Chapter 104: Academy (3)

The lecture unfolded with great enthusiasm from those present. Especially, the swordsmanship faculty showed tremendous interest.

But if we analyze it closely, it was also a topic related to the flow of mana.

That’s why the students from the magic faculty were also drawn to the class. The rest, those studying general subjects, simply enjoyed the show.

“Yes! That’s how you spin the energy!”

Yuri stepped away from the amplification device and began teaching with his own voice.

Suddenly, all the students in the auditorium raised their swords and started manipulating their mana.

“When one rotation adds to another, what do you think happens? A greater rotation is formed. Micro rotations merge into a macro rotation, and that macro rotation becomes a gigantic rotation. And when multiple gigantic rotations come together, they form a super rotation!”

However, in truth, Yuri had no sincere intention of teaching well.

No matter how hard they tried, without deep understanding it was useless. If they tried to use the Spinning Whirlwind Sword without the necessary level, they would only form bad habits.

But whatever. For Yuri, the Empire was an enemy.

He was poisoning the well.

“Hehehe…”

Though on the outside, he pretended to teach with passion.

“Hey, hey, it’s working!”

One of the students managed, accidentally, to execute the principle of the Spinning Whirlwind Sword with his sword. But it didn’t last long.

The rotating energy briefly formed around his sword, but not being able to establish the fractal structure like Yuri, it dissipated.

Yuri beat his chest as if truly frustrated, making a big scene. For the students of the Academiaum, it was an absolutely irritating reaction.

“Seriously? How can you not manage this? I’m speechless, really.”

Yuri shook his head.

“Progress is slower than I thought. Is this the best Academiaum has?”

He stepped down from the stage and began guiding students personally. Little by little, he approached one of the targets he already had in mind.

The face of the student in question turned pale.

“Let’s see… Was this boy named Edran, right?”

He had already investigated him thanks to Dale’s testimony, so his face was familiar.

Yuri approached the spot where Edran was sitting. He trembled as he held his sword, his face completely pale.

“You didn’t expect me to come all the way here, did you?”

“T-This…”

Yuri patted his shoulder and said:

“Come on, try doing what I said. If you master the Spinning Whirlwind Sword, you too can become strong.”

Edran managed to generate some mana, but he couldn’t concentrate with Yuri by his side and constantly broke the mana flow.

Yuri gripped his shoulder tightly.

“Can’t even manage this?”

“I-It’s really hard…”

“No helping it. Edran, I’ll give you private lessons.”

Yuri said this while shaking his shoulder.

“See you later. Alone.”

Edran’s face went from white to ashen gray. Yuri returned to the stage.

The students of the swordsmanship faculty were desperate to correctly execute the Spinning Whirlwind Sword, while those from the magic faculty studied how to create rotational force through mana.

Yuri was in an excellent mood.

The future talents that would make up the Empire’s military force were wasting their time trying to master his technique.

Yuri intensified his deception.

“That’s a whirlwind? That? A Spinning Whirlwind Sword? Let’s see. Make two mana flows, okay? Then make them spin. Like snakes, got it? Snake. Let them meet like this, and naturally do this. Mix. One by one. And stir it. Mix it well! Like that, very good, stir! Spin one this way, the other that way, one forward, another back… spin nonstop. That’s a whirlwind. Just keep this going.”

But no one really understood what he was saying.

Over time, some managed to create minimal rotation. But from Yuri’s perspective, it was still insufficient.

He called three students who had at least achieved something and had them come up on stage.

“You, you, and you. You three, come up here.”

It was a boy and two girls.

“Each of you show how you’ve managed to perform the Spinning Whirlwind Sword. Doesn’t matter if it’s imperfect. That’s useful for learning too.”

Each one raised their sword and tried to generate rotation.

They couldn’t control whirlwinds like Yuri, but they had managed to form a spiral current around the sword.

Even if it was just a superficial imitation of the technique.

“Prince.”

One of the girls addressed Yuri.

“It’s amazing. How can you handle mana like that…?”

Her eyes sparkled with sincere respect. Flattered by the genuine praise, Yuri looked at her sword and gave her some advice.

“Don’t put too much strength into the mana. Make it float lightly.”

“Like this?”

“It’s not about increasing power. Try to make the mana lighter.”

“It’s hard…”

Gradually, her whirlwind became faster and stronger. She excitedly swung her sword.

“It’s working! Look at this!”

“Well done. You’ve got talent.”

“Wow…”

She seemed truly impressed by Yuri.

“Will you come back to Academiaum, prince?”

“If I have time before leaving the capital, maybe.”

“Please come back to teach us again.”

“I’ll consider it.”

While they talked, the boy with them on stage muttered:

“But… isn’t this impractical for real combat?”

Yuri looked at him. The student tried to generate energy with his sword several times, then lowered it.

“Isn’t it too complicated to use in real battle? It’s hard to believe this was ever used in a warzone.”

Yuri felt disappointed. He remembered how he had wielded his sword on the plains, severing orc limbs, and now that memory was being called into question by that student.

He examined him. His energy was controlled, and the mana he emitted was quite solid.

He seemed to be one of the best talents at the Academiaum. Yuri asked the girl next to him:

“How good is that guy in the swordsmanship faculty?”

“Probably the best…”

“So he’s number one. The second?”

“Me.”

“And him, would he be the third?”

“More or less…”

Yuri nodded. If he was the strongest in the Academiaum, it made sense that he carried that level of confidence. He himself had lived off his talent in his past life, acting recklessly.

At least that guy did have real achievements to back up his attitude.

Of course, if he were truly exceptional, he would’ve already been recruited by a noble family or trained in a knight squadron.

