CHAPTER 2

There was no denying it now. The billion-plus years I spent in the World of Time had been no dream or illusion.

His attacks looked weirdly slow, but…it wasn’t because he was toying with me.

I had actually grown significantly stronger than him!

A few days had passed since my duel with Dodriel. The bullying toward me had gotten worse than ever.

It was much different from the bullying I’d received before, though. Until now, students had always picked on me directly by doing stuff like intentionally bumping into me or kicking my desk, but that stopped immediately after my dominant victory. Instead, I started to bear the brunt of more insults behind my back.

“Reject Swordsman,” “coward,” “wimp”—those were the kinds of insults I heard all around the academy. I was sure it was Dodriel and his followers who started it. But strangely enough, it didn’t bother me.

My old self… My old self from 1.5 billion years ago definitely wouldn’t have been able to handle it.

I was able to keep a calm mind and look at myself objectively.

“I wonder how Mom is doing…”

While walking back to the dorm, where Ms. Paula was waiting, I suddenly thought of my mom, who I had left behind in my hometown.

It had already been three years since I started attending Grand Swordcraft Academy. I had kept in touch by writing a letter every month, but never returned home. I was so focused on my training that the opportunity didn’t arise.

“Okay…it’s a plan. I’ll go home on my next break.”

My hometown of Goza Village was about ten hours away at jogging speed, but I was sure I could make the trip faster now.

“Oh yeah, I guess I should get her some kind of present.”

This would be my first time home in three years, so I couldn’t show up empty-handed.

I’m pretty sure she loves senbei…

It would definitely make her happy if I brought her some snacks.

Wait, how much money do I have again?

I took out a coin purse and upended it over my hand. Three coins clinked out.

“F-five hundred and twenty guld…”

I couldn’t afford a decent present with that.

“…Maybe I should get a part-time job.”

I decided I would consult Ms. Paula about finding a job. She knew a lot of people, so I thought she might be able to give me a good recommendation. I would also feel safe working at a place that she introduced to me.

“I’m sure Mom will be surprised to see me after so long.” I chuckled.

I hummed to myself as I headed back to the dorm.

As soon as I returned, I asked Ms. Paula if she knew of any good part-time jobs.

“You want to get a job?!”

“Yes. Can you think of any suitable places offering work?”

“Where’s this coming from? What about your sword training?” she asked, puzzled.

“My training is important to me, but I’ve been thinking it’s about time I return home to see my mom, and…”

“I see the problem. You don’t have the money to buy her a present, right?”

“Ah-ha-ha… It’s embarrassing, but yeah, that’s exactly it.”

“Say no more. I have just the thing for you!” she exclaimed, folding her arms and grinning cheerfully.

“Really?! Please tell me about it!”

“Sure thing! You’ll be rolling in money if you enter this!”

She tore a poster off the bulletin board and slapped it down on the table. I took the slightly crumpled paper and quickly read it over.

“The…Sword Fighting Festival?”

The Sword Fighting Festival was a celebration held for swordfighters once a month in the neighboring town of Orvis. It was called a festival, but it wasn’t the fun and lively gathering with stalls set up everywhere that that word suggested.

Instead, it was an event where skilled swordsmen gathered to compete and show their prowess with the blade by performing in one-on-one duels. I’d heard that the top three winners were presented with a sizable amount of prize money.

“I suppose real men have to earn a living with their strength!” she said, clapping her arm, which was over three times thicker than mine.

“Hmm…”

The old me from 1.5 billion years ago would never have considered entering this tournament.

As I am now, though…even if placing first is difficult, I should be able to put up a good fight.

However, there was one major problem preventing me from entering the Sword Fighting Festival.

“That’s a good idea, but…the entrance fee…”

An entrance fee of one thousand guld was required to enter the tournament. Unfortunately, I didn’t have that kind of money right now. Feeling like I had no choice, I tried to return the poster to Ms. Paula.

“You dummy! Do you really think I’m the kind of matron who would cheap out on lending money when one of my residents is trying to make a name for himself?”

She took a one-thousand-guld bill off a shelf and shoved it into my hands.

“Take this!”

“A-are you sure?!”

“Of course I am! You’ll pay me back by doing your absolute best, okay?”

“Thank you so much! I promise I’ll win and get some prize money!”

“Now that’s the spirit I want to see!”

I devoted myself to training for the rest of the day. I hadn’t expected to enter this tournament, but now that I was, I would give my all to win a top prize.

