134: The Third Storm (2)

Who is Irene Pareira?

Actually the question had been going around since he stepped into the Queen level.

It was because not much was known.

And there were his peers, Judith and Bratt Lloyd.

The two never appeared outside Krono, but still due to their skills, they were known throughout the continent.

Bratt, the greatest genius of Gerbera Kingdom and Judith the genius who came from the commoners side and would someday succeed Ignet.

They even received praises from Ian, who was stingy with his praises, so not having expectations was impossible.

But what about Irene?

There was no information.

Even though he was of the same age as Bratt and Judith, Ian never mentioned the kid.

Still, his skills were second to none.

No, even now, he was considered to be stronger than the two.

As such, when another provocative interview came out, the curiosity heightened, all the residents were talking about Irene.

All the magazines in the Land of Proof were writing speculative articles about him.

But the next day.

As soon as the article of Hinz, one of the trusted reporters, came out, people looked at Weekly Arena.

Which was because unlike the other magazines, Weekly Arena featured truth and facts regarding Irene.

“No, Irene Pareira is… he is said to be on the same level as Ilya Lindsay when he was a trainee?”

“Are you not looking at the article? It was said that in the final evaluation for the official position they were on the same level. At one time it was difficult to decide who was superior so they asked those two to take the test again, and Lindsay managed to win, so Pareira came second.”

“You believe this? Hu…”

“What, how can you not believe? It was none other than Bratt Lloyd who endorsed it.”

“A hidden secret… what the hell was he doing so far, these are just rumors!”

“You idiot, didn’t you see the article? It was mentioned in the end! It was said that he couldn’t come out because of family affairs!”

“Sorry, the moment I saw that article I was shocked…”

A talent comparable to Ilya Lindsay!

The residents were shocked.

A person who didn’t get much attention in the Land of proof was actually someone who had great potential.

They couldn’t even think that.

The eldest son of the Lloyd family, who is known to not speak much, was the one who directly disclosed the facts, who would not believe that?

Of course, that didn’t mean they all believed.

“Huh! Just because they were similar when they were young, doesn’t mean that they don’t have different skills in the present.”

“Right. And think about it. At that time, Ilya was in her early teens and Irene was in his mid teens. It doesn’t make sense to be on the same level when they were 3 years apart.”

“That is true… but doesn’t he seem to have the skills to challenge the champion?”

“What… we’ll see. It depends on his skills.”

Right.

People were still on Ilya’s side who had proved her skills.

So they were strictly criticizing Irene, who hadn’t shown his all.

Of course, such a view wasn’t a problem.

Next match.

Another match.

In the third match of Queen level which followed with Irene’s victory.

“The game is over! Irene Pareira wins!”

“Again, he won again!”

“Now he is at King Level! To rise to King level in 3 matches…”

“How could he not? Now everyone is waiting for the match with Ilya. I want to see it too.”

“Right… it isn’t like he lacks the skills, and seeing now it seems like King level and higher ones are his opponents.”

“Right. If he can win past one higher level ones, we might see the fight for the championship.”

“Huh, this generation is really amazing. Ignet and Ilya and as if they weren’t enough now Irene Pareira…”

It has been three weeks since those provocative interviews.

In just three weeks, Irene Pareira had turned into a famous person who was recognized even by the westerners.

And the help from Weekly Arena played a huge role in this change.

[Irene Pareira is the greatest talent I have ever taught. I can’t even use the expression ‘teaching’.]

An interview with John Drew.

[Irene is a great swordsman of this generation who puts in effort and is talented.]

An interview with Jet Frost, who was well known.

And that wasn’t the end.

A famous sword which could only be held by a Sword Master of a future Sword Master.

When it was known that the 10th Numbering Sword from Vulcanus was given to Irene, those who hated him could no longer complain.

Two months ahead of time.

Perhaps, the battle with Ilya and Irene would happen sooner than expected.

And it would be disappointing if Irene lost to someone before reaching there.

The residents of Eisenmarkt were praying that wouldn’t happen.

And while this happened here.

“…”

Irene wasn’t swept away but stayed faithful to what he had to do.

He woke up early in the morning when the darkness hadn’t gone yet and began to meditate.

The iron stakes in his heart were hard, but no longer clunky.

When he met Ilya Lindsay, flames which had grown strong enough to heat the entire iron and Irene’s will, which was stronger than the man’s will, fell on it.

Kang!

Kang!

The forged result wasn’t inferior to calling it a sword.

However, it wasn’t a satisfactory level.

‘More delicately, and the blade needs to be spread…’

Not just to form a sword, but he wanted to make a famous sword.

