Adrias' Favor

The evening sky was unusually dark. With the clouds gathering as if it were about to rain, Kris Yunor stood still in the smokehouse, deep in meditation.

'Let me think in a pure state. To the time when I first learned the sword.'

When he first began to learn the sword, he had no thoughts.

All he felt was a strange excitement.

And a sense of anticipation that his father's awesome form would soon become his own.

'I went from following in my father's footsteps to following in Louis'.

There was a time when I was happy just to hold a sword.

There was a time when you were happy to see yourself grow stronger every day.

But now it's different.

That goal was no longer enough to sustain him.

"Why do I want to be strong? What do I want to prove with that strength?

As he stood in the center of the training grounds with his eyes closed, Chris felt someone enter the training grounds and opened his eyes.

It was Todlon Terry, a senior in the Knight's Academy.

He was carrying a vial of some sort of potion in one hand, the color and aura of which seemed off-putting.

Chris closed his eyes again, unconcerned when he made eye contact with Todlon.

As long as they were practicing, they shouldn't be paying attention to each other anyway.

"Hah. Now I'm being ignored by a sunbae."

But Toddlon didn't seem to think so.

Chris opened his eyes again at Todlon's mumbling and said to him.

"Did you just say that to me?"

"Look at the way you talk, asshole. Who else is here besides you?"

"Toddlon Terry, I know your name, but I didn't expect the valedictorian of the class to be so lighthearted."

"What? Are you crazy? Hey, freshman, you're talking out of your ass again. What's so lighthearted about a senior?"

Chris furrowed his brow, feeling like he was getting into an argument for nothing. Finally, with a sigh, he picked up his training sword from the training center and threw it at Todlon.

"If you're so unhappy, prove it with your skills."

"Dude, this is a real kick in the nuts, I was just checking to see if the bitch was around, and there's another crazy one. Okay, I'm gonna teach our sunbae a lesson."

In an instant, the atmosphere was set.

Dueling was forbidden without an observer, but neither Kris nor Todlon were great men who cared about such things. With swords drawn, they immediately charged at each other.

Bang!

Kwagak-!

Todlon, who seemed to be in control, used a more flexible sword technique than expected, and Chris, who still hadn't figured out how to use his sword technique, pushed Todlon as if to chastise him.

"What, that's it, that's all you can do?"

"Shut up."

After the confrontation with Adrias, Chris recognized his problem.

The problem was that his swordsmanship was not easily fixed due to the habits he had already developed.

So, despite his conscious effort to return to his roots, his sword was sloppy.

"Hmph!"

Boom!

Todlon's powerful pressure came in, and Chris's sword shook like a bouffant.

Nevertheless, Chris remained calm and trusted his sword.

"I have to fix it, even if it's hard right now.

It was a good thing, he thought.

This was his chance to correct his bad habits.

BANG! BANG!

Whack, whack, whack!

The more he parried Todlon's blade, the more his own was sharpened.

He tried to clear his mind and consciously return to the way he had first learned.

As he did so, Todlon vaguely noticed the gradual transformation of Chris's sword.

It was too much like Chris trying to use him as a springboard.

"You bastard!"

A mana-laden blow landed, cutting him down.

But unlike before, Krycek leisurely taunted his opponent with his phantom sword and sidestepped.

"Yeah. This sensation.

This was the feeling he had when he first learned the Yunor Sword Method.

The basics of the Yunor Sword Art were swordplay to deceive the opponent.

It served no other purpose.

'And to complement that, there is....

Having mastered the basics, it was time to move on.

Chris's sword, which had been smoothly parrying Todlon's blade, suddenly changed speed. One moment his blade was flowing, the next it was a snake lunging for Todlon's throat.

"Ugh."

The sudden change caused Todlon's foot to twist as he hastily stepped back.

He nearly stumbled backwards, but Chris's sword was already at his throat.

"Looks like I win."

The duel was over in an instant.

Todlon, stunned by Chris's confident words, stared at the sword at his throat, before shaking his head and stepping back.

"How ridiculous. I, the valedictorian of my class, am the neighborhood bully."

Hearing Todlon's mutterings, Chris sheathed his sword and shook his head.

"I don't deserve to be called the town drummer. You've been good enough."

"Hahaha, now I have to be consoled by a sunflower?"

Chris sighed as he listened to Todlon's self-deprecating laughter.

No matter what he tried to say to the grown man, he didn't think it would be well received.

Finally, with his head in his hands, Chris turned to go back to his training.

"Stop."

