Chapter 66: Man-Eater vs Man-Eater(?) (4)

Rumble-!

Dark clouds covered every inch of the sky, casting shadows to the world. At one point, the sky had turned so dark that no one would find it strange if rain started to fall at any time.

However, no matter how thick the dark clouds were, and how hard the rain would fall, they wouldn’t affect the Colosseum at all.

“The exam can continue no problem.”

“They’ve spent so much money on this. Even a downpour wouldn’t affect the exam.”

With the Divine Technique active, no foreign substance could enter the area. Well, if a stray thunder were to strike the Colosseum it would be a different story, but as long as that didn’t happen, there wouldn’t be any problem in continuing the exam.

Even under such an ominous weather, the battles between the cadets of the Swordsmanship Department and the Rock Trolls continued. Although none of them were able to show the same miracle as what the Young Lion of the North did, the crowd was still amazed by their performance.

“Those guys are pretty good.”

“There are a lot of talented kids this year.”

Among the spectators, there were quite a few numbers of retired old knights. Satisfaction filled their faces as they watched the first-years’ struggles. Although they deemed those guy’s abilities as lacking, at the same time, they regarded their potential highly.

“Woah, is that the rumored technique? The one that they said was different from Combat Techniques?”

“It’s a one-time technique, but it’s definitely powerful.”

The evaluation which the bears received was mostly fresh. All of them showcased their abilities pretty decently, proving that their victory against the mages in the War Game wasn’t just a fluke.

Some of them showed better performance than Barry Cobbs, while some showed worse, but overall, all of them still put up a good fight.

At the very least, their unwavering stance left a great impression in the spectators’ hearts.

After the bears all took their turns, it was the turn for the young masters.

The spectators’ impression of them was…

-Waaaah-!

-Ohhhh!

Admiration, which came out naturally.

Everyone already expected them to be strong since they were nobles who had learned high-level Combat Techniques, but their performances were still able to surprise everyone.

With their current skills, it wouldn’t be hard for them to join the Knight Order of a small-sized territory. Not only that, they were also just a few steps away from becoming mid-level knights.

“Amazing. It seems like kids these days are still learning the basics properly.”

“That’s what they should do to begin with. Taking a shortcut by just training your Combat Technique is just wrong. What they should do is to learn everything diligently, and do their absolute best in honing themselves.”

While the 18 Bears were still lacking in many ways and still had a lot to learn, the young masters were already at the level of knight trainees. They even had the correct mindset of a knight, unlike nobles these days.

The mindset to work hard without resorting to any shortcuts.

“Great, great!”

The old knights who had lived through the previous king’s era expressed their satisfaction. They were all confident that these kids’ names would soon reverberate throughout the kingdom. As long as they kept working hard like that, they were bound to be known by a lot of people whether they liked it or not.

Seeing the knight trainees displaying the correct mindset—something that they hadn’t seen in a while—made the old knights smile in satisfaction, thinking that there wouldn’t be anything more surprising than this. But the guys who came out after the young masters proved them wrong.

Crackle-!

Wooong-!

“…What are these guys…?”

“They are not at the level of first-year cadets, they could just choose any Knight Order right now and join it right away.”

“So the Lionel’s heir isn’t the only outlier? Hohoho…”

After witnessing the three cadets completely overwhelming the Rock Trolls—actually, it was more like they were playing with it—the old knights showed their amazement, but at the same time their face had turned rather sullen. They realized that even if they were still in their prime, they couldn’t tell if they could even win against these three if they ever had to fight.

“What’s his name again? Kunta? I can see why the whole continent used to fear the strength of the barbarian warriors…”

“That one is the grandson of Lord Offen? Hehe, as expected from someone who hailed from the Swordsmanship Family. The might of that bloodline wouldn’t just go anywhere.”

“I see that monster—the Mercenary King—finally managed to raise someone who could match the fearsomeness he got back when he was young.”

Those three’s prowess had long surpassed the prowess of a cadet. They weren’t at a level where they should be taught, but rather at the level where they should’ve been knighted already.

The young spectators envied their radiance and became depressed, meanwhile the old ones just nodded their heads at the sight of their youthful vitality. After all, the old knights knew that the level of the young knights in the kingdom had been in a state of constant decline. They were delighted to see so many excellent seeds among those who’d be responsible for the future of the kingdom.

