I Became a Swordsmanship Instructor in a Romance Novel

Time felt fragmented and stretched out endlessly.

A searing pain, like his entire body, was being pierced by a red-hot iron skewer.

“Gaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

Despite his firm resolve to endure any pain with composure, Rosnante’s scream tore from his throat, his mouth wide open.

If Zeke hadn’t shoved the shirt Rosnante had taken off into his mouth, who knows how long he would have continued to scream.

“Uuugh!!!!”

Rosnante clenched his teeth tightly around the fabric.

His eyes rolled back repeatedly, revealing only the whites.

He would regain consciousness from the pain, only to faint again, over and over.

‘The Instructor is trying to kill me!’

He couldn’t help but think that, faced with such unprecedented agony.

He had developed a considerable tolerance to pain from being hit with bread all this time, but this was a completely different beast.

A chilling fear gripped him, the kind that could stop his heart from the sheer shock.

How long would he have to endure this?

Would it ever end?

No, was there anyone in this world who could truly withstand this?

‘If I had known it would be like this, I would never have agreed to it…!!’

Filled with regret, the days of his life flashed before his eyes like a whirlwind.

Just as he was about to give up, to let go of what he couldn’t afford to lose,

“It’s over.”

An emotionless voice pierced his ears.

Zeke removed his hand from Rosnante’s back.

Sticky sweat clung to his palm, leaving a deeply unpleasant sensation.

Thud.

Thump.

Rosnante collapsed forward, his face hitting the floor.

“Sob. Ugh. Waaaaah…”

He writhed on the ground, tears, snot, and even saliva flowing freely as he cried uncontrollably.

A damp stain, shaped like his face, formed on the floor where he had buried his head.

In reality, only a few minutes had passed, but to Rosnante, it felt like eons.

Eventually, as he calmed down a little, Rosnante abruptly lifted his head.

His eyes, bloodshot from burst capillaries, glared at Zeke.

He looked as if he were staring at his sworn enemy.

However, seeing Rosnante, of all people, making such an expression only annoyed Zeke.

“What are you looking at?”

“How could you do that!? An Instructor trying to kill his student!!!”

“I tried to kill you? You’re alive, aren’t you? If you’re breathing, you’re alive.”

Zeke tilted his head and asked, prompting Rosnante to retort impulsively.

“That’s not what I meant!!!”

“It should have felt like a little needle prick. Why are you making such a fuss?”

“…A little? A needle? Was that needle a siege lance or something!!!!”

Zeke spoke with a brazen face, as if nothing had happened.

Rosnante’s anger reached its peak.

He had seen his deceased grandfather waving at him several times already!

“Anyway, stop with the nonsense. I successfully implanted the filter.”

Zeke said, no longer wanting to tolerate his whining.

“…”

“That means you’re now capable of using mana.”

In truth, Rosnante was still seething with anger, but Zeke’s words brought him back to reality.

‘Mana…’

Rosnante looked at his hands with trembling eyes.

He had finally gained power, in exchange for that excruciating pain and the expensive magic stones.

‘Indeed, something feels a little… different…’

Power.

Power…

Hmm…?

Uhhh…?

‘I don’t feel anything…?’

His body felt no different than before.

If anything, he felt something in his back.

The residual pain, as if he had been branded with a red-hot iron skewer, lingered.

Rosnante looked at Zeke with questioning eyes, as if asking if this was it.

“Um… I don’t feel anything…?”

“That’s to be expected.”

Zeke nodded.

Rosnante’s face hardened instantly.

‘Don’t tell me… Zeke Clayman, did this guy trick me…?’

Rosnante didn’t doubt the existence of mana itself.

He had seen it with his own eyes, so there was no way he would make the foolish mistake of doubting it.

The Duke’s daughters, the Count’s daughter, and even the commoner. They all gained extraordinary power.

Judging by the diverse backgrounds, there seemed to be no restrictions on using mana.

However, the suspicion that Zeke Clayman had deliberately deceived him, refusing to impart mana only to him, was quite plausible.

If that was the case, it was a clear fraud.

He had caused damage equivalent to 20 magic stones to a member of the royal family and inflicted physical harm.

It was a definite case of contempt for the royal family.

If he pleaded with his father

about what had happened today, even Zeke Clayman wouldn’t be able to escape punishment.

“I’ll give you one last chance.”

Rosnante said to Zeke in a low voice.

Zeke stared at Rosnante, easily guessing his thoughts.

‘…Well, I can understand him screaming like a baby after getting his back slightly scorched.’

Rosnante had no understanding of what it truly meant to be capable of using mana.

It didn’t mean he could immediately do something with mana; it simply meant that he had reached the starting line.

