Chapter 10

  ANFIELD

  Evening training for knight scholarship students began at 5 PM, right after school, and went until 7 PM.

  Dan rushed in from afar, having come all the way from Anfield, hauling his training bag. He shoved the door open.

  Bang!

  "Sorry I'm late!"

  Lifting his head, he saw that the upperclassmen were already present... including Rafinya.

  Second-year knight scholars:

  Male: Aaron Rogers

  Female: Jenny Vardy

  Senior Aaron Rogers was a towering, powerfully built man with dark skin and a muscular frame—muscular to the point where it seemed like he could lift two and a half horses. Intimidating in appearance... yet his entire demeanor radiated a warm, constant smile. He gave off the energy of a reliable big brother, despite looking like a prison gang boss.

  Senior Jenny Vardy, known by the nickname "The Fox." Dan immediately understood why... her face, her aura—it all reminded him of someone. His mischievous little brother who once choked out poor Everton. While Jenny Vardy appeared elegant, there was a cunning sharpness in her features that made Dan instinctively wary of her.

  "Ho?! So you're Dan Burn, huh!?"

  Aaron strode over, his massive frame sending such a gust that Dan nearly toppled over from the impact.

  "I heard all about what you did to Instructor Zoros—sent him to the hospital with broken bones!!!!"

  He looked way too excited—like, way too excited.

  "I couldn't even pull that off when I was a freshman! What happened!?"

  "Calm down, Aaron. You're scaring the newbie."

  Jenny covered her mouth with her hand and shot a sly, fox-like glance at Dan.

  "But I’ve been keeping an eye on you too~"

  "You got here just in time. We're starting in a few minutes! The third-years and Professor Foden are on their way! You're lucky you didn’t get chewed out yet!"

  Smack!

  Dan got a solid slap on the back from Aaron—so hard it nearly popped his lungs.

  "...Yes sir... Please take care of me."

  No sooner had he finished speaking than the doors to the training hall opened—Professor Foden and the third-years had arrived.

  "Good evening, cadets."

  Professor Foden stepped into the center and gestured toward the third-years.

  "Today, we welcome a new student to the ranks of our prestigious knight scholars. These are your upperclassmen—they'll be your mentors for the rest of the year."

  The third-years approached Dan and Rafinya.

  Dan was stunned by the aura of knighthood that radiated from each of them... This was the realm of elite students—exceptionally talented, gifted, the cream of the crop.

  Female: Helena Haaland

  Senior Helena Haaland, a third-year scholar, had long, sleek black hair with delicate Asian features. She carried herself with a composed, gentle presence—like a kind older sister. Her warm smile made her seem more approachable than anyone else here.

  "So these are the first-years?"

  The last one to walk in:

  Male: Chiesa Saint-Germain

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  A tall young man with radiant golden hair like a precious gem, emerald green eyes, and a face like a fairytale prince. The upperclassmen wore white training gear with golden pins at the collar.

  "! "

  Dan could sense something from these third-years—an overwhelming aura cloaked behind polite smiles... especially Helena and Chiesa.

  And most importantly... everyone here had heard what the prince did to Instructor Zoros.

  "Hey there, Dan."

  Chiesa approached him. Dan could only look up at the over-188cm man and reach out for a handshake.

  Crack!

  Suddenly, golden lightning sparked between their hands. Dan jerked back, twitching, while Chiesa looked momentarily surprised.

  Golden lightning... It was the magic of the Luminus people.

  "...Now this... is interesting."

  The senior smirked as he looked at Dan, then turned to Professor Foden.

  "Professor Foden, is this the kid who sent Zoros to the hospital? He’s not what I expected."

  "What do you mean...?"

  Dan asked, but got no answer. Helena stepped up beside him.

  "We heard your physical strength and swordsmanship are below scholarship standards, yet here you are... You must be more of a martial artist, right?"

  "Not surprising, coming from Zentinel."

  Aaron chimed in, rubbing his nose.

  "He might not be great with a sword, but he managed to take down Zoros. That’s good enough, isn’t it, Helena?"

  "True enough."

  The upperclassmen of both years began discussing Dan as if he were some IKEA product they just unpacked.

  But in that moment... Dan suddenly realized—

  Wait a second...

  Chiesa Saint-Germain

  “Saint,” huh?

  He looked up at the elegant blond.

  What noble house is he from?

  "Oh ho~ Look at this, now who might you be~?"

