chapter_0064

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
64

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
64

Frey’s eyes, staring at me
with a sword in one hand, seemed indifferent.

‘How do you know that?’

So, she’s shadow boxing before
the fight?

Grandpa anticipated that just
by seeing her body flinch.

Just how amazing was Grandpa
during his lifetime?

He must have been
extraordinary to be called a Hero, but I can’t even imagine it now.

Thinking so, I raised my
shield and mace.

I can create a shield with
divine power, but it still feels more reassuring to hold a tangible
shield.

“Are both sides ready?”

‘Yes.’

“Yes. Sloppy Professor.”

“Yep. Me too.”

It was rude to use such terms
for a professor, but Anton just laughed.

“Then, let’s begin.”

As soon as Anton announced it,
Frey moved.

Upon seeing her, my first
thought was how fast she was.

There was a considerable
distance between us, but as soon as Frey took a step, the gap
narrowed instantly.

Anyone else would have been
overwhelmed, unable to react to this speed!

But not me!

This speed is something I can
handle.

Regardless of being the next
Sword Saint, she’s still a first-year in the Academy!

Given my experience sparring
with Possell and Karl, this was nothing!

I deflected her sword with my
shield, but it wasn’t yet time to swing my mace.

The prey’s aggression outside
the water was too fierce to show my fangs just yet.

“Ha♡ Sloppy swordsman♡
Do you think such a poor attack could even scratch my shield?♡”

As I provoked her, Frey lifted
the corners of her mouth.

Why is she smiling?

She lacks emotion, so she’s
not a masochist, right?

Just as that thought filled my
mind, the euphoria unique to the power from the [Mesugaki] skill
answered me.

Smiling on the outside but
actually angry on the inside.

What? You surprised me.

Seeing her attacks grow more
intense, I smiled and raised my shield higher.

Come. Get closer. Step into
the water. The moment you glance at the surface out of curiosity will
be when you fall victim to my fangs.

Frey felt something burning
inside her chest.

‘What on earth is this?’

Frey had never felt something
like this before.

So, she didn’t recognize that
she was actually angry. Her lips had curled up into a smile.

She merely found the sensation
of burning in her chest fascinating.

“Sloppy swordsman♡
You’re quite full of yourself, aren’t you?♡”

Frey hastily blocked the
incoming mace and took a step back.

“Hey.”

“What is it? Sloppy
swordsman♡ Are you about to admit your defeat?♡”

“Every time you speak, my
chest burns. What is this?”

When Frey tilted her head and
asked, Lucy widened her eyes for a moment, then sighed and brushed
her face before answering with a light laugh.

“That’s anger, Sloppy
swordsman.”

“Anger?”

“Yes.”

‘Am I angry? Me?’

Frey blinked and then closed
her eyes, focusing on the turmoil inside her.

Blood was rushing to her head.

Her heart was beating rapidly.

She felt a scorching sensation
rising from her spine.

‘This is the feeling of
anger?’

Frey had never felt any
emotions since birth.

She never understood why her
brother laughed when he looked at her.

She couldn’t comprehend why
her sibling cried when their pet hamster died.

Nor could she grasp why her
parents raised their voices when they argued with her.

She couldn’t understand why
they would embrace her and apologise while shedding tears after
raising their voices.

To her, the world was
colourless.

Frey just stared at the world
with blank eyes.

The first time she ever felt
emotions was when she was five years old.

One day, while walking, she
was suddenly attacked by a monster.

Fortunately, her guards
subdued the monster before it could harm her, but if they had been
even a little later, Frey would have lost her life to its jaws.

In that moment.

Facing death.

Frey felt it.

The world turned completely
black.

It felt as if her heart had
stopped.

As if her spine had frozen and
she couldn’t breathe.

As the blackened world
regained its original colours and she felt her heart pound again,
Frey became aware of the reality of life.

Frey didn’t know that was
fear.

She just thought it was an
emotion elicited by confronting the monster.

So, Frey asked her parents.

How could she fight monsters?

Her parents tried to dissuade
her, but they couldn’t overturn Frey’s decision once it had been
made.

And so, Frey took up the
sword.

She blindly wielded it,
believing her father’s words that becoming stronger would allow her
to meet stronger opponents. However, since then, Frey had never felt
a similar emotion.

No matter what monster she
fought.

No matter what person she
fought.

Her world was always just
painted in shades of grey.

Because Frey’s talent was
simply too overwhelming.

In her rapid ascent to
strength, she had yet to encounter an adversary who could pose a true
threat to her life.

That was why Frey initially
picked a fight with Lucy.

Among her peers, Lucy appeared
to be one of the strongest. Frey thought that perhaps Lucy might give
her that same sensation she so desperately sought.

Frey was confident that her
choice was the right one.

Because every word she
exchanged with Lucy coloured her world in shades of red.

‘Would pressing Lucy harder
make this red deepen further?

Let’s find out.’

Frey did not hesitate.

She didn’t know the meaning of
hesitation.

Opening her eyes again, Frey
gripped her sword with both hands and glared at Lucy.

Frey’s overwhelming talent
revealed several paths to her.

‘If it comes down to a
battle of strength, I will be pushed back.

Even if I use some tricky
manoeuvre, she’ll see through it immediately.

I can’t break her shield with
my sword.

Lucy is troublesome. What
would Father say at a time like this?’

