Terminally-Ill Genius Dark Knight

Chapter 5

[Health stat increased by 0.1!]

[Health stat increased by 0.1].

.

.

.

Weeks later, as I pranced around the training grounds, I briefly recalled the first time I saw Talia’s stat window.

[Insight]. I had seen it using the trait that allows you to view your character’s stats.

__________________

[Basic Info].

Name: Talia von Steiner

Gender: Female

Age: 14

Race: Human

Primary Element: Fire

Achievements: -.

[Traits].

Affirmations: [Heroism] / [Chivalry] / [Straightforward Temper] / [Mastery of Swords and Martial Arts].

Neutral: -.

Negative: [Inferiority complex] / [Immature] / [Arachnophobia]]

[Stats]

Health: 6

Magic: 3

Luck: 5

Willpower: 7

Charm: 20

[Skills].

Passive Skills: -.

Active Skills: –

__________________

“…I mean, that’s some crazy talent…….”

Talia was one of the best talents we’ve seen in the game.

While she doesn’t have the potential of the three Swordsmen or the four Sages on the continent, she’s right up there with them in terms of talent.

Basically, she has three times my physical strength.

Considering that the average adult male in the Inner Lunatic has only 4 hit points, you can see that she already exceeds that.

Magic is a bummer, but Willpower can’t be ignored.

Charm is just a rough indication of how pretty and attractive you are.

It doesn’t have much effect on how easy it is to win the favor of other NPCs.

No, it doesn’t.

Now that we’re in the real world, maybe attractiveness is pretty important?

Well, that wasn’t the real problem anyway.

The real problem is that the fire elemental magic she uses is later replaced by white flame, which causes Knox to die in flames.

As it turns out, I did. I’m in no position to befriend her.

Of course, at first I thought I could save the day by getting to know her, but…….

but that was impossible.

What is the biggest advantage I have in my hands?

I know the flow of the main story and have a complete grasp of the political situation.

Through a whopping 27 clears.

However, if I were to recruit Talia as an ally here, it would open up a whole host of future storylines.

If I enlist her as an ally, it could derail all my plans and lead to Knox’s death by Baal.

I decided to enter the main story at the very least to find my identity.

I also decided to fight my brothers, even though it was going to be dirty.

There was no reason for me to be a variable in this situation.

So I said,

“I don’t care. Why don’t you go away?”

The words came out of my mouth with an edge.

…I was going to get killed by her anyway, but the first encounter was the worst.

I’m fucked. That was it in a nutshell.

“Shit.”

But there’s nothing I can do about it.

From now on, I’ll just have to see her as little as possible. As good as she is by nature, if I don’t make a nuisance of myself, Talia won’t attack me first.

Maybe.

“Huh.”

I exhale lightly, and the figure of a maid jogs along beside me, startled. A familiar face, too. It was Rona.

“Huh… Huh… Master… Are you really going to keep running with me?”

“Of course. If you, my maid, don’t run with me, what’s the fun… I mean, who’s going to cover for me?”

I frowned, and Lorna resumed her trot with a sullen expression. I took the white towel from her hand and wiped the sweat from my brow before handing it back.

“Here, one more thing to work on.”

“…….”

“You’re cursing under your breath.”

“Oh, I wasn’t. I chewed my tongue….”

I kept running, enjoying Rona’s reactions. Before I knew it, I was at 3.8 health.

You might be thinking, “That’s easy…” but I can assure you it’s not.

I had already lost a whole month of time.

It was. Shit. Tomorrow is finally the day of the competition.

“I’m not getting any better… I’m going up 0.2 in one day…….”

“What?”

Rona asks, hearing my mumbling, but I shake my head and pick up the pace, running faster. Rona grunted her disapproval but kept up.

“Hmm… at this rate, she should have some stamina, right?

Curious, I opened Lorna’s status window to check her health, and the results were shocking.

4.5

It was.

Extraordinary Rona’s initial stats were higher than the stats I’d been blessed with and spent a month working on.

That’s not fair, man.

* * *

For the past month, Talia had been taking knightly lessons from the leading knights of the Rineharbor family.

Although she could train and learn swordsmanship in her own family, the Steiner family, it was common for nobles to send their children to other families for knightly training.

Talia, in particular, is the second daughter of the prestigious House of Steiner, but she is considered to be far less talented than her eldest sister, Chel von Steiner.

