I Became The Academy’s Blind Swordsman

them wide, lunging at the blind man.

“That’s enough…!”

Quickly reaching the blind man’s nose, Relial’s legs drew a line, heading for the blind man’s face.

[Pfft!!!]

The blind man parried Relial’s kick with his sword, closing the distance.

Not a drop of blood trickled down his leg despite the contact with the blade.
His leg should have been cut off in an instant, but there wasn’t even a scratch.
This was the power of Relial’s Blood Strength.

Although it was an unremarkable talent, Blood Strength was technically magic.
It was a far cry from the simple physical enhancement of infusing mana into one’s body to strengthen it.

‘What the hell, it’s worth a try…?’

That was what Relial felt after the first exchange with the blind man.

The momentum soon evened out, and Relial exclaimed.

“…That’s it? If you think you can stop my ‘future’, you’re wrong!”

“…”

The blind man stared at Relial as he prepared to move but Relial couldn’t detect anything special about his mana usage.

It was ordinary and nothing more.

With such poor mana utilization, he’d be unable to use his sword properly.
His experience of watching countless mighty men from afar told him so.

Relial decided to push the blind man harder and his advance continued.

Relial’s fists come at the blind man at breakneck speed.
This time, however, the blind man swung his sword in response.

“You’re a blind man who can’t even handle mana… and you’re using a sword like that to… cut my arm!”

[Aah!]

Relial’s arm floats in the air, and then falls to the ground with a dull thud.

“Off… Ack!!!”

Relial stumbled back from the blind man, wincing at the pain of his severed arm.

He couldn’t understand.

‘Why…? Why…?’

It was a mediocre swordplay, as mediocre as his mana usage.

The blind man’s swordsmanship was a far cry from the swordsmanship of a mighty man like…’Sword Saint’…whom Relial had once watched from behind a wall as a child.

It would have been more akin to the swordplay of a child, a wannabe knight in any village but the blind man was still stronger than he was because strength was always relative, not absolute.

Relial managed to use his blood strings to staunch the severed arm.

“Huh… This is why I hate people who use swords…”

Relial hadn’t fallen yet.

He hadn’t given up however, his posture was completely disorganized, unlike his mental strength.

“Enough, I’m done.”

With that, the blind man charged at him and Relial threw his left arm out with all his might but his fist never made contact.

The blind man, who had ducked to avoid Relial’s punch just before it made contact, raised his sword and sliced off his remaining arm.

“AGH!!”

Despite the pain that made him lose his mind, Relial moved his legs in desperation and attacked.

[Aaah!]

As predicted, the blind man’s sword sliced through Relial’s leg.

With only one leg left intact, Relial lost his center of gravity and fell to the ground.

The blind man was strong.
Not as strong as Relial had expected, but simply stronger than him.

Relial was weak.
He had lived a life of weakness, but he had dreams.

Today, his dreams would come to an end, as would his unyielding determination.

“I didn’t mean to cause you pain, but I’m not a very good fighter.”

“…I haven’t given up yet.”

“I know, it’s just…It’s because you’re a Relial the Unyielding.”

The blind man continued to act as if he knew everything about him.

“Still, it’s better than a weak Relial, isn’t it?”

Not bad, Relial thought.

He had been a weakling all his life, a coward.

As long as it wasn’t one of those insulting names he’d heard countless times, he thought it was okay to be called ‘Relial the Unyielding.’

“…I see.”

Even as Relial’s consciousness faded he was not giving up.

He didn’t close his eyes and suddenly, his owl, hovering in the center of the room, swooped down on the mouse on the floor.
The mouse squirmed in the owl’s sharp talons, but it was no match for the owl’s weight.

The owl’s sharp beak ripped through the flesh near the rat’s neck as the blind man walked over to the fallen Relial and laid him to rest.