How to Live as a Knight After the Ending

Chapter 116: What Remained (2)

It was a rainy day.

The sight alone was depressing, and the feel of the air on my skin was unbelievably horrible.

The rain, coupled with the pollution in the air, was eerie as it poured down and ran through the building. Black water ran down the whitewashed walls.

And then there was something else.

The one who had dared to wield the power of a knight but had no chivalry was alive and well.

She was alive and well, with a name and a defiant glare directed at him.

He couldn’t help but be annoyed but Osian was only pleased, like there was one last handful of hope left inside Pandora’s Box.

On his way home, he witnessed a very happy truth.

‘There was something left.’

It was definitely the Starlight.

Though the light was weaker than his own, it was its essence that mattered.

‘There’s someone who wields the power of the Starlight, which means he’s a knight.’

When Osian first learned of the Knight’s fall, he didn’t want to admit the truth.

His head understood that it was inevitable, but in the back of his mind, he wondered what if.

The path of the great knights must have continued on through the ages.

His faith was rewarded.

‘He also recognized my light. He must have been looking for someone similar to himself.’

But there was still a question.

The fact that he’d sneaked up on him, watched him, and then fled when he saw his starlight.

‘Is he still suspicious?’

Or is there another reason?

Osian returned home.

The house was filled with the sounds of people taking a break from the rain.

Osian returned to his room and flopped down on his bed.

The more he thought about it, the more his initial joy and elation diluted.

Reason slowly returned.

‘Besides, there’s something else I’m curious about. If someone knows how to use Starlight, which means they have at least some skill, why haven’t there been any rumors of anyone using it until now?’

Is it because he’s operating in secret, and if so, why? Is there a reason he has to?

‘But he eventually found out about me.’

If so, it’s sure to come back, sooner or later.

*

The torrential downpour of the previous day had ceased by morning.

The rain had washed away much of the pollution, and the air was uncharacteristically clear for Tirna.

‘Rain isn’t so bad.’

I walked lightly to the Violet Fox and found the place to be in disarray.

A sullen Ena turned to Osian.

“Mr. Osian, Lupona has left.”

“She left?”

“Yes. She left a note, and then she just disappeared.”

The next morning, Lupona left a note saying goodbye and disappeared.

As if a wild wolf can never be tamed, she had disappeared somewhere in Tirna.

“For me, it feels like the tooth that was aching has fallen out, so I feel better.”

“That’s too much! Aren’t you even worried about Lupona?”

“Worried?”

Osian thought that was funny.

“Why would I be worried about her? I don’t like her, to be honest, but I don’t deny her skill. She’s not weak enough to be taken down easily.”

If anything, he was more worried about the people she would encounter in this city, in the future.

“So don’t worry about her. She’ll make a living for herself wherever she goes.”

“You’re a stickler.”

“It’s true.”

Osian spoke with such conviction that Ena couldn’t argue with him anymore.

Osian pushed past her and headed for the clearing that led to the back door.

The rain from the previous night had turned the clearing into a muddy mess.

On it, David, Jonathan, and the others were working out.

With a good base of fitness under their belts, they were now starting to work on strength.

It was impressive to see the usually well-mannered David lifting a heavy barbell, even though it seemed out of place.

“Hello, Master!”

They looked at Osian and bowed their heads in awe.

There was a deeper respect in their eyes than before.

They had heard rumors that he had recently visited the ancient ruins and obtained an artifact.

That alone made the aspiring knights even more proud to be under his tutelage.

“You’re all working hard.”

It was good to see them working so early in the morning.

They were desperate but their faces brightened as Osian nodded in satisfaction.

“Good. This will make your senior feel proud.”

The next words from Osian brought a look of doubt to their faces.

“Senior, huh?”

David, who had naturally assumed the role of leader among the aspirants, asked.

For a moment, he thought he’d misheard.

“Yes.”

“Aren’t we the first?”

“Not as far as being taught by me, no. The senior I was referring to was the one who can handle a sword on his own.”

Osian stared at the roof of the building.

“Why don’t you come out now?”

“…….”

A figure emerged from the rooftop and landed lightly on the ground.

Even though the ground was probably full of mud, the sound of falling wasn’t loud. All that was heard was a faint splash of dirt.

The kneeling figure slowly rose to his feet.

He was wearing a cheap navy blue coat that was comfortable to move in, with a hood over it. He even had a bandana wrapped around his mouth.

He looked more like an assassin about to kill someone than a knight.

If it weren’t for the sword slung at an angle across his back, he would have been even more suspicious.

“You came sooner than I expected. I thought you’d wait a few days before coming.”

The hooded man looked at Osian wordlessly.

He’d been trying to keep his emotions as low as possible, but he was panicking now.

Despite his best efforts to remain invisible, Osian had pinpointed his location.

Even the slack he was showing now.

“Are these the people you teach?”

“You’re finally speaking, yes. I teach them. They wanted to be knights.”

“I see.”

“What’s it like to see it in person?”

“It’s lousy.”

The man’s words were sour.

Osian smirked, and the faces of the aspirants stiffened at his words.

“Why do they think so?”

“Because they think they’re good enough.”

“Shouldn’t it be enough?”

“It’s not enough. You have to push yourself to the limit and break it again and again and again. Bones break, muscles tear, blood flows, and before it can heal, you have to break it again.”

“I see.”

