How the Shadow of the Marquis Lives

Episode 3

Xian has been confined to a small mansion and has been living alone with Yeomno.

In the meantime, his swordsmanship training was conducted in only two patterns.

train alone.

And sparring with the flames.

It is true that he has definitely improved his skills. Today’s self is stronger than yesterday’s self. I could be sure of that.

However, what position is he, who has become so strong, now?

I didn’t know that.

‘I’ve been to swordsmanship competitions a few times, but.’

Yes, three or four times. What can you tell from those three or four times?

He still lacks objectification of himself.

That was the reason Xian came here.

‘Is it a golem?’

-Giyiing.

When I manipulated the crystal ball on one side, the wooden doll started to move.

A glowing pattern was drawn on the nucleus on its chest, and the sand piled up on the training ground clung to the body of the wooden doll.

A sand golem that was completed before long.

He also held a club made of sand in his hand.

Tung- Tung-

As if the guy was threatening, he hit the palm of his hand with a club.

‘… … .’

Sian lowered his stance.

A pleasant tension enveloped her body. Just the right amount of tension, neither too much nor too little.

He gripped the sword in his hand tightly.

The way to check the sand golem’s durability was simple.

As its durability is reduced, the sand in its body loses its attractive force and falls apart.

And when she loses all of her physical strength, she returns to her original, sleek wooden doll form.

‘How much I can consume him now.’

If you look at it, you will be able to objectively evaluate what your level is now.

As he was getting ready, a guy approached him.

I stared at the thumping golem. As mana gathered in his eyes, his senses were further expanded.

The most important thing in battle is to ‘see’.

Even at the moment a knife enters my throat, even when the enemy’s spear is pointed at my heart, even when an arrow reaches my eyes.

Can you face it to the end without fear?

That is the first thing that separates the unmanned from the non-unmanned.

‘… … .’

The golem strikes the club.

Against him, Xian’s sword was fired at him as if bouncing off the surface of the water.

* * *

“Hmm… … .”

Onyx tube. In a private room on the 4th floor of the dormitory where prisoners from Jakarta usually work, a woman was looking in the mirror with a frown on her face.

It wasn’t that I felt bad or anything. Rather, today belonged to the axis of good mood.

It’s just that I usually go around making an impression.

She changes clothes while looking at the full-length mirror in her room.

Wearing a stretchy active shirt and cotton pants, her blonde hair, with black hair visible in places, was tied up.

She usually wears them loose, but when she moves, she ties them together so they don’t get in the way.

“Shall we go?”

Round ears and wagging tail.

He was a member of the Asla family, one of the six families in Jakarta.

Ran Asla is the daughter of Asla’s family head, Sangun Gen Asla.

She headed to the training wing at the academy.

―Coooung!

There were quite a few sailors there.

Students sweating all over the various training grounds.

She smiled involuntarily.

For the Beast Tribe, physical training is a part of life. Therefore, the fact that the classmates who will study together are passionate about training was something she welcomed.

“Hmm… … where should we go.”

After thinking for a while about which training ground to experience, she eventually headed to one.

I’ve heard that there is a combat training ground using sand golems… … .

There is something similar in my family, so I’ve done it quite a bit. Among the numerous training magic tools and facilities, it was her favorite.

She arrived at the training ground with such a beating heart.

Right after that, I felt as if my blood was cold.

– Whoa.

There was a man coming out of the combat training ground, wiping his sweaty hair.

A face you know so well, just looking at it makes you feel annoyed.

Cyan Agrid.

“… … .”

A chill ran across her face.

“draft… … .”

“huh?”

Hearing the low growling sound, Xian looked at her.

“who?”

Hearing this, Ran gritted his teeth.

hard. The sharp fangs of the Howue tribe shone menacingly at Xi’an.

“… … I’m sorry if anyone knows me. After the big accident, there are some blank spots in my memory.”

Xian handed over the apology first.

Although he was a shadow, he did not originally know everything about the young master.

It was safe to say that I knew very little about many things, especially about interpersonal relationships.

The only time he acted on behalf of the young master was during tests or competitions.

“Whoa… … .”

Seeing that attitude, Ran took a deep breath and relaxed his expression.

But that didn’t allay the anger.

Rather, it was condensed more inward.

“Is this the way to go?”

A sharp, stabbing tone.

“huh? right what I think he’s a pretty good guy.”

“under! I wonder how awake the guy who was beaten by me must have been?”

“Right?”

Sian frowned with a puzzled look.

Ran’s provocative lines did not work.

He wasn’t the type to fall for things like that, and accepting new information was his priority.

‘Was the boy right?’

It’s strange. I’ve never heard of such a thing.

Because of his personality, there was no way he would have been quiet after being beaten.

“Tsk. Turn off when you’re done. Because I’m about to do it from now on. If you want to be beaten again, come in together.”

“… … don’t hesitate.”

Shall I ask Yeomno?

No, there is no need for that. If it was something he really needed to know, Yeomno would have told him first.

If it didn’t, it wouldn’t mean it wasn’t very important.

“Enough then.”

Having come to that conclusion, Xian left the training ground behind.

Ran clicked his tongue at that light attitude, as if he was looking at something insignificant.

Koh, weak, weak. Whenever I get a chance, I’ll make you crawl on the floor again.

Meanwhile, a minor question arose.

‘But was he originally such a wooden man?’