‘And he’s surrounded by geniuses…’

Selena possessed a massive mana pool that even Zeke found impressive.

Iriel had an incredibly fast mana speed.

Soi lacked a mana road but had the cheat-like ability of emotions instead.

Yuri, with her overwhelming talent for swordsmanship, was given ordinary mana, but her efficiency was on a different level.

In fact, those children had shown extraordinary abilities as soon as they awakened their mana.

However, Rosnante’s mana pool was small and cute in comparison.

Even if he had escaped impotence, he was still a rabbit at best,

“If you continue to remain silent, I will formally file a complaint with the Imperial Palace.”

That’s why he was saying that.

‘Even if I explained it to him a hundred, a thousand times, he would never understand.’

“Alright, I guess it’s better to show you once.”

Zeke spread two fingers and touched Rosnante’s forehead between his eyebrows.

“…Wh-What are you doing! …! Gah!!!!”

Zeke converted his own mana to match Rosnante’s and forcibly circulated it through his mana road.

Rosnante’s mouth fell open in shock.

He felt a heavy current swirling within his body.

It was as if he had become an omnipotent god.

“This is what it means to use mana. This is the level you’re feeling right now. This is the goal you should strive for.”

Zeke’s voice sounded dreamlike, as if in a trance.

Swooooosh—

But it was only for a fleeting moment.

Suddenly, all the strength drained from his body, as if his energy had been sucked out.

Rosnante looked at Zeke with trembling eyes, as if asking why he had stopped.

“This is a power you can’t handle yet, so I can’t push it any further.

Hmm… Is this not enough? Then, I’ll let you objectively see the level of your peers.”

Once again, mana flowed into Rosnante’s body.

Clear and pure mana.

Compared to the feeling of omnipotence from before, it was a step down, but the sheer quantity was overwhelming.

“This is the size of Selena’s mana.”

“Ugh!”

Rosnante groaned as he felt his chest about to burst.

“And this is the speed of Iriel’s mana.”

“Gah!”

This time, the amount of mana decreased to almost a tenth.

Instead, the rotational speed of mana felt ten times faster.

The mana pathways felt like they were overheating and about to burn up.

“This is Yuri Gilbert’s balance.”

“Ugh!!”

Swoosh.

Rosnante breathed a sigh of relief as the mana began to slow down.

This time, mana flowed elegantly, like a calm river.

The meticulously regulated flow felt like it was dislocating his bones because his body couldn’t keep up.

“Soi’s technique is too dangerous, so I won’t show you.”

Finally, Zeke removed his hand from Rosnante’s forehead.

“Do you understand now? Those children are all geniuses. Unlike you.”

Rosnante looked at Zeke with a vacant expression.

“You’re mediocre. No, to be honest, your talent is a little below that.”

Zeke’s cruel assessment pierced his heart.

“But I showed you the ultimate destination you can reach, the very first one.”

Rosnante nodded with a dumbfounded look.

Selena was amazing, Iriel was amazing, and Yuri Gilbert was amazing.

Glimpses of talent he couldn’t even hope to imitate.

But, none of them could compare to the feeling of omnipotence he had felt at the very beginning.

“Is that inferior to their talents? No, it’s not. Mana is a field where, in the end, hard work can overcome talent, no matter how great.”

“…”

“Just because your power hasn’t increased immediately doesn’t mean that’s all there is to mana. Do you still think that way?”

“…No, sir.”

Rosnante’s eyes had changed.

They held a seriousness, the eyes of an Imperial Prince.

* * *

“I’m quite tired today.”

After finishing the class, Zeke rubbed his neck and headed towards the Principal’s office.

The power he had dealt with today was nothing special, really.

He had merely imitated the children’s abilities roughly.

However, converting them to match Rosnante’s attributes, removing the burden on Rosnante’s fragile mana pathways, and controlling it all required a level of finesse akin to painting a landscape on a grain of sand.

“Phew, I guess this is enough.”

With this, he could finally erase the lingering guilt he felt towards Rosnante.

Whether he would crumble here or crawl his way to the destination was now up to him.

Zeke arrived at the door of the Principal’s office.

Knock, knock, knock—

“Come in…”

A tired voice came from inside, and Zeke entered the Principal’s office.

It had been a long time since he had seen the Principal’s face.

He seemed to have aged a bit.

Feeling a sense of familiarity, Zeke bowed his head.

“It’s been a while, Principal.”

“…Sigh.”

The Principal sighed as soon as he saw Zeke.

‘I decided to just give up on this guy…!’

But he had gotten involved again.

What kind of person was he to cause him such a headache?

He had intended to just say what he needed to say and send him back, but there was one thing he couldn’t help but ask.

“…What’s your relationship with the Northern Duke’s family?”