Chapter 12 – Rousseau (1)

There were only two days left before the start of the semester.

Chief instructor Alex left the private training center with his favorite student.

No matter how royal the academy was, each instructor had his or her favorite students, and outstanding talent meant that educators could not rest.

‘If you teach him a little more, he will soon sprout.’

Alex was also an educator before he was a knight.

I wasn’t sure when I first came here, but now my thoughts had completely changed.

Now, to Alex, the future of his student who was following him around was several times more important than his own reputation.

“Don’t forget. As long as you don’t make mistakes, your skills are sufficient.”

“Yes, instructor. I will do my best.”

Alex smiled happily at his student’s powerful answer.

Until yesterday, he taught his students in his personal training hall, but today he took them out to the training hall that all trainees use.

The reason was simple.

To relieve tension from the exam that would be taken as soon as the semester starts.

An independent space was better to purely improve your skills, but the pressure also increases.

If you were in a public space, whether there were other people or not, the psychological pressure would be much better.

‘Just changing the location makes it much… … ‘Hmm?’

Alex narrowed his eyes.

It seemed like there was someone in the training hall.

‘I can’t believe you started training at a time like this.’

I don’t know who it was, but it’s a great attitude.

Alex thought about it and tried to approach, but he stopped.

‘Oh, really?’

It was because I immediately remembered something from a few days ago.

The sight of Henry lying alone in the gym, exhausted, and Russo feeling sorry for him.

‘There’s no harm in being careful, right?’

Alex deliberately increased his walking speed.

He arrived at the training hall a few steps ahead of his student, and when he looked inside, he had to bring his eyebrows together in the middle.

‘The guess that it was Henry was correct, but what is this situation?’

What surprised him was the sight of Henry Camilton swinging a wooden sword back and forth.

‘You can now control mana?’

“Instructor?”

“Stop. Wait there.”

“Yes? Oh, yep.”

The trainee with a puzzled expression stepped back.

‘I came here to brush up on this guy’s skills, but I never thought I’d see something like this.’

Alex gave a serious look.

“Let’s postpone the training until later. Can you go and get Russo? If he doesn’t come, emphasize that I’m looking for him really urgently.”

“yep!”

The trainee hurriedly walked away. I didn’t know if it was another instructor, but Alex, like Russo, was one of those who had no ill feelings toward Henry.

‘Nothing good will come from spreading rumors.’

No, even if it spread, Rousseau at least had the right to know first. This means that the fact that you were training openly in the training center was not a ‘secret’ in the first place.

‘I never thought this guy could feel mana. But what are you talking about?’

I stopped while trying to focus my mana on my ears.

He always seemed lighthearted, but he wasn’t so out of character that he eavesdropped on other people’s secrets.

Alex stood as if guarding the door.

Soon, I saw Inyoung running towards me at a high speed.

‘Even though he’s always grumpy about this and that, when you see him like this, he’s a really good friend?’

How many people would come running to you like that when a colleague tells you that it’s urgent?

“Alex.”

Blame-.

Russo stopped in front of Alex. Even though he ran so fast, he looked undisturbed.

Alex repaid that sincerity.

“There’s someone you care about inside.”

“You must be talking about Henry. No way, the harassment… no, if that were the case, you would have stopped it first without even calling me.”

“See for yourself.”

Alex stepped aside. Rousseau looked inside with his brows narrowed, and was shocked.

His gaze slowly turned his head, and it was exactly the kind Alex had expected.

“Look, it was urgent, right?”

***

Increased innate sensitivity.

It wasn’t impossible, but it wasn’t very common either.

Generally, sensitivity falls into the realm of ‘talent’.

So, to the extent that it had become an established theory in academia that only those who could become the right ones could did it.

However, sometimes there were people who directly denied such orthodoxy, and now Rousseau was convinced that Henry was such a case.

“When did you feel mana?”

“It was two days ago.”

“What cleared the way?”

“It happened yesterday.”

“You’ve reached this level in just one day.”

It was something I couldn’t help but admire.

Henry Camilton’s sensitivity increased, and he was using it so well that it was hard to believe that he had only trained for one day.

“Can I see your wrist for a moment?”

“……yes.”

Swipe. Rousseau placed his index and middle fingers on Henry’s wrist. Mana flows through a path created like a blood vessel. I gauged the flow and was confident.

‘This guy is a genius.’

His innate sensitivity may be at an all-time low.

However, there were minimum qualifications.

In other words, if he could only feel mana, he would had been called a genius.

‘The path to the telegraph has been cleared. It’s amazing. ‘I can’t believe this happened in just one day.’

Generally, this was the case for trainees who had made their way for the first time.

The road was unstable and thin.

In other words, not only was the amount of mana that could actually be handled insufficient, but it also meant that the supply of mana could be cut off at any moment, like a thread breaking.

‘But this.’

Henry’s path was comparable to that of a student who had trained for at least a few months.

The length of the whole body was like a muscle, and the more you train, the thicker and stronger it becomes.

“Was there anything special you referenced in your training?”

“Yes, I reviewed what Instructor Pike taught in class.”

“That’s it.”

It’s ridiculous.

It was clear that Henry couldn’t even properly estimate his own level.

‘I guess so too.’

Henry lived as a helpless trainee for three years.

Without a trustworthy colleague or a teacher to rely on.

Since there was nothing to compare it to, of course there was no standard.

“Let’s finish the training first. I’ll do it a little later… No, it would be better to change the location.”

