Blade Over Magic

Selling Information

The surrounding students gaped, the sergeant raised a brow, and Zachary stared at Xander with wide eyes as he finally registered what just happened.

”You...” He started, but Xander squinted at him.

”Do you concede or not?” He said, pressing his blade closer. Zachary’s jaw clenched, but eventually, he let out a breath.

”I concede.”

That sent all the onlookers into an uproar, but Xander just exhaled and sheathed his sword.

’Finally.’ He thought. In reality, the fight probably lasted for about 3 minutes, but a lot of calculations and strategies had gone into it, so it felt longer.

Zachary slowly climbed to his feet and took out a potion bottle filled with a red liquid. He downed it, and Xander watched as the cut from before started to heal rapidly.

’I should invest in healing potions.’ He thought just as Zachary spoke.

”How were you able to imbue so much mana into your shirt to trick my mana sense?” He asked, his gaze burning with what Xander felt was passion.

”Oh, that...” He coughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

In truth, he just used channeling. He understood Zachary’s confusion. Under normal circumstances, the shirt shouldn’t have contained enough mana to trick his senses, but that was only in regards to ’normal’ Channeling where ann item was coated in mana. However, Xander used his method of injecting the mana into the item, leading to the shirt containing way more mana that also took longer to disperse.

Granted, since it was just a shirt, it would have eventually disintegrated from the energies, but it did it’s job.

Seeing Xander was reluctant to answer, Zachary decided not to pry, but it didn’t stop him from looking at Xander like an anomaly, probably thinking the fight over.

’So that’s lightning magic, huh?’ Xander rubbed his chin as he also stared at Zachary.

’It’s a shame my affinity for the element is terrible, I would have loved to create moves based on it.’ He shook his head. Xander’s affinity to different forms of magic was roughly below average, but still usable. He mostly worked around the affinity constraints by pairing channeling and mana breathing with his knowledge on science and molecular concepts from earth which, yes, improved the effectiveness of his magic significantly.

However, when he tried it with lightning, it just... didn’t work, so he was forced to abandon the idea, at least for the time being.

It’s at that point the sergeant, who had somehow materialized next to them without either of their knowledge, spoke.

”Hm. Not bad.” Xander nearly jumped out of his skin at the man’s voice.

’Holy—! I didn’t even hear him move!’ He resisted the urge to flinch through sheer will and slowly faced the man who stared down at him with an unreadable expression.

”Who taught you how to use the sword?” He asked plainly, and Xander paused.

”... I’m self-taught.” He answered carefully, and the sergeant folded his arms.

”Self-taught, huh? I’ve never seen swordplay like that. You looked like you were dancing at a ball.” His tone was as straightforward and plain as usual.

’Yeah, that’s why all your knights are mindless brutes.’ He grumbled inwardly but remained composed on the outside. He didn’t want the guy to have any reason to drill him again.

Seeing that Xander wasn’t reacting, he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

”What are you? A mannequin? Whatever. You can be on your way.” This made Xander let out a relieved breath, but just as he turned to leave, the sergeant said after him.

”By the way, since you defeated one of the students under me, just know that you are their opponent.” Xander stumbled and spun, yet all he saw was the sergeant smiling smugly.

’This... This bastard! I was gonna lose in some way no matter what I did!’ He gritted his teeth but still left the area quickly to avoid getting jumped.

As Xander’s figure slowly grew smaller, the smile on the sergeant’s face vanished as his expression became unreadable.

’That boy, there is far more to him that meets the eye. Not just his swordplay. The way his mana moved, his magic, all of it. I’ve never seen it before. Interesting.’ He then turned to his students who were all rooted to the spot, and his neck tensed as he yelled.

”What are all of you staring at?! Ten more sets, NOW!”

***

”Milord, where is your shirt?” Mary asked with a slight tilt of her head as she took in Xander’s bare chest.

He just sighed.

”Long story short, I got played. But it’s nothing too serious.” He said as he looked around the room, and he couldn’t help but nod slightly.

While he was gone, Mary had done an excellent job putting things in order. While he didn’t possess many things that could be called decorations, the woman was clearly competent enough to fix the very plain appearance of the room to a degree.

There were a few plants here and there, a new run, kitchen decorations, and so on.

”Huh, this looks a lot nicer. Good job.” Xander said, clearly impressed, and Mary just curtsied.

”I have also prepared lunch for you. You can eat at any time.” She said while gesturing to the kitchen where a plate of steaming food remained.

’Having a maid is truly convenient.’ Xander sighed and looked at Mary.

”Thanks.” Without any preamble, he went over and started eating, not bothering to put on a new shirt.

’It’s not as good as what gets served back in the manor, but that’s probably because of the lacking ingredients. Hm, maybe I can use credits to buy mana-rich food in the future. That way, training my body can still be on the table.’ With that thought, he tilted his head slightly.

