The gloomy mood Ihan had been feeling melted away before he knew it. Not only was he pleased to have faced a new opponent after so long, but the Sword Resonance Yord had displayed at the end was also rather impressive. Breaking an opponent like that left him feeling refreshed.

If anyone had been watching, they might have called him a dirty or insidious person…

‘Well, they’d be right.’

Ihan admitted it humbly.
He was more twisted than most people. And yes, he could be insidious.
However, he wasn’t the type to find joy in looking down on others or belittling them.
He simply found a bit of satisfaction in crushing those ‘annoying bastards’ who claimed with their whole being that they were stronger than him.

It was a somewhat rewarding moment.

‘I wasn’t always this kind of person.’

Ihan hadn’t originally been someone who enjoyed fighting, but after reincarnating into this medieval fantasy world and living here for 30 years, seeing all kinds of filth, his nature had inevitably changed.
Not to mention that he had been getting beaten up by the knight captain every day for the past three years!
It would be impossible for him not to have developed a [hunger] for victory.

“Did I go a bit too far?”
“N-no, not at all. I-I’m grateful you held back.”
“I did pull my punches. If I hadn’t, you'd be a corpse by now, haha.”
“…Ha ha.”

Ihan spoke in a joking tone as he patted Yord on the shoulder, but it sent chills down Yord's spine.
Though he had bounced across the ground like a skipping stone and crashed into a wall, Yord was fortunately only slightly bruised, without any serious injuries.
It was partly thanks to his mastery of the Aura Techniques, but as Ihan said, it was also because he had held back that Yord was still alive.

‘That was an incredible strike.’

Even now, Yord’s body trembled.
When he had launched his sword, using the Sword Resonance, he had at least hoped to land a hit, even if he couldn’t win.
But as if to prove him wrong, Ihan had blocked the attack again. The moment their swords clashed…

‘I don’t remember anything after that.’

Yes, he remembered their swords connecting, but beyond that, his memory was blank.
He had simply been sent flying, and his mind had short-circuited like a blown fuse.
All his body remembered was how incredibly heavy, strong, and fast that single strike had been.

‘That man could have sliced through me instead of just sending me flying.’

Senior Ihan. He still didn’t show any signs of exhaustion and looked completely at ease.
Acknowledging in his heart that his sword had been utterly shattered, Yord gave a bitter smile.
He had believed that no one but Aura Users could make him kneel…

‘The world is vast.’

The young genius swordsman tasted the bitterness of his first defeat, his expression tinged with sorrow.

After the duel between Ihan and Yord, people began to approach Yord, offering him words of admiration.
The sight of him using Sword Resonance had left a strong impression.
They wanted to know about his family, his swordsmanship school, and his master’s name, like seniors in the military grilling a new recruit.
…Not that it was a particularly good thing.

“Honestly, wherever you go, it’s the same military stuff.”
“Don’t look at it too negatively. To nobles, family, swordsmanship schools, and masters are important.”
“Yeah, I know. Us commoners with no family or school should just shut up, right?”
“…That’s not what I meant.”
“Just think of it as me being a twisted guy.”
“Good grief. You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you?”

Jake shook his head.
He knew that Ihan’s self-deprecating remarks and sarcastic tone were like bait, meant to provoke others into confronting him.
Of course, everyone knew it was a trick, so no one wanted to engage with him, opting instead to avoid him.
There were a few rookies who might have been tempted, but after watching the duel with Yord, there wasn’t a single person here brave enough to take him on.

“You’ve warmed up enough, haven’t you? You should stop here.”
“If anything, I haven’t warmed up enough. I’m still itching for more.”
“…Don’t look at me. I’m not going to fight you.”

Jake discreetly backed away, avoiding Ihan’s gaze, which was as intense as that of a fighting dog.
Refusing a duel from a fellow knight wasn’t proper etiquette, but one had to be careful.
Fighting a ‘mad beast’ like Ihan was simply out of the question.

‘…I wonder if this is what a barbarian warrior would be like.’

Barbarians were ancient tribes who lived in deserts and jungles, known for honing their skills and strength in real battles rather than learning from teachers.
It was a foolish method, but the warriors they produced were said to be stronger than any knight in the kingdom.

