Theo’s face was a deep shade of gray as he sat at the head of the table.
It was the result of disappointment in my youngest son.
Knox had assured him at a previous meal.
that he could beat his twin brothers.
But he hadn’t been able to keep his word. The youngest, despite his pleas, had failed to keep his word.
Theo couldn’t hide his disappointment.
He’d hoped for a change in demeanor…….
In the end, was this for the best?
“Allen and Harts. They’re good enough, but they’re not jade stones. The first…… pales in comparison to Garen.’
Garen was his first son, the most gifted of all, even in the genius-infested House of Reinhafer.Next to Theo, he dared to be called the most skilled with a sword.
If all else fails, he is the one who will wield both the family and Clan swords. One of the geniuses of the century.
Anyway.
Theo believes that even his brilliant first son has fallen short of his expectations.
How could he expect the twins to be anything less?
“Allen and Harts are of equal skill. And when it comes to swordsmanship and innate talent, it’s hard to compare them to other geniuses.
Because.
Theo von Reinhafer was fooled by the youngest’s determination.
He saw hope in those determined eyes that he could defeat his brothers, and he was confronted with a cold belligerence that burned in his hardened heart.
Theo thought.
If Knox was truly awakened, he might one day grow up to learn his own arcane swordsmanship, the Supreme Black Sword.
He was the son of the patriarch of House Rinehafer, not someone else. Overnight enlightenment, or a breakthrough, was a surprisingly common occurrence.
But in the end, he couldn’t help but click his tongue at the miserable state of his youngest.
The Supreme Black Sword.
What the hell was that?
To lay all things underfoot, to crush them into overwhelming nothingness.
Isn’t that what a Black Sword is for, to bring an opponent to their knees?
All that defensiveness. And the blue bruises that can’t be washed away.
There’s no point in going any further.
With that, Theo was about to stand up.
Hmph.
Suddenly, a strange air current began to flow through the octagonal smoke field.
Theo’s movements paused for a moment. It was an instinctive sensation.
“You’re… different.”
Rodwell said out of the blue, looking at him.
Theo considered for a moment, then gave a small nod.
“Perhaps he has something up his sleeve.”
Worth keeping an eye on.
With that thought, he sat back down.
As he suspected, the battle was just beginning.
If anyone knew that better, it was Knox himself.
* * *
[Genius and prodigy live in different times].
A phrase that has now become an idiom, perhaps a reflection on the limits of innate talent. It’s also a tribute to those who are gifted.
I honestly don’t know how great it is, or how much power geniuses have.
But if this unfamiliar sensation I’m feeling right now is a time that only geniuses live in. I have no reason not to capitalize on this moment.
‘Fortunately, my health stats have risen just as I expected, though I wish they had risen a little faster…… This is Inner Lunatic, after all, with its extreme difficulty.’
You might be wondering why your health stats are up now. But it’s surprisingly simple.
Inner Lunatic, like many games, gives the protagonist room to grow in the worst of situations.
It’s meant to be dramatic.
The same was true here.
Health stats. This is programmed to increase by 0.1 immediately, only once, when you’re pushed to the limit. It’s programmed to go up 0.1 immediately.
I had already anticipated that this fight would expose my current limitations to my twin brothers, pushing me to the very edge of my limits.
It’s no wonder they have such a huge disparity in stats to begin with.
‘That said, it does feel a little weird…….’
An unknown feeling of exaltation. I could feel it filling my entire body as the skill activated. It was not something to be taken lightly.
This was a scene that had only been captured in scripts and short videos in the past.
I’ve had countless experiences using [Genius Hour] while playing Inner Lunatic, but this was the first time I’d ever seen it come to life before my eyes.
Since the game became a reality, I felt my heart pounding the loudest.
I’ve said it before. I’m a gamer through and through.
So even in this moment, where even the smallest mistake was unacceptable, I found myself thinking.
“This is fun. This.”
“What the…!”
Allen, sensing the change in my momentum, stumbled backwards.
But he’s still just a kid who’s not quite there yet.
He’s only a year older than Knox. He doesn’t realize how strong he is now, or how strong I am.
They say you only see what you know.
Any other peak adept would recognize how phenomenal the energy I’m exuding right now is.
At the very least, I’ve managed to more than triple my health stat in one fell swoop with the triggering of a skill, which, in layman’s terms, means I’m up to around 12 health, which is more than Allen’s 8.
The implications of this are clear.
Now, the unlucky twin is no match for me.
Also, Allen would be defeated by me.
I smirked, but my mind was spinning.
