Ch.135Episode 28. MT (6)

Crack!

“Electric ability users are rare…”

As Hayuri spoke, observing the sparks erupting around me, she began gathering cold energy.

I seized that moment to kick off the ground. In an instant, I reached her and was about to throw a punch.

A massive blue ice wall formed between us. Without hesitation, I smashed through it.

Crash—!

Ice fragments scattered in all directions as it shattered satisfyingly. Just as I was about to put power into my fist again, Hayuri released a wave of cold energy as if she had been waiting for me to break through.

Ice erupted violently from beneath her feet, as if to counter my momentum.

The tips of the ice were so sharp that I felt they would pierce holes throughout my body upon contact.

I was about to release my fist and counter with Nullification, but I changed my mind.

This is a show of force.

I could easily block it with Nullification, but I decided to make her realize she needed to face me with her full strength.

I aimed my fist at her feet.

“Electric Discharge.”

BOOM!

The earth screamed.

Dust rose in all directions, and ripples formed in the water streams along the walkway.

The shockwave was so powerful that people unaware of our sparring match might have mistaken it for an earthquake.

“Tsk.”

A massive crater formed in the field.

Both Hayuri, who had dodged my attack, and the students and instructors watching the match were left speechless.

Understandably so. The ground where they had been sitting to watch had completely caved in.

“What is this…?”

“Is this what it takes to be S-rank?”

“I expected something after seeing the ceiling destroyed, but this level…”

Their looks of astonishment told me my display had been sufficient.

“You should take this seriously. Since we’re sparring, I won’t have the luxury of protecting your image.”

In truth, Hayuri had been serious from the moment I approached her at high speed.

I knew that, but I still wanted to respond to her earlier provocation when she aimed for my eyes.

“Huff…”

She no longer displayed the relaxed attitude from before, like smiling. Her face was solemn and tense—the expression of someone whose life had been threatened.

Hayuri’s cold energy spread widely. Ice covered the massive crater.

This was one of her skills, “Glacier Zone.”

With Glacier Zone laid on the floor, she could emit ice from anywhere. In other words, she was changing the environment to her advantage before the match even properly began.

Knowing that leaving this advantage unchecked would be troublesome, I tried to use Nullification on the Glacier Zone.

However, she raised ice precisely targeting my palm. The sharp tip of the ice tore through my palm and shot up toward the sky.

“Trying to nullify my skill, I see?”

“…”

Blood dripped to the floor with a stinging pain. I looked at the wound on my palm.

The area touched by the ice was enveloped in cold energy, preventing it from healing. Though the bleeding stopped, the wound wouldn’t close.

“To nullify that, you’d have to sacrifice at least one hand.”

Glacier Zone couldn’t be destroyed simply by the impact of Electric Discharge. Even if broken, she could restore it.

Of course, I could deplete her energy by continuously breaking it, but it would be better to subdue her in that time.

Next, she raised an ice wall over the edge of the Glacier Zone.

“Ice Wall” connected to the Glacier Zone.

Using this meant she was going all out. I looked up at the ice wall that reached the ceiling.

The temperature began to drop. A cold that felt like being in a freezer enveloped my entire body. I could feel my body temperature gradually falling.

“This seems like you want to settle things. Am I right?”

“I realized I was too arrogant. Shouldn’t I make the environment favorable for me?”

“I see.”

She probably set up the ice wall to prevent the cold energy she was emitting from affecting the surrounding students and instructors.

I exhaled through my mouth with a “hoo.” My breath dispersed into the air.

“Visible breath in midsummer… I envy this ability. You can just stay here when it’s hot.”

“I don’t think you have the luxury for jokes.”

She was right. There was no room for jokes. From now on, this place would transform into an extreme environment.

With a gesture of her hand, round ice crystals emerged from all directions. As she activated “Blizzard,” the crystals began to swirl violently.

The ice crystals floated through the air, grazing my body. Wounds formed all over, but no blood flowed—the wounds froze instantly.

“I don’t understand why you stayed still while I set up my optimal environment, but you’ve made a big mistake, Instructor Yujin.”

“I wanted Hayuri to go all out so you wouldn’t say you lost because you weren’t serious.”

I didn’t want to hear excuses about not being able to use full power because of the students around.

“…How arrogant. Perhaps you’re more—”

“You think so?”

I charged at her as she tried to blend into the blizzard. If I lost her now, it would be difficult to catch her again.

I swung my fist charged with electricity. However, she skillfully twisted her body to avoid it.

Her reactions were indeed good. Hayuri created ice from her palm to counterattack, but I deflected her arm with my knee, altering its trajectory.

