Future Knight

Chapter 32

“Heut!”

Kang Chan quickly raised his Aura Sword when his dagger, struck by the boy’s Aura Sword, began to glow red and melt.

At that moment, Jaizen was startled.

“What! An Aura Sword?”

Jaizen could hardly believe his eyes as he witnessed someone wielding an Aura Sword with a dagger for the first time in his life.

The presence of a Sword Expert was not a common occurrence.

Even in the grand Visman Empire, known for its strength, there were no more than 300 knights who had reached the level of Sword Expert.

In a typical small kingdom, there were merely ten.

Only moderately sized or larger kingdoms had about fifty such knights.

Sword Experts were highly skilled personnel.

Encountering someone who seemed like an ordinary person using an Aura Sword with a dagger was enough to shock Jaizen.

There were knights who, while using a rapier, also wielded a dagger, but that was merely a variant technique.

As far as Jaizen knew, there was no one who primarily used a dagger and had reached the level of a Sword Expert.

“An Aura Sword with a dagger? Who is this guy?”

Although Jaizen was momentarily taken aback by Kang Chan’s Aura Sword, he quickly regained his composure and began to press Kang Chan with his remarkable skill.

Kang Chan could not help but be astonished by the boy’s abilities.

The boy before him looked no older than 18, but his skills already surpassed those of Keremion from the past.

From his battle with Urkanta, Kang Chan had learned how to compress his Aura Sword into a thinner but sharper blade.

However, the boy in front of him was not only enveloping his sword with a compressed Aura Sword like Kang Chan but was also increasing the Aura’s power when attacking and decreasing it when defending, thus enhancing the efficiency of his mana in both offense and defense.

His skills were nothing short of monstrous.

Moreover, for Kang Chan, who had mostly faced opponents using light swords, the boy’s long sword and its slicing techniques were very unfamiliar. The boy’s genius in swordsmanship increasingly disconcerted Kang Chan.

“This kid who still reeks of youth is quite skilled.”

Though Kang Chan seemed to be momentarily pushed back, he, who even the Sword Master Urkanta couldn’t defeat, wasn’t about to crumble so easily.

“……”

As Kang Chan continued to block and dodge the boy’s attacks, he began to discern the boy’s swordsmanship more clearly.

While fast and accurate, the boy’s sword seemed too textbook-perfect, as if it would collapse if struck in the right place.

Gradually finding his composure, Kang Chan decided not to hesitate to use lethal techniques on the boy.

Despite his young appearance, Kang Chan believed the boy’s skills could handle his lethal moves.

Having recently honed his dual-wielding Thunder Lightning technique, Kang Chan’s dagger began targeting the boy’s vital points from both sides with increasing precision and sharpness, gradually disorienting the boy.

As a result, Jaizen’s vigorous offensive against Kang Chan began to wane.

Unconsciously, Jaizen’s body stiffened in response to Kang Chan’s Aura Sword relentlessly aiming at his vital points without any hesitation.

“Damn! Is a dagger really such a fierce weapon? I can’t seem to grasp it.”

The man before him wielded the dagger with such ferocity that Jaizen couldn’t help but rethink his previous underestimation of the weapon.

As he was increasingly driven from offense to defense, the boy began to grow terrified as Kang Chan’s dagger persistently targeted his critical points with terrifying accuracy.

Moreover, Kang Chan’s powerful kicks aimed at the boy’s lower body were enough to immobilize the boy.

*Thwack! Thwack!*

“Ugh!”

When the boy raised his sword to block Kang Chan’s dagger attacking his upper body, Kang Chan’s low kick mercilessly struck the boy’s calves and shins.

It was a combination of speed and power, almost deceitful in its effectiveness.

The boy was psychologically shaken, as he had never encountered a swordsman who attacked the lower body in this manner.

‘Damn… my legs are losing sensation…’

Despite his genius in swordsmanship, the boy seemed too inexperienced to engage in a life-and-death battle with Kang Chan.

As the boy’s longsword hesitated for a moment, Kang Chan seized the opportunity and struck the longsword from both sides. Unable to withstand the immense force, the longsword shattered with a clear, resonant sound.

*Chaaang!*

“Ugh!”

The broken blade, having soared high into the sky, spun in the air before embedding itself in the ground.

The boy, having lost his sword, fell backward in shock.

Pointing his dagger at the boy, Kang Chan asked,

“Do you wish to continue, rookie?”

“K-kill me quickly…”

The boy, his face flushed with shame, lowered his head and spoke resignedly.

He, a member of the renowned Helrainer Knights, had been defeated by an unknown dagger-wielder.

And not just defeated—he had lost his sword, almost synonymous with a knight’s life.

Jaizen felt an indescribable sense of devastation.