“I wonder which of these kids taught each other such things?”

Even so, they still knew how to face reality. They suspected that one of these young men was so faithful to the basics to the point he taught even the noble kids such ‘non-noble-like methods’ of training.

As for why they didn’t think it was the instructor of the Swordsmanship Department who did so… It wasn’t because they were narrow-minded or anything like that. Due to the negligence of the previous instructors, a prejudice had formed in their hearts towards the position in general.

While the old knights were deep in thought…

“Hmm?”

“…It seems like a rather cute kid has showed up.”

“Hehehe, that kid is going to fight next, huh?”

The old knights thought that all the first-year cadets had showcased their skills, except for the female cadets. When it came to the female cadets’, they usually would just inflate their grades through debates or other kinds of exams so they could abstain from participating in the last exam. That was why the old knights thought that the first-years’ show had ended.

But…

“She’s pretty bold.”

“Hehehe. Somehow, she made me remember the visage of Sir Offen back in the day.”

A certain female cadet confidently stood on the stage.

Levy Fault drew her sword, standing proudly in front of the rock monster with her frail body.

“Huu…”

Levy Fault could feel her heart trembling.

Back in Vulcan, her senior brothers had gained experience while hunting wild boars, and they also fought those mutated bears during their return march. But that wasn’t the case with her. Back then, she was still too inexperienced to participate without getting hurt, so she was forced to sit back and watch.

In the War Game a few weeks ago too, she didn’t really do anything except to give some instructions to her senior brothers. One could say that she only ate the food that was already prepared for her. And yet, a lot of people were looking at her with strange expectations, leaving her embarrassed and burdened.

However…

It’s my choice to come here.

Even if she found it scary, she wouldn’t run away.

There were many who tried to dissuade her from going into this exam, saying things like, ‘Aren’t your grades high enough?’ or ‘Don’t, you can always do it next year’.’

But, instead of hearing them out, she just humbly accepted all her shortcomings and participated in the exam.

I have to prove myself!

She suppressed her nervousness, focusing only on the cold grip of her rapier.

Donned in her light leather armor, the girl gradually pulled her free hand back before extending the other hand that was gripping her rapier. She turned her body slightly to the side and looked forward. This was a stance that every noble child was familiar with.

The girl held her rapier tightly, perfecting her basic stance of fencing.

[GRR?]

Meanwhile, the rock monster lowered its stance after seeing its opponent. It probably mistook her for a small animal like a rabbit or a rat because of her weak spirit. In any case, it thought that she was weaker than it expected.

On the other hand, Levy…

“Thank you for looking down on me.”

Bang-!

Kicked the ground and slashed through the wind. While shifting her center of gravity, she used Martial Power to strengthen her sword.

Because of that, her rapier…

Bang-!

[GRR!?]

Reached the rock monster’s eye and promptly stabbed it. It pierced through exactly the tiny pupil of the Rock Troll.

Just before the monster groaned in pain and started to thrash around violently, Levy quickly withdrew her rapier and moved to the monster’s left side. Her movements were as smooth as flowing water; proof of how hard she had trained the basic steps to the point that the skins of her feet were torn.

“Huu… Huu…”

Now that she had moved to the Rock Troll’s side after piercing its eye, she was currently in its blindspot, and it would be difficult for it to find her whereabouts. Since the rock monster’s only weakness was its narrow field of vision and weak senses, with this move, Levy had brought herself some time to catch her breath.

However, she still couldn’t afford to let her guard down.

Crack-!

As expected, it’s regenerating.

Thanks to its rapid regeneration, the monster’s eye was quickly restored and it started to chase after the girl. From its expression that was filled with burning anger, it was clear that it wouldn’t make the mistake of looking down on her again. Despite that, the smart girl kept her cool. She remembered the advice that Arno gave her.

Young Master Arno told me that if we, the 108 Arhats, are able to maintain our cool and wait for an opportunity, we would be able to fight better.

As long as she kept her cool, she would be able to see the monster’s weakness, that was the gist of what he said. After all, the monster was artificially created, it was practically no different than a wild beast. However, Levy still wasn’t sure if she could defeat such a monster with her weak strength and clumsy swordsmanship.

With such thought surfacing in her mind, anxiety surged up from the bottom of her stomach, and she could feel her loud heartbeat banging against her ribs.