Even so, being the best at the Academiaum was still admirable.

“Your name?”

“Capri.”

“Capri. I’ll personally show you how powerful the Spinning Whirlwind Sword is in real combat. Take up your sword.”

“But this place is very narrow…”

“No problem.”

Yuri smiled slightly.

“This won’t be a fight that needs much space.”

At those words, Capri’s face hardened. He apparently took great pride in his skill.

“Understood. I won’t take responsibility for what happens.”

Capri raised his sword. When Yuri and Capri suddenly crossed swords, the auditorium was thrown into a stir.

The strongest student in the swordsmanship faculty facing off against the third prince of Briol, whose fame had grown thanks to his feats in the allied army.

It was a unique spectacle that couldn’t be seen anywhere else. The students of the swordsmanship faculty leaned forward, entirely focused on the duel.

Capri warned:

“You might regret this today.”

Yuri laughed at those words.

“Are you one of those who talk too much?”

“Of course not.”

Capri focused. A clear sword aura emerged.

“I’m just telling you not to underestimate a student from the Academiaum.”

He advanced. His movements were light and without unnecessary flair.

The trajectory of his sword as he approached was as clean as if drawn with ink. But that was all.

He wasn’t brutal like an orc tearing humans apart with bare hands, nor refined like Laurent, nor brimming with cleverness like Jared.

Not to mention Bernard or Jose. Yuri felt somewhat disappointed.

Had he perhaps grown used to only facing people far too extraordinary?

After dodging a slash, Yuri asked:

“Do you have money at home?”

“Eh?”

“You don’t?”

“Uh… it’s not like we don’t have anything…”

Capri was confused by the sudden question.

“Well, enough.”

Yuri directed his sword, Guilty, toward Capri’s attack—not too fast, not too strong.

And activated a reduced version of the Spinning Whirlwind Sword, a “micro spin.” The sudden whirlwind absorbed Capri’s sword.

Just one touch. Capri’s sword warped and shattered into several fragments.

Metal splinters flew and left a thin cut on Capri’s cheek.

“W-What…”

The duel was brief, and the difference between them, overwhelming. When Yuri suppressed his mana, the spiral pattern floating over Guilty’s blade gradually faded.

Capri, his wrist aching, looked at Yuri in shock.

“Ah, sorry. Someone from the magic faculty, come heal him.”

“How…?”

“This is the Spinning Whirlwind Sword. In real combat, you know what would’ve happened, right?”

Had Yuri used it seriously, it wouldn’t have been just Capri’s sword that broke—it would’ve been Capri himself.

“How can he use it so fast…?”

To Capri, it was incomprehensible. He needed to accelerate the mana flow for a good while just to get a decent spin, while Yuri overlaid it in an instant.

Like being struck by lightning, the technique was unleashed suddenly.

“How did he do it?”

“Just lots of training.”

“No, that can’t be…”

A student from the magic faculty came up to the stage and cast a healing spell on Capri’s cheek. Even then, Capri’s gaze was lost.

Soon after, the students began applauding Yuri. Even the strongest student at the Academiaum, Capri, had been defeated with a single blow.

Yuri had proven his skill wasn’t a farce.

“Hmm…”

Yuri decided that was enough for the Spinning Whirlwind Sword class. He had already poisoned the well enough.

After dismissing the three students from the stage, he returned to the podium.

[The class on the Spinning Whirlwind Sword ends here.]

The students, unaware of his true intentions, wore looks of satisfaction.

The technique was difficult, yes, but also fascinating. Moreover, Yuri had stepped off the stage to teach directly, and had even fought a student.

It was a far more fulfilling class than any other.

[Now I’ll answer questions. Is there anything you want to know about me?]

Immediately, many hands were raised.

More students than expected were participating, which surprised Yuri a bit.

He pointed to the first one who raised a hand.

The student stood up abruptly and asked:

“Prince, there are rumors it was a lie that you dated the princess of the Holy Kingdom. Is that true?”

A sudden question about his personal life.

Yuri remained silent for a moment.

“Hmm…”

Everyone who needed to know already knew, so there was no point in hiding it anymore.

He nodded.

[It’s true.]

“But why did you do something like that?”

[One question per person.]

And immediately he changed speakers.

[You, over there.]

“Yes. I have the same question. I also want to know why you lied about that.”

They were questioning him like reporters. Yuri began to notice that some students were holding a thin magazine.

The title was The Night of the Capital.

That magazine was known for publishing sensational gossip. It was, so to speak, the polar opposite of the Imperial Monthly, with which Yuri had previously done an interview.

Apparently, the students were asking directly about the things that magazine had hinted at.

Yuri sighed.

He had said he’d answer questions, so he couldn’t back out.

Maybe it was a good time to reveal that his relationship with Sybilla had been fake from the start.

So he simply answered:

[I got so many proposals, I got tired of them.]

“Wow…”

“This is big…”

The questions kept coming.

“They say you once dueled the champion of Prince Georg…”

“Is it true you ate with the soldiers in the allied army…?”

“So… is there someone you like now…?”

***

After that long lecture, Yuri returned exhausted. He had expected simple questions, not for them to pry into his private life.

Such was the capital. Why couldn’t students ask constructive questions instead of indulging in gossip?

“Why is that?”

“Ugh, ugh…”

At his words, the man gagged and with a bag over his head made a muffled sound.

When Laurent removed the bag, the pale face of Edran appeared, with a muzzle on his mouth.

Every time he squirmed, the chair legs screeched against the floor.

“Quiet. Stay quiet.”

Yuri approached Edran.

“We have some unfinished business, don’t we?”