Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP. 18 – Man-Eater Ghost vs. Man-Eater Ghost? (4)
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Rumble!
The sky was blanketed with thick storm clouds heavy enough that rain could pour down at any moment.
However, even if the clouds formed and the downpour began, the coliseum would face no issues.
"We can continue without any problems."
"After all the money we've invested, a few raindrops won't faze it."
As long as the barrier was in place, no foreign matter could enter its domain.
Unless lightning struck the coliseum with full intent, there shouldn't be any trouble.
And so, amid the ominous weather, the battles against the rock trolls continued. None matched the monumental feat shown earlier by the young lion of the north, but the crowd was still impressed.
"They're all pretty good."
"This year has a lot of talent."
Among the spectators were many retired old knights, and they nodded in satisfaction at the first-years' valiant efforts.
Though their skills were still lacking, their potential was undeniably that of golden eggs.
"Oh? Is that the rumored Fighting Technique... or some other unique method?"
"It's a one-shot technique, but its power is certainly impressive."
The bear cubs generally received fresh, positive evaluations.
It proved their victory over the mages in the war game wasn't mere luck—they displayed solid competence.
Some fought better than Barry Cox, others worse, but a valiant struggle was still a valiant struggle.
Their unyielding spirit was commendable.
And after the bear cubs came the next group.
They were the cadets whom Lee Han had dubbed "young masters," and the evaluations for them were...
Boom!
-Ooooh!
Admiration and cheers erupted naturally.
Having mastered advanced Fighting Techniques, they were naturally strong, but for their age, their level was remarkably high.
No, beyond remarkable—it was exceptional.
They could join mid-to-small knight orders right away and likely claim mid-to-upper ranks instantly.
"Impressive. These kids have the basics down solid."
"That's how it's done. Relying solely on Fighting Techniques isn't the shortcut. Diligently mastering every detail one by one—that's what matters."
If the 18 bear cubs were decent mid-to-upper mercenaries still lacking in many ways and with much to learn, these were knight trainees with a pure sincerity rare among modern noble heirs.
A purity that shunned shortcuts and strove honestly.
"Excellent!"
The old knights who had lived through the previous king's era beamed with pleasure.
They were certain these children would soon make names for themselves.
With such upright effort, they'd gain fame whether they wanted it or not.
The old knights, delighted to witness genuine knightly prowess after so long, thought the surprises were over—but what followed left them stunned.
Crack!
Thud!
"...What are those guys?"
"That's not first-year level. They could join any knight order right now."
"Was Roan Lionel the only prodigy? Ha ha..."
The old knights gasped at the trio who weren't just overwhelming the rock troll...
They were toying with it. Even at their prime, these three would have been a tough match.
Sighs of admiration and dismay escaped them simultaneously.
"Kuntara, was it? I see why the barbarian warriors once terrorized the continent."
"The grandson of Duke Offen? Ha ha, a sword duke's bloodline is unmistakable."
"The Mercenary King... that monster finally raised someone just like his younger self."
Far beyond cadet level.
They were beyond instruction—they needed to be knights now.
While the young might envy their raw brilliance and feel downcast, the old nodded appreciatively at the vigor of youth.
Knowing the capital's young knights had plummeted in quality, seeing so many promising seeds for the next generation filled them with joy.
"Who trained these brats?"
Yet they faced reality squarely.
Among recent youngsters, who taught with such faithful basics in a 'non-noble' way?
It wasn't prejudice preventing them from crediting the swordsmanship department instructors—it was lingering doubt from past instructors' negligence.
As the old knights pondered deeply...
"Hm?"
"...A cute kid's come out?"
"Ha ha, surely she's not about to fight now?"
They thought all first-years had gone.
Female cadets often filled points with debates or other subjects and forfeited the final event.
But surely not.
"Feisty one."
"Ha ha, she reminds me of young Duke Offen."
The bold female cadet stepped onto the stage.
Levi Polt drew her sword, standing proudly before the rock monster with her slender frame.
"Hoo!"
Levi Polt's heart raced.
In Vulcan, convicts hunted boars and mutated bears during marches to gain experience, but the immature, unimpressive Levi back then couldn't join.
Even in yesterday's war game, she'd only followed orders—essentially just picking up a fork at a ready feast.
