L99VL 15

Chapter 15……

Whoosh—

It had already been half a month since Eric defied everyone’s expectations and won his duel against Ivan.

Having fully recovered over the past few days, Eric returned to the training ground. Before him, a sharp strike descended, and he hastily raised his wooden sword.

Whack—!

“Ugh!”

The impact rattled down to his bones. His tingling hands almost caused him to drop the wooden sword, but he grit his teeth and tilted his head back, bracing against the next attack.

Whoooosh—

“Eek!”

The tip of the sword grazed his nose by mere inches. Startled by the sound, he glanced at Leona and broke into a cold sweat. She was training seriously, with not a trace of a smile on her face.

“How long are you going to keep just blocking, Prince? Where did the skill you showed during our duel go?”

A flurry of strikes that was nearly impossible to track with the eyes.

Had Eric been so impressed by how she dodged his first strike in the duel against Ivan? Every time she clashed with him at full force, forgetting for a moment that he was powerless, he felt his blood run cold.

“No… even back then, my attacks weren’t really that strong…”

Crack—!

“Argh…”

Riding the momentum, the nonstop strikes forced him to retreat for a moment. In the blink of an eye, a wooden sword stabbed into his side, lifting his body into the air as his back bent unnaturally.

Thud—

“Ugh…”

After rolling across the floor several times, Eric finally stopped, relieved that his organs weren’t damaged despite the near hits.

It still hurt like hell, though.

“Strange… I timed it similarly to the speed you showed in the duel. And even when you took out that named monster in the sewer before… are you stronger in real combat than in training?”

Leona recounted the sparring session quietly, giving no glance to Eric’s bruised body. He quietly leaned against the wall, scratching his head with a bitter smile.

‘…I shouldn’t have said I could see where the attack would come from. I didn’t actually see it—I just recognized the preparation moves from thousands of sword strikes I’ve practiced.’

He had just given a vague excuse at the time. He never imagined it would come back like this.

‘But it’s not like I can claim I predicted the sword path just by her stance after only a month of sword practice. …Well, whatever. At least it’s better than only striking scarecrows.’

Ding—

[Your body adapts to its current limits.]
[Stamina increased by 1.]

Eric checked the message that popped up during sparring and smiled, pleased at the message that seemed to blow away his fatigue.

Although he ended each session bruised and exhausted to the point where standing still was difficult, his stats increased quickly. Excluding the days when Leona had him go to the healing room without even touching a wooden sword, he had already gained one stamina point in just a week.

‘Hitting scarecrows used to be the most effective. But that kind of simple training is losing efficiency now. Looks like I’ll have to rely on Leona for a while.’

<Eric Ather>
Level: -99
Strength [5]
Agility [5]
Stamina [6]
Mana [2]
Traits: <Indomitable>, <Neurotoxin>

Creak—

“So, you’re giving up this vacation?”
“There was an avalanche in the Nibosus Mountains recently. I was going back to my hometown for the first time in a while, but the road was blocked by snow. No choice.”
“Why not take a detour?”

Eric grinned at the updated status window, but then noticed the knights entering the training ground one by one.

“The mountains surround the area. A detour would add at least three days. How could I make a half-month vacation… ah.”

A knight walking ahead met Eric’s eyes and froze with a worried expression.

“…Good morning, Prince.”
“Training with Lady Leona again today?”

They lowered their heads with reluctant expressions. Another knight followed, greeting him playfully.

“Don’t even talk about it. He was fine during the duel with Ivan, but at this rate, he might die during sparring.”

Eric shrugged with a cheerful smile at their remarks. After the duel, not only Leona had changed—the knights who witnessed it also treated him differently.

They didn’t completely recognize him as a proper prince after one duel, but at least they no longer openly ignored or challenged him.

‘Most of them couldn’t attach themselves to Allen or Ivan, but given my current standing, I can be grateful for this.’

At first, only knights not chosen for succession approached, but as Eric continued to achieve feats, even neutral talents or those already under the brothers could be drawn closer.

‘To clear this hellish difficulty, I’ll have to push aside the other two brothers and claim the heir’s seat.’

Despite being weak and reckless, Eric had slain named monsters, won duels, gained traits, and increased stats. But “Protect Humanity” wasn’t a game that could be cleared by one strong player.