Seeing the boy’s determined expression, so unbefitting his age, Kang Chan gave a faint smile.

As a current soldier, he appreciated the boy’s soldier-like stance.

“Your skills are outstanding for your age, but you lack real combat experience. To have your spirit shaken so easily, you must work harder.”

Retracting his dagger, Kang Chan placed Zikyon from the airbike and prepared to leave. The boy suddenly stood up and shouted at Kang Chan,

“Kill me! If you don’t, you’ll deeply regret letting me live when we meet again!”

Without looking back at the enraged boy, Kang Chan waved his hand and replied,

“I look forward to our next meeting.”

With those words, Kang Chan rode the airbike and disappeared into the sky like the wind. Zikyon and Edelene were left standing there, looking at each other in surprise, while Jaizen knelt in front of his broken longsword, unable to escape the shock of his defeat.

Edelene then spoke to Zikyon.

“What is that man’s name?”

Edelene’s tone was full of anger, as if she was determined to take revenge on Kang Chan.

Zikyon scoffed and replied coldly,

“What good would it do you to know?”

Edelene’s brows furrowed sharply, ruining her dignified facade.

“What did you say? How dare you speak to me, a princess of the Visman Empire, in such a manner…!”

Trembling with rage, the princess looked at Jaizen, but he was still too stunned by his defeat to come to her aid.

Looking at the pathetic sight, Zikyon spoke disdainfully,

“Where do you get the nerve to shout when you can’t do anything on your own, you pathetic fool?”

“You… you wretch! How dare you speak that way to a royal of the Visman Empire? You must have lost your mind! If you have the courage, reveal your name!”

Though Zikyon had no desire to share her name with this pitiful human, she was curious to see how the arrogant and overconfident human’s expression would change upon learning her identity. So, she decided to reveal it.

“My name is G. Zikyon. Even if you were the Emperor of the Visman Empire, you would be nothing but a pathetic worm before me.”

Upon hearing the name G. Zikyon, Edelene and Jaizen’s eyes widened in shock.

That name was widely known in the human world as a dragon’s name.

And not just any dragon, but an Ancient-class dragon, reputedly the oldest among known dragons.

“S-surely you are a d-dragon?”

No matter how fearless and naive Edelene was, the terror evoked by the word “dragon” was immense.

A dragon was so enormous that it could swallow a human whole without even needing to chew.

Its colossal body was covered in scales tougher than any metal known, making it nearly impossible to injure through conventional means.

Moreover, its powerful breath could devastate the Visman Empire’s capital, Belleranzo, showcasing its absurd strength as the most formidable creature on earth.

Terrified by the presence of the dragon Zikyon, Edelene stumbled backward.

“Uh, uh-buh-buh…”

“I will only forgive you once. Do not bother me again, human.”

Zikyon subtly unleashed her hidden presence toward Edelene and Jaizen.

Overwhelmed by the suffocating aura of the dragon, Edelene and Jaizen trembled and stuttered as they prostrated themselves on the ground.

“Th-thank you for sparing us, great one…”

Zikyon internally mocked their weak display as she continued on her way.

‘Yes, that is the true nature of weak humans. Yet that Kang Chan fellow is entirely different. Is ignorance truly bliss for fools?’

Even after Zikyon disappeared from sight, Edelene cautiously stood up, looked around, and then hurriedly dragged Jaizen away, fleeing toward the conference hall with a trembling heart.

### Chapter 11: The Season of Blossoming Love

Kang Chan, with a sense of urgency, drove the airbike roughly to Jaina’s house.

However, Jaina was not at home.

Only her parents, startled by the sight of the airbike, were there, blinking in surprise.

‘Where could she have gone? Classes should be over by now.’

Kang Chan, hoping against hope, went to the place where he used to stay in the village, but she was not there either.

He had thought he would see Jaina as soon as he arrived in the village, but his heart grew increasingly anxious.

Then, suddenly, a possible location flashed in his mind.

‘Could she be there?’

Without hesitation, Kang Chan turned the handlebars and sped off.

Many elves screamed as the strange object flew over their heads, but Kang Chan paid no attention to them.

He was headed to the waterfall where he and Jaina used to practice swordsmanship together.

The thought of her not being there made him even more anxious, and his grip tightened on the accelerator.

As the small waterfall in the distance rapidly came into view, Kang Chan finally spotted the person who had caused him so much concern.

Jaina was standing beneath the waterfall.

The timid, tearful Jaina was standing confidently under the waterfall she had once been so afraid of. Kang Chan could hardly believe what he was seeing.

As soon as he saw her, his heart began to pound as if it would explode. The unfamiliar sensation made it impossible for him to think of anything else. His mind was completely filled with thoughts of Jaina.