Musou Knight: Crow of Cinders-Chapter 75: So Be It!

Chapter 75 - So Be It!

At the training ground, seniors and their bodyguards were already warming up. As soon as they saw us, they waved.

"Hey, new guy! You alive?"

"Yeah," I replied. "The maids failed to kill us last night."

"Did they give you the juice?" a female knight snickered.

"Sure did."

Their laughter grew louder. One approached. "So, what was the side effect?"

"...We sweated."

"Sweating?"

"Yes."

"Nothing else?"

"Just black sweat. What? You expected something lewd?"

"You guys are too innocent. Boring."

The girls cackled while the men shook their heads.

Oh boy. They might have used the crucifix and toys. Fortunately, I didn’t fall for it.

While we chatted, more students and knights arrived. Seniors headed straight to their usual gathering spot, reserving the best seats like it was a concert. Freshmen, however, stood awkwardly at the edge of the field, looking lost.

I couldn’t blame them. Getting beaten up on the first day could leave anyone traumatized. That’s what they got for being cocky.

One of the seniors gestured me closer and whispered,

"There are usually around thirty to forty training dummies at a time. Reserve one here, or you won’t get a spare. Your seniors and their people might break them all before you get a shot."

I finally understood what the seniors were doing. It was also an effective way to motivate students to arrive early.

We picked a training dummy and gathered nearby while we watched the upcoming show. As we watched, an unfortunate freshman, or freshwoman, arrived with their entourages. Her followers were all female knights, but their levels were lower than the others.

The student was a level-2, just like me. As for their guardians, they were level 3.

I wondered how she managed to snatch the top class seat from the previous owner.

The woman then turned toward me. Our eyes met.

Her face brightened. She beelined our way.

Was I that handsome?

"There you are!" She shouted. "I challenge you to a wager duel! Winner takes all, including your pin and followers!"

Excuse me, what the actual fudge?

I thought we would be friendly-friendly.

Well, I guessed it was the nature of these new power-hungry aspiring knights. But I forgot to ask Paul Xess if I could reject the challenge.

"You can’t reject a challenge, unfortunately."

The voice came from the spectator’s stand. Without looking at the source of the voice, I recognized her right away.

That wench, Sylveria Zen, returned.

I shot her a look of protest, but Sylveria only smirked, propped her chin on her hand, and sat with her legs crossed. She seemed amused.

"Since Solus hasn’t arrived yet, I’ll be your referee." She hopped down from the stand and strolled toward us.

"Master!" The new girl beamed, practically bouncing with joy.

Welp. That explained how she managed to squeeze herself into this class.

"So this is your next scheme? Sending your disciple to kill me or steal my secrets?" I asked.

Sylveria replied. "No, I’m just here as a spectator... and moral support for my disciple."

Bull-freaking-shit.

The whole setup reeked. That girl radiated a protagonist’s aura, yet I had no information about her. She didn’t even exist in the game.

And honestly, she looked too plain to be a main character. Flat nose, downturned mouth, cheeks lined prematurely, and a bowl-cut that made her resemble a boy.

I wasn’t a misogynist, but damn. Someone had lost the genetic lottery.

"Rude," Sylveria muttered.

No, you. Stop reading my mind.

Back in my old world, I never judged people by looks, but this was different. This was a video game world, crafted by an Eastern studio where every character was designed to be handsome or beautiful by default. She didn’t fit that mold. My biased judgment was justified.

I coughed, steering the conversation back on track. "So, about the wager. Isn’t that a bit excessive? Everything? Including my bodyguards?"

The mysterious student laughed. "Yes."

I tried to wriggle out of it. "Can I refuse? I don’t think it’s worth it. I have no intention of putting my bodyguards on the line."

Her smile widened. "Of course. Betting two game heroines must feel unfair to you."

"...You what?"

Either my ears were hallucinating, or this wench had just said something dire.

She taunted, "Let’s face it. We’re not from this world. You already messed up Constantia’s main storyline. Because of you, Lia and Lenitia Constantia have been reduced to side characters. They no longer matter to the plot. Their value now is no more than... slaves."

"Huh?!"

Lia and Lenitia exclaimed together. I almost shouted too, but no words came out.

Another otherworlder?! I wasn’t the only modern person here?

Chills ran down my spine as I glanced at Sylveria. That meant she had known about me from the start.

Worse, this little level-2 brat was siding with her. Which meant Louis Zen might already know the future events and be altering them, twisting the timeline into something unpredictable. And Sylveria might have learned the game mechanics and other secrets too.

Sylveria stressed. "I warned you. You can’t reject challenges. You must fight and earn your keep. We don’t pay students so that they can slack off."

Bitch. Once I reached your level, your ass would be on the crucifix.

Fortunately, I was prepared. I unsheathed the black mist sword and tossed away the crude metal sword.

"All wager must be equal. State what your possession!"

One of the three female knights behind the woman fetched a deed and another blank scroll with a mark of their fingerprints. She stated.

"This is the deed of a land, north of Frogine. Lord Louis Zen has honored Lady Aki with the baroness title in recognition of her service to the army and her success in driving back the orc forces from the territory. She commands a five hundred soldiers and a thousand slaves!"

The mysterious woman, Aki, shrugged. "Is that enough for you?"

I frowned and glanced at Sylveria. "I haven’t received my land yet."

Sylveria snickered. "I DID plan to allocate you one until I learned about you from my disciple. Well, further conversation is unnecessary. Prove it with your abilities that you deserve to be here."

They actually plotted to get rid of me.

So be it. Don’t complain if thing doesn’t go your way!