Rousseau had a complicated expression, and Henry looked puzzled by the sudden suggestion.

The two left the training ground.

***

The instructors at the Royal Academy were treated fairly well.

Although they fell behind in their lives as knights, the king knew that new knights would eventually be born at their fingertips.

Especially the chief instructor.

The Academy did not spare any support to them.

“Please stay here until I return.”

“All right.”

“It means that you must continue to practice.”

“……thank you.”

Henry’s eyes widened in surprise.

Because this was Rousseau’s personal training ground.

Although it was not as important as the armor that was the knight’s life, there was a strong perception that the private training hall was also a space where others were not allowed to enter.

The reason was simple.

If you were a knight above a certain level, you could ‘steal’ something just by watching them train.

“Be right back.”

Rousseau went outside, leaving Henry behind.

Alex, who had been waiting, approached.

“Did I see it right?”

“I saw it correctly. Could it be that your student looks like that….”

“Hey friend, do you know how much you feel about that guy? Don’t worry. I’m sure I’m the only one who’s seen it so far.”

The basis for confidence was simple.

Because the rumor had not yet spread to this academy.

Had Henry Camilton, an inferior student in his later years, changed?

It’s a gossip that anyone would be interested in talking about.

“So, what happened? Did you suddenly awaken as if struck by lightning?”

It was half joking and half serious.

But to Alex’s dismay, Russo nodded.

“Huh, really?”

“It will be known soon anyway, but please keep it a secret until the first test. I heard that I felt mana three days ago, and that I cleared the first path yesterday.”

“Do you mean genius?”

“I guess so.”

“Is it because you couldn’t show off your talent because you just lacked sensitivity?”

“Now that I think about it.”

“If it becomes known, there will be more than one person who will clutch their stomach and roll around.”

If it was known that the object of ridicule had grown in an instant and even had overwhelming talent.

Of course, negative views would be overwhelming.

Especially when you didn’t had the ability, you might even start to exert direct checks once you become a ‘competitor’.

“Be careful. So what do you plan on doing? Of course, I have a rough guess.”

“I guess I’ll have to do what I have to do now.”

“That Rousseau himself is teaching a student. There will be twice as many people who are jealous.”

“If I had been the type of person to be held back by things like that, I wouldn’t have been able to endure this far.”

“hmm.”

Alex nodded without realizing it.

Because that was something no one could deny.

Alex couldn’t even imagine the ridicule that Henry must had experienced.

“Well, I guess I should congratulate him. To be honest, I’m the type of guy who didn’t really care. Isn’t the joy of my colleagues the same as my joy?”

“Thanks to you, it’s not too late. I’m truly grateful.”

Alex grinned. Just as he felt that Rousseau was a true colleague, it seemed that Rousseau also thought of him that way.

“I’ll leave the intruder out of the way. Anyway, I’ll keep my mouth shut until the exam, so have a good time. It’ll be hard to see you at the bar for a while.”

“Maybe. Thank you for understanding.”

“Just say thank you once. Good luck.”

Scribble.

After roughly waving his hand, Alex left.

‘Henry Camilton felt mana. After all, he is a genius.’

Alex’s feelings about that fact were nothing more than simple interest.

But not to others.

‘A lot of interesting pictures will come out soon.’

If there were more things to talk about while drinking, it was something Alex would welcome.

From the perspective of an onlooker, change always leads to interesting events.

***

“Yes, that person is Instructor Rousseau. And although I followed the wizards’ words, Instructor Russo is a truly trustworthy person.”

[No hahaha, they don’t understand anyway??]

[How does the NPC know about the broadcast!!!!]

[Driver, please trust us. Even if I say it, it doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t mean anything haha.]

Henry looked at the chat window with a face that he couldn’t understand.

A little while ago.

When we met Russo at the training hall, the viewers came together with one mind and advised, ‘Don’t mention the broadcast to Russo.’

Of course, Henry obeyed obediently, thinking that the wizards had their own reasons.

but.

“What on earth is an NPC?”

I couldn’t understand the expression ‘NPC’ that was constantly mentioned.

[Everyone except the driver!!]

[LOL No, I’m serious about this LOL I’m really going crazy~!]

[Except for the driver, everyone else is NPC. No matter how much you talk about broadcasts or wizards to those people, they won’t understand!!]

“Ah.”

Only then did Henry realize why wizards did this.

It was quite a magical reason.

Due to some kind of device, people other than Henry could not accept the existence of this ‘broadcast’.

‘There is a gap in consciousness… … ‘Have you taken such measures?’

Anyway, if that was true, the wizards’ recommendations were valid.

“Thank you. I finally understand what you said.”

[Phew~~~~]

[I guess I can live now haha]

[But is Rousseau also a knight? If you’re a senior instructor, you’re not an ordinary knight, right?]

“Among the instructors, you either have the best skills as a knight, or you are recognized for your contributions before coming to the academy. Instructor Russo is one of both cases.”

[So, he’s clearly a teacher NPC haha]

[Now I feel like I’m slowly going through a tutorial haha]

[So you’re learning swordsmanship and skills from him? How can I learn anything?]

“As far as I know, the instructor is someone who avoids teaching outside of regular classes. Perhaps the reason he called me today was not with the intention of teaching me directly… but honestly, I don’t know.”

That was sincere.

Because Henry couldn’t even guess Rousseau’s feelings.

BJ Sword Master