A few days later, I walked to the neighboring town of Orvis to enter the Sword Fighting Festival.

“It shouldn’t be far now…”

I was searching for the venue using a map that Ms. Paula had given me.

“This restaurant is right here…so I should turn right at the next corner.”

I rounded the corner and inhaled in shock.

“Holy…”

I saw a large crowd of burly swordsmen, their eyes practically shining with excitement.

A-are you serious…?

They had bulging muscles and boulder-like fists, and they were clearly experienced. All it took was one glance to tell they were far more advanced than me.

I was way too optimistic about my chances…

Not in my wildest dreams would I have thought that the level of talent in the Sword Fighting Festival was this high.

Overwhelmed, I stood frozen for a moment, then remembered something I needed to take care of.

“Oh yeah, I need to complete my entry registration…”

I was standing there, looking for the reception desk, when someone bumped into me from behind.

“Oops,” came the voice behind me.

I turned around to see a large man over 198 centimeters tall with a flattop haircut towering over me. He wore a look of displeasure on his face. The sword across his back clearly indicated that he intended to enter the Sword Fighting Festival.

“What the hell are you doing standing around in the middle of a crowd, you stupid brat?!” he shouted angrily.

The three women who were following him around looked at me and snickered.

“Come on, Bobble, there’s no need to bully helpless little kids.”

“Look, he has a sword at his hip. Does he mean to enter, too?”

“No way! A skinny boy like him couldn’t possibly hope to compete.”

They all cackled.

I was more than a little offended. It was this Bobble guy who had bumped into me in the first place. Though I was standing out of the way on the edge of the street, he was too focused speaking to these women to pay attention to what was in front of him. The fault obviously lay with him.

Most of all, I didn’t think I had done anything in the seconds since we’d met to warrant those insults.

“…Whoa, is that defiance I see in your eyes? Are you lookin’ to scrap with the mighty Bobble?” he jeered, cracking his knuckles as veins bulged on his head. It seemed that my emotion was showing on my face.

I gave my response some thought.

“…Sorry.”

I decided to back down and apologize. Causing trouble here risked being barred from the tournament. That would be betraying Ms. Paula after she went out of her way to lend me money for the entrance fee, and I couldn’t live with that.

“Huh? You don’t even have a comeback? Little wimp,” he snarled pointedly before disappearing into the crowd.

“Haaah…” I sighed.

That was terrible. My luck was really against me today if I was immediately having guys like him pick fights with me.

Forget about him.

It was a big world. For every nice person like Ms. Paula, there were weirdos like Bobble. I had no need to waste time worrying about his ilk.

“Let’s see, where’s registration…? Over there.”

I looked around to find a large line directly in front of the festival venue.

There was a signboard in front of it that read SWORD FIGHTING FESTIVAL REGISTRATION. That was what I was looking for. I got in the back of the line and waited for my turn.

“Next person, please.”

About ten minutes later, my turn finally arrived.

A beautiful girl with blond hair smiled as she efficiently went through the registration process.

“Good morning. Do you wish to enter the Sword Fighting Festival?”

“Yes, please.”

“Okay, that will be one thousand guld for your entrance fee.”

Thanking Ms. Paula internally, I took the thousand-guld bill out of my coin purse.

“Thank you very much. Can I have your name and the school of swordcraft you belong to?”

“My name is Allen Rodol. My school of swordcraft is, uh…”

I faltered. I hadn’t expected her to ask me that.

“Allen…Rodol. What style of swordcraft were you taught?”

…She asked me a second time. It seemed like I had no choice but to answer this question.

“U-um…I don’t have one. I’m self-taught…I guess,” I mumbled, trailing off from embarrassment.

“Pfft… S-self-taught… Okay. U-understood…,” the receptionist noted, choking back a laugh as she filled out my registration with a shaking hand.

Nearly all swordsmen belonged to some school of swordcraft. The only ones who didn’t were either eccentrics or people too weak to handle a school, so anyone self-taught was always regarded as a failure.

I couldn’t blame her for laughing at the idea of a self-taught person entering a tournament full of skilled swordsmen. When my registration was completed, I let out a small sigh.

Haaah… I want to melt into the floor…

That was indescribably embarrassing, and in an entirely different way from being laughed at by my classmates.

…That’s enough thinking about that. I need to move on and focus on the tournament.

