I Became the Academy’s Defensive Swordsman

Chapter 11

【 Disciplinary Committee Route 】

“Honey beef sandwich, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. Thank you.”

A café located inside Lysquare Academy.

I ordered a sandwich there and took it with me.

‘Let’s just eat something light and get going.’

Originally, I had planned to fill my stomach at the academy’s dining hall before heading out.

But when I thought about it again—

I was on my way to hunt monsters for weapon enhancement materials.

It was far better to go light than to move with a heavy stomach.

So instead of eating a full meal, I decided to just curb my hunger a bit.

‘To think I’d actually get to taste this honey beef sandwich myself.’

The name of this café was Hunter’s Inn, located inside the academy.

In the game, it was simply a shop that sold recovery-type items.

And according to the setting, the most popular dish here was this honey beef sandwich.

“…It’s pretty good.”

The blend of sweetness and saltiness was perfectly balanced.

No wonder it was their best-selling menu item.

‘Feels like I’ll be coming here often from now on.’

Once I officially entered the Disciplinary Committee Route, I probably wouldn’t even have time to eat properly.

So this place might end up being where I’d grab quick meals.

‘Well, there’s no point thinking that far ahead yet.’

That assumption was based on me actually entering the Disciplinary Committee Route in earnest.

To fulfill that assumption, I first needed to focus on the immediate goal.

“Alright, let’s go.”

After finishing the sandwich, I stood up from my seat.

I roughly knew the location of the monster I had to hunt.

‘A valley located east of the academy. The rocky mountain deep inside that valley.’

The academy’s main gate closed at 11 p.m.

Which meant I absolutely had to return before then.

If I didn’t make it back in time, I’d have to sleep outside or spend the night at an inn beyond the academy walls.

‘Busy from the very first day after transmigrating, huh.’

I hadn’t known I could live this diligently.

In my old world, I would’ve just taken things slowly, putting off anything I could until the very end.

But in this world, if I stayed weak, I could really die.

No matter how much money I had right now, without power, my future would be uncertain.

Knowing that made me fear this world— and pushed me to move more earnestly than I ever had before.

‘Besides, honestly… it’s kind of fun, too.’

I had truly loved this game, Valiant’s Legacy.

So being inside it, growing stronger like a character, was… in its own way, enjoyable.

‘Of course, it’s reality now—one death means it’s all over.’

Just like the saying: one coin, one life.

I needed to grow stronger if I wanted to stay alive.

It was fun, sure, but it also demanded constant tension.

‘I’ll have to get used to the pain, too. If I’m fighting on the front lines with a sword, I should be prepared to take some hits.’

With those thoughts, I headed toward the academy’s main gate.

I had explored the academy during the day, so now I planned to explore its surroundings by evening.

“I think it was around here…”

About thirty minutes after leaving the academy.

I climbed up a rocky mountain, scanning my surroundings.

“Damn, they really made the terrain here a pain in the ass.”

I grumbled as I struggled my way up the rocks.

Back in the game, I had always used a Warp Scroll to come here.

The reason I’d wasted such a precious item every time was simply because walking up here was an absolute nightmare.

‘It was awful even in the game, but actually climbing it in person? It’s even worse.’

If possible, I would’ve chosen another method, but unfortunately, when it came to weapon enhancement, I didn’t have that luxury.

To enhance my Mistcatcher, I absolutely had to hunt the monsters that lived on this mountain.

‘The Mistcatcher can only be enhanced using Rock Lizard bones. But wait… can I even take down a Rock Lizard right now?’

Rock Lizards had notoriously high defense.

And I, too, had high defense—but pitiful attack power.

At least, that’s how my character had been in the game.

Even then, hunting Rock Lizards had always been a struggle.

‘They probably can’t kill me, but I might not be able to kill them either.’

A sudden wave of concern hit me.

After going through all this trouble to get here, it’d be frustrating to come back empty-handed…

“…Hm?”

While I paused to rest on the mountain, a red dot suddenly appeared on my back.

No— appeared wasn’t quite right.

Since it was behind me, I obviously couldn’t see it.

But somehow, instinctively, I knew there was a red dot on my back.

Cheng—!

I swiftly drew my sword and brought it behind me.

I managed to block the strike of the creature that had snuck up from behind.

“…Came right to me, huh.”

When I turned around, I saw a lizard about two meters tall, standing upright.

Its skin was covered in brown, rock-like scales.

“Whew…”

After deflecting the Rock Lizard’s ambush, I quickly backed away to create distance.

‘Stay calm and think.’

I locked eyes with the monster in front of me.

It might have been a common mob, but for someone like me who had invested everything in defensive swordsmanship, it wasn’t going to be easy.

Especially since, with my unenhanced sword and lack of gear, I couldn’t pierce through its rocky hide.

‘I’ll have to aim for the eyes or mouth. Those were its weak points in the lore.’

Recalling the Rock Lizard’s background settings, I raised my sword.

And then—I waited.

Waited for the Rock Lizard to make the first move.

After a tense standoff, the Rock Lizard leaped toward me.

Kraaaah—!

With a guttural roar, it charged straight at me.

The red dot showed exactly where it would strike.

But this time, instead of blocking— I dodged.

Then, I thrust my sword into the Rock Lizard’s mouth.

“Keugh?! K-Keugh……”

I could feel the strength draining from the Rock Lizard’s body.

Still, just in case, I stabbed the inside of its mouth once more.