Osian’s words ignited fire in the eyes of the Aspirants.

David opened his mouth.

“I hear you’re our senior.”

“…….”

“But we only heard of you for the first time today. If you are indeed the senior you say you are, would you be willing to show us your skills?”

David’s tone was defiant.

The hooded man stared at him wordlessly, a gaze that made David break out in a cold sweat.

‘This man. There’s something about him.’

Osian’s words were playfully senior, but David realized there might be some truth to them.

His survival instincts, honed by his years as a fixer, were screaming at him.

-Gulp.

David swallowed hard. It was a curious thing to say, but if he actually fought, he would lose.

At that moment, the hooded man tore his gaze away from David and looked back at Osian.

‘Huh?’

The behavior surprised everyone, including Osian.

“Is there really a need to exert force on those below me?”

The hooded man said with a hint of belligerence in his tone.

“I think it would be better if we tried it ourselves.”

The gazes of the apprentices turned to Osian.

He should have been offended, his pride wounded, but instead, Osian curled the corners of his mouth faintly.

It was as if he had been waiting for such an answer from the beginning.

-Hmph.

Osian drew his sword and the hooded man drew his sword over his shoulder as well.

His sword had a much longer hilt than Osian’s.

The two men stared at each other with their swords drawn.

An odd tension hung in the clearing.

David, Jonathan, and the other aspirants swallowed hard and backed away slowly.

It was an instinctive move, as if they knew they’d be caught in the crossfire if they didn’t move away.

When they were just out of reach of the aftermath of the fight, Osian spoke.

“I concede the initiative.”

“You’ll regret it.”

The hooded man raised his sword to a vertical position.

A pure white flame erupted along the hilt of his sword.

“Holy shit!”

“That’s real!”

The faces of the knight aspirants were stunned while the smile on Osian’s lips deepened.

He had felt it yesterday, from his composed posture to the sense of stability he exuded, but this guy was the real deal.

‘He hasn’t been wielding a sword for a year or two.’

That made him even happier.

That feeling didn’t fade as he saw the hooded figure rushing toward him.

A sword was swung at his throat.

It looked like an attack meant to kill. If he didn’t block it, he would die.

Osian faced him and raised his Starlight.

-Kwaaang!

Starlight collided with Starlight.

“Not bad.”

Osian stood still, staring at the hooded man Starlight.

Raising one hand lightly, Osian’s Starlight easily blocked the hooded man’s.

The hooded man’s eyes widened.

He knew Osian wielded the same power as him, but he hadn’t expected it to be so easily blocked.

‘And that light.’

It was clearly the same Starlight, but Osian’s burned much brighter and louder than his own.

What was even scarier was that it wasn’t power.

The hooded man had a bad temper.

Thinking that there was no way he could stop this, he turned the Starlight up to full power.

A momentary but powerful surge of Starlight pushed Osian’s out of the way, as if it were firewood.

“Oh.”

Osian gasped as he felt the strain on his arm.

Apparently, it was hard to struggle with one hand.

He held the sword at an angle and brought it up with all his might.

With a loud bang, the hooded man’s Starlight sword bounced upward.

However, he was unfazed and straightened his stance, then grabbed the sword with both hands and swung it several times.

Pure white starlight streaked through the air.

David swallowed hard as he watched.

He swings it lightly, but it’s a dense energy that cuts through anything it touches.

Especially one that burned so brightly, its heat could melt metal.

A mere glance was enough to kill.

However, Osian was swinging his sword with one hand, blocking all of its sword paths in advance.

The hooded man moved his legs quickly.

His swift movements circled around Osian in a wide circle, gaining on him.

The hooded man’s Starlight sword slashed at the back of Osian’s head. Without even looking back, Osian swung his own Starlight sword to parry the stab.

He didn’t even swing his arm wide, just a snap of his wrist.

The hooded man was startled by the sight, and Osian’s sword came at him out of nowhere.

Unfazed, the hooded man moved to the side, attempting to parry Osian’s blade.

-Kagagagagang!

Sparks flew in all directions as the two men exchanged blows.

“Looks like you’ve been practicing the basics.”

Despite the strain on his arms from swinging the sword, the hooded man didn’t let go of the sword from his hand.

And look at that look in his eyes. The indomitable will that refuses to back down when faced with someone stronger than him.

‘Much better than Lupona’s.’

That alone was enough to give him a passing grade.

The battle continued as Osian and the hooded man were evenly matched.

But that’s only on the surface.

Digging deeper, the difference in skill between the two was stark.

While Osian was his usual calm self, the hooded man’s shoulders were heaving and he was breathing heavily.

The basic physical strength didn’t make sense, but the marks on the floor were even more alarming.

“Is this it?”

Osian hadn’t moved from his spot since the fight began.

The hooded man, on the other hand, had moved more violently than anyone else. The footprints in the mud showed it.

“Or do you have more to show me?”

“…….”

“I can take as long as it takes to get ready. If you know how to use Starlight, then there’s more.”

It was a tone of speech that seems to teach someone lower than oneself.

The hooded man disarmed his Starlight and sheathed his sword in the scabbard behind his back.

He dropped to one knee, facing Osian.

He lowered the hood from his mouth, not caring that his pants were stained with mud, and spoke in a clear voice.

“I greet the true master of Starlight.”

Osian turned to the man who bowed his head.

“Who are you?”