The Swordmaster and the Great Mage (4)

Ten minutes.

That was how long it took for half the first-year students in the Swordsmanship Department to end up driven into the sparring ground.

Even then, most of that time was spent pulling out the mushrooms(?) planted in the training ground and giving the next victims time to steel themselves.

The time they actually spent crossing swords couldn't have been more than a minute.

Even the half who went down were students ranked near the top of the Swordsmanship Department.

At first, they had laughed and mocked them, asking how anyone could possibly lose to a magic nerd with a sword. But after each of them personally tasted that overwhelming power, they realized anew that this was no laughing matter.

Before long, the students' shoulders drooped and the light died from their eyes.

“...”

The despair of being beaten by a mage—not with magic, but with swordsmanship.

They had gone soggy like freshly grown mushrooms, crouching down and digging holes in the ground...