Ch.94Chapter 94: Trials That Will Make Me Stronger (1)

#

Screech-!!

What greeted me as I flung open the heavy iron door of the indoor training hall was…

“You’re late!”

Excel, narrowing his eyes with a disgruntled voice.

Crackle-!!

And the electric energy surging around his body.

Even normally, the pressure he exuded when channeling lightning energy was impressive, but this…

The lightning emanating from his body was so brilliant it could have served as lighting for the entire training hall even if all the actual lights were turned off.

Wow, is he really putting in this much effort just for a sparring match with an old friend?

“It’s been almost three years since our last match, so I should show at least this much sincerity.”

As he opened his mouth again, widening his narrowed eyes, his voice conveyed an enthusiasm that felt even larger and clearer than the lightning energy circulating through his body.

As he said, we hadn’t had an official sparring match in the past three years.

To be precise, it wasn’t that we didn’t want to—we simply couldn’t.

Three years ago, after he mastered all the secret techniques of Bernstein’s lightning arts and was named successor…

The gap between us had become insurmountable, given my fatal flaw as a warrior—being a “cracked vessel.” That was one reason we hadn’t sparred since then.

That guy is strong, you know.

Unless it’s Shizu showing her true power, I doubt there are many students our age at Cradle who could even properly see his spear movements, let alone defeat him.

Moreover, he’s grown even stronger than during that time when I was consumed by that pathetic emotion called inferiority.

Without the slightest exaggeration, just the level of lightning energy circulating through his body now…

It approached the level from when I faced him as an unwilling agent of the Demon God, before my regression.

Swallowing a sigh I wouldn’t voice aloud.

‘He’s really something else.’

I couldn’t help but offer sincere admiration for my friend’s strength.

Perhaps because of that.

Shudder

“…Oh my.”

My body trembled slightly without me realizing it.

It’s just that his casual everyday demeanor makes it easy to forget.

The true form of the young successor to one of the three pillars supporting the Bernstein Empire…

It felt so overwhelming to someone like me who could barely hold my own, that this trembling was no exaggeration.

‘He’s serious. Dead serious.’

Recalling how excited he was last evening after I agreed to spar with him, happily telling his sister that he finally had a chance to earn her recognition…

It wasn’t hard to understand why he was showing his true power now.

Before entering the training hall, I had been wondering how to fight him in a way that would earn praise even in defeat.

But seeing him reveal his true power the moment I entered…

“Haaah…”

I let out a light sigh and stopped thinking unnecessarily about the match.

What could I do? I had already accepted the challenge, and since my regression, I had been constantly training hard, determined to become stronger for Shizu.

Even if the opponent before me was, in some ways, more difficult to face than Shizu herself.

Even if I was forced into an extreme situation of facing him with real weapons rather than training ones.

As long as it didn’t lead to my death…

I had to fulfill my duty to keep getting stronger.

So rather than seeing Excel as an unbeatable opponent, I considered him just another trial I needed to overcome.

The trembling in my body visibly stabilized.

Even I was surprised by how quickly it happened.

“…Cal?”

Seeing me stop trembling so suddenly, Shizu called my name with concern in her voice.

Normally, I would have joked around and responded casually to her call.

“I have a lot I want to say, but…”

Right now, the match with Excel took priority.

I gently detached Shizu, who was clinging to me.

“I’ll be back.”

I said in an affectionate voice, then stroked her head with one hand.

“…!!”

A slight crack appeared in Shizu’s expression when my hand touched her.

“Good luck…”

But she quickly softened her expression and wished me luck before quickly moving away to find a good spot to watch the match.

Now, preparations were complete.

“Haaah…”

I sighed lightly and walked toward the training hall where he was waiting.

I didn’t think I could win against someone emitting such an overwhelming aura.

But rather than obsessing over victory or defeat, I was determined to push my limits against a worthy opponent—my first real challenge since my regression, aside from Shizu.

And with that resolve, my footsteps, which had felt heavy even while walking with Shizu from the dormitory, no longer felt burdensome.

#

When I finally reached the center of the training hall where he was waiting…

He brought down the shaft of his Keraunos spear from his shoulder, timing it with my arrival.

Boom-!!

Though it was just the ordinary motion of striking the spear shaft against the floor, the sound that resonated throughout the training hall was extraordinarily loud.

“You punk. How long were you planning to keep your big brother waiting?”

He temporarily withdrew the intimidating lightning energy from earlier and spoke to me.

Judging by his voice, still carrying its usual playful tone, he didn’t seem too bothered by my late arrival, which was reassuring.

“I know you’re doing this to get attention from your sister, but trying to gain the upper hand by flaunting your relationship from the moment you entered? Cal Ranos, you’ve really improved your tactics.”

Seeing his slightly annoyed expression as he complained about how Shizu and I had entered the training hall, I could tell he was more concerned about our entrance than my tardiness.

[Well, I can walk arm-in-arm with my fiancée into the training hall if I want. If you’re jealous, get yourself a girlfriend.]

…Hey, Mr. Thousand-Year Virgin, please keep quiet.

[Hey!]

Wait, I didn’t even say anything out loud, but he still heard my thoughts.

[I can hear all your insults, youngster.]