As a result, she was always in her sister’s shadow, unable to fulfill her own talents.

She was always compared to her sister.

Sweating profusely, Talia staggered to a chair outside the rehearsal hall.

Still, she hadn’t forgotten. The cold look in her sister’s eyes as she watched her defeat in the tournament, the contempt in her expression.

She sincerely wanted to be a knight, but there was more to it than she realized.

There was chivalry, of course, but there was also the mindset, and the learning of many swords and their forms.

And…… above all, it must be accompanied by a good and straight heart.

‘…But a kid who’s only been training for a month is supposed to be able to defeat his brothers who’ve been training for years, and are a year older?’

It was ridiculous.

I know this because I had a sister who was a year older, and I had a senior who was overwhelmingly talented.

No way would Knox be able to beat his brothers.

If he faced the sword with such a light heart, he would never be able to accomplish what he wanted.

Talia was sure he would fall to his death here.

Just as she was thinking that, the heads of the household, Rodwell and Theo, sat down to watch the duel, the latter, of course, being the most honored.

Theo, hands clasped together, spoke first.

“Rodwell. What do you think?”

“You mean the duel between Master Allen and Master Knox?”

“Yes.”

It was an obvious question. Because right now, in the octagonal arena, Allen, the older of the twins, and Knox, the younger, were preparing to do battle.

Rodwell answered immediately.

“Of course, from what I’ve seen so far, Master Allen will win.”

“Aye. Of course.”

For some reason, though, Theo’s response was to stare blankly out at the arena, and it wasn’t hard to figure out what that meant.

‘You disagree with me.’

It was about a month ago, when the young lady of House Steiner visited House Reinhafer, that Knox began to change.

Theo, the patriarch, seemed to favor Knox.

Indeed, even Rodwell, for a brief moment, was surprised by his strength.

But even so, he did not think Knox would win this contest; it was a miscommunication, an impossibility.

The sword is at times splendid, and at times the most simple.

It’s skill is partly determined by how long you’ve been practicing, and partly by how much you’ve thought about it.

There was only one thing that could overturn all of that and bring a man to his knees.

Heavenly talent. Overwhelming talent.

But Rodwell didn’t think Knox had it in him.

His demeanor so far?

He was timid, flaky, naggingly ill, and suffered from cold feet in the winter.

He was a terribly weak creature, catching a cold at least ten times a month.

If holding the sword for just one month changed anything, it was that…

then he and other leading swordsmen should retire immediately.

“I agree with some of your thoughts, Mr. Rodwell.”

Rodwell shifted his gaze in the direction of the sound.

There was Theo, still looking down with bored eyes.

“But the chances aren’t zero, at least not if you have the blood of these Rineharbor men.”

In that moment, Rodwell caught it. For the briefest of moments, Theo’s eyes lit up with interest.

“Perhaps the youngest is as gifted as the three swordsmen.”

* * *

“Hey, Knox. Why don’t you give up now, even if you’re a disgrace to the family, you’re my little brother…… and I can’t beat you too badly, can I?”

Allen says sarcastically, a wicked grin on his face as he slings an impossibly heavy-looking greatsword over his shoulder.

“You don’t look like you’re giving up at all,” I reply, feigning nonchalance.

“You don’t look like you’re giving up at all, do you?”

“Haha, did you catch that? I’m actually a bit greedy to look good for the young lady of House Steiner. I’m sure you’ll help me with that.”

“Well, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

I could only say that it was.

The Steiners, the family most responsible for the demise of House Rineharbor. And he had his eye on their second daughter.

I could sell her for the world. I should be lucky not to have a sword to my throat right now…….

But the twins didn’t know that.

They even misunderstood.

“I suppose you’re of the same opinion as I am, though Miss Talia is quite beautiful.”

Allen nodded and laughed for a moment, then grabbed his sword in one hand and stretched it out in front of him.

What is it, that strength?

He was a monster, as the family name implied.

I sighed as I opened Allen’s status window before the fight.

__________________

[Basic Info].

Name: Allen Von Reinhafer

Gender: Male

Age: 15

Race: Human

Primary Element: Darkness

Achievements: -.

[Traits].

Positives: [Master of swordsmanship and martial arts]

Neutral: [Manifestation of darkness]

Negative: [Arrogance] / [Pride] / [Contempt]

[Stats].

Health: 8

Magic: 5

Luck: 6

Willpower: 5

Charm: 16

[Skills].

