The Banished Villainous Noble Son Who Was Used as a Stepping Stone in the Original Work Awakens to Combat and Destroys the Laws of the World - Episode 23: Mock Battle, Once More

Episode 23: Mock Battle, Once More

――Evening, at the guild training grounds.

“You’ve been kept waiting. Gilius-san is now free, so everything is ready.”

The receptionist who guided me from the counter bowed politely.

Beyond her was the towering man, Gilius. He was standing with arms crossed in the center of the training grounds. 

“Oh… You coming all the way to consult with me—just what’s going on?”

Gilius raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

But within that gaze, there also seemed to be a faint trace of anticipation.

“Well, I thought I’d re-learn a bit about ‘swordsmanship’.”

“‘Swordsmanship,’ huh.”

The moment he heard that word, Gilius’ eyes turned sharp and dangerous.

“The fact that you’re bringing up ‘re-learning’ at this point just makes things even more confusing…”

Gilius paused for a moment and crossed his arms.

“Well, I’ll admit, your movements last time were surprising. No matter how you look at it, they were the movements of someone ‘used to it’.”

Gilius stared intently at me. And for some reason, he grinned.

“‘Noble education’ sure hides some deep stuff, huh?”

(True, noble education drilled forms into me. But just “learning forms” doesn’t mesh with the current sense of combat. In fact, it starts from here.)

“Well, if the basics I learned are proving useful, that’s all the better. More importantly—can I ask?”

With a slight smile, I leaned forward naturally as I said it.

“…Yeah. Man, how badly do you wanna fight, anyway?”

◆

I took a mock sword in hand and quietly assumed a stance.

The forms were already ingrained in my body.

Even so――

(It’s beyond this.)

The forms I had refined through training until now.

But to move forward, I needed “an opponent’s movement.”

Today was for learning that.

Gilius stepped in.

A heavy sound from his footwork.

The movement of his muscles entered my vision.

“Here I come!”

The first strike.

Just like last time, I could read the initial motion.

The angle of his step, the opening of the shoulders, the twist of the hips—all of it neatly captured in my view.

I twisted my body sideways just in time and dodged.

Spinning around, I raised my mock sword—

Gilius reflexively blocked it.

The wooden swords clashed with a sharp, dry sound.

Gilius let out a faint grunt.

“Alright, next I’ll ‘bait’ you.”

With those words, Gilius’ sword wavered slightly in its trajectory.

A brief feint.

A deliberate shifting of balance that exposed an opening.

(A bait… but…)

I saw through the motion and slightly pulled back the foot that was about to step forward.

I read it.

Gilius’ sword instantly changed its path and thrust forward.

I narrowly dodged and counterattacked from the side.

He blocked again.

Once, twice, three times—the swords clashed. And each time, my breathing grew hotter.

(This is it!)

Because I had refined the forms, I could now see the opponent’s “instabilities” in detail.

Slight shifts in balance, timing of breaths, misdirection through gaze, the rhythm of real combat.

All of that was now beginning to sink into my body.

The mock battle continued.

Gilius changed his rhythm again. He launched irregular feints.

But I adjusted my reaction speed in response.

(The “movement corrections” that static forms alone can’t reach… this is what I lacked until now.)

As a sharp thrust came at me, I slid my foot diagonally and deflected the sword with minimal movement.

As I deflected, I traced the sword’s trajectory and slipped in a counter.

Gilius blocked it on reflex. But his arm was slightly pushed back.

The next moment, we both stepped back and widened the distance.

“Haha… that one was dangerous.”

Gilius’ mouth curved into a wide grin.

My breathing wasn’t erratic.

In fact, I felt my focus sharpening.

(The noise… is gone.)

It was as if all sound had vanished from the training grounds.

Only the sound of Gilius’ footsteps echoed like a drumbeat in my ears.

It felt like a faraway world.

That’s how deeply my consciousness had sunk into the “battle” itself.

The sword forms, my footwork—I wasn’t thinking about them.

My body simply responded naturally.

That alone――

(This is fun…!)

Even my thoughts were melting into the rhythm of battle.

Just how deep can I sink into this?

The moment I wondered that—

(I see it.)

A single step.

A slight drop of the hips.

A fleeting change in spacing.

Just that much, and I could fully grasp the opponent’s next move.

Not a reflex.

Not even a “prediction.”

(It’s understanding.)

In that instant, it felt as if the world had become one step clearer.

《Skill level-up confirmed》

《Skill: Swordsmanship Lv.1 → Lv.2》

That message surfaced quietly from the depths of my consciousness.

(It’s here.)

Without breaking my stance, my body moved naturally.

Gilius’ sword approached.

But already, its path was—

“――!?”

Gilius’ eyes widened for a moment.

I deflected his strike without waste. And immediately, I flowed my blade in.

My mock sword lightly touched Gilius’ side.

“Haha…!”

Gilius stepped back. The corner of his mouth lifted in a grin.

On his face was a mix of surprise and joy.

Without lowering his stance, Gilius stared straight at me.

In his gaze now was a “pure curiosity” different from the feints earlier.

“Hey now… you’re nothing like before, are you?”

His words carried the weight of someone who had been instructing me.

He lightly swung his mock sword.

There was no looseness, no holding back.

Rather, I had now become an “opponent” worth showing his true strength to.

His eyes said as much.

Gilius stepped in again.

A deeper, sharper step than before.

The distance between us collapsed in an instant.

(This is it!)

Just before his sword came down heavily, I naturally took a half-step back.

Sliding my blade outward to guide his trajectory.

“…!”

Gilius’ sword cut through empty space.

I read the subtle flow of force and used that momentum to slip to his side.

(It’s not reaction. Not prediction. It’s understanding.)

The movement of his muscles, his gaze, his footwork—

All of it, in the midst of battle, conveyed itself as a kind of “language.”

And I answered with my sword.

“Hmph…!”

Gilius blocked.

This time, our mock swords locked firmly.

But not at the tip of the blades—

In that “gap” between them, a battle of reading each other’s intentions clearly took place.

A moment of mind games.

How would the opponent interpret a slight weight shift?

How would they react to a tiny feint?

Even this exchange—I now found it enjoyable.

(I see. So this is what it means to “fight another person”.)

Completely different from fighting monsters.

Unpredictable thoughts.

Shifting tactics.

(It’s fun. I don’t need a reason to fight. But I…)

I stepped in deeper.

(In this moment, I can truly feel that I’m “alive”.)

That feeling alone was what drove Alphonse even further into the depths.

(Note: There’s an Interlude after this chapter that you can buy with coins.)

Original Author’s Comment:

――――――――――――

Thank you for reading again today!!

Please continue to follow Alphonse’s story as it goes on!!

※Based on some feedback from readers, I made slight adjustments to improve readability.

Thank you so much for your helpful input!!

(Here’s the link if you want to support the Author: https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818622176303375188.)