A sword which would be enough to compete with Ilya Lindsay.

Irene concentrated on that thought, and after eating a hearty meal he went to see John Drew.

“In this situation, it will be better to use the terrain…”

“Is that so? Wouldn’t it be better to respond this way?”

“Then… Uhm.”

John Drew’s teaching changed from practical matches to teaching.

The current Irene had completely established his own style which was unconventional yet sturdy.

And now they were on the same level and sometimes he was dominating enough to shock John Drew.

Of course, whenever John Drew managed to corner Irene, he would break through in an extraordinary way.

And Irene would think of the match from the others point of view and devise means to stop them and shock them.

‘No. It shouldn’t be like this. How much money did I get… I have nothing to teach now! I need to teach something for the money I got…’

“Swordsmanship teacher, why do you look gloomy? Would you want me to pay your more?”

“Ugh! No! It is fine! You don’t need to pay me anymore!”

“Huh? Why so? I looked around yesterday and I found a pretty watch, so I took it to give you…”

“Uh! Ughhh!”

‘… why is she doing that?!’

John Drew was weak for money, and Lulu constantly gave him money to encourage him.

Seeing that, Irene was puzzled.

He couldn’t understand why John Drew reacted as such.

Lulu was just appreciating his help.

‘But it is true that he has his limits.’

After discussing with John drew, Irene who was refining his swordsmanship nodded.

He was getting stronger.

Thanks to the influence of sorcery, and good teachers and the training in his mind, he gained power, and now he couldn’t be compared to the time he set foot in Eisenmarkt.

But still, he struggled against Master.

It was clear that he would still lose against Jet Frost even now.

But he wasn’t disappointed with that truth.

Irene, who had bathed, headed to the third arena, Land of Glory.

“Uh, huh?”

“Do we have an Irene Pareira match today? Or not? Why…”

“You idiot! Didn’t you hear the rumor? These days, King level ones go to matches and stuff to see.”

“Ahh, is that so? Well they are ranked in one way, if they came to see in advance…”

“It would be strange if they didn’t care. So don’t act up and stay silent.”

“Should I ask for an autograph later…”

Seeing Irene Pareira appearing in the grandstand of the arena, the audience were excited.

A familiar sight. He was already famous in the city and people would flock around if they saw him.

‘This is nice. He doesn’t have to talk now.’

Although people were excited to see him, they respected the privacy of the swordsman.

Irene felt grateful for it when he was shocked.

Far away, he saw Bratt Lloyd sitting opposite him.

‘He didn’t seem interested in the gladiator these days, did he came to see the match?’

Irene was working day and night to defeat Ilya Lindsay and Judith was burning with fighting spirit to reach Irene.

But unlike those two, Bratt lost interest in the matchs about three weeks after arriving in the city.

He was either drinking alcohol with Kuvar or concentrating on swords as a pastime.

Actually, Irene didn’t see that, just heard about it.

As he moved into John Drew’s mansion he hadn’t seen much of Bratt around.

If it wasn’t for Lulu who went there and met with them, Irene wouldn’t have even known.

‘Well, it is nice. Even though we are in the same place. I think it has been more than 10 days since I saw…’

Irene, who tried to smile and wave at Bratt, gave up.

He was concerned about the people who were watching him, and he quietly wanted to watch Bratt, whom he saw after a long time, react to the match.

With that, he was looking at the other side, and then a familiar figure sitting next to Bratt.

Judith.

Irene’s face brightened even more. It was because he hadn’t seen her in a long time too.

“…?”

However, something seemed strange about it.

He couldn’t quite say it.

Bratt looked like a noble and Judith mumbled something to him with a gloomy face.

In other words, there was little to no difference in Judith.

However, Irene, who could sense emotions because of sorcery, felt it.

Something, something was different…

“Oh oh!”

“Start!”

However, the idea didn’t last long.

It was because the match started.

After thinking about doing his examination at a later time, he looked at the fight between rankers.

‘I am sure that there is something to learn this time too.’

As the other people guessed, Irene wasn’t here to spy or look at their skills.

The reason he was here was because of his longing to learn.

What was the difference between the swordsmanship he had and the others?

What could be added and what could be removed? What more should he develop?

With such thought, Irene focused on the match.

And his sharp eyes watched the gladiators move.

Sword movement.

Body movement.

Furthermore, how the muscles worked, the slight movements and breathing…

It was the moment when he was analyzing the movement of the two rankers with extreme concentration.

Irene Pareira’s eyes saw something different begin to appear.

‘… oh?’