Passive Skills: -.

Active Skills: -.

__________________

‘I can’t believe you have 8 health….’

In Inner Lunatic, health works similarly to strength in other games, which means that I’m way behind in terms of strength. [1]

Furthermore, now I realize that I failed to raise my health stat by 0.2 yesterday.

Damn.

Why am I so unlucky?

Is my original luck negative?

However, right now, I can only grip my sword and look straight ahead.

“We will then begin a formal contest for the right to attend Eldain Academy, Knox von Reinharber, and Allen von Reinhafer. You both must accept the outcome, and you will never be able to dispute it.”

One of the vassals turned to look at the judge. Then came his cold voice.

I took a deep breath. To be honest, I was shaking.

If I lost here, it was all over.

No recovering my memories, no finding out who had sent me the letter.

If I failed, I would have to end my life after a year’s reprieve.

Knowing this, I strengthened the hand that held the sword.

And with a signal, I stomped my foot.

“Go!”

Bam!

…and then I hit the ground.

A sword strike to the shoulder blade is accompanied by pain.

Apparently, Allen’s 8 health stat doesn’t lie.

I spat out a thick, bloody phlegm. In front of him, Allen is laughing hysterically.

Why?

He looks like Knox, and he’s certainly handsome, but he’s just plain annoying.

Was it a reflection of his lesser attractiveness?

BAM!

While I was thinking about that, a follow-up punch hit me in the stomach. There was far too much unforgiveness in the hand for a sibling duel.

But this was also the Reinhafer family tradition.

Earn your worth with your own hands.

To prove one’s worth with the sword and force of arms is what the Reinhafers do.

This means that if I lose here, I will have to lay it all down.

“…If you can win, you can have it all.”

“One blow, and you’ve turned into an asshole; what kind of bullshit is that?”

I reoriented my sword. Adopting a defensive stance, not looking to attack, I stare directly into my opponent’s eyes.

More attacks from Allen followed.

Pow! Billion! Bam!

BANG!

His wrist felt like it was being ripped apart. I’ve managed to parry a few of the attacks, but the damage is piling up as I take the rest.

I’m only managing to block about two out of ten. Most of Allen’s attacks hit me. I’m somehow managing to deflect some of the damage with my shoulders and elbows. I was hoping for an opening.

As I take the beating, the bruises on my body begin to grow.

Pow! Boom!

How much time had passed?

Seeing that I’m barely holding on, the vassal pauses the duel for a moment, as if to ask me to stop.

“Master Knox. Why don’t you give up the duel now? If you injure yourself further, it will take you a long time to recover.”

“No. I will continue.”

I said so with a determined expression. The vassal gave me an incomprehensible look.

To him, it must have seemed like everything I was doing was the work of a young mind.

But it wasn’t true. My current outburst was partly due to the fact that I was so desperate and resentful…

The biggest reason is.

[Health stat increased by 0.1].

[Talent ‘Genius with Swords and Martial Arts’ is activated!]

It was because I knew that I could win if I just held on a little longer.

“Haha….”

“Have you lost it now, Knox?”

Allen laughed sardonically, but I didn’t flinch.

I knew it. This is where it really begins.

At that moment, I activated a skill I’d been hiding.

[Activate Skill ‘Genius Hour’].

For a moment, the world seems to slow down, and every blink of my eye becomes crystal clear.

All the moving landscapes on my retina, the objects filling my vision.

Everything began to move very slowly, as if it had stopped.

‘This is… the hour of genius.

The hour of genius. It was a skill he’d had since he’d first possessed Knox.

A skill that slows down time many times over.

It was also the skill that showed the highest efficiency with the [Sword and Martial Arts Genius] trait I had now manifested.

The main advantage of this skill was that the scenery I saw and the movements of my enemies seemed slower.

However, there was one problem.

It’s one thing for the enemy to look slow, but it’s another thing for me to move fast.

But Genius with Swords and Martial Arts is a genius talent.

It’s a fraudulent trait that allows you to make your sword swing faster while the enemy is slowed down, but only slightly.

I realized at that moment.

that this battle would be won or lost here.

I felt a faint thrill of pleasure as I watched Allen’s sword slowly rush toward me.

And then.

Chae-ae-ang!

I had parried his blade perfectly for the first time.

I had heard it said somewhere.

Geniuses and prodigies live in different times.

[1] I think “constitution” would be better. Let me know if you’d rather have that in the comments