Chapter 169

[11th Round] Relative vs. Absolute Evaluation

“Alex has made it, huh…”

Sword King Alex, who always used ignorant tactics, came to show a profound sword technique called the sword of the heart. I went through all sorts of strange things in my life, huh?

But that’s it.

Chiiii…

The wound on my back healed in an instant. Bleeding? No worries because I am a spirit. My body wasn’t made of any amino acids or water that make up an ordinary human.

Instead, I was made up of fine particles. A type of dark matter that existed everywhere in the world. In other words, it was very difficult in reality to kill me with such a small wound.

“…The wounds from the Heart Sword won’t heal well.”

“Do I care?”

Slash- Thud!

This time it was my neck. It would have been cut in half, but my cervical vertebrae blocked it. If you aim for the opponent’s neck and lumbar disc, it was also essential to prepare for the opposite. Thanks to the disc of the bone joint that was as strong as legendary metal, it left no scratch. Only the soft flesh was cut.

“Are you a monster…?”

“Is it normal for you to kill a hero?”

“Now it is an actual fight. And I didn’t mean to cut you completely. There are healers around, and even if you die, there are means to call the saints of neighboring countries.”

Alex was still Alex. I thought he had become a completely different person to use such profound swordsmanship. He must have gotten stronger, but that was no reason for me to fall before this savage.

This wasn’t pride. It’s a proven theory! I hadn’t figured out a way to stop Swordsmanship ZZZ yet, but it wasn’t strong enough to inflict a fatal wound on me.

Beside that…

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

The five spirits gathered after smelling the blood of the MAX-Class hero. Even from a kilometer away, they smelled my blood like a group of sharks and immediately surrounded me. Then they rubbed my cheeks and touched me with their hands.

Like a sex offender pretending to be innocent.

“You’re no different from vampires, huh.”

It seemed that they could smell the blood of this hero even from the edge of the continent.

“O-oh, my gosh…”

Alex started to panic. I wondered why, and after the Mind Spirit with the crown slid on my ring, the attack stopped suddenly.

Sword of the heart. Spirit of the heart. Does it mean that they could communicate between hearts?

“If you don’t have any more tricks to show me, I’ll go this time.”

I stepped forward. The quick-witted Wind Spirit pushed my back with a gust of wind, and the Earth Spirit gave me solid footing. There was no air resistance since nature was helping me out in return for its sexual harassment.

On the contrary, Alex was put in a difficult situation. The Fire Spirit evaporated the moisture from the air and attacked Alex’s eyes, causing him a case of severe dry eye. Alex’s two feet began to sink like he was standing in a muddy swamp thanks to the Water Spirit.

Bam-!

I ignored Alex’s sword and blew off his chin. Realizing that my bones were so hard that normal attacks wouldn’t work, I knew that Alex would aim at my eyeholes. I learned this tactic from him, after all. But our level was more than five times different. This difference couldn’t be overcome even if one possessed many Transcendental Realm Skills. Alex’s Swordsmanship ZZZ was unexpected, but it worked because it was unexpected.

That’s not usually the case, just like now.

“Kuemp-?!”

“For Alex…!”

“Kuuurgh?!”

“Someone like Alex…!”

My right hand, full of particles, beat Alex’s body mercilessly. Was it because he had a lot of defensive Transcendental Realm Skills? Alex’s body was as hard as a punching bag. However, his body’s balance had already been altered by the particles. Was it something like a mutant contaminated with radiation?

Dump-!

Alex, who looked like a crushed aluminum can, finally collapsed. No, it would be correct to say that I allowed him to collapse. I had relieved the stress that had accumulated over the past several incidents.

“Uh…! As expected, this taste!”

After all, Alex was the only one who could release my cluttered heart so quickly. No woman could match him, no matter how great she was.

“Sir Alex?!”

“Oh! Oh, my God! Oh, God…”

“Hold your breath!”

“Sir Alex! Put yourself together!”

The royal palace knights and healers who were watching outside the palace training center rushed forward. Then they began to look at Alex, who had become a crushed can.

“Hum~ hmm~”

I turned around with a light step and a hum. Compared to the first session of the elementary education curriculum, where I was only beaten by Alex, the start of the secondary education curriculum was very smooth.

▶ Difficulty: I’m not sure if this is going smoothly. The progress is so different from when I was in school…

Oh! Miss Trainee Teacher? Did you transfer to middle school?

▶ Welcome: It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you! Student Kang Han-soo! You used to sing that you would return to Earth, but I didn’t know you would take the secondary education curriculum. Ah! Transfer? I don’t know what to say. I was in the elementary education center chief’s course until yesterday. It’s a sudden announcement.

Really? Why do I feel like you are slowly becoming my exclusive agent?

▶ Anxiety: I don’t know why my great seniors keep entrusting honor students like Student Kang Han-soo to a novice trainee teacher like me. The more opportunities I have for practice, the closer I get to being hired, but I’m not sure if I’m doing well.

My secret friend! Don’t worry too much about it. At least you don’t raise my blood pressure.

▶ Difficulty: It isn’t good of a teacher to please their students. It is said that praise makes even whales dance, but sometimes I have to be prepared for criticism and say the right thing. Ah! I didn’t mean to tell you this. I have something to confess in advance.

A confession? Please take a number and wait.

▶ Surprise: It’s not one for love!

Then what is it?

▶Description: I specialize in the elementary education curriculum. Therefore, I only know the secondary education curriculum from my own school memories, so my professionalism is low. I am diligently reading the manual, but my experiences will be the main source.

Oh! The school days of Miss Trainee Teacher! As you claimed, if you were a beautiful woman, there would be many men attracted to you, right? Maybe Alex also?

