Skill Evaluation Spar (2)
I watched the previous sparring matches with a strange sense of curiosity. ‘……I think I could do that.’
For some reason, it felt like I could use the same power, application, and techniques they were employing. It wasn’t because I possessed some special ability that made me think this way. It was simply the will to devour them. That was all.
Stealing someone else’s technique without even understanding its underlying principles wasn’t easy. And yet—
‘I think I can.’
It felt like I could make their techniques my own. While pondering how to achieve that, I waited for my turn.
“Next, Adel Ifrit.”
I stepped forward, exchanged a few brief words, and the spar began. Since I still hadn’t fully devoured everything from them, my mind was cluttered with stray thoughts. Because of that, I started with a simple, non-threatening attack as a greeting—but it was blocked. Even the follow-up strike I mixed with a feint was stopped cold.
Rolling across the grass, I thought, ‘Is it really possible?’
Could I truly absorb their techniques so easily and make them my own? Sensing my troubled heart, Cain spoke.
“Don’t overthink it, Adel. I won’t die.”
My scalp tingled. The point seemed slightly off, but it felt like I’d been slapped hard across the back of the head.
‘Let’s try it.’
Maybe I had been scared. Afraid that I wouldn’t be able to use it. I had already experienced this same emotion once before.
‘The doppelganger.’
In the fight against him, I had devoured both his physical techniques and his use of fire energy. Since I was lacking, I had to do everything I possibly could. There was nothing I couldn’t attempt.
With my resolve firm, I manifested my fire energy while leaving only the bare minimum inside my body. My pupils began to lose focus.
‘Starting with Daren’s movements.’
Daren seemed to dream of becoming a perfect swordsman; there wasn’t a single wasted motion in his form. I didn’t know the details, but since the concept of martial arts was fundamentally the same, I could tell. He only infused the exact amount of mana needed for a single strike and swung.
Recalling that, I poured only the necessary amount of mana into my fist and swung.
BAAAAANG!
My extended fist was blocked by Cain’s sword. But he didn’t counterattack. He didn’t even interrupt my train of thought. He was guiding me with the perfect instructional spar, teaching Adel exactly as a mentor should.
I grabbed the loose end of the tangled thread in my mind and began to unravel it.
‘Next is the nature of mana.’
You can’t fill your stomach with the first bite. To prepare for what came next, I stepped even further forward.
Christina made her light shine brightly so that it could illuminate everyone. She used her light to guide others so they could follow the path she walked. We call the act of illuminating an invisible path hope. It all stemmed from her inherently good nature.
‘My mana—my fire energy—is predation itself.’
This nature originated from my power to devour the abilities of others. If I gave it prey, it would obediently follow my will.
‘Devour the talents of others.’
Fwoooosh!
As if answering me, my fire energy blazed up. After launching an orb at Cain, I realized that I was now dominating my mana.
‘Banya’s condensation.’
For some strange reason, the abilities of these three people came to mind. They were subtly guiding me forward. The end of the tangled thread was finally coming into view.
She used a bow. Every time she fired an arrow, mana condensed at the tip of the arrowhead.
‘The ability to condense mana.’
Wanting that, I began condensing my fire energy. What had seemed like it might shake apart was now stabilized by its nature. The single point I created soon stretched into a line and flew toward Cain.
Cain casually swatted it away, but my mind was different. As if the tangled thread had gained momentum and was unraveling, an intense memory I didn’t even realize I had forgotten surged up.
‘Ah, so that’s what it was.’
It was the first technique I had unconsciously used during my previous battle with the doppelganger.
I stood still and closed my eyes. Slowly, I raised my right hand. Even seeing this, Cain waited patiently.
‘Thank you.’
Expressing my gratitude inwardly, I formed a hand shape that was familiar to us. A gun. Thumb raised, index finger pointed at the opponent, the rest folded. My hand aimed straight at Cain’s heart.
All the fire energy existing within my body began condensing at the tip of my right index finger. Just as a narrow space can’t hold too many people, the point of fire energy that started at my fingertip soon enveloped my entire hand.
To prevent any unnecessary waste of fire energy, I supported my right hand with my left. Slowly opening only my right eye, I cleared the blur from my pupil and took aim at his heart. Between the red flames, a single line became visible.
‘The last part is how to fire the shot.’
Recalling a fact I already knew, I realized that the tangled threads in my mind had completely unraveled.
Flame Divine Art - First Form
Red Sun - Point
Bang.
The moment I mouthed the word, my hand recoiled upward. A red light resembling the sun, born from that single point, flashed like a streak of lightning and hurtled toward Cain’s heart.
My body, having exhausted every ounce of its power, began to collapse.