“Ugh!”

The ice erupting from her palm was discharged in the wrong direction.

“You should aim better.”

Irritated by my comment, she stubbornly tried to regain her balance.

“Glacier Fangs.”

A skill named for the ice formations resembling beast fangs. Watching the ice rise targeting my entire body, I thrust my fist upward.

“Electric Discharge.”

BOOM!

With a single swing, the flow of the blizzard changed, and a hole opened in the ceiling.

“…!”

“You seem to be mistaken about something. I’m strong with or without Nullification.”

I attacked her during the brief moment the cold subsided.

Thud!

“Gah!”

My fist aimed at her side.

However, she must have covered her side with an ice wall at that instant, as the impact wasn’t direct.

“Kuh!”

Even as she staggered, struggling to control her body, she reached out toward me.

“Everything freezes before me!”

“Frozen Prison.”

“Nullification.”

I touched my freezing body as I spoke.

The ice disappeared silently.

Frozen Prison, which rapidly freezes opponents, was a technique that surprised even the original Yujin. If I hadn’t known about it, I too would have been helplessly beaten while frozen.

“What…! My technique that freezes any being…!”

Her shock was brief as she unleashed ice at full power, forcing me to retreat. Despite most of her skills being ineffective, she maintained her composure better than expected.

Landing on the ice, I caught my breath and assessed the situation.

She seemed to be buying time to find a solution. The ceiling that had been breached was already restored, and the temperature began to drop again.

Crack—!

Ice began to protrude from all directions along the walls.

Each attack was sharp enough to take a life. As I jumped down from the ice and tried to land, cone-shaped ice formations rose from the floor.

It was incredibly annoying.

“Get out of my way!”

Using Electric Discharge on the ground, the entire floor shattered, sending ice fragments flying. After landing, I swung my fist to use Electric Discharge once more.

BOOM!

As the entire blizzard was disrupted by the electricity, visibility momentarily improved. And I spotted her hiding within the blizzard.

“There you are!”

I charged at full speed, clenching my fist to deliver a blow.

At that moment, as the blizzard cleared, I saw an ice dragon’s head.

“This is…!”

“Ice Dragon Cannon.”

Seeing the ice breath spewing from the dragon’s mouth, I unclenched my fist and extended my palm toward it.

Instantly, my palm froze, causing a stinging pain. I looked at my hand turning purple and activated “Nullification.”

My frozen hand regained freedom, completely absorbing her strike.

I clenched my other fist.

“I’ve won this match!”

“Not yet!”

As a final resistance, she activated “Ice Mountain,” but it couldn’t stop my fist charged with Electric Discharge.

BOOM!

My punch shattered the rising ice mountain and sent her flying.

“Haa. Haa.”

Even I was a bit out of breath this time.

The low temperature made breathing difficult, and I had used my full strength multiple times.

Now I knew one thing:

Yujin truly was the strongest in this world.

If I had prevented Hayuri from setting up her environment, the outcome of this match would have been decided much faster.

But that would have left room for doubt, and even with a victory, it wouldn’t have been a clean win.

I walked to where she had landed. Hayuri was groaning, trying to get up.

Though there was no direct hit, the aftereffects of the electricity seemed to have affected her body.

“Hayuri. This is my victory, right?”

“…Yes. I was completely defeated.”

She stopped her blizzard skill and acknowledged her defeat without argument. I thought her pride might make her ask for a rematch, but she accepted it more readily than expected.

Was I too prejudiced?

Why did she seem better-natured than I thought?

“But let’s keep the outcome between us. You’re still ranked first, and I’m… just an instructor.”

“W-why? If rumors spread that Instructor Yujin defeated me, your standing would improve tremendously. People interested in the hero industry might even become your fans.”

She objected, unable to understand my reasoning.

But I didn’t need attention from strangers. In fact, I preferred not to receive attention because it might make me overly cautious about my actions.

I became a hero to help bring down Akcheon and to make it easier to help the special class students become heroes, not to become famous.

“It’s fine. I’m not particularly looking to improve my standing.”

“…If you say so.”

“Now, could you remove this ice wall?”

“Ah, yes.”

“The students will be disappointed though, not being able to watch our match.”

“It can’t be helped. My cold energy shouldn’t affect them.”

“You have unexpectedly kind aspects.”

“What do you mean ‘unexpectedly’? You make it sound like I live in my own world.”

“Don’t you?”

“No, I don’t.”

We shared a light laugh as we exchanged this banter, and as soon as the ice wall was removed, the students approached us.

They immediately asked about the result of the match, but we both responded like automated machines that it was a draw.