The Genius At The Swordsmanship Academy

Chapter 03

‘What’s up with this guy?’

Serine Bastian was baffled.

‘Why is he still holding my hand?’

She’d accepted his handshake, only to find he wouldn’t let go.

Sure, she could pull her hand away, but that’d be seen as incredibly rude by noble standards.

‘What’s his deal? Could he still have feelings for me?’

He’d signed the annulment papers without a fuss, so she thought he’d really changed his mind… but maybe not.

‘This man can’t be trusted.’

Ernas Ranzstein.

Heir to the Ranzstein family, one of the six great swordsmanship houses.

A braggart without any real achievements, who’d never cross swords with a true master.

And… a shameless schemer who’d stop at nothing to get what he wanted.

‘There’s no way he gave up the engagement without some ulterior motive.’

Having known him since they were young, Serine knew well how cunning Ernas could be.

This time, she was sure he was up to something.

‘Whatever scheme he’s hatching, I won’t fall for it.’

As she thought this, she stared intently at Ernas.

Then, suddenly, Ernas let go of her hand.

He plopped down onto the couch.

“Well, you can go now.”

“What?”

“Or… is there something else you needed?”

“…!”

Serine felt a surge of anger, her face flushed.

Ernas’s cold tone felt like a deliberate insult.

“There’s nothing else! I’ll be going now!”

She didn’t know what he was plotting, but she wasn’t going to fall for it.

With that thought, she turned on her heel and walked away from Ernas.

* * *

Serine seemed upset, but I didn’t have the luxury to worry about it.

‘What the heck was that?’

I sat alone on the couch and raised my left hand.

I examined my ring-shaped artifact, yusricht .’

‘There was definitely a strange message.’

Yusricht has a ‘skill mimic’ feature that lets me copy someone else’s ability.

The catch is, it can only copy them at a level or two below the original skill.

But just now, ‘skill mimic’ evolved into ‘skill reproduction,’ and I copied Serine’s A-rank Bastien Knight Swordsmanship as it was.

‘Did Yusricht have this feature?’

I’d never included this in the novel.

But then, I’d never explicitly said it couldn’t happen, either.

‘Hold on.

The message mentioned a 95% comprehension level, didn’t it?’

I started piecing things together.

As the author of this novel, I know almost everything about Yusricht.

That’s the 95%.

But there was a hidden feature of Yusricht that I didn’t know.

That’s the remaining 5%.

Since I understood 95% of it, the last 5% got unlocked, and ‘skill mimic’ evolved into ‘skill reproduction.’

It was something novel-Ernas could never have achieved.

‘And for Serine…’

After seeing a message that said my understanding of serine was at 95%, there was some kind of success or failure roll for reproducing her skill.

The roll succeeded, and I copied her A-rank Bastien Knight Swordsmanship completely.

Not only that, I also picked up her C-rank Lorellian Combat Swordsmanship and her B-rank Eastern Mana Cultivation Technique as a bonus.

‘So, that means…’

I stood up from the couch.

I reached for a decorative sword hanging on the wall.

“Alright…”

I took a deep breath.

It was my first time holding a sword.

The weight felt foreign.

But instinctively, I knew.

‘I can do this.’

Whoosh!

The moment I swung the sword through the air, a thrilling sense of satisfaction washed over me.

‘This…!’

My body moved on its own.

I executed precise footwork, shifting positions in fluid, continuous motions.

Pure, perfect classical swordsmanship was flowing through my body.

‘If that’s the case…!’

I twisted my body and unleashed a series of rapid strikes.

A triple slash as fast as the wind shredded the air in front of me.

Swish, swish, swish!

This was Vertical Trinity, a skill only a true Bastien Knight Swordmaster could use.

The ultimate move Serine loved to use in the novel, now fully recreated.

“…”

I stopped and lowered the sword.

I was out of breath, but not because I was tired.

“It… actually worked?”

I was trembling with excitement.

I’d never even held a practice sword before, but I just mastered the essence of Bastien Knight Swordsmanship in seconds.

This was something the novel’s Ernas could never have done.

It was something only I, the creator of this world, could do.

“If I can absorb skills and make them mine…”

All the techniques I’d dreamed up as a writer.

I might be able to reproduce every last one with this body.

* * *

The Lichtenauer Swordsmanship Academy.

A school directly under the imperial household, where in this sword-worshipping empire, graduating with top honors was the key to success.

Every three years, they accept new students, and aspiring swordsmen from various families flock to take the entrance exam.

Those who pass are thrown into fierce competition for the glory of their families and their own careers.

