Chapter 11. Watch your mouth

Thump, thump, thump.

The movement of my Mana Heart grew stronger.

Clang!

It intensified each time I blocked Bethel’s mana-infused sword.

‘It’s still not enough.’

The stiff sensation was growing deeper, but it was paused at a precarious line. To cross it…

‘Since I have to overcome a limit, I guess I’ll have to get on his nerves a bit.’

I looked into Bethel’s eyes. They were blazing with anger, but he hadn’t lost his humanity. It wouldn’t be so bad if he lost a little. If any problems arose, the great Chris would surely stop him.

Screeech!

I blocked a snake-like attack aimed at my wrist. Sword met sword, and a power struggle began. Bethel narrowed his arms and widened his stance to prevent any loss of strength.

His fundamentals were quite good. That meant he wasn’t from the streets…

“You were taught properly, weren’t you?”

I shot a smile at Bethel, who was pushing forward with force.

“Shut up.”

“Why did you quit being a knight?”

Bethel’s face crumpled hideously. It was an expression I hadn’t seen until now. It seemed his trigger was the word ‘knight.’

“Shut your mouth before I kill you.”

Thank you for the confirmation.

“Were you kicked out? From the knight order.”

Bethel bit his lip. He disrupted the balance of power and withdrew his sword. Then, he created distance.

I looked into Bethel’s eyes once more. It seemed he had lost a bit of his reason, just as I intended. Seeing the mana flow from his heart and surround his sword, I was sure of it.

Boom!

The sound of him kicking off the ground echoed like a cannon blast. Sharp thorns sprouted from Bethel’s sword. I could feel his murderous intent. I could see his thought process—to shred my entire body with the thorns and then cut me down in a single stroke.

‘It’ll be hard to dodge them all.’

The thorns created by Bethel rained down on me. I swiftly parried the ones aiming for my vital spots. A few thorns grazed my arms, legs, and face. My skin split open, and blood trickled out. I could feel my muscles tense in surprise. But I couldn’t afford to be in pain over something like this. The real fight was now.

Squeeze.

I gripped my sword tightly. Bethel’s hands came within range. The yellow mana surrounding his sword surged. I read the movement of his feet planted on the ground, his shoulders, and the direction of his wrist.

Thwack!

I drove my sword into the ground. A clumsy dodge would have me swallowed by Bethel’s sword. A clumsy block would have me sent flying, unable to withstand the impact.

Boom!

I blocked Bethel’s sword. My entire body stung as if pricked by needles. Bethel’s mana traveled through my sword and churned my insides. The hand holding the sword trembled uncontrollably. It wasn’t just my hand. My legs, planted on the ground, trembled too. My gaze on Bethel wavered. My right chest ached as if struck by a fireball. And then it ached as if it had turned to ice.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

My Mana Heart responded.

“You son of a bitch. I’ll rip out that tongue of yours.”

Bethel growled.

“Watch your words.”

I’m sensitive to the word ‘dog.’ It’s fine when I use it. But I hate hearing others say it to me.

Especially ‘mad dog.’

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Shall we see if it’s ridiculous or not?”

I stimulated my Mana Heart, which felt like it was about to burst from being endlessly heated.

Bethel turned his sword and aimed for my arm. I blocked it. Then, he relentlessly attacked my leg, neck, and the other side of my chest. Large and small wounds kept appearing.

Bethel’s mana, following his sword, tore at the wounds.

“Are you smiling?”

Bethel, who held the initiative in the attack, said.

I couldn’t help but smile.

The feeling of walking through a blazing fire naked and the feeling of facing the biting cold of a blizzard that tore at my flesh alternated. It was a repetition of pain to shed my skin for growth. It was the sensation of approaching the 1st Star.

“The pain feels good.”

“……”

For a moment, contempt flashed across Bethel’s face. He seemed to have taken it the wrong way…

Thump. Thump.

The Mana Heart, which had been pulsating hotly and then coldly, stopped moving. The flow of mana also stopped. I heard a crackling, splitting sound. The mana began to flow again. At first, it was a small stream, then that stream gradually thickened and rushed in like a flooding river.

The pouring mana swallowed the Mana Heart. Amidst the swirling mana, the Mana Heart sparkled. Soon, all the mana was sucked into the Mana Heart. Then, it took on a clear hue and radiated in all directions.

