Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 111 (Part 1)

Marquis Richmond had a law stating that no one under the age of eighteen was allowed to carry a real sword. The penalties for breaking this law were quite severe, so even the most reckless individuals tended to use swords without edges until they turned eighteen. Some would settle for carrying daggers instead.

Since Larry had only just turned fourteen, he naturally carried a dull iron sword. Of the four people facing Larry, none were over eighteen either, so their swords were also blunt.

However, there was one exception. Dorian, who wielded a sharp, gleaming real sword. He had turned eighteen earlier that year and had immediately gone to the blacksmith to sharpen his blade.

Larry drew his shield from his back as he looked at Dorian’s sword, but he still hadn’t drawn his own sword.

“Oh, look! The runaway Larry. You won’t even draw your sword now?”

“Does he not even have the guts to swing it?”

“Well, our runaway Larry isn’t from a sword-fighting family, right? No wonder he can’t handle a blade.”

Though they called Larry a “runaway,” they were no different. In fact, they were worse.

The five of them, including Dorian, had recently been expelled from the Cardos Sword Academy. It was because they had severely injured one of the trainees.

The academy rarely intervened in disputes between trainees, as solving problems independently was considered a knight’s virtue.

But the situation had been far from ordinary. The boy beaten by Dorian’s group had been blinded in both eyes.

Naturally, the victim’s family was furious. They stormed into the academy, demanding the culprits be handed over, creating chaos, and eventually taking their grievances to the Richmond Marquisate.

The Marquis investigated the incident thoroughly and ruled that Dorian’s group was to pay an enormous compensation.

The problem was, the academy was also held partly responsible for its lack of oversight, so they were ordered to cover 30% of the compensation.

The Cardos Sword Academy was left with no choice but to pay the hefty fine, begrudgingly, and expelled all five perpetrators.

If Larry was a runaway, then the five standing before him were outcasts.

Whoosh! Thud!

Dorian swung his sword suddenly, a vicious strike meant to injure.

But Larry blocked it effortlessly with his shield, so smoothly that it seemed as though Dorian had swung right into the shield’s path.

“Oh ho! For a runaway, you sure know how to use that shield.”

“Hmph.”

Larry said nothing, concentrating entirely on his shield. He was too busy reflecting on how instinctively he had blocked the attack to respond.

‘Did I block that?’

Ever since learning swordsmanship from Rodin, he had trained every day, swinging his sword until he collapsed from exhaustion. He hadn’t taken a single day to rest.

Without a teacher to guide him now, he had no way of knowing if he was improving. This uncertainty made him anxious, and to calm that anxiety, he pushed himself even harder.

‘It works. My defense is working.’

For the first time since learning swordsmanship, he felt he was seeing results. But it wasn’t enough.

Larry wanted Dorian to attack even more fiercely. He wanted to see if he could truly defend against everything.

“Hey, runaway! Have you forgotten how to talk?”

“Come at me.”

“You cocky bastard. Block one hit, and now you’re full of yourself, huh?”

Whoosh! Thud!

Dorian swung his sword again, this time with enough force to cut off an arm.

But Larry blocked it just as easily. Dorian began to wonder if his skills had deteriorated.

“Arrogant little—”

Whoosh!

The sword came flying again. Larry instinctively read the direction of the attack, angling his shield slightly and stepping back, causing Dorian’s strike to miss its mark.

Screech!

A strange sound rang out as the sword glanced off Larry’s shield, the angle of the shield disrupting Dorian’s swing entirely.

“W-whoa!”

Dorian stumbled, losing his balance. He barely managed to stay upright, but he had almost fallen.

“You… you bastard.”

“Hey, Dorian. Need some help?”

“Shut up, you idiot.”

Whoosh!

Dorian swung again, this time with even more force, delivering a relentless series of slashes and strikes.

Clang! Clang! Thud! Shhrrr!

But Larry blocked every attack. And he did so effortlessly.

Throughout the exchange, Dorian nearly lost his balance several times. Though he never fell completely, his staggering movements were obvious to anyone watching.

‘It’s working.’

Larry remained focused solely on defending.

Had he been holding a sword in his right hand, and had he struck when Dorian staggered, he could have seriously injured him on multiple occasions.

‘Don’t use the sword.’

Larry tore his gaze away from his own sword, focusing solely on Dorian.

If he drew his sword, it would turn into a real fight. Then it wouldn’t just be a children’s quarrel—it would become a crime that would require an investigation by the peacekeepers.

“Come at me!”

“You bastard.”

Just then, Larry sensed movement behind him. As soon as he felt the presence sneaking up, he reflexively swung his shield.

Thud!

Caught by surprise, the attacker—Kati—was knocked down by Larry’s shield, blood dripping from his nose after the blow landed squarely on his face.

“You… you bastard…”

“Kati!”

“Damn it! Get him!”

“Let’s get him.”

As the fight dragged on, all five of them charged at once. They had practiced group attacks before, and their coordination was pretty good.

Larry retreated steadily, using his shield to block the incoming attacks. Every time a sword struck his shield—Clang! Ting! Thud!—his body was pushed back slightly.

But it wasn’t an unplanned retreat. He was executing a defensive technique, keeping his opponents in front of him even as he backstepped.

Thud! Ting!

“Damn it!”

“This bastard… what is he?”

Despite only holding a single shield, they couldn’t get past him. Even with all five of them attacking together, they couldn’t land a single hit on him, not even a scratch. It was as if he was possessed.

Dorian had trained at the Cardos Sword Academy for ten years. Though he had been expelled after the incident, his experience was second to none among the trainees.

During those years, he had met many talented individuals and fought countless duels. But this—this was the first time he had encountered something like this.

It was frustrating and overwhelming. Every time he thought he saw an opening, his strike would be blocked by the shield. The gap he had seen would disappear, and the moment he tried to press the attack with brute force, he’d find himself bouncing back instead.

“You bastard! I’ll kill you!”

“That would be a bit of a problem.”

Hyung_Otaku2

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