‘And this year’s recruits are special.’

This year, heirs from the empire’s six great swordsmanship houses were gathering here.

The rankings of the six families were expected to shift depending on how well each of these heirs performed.

The reason Ernas had been sneaking around with all his schemes and shady tactics was ultimately for this.

Academy rankings weren’t decided by written exams alone… but by fierce duels.

‘If I want to survive in this world, I’ll need to beat the other heirs in battle too.’

Thinking this, I raised my head.

Lichtenauer Swordsmanship Academy loomed over the vast lake.

“It’s Ernas Ranzstein!”

“The genius who ranked second in the entrance exams…!”

The other students who had gathered for enrollment were whispering.

By now, the rumor that Ernas was a genius had already spread.

During the entrance exams, he’d flaunted his abilities, and the results had proven it.

Of course, that wasn’t his actual skill.

‘He’s good-looking, and from a prestigious family. It’s no wonder he draws attention.’

I continued walking, aware of the glances directed my way, until a group of students approached me.

“Ernas!”

“Good morning!”

Three guys and three girls made up the group.

I recognized them immediately.

These were Ernas’s lackeys in the novel.

They’d follow him around everywhere, the guys usually picking fights with the protagonist Arkandel and getting beat up, while the girls would harass heroines like Serine, only to get humiliated.

“We’ll escort you. If you’d come this way…”

“Not interested.”

“Huh?”

I dismissed them coldly and walked on alone.

Hanging around those guys would only pull me into unnecessary drama with other characters.

I wasn’t the kind of person who enjoyed parading around with a crowd like the novel’s Ernas, so there was no need to get close to them.

“E-Ernas…!”

Ignoring their bewildered calls, I walked confidently ahead.

* * *

“Wow, just look at that confident vibe.

I really like guys who are that self-assured.”

“Right? If it were an ordinary guy, he’d just look full of himself, but since it’s Ernas, it just makes him look even cooler.

Don’t you think so too, Serine?”

“He just looks full of himself to me.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, nothing.

Never mind.”

Serine accidentally let her true feelings slip.

Feeling embarrassed for using such unrefined language, she cleared her throat.

“You all seem to be quite interested in Ernas.”

“Of course!”

Just as Ernas had his followers, Serine had hers.

However, those around Serine were mostly noble ladies.

Male students had kept their distance ever since Serine had been cold to them during the entrance exams.

“He’s handsome, from a good family, and super talented!”

“His face lacks masculine charm, just being from a good family doesn’t make him great, and who knows if he’s really that talented.”

“Serine, why are you so upset…?”

While the other girls looked puzzled, a mature-looking girl with black hair and glasses pushed her glasses up and spoke.

“Haha, I think I know.”

“Know what?”

“You’re worried, aren’t you? You’re worried that since your fiancé Ernas is so popular, other girls might start making a move on him.”

Her words made the other girls’ eyes light up.

“Oh, that’s right!”

“Ernas has been popular with women since his days in the capital…”

“You’re afraid that you’ll lose your precious fiancé to another girl!”

Watching the chattering girls, Serine sighed deeply.

“That’s a ridiculous notion.”

“Oh, really?”

“Of course.

And more importantly…”

Serine crossed her arms and spoke confidently.

“The engagement has already been called off.

Ernas and I have nothing to do with each other anymore.”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

“It’s true.”

She took out the engagement cancellation papers she signed yesterday.

“See the signature? The contract is fully active.

The engagement is officially broken.”

“Serine! What have you done?!”

“Why would you call off the engagement?!”

“Do your parents know about this?”

The girls were shocked.

“This engagement was between the Ransstein and Bastian families.

How are you going to deal with the aftermath…?”

“Serine, it’s not too late.

Call off the cancellation.”

“I have no intention of doing that.

I’ll never be engaged to him again.”

That’s right.

There was no way she would be in that kind of relationship with Ernas again.

“Why? Ernas is the perfect groom!”

“The perfect groom? In what way?”

“Well, um…”

“Handsome, good family, talented, right?”

Serine scoffed.

“Being handsome and from a good family, I’ll give him that… but talented? No way.”

“Huh?”

“You’re all mistaken.

That guy is no genius.”

Everyone else might be fooled, but Serine had already seen through him.

Ernas Ransstein was a fake genius.

Sweeping her brown hair back, Serine said,

“Just watch.

I’ll expose his real skills soon enough.”

“…!”

“I’ll show you all that he’s nothing special.”

Serine placed a hand on her chest and spoke with confidence.