I still had about thirty minutes before it started.

“All right, I guess I should get in some practice swings.”

I found a vacant spot and swung my sword alone in silence.

The Sword Fighting Festival was set to begin in five minutes. I headed toward the venue to attend the opening ceremony.

The site for the tournament was bare-bones—it consisted only of a stone stage surrounded by spectator seating.

On stage, the manager of the festival was explaining the rules of the tournament while the crowd of participating swordsmen listened quietly.

The format for the matches would be one-on-one duels. A participant was defeated once they were knocked off the stage. Lethal attacks were forbidden. The matchups were determined directly before each bout through a lottery. Those were the only rules—it couldn’t have been much more straightforward.

Once he finished his explanation, the Sword Fighting Festival was finally ready to begin.

“Without further ado, I will now draw the names for the first match!”

A woman serving as the announcer drew two names out of a large box.

“The first match is—Bobble Domingo vs Allen Rodol! Please make your way to the stage!”

“…I’m going first?”

I would’ve rather watched a few fights beforehand to get a sense for the fighting styles of these swordsmen…but there was nothing I could do about it now. I made my way through the crowd and stepped onto the stage.

“Get outta here! It’s the wimp from earlier! I can’t believe you actually entered the tournament!” Bobble exclaimed with a mocking smile.

I knew it was a possibility, but what are the odds I’d end up fighting the giant man who bumped into me earlier…?

After I ignored his provocation, the announcer started reading from a piece of paper.

“Wow, according to my information, Bobble belongs to the famous Vajra School of Swordcraft! It’s a legendary and refined style that uses a greatsword to pulverize opponents with powerful attacks. Shifting to Allen, he’s… Pfft. Wh-what…? It appears that Allen is self-taught! He’s a self-taught swordsman!”

The stands suddenly grew loud. It didn’t take a genius to figure out I was being ridiculed.

“Gah-ha-ha-ha! The lottery was kind to you today, Bobble, you lucky bastard! Finish him off quick!”

“Hey, kid! Make sure you don’t get stepped on!”

“Ha-ha-ha… Show us what that self-taught sword is capable of!”

Bobble was no exception, of course.

“Hey now, give me a break! Fighting a self-taught swordsman—and a small kid at that—is straight-up bullying! Gwa-ha-ha-ha!”

He held his belly in an exaggerated gesture and roared with laughter.

I hated to admit it, but nothing they were saying was wrong.

I had definitely gotten stronger. However, that was only in comparison with the talent at Grand Swordcraft Academy. All it took was one step into the outside world to see that there was an abundance of swordsmen more skilled than me.

I still have a long way to go…

It was a big world. Even if that was the only lesson I took from this, entering the Sword Fighting Festival would be worth it.

This was a good chance to fight against someone better than me. I was going to give it my all.

“Good luck.”

I bowed my head slightly toward Bobble and waited for the signal to start the duel.

No matter how rude a person is, you need to show them a certain amount of respect. Otherwise, you’ll be no different from them. That was something Mom taught me.

Bobble and I took our starting positions.

“Are you both ready? The first match starts—now!”

As soon as the announcer declared the start of the match, we both drew our weapons.

I took the middle stance, holding my sword in front of my navel. Bobble held his above his head.

Time to see just how much I grew as a swordsman over the billion-plus years I spent in that world!

I wouldn’t learn anything from being passive. I needed to fight aggressively and draw as much from my skill with the sword as I could.

That was why I decided to strike first this time. I quickly swung my sword down from the middle stance.

“First Style—Flying Shadow!”

This was a flying slash attack I had learned over my billion years of training. It had only moderate strength, but it was quick, and it was handy because I could use it from a distance. That made it an ideal move for containing an opponent.

Okay, how’s he going to react?

Bobble showed no sign of movement in the face of my approaching slash attack.

I see… He’s going to wait until the slash is about to hit him and then block it with minimal movement.

Despite his rudeness, I knew he would be better than me as a swordsman.

Then something unexpected happened.

“Blargh?!”

Flying Shadow hit Bobble directly and easily knocked him off the stage.

“…Huh?”

As I stood there in confusion, the announcer loudly declared the winner of the match.

“W-we have a winner! Allen Rodol! What in the world did we just witness? This small swordsman just shocked all of us by ending the match in one strike!”

The spectators and the other participants couldn’t believe what they had just seen.

“Wh-what just happened?”