‘Even so, I can’t let my guard down. The skill only lasts for five minutes at most. I have to do something in that time.
The next moment, I thought, “Five minutes.
Five minutes. Can I win against both Allen in front of me and Harts afterward while the Time of Genius lasts?
Absolutely not. There’s simply not enough time.
Then… there’s only one thing to do.
“I’ve been putting up with you all this time, but I’m getting bored, brothers.”
[Talent ‘Master of Acting’ activates].
I borrowed the power of the trait and said, looking at Allen and Hearts alternately.
“Let’s get this over with as quickly as possible, both of you.”
A stifling silence hung in the hall at those words.
Even the vassal presiding over the duel paused, as if unable to comprehend. Only the lingering silence reflected the gravity of the situation.
I slowly shifted my gaze to Knox’s father, Patriarch Theo.
As expected, I had succeeded in getting his attention.
The reason I had provoked Knox’s twin brothers in the first place. It was to get Theo to pay attention to his youngest son.
The plan works.
Normally, he wouldn’t watch such a lowly tournament. But the fact that he’s watching me now means he sees something in me, a quirk, a possibility, after all.
I cleared my throat and turned to Theo.
“Father.”
[There are four minutes and forty-eight seconds left in the ‘Hour of Genius’].
I paused to catch my breath.
“Please allow me to fight alongside my two brothers.”
* * *
Talia was stunned, recalling Nox’s words.
So… is Nox saying he’s going to take on both brothers at the same time?
Her head was spinning. She was only fourteen years old. It was perfectly natural to question Knox’s judgment.
“To attack them all at once, that’s a disgrace to a knight. You’re no match for me, so I’ll take care of you all at once. That’s what it means.
That’s why no knight in Dalian would ever say such a thing.
In that sense, Knox was the worst kind of knight.
It’s a behavior that could easily lead to mocking the efforts of others. It’s rash, and if you lose there, you have a lot to lose.
It’s more than just being made fun of.
“What the hell were you thinking…….”
At that moment, Talia looked into a pair of lavender eyes.
The faint gleam from Knox’s unwavering eyes, and the Patriarch’s at the end of that gaze. She saw Theo’s cold face.
The subtle tension between them made Talia swallow hard.
Then she heard Theo’s stern voice.
“I grant you permission to fight two against one.”
“My lord.”
Rodwell’s voice came from his seat beside Theo. He was concerned for Knox’s safety.
He’d heard he’d been training hard lately, but…
After all, he is the worst blight on House Rineharbour.
If he struck out here and now, and caused a scar that couldn’t be washed away, he might have to live with it for the rest of his life.
“Father!”
“That!”
The backlash from the two brothers was just as bad.
But Theo’s expression didn’t change.
Rodwell and the twins could say no more.
In Rineharbour Street, the word of the soon-to-be Lord is as good as the word of the Emperor. As such, there was no one who could challenge his words.
“Then I will change the rules.”
The vassal immediately changed the rules at Theo’s words.
Two against one. It was an unprecedented battle.
No one had ever fought like this for the right to enter Eldain in the history of the House.
But Knox is not fazed at all.
How this is possible is beyond me.
The weakest Knox von Reinhafer.
A family disgrace.
No matter how much he’s trained over the past month, he’s still just running around the training grounds every day. He has never practiced swordsmanship properly.
He had even offered to teach himself to use a sword, but to no avail.
He rejected the vassal’s offer, saying.
[It’s my job, I’ll take care of it, and… I don’t know what I’m going to do with this frail body to hold a sword].
He wasn’t wrong.
Knox was naturally weak, and physical training was essential to improving that.
But if you ask me if that alone is enough to win a sword fight, I would say no.
Unless your natural talent is overwhelming, it won’t be easy.
And even then, it would be impossible without overwhelming talent, not just exceptional, but overwhelming. This was something the vassal was well aware of.
‘I, too, felt the wall of talent and stopped learning the sword in depth.
It can’t be helped.
Some people are born with overwhelming talent simply because they are descended from a family.
Some are simply gifted. It doesn’t matter if you’re a commoner or a noble.
The vassal remembered the time when he had laid down his sword and decided to go no further. It was a shameful decision for a knight, but it was also the sweetest.
He didn’t have to be broken anymore.
He knew it well. Talent comes in the form of a blessing to some and the height of absurdity to others.
To break people down and build them back up again.
That was talent.
But what of Knox?
The skill with which he parried the sword earlier.
It was not that of a man who believed in his gift.
It was not that of a man who blindly believed in his talent. It was something he could not comprehend.