As Chris turned to leave and headed out of the training center, he heard Todlon's voice behind him. By the time Chris spun around to check on him, Todlon was already downing the potion he'd brought with him.

"What are you doing?"

"Pooh. Just wait. I'm not done yet."

Todlon finished the potion, threw the bottle on the ground, and drew his own sword.

Chris narrowed his eyes at the sight of him drawing his true sword.

"Even though you lost to a junior, don't you think it's too ugly?"

"Shut up! You, that bitch Vivian, and everyone else in this academy who laughs at me, I'll kill you all!"

"You're crazy."

Even as he said it, Chris tensed inwardly and drew his own sword.

Todlon's condition was strange, the white is gone, and only the black was visible.

"So much pressure."

He could feel mana visibly radiating around him.

Soon after, Todlon stomped on the ground and swung his sword.

Kwaaaaang-!

"Kick."

Chris's body was sent flying with a force and speed, unlike anything he had ever seen before.

He was surprised that it was so destructive even though it was supposed to be deflected and suspected the identity of the potion.

"First things first."

Todlon's attacks were relentless.

As if he were a different person, Chris was swaying back and forth, trying to steady himself under the onslaught.

Kwaang-!

Kwagagagak!

The barrage grew to envelop the area around him, and Chris was busy running for cover, jamming his dislocated shoulder against his opponent's attack.

"What's the commotion?"

A voice called out, and a figure entered the theater.

The figure spoke with surprise in his voice.

"Chris?"

When Chris saw Serena Erestrial enter, he yelled.

"Serena! Go outside and call for help! Something's wrong...."

Kwah-!

Seeing Chris being swept away by the binge once again, Serena stiffened in surprise, assessed the situation, and drew her sword.

Anyway, with this kind of binge drinking and noise, someone like her would come looking for her.

For now, she had to keep Chris alive.

"Is that you, Todlon?

It was definitely Mr. Todlon, though he was bigger and his eyes were duller.

I didn't know how they were fighting, but I had to stop them.

Whirr.

She attacked Todlon with her longsword, which she had recently switched from a greatsword.

Her skills with the new sword were still rudimentary, so she didn't even touch Todlon's fur.

"Thank you."

But Serena's dodging of the blade stopped the attack on Chris.

With Chris out of harm's way, they regrouped and stood in front of Todlon.

Serena wanted to ask how they got to this point, but instead, she watched in disbelief as the giant Todlon grew even larger.

"Are you another sun child now, do I look so ridiculous, I'll kill you all!"

Todlone's shout was like a mana-infused shudder.

And so began the second round of Chris and Serena vs. Todlon.

* * *

"Vivian. I need a favor.'

Vivian blushed as she recalled the situation from earlier.

Adrias himself had asked her for a favor.

'I won't let you down.

Adrias's request was simple.

'I want you to look into the same incident that happened in the ballroom, because it could have happened in the Knightly Faculty.

If the same thing was happening, contact the professors at the Faculty of Knighthood immediately.

I got off the train and ran.

I decided to run around the grounds of the Faculty of Knights, just to see what I could find.

Thud....

But her thoughts were interrupted by a faint sound from somewhere.

The sound was coming from the direction of the training center where she usually practiced.

Vivian wasted no time running towards the source of the noise, and as she got closer, the noise turned into a bombardment.

Kaaaah!

It was a tremendous sound.

It sounded so outrageous that Vivian wondered if it was magic, and she tensed up. She had to find out what it was before she could tell her professors.

Thump! Kua-ang-!

Vivian cautiously stepped into the performance hall.

There were two students and a gigantic creature with a sword in each hand, wielding them indiscriminately.

'Adrias told me to contact the professor first....'

What would Adrias have done?

The way things were going, they'd both be dead by the time he got to the professor.

It was unlikely that Adrias would have left them to find the professor.

In the end, Vivian decided to save them first.

"I won't let them down."

Muttering to herself, Vivian drew her sword, and at the sound of it, the monster and the students turned.

"Ms. Vivian."

"Ugh."

The student's condition was serious.

Their entire bodies were covered in blood and they couldn't even stand upright, while the monster looked unharmed.

"Rain. Rain. No?"

The monster said.

Vivian stiffened and slowly walked over to the creature.

"I don't know who you are, but I need you to do Adrias a favor."

"I. Don't. You. don't. know?"

"I don't. A monster like you."

"Ughhhhh. Ughhhhh!"

The monster's energy began to surge.

But Vivian, standing before him, could only stare at him with cold eyes.

"I won't let you down."

Vivian's remaining madness flickered within her.

Soon, the monstrous Todlon and Vivian clashed.

Quang-!