Provocation

"You're the one who beat the Sword Song School's instructor, aren't you? Got the guts to fight me?"

Fran had just arrived at the classroom for the Sword Chant School's Elven Swordsmanship Instruction course when someone blocked her at the door with those words.

Fran wondered where this nobody had come from, then turned to look at the speaker.

She saw a sword swing straight at her. She neither dodged nor flinched, letting it come down toward her.

The sword stopped twenty centimeters from Fran.

"Why'd you stop? I'm waiting for you to bring it down."

Fran wasn't afraid the sword would actually hit her. She'd bought two magic items to tide her over and was wearing them now. If the sword really came down, they would immediately produce a shield.

She knew her opponent wasn't really trying to pick a fight. Judging by how little effort he'd put into it, he'd only swung the sword lightly in her direction.

"Hmph!" Ren pulled back his sword. "You're such a coward. You didn't even draw your sword. You're not worth fighting."

With that, he turned and walked away.

Fran rubbed her chin. She realized what he was after: he'd made a show of attacking her to lure her into striking back.

There had to be some rule she didn't know about, and breaking it would come at a cost.

Was it some kind of rule for this course?

She watched Ren walk over to a seat inside the classroom and start chatting with someone beside him.

Fran shook her head helplessly. It looked like someone was trying to frame her. She walked straight over to Bela.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"Who are those two?" she asked, pointing at Ren and the person beside him.

"The one with the red badge is Ren. I think he got in through another channel. He's in our cohort, right?"

"The one wearing a ring is Aboyue. He's two years ahead of us, I think. I heard he's really good," Bela answered.

"So why is Aboyue trying to frame me?"

Fran had noticed that Aboyue did most of the talking when he spoke with Ren. Since Aboyue also seemed to have a higher standing, she figured Ren had acted on his orders.

"Uh, I'm not sure. I only know that Aboyue did poorly in this year's assessment. I think he was unlucky and got eliminated early. I don't know anything else."

Fran kept watching the two of them, lost in thought.

Meanwhile,

"Sorry, I couldn't get her to strike..." Ren lowered his voice.

"It's fine. There's still plenty of time in this class. Try to catch her off guard... I refuse to believe she can handle it perfectly every time."

Aboyue furrowed his brow. He knew that once his target was on guard, this sort of trick would be far less likely to work.

"As long as you can make the instructor think less of her, I'll teach you that sword technique, just like I promised..."

Aboyue emphasized his promise.

He'd wanted Fran to strike back because the instructor teaching this course was Burnett, a member of their Sword Chant School.

Burnett had been an instructor in the City of Apprentices for over twenty years. He was also one of the main people in charge of the Swordsman Society, which belonged to the Sword Chant School.

Within the Sword Chant School, Burnett held considerable sway over how resources were allocated to the apprentices.

Burnett was devoted to training apprentices. Every year, he personally selected one apprentice, gave them better resources, and taught them swordsmanship and the like.

The apprentice Burnett had trained last year was Aboyue, and Aboyue had let him down. He hadn't placed in anything.

Burnett only trained apprentices who hadn't placed in the assessment.

Aboyue had been quite confident that he was the strongest among those who hadn't placed.

That was, until Fran defeated John, the instructor who had taught the Basic Swordsmanship course for years.

After confirming it with John, Aboyue had been gripped by a sudden sense of crisis.

He knew how strong John was. He'd joined the Sword Chant School through John's course, and during his assessment match against John, he'd felt completely helpless.

He'd realized John was strong, and even now, he wasn't sure he could beat the John he'd faced back then.

Yet Fran had beaten him. What's more, when Aboyue had asked John about her, John had praised Fran endlessly. Aboyue realized Burnett might not choose him this year.

More than anyone, Aboyue knew how rapidly he'd improved after receiving Burnett's individual instruction. He didn't want to go back to the slow progress he'd made before.

Fran hadn't joined the Sword Chant School yet, but everyone could tell she was bound to join eventually. It was only a matter of time.

"To become a Formal Mage, you have to do whatever it takes," Aboyue muttered.

Ren only gave a few acknowledgments after hearing Aboyue repeat his promise.

Burnett was a sturdily built, middle-aged man with several scars on his neck and hands.

"Those of you who've chosen this course, whether or not you belong to the Sword Chant School..."

"If I catch you settling disputes by fighting on your own instead of through a proper match, you'll never be allowed to take this course again."

Burnett's stern expression made it clear how much he detested such behavior.

Only then did Fran understand why Ren had tried to provoke her. He'd been setting a trap for her.

But she didn't care. As soon as Elven Swordsmanship appeared on her Panel, she would leave. She had no intention of getting involved with the Sword Chant School.

"Good. I hope you've all understood. Don't disappoint me."

Then Burnett picked up a wooden sword and gestured for everyone to spread out, leaving enough room between them.

"Elven Swordsmanship is a unique fighting style of the elves. We humans can't quite replicate the level of skill the elves achieve when using it."

"That's because our bodies are very different from theirs. For the same build, they're slightly heavier than we are, yet they have incredible jumping ability and eyesight."

"So no matter how much we train, the differences in our body structures prevent us from fully mastering Elven Swordsmanship."

Then Burnett began his demonstration, leaping and swinging the wooden sword with extraordinary agility.

"Good. Now, don't swing your swords yet. Follow my steps and jump."

After hopping a couple of times, Fran frowned. Ren was moving toward her, and Aboyue was also edging closer, taking up her space.

She had no choice but to keep her movements constrained as she practiced in the limited space. When the two of them came so close that they were within arm's reach, she spoke up.

"Could you move over? You're in my way."

Everyone present looked over. They were all supposed to be practicing together, so her voice carried clearly across the room.

"Sorry, we didn't notice. We're really sorry."

Ren reacted quickly, apologizing and pulling Aboyue aside.

Burnett furrowed his brow, but continued to direct everyone's practice.