episode_0079
by fnovelpiaLaura’s magic is fierce, sophisticated, and sharp at every moment.
It wasn’t unreasonable to assume Chloe would lose, but I didn’t give up and just stared at the monitor.
I don’t just want Chloe to win. But I think Chloe has become a representation of me. I’ve projected myself onto Chloe.
The arrogance of the strong and the firm resolve not to be swept away by the waves of irrationality that define the world. That was so dazzling.
There is a saying:
– A genius can’t beat a hard worker, and a hard worker can’t beat a person who enjoys it.
A great man with talent cannot beat an ordinary man who works hard. People always focus on this part.
Some say it’s nonsense. It’s only natural that those with talent excel in their respective fields, and the saying “a man with a talent is like a woman with a talent” doesn’t exist for nothing.
Some say that is true. In the end, the future of those with talent is clearly divided depending on how they use that talent, and it is common to see cases where even those with shining talent do not see the light of day.
Genius is like math.
They are hunting geniuses, with their large size, sharp eyes that can detect prey, and sharp beaks and talons.
They can reign as top predators in their ecosystem simply by virtue of the physical superiority they have inherited from their ancestors.
However, this all requires a certain amount of effort. To become a noble predator that cuts through the vast sky, you must learn how to fly from a young age through the harsh teachings of your mother eagle.
Even geniuses often become lazy. They spend their time leisurely, relying only on their own talents, and leisurely watch those who rise from the bottom. They believe that they can rise at any time.
No matter how talented a genius is, if he only acts proudly, believing in the golden veins flowing through his body and his innate talent, eventually that talent will accumulate dust and rust.
Those who strive are the eggs of a mystery that have not yet awakened.
Unlike geniuses who are born as birds of prey such as eagles or falcons, these creatures hatch from different types of eggs, so no one knows what they are until they hatch and grow up. Not even them.
It takes effort just to break out of the egg. And even learning to flap one’s wings is a slow process.
However, they eventually find their own way. Even if it is not necessarily an act of hunting prey, those who work hard and find the field in which they are most talented are examples of hard workers who beat geniuses.
So, yes. The path to talent is not given to just one person, but to everyone.
However, the difference between a genius and a hard worker is simply whether they know from the beginning what their talent is that shines.
The process of discovering that talent is what we call effort.
And in order to go through the process of discovering that talent, we must become people who enjoy it.
You have to feel good about the process, you have to want to know the process of the effort, and only then can you enjoy the process of putting in all your effort.
Of course, you can’t beat the other two types of people just by having fun. Since you only aim to enjoy the act, you will eventually get stuck at some point.
And, if you’re just having fun, you don’t necessarily want to cross that line because you don’t feel the need to.
What this means is that you can’t get any further if you just enjoy it.
But what if the hard workers who are trying to find talent even enjoy doing it?
Geniuses will be laughed at. They will be called useless and wish for them to return to being cogs in society’s foundation as soon as possible. They will be looked at with pitiful eyes and thought of as fools.
There is a bird called the albatross.
They cannot fly by the power of their own wings alone, and their large wings make them look ridiculous when they walk on the ground.
That is why it is also called a foolish bird by some people.
Albatrosses cannot fly on their own, so they must jump off cliffs on the seashore and catch the updrafts to fly. During this process, weak young albatrosses sometimes fall into the cold, deep sea and die.
But, if the albatross flies.
They can fly as far as 120,000 kilometers with a single flap of their wings, without stopping or even touching down during the flight.
With just one flap of their wings, they can fly over the ocean for years, flying farther and longer than any other bird in the vast expanse of sky.
“Professor Lucio… .”
Professor Esther let out a sigh. I looked at her, then turned my gaze back to the training ground.
“Well, I think Adelheid won… .”
“No.”
For a foolish bird, as people say, all it takes is one flap of its wings.
So, Chloe.
“… If you are a Chloe student, you can do it.”
Now, it’s time to show off your wings.
* * * * *
Chloe struggled to calm her constantly pounding heart. Her breathing just wouldn’t calm down.
It was the price of countless leaps and turns, desperately trying to avoid the sharp shards of ice flying around in Laura’s blizzard.
At that moment, the blizzard magic that Laura had been deploying began to slowly die down, but Chloe no longer had the strength to avoid Laura’s magic.
I’m tired. My eyes keep closing. The sharp, stinging pain from the ice shards that I couldn’t avoid brushing past Chloe’s shoulder is barely keeping her conscious.
In front of Chloe, Laura von Adelheid was still standing proudly, completely unharmed. Chloe glared at her and gritted her teeth.
Looking at Chloe like that, Laura let out a soft sigh.
“You. Now, surrender slowly.”
Chloe frowned, holding onto his shoulder, which felt cold.
What did that person just say?
Are you telling me to give up?
“… ha.”
Arsenic flowed from Chloe’s mouth. It was an uncharacteristic smile, and it was a smile that suited Laura rather better.
That was also the reason why Laura furrowed her brows after hearing Chloe’s sarcasm.
“Why are you laughing? I’m just being considerate of you.”
“Ha, haha… .”
Despite Laura’s words, Chloe still burst into laughter. No, it was spreading even more uncontrollably than before.
“Ahahaha… !”
It hurts. My head is dizzy, my shoulders are sore and my heart is pounding like it’s going to burst. It’s excruciating.
“Ah, ahahahaha!!”
Even Chloe herself had not noticed the bruises blooming here and there, and the shoulder where the ice crystal had passed through was turning black and dying from frostbite in real time.
