Chapter 36. Provocation
“You are the one who defeated a teacher of the Sword Chant School, right? Do you have the guts to spar with me?”
Fulan had just arrived at the classroom for the Elven Swordsmanship lesson of the Sword Chant School when someone stopped her at the doorway with those words.
Fulan wondered where this random nobody had come from and turned her head toward the source of the voice.
What she saw was a sword chopping straight toward her. She neither dodged nor flinched, simply allowing the blade to descend toward her.
However, the sword stopped when it was still about twenty centimeters away from Fulan.
“Why did you stop? I am waiting for you to finish the swing.”
Fulan responded calmly. She was not afraid that the sword might actually come down. She had bought two pieces of magical equipment as temporary gear and was wearing them.
If the blade truly struck, a protective shield would instantly activate.
She knew that the other party did not truly intend to fight her. From the complete lack of force behind the swing, the sword had merely been waved lightly in her direction.
“Hmph!” Raine withdrew his sword. “You coward. You will not even draw your sword. You are not worthy of sparring with me.”
After saying that, he turned and walked away without another glance.
Fulan stroked her chin. She already understood his purpose. The reason he had suddenly pretended to attack was to lure her into making a move.
And there must be some regulation she did not know about. If she violated it, there would certainly be consequences.
Was it a rule of this course?
She watched as Raine walked toward a seat inside the classroom and began speaking with the person beside him.
Fulan shook her head helplessly. It seemed someone was trying to set her up. She walked straight to Bella’s side.
“Are you all right?”
“I am fine.”
“Who are those two?” she asked, pointing toward Raine and the person beside him.
“The one wearing the red badge is Raine. I think he entered through another channel, but he is in the same intake as us.”
“The one wearing the ring is called Abeyo. He is about two years above us, I think. I heard he is very strong,” Bella replied directly.
“So why is that Abeyo trying to frame me?”
From the conversation between Raine and Abeyo, Fulan noticed that Abeyo had been the one speaking the entire time.
Combined with Abeyo’s higher status, she concluded that Raine had just acted under Abeyo’s instructions.
“Uh… I am not sure either. I only know that Abeyo failed during this year’s assessment. It seems he had bad luck and was eliminated early. I do not know anything beyond that,” Bella said.
Fulan continued watching the two of them, deep in thought.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
“I am sorry. I could not get her to make a move…” Raine’s voice was extremely low.
“It is fine. This class will last for a long time. Act more discreetly next time… I refuse to believe she can handle it perfectly every single time.”
Abeyo frowned deeply. He knew that once the other party had become cautious, the chances of success would not be as high as they had been just now.
“As long as you can make the teacher think worse of her, I will keep my promise and teach you that sword technique…”
Abeyo emphasized his promise.
The reason he had wanted Fulan to make a move earlier was because the instructor for this course was Bernit of the Sword Chant School.
He had been a teacher in the City of Apprentices for more than twenty years. At the same time, he was also the main person in charge of the “Swordsman Society,” a club under the Sword Chant School.
Within the Sword Chant School, Bernit essentially held the power to decide the life and death of the resources allocated to apprentices.
Bernit was passionate about cultivating apprentices. Every year, he would personally designate one apprentice, grant them better resources, and teach them swordsmanship.
Last year, the apprentice he had chosen was Abeyo.
And Abeyo had disappointed him. He had failed to obtain any ranking at all.
Moreover, Bernit would only train apprentices who had not achieved a ranking in the assessment.
Originally, Abeyo had been very confident. Among the apprentices who had not received a ranking, he believed himself to be the strongest.
Until Fulan defeated John, the teacher who had long taught the basic swordsmanship course.
After confirming the matter with John, a sense of crisis immediately rose within him.
He knew John’s strength. It was from John’s class that he had first joined the Sword Chant School.
During the assessment in which he had sparred with John, he had clearly felt his own helplessness.
He realized that John was extremely strong. Even now, he was not confident that he could defeat the John of that time.
Yet Fulan had defeated him. Moreover, after Abeyo questioned him, John had continuously praised Fulan.
At that moment, Abeyo realized that this year Bernit might not choose him.
No one knew better than he did how rapidly his skill had improved after receiving Bernit’s personal instruction.
He did not want to return to the slow, painstaking progress of the past.
Although Fulan had not yet joined the Sword Chant School, anyone could see that with her ability, she would certainly join sooner or later.
“If one wants to become a formal mage, one must do things like this… use every possible method,” Abeyo murmured to himself.
As for Raine, after hearing Abeyo repeat his promise, he simply gave several responses of agreement.
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Bernit was a robust middle-aged man. There were several scars on his neck and hands.
“Apprentices who chose this course, regardless of whether you belong to the Sword Chant School…”
“If I see any of you settling disputes through private fights instead of proper sparring, then forget about ever attending this class again.”
Bernit’s face was filled with severity. It was clear that he deeply detested such behavior.
Only then did Fulan understand why Raine had tried to provoke her into making a move. So this was the trap waiting for her.
However, she did not really care. As soon as Elven Swordsmanship appeared on her panel, she would leave immediately. She had no intention of getting involved in the affairs of the Sword Chant School.
“Very good. I hope you have all heard me clearly. Do not disappoint me.”
Then Bernit picked up a wooden sword and signaled for everyone to spread out and leave enough space.
“Elven Swordsmanship is a unique combat style of the elven race. In truth, we humans cannot fully reproduce the level at which the elves perform this swordsmanship.”
“This is because our physical structure differs greatly from that of the elves. With bodies of similar size, their weight is slightly heavier than ours, yet they possess astonishing jumping ability and eyesight.”
“So no matter how we train, the difference in physical structure prevents us from fully displaying Elven Swordsmanship.”
Bernit then began to demonstrate. He leaped and swung the wooden sword with remarkable agility.
“Good. Now, no one swing your swords yet. Follow my footwork and practice the jumps.”
After jumping a few times, Fulan frowned slightly.
Raine was moving closer to her. At the same time, Abeyo was also approaching, deliberately squeezing into her space.
She was forced to restrain her movements and practice within a much smaller area. When the two of them came so close that they were within the reach of her outstretched arms, she finally spoke.
“Could you move a little farther away? You are blocking me.”
Everyone present turned to look at her. Since they were all practicing together, her voice was especially clear in the room.
“Sorry, we did not notice. We truly apologize.”
Raine reacted quickly and apologized at once, pulling Abeyo aside.
Bernit frowned slightly, but he continued instructing everyone to practice.