Ah, yes…

I realized that Fafnir was even pettier than the friend standing before me.

I wanted to tease him more, but there wasn’t time.

So I pushed Fafnir’s voice out of my mind and focused on Excel in front of me.

And soon enough, I could easily see envy and jealousy, though not too intense, seeping into his expression as he looked at me.

It was almost uncomfortable.

“Ahem.”

I tried to dispel his envy and jealousy with a cough, but…

“Clearing your throat won’t distract me from my keen senses. Well, even though I was the one who requested this match, you need to do whatever you can to gain an advantage, given your slim chances of winning.”

Excel continued talking endlessly, smiling lightly while pretending not to care about the psychological warfare I hadn’t even started.

“…Yesterday, after you left the dining hall, Shizu’s condition worsened considerably. I went to check on her briefly this morning, but she wouldn’t leave my side, so I ended up bringing her along.”

I briefly mentioned what happened yesterday evening and this morning to stop his endless stream of words.

“Ah…”

Excel’s expression looked like he’d been hit by something, and his mouth opened slightly.

“I… didn’t know that. No wonder she looked so weak. Sorry, I overreacted.”

Instead of continuing what he was about to say, words of apology came out of his mouth.

Indeed, the best way to dispel unintended misunderstandings is to confess everything truthfully.

“Your sister will be here soon to referee, so you can ask her if what I said is true.”

“Well… there’s no need. You’re not the type to tell pointless lies.”

“You say such nice things sometimes.”

“How about feeling grateful to a friend you’ve known for over ten years for something other than this?”

“I’ll try.”

After clearing up the unnecessary misunderstanding, Excel and I exchanged light banter(?) before the match.

“Sorry I’m late. I was delayed by my foolish brother who was showing off at the entrance.”

Soon enough, I could see his sister bursting through the training hall door.

Despite clearly having rushed to the training hall due to the delay caused by my unintended interference…

“I see you’re already on the training ground, getting your breathing in order. Looks like you’re all prepared.”

She maintained a flawless appearance without a single breath out of place.

Normally, Excel would have started talking non-stop to his sister the moment she entered the training hall.

“…”

But instead, he closed his eyes and focused on gathering his mental strength as soon as he saw her enter.

His behavior showed his firm determination not to lose points with his sister through frivolous actions before our match, which was meant to earn her recognition.

His sister’s expression briefly showed surprise at seeing Excel focusing on his task rather than addressing her first.

“This is a match using real weapons, not training ones. If a dangerous situation arises, I will use my judgment to end the match, so feel free to compete with your full abilities.”

Soon, she set the tone befitting her role as referee for this match.

“Then, begin the match!”

She quickly positioned herself in the center of the small block where our match would take place and declared the start.

With her declaration, I drew Fafnir from the scabbard holstered at my left waist.

Shing

The famous sword named after its bearer, like the sacred sword Lumen named after my thousand-year-old heroic ancestor, made a clear metallic sound as it came to rest in my right hand.

I revealed my fiery inner will by taking the high stance I always adopt when holding a sword.

“…”

Excel silently opened his eyes, smiled at my stance, and then…

He immediately surrounded his body with lightning and took the starting position of the Bernstein family spear art, Thunder Roar (Raemyeong).

The spear art of supreme speed, embodying the clear principle that the spear reaches everywhere faster than anyone else, was ready to be executed through Excel’s fingertips.

“I’m coming first!”

Despite maintaining his composure while gathering his mental strength, Excel’s voice carried undiminished intensity as he shouted.

BANG-!!

A sound that could only be described as an explosion resonated throughout the training hall.

The sound came from Excel, whose entire body had transformed into lightning, and the Keraunos in his hand.

That sound rushed toward me.

It was a fatal strike with the intent to end the match with a single thrust, but…

Strangely, I could see the trajectory he was trying to complete as he rushed toward me.

“I see it!”

I was able to dodge the trajectory of his spear with minimal movement of my legs.

All while maintaining the high stance with both hands holding the sword raised high.

“…!!”

I could see his expression momentarily fill with surprise as his confident strike ended without landing any effective hit.

In that instant, I knew.

If I showed him the sword technique I couldn’t execute during yesterday’s match with Shizu when my sword broke, I could win this match with certainty.

And I could execute that exquisite sword technique right now if I wanted to.

I was facing an opportunity to stage an underdog’s rebellion at the very start of the match.

But rather than ending this match with an instant victory, I needed to face an extreme situation to surpass my limits, even if it meant defeat.

“A fly could land on your mouth.”

Instead of counterattacking, I deliberately belittled his strike to provoke him into drawing out his full power against me.

Even as I spoke, I briefly felt that this was nothing more than cheap provocation.

“Hmph. I knew your skills had improved, but not enough to speak so impertinently to your big brother.”

Excel, who uttered these words in an apparently calm voice…

“Then! How about this!”

Swoosh-!

Launched a surprise thrust at me without even resetting his stance.

Seeing my friend fall for such a pathetic attempt at provocation, I felt an emotion difficult to express.

And so, the match between Excel and me after three years began with his one-sided offensive.

[…At this rate, it seems I won’t need to lend you power through the ring.]

Fafnir’s voice, expressing satisfaction with the movement I showed at the start of the match, was just a bonus.