Ch.5555. Event Match

Before Gilbert and Seraphina’s exhibition match.

When Gilbert secured his victory in the first-year competition by defeating Ian, he suddenly felt a sense of emptiness.

Was it because the game’s protagonist, which he had played for so long, failed to meet his expectations despite becoming reality?

Gilbert shook his head.

That wasn’t it.

While he had deeply enjoyed Tactical Combat, he hadn’t been so immersed that he lost perspective. He had accepted the game as a game, so he hadn’t deeply identified with Ian as the protagonist character.

If anything, it was merely a feeling of disappointment.

Then why this sense of emptiness?

If he had to find a reason, perhaps it was because of the upcoming academy raid incident.

He thought that if Ian had been the hero portrayed in the story, he probably wouldn’t have felt this way.

If he had to define it, perhaps it was regret.

As he considered this, he found himself nodding. If Ian had been the heroic figure Gilbert had imagined, he might have reduced casualties during the raid.

But the vain Ian he had seen in this final match was more likely to make things worse. Ambition sometimes clouded one’s judgment. The desire for glory could drag a person down to the depths.

With a deep sigh, he thought about the award ceremony and the upcoming exhibition match. As expected, Seraphina had claimed victory as the second-year representative. The third-year winner was also a well-known NPC from the game, but Gilbert’s attention was focused on Seraphina.

He wondered how skilled Seraphina would be in this world that had become reality. His expectations grew for the woman who had been traversing battlefields since before adulthood.

It felt as though his disappointment in Ian had transformed into anticipation for Seraphina.

“Congratulations on your victory, disciple.”

After tidying up his God-Machine, Gilbert arrived at the waiting area for winners to find Seraphina already there, greeting him warmly. He could see her composed demeanor without a trace of disorder, and as always, Yanik standing by her side assisting her.

Gilbert bowed his head.

“Congratulations on your victory, Sera…”

“Ahem.”

“Senior.”

“My, my. It feels like I’ve gained a not-so-cute little brother.”

Gilbert inwardly laughed at her response. Seeing her grumbling cleared his complicated thoughts. This kind of composure was Seraphina’s trademark.

It was pleasing to see her embodying the principle that a ruler’s position should not be easily shaken.

“I’ve always thought this, but… disciple, you have a talent for surprising me.”

“A talent for surprising you… you say?”

“Yes. I’ve felt it since the entrance mock battle, but your God-Machine piloting skills are nothing short of miraculous. The more I watch, the more I’m filled with admiration.”

Gilbert felt embarrassed by Seraphina’s praise. In reality, he was essentially living his second life.

His God-Machine piloting skills were the result of thousands of deaths experienced through the game, and his experience in life-or-death battlefields made him appear as an unparalleled genius.

His current abilities were the product of his given environment combined with his talent.

What about Seraphina then?

Even in the game, when taking a route that opposed Seraphina, the difficulty would increase exponentially.

Moreover, in this reality, she was an established figure who had led God-Machines and achieved military exploits at such a young age.

Wasn’t she the true genius?

Gilbert couldn’t help but sincerely think so. Although he had awakened in this world and risked his life piloting God-Machines, he was no match for Seraphina who had actually stood on real battlefields.

As an ace in his previous world, he understood how vast that difference was.

“Anyway. I am greatly looking forward to our exhibition match, disciple.”

“The exhibition match, you say?”

“Indeed. How could I not be excited? It has been said for a long time that I have no equal among my peers. In the midst of this, the fact that my only disciple has chased me so closely is quite satisfying.”

Seraphina’s red eyes sparkled.

Perhaps this was the loneliness that geniuses carried?

Gilbert suddenly wondered what she, with her noble bloodline and genius, was looking toward.

“I worry that I may have planted excessive expectations.”

“Hehe. For someone saying that, your eyes look quite fierce, disciple.”

Seraphina laughed pleasantly, as if she had found a kindred spirit.

Gilbert also felt the desire to test his skills against Seraphina in the real world.

A match against Seraphina, one of the strongest in Tactical Combat that he had been so immersed in. His heart began to race.

“In that sense, disciple. I have no intention of going easy on you, so come at me with all your might.”

“Is that an order from my senior?”

“Well. Wouldn’t it be more fun not to say?”

Seraphina and Gilbert’s eyes met.

A competitive spirit began to rise in both their gazes.

***

After exchanging those competitive glances, Gilbert prepared for the exhibition match. While the audience thought it would be more like an instructional duel, they were eagerly anticipating the match between Gilbert, who had caused a sensation in the first-year competition, and Seraphina, undisputedly considered the strongest student.