But…

-Get a grip already!

Flinch-!

The instructor’s—no, the master’s shout echoed in her mind, snapping her out of her anxiety.

-Attack is the best defense, and the best attack is to swing your sword while looking one step ahead of your opponent. Even the Fencing-Style Swordsmanship that nobles learn as basic etiquette was originally created on the battlefield. As long as you train it well, it will turn into a powerful swordsmanship!

I understand…

Even though the words that rang in her mind weren’t encouragement but scolding, Levy still followed them faithfully. As the instructor had said, though it was sloppy, the swordsmanship she had learned wasn’t all that weak.

The word fencing originated from the word ‘escrime’, it was a swordsmanship that contained how to defend and attack. Even now there were those who were praised as swordmasters even though they only had ever learned escrime in their whole lives.

-Remember this. The basics of all swordsmanship are stabbing, cutting, parrying, and striking. Always keep that in mind. You will definitely beat your opponent that way!

Yes, Master.

Clench-!

Levy was undoubtedly an honor student. She practiced well outside of class and never forgot her teacher’s teachings.

Using the same tactics, the girl continued to attack the monster; stabbing its eyes whenever she got the chance, if she were to find another opening, she’d send a strike to its chin, neck, or ankles before stabbing it in the eye again.

Whenever she felt like she was in danger, she’d do a defensive maneuver and dodge whatever attack was coming at her.

She made sure to mix in some of her Martial Power with every attack to amplify its effectiveness while never using it to dodge or do anything else.

I have to conserve my stamina!

Not only that, she also carefully observed her stamina and the monster’s condition while she was doing all that. Considering that it was an artificial monster that could only follow its instincts, it was quite easy for her to play around with it.

All she needed to have was the courage to stand in front of it, and a strong desire to win.

And in her case…

I can do it!

She had both, plus the willpower to do it.

While this was something that the master had instilled in her, it was still her duty as his student to practice it.

Because of that, even though she was tired, she kept fighting and dodging.

Eventually…

Thud-!

“Haaah, haaah…!”

39 minutes and 59 seconds.

That was the time it took for the girl to defeat a monster on her own for the first time in her life.

“…”

At that moment, silence shrouded the colosseum. No one had predicted that Levy Fault would emerge victorious, not the spectators, not her classmates. Hence, the silence only spread around the place even more.

Even though her victory was caused by the monster collapsing due to it running out of blood, which was basically its source of power, no one dared to downplay Levy’s achievement.

After all, not even an idiot would look down upon a warrior who had tried their best and was wounded all over.

“She is amazing… Don’t you think so too, my lord?”

“…Yes, she is. Brave, and talented too…”

“Female Bear is weak, but she is smart! She has the heart of a warrior, that’s why she won!”

“The heart of a warrior?”

“Our tribe always respect people who have the heart of a warrior even if they are weak. Everyone with the heart of a warrior always become a great warrior.”

Build, talent, ability, and so on.

Someone possessing all those things would definitely grow stronger quickly. Even so, it was rare for someone to become a true warrior even if they had all that. There weren’t many who could actually give out a good fight in a real battle.

In that sense, Levy Fault was nothing short of admirable. After all, she had both the heart and the courage of a warrior.

In fact, the praise that Kunta just gave her was the highest praise that a barbarian could give to others.

“Female Bear will become stronger. Maybe stronger than Kunta.”

“…So you’re telling us to not let our guard down just because we are stronger than her right now? I see.”

The bravery that the girl showed was way more valuable than the swordsmanship that Roen had shown earlier.

Everyone looked at the girl with serious expressions as cheers gradually poured out for her.

Although her fight took longer than anyone else’s, it was still an honorable and a great fight. It was no exaggeration to call it a fight of a brave knight. She deserved all the cheers she could get.

“Ah…”

Levy’s body was devoid of strength, and she was completely out of breath. Yet, she still lifted her head at the enthusiastic cheers pouring down for her.

What happened?

Everything didn’t feel real to her. She remembered that she just kept swinging her rapier—as if she was in a trance—stabbing and running away like a coward. At some point, the monster just stopped moving, but at the same time, she also collapsed.

She didn’t even know if she really had defeated that monster, or how she even had the guts to fight against a monster ten times bigger than her.

