Chapter 50 – Roderick (3)

Two people were assigned to Class A all at once.

That single line of news shook the academy all at once.

Especially since they were two people who had been far from excellent.

At least Henry Camilton had been showing a madly growing appearance recently, but Austin was also quite known for having his image at the rock bottom.

In fact, unless they were those who knew Henry’s past appearance, most were even more greatly surprised by the fact that Austin had been promoted.

“Does this make sense?”

“I should ask the dean.”

“Are you serious?”

“Of course it’s a joke. A guy like me going there, he wouldn’t even meet me.”

“But… it’s true that it doesn’t make sense. Class A all at once. True, Henry Camilton did receive interest from the observing knights, but Austin didn’t!”

What happened not long ago was still clearly engraved in the trainees’ minds.

A knight of none other than the Timothy Marquis family.

The figure of Henry Camilton blocking every single offensive of such an outstandingly skilled expert.

Of course, even so, it was equally surprising.

If it had been Class B, it might be different, but skipping two stages all the way to Class A was something that could not exist in the trainees’ common sense.

Also, there was another reason why they showed such a shocked reaction.

“Now those two are in a completely different position from us. How ridiculous must our training look to them?”

From the moment they were assigned to Class A, the trainee’s path forward as a knight was as good as solidly laid out.

They already possessed the skill to act as a knight.

The trainee’s name would have been uploaded to the “talent list” of Vallaran’s prestigious families, and if they raised their own value further, they were in a position to look beyond that.

That was precisely the meaning of belonging to Class A.

Especially, Sanson, the knight of the Timothy family, had even received great praise from the family head simply because he discovered Henry’s talent early on.

Amidst such a commotion.

A story of unknown authenticity leaked from someone.

“They say Austin was actually a Roderick. The Duke Roderick family. Did you know?”

Austin.

It was a rumor that the trainee who rose to Class A along with Henry was the child of a Duke family.

Although rumors naturally bloat their sizes, this time it was in a very “accurate” direction.

“They say it’s certain. He was a child of the Duke Roderick family. He was hiding his skill. They even say only those two took an additional exam when this exam ended!”

“I heard they were even asked what they thought of the Royal Knights?”

“They said they were asked if they had any intention of enlisting at all! In effect, it is as good as having become Royal Knights!”

“But surely a knight of the Duke Roderick family must have been present during this observation…”

“I told you, he hid his skill. Geez. That bastard Bane was anxious because he couldn’t reveal the fact that his father is a Marquis. He did it this time too, didn’t he? Ordering the knight belonging to his family around…”

“Set Austin aside. If he is of the Duke’s lineage, well… there’s nothing strange about it. Holding a gift soon… No, then what is Henry Camilton? You mean he is on the same level as that Austin?”

In fact, it could be seen that this question represented the minds of the current trainees.

Austin was understood.

Because if he was of the Duke’s lineage, the fact that he was highly skilled, and that there were inner circumstances requiring him to hide his skill, were all understandable.

But what about Henry Camilton?

“…Probably he realized his talent belatedly, I guess.”

In fact, they could only draw such a conclusion.

He just had not found the path suited to him.

Whether that was a training method or whatever, it was not an important matter.

In any case, right now.

Because something that could not be expressed by anything other than the word “talent” had occurred.

The atmosphere of questioning had now cooled down.

A majority felt envy, some purely admired, and a few were seized by strong jealousy.

Of course.

No matter what they thought, the influence they could exert on the Class A trainees ended simply at being annoying.

“I should stay only here today. If I go out, it will get very annoying.”

“…I think the same, but shouldn’t we at least eat? I terribly hate training while starving.”

Henry and Austin.

The two were still in Rousseau’s training ground.

It was true that Class A trainees received overwhelming support from the academy.

However, even so, it was not superior to the environment enjoyed by the chief instructor.

Naturally, Rousseau declared that they could use his training ground to their hearts’ content until graduation, and thanks to that, they were in a situation where they could rest leisurely even in this noisy environment.

“We can just eat outside, can’t we? Since we also got the authority to go out.”

“Henry, surely you don’t think it is only trainees who are paying attention to us, right? Today’s mood is at a level where even instructors followed us out to watch us.”

“Let them watch. It’s not like showing my face a bit will wear it out. The instructors can’t strike up a talk due to their pride. If it were a single person, maybe, but it would be even more so because there are many onlookers.”

“Makes sense.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t starve you, and anyway, there’s no need to care about what they are blabbing now. The Class A side doesn’t even have interest in us right now, do they?”

Henry spoke calmly.

The ones surprised by the fact that the two had been promoted were strictly only those belonging to the “lower” grades.

The trainees were so, and the instructors were the same.

The professors were a group that did not need to be cared about from the start, as they taught non-combat fields anyway.

“In the end, the real ones don’t care whether we come or not. Because they are busy training themselves right now. In the first place, we aren’t in a position to compete, it is just that the number of people taking classes together increases by a couple.”

“I have no intention of taking classes though?”

“Then there’s even less need to care. Since it will only be me increasing.”

Of course, he could not help but be concerned to some extent.

Because the top-tier trainees were also humans.

However, that degree would be weak to a level incomparable with the situation unfolding outside now.

“So, let’s also not care and do what we must do.”

Henry picked up the sword.