“Hoo.”

All the wounds I had sustained so far began to heal. Impurities flowed out of my body. A blue light swirled around the Mana Heart. The path of mana connected to the Mana Heart opened wide. I had achieved a milestone.

“Tah!”

Bethel shouted as he swung his sword. The sword, made heavy, sharp, and hard by the use of mana, aimed for my neck.

The corners of my mouth curled up. It was the perfect opportunity to show which was more powerful, the 1st Circle or the 1st Star. I drew out my mana. The Mana Heart accepted my will and hummed lightly.

Crack!

Sword and sword clashed. A sound with a different texture than before rang out. My sword dug into Bethel’s sword.

“This is crazy!”

Bethel looked at me with shocked eyes.

“Does it still seem ridiculous?”

“You son of a…”

‘Dog.’

If your head is bad, your body has to suffer a bit.

I put strength into both hands.

Clang!

With a clear sound, Bethel’s sword broke. Bethel was flustered. He tried to squeeze out all the mana he could muster to repair the broken sword. I had no intention of giving him time. A duel must have a winner and a loser!

With my mana-wreathed sword, I struck down on Bethel’s sword. The earth that had formed the blade turned to powder and scattered. Dust rose thickly. I stomped my foot. I spun my body and pulled my sword back. The next target was Bethel’s shoulder. With this one blow, I would prove that the Mana Heart was greater than the Mana Circle!

Bang!

* * *

“Are you insane?”

Rodrigo shouted at Chris.

Chris, his face flushed, was breathing heavily. He had used magic to stop Maxim. And it was quite high-level magic at that.

“Your Highness!”

Rodrigo ran to Maxim. Maxim had been pushed to the corner of the training ground by Chris' attack.

“What the hell are you doing!”

“Fuck! Why did you have to ruin it? Who the hell are you?”

“Hey, you bastard!”

The people watching the duel directed their anger at Chris.

“The amusement is over. Let us all return.”

“Who are you to decide?”

“Who are you! You bastard!”

“Hey! What the fuck are you gonna do about my money?”

Despite Chris' words, the people did not leave and just kept shouting. Chris let out a sigh.

Then he gathered his momentum. He gathered the energy of thunder on his palm. A round sphere made a piercing sound, showing a threatening appearance.

“Let us return. Quietly.”

Chris' eyes were filled with murderous intent. The people felt the pressure and quickly left.

Having finished one task, Chris dispelled the magic and let out a short breath. He changed the mood to deal with the next matter.

Bethel, his sword broken, sat collapsed on the floor, blinking his eyes. Chris approached Bethel with an angry face.

“Wh-what?”

“I told you to have a duel, not to wield a killing sword, did I?”

“Wh-when did I?”

At Bethel’s words, Chris' eyes widened. He grabbed Bethel by the neck. Bethel struggled to break free from Chris' grip. But he couldn’t escape from Chris, who was smaller in build than him.

“How dare you! Before whom do you speak lies?”

“Kh, keok! Wh-who… keok! are you?”

“The master of the place you ran away from.”

“……!”

Bethel’s eyes widened. He had run away before Chris was commissioned, so he had never seen his face. But just from the concentration of the mana being transmitted, he could tell that the man before him was the commander of the North. He gave up struggling. And he began to tremble. Chris threw the terrified Bethel to the ground.

“Deserter. Do not move a single step from this spot and await your punishment. If you disobey my words and move, you will be executed immediately.”

Bethel had a dazed expression, like a man who had lost his mind. ‘A deserter shall be executed regardless of the reason.’ Such was military law. Bethel was not unaware of this.

“P-please save me. Please save me. P-please. Please save me.”

Bethel begged for his life, banging his head on the ground. Chris ignored him and looked at the fallen Maxim. A look of deep turmoil filled Chris' face. He hadn’t thought Maxim would beat Bethel. Still, with a sliver of hope, he had deliberately brought an audience.

Even if Maxim had changed, even if he was no longer childlike, he was still a 15-year-old boy. So he thought that standing in front of many people, he would feel burdened, unable to concentrate. He had expected him to be soundly defeated by Bethel. If that happened, he wouldn't have to force him to hold a sword. But everything had gone wrong.

