At the end of the tree-lined boulevard lay a small square, and from a distance, figures milled about in large numbers.
The moment Lorist's figure appeared at the square, the crowd, which had been milling about in small clusters, immediately erupted into a commotion.
"Locke the Instructor is here…"
"So that's
"Where? Which one is Lorist?"
"Over there — that's Locke…"
"…"
The crowd surged toward Lorist in a flood…
A burly, rough-looking man in a worn set of leather armor, his face buried beneath a bushy beard, charged ahead of everyone else. With a sharp *shwing*, he drew the double-edged greatsword from his belt, tossed the scabbard aside, and held the blade high, bellowing: "Aha! Lorist, stand still — I challenge you to a duel!"
The blade blazed with sword glow, clearly marking him as a Silver Two-Star swordsman.
The various ranks of
Silver-rank Combat Force manifested offensively. A Silver swordsman could channel Combat Force into his weapon, forming various shapes of sword glow or blade aura, and their length indicated the star rating of the wielder's power.
Gold-rank swordsmen could concentrate their sword glow into a near-solid form and project it outward from the blade. Beyond that, Great Swordmasters were said to be able to forge qi into a sword from virtually anything — even a blade of grass or a flower — wielding it like a divine weapon, unstoppable in their path.
As for Sword Saints, those were the stuff of legend — said to possess a domain or something of the sort. But across the entire Galentea Continent, there were only four or five Sword Saints. Possessing even one was equivalent to having a cauldron that could stabilize an entire kingdom, so these Sword Saints were hidden away by their nations and were rarely seen in public.
Lorist looked at the burly man charging at him with his greatsword held high and couldn't help but feel a twinge of admiration. That took some serious nerve — drawing a weapon and blocking the path right inside
"Halt!" A sharp command rang out, and a group of swordsmen in black academy uniforms appeared in the square.
The burly man froze. With a gleaming blade pressed against each of his ribs, waist, chest, and throat, he had no choice but to stand still. What frightened him even more was that two of the four swords pointed at him had sword glow that extended longer than his own greatsword's aura — clearly, those two wielders were Silver Three-Star fighters…
The burly man stood with his greatsword raised, unable to move, while the crowd that had been chasing behind him crashed against this wall of authority like a tide striking a reef and receded. Several among them, who had drawn their weapons and waved them around in imitation of the burly man, scrambled frantically to hide their blades…
"You, you, you — and that one over there in chain mail, and the one in blue, and the one wearing the leather hat too — the lot of you! How dare you draw weapons and commit violence inside Dawn Academy! Take them all back to the Enforcement Department!" A fat man with a face full of harsh features appeared before the crowd.
Two people in the crowd who had drawn weapons earlier, seeing that the fat man had pointed them out, turned and bolted.
"Think you can run? A few of you — go after them and bring them back! Double the fine!" The fat man's expression was positively vicious.
"Yes, sir!" Several black-uniformed swordsmen gave chase.
If you asked the students of Dawn Academy who was the most detestable person on campus, this fat man — the head of the Academy Enforcement Department — would undoubtedly rank first. His name was Shrade, and he went by a rather famous epithet: Money-Grubber.
As the head of the Academy Enforcement Department, his philosophy for dealing with rule-breaking students was simple: no beatings, no scolding. The sole punishment was fines, and he would not rest until your wallet had been trimmed by more than half. No money? That was fine too — the Enforcement Department would graciously provide a loan service. And to ensure you repaid the loan, the department would even seek out suitable employment on your behalf, until every last coin of the loan and its usury-like interest had been paid off.
Once, two students had broken the rules and clenched their teeth, insisting they had no money. The fat man had smiled amiably and said, "No money? No problem — as long as you've got strength."
He promptly had both students packed off and rented out to a mining operation, where they spent three months digging underground. Rumor had it the two nearly got their backsides stabbed in the mine tunnels. When the three months were up, the fat man sent people to collect them. The moment the two students saw daylight again, they latched onto their rescuers and wept with such sobs and tears that anyone who saw them would have shed a tear themselves.
But the punishment worked. The two students, who had been rather bullies around the academy beforehand, became meek as lambs for the next several years, treading carefully with every step for fear of breaking so much as a minor rule. Years later, the mere mention of a mine was enough to make them shudder.
