ebookland #130 - They are all pigeons
#130 - They are all pigeons
Blade Breakers
These are a special group of humans who materialize their own souls into weapons—Innate Spiritual Devices—and manipulate them with magic, a rare existence with only one in a thousand.
In ancient times, people called them magicians or witches, and the weapons they used were called holy swords, magic swords, cursed tools, divine artifacts, and so on.
And now, those who fight by manipulating these special abilities are called Blade Breakers.
The abilities of Blade Breakers cannot be observed by science. Those with high abilities can freely manipulate the flow of time, while those with low abilities can enhance their physical abilities to superhuman levels.
Therefore, they possess power that technology and martial arts cannot compete with, and have already occupied a very important position in the police, military, and even the field of warfare.
Some people believe that life is unequal.
Because they feel that how much a person can achieve depends on their innate conditions.
Geniuses and ordinary people.
This is indeed an irreversible gap determined at the moment of birth. Those without talent cannot surpass those with talent, so they can only give up their ideals.
But is that really the case?
"...Kid, are you willing to accept this?"
Kurogane Ikki recalled his grandfather's words, the emotion of unwillingness still swirling in his chest, and he gripped the long sword in his hand even tighter.
"...You're distracted, Ikki."
A gentle voice came from his ear, but the sword in the other party's hand was not gentle at all. Seizing the moment when he was distracted, the wooden sword raised a sharp gust of wind straight towards his chest.
Kurogane Ikki immediately slid his long sword downwards, skillfully blocking the opponent's attack with the hilt. It looked orderly and relaxed, but he was still breaking out in a cold sweat.
Too sharp!
He had only slightly recalled the past, and the moment his eyes were scattered, the flaw was seized. He couldn't help but marvel at how strong the opponent's strength was, and at the same time, he secretly blamed himself for not being focused.
After blocking this move, the two pulled away.
If the other party had taken advantage of the situation to pursue, his rhythm would definitely be disrupted, and then he would be defeated neatly.
This is a practice battle, and they won't aim for vital points with every move, but precisely because it is a hard-won practice battle, Kurogane Ikki needs to be more focused.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, he had completely abandoned distracting thoughts, staring intently at the opponent in front of him.
First of all, this person has an excellent appearance.
Black hair, red eyes, and the white uniform of Hagun Academy. Although it is a common garment in the academy, it still looks so eye-catching on him.
The only thing that makes people feel a little strange is the crown woven from dry branches on his head, with a red gem on the crown, which is quite conspicuous.
Zunzun.
Kurogane Ikki originally thought this strange name was a code name, but after the other party repeatedly emphasized it, he realized that it was indeed the other party's real name.
The two had met three days ago.
Same time, same place.
That day, he was practicing swordsmanship in the courtyard when he heard a burst of applause. Zunzun praised his swordsmanship and then proposed a request to fight him.
Kurogane Ikki has a clear understanding of himself. With his magic talent almost zero, the only thing he can show off is his sword. Therefore, under the other party's praise, he subconsciously agreed to the request for a battle, and it has continued until today.
Pa Pa Pa—
The two constantly crisscrossed in the courtyard, and the fierce collision of swords never stopped. Although they said it was a warm-up practice battle, both sides were very serious.
At least Kurogane Ikki was very serious.
Without talent, his only weapon is the long sword in his hand.
Only this, he doesn't want to fall behind others.
Without any excellent talent, and without good interpersonal relationships, he, who has no sparring partner, has learned to imitate.
He can see through most of the swordsmanship in just one minute, and then master the entire swordsmanship—including skills, routines, and even how to respond to his own movements. Then, he corrects all the shortcomings in the enemy's swordsmanship, and re-weaves a set of swordsmanship that is compatible upwards.
But the person in front of him—Zunzun—is not working.
From other people's swordsmanship, Kurogane Ikki can feel the behavior, will, and goals, but he cannot feel anything from Zunzun's swordsmanship.
Because Zunzun's swordsmanship is the most basic swordsmanship.
This is the swordsmanship that every beginner will learn, but it is not the swordsmanship that every beginner can calm down and practice.
Incomparably standard swordsmanship, obviously the easiest swordsmanship to deal with, but every time it is Kurogane Ikki who is restricted, it is as if the book clearly states how to deal with this move, and Zunzun perfectly replicates the answer.
He only feels like he is fighting a textbook, and it is still an incomparably standard textbook that can be called a bible.
You want to say he is dissatisfied?
Not at all!
Kurogane Ikki has benefited a lot in these few days. After fighting with Zunzun, he has a deeper understanding of basic swordsmanship and has realized his own shortcomings.
He once asked why he only used basic swordsmanship, but he didn't expect to get the answer—because my sister only knows basic swordsmanship—such an absurd answer, which makes people wonder if the other party is lying to him.
Time passed little by little.
"Okay, let's stop here for today."
"...Okay."