A situation where he had already achieved a proficiency of 10 for other mainstream weapons.

In order to reach the targeted 2-star knight, raising his swordplay proficiency to 20 was the urgent priority.

“Me with a sword too?”

“That would be good. For the time being.”

“For the time being. Henry, the more I look at you, the newer you seem. So that means after training for some time, you will want another weapon again, right?”

“It is true.”

“How can you be so honest. No matter how much I think, there are too many things about you that I don’t know.”

“That is…”

Henry, who was about to answer reflexively, swallowed his subsequent words.

It was the question: ‘Isn’t it the same for you, Austin?’

“No, let’s start.”

It was not yet time to reveal his true intention.

Toward Austin, who held the sword against him, Henry dashed while scattering silver-white sword light.

***

For a few days.

Henry and Austin lived almost entirely in Rousseau’s training ground.

It was because the rumors surrounding the two showed no sign of dying down.

Henry spent all time, except for class hours, sparring with Austin, and the main broadcast content in the meantime was actual combat sparring with Austin.

Content that had already been shown until it was worn out.

However, Henry’s skill had increased, and Austin also revealed his capability a bit more accordingly.

In addition, since it was backed by a mana amount incomparable with before, it was also quite flashy.

As a result.

[Registered videos: 42]

[Subscribers: 487]

Henry was able to achieve considerable success.

Now the subscribers were running toward 500.

It was self-evident that if the relevant standard was met, some special reward would be given.

Also, the number of registered videos increased rapidly.

It was thanks to the proposal of the manager, Flame Solo.

[M: I’m thinking of dividing the video categories. The videos uploaded so far simply contained one event per video.]

[M: From now on, I plan to upload full videos too, and separately take highlights editing main scenes. Also, I will register the video prepared by Poporijang-nim in a separate category.]

Naturally, Henry did not understand even half of that content.

“It is hard to understand, but I leave it in your hands.”

At Henry’s honest request, Flame Solo readily demonstrated his ability.

Only after facing the outcome could Henry accurately understand what he had been talking about.

‘This is the highlight. Among the things that happened in each event… only the most interesting scenes were gathered. It is a truly revolutionary method!’

Among the subscribers who watched this video, a significant number were bound to become curious about the before and after of the relevant event.

Ultimately, it was a method that could draw several views from a single person.

‘Also, although the full video contained the entire broadcast done for a day, he said the number of advertisements was also that large. He said it would be hard to judge the revenue of this video simply by the number of views.’

Flame Solo spoke as if it was not that grand, but to Henry, it was a completely new concept.

He also realized the importance of the manager once again to that extent.

Also, there was content that the important manager added.

‘He said the dependency on WoopWoop is too large. That I land videos with only WoopWoop alone, and the revenue generated to me right now is not small. But the positive thing was the fact that the dependency is gradually going down.’

Although WoopWoop’s sponsorship funds were overwhelming right now, he said it was not something to worry about if Henry’s channel grew sufficiently.

Although it was a large amount, he would not have to be swayed by it.

‘But for some reason, it feels like the amount of sponsorship funds is gradually increasing. Although the dependency is said to go down, if the amount keeps increasing like now…’

Henry shook his head.

‘Still, there must be a limit. Because he said the income of a sufficiently grown channel is not at a level an individual can manage.’

Also, even if it was not a fun generated strictly thanks to WoopWoop, Henry had a significant amount of content that could be used for the broadcast.

The missions given to Class A trainees.

The black market.

The Vallaran Royal Palace.

Inside the academy, even the changes that occurred by belonging to Class A.

Also, although he didn’t know when it would be, showing the situation of the Camilton Viscounty was one of the excellent contents.

‘My growth must be one of them too. I should grow while adjusting the timing as much as possible. Because after reaching 2-star knight, a breakthrough growth like now will be difficult.’

Of course, it wouldn’t matter as long as he had plenty of money, but even for Henry, investing such amounts was still burdensome.

If he consumed content before the channel grew sufficiently, a situation where he had nothing to show in the future might occur.

‘There is no situation as troublesome as that.’

Of course, it was not such a situation now.

Rather, it was a time when he had to consume content that was abundant to the point of overflowing.

[M: The title is clickbait, clickbait! Ah, I mean, what clickbait is…]

[M: It is making them curious about what you will show on the broadcast today, Sir Knight.]

[M: If you are going to the black market, a title like this would be good. For example…]

Following the enthusiastic advice of the managers.

[Today finally! Going to check out the black market for the first time in my life haha]

Henry started the broadcast.

As it had already been announced, viewers rushed in in an instant.

Waiting for the viewers to increase sufficiently, Henry acted as if he had finished what he was doing and faced the chat window.

“Hello, magicians. I am your knight, Henry Camilton.”

[Are you really going to the black market??]

[Oh haha, you said you’d go later back then haha]

[Aren’t you going to die right away if you go? haha. Wasn’t a black market exactly like a thief’s den? haha]

“I do not write lies in my title. Henry Camilton is one who goes if he says he goes, and does if he says he does. I will go to the black market today, and I have a means to solve the immediate lack of military force.”

Saying so, Henry looked beside him.

“Austin.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go somewhere.”

A 4-star knight of the Duke Roderick family.

Austin Roderick was none other than that solution.

BJ Swordmaster