I think he was a bit more sleazy and vulgar.

what a trivial question Perhaps it is your own misunderstanding.

In the first place, I had never had a lot of conversations with him or had a deep relationship with him.

With that thought in mind, she entered the training ground.

Then he put on a ‘yes’ expression.

“Heh, I just pretended to go. Didn’t it work at all?”

There, a wooden doll with not a single grain of sand was lying quietly on the ground.

* * *

The day of the first class was bright.

After waking up early in the morning and exercising, Xian took a shower and changed into the academy uniform.

The meal was bread and milk that I had prepared in advance yesterday.

They serve breakfast at the restaurant, but it’s convenient to eat alone, so I simply filled it with bread.

“Lecture building… … .”

He left the Sapphire Hall and headed for the lecture hall.

Among them, the 1st grade building where freshmen take classes.

There were as many as ten classes, and Xian’s class was only one class.

-Drreuk.

I opened the door and went inside.

Classrooms where the sound of chatter echoed even outside the door.

However, as soon as Xian appeared, a chilly silence fell.

-Isn’t that him?

-The bully of the Agrid family.

―Why are you in my class!

little whispering sounds.

It must have been to prevent others from hearing it, but I couldn’t escape Xian’s ears.

In addition to the training of ‘seeing’, he did not miss out on the training of ‘listening’ as well.

“… … .”

what is familiar

Xian trudged and sat down in a suitable seat.

As he sat quietly and did nothing, little by little the noise in the classroom began to return.

“ruler! Quiet, quiet.”

After a while, the instructor came in. The children went to their seats and sat down.

After waiting for the children to sit down, the instructor opened his mouth.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Tails, the homeroom teacher in charge of you guys. I am a close combat instructor, and my main weapon is a sword, but everything other than the sword is of a high standard, so if you have any questions, feel free to come.”

Several children were already raising their tension at the appearance of a man with a higher rank who was much stronger than himself.

“Well, since most of Everwhale’s classes are mobile classes, you won’t see me very often, but I’m in charge. If anything happens, feel free to come to us for consultation. by the way.”

Instructor Tail suddenly turned his head.

His eyes stared at Xian.

“Sian Agrid. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“My talk… … You mean?”

Xian looked at Instructor Tail and replied.

“I am not one to judge by hearsay. But I know very well that there is no way smoke will come out of the chimney at any other time. You’d better treat yourself well. Everwhale is a place that even your father can’t do anything about.”

That was a warning. not to crash.

It was bittersweet, but it didn’t feel particularly bad.

After all, I was talking to the original young master, not to myself.

“Please give me a lot of map delivery.”

So I just nodded my head.

“… … ?”

Instructor Tail frowned at Xian’s candid response.

It was unexpected. I thought you’d rebel a little more.

‘Does he have any plans?’

However, the level of alert has rather risen.

Having served as an instructor for a long time, he knew it well.

Guys who openly mess around are rather easy to deal with. What’s really difficult is smiling in front and peeling pumpkin seeds from behind.

Still, I lowered my head right away, so I had nothing more to say.

“good night. start scheduling Everyone, take one of these.”

Instructor Tail took out a luxurious-looking case and opened it.

Inside were 30 grayish rings.

When asked what this is, Instructor Tail says to take it and wear it.

As everyone in the class put on their rings, he started explaining.

“That ring is an object that marks your ranking in Everwhale. Year 1 is gray, year 2 is black, year 3 is white.”

“Ranking? You mean the grade ranking?”

“no. It has nothing to do with grades.”

Instructor Tail smiled and continued.

“From now on, you guys will have a lot of ‘duels’, both in class and in private. The ranking of the ring is the ranking of the duel. It’s simple. If the challenger wins, the ranking is exchanged with the opponent. More than that.”

It was related to the ideology that occupies the root of all curriculum at Everwhale.

infinite competition.

It wasn’t Everwhale that would gather talent from all over the world and put it in a greenhouse.

Students have to face the rain and wind and find their own nutrients and spread their roots.

Even if sometimes you step on another student next to you.

Gathering countless gemstones and constantly bumping them into each other.

So, the last remaining rough stone is truly a valuable gemstone.

That is the educational philosophy of Everwhale, and it was the driving force that made Everwhale a prestigious school rather than just a place for friendship.

“I… … Isn’t that too harsh? There is a separate grade, but ranking that far… … .”

A weak-looking student raised his hand and asked a question.

To the student’s question, the instructor nodded in agreement rather than scolding him for being weak.

“That’s a good question. It’s not a word that comes up every time. Isn’t it encouraging too much competition? But don’t worry too much. The ranking of the ring is really nothing. I swear that you will never be discriminated against or preferentially treated with that number. Therefore, those who are not interested can simply ignore it.”

A question mark appeared on the faces of all students, not just those who raised their hands at those words.

Then why?

Ranking is, after all, in order to do something with that rank.

If there is no purpose, there is no reason to rank.

“There are a lot of faces I don’t know. I understand. Everyone hears it for the first time. but.”

Looking at those students, Instructor Tail’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m sure it will come out among you guys. Even though there is no profit or reward, the guys who can’t stand their numbers.”

Even so, half of them still didn’t know.

However, half of the expression sank.

He had an intuition that Everwhale’s life would never be smooth.

Xian was also included in that half.

especially.

＜1＞

Especially since the number 1 was shining on his ring.