Chapter 30: Duel (5)

-Thwack!!

The shattered door, kicked violently, narrowly missed my head as it flew out the window and crashed outside.

Someone downstairs must have been there, as a startled voice rang out moments later.

Ignoring such trivial noises, I brushed the dust off my body and gazed at the culprit who had kicked down the door.

‘He intends to kill me.’

Even without directly expressing it, a sharp killing intent pierced my body, as if declaring his intention to end my life.

Embracing this murderous aura directed at me, I addressed the approaching source of the killing intent.

“Do you realize what you’ve just done?”

“Shut up!! I’ll smash that head of yours!!”

As Peter’s fury intensified with those words, I inwardly smiled.

A Swordmaster can predict an opponent’s attacks by observing muscle movements, eye fluctuations, and the flow of aura.

The angrier one becomes, the easier their attacks are to predict. Conversely, the more one loses composure, the harder it becomes to anticipate attacks.

Having succeeded in enraging Peter, I placed my hand on my scabbard, anticipating the impending assault.

As if to prove my premonition correct, aura gathered in Peter’s legs.

The energy concentrated in his legs, and in less than a second, Peter’s body launched towards me like a compressed spring suddenly released.

‘How simplistic. However…’

Though a straightforward attack even a non-master could read, Peter was confident he could land this blow.

A precise and powerful attack, incomparable to Jessica’s assault yesterday, hurtled towards my head.

Its speed matched his earlier strike. But this time, distance separated us, and more importantly, I clearly perceived the incoming attack.

Unafraid of the hammer swinging towards me, I threw my body in the direction it was coming from.

Ducking my head to dodge with minimal movement, the hammer merely grazed my hair. But it wasn’t over.

‘His waist…’

As the attack missed, Peter’s waist twisted, his whole body rotating to deliver another hammer blow aimed at my head.

Peter had anticipated I would dodge his initial strike.

Impressed by his unwavering mental fortitude, maintaining such insight even in an enraged state, I ducked lower this time to evade the attack.

Having predicted another strike from his rotating waist earlier, I managed to avoid it.

As Peter’s body spun from the failed attack, his defenseless back came into view.

Would a warrior who had reached the realm of Swordmaster truly leave their back so vulnerable?

I observed that unguarded back, maintaining my hostility towards Peter but refraining from attacking.

Soon after, as if to prove my suspicion correct, a kick flew towards where my head would have been had I stepped forward to strike.

Dodging Peter’s kick, as heavy as the hammer in his hand, I immediately unleashed my sword aimed at his ankle instead of his back.

-Shing!

With a satisfying friction sound, my katana left its scabbard and struck Peter’s ankle directly.

However, a blow that would have torn off the ankle of anyone else seemed to have little effect on Peter.

The aura enveloping his body was so thick that my blade couldn’t penetrate it, inflicting minimal damage.

“Urgh…!!”

Having allowed a hit, Peter retreated significantly. I resheathed Shadowstrike, ready to draw again at any moment.

Observing my stance, Peter’s expression soured, likely well aware of the dangers of my Baldo techniques.

In contrast to Peter’s apparent discomfort, I was experiencing the time of my life.

‘…If only every day could be like this.’

Those brief 10 seconds of combat were the most fulfilling moments of my life.

A chance to unleash my lifelong-honed Baldo techniques at full power!

An opponent who would rise again no matter how many times I struck him down stood before me!

F*ck, this is what it’s all about.

Smiling at a happiness I’d never felt before, Peter’s face contorted further as he spoke.

“Arrogant bastard…. Have you always toyed with those weaker than you like this?”

“…Pardon?”

Toyed with?

Tilting my head in confusion at his incomprehensible words, Peter spat on the ground and tightened his grip on the hammer.

“Let’s see how long you can keep up this act!!”

With those words, Peter charged at me again with bullet-like speed, swinging his hammer.

The attacks came as if he were wielding a light dagger rather than a heavy hammer, enveloping me in what felt like a storm of iron.

Though each blow was weaker than before due to the increased frequency, every strike still packed enough power to break through my protective aura.

A glancing blow might be manageable, but taking one of these attacks head-on would likely end things.

‘…Planning to end this quickly?’

While Peter’s aura surpassed mine in quantity, it wasn’t enough to justify such reckless swinging.

He would have been better off slowly pressuring me rather than launching these easily predictable attacks.