Yet with so many watching her expectantly, Levi felt bewildered and burdened.
Still...
'I chose to come out here.'
So she couldn't flee, no matter the fear.
Everyone had tried to dissuade her.
'Don't you have enough points elsewhere?' 'There'll be other chances—skip it.'
Many had persuaded her.
But Levi Polt humbly accepted her shortcomings and stood here.
'I have to prove myself!'
Steadying her trembling hands on the rapier's cold grip.
The girl in light leather armor gradually shifted: one hand behind, front foot forward, body sideways, eyes ahead.
A basic noble sword stance.
The foundational guard or fencing posture, well-known.
She gripped the rapier firmly.
[GRR?]
The rock monster lowered its stance, seeing a far frailer opponent than expected.
Its feeble presence mistaken for a rabbit-like critter.
But Levi...
"Thanks for underestimating me."
Whoosh!
She lunged from that stance, the rapier slicing air.
Instant weight shift via aura reinforcement and blade strengthening.
And that rapier precisely...
Pierce!
[GRR!?]
...stabbed the rock monster's eye.
Right into that tiny pupil.
As it writhed in agony, on the verge of thrashing wildly, Levi swiftly withdrew and circled to its left side.
A fluid, natural footwork.
It showed how tirelessly she'd drilled basic steps until her soles blistered.
"Hoo, hoo."
Buying time to catch her breath.
Fortunately, moving to the stabbed eye's side made her hard to spot.
The rock monster's sole weakness: narrow vision and dull senses.
Levi exploited the artificial monster's flaws perfectly.
But no room for carelessness.
Boom!
'It regenerates, as expected.'
The monster chased her, eye rapidly restoring, fury replacing prior nonchalance.
But the girl was sharp and maintained composure.
As if recalling Arno's advice.
'Sir Arno said our White Lion House can hold our own with cool heads and seized opportunities.'
Exactly.
Staying calm revealed it.
This monster was artificially made.
A mock-up compared to wild beasts.
But with her weak strength and clumsy slashes, could she truly win?
A flicker of anxiety shook her chest again.
- Snap out of it!
Flinch!
Her instructor's—her master's—roar echoed in her mind, jolting her awake.
- The best defense is offense, and the best offense is swinging your sword one step ahead of the enemy. Fencing, which nobles learn as basic etiquette, originated on the battlefield. With enough skill, it becomes plenty lethal.
'Yes. Got it.'
Though just an inner echo, Levi followed faithfully.
Her clumsy swordsmanship wasn't inherently weak, per her instructor.
Fencing's root, dueling's original name: escrimage.
A style embodying defense and attack; even now, escrimage masters were sword saints.
- All sword arts boil down to thrusting, slashing, parrying, and striking. Remember one thing: vow to smash the enemy no matter what.
'Yes, Master.'
Whoosh!
Levi was an exemplary student.
She never forgot her master's teachings and put them into practice.
The girl repeated the same tactic, assaulting the monster relentlessly.
Sometimes stabbing eyes, seizing gaps to strike jaw, neck, ankles with the flat or edge.
Dangerous? Evade or guard.
Crucial: Use aura only to amplify attacks, never evasion or other moves.
'Must conserve stamina!'
Levi managed stamina allocation while observing the monster holistically.
An artificial beast driven by instinct alone.
Toying with it was easy.
All it took was the boldness and grit to face it.
And Levi had...
'I can do this!'
That boldness, grit—guts.
Instilled forcefully by her master, but instilled nonetheless; a disciple's duty was to apply it.
Thus, Levi pressed on relentlessly, collapsing and exhausted, until finally...
Thud...
"Haaak, haaa...!"
39 minutes 59 seconds.
The time it took the girl to be the first—and only—to fell the monster solo.
"........."
Silence blanketed the arena.
No one had predicted Levi's victory; astonishment gradually enveloped the surroundings.
Not just her peers—everyone watching had been caught off guard.
Even if the win came from the monster's blood power depleting naturally, no one dismissed it pettyly.
Belittling a battered swordsman who'd given their all? Only fools did that.
"That kid's something else. Right, young master?"
"...Yes, she's valiant. Definitely talented."
"Bear cub girl—body weak, but smart head. And warrior's heart. That's why she won."
"Warrior's heart?"