“Did anyone just see something fly at him? It was faster than lightning!”

“I—I didn’t see that at all!”

I stood there dumbfounded at how abruptly our duel had ended.

“D-did that just happen?”

Perhaps I’d become significantly stronger than I’d thought.

After Bobble’s match, the committee members of the Sword Fighting Festival started scrambling around as if someone had poked a beehive.

Their panic was understandable. The chairwoman of one of the Elite Five Academies, Thousand Blade Academy, had arrived unannounced. Her name was Reia Lasnote.

“I—I am honored beyond words that you would grace our Sword Fighting Festival with your presence!”

The manager of the festival, a man nearing old age, managed to string together words of gratitude despite his extremely flustered state.

Reia scratched her cheek, looking slightly guilty.

“You didn’t have to go out of your way to prepare a VIP seat for me. I would have been fine with a regular seat.”

She truly meant that. She had come here as a simple spectator in order to observe the Sword Fighting Festival. Only after a committee member happened to catch sight of her was she hounded into the VIP section.

“I will not hear it! You must be treated with your due respect. I am terribly sorry we cannot prepare something more suitable for you!” the man apologized in earnest, utterly ashamed.

The manager was acting this way for good reason. The chairs of each of the Elite Five Academies held enormous societal influence and tremendous political power. If he happened to offend Reia somehow, she could easily have had the Sword Fighting Festival shut down permanently.

As such, his behavior was not surprising in the least.

“There’s no need to humble yourself. I only came to watch the Sword Fighting Festival—to see the participants especially.”

She decided to chat with the committee members a little to get them to relax. After all, she didn’t want to watch the matches with such a tense atmosphere hanging over her.

“I’ve been traveling around lately with the goal of bringing Thousand Blade Academy to greater heights. I guess you could call it scouting.”

Thousand Blade Academy used to be extremely prestigious, but in recent years, the quality of its students had decreased. It was even in jeopardy of losing its status as one of the Elite Five Academies.

The previous chairman had resigned to take responsibility for the falling grades, and Reia had become the new chairwoman after the election held this year. With the ultimate goal of returning the academy to its former glory, she toured the regions to observe promising swordsmen and offer them scholarships to attend the academy free from all school fees.

Improving the quality of the current student body right away would be difficult. That was why she was recruiting the most elite of elite students to bring in new talent.

“I see! Then are you here to see the winner of the previous festival, the Bounty Hunter?” the manager asked her, having now calmed down a little.

“Yes, of course. I want to see this Bounty Hunter, Rose Valencia, with my own eyes.”

If she was as strong as the rumors suggested, Reia would offer her a full ride right away.

“I had a feeling. I watched the championship match last year, and let me tell you, the Cherry Blossom Blade Style she inherited is breathtaking! She’s the only person in the world who was taught its secret techniques!”

“I can’t wait to see it. I didn’t come for the Bounty Hunter alone, though.”

“…May I ask who else you have your eyes on?”

“I’m holding out a little hope that I’ll find a diamond in the rough who wasn’t on my radar,” she said, staring at the stage intently.

After defeating Bobble Domingo in one hit, I continued to advance through the tournament with the momentum of a breaking wave. I won my next five matches—something I never could’ve seen coming.

Before I knew it, I was in the finals.

The announcer began to speak. Preparations for the final match must have been complete.

“The moment we’ve been waiting for is finally here! The championship match is about to begin! Our two finalists are Rose Valencia and Allen Rodol. Both contestants, please step onto the stage!”

I had heard of Rose Valencia, the Bounty Hunter, before. If I recalled correctly, she was a gifted swordswoman around the same age as me.

She regularly entered tournaments with prize money, took first place, and hunted down criminals with bounties on their heads to turn over to the holy knights. Her prowess with the blade was well renowned.

Rose stood on the stage in front of me. She had beautiful silver hair that was tinged with pink and extended down to her back. Her black top was accented with red fabric, and below it, she wore short black shorts. The outfit was quite revealing, greatly exposing her midriff up to the bottom of her chest.

I had watched all her fights from the spectator seating.

Though her body was a bit slender for a swordswoman, her swordplay was simply stunning as she cut down one burly man after another. In terms of pure skill, she may have been one of the best in the world.

She looks so calm for this being the championship match. It’s almost frightening.

That was probably because she had been in this situation many more times than I had.

My eyes met Rose’s, and the announcer began her spiel.