I don't want to be a heroic spirit

Although there is a dedicated training ground, Souji Okita doesn't like to attract too much attention. Moreover, with the selection competition approaching, there will definitely be a lot of people occupying the training ground. It is not known whether Ikki Kurogane, an F-class knight, can use it. After all, he is a "failed knight" who cannot even participate in practical courses.

So, Okita Souji and Kurogane Ikki came to a relatively empty forest and stood facing each other from a distance.

Because they were not allowed to use spiritual equipment without permission, the two of them were only holding bamboo swords for training.

"Although Kirihara Shizuya's sword-cutting skill, 'Hunter's Forest,' can perfectly conceal his form, breath, and scent, his arrows cannot be hidden."

"So, you're judging his position by the direction of the arrows, and thus ending the battle quickly?" Okita Souji tapped his shoulder with his bamboo sword. "That requires a lot of concentration and observation, but it shouldn't be a problem for you."

He was originally still praising, but the next moment Souji Okita changed the subject.

"but!"

The bamboo sword squeezed the air and made an explosive sound. Kurogane Ikki's body moved faster than he thought, and he held the bamboo sword horizontally in front of him.

The next moment, the blades of the two bamboo swords collided with each other, and the brutal force flowed along the hilt into the arm, causing Kurogane Ikki to grit his teeth.

The slender body that did not match the title of swordsman had already arrived in front of Kurogane Ikki at some point. It was hard to imagine how such a huge force could be exerted by such weak arms.

"Ikki...why are you so nervous?"

Am I... nervous?

Kurogane Ikki was distracted for just a moment when the sound of breaking wind rang in his ears.

The bamboo sword used for training now displayed an edge that was sharper than a real sword, narrowly cutting off a strand of black hair from Kurogane Ikki's forehead.

"It's stiff, too stiff! It's full of loopholes!"

The laziness and casualness in Okita Souji's tone disappeared, and he became more powerful than ever before.

Ikki Kurogane had never imagined that the mere difference of having a sword in his hand or not could cause such a huge change in Okita Souji.

No...can't be distracted, you have to focus.

In the fierce and raging sword moves, Kurogane Ikki was like a small boat caught in a storm.

As usual, look for the opponent's weaknesses...

"Are you trying to find my weakness?"

"!!!"

Amidst the layers of waves, a flash of cold light suddenly appeared, and it drew a mysterious trajectory under the shocked gaze of Kurogane Ikki.

In Ikki Kurogane's eyes, the sword was so slow, like a snail crawling slowly on the green leaves after the rain.

However, this extremely slow sword passed through Kurogane Ikki's defense without any hindrance, and when it was about to hit Kurogane Ikki's neck, it turned and hit his wrist.

"Snapped!"

The bamboo sword flew high up and appeared blurry just below the sun.

"hiss--"

Ikki Kurogane gasped in pain, but then a bamboo sword was pointed at his neck.

It was clearly just a bamboo sword, but it had a sharp aura that made his neck sting.

"What are you nervous about?"

Souji Okita pointed his sword at Ikki Kurogane's neck, his eyes expressionless.

"What are you afraid of?"

Souji Okita was already questioning Ikki Kurogane.

"You were just defending, why? Why didn't you attack me?"

"...I'm looking for the veins and weaknesses in your swordsmanship."

Just like I'm good at it, just like I used to do it.

"But you lost the chance to win, and I knocked the sword out of your hand."

Putting down the raised bamboo sword, Okita Souji frowned and glared at Kurogane Ikki.

"Your thinking is slow, your movements are stiff. You're so focused on the present that you overlook what you should be paying attention to. Otherwise, instead of just planning a counterattack based on the direction of the opponent's arrow, you'd also imagine what might happen if the opponent could even hide their arrows."

Kurogane Ikki's eyes widened slightly in shock.

Because the battle videos of Kirihara Shizuya that he obtained were all from a year ago. In a year, perhaps the opponent could really master the technique to hide the arrows as well.

Okita Souji anticipated this situation, but Kurogane Ikki ignored it.

