Ch.95Chapter 95: Trials That Will Make Me Stronger (2)

When I first began sparring with him.

I had expected that, like yesterday’s match with Shizu, I would be too preoccupied with defending against his attacks to mount any meaningful counterattack.

And that prediction was proving absolutely correct.

His attacks were truly like lightning.

My sword was far too slow in responding to Excel’s spear as it flew toward me, seeking to subdue me.

With Shizu, whose swordplay was nearly as sharp as his, I could at least manage to respond.

The experience of crossing swords with her since before my regression had somehow empowered my sluggish blade to anticipate her sharp movements.

But Excel was different—I had little experience sparring with him, let alone engaging in life-or-death combat with real weapons.

Each sharp thrust of his spear as he wrapped Keraunos in lightning energy felt unfamiliar, making it difficult to counter.

When I tried to create distance by stepping back as he charged with his spear tip raised to disarm my Fafnir, he would suddenly swing the shaft to strike my body.

Conversely, when I thought he was inflicting meaningful damage with the shaft and tried to close in for a counterattack,

He would penetrate my guard as if predicting my movements, disrupting my sword’s path.

I’m not sure how others watching this match would evaluate it.

But as I continued to receive Excel’s spear attacks, I became increasingly certain.

Ah, even a fortunate moment like yesterday’s match seemed impossible now.

Rather than thinking I could win against him,

I had approached this match with the purpose of recognizing my shortcomings and filling those gaps.

So my pride wasn’t hurt by the fact that my sword couldn’t reach him.

I was simply determined to extend the match as long as possible to gain something from it.

Shiiik-!!

Once again, I narrowly avoided Keraunos as it flew toward me, carrying terrifying lightning energy meant to subdue me.

[Boy, instead of wasting time trying to gain experience by stalling, look for opportunities to counterattack.]

Fafnir’s voice rang in my ears whenever I evaded Excel’s attacks, urging me to counterattack.

But if I had the skill to follow that advice, I wouldn’t be struggling like this.

‘I don’t see any openings.’

I expressed my difficulty, ignoring Fafnir’s suggestion.

Excel’s movements were truly remarkable—even when his attacks failed, he showed no openings that should normally appear, immediately transitioning to his next offensive.

I had hoped his center would collapse after a failed thrust.

But betraying such expectations,

Bwoong-!!

He prevented his body from tilting by putting strength into his left leg, which served as his pivot, and immediately swung Keraunos with just his right hand, aiming for my torso—leaving no room for counterattack.

“Tsk…!!”

All I could do was click my tongue and hastily twist my body to avoid the shaft of Keraunos as it tried to strike my torso.

Once again, I barely managed to avoid his spear aimed at my midsection.

Zzzrrt-!!

…Or so I thought, but it seems I was mistaken.

While I avoided the physical impact, the lightning wrapped around Keraunos that had barely grazed me struck my body.

“Ugh…!!”

I let out a faint groan as the lightning bound my entire body, and though I tried to move, my body completely stopped responding to my will.

In this match where my chances were already slim, I needed to keep moving diligently to respond to his ever-changing spear techniques and draw out more of his arsenal.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment.”

As Excel’s words reached my ears, being unable to move created a fatal opening.

Having confirmed that I couldn’t move, Excel gripped Keraunos with both hands, which had been formidable even when wielded with one.

“You’ll be staring at the ceiling when you open your eyes.”

His voice, playful and mischievous, broke the silence he had maintained throughout the match.

It was one of his habits when certain of victory, though the degree varied.

To instill a sense of helplessness in his opponent.

Should I be grateful that, since this isn’t actual combat, I’m not hearing about falling to heaven or hell?

Even as my body was paralyzed from the electric shock, I almost managed a bitter smile at the thought of his verbal habits.

Tap

But seeing his body leap toward me, I realized the harsh reality that I didn’t even have time for that bitter smile.

Crackle-!!

As he leaped, lightning worthy of the name “thunder spear” erupted from the Keraunos in Excel’s hands.

“Take this!”

The lightning, which had grown stronger as our match progressed, now amplified beyond measure, combined with his determination to end this match, and rushed toward me.

The destination of that spear was obviously the Fafnir in my right hand.

His thrust, combined with the will to win this match by disarming me, was much simpler in trajectory compared to his previous flashy spear techniques.

But precisely because of its simplicity, its power overwhelmed all the numerous techniques he had shown before.

And unfortunately, bound by lightning and unable to move my body, I had no means to block or avoid such a thrust.

Ah, I’m going to lose.

Well, I lasted about 10 minutes, so I saved face.

That was my only thought as I watched Keraunos flying toward me like a scene from a flashback.

[Tsk… Stop exaggerating! Move!]

As if displeased, Fafnir clicked his tongue and told me to move.

Crack-!!

With a loud noise, my body, which had shown no signs of movement while bound by lightning, was suddenly freed from the prison of thunder.

I twisted my body.

The sharpness of the thunder spear rushing toward Fafnir was not something I could parry or deflect.

The judgment I made as soon as I regained freedom was to evade.

Fortunately, my body responded to my will with a fluidity that surprised even me.

I was barely able to avoid Excel’s thrust, which I had believed would mark the end of this match.

I heard Fafnir clicking his tongue before my body regained control—had he somehow interfered with my body?

Given that he had readily agreed when I politely asked him not to interfere in the match, that possibility seemed low.

