Chapter 17: Talent and enlightenment

Blue starlight gently enveloped me.

A mysterious energy circulating throughout my body infused me with power.

Soon, stars of other colors faded one by one.

The world regained its clear skies.

I slowly raised my sword.

Pascal, belatedly coming to his senses, aimed his dagger with a wary expression.

It was a good decision not to move rashly.

Ignoring his actions, I lightly stroked the blade with my left index and middle fingers.

Then, the blue light that enveloped my body settled into the sword.

Enchant.

A technique that imprints one’s unique magic, divine power, or other energies onto weapons or the body.

However, what I was demonstrating was a much higher power than that.

A conceptual power of ‘containing’ something…

Depending on one’s capacity, be it magic, a soul, an object, or an illusion…

If desired, anything could be bestowed and infused.

What I contained was ‘Talent’.

It makes those who see a path see a further path, and those who do not see a path see a new path.

– Thump!

With a small thumping sound, the light completely settled within me.

I aimed the sword, brimming with blue light, straight at Pascal and spoke.

“I’ll finish it in three steps. Come at me with all your might.”

****

Pascal’s entire body trembled.

Cold sweat streamed down him, his pulse raced, and the tip of the dagger in his hand shook wildly.

Some unknown fear threatened to engulf him.

However, he soon composed himself and focused on his opponent.

While the outcome of the duel wasn’t that important, he needed to identify as many variables as possible for the upcoming plan.

‘First the guy who fought the Hero, now this one… what in the world is wrong with this Academy?’

He had thought that besides the professors and the Hero, he only needed to be wary of a few slightly famous students.

But then, the Holy Maiden enrolled midway, an intruder infiltrated the Academy, and a member of the Great Pioneer arrived…

From a certain point, unusual events began to pile up.

Just today, strange variables like the student who fought the Hero equally and the peculiar student now before his eyes were newly discovered.

Pascal felt that things couldn’t continue like this.

‘Somehow… I must extract information about my opponent.’

Too many variables had already emerged.

To ensure the plan went smoothly, he needed to minimize those variables or at least devise ways to avoid them.

For that, gathering information was paramount.

‘This is a task my father entrusted to me. I cannot disappoint him.’

For the family, even a small flaw, or a mistake…

would never be tolerated.

Pascal pulled out numerous throwing weapons from his pocket, simultaneously manipulating his magic.

Around him, clumps of magic similar in shape to the throwing weapons in his hand coalesced.

The technique the Myers family considered most important.

Currently, only the family head could perfectly wield it, but Pascal was also a direct descendant of the Myers family…

He had reached a level where he could imitate it to some extent.

Myriad Flower Rain.

A secret technique that unleashes an attack like a rain of flowers, throwing countless real throwing weapons and fake ones generated by magic.

They had improved that widely known famous technique with the Myers family’s unique magical properties.

While its duration was shorter than typical secret techniques, its destructive power had increased, allowing for effective strikes.

Pascal immediately launched himself forward.

He had already envisioned the path he would take and the movements of the throwing weapons he would control with magic in his mind.

If he could block all of his opponent’s possible movements and unleash the throwing weapons…

– Fwip!

‘I win!’

Pascal began to run.

Countless throwing weapons generated in his wake flew towards his opponent.

The throwing weapons were densely packed, leaving no room to dodge.

Dodging all of them was almost impossible.

The moment he, confident of victory, launched himself in a straight line…!

– Thump.

One step.

He moved.

– Clang!

The blue light rippled softly, and all the throwing weapons flying towards him fell to the ground.

He couldn’t believe what he saw.

Dazzling movements?

No.

His movements were neither fast nor alien.

However, the result he created was incredibly alien.

Even seeing it with his eyes, his mind couldn’t comprehend.

It was as if the world was following the flow of his sword’s movements.

“What the….”

Unbelievable skill.

Just as Pascal quickly tried to pull his body back…

– Thump.

Two steps.

Blue light spread everywhere.

“Ugh…!”

Pascal slumped down onto the arena floor.

Extreme fear was already etched on his face.

Pascal brought a trembling hand to his chest.

He felt that something unknown was wrong.

It felt as if many things connected to him had been severed.

Soul, history, emotion.

A distance had been created between Pascal and the things that constituted him.

Yet, he was still alive.

He was breathing normally, his heart was still beating, and he could move his limbs without issue.

But he sat still, watching his opponent take the final step with his eyes.

– Thump.

Three steps.

All magical flows became meaningless, and holes were torn in the system of balance and power.

Nevertheless, the blue blade moved.

Slowly, as if nothing could affect it…

That was all Pascal could comprehend.

With the talent he possessed, he could not see beyond that.

Pascal stared blankly at the sight of the blue-lit blade approaching.

Even the feelings of despair and fear he had felt just moments ago were already severed.

‘If I had been granted talent….’

He closed his eyes and surrendered himself to the light.

‘I would have been able to see so much more….’

Through that day’s duel, Pascal gained enlightenment and reached a slightly higher level.

****

– Thud!