Her mind was blank, like a clean sheet of paper. But, the sound of applause and the enthusiastic cheers pouring down on her forcibly brought her back to reality.

“I…won…”

Indeed.

Using her own hands, she achieved the first victory in her life.

“…Sniff…”

Her eyes welled up with tears.

She didn’t know how to express her overwhelming emotion.

Sense of accomplishment, happiness…those two things wouldn’t be enough to express all the emotions she felt.

At that moment, she realized…

Right now, she had truly broken the egg that enveloped her. She had truly become a swordsman.

“Uwaaaaaah!”

And that fact made her so happy that she spread her arms wide and raised them high in the sky before screaming her heart out, as if she was crying.

-Waaaaaaah-!

The audience who were watching looked at her with delight, thinking that she was putting on a winning show.

Such was a display of great showmanship.

Or maybe not. Actually, this action would later turn into a dark memory that would make the girl kick the blanket in shame everytime she went to bed, but that was a talk for the future.

For now, she intended to let the world know about her joy through her roar.

She looked up at the sky, expressing her joy and—

“Huh?”

─Her face suddenly went pale.

Wooong-!

…What…is that?

She stared blankly at it for a moment, but before long, her eyes turned wide.

Woosh-!

An unknown cold air blew past the colosseum, filling the girl’s heart with dread and fear.

Rumble-!

Then, the dark clouds that had been looking down on the ground suddenly began to rotate, forming a circle like a tornado as its center gradually widened.

“What is that…?”

“…”

With Levy’s reaction as the trigger, the number of people who could read the ominous movements of the dark clouds gradually increased. Without exception, everyone who looked up at the sky saw the same sight and felt the same thing as Levy.

The center of the dark clouds that resembled the pitch black darkness brought deep fear to their hearts.

And from that darkness…

Woosh-!

[A Giant’s Hand] appeared.

“!!!!?”

When that unidentified arm suddenly appeared, they couldn’t even let out a scream.

The thing was too big and terrifying.

So terrifying in fact, that it even took away their will to run away.

Such was the reaction of people who faced something that they couldn’t fight back against or even run away from; their primal instinct of survival was completely paralyzed.

“R-Run away…”

Levy Fault got up in a hurry, trying to shout and tell the people to run away, but her voice refused to come out.

She was already exhausted, yet a monster that big was about to fall from the sky. Even though it came out slowly, the ominous feeling emanating from the monster’s arm was already enough to stop her from moving.

[Fear].

The innate energy that large beasts and monsters emit would instill fear in living beings and paralyzed their bodies.

It would make frail creatures like humans lose the courage to fight against them.

Death was coming. That was the only thing that people could think about right now. They didn’t even get the moment to have their lives flashing in front of their eyes.

The more the arms got closer, the more the growing dark shadow covered them.

Gulp-!

“Ah…”

At some point, Levy started to bawl.

Facing the fear of death that she couldn’t resist, she could only cry and lowered his head.

This was supposed to be the day of her first victory, the best moment of her life. And yet this day was dyed by despair.

…But for some reason…

“Why am I holding a sword?”

In her last moment of life, she still found herself brandishing her sword while trying to find the answer to her questions.

Why am I pulling out my sword?

…The girl wondered.

“That’s what it means to struggle, Female Bear. And humans need no reason to struggle for their lives.”

“!!”

At that moment, the answer to her question came out of nowhere. Levy opened her eyes wide before turning to look in the direction where the voice came from.

In that place…

“Still, I commend you for holding the sword until the end. I’ll give you full marks, Cadet Levy Fault.”

“Ahhh!!”

As far as the girl knew, he was the most trustworthy teacher on the continent. She once again cried without realizing it.

However, unlike before, her tears weren’t out of despair, but of relief.

“You’re a grown woman, why are you crying?”

The instructor let out a warm smile as he scolded the crying girl. A proud smile over the fact that the girl didn’t give up until the end.

But that smile only lasted for a moment.

Then, he looked up at the sky.

“So, are you the one who made our Female Bear cry?”

Lee Han growled and kicked the 600kg log spear that his telekinetic slave had raised into the air.

Boom-!

With all his might…

-Vortex Vanquishing Spear.

A projectile that couldn’t pierce the sun, but could easily pierce through a castle wall, shot toward the sky.