Chapter 56: Konrad

Elsewhere in the vast Grauwald mountain range, five applicants were following a lone boy through a narrow forest valley.

The boy appeared completely unaware of their presence. He walked along a winding path with his hands resting comfortably behind his head, occasionally glancing at the surrounding trees as though he were enjoying a leisurely stroll rather than participating in one of the most competitive examinations in House Grandel’s territories.

His ash-white hair stirred in the mountain breeze, and a pleasant smile remained on his face.

This was Konrad Di Grandel, one of the six Main Line descendants participating in the Helheim entrance examination.

For most of the examination, Konrad had deliberately avoided drawing attention to himself. He hunted Ferocious Beasts when convenient, collected their examination markers and occasionally stopped to rest beneath the trees.

Anyone observing him would have seen a talented but remarkably unmotivated young swordsman who seemed more interested in enjoying the mountain scenery than competing for first place.

That impression was precisely what Konrad wanted. Behind him, the five applicants exchanged glances as they followed his movements through the undergrowth.

Their leader was a broad-shouldered boy named Garrick, whose family served one of the lesser vassal houses. He carried a heavy sword across his back, while his companions wielded various weapons, including a spear, two sabers and a pair of short blades.

Garrick watched Konrad disappear around a bend before turning toward his companions.

"Are you certain he’s carrying that many markers?" he asked, keeping his voice low as he adjusted the sword strapped across his shoulder.

The spear-wielding boy nodded eagerly. "I saw him collecting them yesterday. He killed several marked beasts near the southern ridge, and I haven’t seen him trade away a single one. He must have at least fifteen points by now."

Garrick considered the information for a moment before glancing toward the path ahead. "And you’re certain he’s alone?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Completely alone," the boy replied. "He’s been wandering around without any companions since yesterday. Besides, have you seen how he fights? He barely puts any effort into his attacks. We can handle him."

One of the saber-wielding applicants hesitated. "He’s still a Main Line descendant, Garrick. Are you sure we should be doing this?"

Garrick frowned at him. "The examination rules allow us to take points from other applicants. His surname doesn’t change that. We’re not going to kill him, so stop worrying."

The others nodded, although the hesitant boy remained visibly uncomfortable.

Ahead of them, Konrad continued walking with the same relaxed expression.

He had noticed the group nearly half an hour earlier.

Their attempts at concealment were rather amusing. One of them had stepped on a dry branch, another had allowed his spearhead to catch the sunlight, and their leader had repeatedly moved close enough for Konrad to hear the scraping of his armor against the bushes.

Konrad suppressed a chuckle. He had been wondering how long they intended to follow him before making their move.

As he approached a narrow section of the valley, he glanced toward the rocky slopes rising on either side. The path ahead curved around a large boulder, while thick vegetation covered the surrounding ground.

A convenient place for an ambush.

Konrad smiled a little wider and continued forward.

The moment he passed the boulder, two figures emerged from the bushes ahead, blocking his path. Another appeared behind him, while the remaining two climbed down from the rocky slope to his right.

Within seconds, Konrad found himself surrounded.

He stopped walking and looked around with an expression of mild surprise.

"Oh?" Konrad remarked, raising his eyebrows as he examined the five applicants. "Good morning, gentlemen. Is something the matter?"

Garrick stepped forward, resting his heavy sword against his shoulder. "Konrad, right? We know you’ve been collecting examination markers. Hand them over, and we’ll let you continue on your way."

Konrad blinked before looking down at the pouch hanging from his waist. "My markers?" he asked, touching the pouch with one finger. "But I worked rather hard to collect those. Well, reasonably hard. Some of the beasts practically delivered themselves."

The boy carrying the spear scowled. "Stop joking around. There are five of us and only one of you."

Konrad glanced around again, counting each applicant with an exaggeratedly thoughtful expression. "You’re right," he admitted with a pleasant smile. "That does seem rather unfair."

Garrick grinned. "Glad you understand."

"Terribly unfair to you, I mean," Konrad added.

The smile disappeared from Garrick’s face.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Then Garrick slowly lowered his heavy sword. "You think being a Main Line descendant makes you untouchable?" he demanded, his expression darkening.

Konrad shook his head. "Not at all. I simply think five people should be enough to make this interesting. Unfortunately, I’m beginning to suspect I was being optimistic."

Garrick’s patience finally snapped.

"Get him!" he shouted, lunging forward with his sword raised.

The spear-wielding applicant attacked simultaneously, thrusting toward Konrad’s chest while the two saber users moved to intercept his escape routes.

Konrad sighed. His right hand moved toward the sword hanging at his waist.

SHNK!