"That's why I'm asking, what are you nervous about? What are you afraid of? What emotions are you placing on the blade?"

The arm holding the sword hung naturally, with the bamboo sword pointing diagonally to the ground. Okita Souji walked slowly towards him, and his indifferent amber eyes made Kurogane Ikki feel a sense of being seen through.

"A swordsman should only do three things: hold the sword, advance, and swing. But what about you?"

"You can't even hold your own sword. You're afraid to move forward, hesitant and afraid to swing. The sword in your hand is crying."

Kurogane Ikki lowered his head.

He bit his lower lip with his teeth and clenched his fists.

Suddenly, he felt his clenched right hand being wrapped.

Souji Okita held up Ikki Kurogane's right fist with one hand and gently covered it with the other hand. His voice was melodious and pleasant, like the gentle breeze in March.

"So, tell me, what are you nervous about? What are you afraid of?"

Under Ikki Kurogane's stunned gaze, Okita Souji slowly raised her head. The breeze gently blew her cherry-pink shoulder-length hair, and the warm sunshine sprinkled on her smile as sweet as cherry blossoms, which was beautiful and moving.

“I’m not a good comforter, but I can do my best to be a good listener and companion.”

"So, tell me."

It's really amazing. Listening to Souji Okita's voice and looking at Souji Okita's smile, his mouth started moving by itself.

What Ikki Kurogane talked about was his experiences over the years.

Most of them were known to Souji Okita when he read the original work, and some of the things he had forgotten were slowly recalled through Ikki Kurogane's narration.

However, although these were all things that were already known, Souji Okita did not interrupt Ikki Kurogane's narration.

As she herself said, she cannot be a good comforter because she thinks she is not the protagonist and is not good at talking, so she can only be a listener and a companion.

The people who target Kurogane Ikki are actually the Kurogane family, where Kurogane Ikki belongs.

Although it is Ikki Kurogane's family, everyone in the Kurogane family, whether they are family members or servants, look down on Ikki Kurogane who was born with low magic power and regard him as a shame.

If Ikki Kurogane was just an ordinary person, the Kurogane family would at most treat him as a transparent person and ignore him. However, Ikki Kurogane wanted to become a magic knight in order to prove himself, and he successfully entered the Pojun Academy through his own efforts.

Once Ikki Kurogane really becomes a Magic Knight, the whole world will know that the Kurogane family, a major family of swordsmen, has a waste with a magic level of only F. This is something the Kurogane family will never allow.

Therefore, the Kurogane family tried every possible means to prevent Kurogane Ikki from graduating, and used various methods to force him to drop out of school.

The previous chairman of Pojun Academy made things difficult for Kurogane Ikki because he had a good relationship with the Kurogane family.

For example, after Ikki Kurogane entered the school, the school established the rule that "students whose ability values ​​do not meet the requirements are not allowed to participate in practical courses", and let Shizuya Kirihara actively attack Ikki Kurogane. As long as Ikki Kurogane takes out his spiritual equipment, he will be expelled directly.

That's why he attaches so much importance to this selection, because it is the first time he can see the path to his dream so clearly.

He can't lose, absolutely not.

Otherwise, his dream would become out of reach again.

Chapter 73 Mind

In the magic manipulation class, Kurogane Jushizuku was doing nothing.

Because her magic control is A-level, it is so precise that she can even manipulate the water she creates at a near molecular level.

She can even manipulate water to create water clones of herself that are indistinguishable with the naked eye.

In terms of treatment, as a water mage with excellent magic control ability, she is also very good at it.

Then, she was suddenly approached by Okita Souji.

"...You said you wanted to train Onii-sama until he could defeat his opponent in the first battle, and you needed my help?"

Kurogane Jushizuku looked blankly at Okita Souji who appeared from nowhere and tilted her head.

"why?"

"Because, if you weren't here, Shizuku... I might have killed Ikki."

"..."

Then, Kurogane Shushizuku appeared in the training ground.

