episode_0016

Meanwhile, the young warrior and the old man began to clash.

From the balcony of the audience area, Aria watched the scene anxiously.

One person’s name kept flowing out of her mouth.

“Eugene, Eugene, Eugene, Eugene, Eugene.”

Julian looked at the maddening sight with eyes that seemed to be tired of it.

Eventually, I couldn’t stand the goosebumps anymore and I tried to stop Aria.

“Why don’t you take it easy? You’re acting like a crazy bitch right now.”

“… You’re being too harsh. Aren’t you worried? What if Eugene gets hurt? Why are you acting so calm?”

In some ways, her question was reasonable.

She didn’t want to admit it, but they were old friends.

But how can he be so nonchalant in a situation where he might get hurt?

One, Julian had a smirk on his lips and gestured in the direction of the training ground.

“Worried? Who should I worry about?”

The moment I turned my gaze, following that gesture.

A stab was being fired at Eugene so fast that it was impossible to follow it with the eyes.

At this, Aria flinched and called his name urgently.

“Yu, Eugene!”

However, contrary to what was feared, Eugene easily evades the attack by simply turning his body to the side.

Then, he immediately grabs the part corresponding to the back of the wooden sword and throws it far behind his opponent.

The old supervisor’s body flew through the air.

Breaking-!

Jump towards the supervisor floating in the air, spin around and kick him.

The legs, which had gained acceleration, whipped together and rushed forward.

However, the experienced supervisor quickly corrected his broken posture and struck the leg of the man rushing towards him with a swing of his wooden sword.

Bang!!

A sound close to the friction of metal resonates, making it hard to believe that it was made by human bones colliding with a wooden sword.

The attack was blocked, and this time the supervisor stabbed Eugene with his sword, whose posture had collapsed.

Rather, he pushed away the sword that was flying towards him with his foot, using the momentum to quickly land on the training ground.

BANG-!!

A giant thing crashed into the training ground like a meteor.

But soon, Eugene gets up as if nothing happened and shakes his body, and the old supervisor lands late.

“… Huh?”

Aria couldn’t understand what she had seen in that brief moment.

A battle of wits without any frills, as if it were a staged play.

As I was blankly watching, Julian, who was watching from the side, muttered to himself.

“Let’s start slowly.”

“… Yes? What does that mean?”

The duel started a while ago and isn’t already in full swing.

“Up until now, it was just an exploratory battle to see how well each other could do. The real story starts now.”

“Really? What’s different from before?”

“What, you didn’t know? Neither of you have used your mana for even a moment until now. What kind of sparring is that? But now that you’ve figured out each other’s skills… .”

At that moment, surrounding the training ground… .

No, the atmosphere surrounding the entire testing center building has changed.

The heavy, heavy air made goosebumps appear on the skin of those staying inside the hall.

An ashen aura rippled around Eugene’s body like a mist.

The wooden sword of the supervisor facing him was filled with a pure blue energy.

“Have you ever seen Eugene fight… or even train?”

“… No.”

“Tsk, it’s been a few years since you got engaged. You’re doing a good job sitting in a position where you might become the hostess of the North where fighting is a daily routine. That’s why I hate you.”

Aria couldn’t fight back like she usually did.

Because that comment hit the mark on the mistakes Aria had been making.

I recall Eugene’s appearance, full of wounds and scars, with no corners of her being clean.

The moment I relaxed my face, I felt like tears were going to fall again, so I lowered my head gloomily.

I couldn’t breathe.

“Hey! What’s wrong with you? Are you sick or something…?”

Rather, the person who provoked her was embarrassed by her unusual reaction.

But this is an observation deck that others also use.

I couldn’t show myself embarrassed in public.

If that happens, who knows what might happen to Eugene.

“Okay, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

“Oh, really? Then you shouldn’t have surprised me in the first place!”

Julian, who had been grumbling at this, glanced at Aria, whose breathing was still irregular, and soon let out a sigh.

“… Since you haven’t been able to watch until now, why don’t you start watching from now on?”

“… … Watch over me?”

“Yes, open your eyes and see what the master representing the North looks like.”

Their gazes were fixed on the back of a man who was starting to move.

And there was a girl who took her place behind them.

She also stared intently at the back of the same man.

“… How should I put this, it feels strangely familiar?”

Her light green hair flowed to the side.

***

The fist and the wooden sword, which had been wrapped around the mana in his body and converted into aura, clashed several times.

Deal with the dizzying swordsmanship by striking them down one by one.

When the blue aura flies in, raise your arm to block it.

It was a decision made knowing that it would only result in a slight annoyance anyway.

“You… You really have an outrageous body. What kind of training do you have to go through to be able to block sword energy with your bare body?”