"Our tribe respects those with warrior's heart, even without talent. They always become great warriors."
With strong bones, talent, ability, learning comes quick—but true warriors are rare.
Few excel with real blade work in actual combat.
In that sense, Levi Polt shone.
One with a warrior's heart—valiant will—inevitably.
Thus, Kunta's praise was the highest a barbarian could give another.
"Bear cub girl will grow strong. Maybe stronger than Kunta."
"...Meaning don't get complacent even if I'm stronger now. Understood."
The girl's valor outshone even Roan's sword aura.
All watched her solemnly as cheers slowly swelled.
It took longest, but honorable and splendid.
No exaggeration to call it a valiant knight's duel.
She deserved the acclaim.
"Ah..."
Levi, still gasping, body limp, couldn't help but lift her head to the ecstatic roar.
'What just happened?'
It still felt unreal.
She'd swung her rapier in a trance, thrusting and retreating like a coward.
Then suddenly the monster stopped, and she collapsed.
No sense of reality.
Had someone as pathetic as her truly beaten that monster? How had she faced something ten times her size?
Her mind blanked.
But the applause, fervent cheers for her, forcibly grounded her.
"I... I won..."
She'd won.
Her first true solo victory.
...Surge!
Levi's eyes welled up.
How to describe this swelling emotion?
Achievement and thrill—those words fell short.
Then realization dawned.
Here, now, she'd truly broken her shell.
Become a swordswoman in the truest sense.
"Uwaaaah!"
Overjoyed, the girl flung her arms wide to the sky and bellowed like a beast.
-Waaaaah!!
The crowd, thinking it a victory pose, watched fondly.
Fine showmanship.
A misunderstanding—and a black history moment Levi would cringe at later, kicking off covers in shame—but now, nothing mattered.
Just unleashing her roar of joy.
As Levi gazed skyward, pouring out her elation—
"-Huh?"
—her face drained pale.
Whoooosh!
...What is that?
Staring blankly upward, Levi froze momentarily, but only briefly.
Shiiiiver!
An inexplicable chill surged, terror crashing over her.
Rumble—!
The storm clouds overlooking the ground suddenly swirled dynamically.
Like a vortex, the circular clouds widened at the center.
"What is that...?"
"......"
Starting with Levi, more noticed the clouds' eerie motion, all gazing up to witness the same sight, feel the same chill.
The pitch-black core evoking deep dread.
And from that dark void...
Squelch!!
"!!!!?"
...No one could even scream.
The unidentified arm emerging abruptly.
Too massive, too horrific.
It instilled fear, stripping even the will to flee.
Such an overwhelming presence paralyzed survival instincts.
"R-Run..."
Levi desperately tried shouting to flee, but her voice failed.
Already stamina-drained, now this monster descending from the sky.
Slowly emerging, yet its ominous aura froze her body.
Fear aura.
The innate pressure from large beasts and monsters.
It instilled natural terror, paralyzing the body.
Feeble humans couldn't dream of resisting.
Death approaches.
The only thought possible; no life flashing before eyes.
Just deepening shadows as the arm neared.
Drip.
"Ah..."
At some point, Levi's tears flowed.
Before inevitable death, only pathetic tears; she bowed her head.
Her life's pinnacle victory day.
Now drowned in despair in an instant—hollow, sorrowful.
...But why...
Shing.
"Why... am I drawing my sword?"
In her final moments, Levi questioned herself drawing her blade.
Why draw it now?
...The girl wondered.
"—That's struggling, and people don't need reasons to struggle for life, bear cub."
"!!"
The answer resolving her doubt rang out; Levi's eyes widened, turning toward the voice.
There stood...
"Still, gripping your sword to the end deserves praise. Here's a passing grade, Cadet Levi Polt."
"Aaa!!"
The most reliable man on the continent she knew, and Levi unwittingly sighed in relief, tears flowing anew.
Relief, not despair.
"Crying like a big kid."
He chided the weeping girl but smiled warmly.
Proud of her unyielding spirit.
But only briefly.
Gazing skyward, he growled.
"-Did you make my bear cub cry?"
Lee Han fiercely kicked the 600kg log spear levitated by his telekinesis slave.
Thud-!
With full power.
It wouldn't pierce the sun, but a ballista capable of skewering castle walls launched skyward.