’Right, credits.’ He took out his card and fiddled with it for a bit before a set of figures appeared before him.

500 credits.

’I’d imagine it’s a lot for someone who just entered the school but pretty small in the grand scheme of things, if I take into account the fact that this is a golden card. Hm...’ After thinking for a while, he nodded to himself and pocketed the card.

’If things progress the way I’m thinking, I should have a decent way of earning a lot of credits.’ With that thought, he quickly ate the rest of his food and pushed his plate back with a satisfied sound.

Mary, who had been on standby, carried the plate to go and clean it.

Xander watched her from the corner of his eye, then he suddenly remembered something as he faced her fully.

”By the way, Mary, I have a question.” He said, and she paused.

”Yes, milord?” Xander tilted his head and asked flatly.

”What are you, exactly?”

”...”

***

The following day was a lot more hectic as the number of new students pouring in was significant.

Xander walked around the school as he saw people moving to and fro, some carrying an insane amount of luggage and servants—mostly those of noble background—and some with just a few things here and there.

The previously empty dorms were now bustling with activity, and Xander quickly slipped out of the place before things got too rowdy.

’Wouldn’t want someone to notice I came from the floor for Gold cards.’ He hummed as he followed the map and made his way to a large building. Here he saw quite a few seniors in their different uniforms moving out an about.

’The mission hall.’ The primary location for earning credits.

Students could take or issue missions to acquire or pay credits, and these missions naturally varied in difficulty and payment.

Due to this, even though it was called a missions hall, one didn’t strictly need to do missions to get credits. They could also sell things, like items, artifacts, materials....

And information.

Xander lightly tapped his pocket, feeling the parchment within and nodded.

He stepped into the building and looked around. Right now, it was bustling with activity, which wasn’t very surprising as it was the main location for earning credits.

After looking around for a moment, he found the place he was looking for.

In one corner was an information stall, and he quickly went over. There, he saw an older student with a lean figure sitting behind a desk.

As soon as he came near, the student addressed him.

”Are you looking to buy or sell information?” He asked succinctly.

”Sell.” Xander replied simply.

Hearing this, the student nodded, stood, and gestured for Xander to follow him. As he did so, another student took his place at the desk.

’Neat.’ He hummed and followed the student to the back.

Soon enough, the two of them arrived at a dark room with a table in the center.

”State the information you want to sell. After you have given it, you will wait for a moment for it to be verified, then you will be paid accordingly. And do not worry about confidentiality, this room is specially enchanted to prevent anyone from looking in. No one will know when you entered or left, and everyone in the Information Club has undertaken a binding vow to prevent them from spilling any secrets.” The student seemed to read that Xander was a first year, so he explained the process as well as all the measures in place to ensure secrecy.

’Very thorough. Which is good.’ Xander nodded and took out a parchment from his pocket, unfolded it, and put it on the table.

On it was a series of scribbles, instructions, and illustrations of what seemed like a forging process.

He slid it across the table and explained calmly

”This is what I call an ’improvement’ to forging process of steel.” He said simply.

The student took the paper, seeming a bit skeptical at first. However, as he read it, his skepticism slowly morphed into intrigue, then surprise, then mild shock. Then he schooled his expression.

”... Please wait here while I take this to be verified.” He pointed to a seat that had at some point appeared in the room, and Xander sat calmly as the senior carried the parchment and went through another hidden door.

’Hm. Did I overdo it? Was it not enough? Was it just right? Let’s see.’ Xander thought with some anticipation as he closed his eyes, not to meditate, but to internalize his own weapon comprehension.

It was his way of solidifying his knowledge when he had the time.

Soon, ten minutes passed. Then twenty.

Then thirty.

Xander opened one eye.

’Uh, have I been forgotten?’ He frowned slightly, but decided that perhaps the person who would verify the information, possibly a blacksmith, was either busy or hard to reach.

With a sigh, he closed his eyes again.

Like this, an hour passed, and just as Xander was considering doing something mildly idiotic, the senior came again, however, he looked a little flustered, a far cry from his composed demeanor earlier.

”I apologize, it seems like the time required to verify your information will be longer than initially anticipated. I was told to inform you to come back either this evening or early tomorrow if possible.” Hearing this, Xander just sighed, but inwardly he was a bit concerned.

’That’s... I didn’t accidentally overdo something, right?’ He subconsciously rubbed the hilt of his sword, but other than that, he showed no outward reaction. Instead, he just nodded.

”Alright, if that’s the case then I’ll come again later.” He said politely, and the senior led him through a hidden door.

When he stepped out, he found himself in a completely different location from the mission hall. Not that he appeared in a different entrance, no he was in a completely different part of the school.

’That’s... So that’s what he meant by no one will see me leave.’ He tried and failed to visualize the sort of magic needed for that to work. So he just sighed and walked back to his dorm, completely unaware of how a few individuals were losing their minds over the info he provided.