Heated discussions about what kind of match they would show continued until the start. And as if to fulfill their expectations, the match was intense. Their movements were so nimble that it was hard to believe they were fighting with such massive God-Machines.

They deployed magical armaments with chess-like precision, repeatedly firing from angles their opponent couldn’t possibly evade.

When Seraphina’s magical armament spewed fire, Gilbert’s God-Machine swung its massive iron sword to parry, and conversely, when Gilbert deployed his magical armament, Seraphina’s God-Machine danced with its iron sword to parry.

The two clashed like predators within each other’s range, not tolerating even a single error.

Gilbert gripped the control stick tightly as he watched Seraphina’s God-Machine maintain its relentless offensive. Since awakening in this game world, this was undoubtedly the first time he had felt such tension.

Even when he first met Count Liuania in private, he hadn’t felt this level of urgency. The pressure from the Count hadn’t been life-threatening, after all.

Even though he had easily defeated enemies in life-or-death God-Machine battles, this felt fundamentally different.

He had faced Seraphina countless times in the game, but the real thing felt distinctly different. He had never felt this way even when playing Tactical Combat’s most brutal modes. No matter how cruel the game became, the enemies always had certain patterns.

Even when those patterns were randomized, he could still predict that randomness would occur.

But facing the real Seraphina was different.

First, her fundamentals were incredibly solid. There was no wasted movement, and her ability to gauge the distance of God-Machines was exceptional. No matter how much assistance she received from artificial spirits, such skillful performance required a strong foundation of basics.

Moreover, her ability to observe and immediately replicate the veteran techniques he frequently used was truly impressive. It was no wonder that Briana, who had seemed unlikely to ever take a disciple, had promptly accepted her.

She not only effortlessly executed techniques she had only glimpsed but also applied them in the perfect situations, which amazed even Gilbert. He had known that the exhibition match with her wouldn’t be easy, but the pressure he felt when actually facing her exceeded his expectations.

But.

“Haaah…”

With a long exhale, he relaxed his tense body. He hadn’t expected to win this match anyway. No matter how skilled he had been in Tactical Combat, this place didn’t operate within the fixed systems of a game.

He couldn’t predict what variables might arise, and he was well aware that there could be God-Machine knights superior to him. Always winning was only possible in games.

He steadied himself and pulled the control stick.

A multi-shot fireball aimed at Seraphina’s God-Machine, targeting a momentary opening.

Winter Sword – Side Wind

He swung once, but all the multi-shot fireballs disappeared with her parry. He hadn’t fired them expecting significant gain anyway. He had merely created a condition where Seraphina had no choice but to parry by targeting a momentary opening.

A momentary opening and the stiffness from parrying.

Seeing Seraphina move as predicted, he quickly approached with high-speed maneuvers and rammed into her with his God-Machine’s shoulder armor like a buffalo.

“…!”

But Seraphina, as if mocking his decisive strike, smoothly escaped the attack with a light back tumble. It was identical to the three-dimensional maneuver Gilbert had performed during the entrance mock battle.

When his shoulder charge failed, Gilbert immediately positioned his iron sword sideways.

The risk of a failed large-motion shoulder charge was obvious.

CLANG!

As expected, Seraphina’s iron sword struck Gilbert’s. The power of her sword, shimmering with red light, was beyond imagination. Since her mana levels already far exceeded Gilbert’s, the impact was hard to shake off even though he defended with his iron sword.

Moreover, it was painful to have lost the initiative due to an unexpected counterattack. Seraphina, as if unwilling to let go of her advantage, persistently targeted his openings with her iron sword, forcing Gilbert to take a defensive stance.

No choice but this…!

To break through this tight situation, he needed a veteran’s technique.

As Seraphina’s fierce attack came in, Gilbert also swung his iron sword. The timing was exquisite, inexplicable to anyone else. Even though this had become reality, he was still receiving some assistance from the game system.

Meanwhile, Seraphina, surprised by Gilbert’s piloting skills being beyond her expectations, was puzzled by his sudden large horizontal swing. It seemed out of character for the cool-headed Gilbert she had observed.

Had his judgment clouded under pressure?

Seraphina shook her head. She was confident that the Gilbert she had seen so far wouldn’t make such a mistake. This meant he must have a clever move to break through this situation.

She prepared thoroughly and entered his attack range.

Not missing a single movement of his God-Machine, she confirmed the point of his horizontal swing and raised her sword.

“What is this..!”

Seraphina involuntarily exclaimed when she witnessed Gilbert’s horizontal swing suddenly stop—a phenomenon beyond her comprehension. It was that shocking.