The blade left its sheath. Before Garrick’s heavy sword could descend, Konrad stepped forward and struck the flat of his opponent’s weapon. The impact redirected the enormous blade toward the spear thrust approaching from his left.

CLANG!

The two weapons collided.

Garrick stumbled sideways, nearly losing his balance as the spearhead scraped against his shoulder armor.

Konrad slipped between them. His sword flashed twice. The spear-wielding boy screamed as a shallow cut opened across his forearm, forcing him to release his weapon. Garrick attempted to recover, but Konrad struck his wrist with the pommel of his sword before sweeping his legs out from beneath him.

THUD!

Garrick crashed onto his back.

Konrad stepped over him and turned toward the remaining applicants.

The first saber user attacked from the right, delivering a rapid series of diagonal slashes. Konrad avoided the opening strike with a slight movement of his shoulders, intercepted the second with his sword and stepped inside the third before his opponent could complete the motion.

His free hand struck the boy’s chest.

BANG!

The applicant flew backward, crashing into a tree with enough force to crack its trunk. He collapsed beneath it, coughing violently as he struggled to breathe.

The second saber user immediately lunged toward Konrad’s exposed back.

Konrad didn’t turn. He simply shifted his sword behind him.

CLANG!

The saber struck his blade. Before the attacker could withdraw, Konrad twisted his wrist, trapped the weapon against his guard and pulled sharply. The boy stumbled forward, losing his grip on the saber as Konrad struck him behind the knee.

He collapsed with a startled cry. Konrad placed one foot against his shoulder and pushed him into the dirt.

Four opponents had fallen in less than ten seconds. The fifth applicant, who wielded two short blades, stood several meters away with a pale expression.

Konrad turned toward him, still smiling.

"Your turn?" he asked pleasantly, tilting his head.

The boy swallowed. He glanced toward his fallen companions before slowly lowering his weapons.

"I surrender," he said, his voice trembling slightly.

Konrad nodded approvingly. "An excellent decision. I was beginning to worry none of you possessed any common sense."

Behind him, Garrick struggled back to his feet.

His face had turned crimson with humiliation.

"Don’t look down on me!" Garrick roared, gathering Vis around his heavy sword as he charged toward Konrad’s back.

Konrad’s smile remained unchanged.

He turned. For the first time since the confrontation began, his sword moved with genuine speed.

A brilliant silver arc flashed through the air.

CRACK!

Garrick’s heavy sword shattered. The broken upper half spun into the air while Konrad’s blade stopped less than an inch from his throat.

Garrick froze. His eyes widened as he stared at the sword hovering beneath his chin. He hadn’t even seen the attack clearly. One moment, he had been charging forward with his weapon raised, and the next, his sword was broken and his life was resting on the smallest movement of Konrad’s wrist.

Konrad regarded him with an almost sympathetic expression.

"That was rather dangerous," he said softly. "What if I hadn’t stopped?"

Garrick opened his mouth, but no words emerged.

Konrad lowered his sword.

"Now then," he continued, returning to his usual cheerful tone. "Since you gentlemen were so interested in my examination markers, I assume you won’t object to showing me yours."

Nobody answered.

Konrad’s smile widened.

"Wonderful. I’m glad we understand each other."

Several minutes later, the five applicants stood together beside the path, their weapons scattered across the ground and their examination markers neatly arranged on a nearby boulder.

Konrad counted the markers carefully.

Twenty-three.

He raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, you’ve been busy," he remarked, sounding genuinely impressed. "I must say, this has been a surprisingly productive morning."

Garrick clenched his fists but remained silent.

Konrad collected the markers and placed them inside his pouch before turning toward the five defeated applicants.

"Well, gentlemen, thank you for your generosity," he said, giving them a friendly wave. "I hope the rest of your examination goes better."

He sheathed his sword and resumed walking along the mountain path, humming quietly to himself.

Only after Konrad disappeared around the bend did Garrick finally collapse against the boulder.

The spear-wielding boy stared after him.

"That monster..." he whispered.

Garrick said nothing.

He was still thinking about the final sword strike.

Konrad had defeated all five of them without suffering a single injury, yet something about that last attack disturbed him far more than the humiliation of losing his markers.

For an instant, he had felt as though Konrad could have killed him before he even realized the sword was moving.

And throughout the entire confrontation, the boy had never stopped smiling.

Farther along the path, Konrad glanced at his newly acquired markers and chuckled.

"Twenty-three points without hunting a single beast," he murmured, shaking his head in amusement. "Perhaps I should let people rob me more often."

He returned the markers to his pouch and continued walking.

The cheerful smile remained on his face.

But the sword at his waist had barely left its sheath.