As its throat was slashed again, the Rock Lizard’s massive body collapsed.

“…So this works.”

It seemed like the best approach was to aim for the Rock Lizard’s weak points — its eyes and inside of its mouth.

And if one of them showed up here, that meant there had to be a Rock Lizard habitat nearby.

“Let’s just hunt ten.”

If I’d had more time, I would’ve hunted more, but unfortunately, I didn’t have much time today.

Besides, considering my current condition, it’d be difficult to hunt too many monsters.

No matter how high a skill level I had, it meant nothing without a weapon, relic, or item to back it up.

‘I should at least enhance my weapon to some extent.’

To do that, I’d probably have to put in some hard work tonight.

At the same time, in the Lysquare Academy cafeteria.

“Hey, have you heard about someone named Gideon?”

“The guy who beat Lady Sara in the Swordsmanship Class duel today? From that baron’s family?”

“Yeah, that’s him! I heard he blocked all of Lady Sara’s attacks and won.”

“And apparently, he also blocked every magic arrow that came flying out of the training machine earlier……”

Several students were chatting about Gideon.

It was inevitable that his name would come up.

After all, Gideon was the only one who had left such an impression on everyone from the very first day of the semester.

“…So I’ve heard. What do you think, Sara?”

Listening to the nearby conversation, Jason chuckled.

“Seems like everyone’s talking about you and Gideon these days.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“I’m just asking what you think about it.”

Jason smirked as he took a bite of his steak.

“If I had to put it another way… how does it feel to be the side character that makes the protagonist of a novel stand out more?”

“Jason, watch your words. You’re in front of the Princess.”

“Heh, I don’t know. I get the feeling Lady Layla would actually like to hear you say something harsh.”

“Fufu, he’s not wrong.”

Layla, who was sitting between the two, laughed with interest.

“I might actually want to hear Sara say something rough once in a while.”

“…I’m sorry, but I would never utter such words in front of the Princess.”

“You’ll say it someday. And Sara, didn’t we agree you’d call me Layla now?”

“Ah, yes. Lady Layla.”

“Heehee. But you know, what if we went back to how we were as kids here at the academy? Forget about titles, talk comfortably like we used to.”

“Hmm……”

“Uh……”

Both Jason and Sara couldn’t give her an answer.

Seeing their reactions, Layla nodded with a small sigh.

“Alright, I get it. I should consider your positions too. Fine then, let’s talk about something else.”

“What shall we talk about, Lady Layla?”

“Hmm… maybe we should talk about Gideon, like everyone else is. His swordsmanship looked impressive to me. What do you think, Jason?”

“I agree. It’s extremely defensive, but that defense is flawless. I’d like to challenge that perfect defense myself someday.”

“But that’s the problem—it’s only perfect in defense.”

Sara spoke with a meaningful expression.

“His attacks were clearly awkward. If you exploit that, then surely……”

“I don’t know… I don’t think it’s that simple. Sara, he might be stronger than you think—maybe even a real tough opponent.”

“He’s just some nobody. As the daughter of the Isrinbloom Ducal Family, I won’t lose to someone like that.”

“Then what about today’s duel?”

“…Shut up.”

Sara glared at Jason for a moment, then sighed and changed the subject.

“Anyway, I should go see Lisa later, but the timing’s kind of tricky.”

“Yeah, I wanted to see her too… but she looked really busy.”

“Lisa’s in the Disciplinary Committee now, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Jason nodded.

“I heard there was some incident last year, and she ended up being the only one left in the committee. So she’s been busy handling everything alone.”

“They’re not recruiting new members?”

“If I heard correctly, most clubs will start recruiting new members soon.”

“I see.”

Layla and Jason continued talking about Lisa, while Sara quietly ate and looked around the cafeteria.

As if she were searching for someone.

Seeing that, Jason smirked again.

“Looking for Gideon?”

“W-what are you talking about? Why would I—”

“For someone who acts like she hates him, you sure seem curious about him.”

“T-that’s not it.”

“Well, I get it. I’d probably be curious too if I suddenly had a rival. But you’re right… Gideon is nowhere to be seen. It’s dinner time, though.”

Jason also looked around, but the white-haired boy was nowhere to be found.

“Maybe he’s not eating dinner? Why isn’t he here?”

“Perhaps he plans to eat outside, Lady Layla.”

Sara quickly lost interest again and continued eating.

“Let’s just focus on our meal instead of worrying about him.”

That’s what she said, but deep down, she couldn’t help but wonder.

What was that man—someone she had to defeat someday—doing right now?

“Ugh, this is so damn disgusting.”

Catching Rock Lizards turned out to be easier than expected.

But the real problem was something else entirely.

“Why the hell… am I personally separating a lizard’s bones and flesh… damn it.”

Using the Mistcatcher, I split open the Rock Lizard’s corpse and gathered its bones into one pile.

I never imagined I’d ever end up doing something like this in my life.

“The smell’s disgusting.”

A foul stench rose from the Rock Lizard’s blood smeared on my sword, but I clenched my teeth and kept working.

In games, monsters dropped items right after dying, but this world clearly wasn’t a game.

I had to personally butcher the monster’s corpse to extract the materials I needed.

“Haa… fine. Since I decided to live properly here, I’ll just grit my teeth and endure it.”

It wasn’t like I had chosen to transmigrate into this game, but still—I kept grinding for items with that mindset.