Even though God-Machines were products of magical engineering that could be controlled like limbs, abruptly stopping the movement of such a massive machine was nearly impossible. Especially with a standard God-Machine like his, it was practically unachievable.

Yet Gilbert had done it effortlessly. Despite already swinging his sword, he had stopped it as if by magic.

Could the disciple also possess a special skill?

It was a reasonable inference. No matter how excellent one’s piloting skills, there were limits to what a standard machine could output.

Seraphina gave a fierce smile at Gilbert, who had surprised her once again. He truly was a man who never gave her a moment of boredom.

But there was no time for idle admiration. Now it was Seraphina who had an opening due to the stance she had taken to block the horizontal swing. Though she had been analyzing in that brief moment, Gilbert’s attacks, coming in with twisted directions, were becoming increasingly fierce.

Whether it was her high proficiency in the Winter Sword she had learned from Briana, there was no room for carelessness.

Seeing his attack cancel—commonly known as “attack-can”—work as planned against Seraphina, Gilbert realized he was indeed receiving significant system backup. It was a technique that utilized the delay created when controlling a God-Machine through artificial spirits; if a second attack was input while executing a first attack, this phenomenon would occur.

It sounded simple, but since it wouldn’t activate without a precise mental image, it was considered a veteran technique that few could properly execute despite its usefulness.

And Gilbert was one of those few people.

But she countered too easily.

While pressing forward and swinging his sword, he mixed in Lightning Bolts and Magic Missiles, but all were blocked by her parries.

To make matters worse, Gilbert’s mana level, the lowest of his abilities, finally began to hold him back. It was neither high nor low compared to his peers, but against Seraphina, it might as well have been rock bottom.

Her auras, woven with tremendous magical power, seemed to drain chunks of his mana with each block. With a standard machine, taking just a few hits could deplete the magic battery to zero—no joke.

In the end, he had to stake everything on a single moment.

After storming like a tempest, Gilbert suddenly stopped his God-Machine. For the first time since the match began, a lull descended.

– Beep

A private communication magic request came from Seraphina. Gilbert accepted it without delay.

[Not bad, disciple.]

“You flatter me.”

[No need for modesty. Only you have surprised me so many times. So you may hold your head high.]

Seraphina’s expression, visible through the connected screen, was indeed filled with admiration as she said. Perhaps because it was the first time a peer had pushed her so hard, her face appeared slightly flushed with joy.

[The reason you suddenly created distance is probably to launch a decisive move, right?]

“That’s correct.”

Knowing it was pointless to hide, Gilbert nodded straightforwardly.

[You’re more romantic than you appear, disciple.]

“It’s not romance. I’m just doing what I can with my best move.”

[In the world, that’s what they call romance. A battle with no chance of winning. The final strike that marks its end.]

“Senior, you’re the one speaking romantically.”

[Hehe. Believe it or not, even I enjoyed stories of fairy tale knights in my childhood.]

Lost in sentiment, Seraphina then examined Gilbert’s firmly closed expression. She quite liked his unwavering demeanor.

[Disciple.]

“Yes?”

[Give it your all.]

“I will.”

With those words, the communication ended.

Gilbert composed his breathing and gathered all his remaining magical power. Honestly, with his current mana levels, there weren’t many Winter Sword techniques he could use.

The highest-tier techniques of the Winter Sword were all mana-devouring monsters.

Still, it was enough for a single strike.

All of Gilbert’s magical power concentrated in his iron sword, and the same was true for Seraphina.

As their magical power gathered and compressed in that moment.

Without any signal, they both charged toward each other.

***

Exhibition Match.

Winner:

Seraphina Rector Infractus

***

Having concluded the long competition, Seraphina was in her sleepwear, gazing at the moon outside her window.

But the moon wasn’t what she saw. Instead, she was recalling her only disciple Gilbert, with whom she had competed in today’s exhibition match.

In her not-so-long life, Gilbert was quite an interesting type of person.

From his rock-bottom reputation to his refusal to be intimidated before her, the Imperial Princess, and his mysterious piloting skills—every aspect of him was intriguing.

Even she, who prided herself on her ability to judge people, hadn’t fully grasped the man she called her disciple. He was showing behavior so contrary to the collected information that it piqued her interest.

Was the figure she was seeing now just a facade to hide his terrible reputation?

Or was this his true self?

In truth, which one Gilbert was didn’t matter to Seraphina.

The only thing important to her was:

Did Gilbert’s true nature pose a threat to the Empire?

That was all that mattered.

And if Gilbert ever threatened the Empire’s security, she would deal with him mercilessly with her own hands.

Seraphina’s gaze, which had been watching the moon, turned sharp.

For her, the most important thing was nothing other than the peace of the Empire.