Under Zunzun's initiative to stop, Kurogane Ikki also reluctantly sheathed his sword. He hasn't had a sparring partner for many years, and it's not easy to have someone willing to train with him, so of course he has to cherish it.
But when he thought that he had actually been distracted just now, his face showed a hint of apology.
Zunzun also asked curiously: "What's wrong, Ikki? You seem a little impetuous today, and your sword has become a little messy."
"Is my performance that obvious?"
Kurogane Ikki was slightly stunned, and soon smiled a little embarrassedly, and said: "Maybe it's because school is about to start. When I think about what's going to happen, I can't help but feel excited."
"Oh, I understand."
Zunzun nodded.
Kurogane Ikki was originally a member of the Kurogane family, but because in this world where magic level determines everything, he, with a magic level of F, was regarded as a disgrace by the family, and they put pressure on the school to never allow Kurogane Ikki, who had left the Kurogane family, to graduate. The former chairman agreed to this request, causing Ikki to fail due to insufficient credits.
When the current chairman, Shinguuji Kurono, took office, she cleaned up all the previous scum, and after a series of rectifications, she told Kurogane Ikki that as long as he won the Seven Star Sword Art Festival, she would let him graduate even if his ability value was low, which made Kurogane Ikki fired up.
"Well, everyone has their own difficulties. You just have to work hard."
"...Yes, I will."
Kurogane Ikki nodded seriously, and then said apologetically: "I'm sorry, it's rare for you to train with me, and I was still distracted during the battle."
"Hey, we're all buddies, what are you being polite for?"
Zunzun tiptoed, trying to put his arm around Kurogane Ikki's shoulder, but at 160cm, he was really no match for Kurogane Ikki's 175cm. However, Kurogane Ikki was very worldly-wise and bent down slightly, allowing Zunzun to successfully put his arm around his shoulder.
He was even more satisfied with him.
"Speaking of which, Zunzun always uses basic swordsmanship. Don't you plan to develop your own swordsmanship?"
"No, this is fine. Because the concepts of swordsmanship are different, I don't think it's useful to learn more swordsmanship. A strong person once said: I'm not afraid of an opponent who knows ten thousand kinds of leg techniques, I'm afraid of someone who practices one leg technique ten thousand times."
"Not afraid of an opponent who knows ten thousand kinds of leg techniques, afraid of someone who practices one leg technique ten thousand times..."
Kurogane Ikki looked inspired.
This sentence can be said to have indirectly influenced him. The ability to imitate is indeed very strong, but blindly imitating will instead lose the path to one's own progress. Only what is suitable for oneself is the best.
"Ahhh, my whole body is sticky!"
Zunzun tugged at the clothes on his body.
Kurogane Ikki's daily training is to run 20 kilometers first, and then do swordsmanship training. Zunzun also follows along. Although it's not very tiring, the amount of sweat is not small.
"Ikki, can I use your dormitory's bathroom?"
"No problem... By the way, why do you want to use my dormitory's bathroom? Don't you have a dormitory, Zunzun?"
"No, no. The chairman's office doesn't have a shower, and I said I wanted to move into the dormitory, but she refused on the grounds that I'm not a student of Hagun Academy... Seriously, if that's the case, then let me enroll, but she also says I'm not old enough or something..."
"Ha, ha ha..."
Hearing Zunzun's muttering, Kurogane Ikki didn't know what to say.
He quickly changed the subject.
"By the way, I didn't expect you to be in good shape, Zunzun. Do you do any physical training?"
"I do! For example, 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and a 10-kilometer run every day. At noon, I practice controlling magic, and in the afternoon, I do ten thousand proper punches... The first day was very hard. I only swung 1145 proper punches by midnight. I thought I would increase it a bit on the second day, but I only had 514... Not even half of it, which gave me a headache!"
The two walked and talked.
The more Kurogane Ikki listened, the more shocked he became. He seemed to know why Zunzun was so strong at such a young age. He even began to think about whether he should also use this training method.
It's just that hearing Zunzun say that this training method is likely to cause baldness made him a little hesitant.
Back to the dormitory.
"Then I'll use the bathroom first."
"Ah, go ahead."
After getting Kurogane Ikki's permission, Zunzun walked quickly into the bathroom.
However, as soon as he took off his clothes and was about to turn on the shower, he heard a girl's sharp scream from the living room, as well as the sound of a slap.
Zunzun quickly put on his bathrobe and came to the living room, where he saw a girl with red pigtails, wearing only underwear and covering her chest, about to cry, and Kurogane Ikki, whose face had been slapped.
Ah, it seems like there was such a thing?
On the other side.
Stella, who had just arrived at the dormitory and had been seen naked, glared at Kurogane Ikki fiercely again after seeing the disheveled Zunzun.
She seemed to have misunderstood something.
And when Zunzun's bathrobe accidentally came undone, exposing his upper body, Stella screamed again, and then slapped Kurogane Ikki, who was about to turn his head to look.
"Don't look!"
"Puh—!? Why me again!?"
Kurogane Ikki shouted in pain.