But why is that?
‘be pleasant.’
Chloe didn’t understand her own condition at the moment. She understood it better than anyone else, but she couldn’t accept that what she understood was true.
The process of sparring with Laura. The process of forming a magic circle, calculating the distance to the opponent and the power of the magic, and deploying the magic circle as quickly and precisely as possible.
Chloe finds the process so enjoyable that it even suppresses the pain spreading throughout her body.
“… Are you finally losing your mind? I’ll give you one last chance. Surrender.”
Suddenly, Laura’s words flowed into her ears. Chloe seemed not to understand Laura’s words right away, and slowly chewed over her words.
Surrender. Surrender.
Surrender means acknowledging the opponent’s victory and humbly accepting my defeat.
So, that concludes this sparring.
The first thing that comes to Chloe’s mind is…
– Well then, we can’t help but ask one question here.
‘…why?’
– Why? Why is that so?
Surprisingly, the question was ‘Why?’
An attitude of questioning everything. And thus, the result of finding the pearl buried within it. And, she knew very well the person who explained this most meaningfully.
Professor Antonelli. The words he used to say as a habit. His teachings began to bloom like blue flowers inside Chloe.
‘Why do I have to end this sparring? Why do I have to end this fun, enjoyable thing?’
In Chloe’s mind, where she had that question, complex branches of thought began to spread out. This was also thanks to Professor Antonelli breaking her ideas once.
– Exploring on your own and finding your own answers. Even if you didn’t take the path that others had paved, it still becomes the right answer.
Yes. My own answer, my own way.
At that moment, something like lightning flashed through Chloe’s mind.
“… … .”
Chloe looked up. Laura, standing in front of her, was looking at Chloe with a slightly tired expression.
“Are you okay?”
“Are you okay?”
Are you okay? Are you okay?
“… Am I so fine right now?”
The corners of Chloe’s mouth lifted. Seeing that, Laura couldn’t help but swallow her saliva, filled with tension.
‘eye….’
Eyes. There was a strange heat in Chloe’s eyes as she looked at Laura.
“We have to end this quickly.” Laura began to conjure a magic circle and issued an ultimatum to Chloe.
“So, are you willing to surrender?”
“Phuhat…! Surrender?”
Chloe smiled bitterly. There was a strange confidence in her smile.
“That can’t be true.”
A shiver ran through Laura’s body. Her pupils were dilated and her eyes, which were also dilated, were focused solely on Chloe.
Even though it has come to this point, he never gives up. And yet, he shows an unexpected move and even pushes Laura into a corner once.
But, there is no giving up.
This is really an attitude that I haven’t seen in other challengers. It’s like an egg whose shell is starting to break.
At that sight, Laura couldn’t help but clap her hands in amazement towards Chloe.
– Clap. Clap.
“Miss Chloe. I’ll admit it.”
On Laura’s face was a look of pure admiration.
“Of all the opponents I’ve faced so far, you’re the strongest.”
A cold chill settled in Laura’s eyes. The shadows on her face grew darker.
“But now, I really have to end this. I don’t have any bad taste in playing with someone like you.”
Laura made the magic circle bigger. Bigger, bigger. But short and strong.
“Liquid, conversion, amplification, amplification, enlargement, absolute zero.”
It was a magic that contained respect for Chloe, who had shown unexpected effort.
The magic circle that was soon deployed was so large that it covered half of the training ground.
“Blizzard(χιονοθύελλα).”
The fiercely raging winter also marked the end of Chloe.
A bright light flashed. Giant ice shards rose from the unfolded magic circle, riding the strong wind, and soon began to spin violently, approaching Chloe.
Chloe looked at them quietly.
And then, slowly, he raised the cane.
“In the middle, a spark.”
Magic practice with Elin. I thought of that.
How much effort have you put in so far? How much hardship have you endured to spread the wings of your talent?
A tiny spark, a spark that began to flicker with a very faint light, lit a fire in Chloe’s heart.
A very hot, literally burning blue fire.
“Outside, fusion with the environment.”
The sparks from the magic circle breathe out red breath and instantly suck in the surrounding air.
“Ignition, and compression. Stronger compression. And… .”
The magic she had used before was all a whirlwind of bright red flames that expanded and ignited a spark. However, Chloe broke that obvious idea, the hardened milestone of learning.
She decided to forge her own path.
A spark that began to condense into a single point. It had a different color than the typical fire magic.
“Uh, that’s…?”
Laura’s pupils dilated slightly as she saw it. The flame magic reflected in her eyes was neither red nor yellow.
‘Blue flame…?’
A condensed flame that glows blue and burns hotter than anything else. That hotbed of destruction that could explode at any moment, quietly glowing and becoming clearer.
Soon, Laura’s blizzard reached right in front of Chloe.
Chloe opened her eyes.
“Burn(Κάψτε το).”
After Chloe’s magic circle finally succeeded in conjugating, it revealed itself.
– Kuoooo—!
It is the primordial explosion. Unprecedented destruction. And the Lord of Flames that even swallows up cold blizzards.
A flame that transcends the limits of destruction, imbued with the blueness of the sky.
A sight no one had ever seen before, where Laura’s blizzard was swallowed up in an instant and transformed into a storm of blue flames. Laura’s expression became blank as she watched it.
“Nonsense, nonsense… .”
Everyone realizes it.
It was a foolish bird that started flying high through the sky.
The being called Chloe finally spread her large wings and took flight.
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