‘He really does seem like one.’

A strange guy who didn’t have a teacher and only trained in basic swordsmanship by fighting others to sharpen his skills and strength.
It was clearly a brutish method, but the fact that no one in the knight order could overpower him said a lot.
It was just like something a barbarian would do.

“Barbarian warrior Ihan, huh?”
“Is that an insult or a compliment?”
“Both.”
“…I don’t know if I should be happy or offended.”

Even Ihan couldn’t deny the comparison to a barbarian.
He knew exactly what Jake meant.

…As unpleasant as it was.

“He’s got incredible talent.”
“Yeah, but how is something like that even possible?”
“I wouldn’t even dream of copying him.”
“…Maybe he’s just freakishly strong.”
“Even that’s impressive in its own right, don’t you think?”

The other knights discussed Ihan’s duel with Yord, their eyes filled with admiration and envy.
Although they were comrades, they were also rivals.
And among them, Ihan was like a rock, standing out like a sore thumb—a massive wall. It was easy to make him a common enemy.

…Not that Ihan had any interest in rivals or career advancement.

‘Talent, huh? Is that what they see?’

Ihan smiled wryly, finding it ridiculous.
Talent.
How nice it would have been if he had any of that.

‘Would life have been easier?’

Ihan’s talent, if one could even call it that, was just slightly above average.
To give an example, if 300 students took a math test and the average score was 60, Ihan would be the guy scoring 70.
Above average, good enough to get decent grades with some effort.
It might sound impressive, but with that level of talent, it’s usually impossible to become a knight.

A knight’s talent needed to be far more than just above average.
At the very least, they had to have the kind of talent that would place them in the top ten of the school without even trying.
The kind of people who seemed like they were just messing around, yet still excelled effortlessly.

Those were the true prodigies.

That’s why every knight in the order had been called a prodigy at some point.
Even the noble brats who flaunted their family connections had received proper prodigy training and possessed the talent of a knight.
But Ihan wasn’t like them.
As mentioned before, his talent was only a bit above average.
But what Ihan did have was a special constitution—something people called a ‘trait.’

He didn’t have as much talent as others, but he had a ‘function.’
He didn’t know Aura Techniques, couldn’t master skills after seeing them once, and had no innate talent for quickly becoming a master.
But his body had a function that helped him beat people like that.

‘The captain told me once.’

[Your body is strange. It compensates for your lack of talent with something miraculous. But there will be limits. There are plenty of knights in the order who can overcome that miracle of yours.]

That was the advice, or rather the harsh reality, Ihan had been told after a particularly brutal beating.
He had sarcastically asked, ‘Then what should I do?’
And the captain had smirked and said,

[Simple. You just need to strengthen that function of yours. Think of how to do it yourself. It’s your body, after all—you should know best.]

It made sense.
After all, Ihan had learned how to enhance that function from his time in an assassination organization.
It was about breaking through the body’s natural limits.
Tearing muscles and breaking bones to rebuild them stronger.

[Hmm, looks like you get it. Fine, I’ll give you one more piece of advice. Fight a lot of people. For you, it’ll be less about experience and more about gathering information.]

It wasn’t like Ihan was some machine, but…
Still, that advice had helped, and it was why Ihan had picked fights with the knights every single day for the past three years.
Following the captain’s advice, fighting all kinds of people had allowed him to instinctively figure out how to deal with them.
Even if he still didn’t fully understand how certain sword techniques worked, his body knew how to move.

His mind didn’t remember, but his body did.

‘It’s funny, really.’

Was he becoming less of a person and more like a machine?

Of course, he wasn’t actually a machine.
After all, the sweat and effort he had put in were real.
He had just been sweating in a different way from everyone else.

‘As long as I get stronger, who cares?’

He wasn’t some martial arts fanatic in pursuit of enlightenment.
As Jake had said, he probably did have the mindset of a ‘barbarian warrior.’

Winning was all that mattered.
Things like growth or enlightenment were concepts he didn’t understand and couldn’t reach.
And Ihan was perfectly fine with that.

‘I don’t mind at all.’

At the very least, it meant no one could walk all over him.