Anyone else might have chalked it up to poor judgment, but the man before me was no fool.

Continuously dodging the barrage of hammer blows, I found myself backed up to the end of the corridor.

Before my back could touch the wall, I spun around and leapt through the window, out of the hallway.

‘The opposite of before…!’

As I jumped from the window with my back turned, I felt a fierce killing intent, like being stabbed with a red-hot needle.

Amidst this murderous aura that would make an ordinary person faint, I closed my eyes and focused all my senses except sight to prepare for the next attack.

Concentrating all my nerves on hearing and touch, I could perceive the faintest sounds of muscle movement and feel the wind generated by the swinging hammer.

At this level, it was as good as seeing it directly.

Sensing the hammer swinging to crush my spine, I rotated my body just as Peter had done earlier and executed a lightning-fast Baldo.

-Ching!!!

Faster than the friction sound of blade leaving scabbard, my Shadowstrike clashed with Peter’s hammer.

In the midst of this brutal exchange of metal against metal, aura against aura, I locked eyes with Peter and spoke.

“For someone your age, you’ve got impressive strength. With such power, why come to the Academy? Did you have nowhere else to go?”

“Shut up and die!!”

Peter poured more strength and aura into his hammer, sending me flying.

After soaring through the air, I landed in front of the massive fountain in the center of the Academy.

Several students who hadn’t yet returned to their dorms were gathered at the fountain. They all jumped up from benches and the fountain’s edge as I suddenly crashed in.

“F*ck off if you don’t want to die!!!”

Infusing my shout with aura, the lingering students hastily fled the fountain area.

Moments later, as the students dispersed, Peter approached leisurely from the direction I’d been thrown.

“Unexpected. I thought you’d use the students as shields for a surprise attack.”

“Why bother with such tactics when I can win without them?”

As soon as the words left my mouth, I concentrated aura in my legs and exploded forward, instantly closing the distance to Peter.

Despite seeing me charge forward after kicking off the ground, Peter remained motionless, staring at me like a statue.

Though something felt off about his reaction, I couldn’t turn back now that I’d committed to the attack.

Baldo: Single Flash.

A technique that amplifies the already powerful Baldo by adding momentum.

My Shadowstrike, glowing orange in the sunset light, flew towards Peter’s neck.

However, even as Shadowstrike made contact with Peter’s neck, his head didn’t fly off nor did his bones break.

Instead, the ground split open as if it had absorbed all the impact, the shockwave reaching the distant fountain.

‘…This isn’t aura!!’

As I pondered what type of magic this could be, Peter, who had been standing still like a statue, showed signs of movement again. I quickly retreated to a safe distance.

‘Magic that disperses shock? Or the effect of a hidden magic tool?’

While considering which it might be and how to counter it, Peter began moving again, charging at a speed incomparable to before.

‘What’s with that speed?! More importantly, the ground…!!’

As I noticed something off about the pattern of the cracked ground, Peter had already closed in right in front of me.

Having closed the distance, Peter swung his hammer at me with all his might.

“Argh…!!”

I hastily raised Shadowstrike to block the attack, but unable to completely withstand the impact, I was sent flying once again.

This time I flew from the central fountain all the way to the main building, crashing through the doors and slamming into the central staircase.

“Ugh… f*ck…!!”

Rising from the stairs with blood trickling from my mouth, I contemplated Peter’s attack while waiting for his imminent arrival.

Why hadn’t Peter used this technique during his initial ambush?

It seemed unlikely that he hadn’t intended to kill me from the start, given his murderous aura from the beginning.

It couldn’t have been because he was conserving energy, as Peter had been aiming for a quick victory from the outset.

If I had been hit by that attack during the initial ambush, the fight wouldn’t have dragged on this long.

‘Was he unable to use it rather than choosing not to?’

As this thought occurred to me, I recalled a setting from the original work and smiled, realizing I might still have a chance to win.

‘If my theory is correct, he’ll try to force me outside again if I wait here.’

As I prepared for the impending assault with my hand on the hilt, the air around me suddenly turned frigid, compelling me to turn around instinctively.

“What the…?”

“That’s my line.”

With those words, a mature woman appeared, turning the surroundings white.

“Student Ian, explain what’s going on here immediately.”

Marina Snowwhite, the headmaster of this Academy, demanded, pointing her staff at me.

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