appeared on Keinzel’s face.

Create a dish that moves Vincent’s heart and manifest an Aura Sword.

If he could do that, it would be like obtaining everything he could learn at the Knight Academy.

‘Then, what kind of dish should I make to melt Vincent’s frozen heart?’

The annihilation battle between the Rookie Class and the Chevalier Class is in a week.

He had to finish all the preparations before that.

Aura Sword #2 (Paid Serialization Begins)