The Frugal Mage

Rayven wanted to watch this competition to learn more about the skills of the swordsmen similar to his age.

He wanted to see various combat styles, strengths, and weaknesses, just in case he was put in a situation where he had to deal with such people.

Thankfully, he really did so, as he realized how desperate other people could be.

The match between Seoryun and Harvey began, and everyone felt that it would be easy for the descendant of the Gwan Clan…

The cheers were focused on Seoryun, and no one was surprised about it since none of them had heard about Harvey in the first place.

"Hmm… Something's off." Mr. Thyruz, who had suddenly appeared beside him, said in a soft voice.

"Really?" Rayven asked.

"Yes… The young man's pupils are unnatural."

As Thyruz said this, Rayven also tried to see Harvey's eyes, but it was too far. He also doesn't have skills that could boost his sight.

Still, he could observe Harvey's movements.

His movements were twitchy, and he also seemed abnormally flexible, like his muscles were being pulled by invisible strings as the battle began.

"Harvey's movements look weird… Is this some kind of Sword Style? Drunken Sword or something?" Rayven asked.

"Huh? I've never heard of the Drunken Sword. In any case, I'm also not sure." Mr. Thyruz said as he needed more evidence before he could say what was on his mind.

"But it's weird, right?" Rayven continued.

"Well… Weird is an understatement. His body control looks… forced. Like his speed is borrowed, not trained."

Rayven nodded as he watched Seoryun change his stance into a defensive one.

"Prohibited drugs?" Rayven softly muttered. It was only Thyruz who heard his words.

"Mhmm… But it's difficult to prove with only those signs." The old man said as he looked at the judges.

Well, as expected, the judges didn't notice, or perhaps they deliberately ignored it.

After all, the early seeding matches weren't closely monitored, and no one expected a bottom-tier contestant like Harvey to pull something like this.

The crowd, however, cheered at the spectacle of Harvey's sudden burst of speed and power…

They didn't expect to find an entertaining duel in this first round of the duel.

"Where's your confident smile now?!"

Harvey dashed forward with an arrogant grin. He knew that as long as he maintained his speed and strength, he could overwhelm and overpower Seoryun soon.

Although he lacked the necessary sword skills, he believed that he could compensate with his speed and power!

"We'll see…" Seoryun said as he was simply assessing Harvey's abilities.

He actually had his servants gather information about the participants of this event. He could remember that Harvey's skills weren't as good as this…

It meant that the young man had probably improved overnight, and this could only happen if he suddenly gained some enlightenment or… used banned items to forcefully increase his power.

"Ha! You think I'll be scared of that… I'll show you I'm not a nobody!" Harvey shouted.

But Seoryun didn't flinch.

He remained calm as ever. He adjusted his footing to change his center of balance as he waited for Harvey's approach.

Then, he spoke softly to ensure that only Harvey could hear him.

"Borrowed strength will never defeat me."

Harvey was infuriated as he heard this. He dashed forward once again, and it even cracked the floor!

Harvey's sword was fast, and each swing was powered by his unstable, drug-fueled energy.

The crowd gasped as they realized that a single mistake could really cost a life at this point.

Still, to Seoryun, the movements were filled with openings!

Seoryun lowered his blade and waited for another attack… As soon as he found the right timing, he tilted just slightly.

The shift seemed simple, almost lazy, yet it was the Gwan Clan's Sword Technique!

"Come!!" Harvey shouted as he slashed with all his might, swinging down at Seoryun's shoulder.

CLANG!

The sound of steel rang out, but instead of meeting Harvey's strength head-on, Seoryun angled his blade to the side. With a single step and twist of his wrist, Harvey's overwhelming slash was diverted, his momentum was redirected just like that!

The crowd gasped. Harvey stumbled, but before he could recover, Seoryun moved again…

He stepped forward, turned, and redirected any attacks coming from Harvey!

Harvey's drugged body gave him unnatural power, but his technique lacked balance.

The faster he attacked, the more Seoryun made use of his weight and momentum, turning every blow into a trap.

This was the Gwan Clan's Sword Style… a style of flowing redirection, where the enemy's power was never opposed directly but guided into emptiness, into collapse.

"W-what?!" Harvey shouted and panicked… Then, it was at this time that his sword slipped out of position…

Seoryun didn't miss this opportunity. "Fall."

With one final step, Seoryun let Harvey overextend. The young man's sword dragged uselessly past his shoulder. At that exact instant, Seoryun turned his blade upward in a clean strike, hitting Harvey's chin with the blunt side.

Thud!

Just like that, Harvey's body lifted off his feet, before he crashed to the stage floor, completely unconscious.

"Winner! Seoryun!" the announcer declared.

Rayven smiled from his seat.

'As expected… Borrowed strength can never beat true mastery.'

If Harvey's sword skills were a bit better, he might really have a good chance of defeating Seoryun. However, instead of focusing on his own skills, he relied too much on that drug or whatever it was.

In the meantime, Seoryun sheathed his sword and descended the stage steps, and immediately, his attendants rushed to him.

"Young master, here… Cloth for the sweat!"

"Water, young master, please take a sip!"

They surrounded him immediately and drew some envy from other competitors after seeing how beautiful his servants were.

But then, one of the younger attendants hurried forward, holding out a folded document.

"Young mis—master, I brought you this document, it's about your next opponent, her name's Miki…"

The slip of the tongue made the other servants nervous.

Seoryun's eyes snapped toward the girl and were given a cold glare.

She paled instantly and shut her mouth, bowing deeply.

Thankfully, no one else was close enough to hear. The crowd's cheers still covered most of the sound.