Pascal, directly struck by the blue light, lost consciousness and collapsed.

He wasn’t dead, of course, and would probably wake up after a while.

I dispersed all the light and sheathed my sword.

I briefly scanned the spectator stands.

Everyone in the audience, including the referee, had their heads turned towards me.

It seemed as if everyone was watching me, but upon closer inspection, they were all just staring blankly with unfocused eyes.

At the slightly eerie sight, I clicked my tongue.

‘Tsk, I didn’t realize the impact would be this significant.’

That’s a symptom that appears when one gains enlightenment.

When one sees something of a high level and gains enlightenment, the individual, in a state of selflessness, perceives and follows the path that their talent has opened.

That’s why one’s mind often temporarily drifts during the process of gaining enlightenment.

It can be seen as similar to the symptom where everything suddenly appears slow during a life-or-death battle.

I had thought that even if spectators watched the duel, as long as their ‘recognition’ and ‘cognition’ abilities were well-applied, whatever was shown during the duel wouldn’t matter.

But contrary to my expectations, the ‘realm of talent’ I displayed seemed to pierce even my authority and embed itself directly into everyone’s minds.

Anything related to me would eventually be neatly resolved as planned due to my authority, but their enlightenment would remain unerasable forever.

……It feels like I unintentionally strengthened the Academy’s power, but well… it doesn’t matter.

My objective was achieved anyway.

I successively shifted my gaze towards Hestia, Arie, and Elisha, who were still seated in the spectator stands.

They also had blank expressions similar to the others, but the difference was clearly visible in the aura emanating from them.

Perhaps thanks to their immense talent, the three women seemed to have seen more than anyone else through me.

How to put it…

If others gained shallow enlightenment, they could be said to have gained deep enlightenment.

The technique of infusing ‘Talent’ shown in the duel with Pascal actually appears differently depending on the observer.

While it’s true I fought with a sword, to some it might have appeared as swordsmanship, to others as spearmanship, to some as martial arts, and to others as magic.

The blue starlight itself is the vast framework of talent.

It’s highly probable that everyone encountered the talent suited to them through me.

Among them, Hestia, Arie, and Elisha are special.

They would have seen the talent closest to their essence, and the depth of their enlightenment would also be on a different dimension.

I sought out Hestia first.

Our eyes naturally met, and I could feel her surprise from here.

Hestia, with an expression that seemed to say she didn’t know what face to make…

The holy sword’s light was definitely stronger than before.

Next was Arie.

She, who had been wearing a sly smile, nodded as if she had expected it when our eyes met.

She too had grown, though not as much as Hestia.

‘But isn’t she my next opponent?’

‘Why is she still in the stands?’

Finally, I shifted my gaze to Elisha.

Unlike her expressionless face when she glared at Pascal earlier, she was wearing a bright smile when our eyes met.

Her cheerful wave was striking.

Elisha, somewhat unusually, showed almost no perceptible growth.

But I could tell.

A solid shield-like barrier had formed in her mind.

It didn’t seem specialized in defending against mental attacks, but it would likely be a great help with mental issues like emotional regulation.

This was the most needed ability for her, whose mind had recently become unstable due to her regression.

All three successfully gained enlightenment.

Confirming that all tasks were complete, I descended from the arena before the referee fully regained consciousness.

As it was, I would remain in everyone’s memories as ‘the student who defeated Pascal Myers’.

I stretched my tired body.

There are no afternoon classes today, so I should go rest soon…

****

“Hehe, I enjoyed the duel.”

Just as I was secretly packing my things and about to leave, someone suddenly appeared behind me and spoke.

…She didn’t come down from the stands, so I thought I wouldn’t see her this time, but she came after all.

The owner of the voice was none other than the Holy Maiden, Arie.

She waved at me and spoke.

“You exceeded my expectations.”

“Thank you. Is it your turn next, Lady Arie?”

“……That’s right. Yulia isn’t here, so I almost forgot my turn.”

“It seems you’re late, shouldn’t you hurry?”

“That’s true. Hmm… You’ll watch my duel until the end, won’t you?”

‘No, I’m going back to the dorm now.’

“Well, I was going to…”

“Hehe, take this opportunity to watch closely. See what kind of person you’ll be serving in the future…!”

Arie climbed into the arena without even waiting for me to finish speaking.

Unable to stop her, I was stuck, having no choice but to return to the spectator stands.

‘Because I’m just an ordinary student who can’t ignore the words of the noble Holy Maiden…’

‘Right, well… even if I watch one more duel, my rest time won’t change much.’

‘By the way, ‘the person you’ll be serving’….’

‘Are you already treating me like a subordinate?’

****

– Whoosh! Boom!

“…….”

Arie’s duel ended in less than 5 seconds.

With a dazzling light, her opponent was directly struck by something and collapsed.

Her victory was obvious, but I didn’t expect it to end so quickly.

In the previous regression, it seemed like she was toying with her opponent for a bit… but this time, she didn’t hold back and defeated them with a single burst of divine power.

……If she was going to end it so blandly, why did she tell me to watch?

How absurd.