The Light of a Knight

Episode 2

"Hmm, how... can this be?"

Seeing the sudden appearance of three lines of text on his retina, Carson wasn't startled, but he did furrow his brow.

Someone once said, "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." This statement has inspired many, but few know there’s a second part: "But that 1% inspiration is the most important, even more so than the 99% perspiration."

In truth, he possessed a unique ability among humans. Unlike the common superpowers seen in anime, such as controlling lightning or teleportation, his special talent, the "Talent Web," allowed him to copy and assimilate the talents of others through physical contact.

In simpler terms, he could replicate and store others' talents as his own.

And this "talent" wasn’t limited to just extraordinary abilities like controlling lightning or teleportation. In fact, whether such grandiose talents existed, he couldn't be sure, as he had never encountered them. Instead, the talents he most frequently copied were those like mathematical prowess, physics expertise, chemistry acumen—more ordinary skills.

In his previous life, he had accumulated a vast number of top-level talents from various fields, amassing an impressive list of talents that exceeded dozens. These talents propelled him to become a Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry at just twenty-three years old.

Unfortunately, due to his reincarnation, all those talents had disappeared, as if his game save file had been erased.

It seemed that those talents were ingrained in his former body, and with that body gone, so were the talents. Thankfully, the "Talent Web" was likely a soul-based ability, which was why it hadn't vanished as well.

"Forget it."

Shaking his head, Carson pushed the thoughts aside. Although the loss of those talents was regrettable, as long as the "Talent Web" remained, he had the foundation to rise again. He then turned his attention to the two talents inherent to this new body.

Swordsmanship talent—while rare, wasn't something unfamiliar to him. In his previous life, he had seen it in a rather mysterious Taoist priest from Wudang, whose talent was at an intermediate level, a full tier above Carson's current basic level.

Don’t underestimate the gap of just one tier. The difference between an elite and an average person is often just that. Put simply, if someone with basic swordsmanship talent could become a third-rate expert, then someone with intermediate swordsmanship talent could rise to the level of a top-tier master.

But it was the knightly talent that truly caught his eye.

In his past life, he had never encountered such a talent. Given the strange method of testing for this talent, it was clear this ability was unique to this world.

"Substandard?"

But upon seeing the "substandard" rating attached to the knightly talent, Carson raised an eyebrow, finally understanding why the original Carson was on the brink of expulsion.

Substandard, to put it bluntly, was barely different from being defective. Someone with such a talent had almost no chance of making a mark in this field. At best, they could barely meet the entry-level criteria, with no hope of advancing further.

Evidently, the original Carson's dismal prospects on the knightly path explained why, despite his relentless efforts, he had failed the academy's assessments twice in a row and was now facing the threat of expulsion.

"This is a bit tricky," Carson muttered, frowning.

He was currently enrolled in the Nicholas Knight Academy, the most prestigious knight academy in the Kingdom of Carlo, often referred to as the "Cradle of Knights." Graduates from this academy were guaranteed bright futures—if they could graduate.

The academy's rigorous standards were reflected in its twice-yearly evaluations. Failing three consecutive assessments meant automatic expulsion.

Unluckily, the next assessment was in just half a month, and it would determine Carson's fate. The original Carson had already failed twice, so a third failure would mean expulsion.

"I have to find a way to stay in this academy..."

Whether for better understanding this world or for future plans, staying in the Nicholas Knight Academy was the best option. This meant he had an inevitable challenge ahead: how to pass the assessment in half a month.

Going all out in training wasn’t a viable option. The previous Carson had trained relentlessly, his memories of the academy life were mostly of rigorous practice. He had been nothing short of a training fanatic.

Yet, he still fell behind. Aside from managing to barely keep up during the first year, he had failed both assessments in the second year, leading to his current crisis of potential expulsion.

"It looks like I'll need to quickly copy a higher-level knightly talent, otherwise, expulsion is inevitable."

As he thought about where to find an exemplary knightly talent, a name surfaced in Carson's mind.

Brandon—a fellow student in Carson’s cohort. Unlike Carson, who struggled with his inferior talent, Brandon was the most brilliant student of their year, without question.

Born into an earl's family, Brandon possessed terrifyingly strong talent, consistently holding the top spot in their year. Even many upperclassmen couldn't match him. Rumor had it he had already become a knight-in-training.

A knight-in-training was the first threshold to knighthood. Although it was the lowest rank, not even considered a full knight, it was still enough to earn respect. Reaching this level guaranteed a decent position and a secure future.

Of course, someone of Brandon's stature, coming from an earl's family, wouldn't care about such minor positions.

"But how am I supposed to get my hands on his knightly talent?" Carson frowned deeply.

Just like his outstanding talent, Brandon was also known for his pride, making him someone difficult to approach. It would be almost impossible to copy his knightly talent.

In this world, shaking hands wasn’t a customary greeting, so the handshake trick that had always worked for Carson in his previous life was useless here.

Even if shaking hands were common, someone like Brandon would probably refuse to shake hands with a lowly student like Carson. Clearly, a struggling student like him wasn’t in Brandon's circle of interest.

*Knock, knock, knock!*

Just as Carson was racking his brain on how to copy Brandon's knightly talent, a sudden knock on the door startled him.

"Who is it?"

Carson immediately grew alert, hesitating for a moment before asking in the familiar yet strange language of this world. Having just taken over this unfortunate soul’s body, Carson was at his most vulnerable and insecure.

"Carson, you awake? It’s me, Mohr."

The voice of a young man called out from outside the door, and hearing it, Carson instantly recalled who it was.

Mohr Lennard, a fellow student from the same year and in the same class as the original Carson. Mohr had often looked out for Carson, making him one of the few friends Carson had at the academy.

"Come in."

After quickly recalling everything he knew about Mohr Lennard, Carson tried to act as naturally as the original Carson would, then spoke up.

*Creaaaak!*

The door creaked open, and a boy with sandy blonde curls walked in. He was dressed in the academy’s standard black uniform, trimmed with white, and had a knight's sword hanging at his side. Seeing Carson already sitting up in bed, Mohr immediately asked with concern.

"How are you feeling? Any better?"

"Much better," Carson nodded, trying his best to maintain the original Carson's manner of speaking.

"Sigh, I told you before, Benson was clearly provoking you. You shouldn’t have accepted his challenge."

"I couldn’t hold back in the moment. You carried me back, right? Thanks."

"No need to thank me. I’m just glad you’re okay. But don’t be so impulsive in the future."

Mohr sighed and continued, "Don’t stress too much about it. Tomorrow morning’s class will have a special guest, so don’t miss it. You should rest up now."

With that, Mohr turned and left, though a hint of disappointment lingered in his heart.

As the son of a merchant, Mohr liked to "invest," seeking to gain the most benefit from the smallest investment. His "friendly relationship" with Carson was one such investment.

When he first entered the academy, Carson's hard work and determination had made Mohr believe he would see a return on his "investment" in Carson, but it hadn’t turned out that way.

"Did I really misjudge? Oh well, investments always carry risks. I’ll just chalk this one up as a loss."