  "Pleasure to meet you, seniors."

  Rafinya offered a polite greeting to the third-years.

  Something in Dan’s instincts told him that Rafinya was already familiar with this group long before enrolling here or even getting the scholarship.

  And... he was right.

  "You’ll need to adjust a bit, Dan... because you’re the only one here who isn’t from Luminus."

  More accurately—

  Everyone in this hall was from Luminus—the City of Light—surrounding the demon prince from the kingdom of Diablo.

  "Our department has always been dominated by Luminus students every year. It’s rare to get an outsider. Looks like you’re our department’s rare drop."

  Jenny Vardy teased as she slipped both arms around Dan’s shoulders from behind and smirked.

  "Since you're already here, let’s get started."

  Professor Foden walked up to... the boxing ring.

  "Ah~ Right away, Professor?"

  "Let’s not waste time."

  Suddenly, everyone started setting down their things. Dan looked around in confusion—he hadn’t even changed into his training gear yet.

  "Wait—what are we doing?"

  "Can’t you tell, newbie?"

  Aaron clapped him on the shoulder.

  "Boxing, of course."

  "!!!"

  The foundation of a knight wasn’t just swinging swords and being physically strong. When unarmed, they couldn’t afford to be useless—they had to be dangerous, even without limbs.

  That’s why every knight had to master three things:

  Body

  Mind

  Swordsmanship

  Hand-to-hand combat trained both body and mind. Evening sessions rotated between weight training and boxing depending on Professor Foden’s mood.

  And now, Dan would have to spar with second- and third-years... whose muscle mass alone was already a clear indicator he was outmatched.

  He walked out of the locker room in a warm-up suit, wrapping his fists in white bandages.

  This was hell... Dan thought.

  The others were already warming up. Even Rafinya—when she kicked the heavy bag, the sound alone made Dan flinch. Same with Jenny, Helena, and the others.

  Dan gulped and stood beside the brawny Aaron.

  "Done changing, newbie?"

  "Yeah..."

  "Don’t worry. After two or three weeks, you’ll be used to it."

  "Thank you, senior."

  "You’re probably dying to show off, huh? I wanna see what Zentinel boxing looks like."

  "...How am I supposed to fight upperclassmen...? What happened with Zoros was just a fluke..."

  "Don’t underestimate yourself, Dan. Show us what you’ve got, or you won’t survive in the knight department."

  "Won’t survive...? What do you—"

  He didn’t even finish the sentence when a white glove landed at his feet.

  He looked up—it came from Rafinya Saint-Pauli.

  "Today, we’ll finally find out what you’re really made of."

  Rafinya declared.

  That nagging doubt from before—the day they sparred with swords—she was convinced Dan was below average and not worth her time. But then he took down Instructor Zoros, something even she couldn’t fully grasp. And now, during training… he couldn’t even deadlift 60kg.

  Everything just contradicted itself.

  What exactly was Dan trying to pull?

  "I don’t know if you’ve been hiding some latent power, or if what happened with Zoros was just dumb luck... But if it’s the former, that’s disgraceful. No honor. I’ve left my sword by the ring. Get up here."

  That was the longest sentence Rafinya had ever said to him. Clearly, she’d had it with him for a while... Dan stared down at the glove, then looked up again.

  Luminus people prized dignity and honor—Dan knew that all too well, being married to one.

  Just look at Casca, who built bridges and gardens for the academy—part of it was probably for “honor points.”

  And here, surrounded on all sides—

  "Ho... She really threw down the gauntlet?"

  Chiesa, now in his warm-up gear, had heard the challenge and glanced toward Dan, curious how he’d respond.

  "You want me to fight you...? W-Why would we do that...? Can’t we just train separately...?"

  "If not now, then later you’ll be fighting students from other schools in year two anyway."

  Jenny leaned over the ropes, looking down at Dan.

  "Besides, it’s just fists, knees, elbows. No blades. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, right, Professor Foden~?"

  "It’s fine by me. I’d like to see what the first-years can do too."

  "!"

  Now the pressure was on from every direction—everyone was watching, expecting Dan to accept.

  "Normally we separate male and female fights due to physical differences... But if Rafinya’s the one issuing the challenge, it means she wants to see your skills herself."

  Aaron squeezed Dan’s shoulder.

  "We Luminus respect skill and honor. Go, Dan. Make her respect you. I’ll be rooting for you!"

  "...Ugh..."