Even a powerful player alone couldn’t protect humanity, let alone their own domain. They needed to grow their domain, recruit talents, and deploy them effectively to fight monsters constantly attacking.

‘To do that, I need to embrace and utilize even the knights left behind in the competition.’

“Honestly, you weren’t fine. There was a hole in your chest then…”
“Prince.”

As Eric chatted briefly with them during a break, Leona, having finished her review, approached. The knights instinctively stepped aside.

“Once you’re done resting, we’ll move to the next training.”
“Wait, my side… ow, ow, ow!”

Annoyed, Leona grabbed him as he weakly held his injured side.

Thwack—!

“…Prince, do you have no pride?”
“Pride?”

As Eric swung at a scarecrow in the corner, Leona muttered her discontent quietly.

“The people earlier… all laughed at you, didn’t they? Yet as soon as you won, they cling to you like nothing happened. Their true intentions are obvious.”

Her earlier annoyance at the knights surprised Eric. Usually indifferent outside of career concerns, her reaction was unexpected.

‘Maybe she’s reacting because she was belittled alongside me?’

It was good someone else was angry on his behalf, but he couldn’t leave it unchecked.

‘With this weak, reckless body, anyone he meets will initially look down on him. Her hostility won’t help.’

“Succession fights are like that. They’re all Ather knights. Whether you like it or not, who inherits the duke’s seat determines their future. Recognizing someone previously belittled isn’t easy.”

Eric pondered briefly, then spoke quietly.

“But… Lady Leona.”

She hesitated, conflicted, unwilling to admit it. Eric lowered his wooden sword briefly.

“How about you? Becoming a knight as a woman… the world probably didn’t view you favorably.”

Leona recalled her past.

“…Honestly, it wasn’t good. Even my parents, who laughed off my tomboy antics, scolded me when I said I wanted to be a knight.”

In the harsh northern lands, becoming a female knight involved many injustices.

“At the academy, it was worse. Fellow students avoided sparring with me, and some professors suggested I drop out just because I was a woman.”

Even in a meritocratic north, not everyone was evaluated under equal conditions. Opportunities varied by status, gender, origin, and wealth.

That was why, after the duel, some knights held Eric’s hand. If he ever became duke, he’d gain far better opportunities.

“Still, I proved myself with skill. Those who initially ignored me, by graduation, praised me as top of my class.”

Leona spoke bitterly, then ended with a satisfied expression.

“Same here.”

Eric nodded quietly, smiling.

“Look at me. I beat Ivan and proved myself. Those knights who dismissed me now call me a proper prince.”
“That’s…”

Though some details differed, the essence was the same. She had experienced a similar struggle. Only the perspective differed—participant or observer.

“The past doesn’t matter. What matters is how much they can support me now. And isn’t it more satisfying to gain recognition from someone who used to ignore you than someone always favorable?”

Easy games are boring. That’s why he sought higher difficulty levels, even after clearing many in Protect Humanity.

The harder the challenge, the greater the satisfaction. The same applied to human relationships. Approval from a tough critic felt better than from someone always favorable.

‘Though I didn’t expect to be trapped in such absurd difficulty.’

“Also, think about it. You didn’t view me favorably at first either. You probably wondered why you should train a reckless, undisciplined guy like me.”
“I-I didn’t think that much!”

Flustered, Leona waved her hands. Rumors aside, it wasn’t entirely false.

“See? That means you roughly saw me in the same way.”
“Ugh…”
“Haha! Just kidding. Even if it’s true, it’s not entirely wrong.”

Eric couldn’t hold back laughter. Whatever she had thought, it didn’t matter now. The important thing was the present, not the past.

“…You’re more mischievous than I expected.”

Bang—!

Leona glared at him. Eric wondered how to respond when suddenly a door burst open.

“Prince Allen!”

A loud voice echoed through the doorway.

‘Huh? That’s…’

Someone stepped inside. Eric squinted at the familiar face.

“Prince Allen is currently at the frontlines.”
“Ah… then Prince Ivan?”
“He has returned months ago, but is out today.”

A small figure with long red hair, asking questions innocently despite all eyes on the training ground.