Cha-ang! Cha-ang!
Allen and Harts. Sparks flew from the tips of their swords.
But Knox is not fazed at all. He is smiling.
How could the youngest, the sickly, the disgrace of the family, have such a look on his face?
Could it be that, until now, he had merely… not allowed his talents to blossom?
The vassal had now forgotten about mediating the battle and could only watch, completely mesmerized by the young boy’s swordsmanship.
* * *
[‘Time of Genius’ has 1:32 seconds left in its duration].
* * * [The effect of ‘Genius of Sword and Martial Arts’ will increase the proficiency of ‘Dark House Subordinate Swordsmanship’].
As the system message informs me, the more I swing the sword. I can read the trajectory of my brothers’ attacks.
Gradually, my sword became smoother and smoother, and I soon began to master the sword techniques they used.
The truth is.
A knight’s swordsmanship is very often passed down as a secret art, and it is not polite to copy another’s sword.
But my circumstances are not such that I can afford such things.
I simply survive, and I do my best to do so.
That’s all there is to it.
Chaing!
I parry two flying swords at the exact same time.
He doesn’t deflect them, but overwhelms them, sending them both stumbling backwards. The sound of the ground dragging is heard.
The two brothers look at each other, swallowing hard.
But it was a fool’s errand. The very thing to avoid in battle.
” “You shouldn’t have been distracted.”
Nothing is heard during Genius Hour.
Or, more accurately, what I do hear comes in very slowly, so it’s not easy to codify the language.
It’s different when I’m talking. As long as I speak slowly and repeatedly, I can make sure the enemy hears me.
So I said. Don’t you dare look away from me.
“Haa…….”
I gradually put pressure on the sword.
Holding the sword with one hand instead of both, I slice through the gap between the brothers, who hesitate and back away.
While the twins panicked, I had already drawn the entire sword path in my head.
I didn’t need to understand much, it was just the realm of talent.
It meant my talent calibration was working properly.
My wrists tensed, and I lightly rotated my body halfway around my left foot. The sword in his right hand began to dance.
It was a wooden sword, but its sharpness had already surpassed that of the wood.
The sword then moves into a bottom thrust, a top slash, and a vertical thrust. All of which I had learned from my brothers earlier in the day.
Pow! Pow! Pow!
The sound of my longsword pounding into my opponent’s body echoes through the silence of the arena.
My sword was finally reaching my two brothers.
“This… can’t… be…!”
“Jen… Zhang…!” [1]
My heart pounds at the faint voices that intermittently reach my ears. However, my sword still does not stop.
It simply continues to fire at the two enemies in front of me.
Scoop! Scoop!
The brothers’ collars are slashed.
As they gasp and block my blade, their gazes are filled with bewilderment.
How could Knox. How could the family name be changed like this.
Such questions must be running through their minds.
But by the time they realize it, it’s too late, don’t they know?
I thought with a smile.
‘Now they’ll know, even if they don’t want to know.’
[The duration of the ‘genius hour’ has run out].
Just like that.
After a few moments, my ears, which had been deafened by the end of the genius hour, began to hear the sounds around me properly again.
I look at the two brothers lying on the ground breathing bubbles, and sheath my sword.
Then I walked forward.
At the end of my path is the vassal who presides over the tournament.
I speak calmly, trying to calm my racing heart.
“I assume the match is over?”
“… Of course, the winner is…… Master Knox von Reinhafer!”
The vassal shouted as if he had finally come to his senses.
It was the moment when the duel was safely concluded.
And it was then that I came face to face with a pair of clear, lavender eyes that swept across the back of my head.
The man I now call father.
Patriarch Theo von Reinhafer stood there, looking at me curiously.
I smirked.
Yes, he is. You want to take advantage of me now.
But if you’re going to use me.
I will use this family, too.
And, at the end of the day.
I will build my power elsewhere, and when the House is destroyed, I will seek my memories!
…It’s a bit shallow, but it’s my goal.
I bowed lightly and walked to my room, avoiding Patriarch’s gaze.
For some reason, none of the servants were talking about me as much as before.
Not surprising, since Knox, the family disgrace, had won against the twins.
I felt dizzy, disempowered, and out of sorts.
Then, the moment.
Talia von Steiner, the girl in the fierce catch, quickly jumped to her feet and started running.
I’m not sure why, but… I need to talk to Knox now.
The thought raced through Talia’s mind.
“We have to catch him!”
“Young Miss!”
This time it was her maid, Emma, who was dying.
Next Chapter[1] : “젠… 장…!” – no idea on this one
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