But now wasn’t the time to question the miracle that had just occurred.

I needed to focus on my opponent.

So I twisted my body and widened the gap between Excel and myself as soon as I succeeded in evading.

Looking at him as I created distance,

He might have been disappointed that his confident thrust had ended in failure again.

But rather than showing impatience,

“Oh…”

He expressed brief admiration toward me for having avoided his attack.

#

It was certainly a fierce thrust that I thought would perfectly lead this match to my defeat.

But miraculously freed from the lightning’s restraint, my body avoided his strike with an even more miraculous movement.

The motion that came from my body, which moved roughly as soon as I regained control, was so impressive that even I, who performed it in a trance-like state, couldn’t help but admire it.

How was such movement possible?

No, before that, how was I able to break free from his lightning, which is normally difficult to escape by one’s own power once entangled?

Various questions flashed through my mind.

But not wanting to slow my body with unnecessary thoughts during the match,

I pushed aside these questions for now.

And focused on Excel’s next move after his finishing blow had failed.

He had been relentlessly attacking me.

Even though I successfully avoided his last strike,

According to the rules of this match, it would continue unless someone admitted defeat or was injured too severely to continue.

His goal was victory.

And to achieve that victory, it was only natural that I should pay attention to his movements, as he would surely make his next move to subdue me.

However, perhaps now showing the effects of maintaining such an intense offensive,

After his finishing blow failed, Excel chose to catch his breath where he stood rather than rushing toward me, not attempting to close the distance between us.

Separate from the praise he had shown for my movement that avoided his confident thrust,

“…Phew.”

Watching him repeatedly inhale and exhale, I could easily tell that he had expended considerable energy on that last strike.

A rest mark had finally been placed at the end of the densely recorded offensive in the score composed by Excel, who had been pressuring me without pause.

When an opponent’s offensive shows signs of weakening, the basic military strategy is to counterattack to achieve maximum results with minimal damage.

But quite unfortunately,

“Ugh…”

I too was busy soothing myself, no less than he was catching his breath.

I was focusing on calming my muscles, which had been shocked by the restraint of his lightning and surprised by the unexpectedly violent evasive maneuver that even I hadn’t anticipated.

The pain received by my muscles, startled by the sudden movement, and the lightning that had bound and singed my skin, was instantly healed through my super-regeneration ability.

But this special ability was not an omnipotent power that could restore energy depleted in fierce battle, so I prepared for the situation ahead by gathering myself as Excel paused his offensive.

Thus, the match between Excel and me, which had been nothing but continuous attack and defense, entered a momentary lull.

The scene resembled fighters who had finished one round and entered a brief rest period.

The difference was:

“Heh, so that’s super-regeneration? Wounds that would take time to heal even with first-class priests recover as soon as you blink…”

“It’s not omnipotent. Wounds heal, but stamina doesn’t recover.”

“You say that… but I’m more tired than you, who’ve only been dodging.”

“Then try blasting me out of the ring in one shot.”

“Don’t regret it later.”

Unlike fighters who would be busy growling at each other, my current opponent was a friend close enough to exchange light jokes with me.

“Will you continue?”

Sister, who was acting as referee and watching our movements, asked us both as we paused whether we would continue the match.

“Of course.”/”Of course.”

Excel and I answered simultaneously to her question, while focusing on gathering ourselves.

As the match continued, neither of us had become incapacitated, nor had anyone sustained injuries severe enough to prevent continuation of the match.

Unable to forcibly stop the match by asserting her authority as referee,

“I’ll give you one minute.”

Sister briefly addressed Excel and me as we composed ourselves, then closed her mouth.

“Huff, huff…”

With each deep breath, the fatigue accumulated from the fierce battle recovered a little.

‘What was that movement of mine just now?’

As the cold air mixed with deep breaths filled my lungs, my mind, now functioning again, became filled with thoughts about the unbelievably fluid movement I had briefly pushed aside.

It was a movement that made even my well-trained muscles scream in surprise.

How was this possible?

Yesterday, during my match with Shizu, Fafnir hadn’t interfered in any way. Could it be that this time, he had somehow intervened, allowing me to display such movement?

[Ahem.]

As if he had heard my thoughts, Fafnir cleared his throat with a hint of embarrassment echoing in my mind.

[You seem to underestimate your body too much.]

Then he confused my mind again with words difficult to understand.

Underestimate…

Is there any aspect of this body to underestimate—a body that displayed movement I couldn’t have imagined at this time before my regression, and is only slightly tired?

‘I consider this an excellent physique as is. How can you call this underestimation?’

So I sent a voice of doubt to Fafnir.

[Well, this is something you’ll have to learn by continuing to clash, rather than me explaining it.]

Rather than answering my question, Fafnir only amplified my curiosity with what seemed like a soliloquy audible to me.

[I’ll say just one thing. You will win this match, boy.]

My, more confident than even me, the actual participant.

‘I’ll gratefully accept even just your words.’

[Don’t you believe me? Khuhu. Well, the break is almost over—you’ll see after we fight.]

I was about to respond to Fafnir’s seemingly groundless confidence, but,

“The minute is almost up. Resume the match.”

Sister’s voice announcing the end of the break as soon as the minute was up left no room for distractions.

Paang-!!

And so I had to receive Excel’s charge as he instantly closed the distance between us, beginning the second round.