“Trained based on the family’s vision. Anything beyond that is a trade secret.”

“… I wonder, I wonder what kind of family they came from.”

The wooden sword could not break my bones, which were strengthened by the heart of a beast, and the sword energy could not tear my skin.

One, I also couldn’t break a wooden sword that looked like it was made of wood, but had mana filled inside, making it harder than most iron swords.

‘Well, if we drag this on like this, with the increase in mana during the raid, I’ll end up winning…’

I thought it would be impolite to go that far when it wasn’t even a life-or-death fight.

We didn’t intentionally let each other down or show any mercy or anything like that.

We must not forget that this is only a duel.

If you use your wits to kill and are obsessed with victory, even if you lose all sense of morality towards your opponent, what will you gain?

‘A title for defeating an academy instructor? Where else can you find such a worthless thing?’

But contrary to my thoughts, Kundeel seemed somewhat dissatisfied.

He didn’t rush in right away, but suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Soon, he was twitching in a way that didn’t match his age at all.

“… I don’t like it.”

“Why are you doing that again?”

“You’re not really fighting right now.”

What is this?

“I’m not doing it roughly, though?”

“But it’s not like I’m putting in all my effort.”

“No, if you do that, you can’t call it a duel anymore, right?”

But Kundel looked as if he wanted just that.

“I’m old. I don’t know when I’ll meet someone like you again before I die. Don’t you feel bad for an old man who suffers from these worries?”

“… If that’s a concern, why don’t you go to the academy and try again when you have time? I’ll be happy to help you out.”

“Hey! Even though you’re a teacher, how can you fight with a student like that? You’re not a regular student yet, so this is how you can do this.”

I guess he has something like his own beliefs.

Honestly, I wonder if it’s worth exaggerating to call it a belief.

“First of all, isn’t fighting your specialty?”

“… … .”

“You can tell when you see him. He has mastered the martial arts, but…the occasional movements and the way he measures distance are all accustomed to other weapons.”

I felt the same way before, but this inspiration is really unusual.

I don’t know if it’s an innate ability or a product of experienced experience….

Kundel’s eyes were the most brilliant of any I’ve ever seen.

It’s not just about reading the path of an attack or reading muscle movements.

It felt like he was specialized in understanding the essence of others.

‘But it hurts my pride to admit it.’

How much effort have you put into putting down the weapons you are used to and training your bare body instead?

In fact, I was somewhat satisfied with the level I had achieved.

But Kundel’s remarks, even if made without knowing, completely ignored that effort.

“Can I ask you something?”

“What? If you answer, will you be sincere to me?”

“Yes.”

When I answered coolly, “Yes,” Kundel opened his eyes wide.

I asked him, tapping the floor with my foot.

“How sturdy is this training ground?”

“… It may look ordinary at first glance, but it is a work of art created with great care by magic professors.”

Does that mean it won’t break easily?

“If it’s made of magic, does it also prevent attacks from inside from spreading out?”

At this, Kundell made a face as if asking why I was asking such a question, but nodded as if I was.

I held out one finger to him.

“One hit.”

I will prove that my fists are no less powerful than those of a weapon.

He has been talking so earnestly since a while ago.

“Instead, I don’t know what will happen. I have no intention of taking responsibility.”

“… How arrogant. But, at that age, you achieved that much, so it’s understandable. Accept it. No matter what happens, I, Kundell, will take responsibility.”

“Okay. Instead, I hope you will respond with the best move you can, Supervisor. If you don’t do that… .”

Because you might not be able to take responsibility.

Twist your waist, pull your right leg and fist back, and clasp your left hand around the fist.

He gathers the mana that was running wild all over his body into his left foot, which serves as the axis, his tailbone, which serves as the center, and finally his right fist, which serves as the shell.

Woohoo-

As if he realized that what I had said was not mere bluff, Kundel also sharpened his gaze and took a stance.

“… … .”

“… … .”

How long have we been like this?

“Sigh-!!”

Kundel took a deep breath and took the initiative.

As he swung his wooden sword, a flower bud made of aura bloomed and fell from the tip of the sword.

The shot flower bud creates another bud, and so it multiplies innumerable times. They stick together and eventually bloom.

It was a beautiful sight.

One, considering that each and every one of those blue flowers is made of aura… If you are fooled by their beauty and touch them, you will not be able to recover even your bones.

That’s why I twist my waist back to its original position just before it reaches me.

Crunch-!!

A spiderweb-like crack appears in the training ground you were standing on.

The mana accumulated at three points explodes from this point, creating explosive output.

That will soon become the power to crush everything in front of you… .

“… … .”

Just throw your fist.

Everhart style secret.

‘Winter Break.’

A beautiful flower bud.

Next is the space in front of your eyes.

Even the sound of the ending disappears.