“I was surprised.”

He approached Maxim and knelt as he spoke. Regardless of his own miscalculations, his words were about Maxim himself.

‘Has he reached the 1st Star?’

The aura of mana felt from Maxim was very different from before. The flow of mana surrounding him had also changed. He had even summoned and used mana. From what Chris had studied, that was something only possible upon reaching the 1st Star.

‘They said it takes 10 years after creating the Mana Heart.’

The 1st Star was a state that could only be reached after 10 years of training.

‘Is this possible in just a month?’

It was unbelievable. But he couldn’t not believe it either. Because it was something that couldn’t be done without achieving the 1st Star.

The mana Bethel had wrapped around his sword was considerably thick. He had also used magic appropriately. There was no way to handle it with an ordinary sword. Even for a knight of the same 1st Circle, blocking Bethel’s sword was not easy. In that situation, Maxim had summoned a thin layer of mana. And, as he had seen, he had overpowered Bethel.

‘If I hadn’t stepped in, Bethel would be dead.’

It was a merciless sword. It wasn’t a sword that stopped at completely breaking the opponent's attack, but a battlefield sword that aimed to erase the very seed of opposition.

That’s why it was so absurd. Because Maxim had asked him to stop him, as if he had anticipated this.

“Your Highness! Your Hiiiighness!”

Rodrigo held the fallen Maxim’s hand and wailed desperately. He looked at Chris with eyes full of resentment.

“Count Dorléans! You have harmed His Highness! I will not let this slide! I will definitely!

Definite…”

“Calm down and look again.”

“Definitely! Calm…! Calm what? No, what do you mean by that?”

At Rodrigo’s question, Chris pointed at Maxim. Rodrigo turned his head and looked at Maxim.

“Your Highness?”

“My ears hurt.”

“Pardon?”

“I said my ears hurt!”

Maxim pulled his hand away from Rodrigo. Rodrigo bowed his head before Maxim. And he shed thick tears.

“I am so glad you are safe. Truly glad.”

At Rodrigo’s words, Maxim let out a long sigh. He knew why Rodrigo was so worried, so he had nothing to say. Though he did think he cried an awful lot.

He looked up at Chris and clicked his tongue.

“Man, really. Just because I asked you to stop me, do you have to be so crude about it? Did you have a lot of complaints about me?”

“How could that be?”

“Seems like it. Otherwise, would you have thrown a spell like that?”

Instead of answering, Chris swallowed hard and scratched his forehead. He knew what Maxim’s words meant. The magic Chris had used was a mid-tier spell even for the 2nd Circle. It was mainly used to blow away heavy cavalry. The spell’s power was quite strong for stopping Maxim. Maxim knew this as well, which was why he was being sarcastic.

‘Could I have stopped him if I had used 1st Circle magic?’

If it had been Bethel’s attack, it would have been possible. But against the attack Maxim had shown, he couldn’t be sure. No, he had instinctively seen that it would be difficult. That was why he had used the 2nd Circle wind magic.

“Well, whatever. We prevented a disaster.”

Maxim got up, brushing himself off with an expression that said it was no big deal.

“No, Your Highness. You cannot let this slide. Your Highness was…”

“Rodrigo. Stop it, will you? I said my ears hurt. And it was something I asked him to do.”

“Your Highness, still, this matter cannot be simply…”

“Enough. I said I’m fine. So stop. Stop and let’s go inside. I’m tired.”

“…Yes, Your Highness.”

Hearing Rodrigo’s answer, Maxim limped away. Seeing this, Rodrigo quickly ran to support him.

“Ah! Just a moment.”

Maxim stopped walking. He looked at Chris and flashed a victor’s smile. Chris, unable to grasp the meaning of the smile, tilted his head.

“I won.”

“Pardon?”

“The bet. I won.”

“Ah…”

“What do you mean ‘Ah…’? I said I won, didn’t I? So get ready.”

Maxim once again smiled the smile of a victor and gave a thumbs-up. Chris was dumbfounded. He had never imagined that Maxim would be concerned about a bet when he had just achieved the 1st Star.

“What in the world just happened?”

Chris became extremely curious about what Maxim had experienced on the other side of consciousness when he was in a coma.