▶ Firm: I declined. Ah! Anyway, I was going to talk about the Sword King. He wasn’t that strong when I took the secondary school entrance exam. The Heart Sword, he said…? Even only a few master that technique among the seniors who majored in physical education.

What? Did I just get scammed?

▶Explain: It’s not like that. The difficulty level of the entrance exam increases or decreases according to the level of the student. If the test level is too low or too high, it is difficult to determine the strengths and weaknesses of students. In other words, it means that the reason the Sword King became so strong is because of Cadet Kang Han-soo.

I vaguely understood what you meant. When I regress (get re-tested), I usually drop to Level 1. So, I become weak enough to be unilaterally beaten by Alex.

However, this was an entrance exam, not a re-exam. To create a similar environment without lowering to Level 1, the environment had to become stronger. Should I say that the season was changed to summer instead of looking for an indoor swimming pool to enjoy the water in winter?

It was truly a divine idea. Then there was something I didn’t understand.

But I defeated Alex, right?

▶ Confusion: It means that Cadet Kang Han-soo has a strength that the system didn’t read. Originally, you must be defeated and receive his teachings again. And it’s not over yet. If the Sword King were at this level, how strong would the Five Great Disasters be…I have no imagination.

This chapter is scrapped from readlightnovel.org

Due to the fact that there is a relative grading system, and not an absolute one, the entrance exam has become more difficult than the curriculum of the secondary education itself.

But I understand the purpose.

“It’s about going back to the beginning.”

Bringing together the companions who had become stronger according to my level and defeating the Five Great Disasters that were strengthened to an even more ridiculous level with the power of friendship. It was the content of the entrance exam.

However…

“Hero. Lanuvel asked the healer. Alex is not feeling well, so I think it will be difficult for him to join us. He’s the strongest potential on the continent I know, and it’s a big deal.”

“Why? There is still the Knight King.”

“Knight King? Who is it?”

“Ah! Is the masochist still out of business?”

He was still practicing in the wild, harming himself. The grand title of Knight King was also obtained long afterward. It wasn’t unreasonable that Lanuvel, who pretended to be cute, didn’t know.

But I didn’t really care. My body was strong enough that I didn’t need a meat shield. If it weren’t enough, I could get more support from those around me and become stronger. The power of friendship with Alex was unnecessary.

“Alex’s schedule was changed because his physical condition is very poor. Originally, after receiving his special training for ten days, you would be joining the Saint in the Holy Kingdom. We plan to board a ship from the Merchant Republic to the east and cross over to the Eastern Continent. Is there anything you would like to do before leaving for the Holy Kingdom?”

This also seemed to have changed. Originally, training was completed only after passing Alex’s test or being beaten for a year, but it seems to have been shortened to ten days because it was more like a review.

Some parts showed little flexibility, though. It felt like a timid editor making only minor edits.

▶ Supplement: I don’t know whether the editor is timid. There is no doubt that the curriculum is evolving over time. This is a story I heard from a senior. In the distant past, it was very frustrating because of the stereotype that a hero was a man and their companions were women. They said that the last trace of that was the profession of the saint.

I see! Thanks for providing unnecessary information! Miss Trainee Teacher!

▶Pout: It’s said that chatting doesn’t pay taxes. I feel nauseous just looking at the secondary education school curriculum manual, which is as thick as an encyclopedia. So please understand this much. We’re friends.

Right, my secret friend. Whenever it’s too hard, just tell this MAX-Class hero. I’ll ignore the waiting numbers and comfort you.

“Hero? Are you listening to what Lanuvel is saying?”

“No. What did you say? I didn’t listen to it at all because it was such a trivial story told by the trivial Lanuvel.”

“Boo… do you have any other plans before you leave for the Holy Kingdom?”

“Yes.”

“Oh! Really? If you have nothing in mind, for now, Lanuvel would like to introduce you to a nice bar. The mutton and wine are fantastic!”

…Mutton and wine?

“Are you talking about Tony’s bar?”

“Huh!? How did you know? It seems that it was a much more famous bar than Lanuvel’s thought. The hero who just crossed over even knows it!”

“About that…”

Miss Trainee Teacher was right. The curriculum was constantly evolving. The bar that Tony, a former assassin, ran was a restaurant I recommended to Lanuvel to enter the black market. But I never thought she’d be the one recommending it. If my guess were correct, Lanuvel would mimic my 2nd playthrough and lead me to the black market to face Sylvia. This would allow her to join me as a companion much sooner.

Very naturally.

“Hero, would you like to go there? It’s Lanuvel’s treat!”

This damn bitch was pretending to be cute and blatantly violating copyrights!

“No.”

“Eh?! Why?!”

I don’t need an Elf who handled spirits wonderfully. This was because the spirits were already clinging to my body, and I already knew that there was a much greater being in dealing with the spirits. Thanks to Lanuvel, the next matter on the schedule had been decided.

“We are going to the Elf Kingdom.”

To meet the First Spirit. To develop my new technique, fine particles, I need her advice as another user.

Sword King Alex. Elf Queen Sylvia. These two useless things were out for now. The power of friendship? It was a trivial problem that would be resolved once I’m three times stronger.

▶ Worry: The elves guarding the palace must have become incredibly strong…?

I don’t think so, Miss Trainee Teacher! Because the spirits who pretend to be innocent and sexually harass me are on my side. Elves without spirits are pushovers.

The necessary preparations to take over the Elf Kingdom were complete with only my armpits and groin.

If there are those among the spirits who think otherwise, then they can leave!

… That’s what I thought.