Kurogane Jushizuku is a B-class knight and the second-ranked first-year student in this year's class, second only to Stella, the A-class knight with the strongest magical power in the world.

If she wants to apply for a training ground, the academy will definitely give it to her.

As for why we came to the training ground...

"Because only in the training ground can you take out your spiritual gear and fight."

Souji Okita took out his sword - Kikuichimonji Norimune.

And Kurogane Ikki also took out his own spiritual outfit, which was named...

"Come out! Yin Iron!"

The blue light was grasped by Kurogane Ikki, and when the light faded away, a completely black samurai sword with a slightly curved blade appeared in his hand.

The spiritual equipment is the embodiment of the swordsman's own soul. In the past, it has been called "holy sword", "magic bow", "cursed weapon", "treasure", etc.

Moreover, the spiritual suit has a special form called "Fantasy Form". If you are hit by the spiritual suit in "Fantasy Form", you will not be injured, but the attacker's physical strength will be reduced by magic. Moreover, because the spiritual suit is the embodiment of the swordsman's soul, once the spiritual suit is damaged, the swordsman himself will fall into unconsciousness.

I can only say there are pros and cons.

Kurogane Shushizuku was just outside the training ground, her eyes full of worry as she watched Kurogane Ikki's figure.

"Can't I use 'Illusion Form'?"

Before, Kurogane Shushizuku had asked Okita Souji this question because she didn't want her brother to get hurt.

The reason why she was called over by Souji Okita was because Kurogane Shizuku had superb healing abilities. Once someone was seriously injured, Kurogane Shizuku could be asked to treat them.

However, in response to Kurogane Shushizuku's request, Okita Souji shook his head firmly.

"Only the most realistic combat scenes and life-and-death crises can fully enhance the effectiveness of training."

Don't be fooled by Okita Souji's confident tone, but the more important reason is...

She doesn't have such a thing as a "fantasy form"!

The weapon in her hand is not a spiritual outfit at all, not even a treasure. Although it is indeed a part of her spiritual base and can be transformed into a spirit particle, it is far inferior to the spiritual outfit of the swordsmen!

"Before the battle begins, let me explain what I want to teach you, Ikki."

Holding the sword in one hand and posing in a very natural posture, Okita Souji suddenly spoke to Kurogane Ikki from a distance.

After hearing what Souji Okita said, Ikki Kurogane's eyes fixed and he showed an expression of listening attentively.

"A sure-win skill," is how Okita Souji described this technique to Kurogane Ikki.

He couldn't lose. He had finally made it here, he absolutely couldn't lose.

The reason why he was nervous was naturally because he did not have the determination to win.

That's why he cared so much about the technique that Okita Souji mentioned.

"Although the competition is only a few days away, Ikki, you possess a terrifying talent for swordsmanship. I heard that in your previous battle with Stella, you completely mastered her swordsmanship in just a few rounds, and even improved upon it, right?"

"Well, every sword technique has its own threads. As long as you follow these threads, you can reach the truth of that sword technique, understand it completely, and then transcend it."

Because no one taught Kurogane Ikki swordsmanship, he could only rely on "stealing".

No matter what kind of swordsmanship, it has its own knowledge, history and philosophy.

Just like mathematical formulas, the composition of each number has its strict rules, so we can infer the results based on its rules. In Ikki Kurogane's view, the same is true for swordsmanship.

No matter which kind of swordsmanship it is, as long as you follow their moves, peek into their concepts, and then follow the thread of these concepts and continue to observe deeper, you will be able to reach the essence of the swordsmanship. Just like calculating a mathematical formula, you can work out the entire set of swordsmanship and then fully master the entire set of swordsmanship.

What's more, as long as the interpretation is thorough enough, one can correct the shortcomings of the sword technique based on one's own experience and weave a stronger sword technique that is upwardly compatible.

This is his ability, "Swordsmanship Imitation".

Hearing this, Okita Souji smiled faintly.

"Then, you should be able to quickly learn the technique I'm going to teach you next. After all, you already have a basic understanding of it."