“Sloppy swordsman♡ Are you
too scared to even move your feet?♡ You coward♡”

The moment Frey heard those
words, she saw her world completely dyed in shades of red.

‘Alright. Stop thinking.
Just attack.

Let’s shatter Lucy’s
smile.

It’s a perfect plan.’

Frey swung her sword
recklessly, following her instincts.

An all-out assault with no
thought of defence.

But the turtle’s shell was
tough.

Even amidst the relentless
strikes, Lucy didn’t show even the slightest opening.

‘I can’t break her shield
after all…’

“Is that all?♡ I’m getting
bored here.♡ Are you trying to put me to sleep?♡”

‘Break her.

I can do this.’

Frey raised her sword
overhead.

It was the largest motion she
had shown so far out of all her strikes.

The Kent Family’s ultimate
strike.

Its large preparation motion
signified a massive, powerful technique.

The moment Frey prepared for
it, Lucy moved her feet.

In that instant, Frey realised
she had made a mistake as she saw the annoying glint in Lucy’s eyes
beyond the shield.

Lucy didn’t swing her mace.

She didn’t push with her
shield either.

Instead, she grabbed Frey’s
waist, lifted her up, and slammed her into the ground.

The huge impact left Frey
feeling momentarily dazed and her mind went blank.

When Frey opened her eyes
again amidst the pain, she found Lucy on top of her.

Seeing the edge of the shield
paused just before smashing into her face, Frey knew she had lost.

‘Defeat? If only my world
hadn’t turned red, the result might have been different…

I lost?’

Realising that she had thought
this unconsciously, Frey began to laugh without meaning to.

After all, it was worth
picking a fight with Lucy.

Why is she laughing after
getting beaten?

I really don’t get it.

I knew Frey didn’t feel
emotions easily.

But in the game, when she felt
anger for the first time, she truly clenched her teeth and charged at
her enemy like a mad person. Instead of smiling like she is right
now.

Come to think of it, it’s very
rare to see her smile anyway.

“That’s enough.”

Hearing Anton’s words, I got
up.

Ah, that was extremely
exhausting.

As expected, the character
touted as the strongest in close combat at Soul Academy is on a
different level.

‘Right?’

‘…That, really?’

She already seemed insanely
strong.

I had to combine [Iron Wall],
divine magic buffs, [Mesugaki] skill debuffs, and even Grandpa’s help
just to barely win, and you’re saying she hasn’t even fully bloomed
yet?

Come to think of it, Frey
experienced rapid growth when she attained enlightenment with the
sword during her personal quests.

Grandpa, did you just read all
that from the fight?!

A true hero is indeed a true
hero.

While I was internally
marvelling at Grandpa’s insight, Anton’s voice snapped me back to
reality.

“Thank you both for
showing us such an amazing fight. Everyone, clap!”

As the students who had been
watching our fight applauded, there was one boy who had his head
buried in a desk.

He looked like one of Small
Fry’s friends.

Was he really that tired?

“Go!”

Harry was cheering on Frey
enthusiastically.

The fight between Lucy and
Frey was one-sided.

Frey kept attacking, and Lucy
was only defending.

If you asked who had the upper
hand, anyone would say Frey.

Although Jacob didn’t think
Lucy would lose, watching the fight filled him with a subtle sense of
unease.

‘Could even Lady Allen not
be able to beat Lady Kent?’

Then it happened.

Frey suddenly raised her
sword, and Lucy didn’t miss the chance.

Lucy abandoned her weapon and
charged at Frey, lifted her, and slammed her to the ground.

Boom!

Even the sound was enough to
make one wince. Lucy immediately pinned Frey down and was about to
strike her small face with her shield.

The shield stopped just short,
but the result was clear to anyone.

Lucy had won.

A perfect come-from-behind
victory.

The students watching were
silent in astonishment at the unexpected turn of events.

“Thank you both for
showing us such an amazing fight! Everyone, clap!”

Anton shouted, breaking the
silence, but one person still couldn’t shake off the shock.

“This makes no sense.
It’s cheating.”

It was Harry, who kept
repeating that it didn’t make sense, banging his forehead on the
desk.

Even though one student was in
despair, Anton paid him no mind. He simply smiled, finding the
high-level fight extremely entertaining.

“Alright, everyone! What
kind of fight did it look like just now?!”

“An unexpected comeback,”
one student replied.

But Anton shook his head.

“It may seem that way,
but it’s different. This was a perfectly planned victory!”

Anton then explained how it
was designed.

Since Lucy was slower,
attacking hastily would have actually put her at a disadvantage. So,
she fortified her defence and induced her opponent to make a mistake.

The moment Frey made a wrong
move, Lucy seized her chance.

Listening to Anton’s
explanation, Jacob couldn’t help but be in awe.

As expected of Lady Allen. The
way she handled the previous dungeon wasn’t just a fluke.

Jacob sat at the front,
looking at Lucy with admiration as she listened to Anton’s story.

Despite losing once, Frey
didn’t seem disheartened at all. As soon as class ended, she
approached me and suggested we go for another sparring match.

I firmly refused.

“A sparring match with
you does help me improve, but I have something else I need to do.”

When I suggested we spar next
time, Frey left with a blank expression.

Alright, now that I’ve gotten
rid of that hassle and finished today’s classes, it’s time to take
Karl and go on the quest!

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