The others the fat man had pointed out were quickly subdued by the enforcement swordsmen and led aside. Only then did the fat man leisurely amble over to the burly man still holding his greatsword aloft and wave his hand. The four gleaming blades withdrawn, the burly man hurriedly lowered his weapon.
"So — you've come to Dawn Academy to mug people on the road, have you?" The fat man was polite, and thoroughly mocking.
The burly man's face flushed red. "Oh, no, no — I came because I saw your academy's bulletin…"
"Bulletin? What bulletin drove you to come here shouting about duels and killing? I don't recall seeing one," the fat man said, playing the part of an innocent, wide-eyed innocent perfectly.
"…that says anyone who defeats Norton Lorist can win a hundred gold Fordes in prize money, and moreover be hired by your academy as a Gold Swordsmanship Instructor at a high salary. So I came…"
"Oh, so you're talking about that duel bulletin. Yes, our academy posted it. But are you sure you actually read the duel bulletin carefully?"
"Of course I read it carefully! The writing on it was bigger than my fist — how could I possibly miss it?" the burly man craned his neck and bellowed.
"You read it carefully, did you? Then tell me — what were the detailed requirements listed on the duel bulletin? At what point did the bulletin authorize you to draw a sword and block the road inside the academy?" The fat man's expression changed in an instant, and he glared at the burly man with vicious intensity.
The burly man was dumbfounded, mumbling, "I was worried someone else would get to Lorist before me… Detailed requirements? I didn't see any…"
"The detailed requirements are written clearly at the bottom of the bulletin. Didn't you just say you read it carefully?"
"You mean those tiny words at the bottom — smaller than a fingernail? Those were the detailed requirements? Who actually reads those? I only looked at the top part…" The burly man's voice trailed off as he realized he had apparently made a rather grave error.
"Heh heh. Of course a duel bulletin has detailed requirements. If everyone behaved like you — drawing swords and blocking roads — what would this academy come to? Dawn Academy ranks among the very best on the Galentea Continent, and we have our own procedures. For this particular duel bulletin, the requirement is Silver-rank Combat Force. You must report to the Academy Enforcement Department first — see that white stone building over there? That's our department. You register first, and the registration fee is ten gold Fordes. Then you wait for notification. We'll inform you two or three days in advance of the duel time. If you fail to appear when the time comes, it means you've forfeited the duel, and the registration fee is non-refundable."
"Of course, you have to spend money to make money. Yes, you'd be paying ten gold Fordes for the registration fee, but consider who your opponent is — Lorist is only Black Iron-rank. He's just a bit skilled with a sword, that's all. If you win? Not only do you collect a hundred gold Fordes, you'll also be hired by our academy as a Gold Swordsmanship Instructor at a generous salary. A Gold Instructor's monthly pay is ten gold Fordes — at that rate, in less than two years you could buy a small house in
The fat man was like a patient salesman, coaxing and tempting the burly man with every word. The burly man's eyes were lighting up, and he was nodding vigorously.
"What a shame…" The fat man's tone shifted, his face twisting into an expression of bitter disappointment. "A chance this good nearly got ruined by you. You couldn't be bothered to read the duel bulletin carefully, so you drew a sword and blocked the road right inside our academy — not only violating campus public order regulations, but also smearing our academy's reputation and causing immeasurable mental distress. Therefore, you'll need to accept your punishment before you're allowed to register for the duel."
"P-Punishment? What punishment?" the burly man asked timidly.
"Oh, don't worry about that. Our academy has regulations — nothing that would cause you physical harm. It's just a fine. For behavior like yours, five gold Fordes and we're square." The fat man's expression was pleasant as could be.
"Wh-what! Five gold coins?!" The burly man had never imagined that drawing his sword once would cost him five gold Fordes. "I… I don't have that much money…"
"No money, no problem. You can borrow from friends. If that doesn't work, our Enforcement Department can even help find you employment — we guarantee you'll be able to pay the fine." The moment he heard "no money," the fat man's patience began to wear thin, and he waved for the black-uniformed enforcement swordsmen to haul the burly man and the other rule-breakers back to the Enforcement Department.
More than half the crowd in the square had dispersed, with only a few stragglers remaining.
Lorist walked over with a dark expression. He had heard most of what the fat man had said.
"Money-Grubber! What the hell are you up to now?!"
The fat man's face instantly brightened like spring. "Ha ha, if it isn't our little Locke! Haven't seen you in ages — your big brother here has missed you to death…"
"Cut the crap. What's the deal with that duel bulletin?" Lorist gave him no pleasant look, fixing the fat man with a hard stare.
"Ahh…" The fat man let out a long sigh and launched into a tale of woe. "Brother, last year you were getting fed up with being pestered into duels all the time, weren't you? So I came up with an idea — anyone who wanted to duel you had to pay five gold Fordes, with a three-two split between us. Last year you fought fifty-seven duels, and we both made a tidy little sum. Then… that old bastard up there got wind of the scheme…"
The fat man jabbed a finger skyward, indicating that when pressure came from above, there was nothing he could do. "A couple of days ago, that old bastard called me in and said your trip to the Ruins Archipelago still hadn't resulted in a breakthrough. Last year, you went from Black Iron-rank to a dual Gold Instructor, and that was already enough for the other academies to laugh at Dawn Academy for having no talent. This time, that old bastard wants to slap those academies right across the face — he wants you to put every Silver Instructor from those academies in their place. So he had us post the duel bulletin, mainly to lure Silver-rank instructors from other academies over for a challenge."
"That's it?" Lorist didn't buy for a second that it was really that straightforward.
"Uh…" The fat man looked a little sheepish. "Well, there's also… the matter of making a profit. That old bastard scolded us for thinking too small — said our eyes were fixated on nothing but Dawn Academy, and that we were patting ourselves on the back over a hundred gold Fordes last year. So he doubled the registration fee and loaded on all those extra rewards, all to attract more people to sign up. Of course, that old bastard said you'd be doing the heavy lifting, so your cut stays the same at three gold Fordes. Our Enforcement Department's share shrunk to just one gold Forde — for maintaining order at the duel venue and keeping the peace on campus. The remaining six go to the academy…"
Lorist understood. The only person Money-Grubber would call "that old bastard" was the academy head, Levins. "Doesn't that old bastard worry I might stumble into a ditch? Lose to someone?"
The fat man grinned from ear to ear: "Big brother naturally has one hundred percent confidence in you, brother! Don't let the Silver Three-Star fool you — I know in my heart that I wouldn't last twenty moves under your blade. Those fifty-seven duels last year gave everyone in the Enforcement Department great confidence. We're all rooting for you!"
"But it is rather strange — how could that old bastard be so confident in you too? Putting this much money on the line? Oh, right — before you left for the Ruins Archipelago, did you spar with Instructor Kruder? That old bastard said you lasted two hundred moves without losing. Is that true?" The fat man had recalled a certain rumor.
Colin Kruder was a Gold Three-Star swordsman at the peak, widely recognized as the person most likely to advance to Great Swordmaster. He was the Chief Swordsmanship Instructor at Dawn Academy and the only other holder of the Gold Swordsmanship Instructor badge besides Lorist. Kruder had earned his through raw power, while Lorist had obtained his by winning thirty consecutive cross-rank challenges, after which he had to keep defending the badge through duels — if he lost, he would lose his Instructor status entirely.
Last year, after Lorist won all fifty-seven duels, Instructor Kruder had been quite eager to test himself against him but was too embarrassed to ask, given the vast gap in their Combat Force ranks. When Lorist set off for the Ruins Archipelago, it gave Kruder the perfect excuse — he insisted that Lorist needed his endorsement of his strength before being allowed to go — and the two finally crossed swords.
Lorist held out for over two hundred moves before finally succumbing to the overwhelming gap in their ranks. A loss, but an honorable one.
"How do you know about that?" Lorist was surprised. There had only been three people present during that spar.
"That old bastard told me." The fat man sold out his source without a shred of hesitation. "He said that although he doesn't understand Combat Force or swordsmanship, after the spar Instructor Kruder privately praised you to the skies — said you were truly invincible among Silvers. Said that even though your Combat Force is Black Iron-rank, your swordsmanship surpasses most Gold-rank swordsmen. And after sparring with you, Instructor Kruder went into seclusion and has been there ever since, trying to break through to the Great Swordmaster realm. Maybe that's what gave the old bastard his confidence — betting it all on you."
"Ugh…" Lorist was speechless. Just like that, he had been shoved to the forefront by the old bastard. He'd barely set foot back on campus before this mess landed in his lap, and there was nowhere to appeal. It was truly infuriating. "I'm going to find that old bastard!"