Fwooooooooosh!
Having witnessed Adel’s technique, Cain smiled. It was unmistakably a smile.
‘He’s perfected it.’
Amazing.
Even as he watched the single threatening line flying toward him, Cain simply continued to smile.
‘If he continues to grow…’
Transcendence wouldn’t be a dream. Creating such a technique at his age would be an enormous help in raising one’s ‘level.’ If he completed it all, wouldn’t he become a Transcendent?
Whooooooong!
After finishing his appreciation of Adel’s technique, Cain swung his sword downward. It was the same motion as before, but this time it carried a trace of power. Adel’s Red Sun - Point was instantly annihilated.
Approaching the collapsing Adel, Cain draped the boy’s arm over his shoulder and said,
“The Class S skill evaluation sparring ends here. The results will be announced shortly. Class is dismissed.”
……
It was an unfamiliar ceiling. But I didn’t feel any sense of danger.
Swish.
My instincts and freely moving limbs told me this wasn’t a kidnapping. Feeling safe, I recalled the memories just before I lost consciousness.
‘It wasn’t martial arts, so I was able to use the technique.’
Daren, Christina, Banya. The skills they displayed were techniques that anyone could attempt, yet not just anyone could perform. What I devoured and created from them was—
‘I created it. A martial art.’
Was it a form? Within the framework of the Flame Divine Art, I had created a form called Red Sun. For now, I had used Red Sun in the shape of a point, like firing a gun.
‘It will change later.’
When using Red Sun, I had to condense my fire energy and control it by using only the exact amount needed. Once I reached a certain level, that entire process would become second nature, and I would probably be able to fire Red Sun from my fist as well. In other words, it would become a hybrid capable of both long-range and close-range combat.
‘Should I start thinking about the next form?’
It might be greedy to say something like this right after creating my first form, but—
‘I don’t know when an attack might come.’
Honestly, an attack might never happen. And that would be great. But the thought that this was an academy story and an attack was bound to happen was making me impatient.
‘For now, I just need to get stronger.’
Still, it was fortunate. The first one is always the hardest. Now that I had created one form, the subsequent ones might come together more easily than expected.
I sat up. Looking around, I thought, ‘Is this the infirmary…?’
A pure white bed and a space partitioned by curtains. The smell of various medical supplies. It definitely looked like the infirmary.
“You’re awake?”
At that moment, Cain’s voice came from beyond the curtain.
“……Yes, I’m awake.”
I wondered how he knew, but then realized that someone of his caliber would naturally be able to sense something like this.
I got up properly, drew back the curtain, and stepped out.
“Looks like your body is fine.”
Cain looked me over and spoke. He then explained that I had suffered from mana exhaustion after using up all my mana. He even told me that I ranked fifth within Class S.
“……You’re saying I’m fifth?”
“That’s right. Adel Ifrit, fifth place.”
I hadn’t fought poorly, but still. I didn’t think I had performed at a fifth-place level. As if reading my thoughts, Cain explained.
“Adel, creating a new martial art is something no one can do lightly. While the evaluation criteria was ‘how well one fights,’ it also included future potential.”
Ah, so he knew. As the swordsmanship instructor, he was someone who could be called the best in swordsmanship. He must have created his own sword art as well. He had recognized the value of my martial art.
“Creating a martial art at the age of twenty is something that will be recorded in the continent’s history.”
It felt like Cain was praising me. ‘Is it because he doesn’t know the history?’ It was something I had done thanks to the Grandmaster, yet it felt like I was being given undue credit. Still, fifth place meant—
‘Those guys must have even greater talent than me.’
Christina, Siris, Daren, Banya. The ones in the same Class S who ranked above me.
‘I’ll catch up.’
I couldn’t fall behind them. I had to keep moving forward steadily.
“Instructor, may I leave now?”
No matter which path I took.
“Yes, you may go. Ah, one more thing.”
Just as Adel was about to leave, he turned his head at Cain’s calling voice.
“The martial art you created is one that can rival or even surpass my swordsmanship. I look forward to it.”
Coming from someone who had reached such a high realm, whether sincere or not, the words made me feel good. I smiled and replied.
“You can look forward to our next spar.”
I left the infirmary.
Inside the infirmary after Adel had left, Cain spoke into empty air.
“You can come out now.”
“You knew?”
A male voice echoed from the empty space.
“Have you finished your business, Chairman?”
The chairman of Heiden Academy, Carius Perheim, revealed himself.
“I’ve resolved things to some extent.”
At the words “to some extent,” Cain asked again.
“If it’s not too much, may I ask what happened?”
Carius answered simply.
“I went to meet him.”
“By ‘him,’ do you mean the Flame Demon?”
Flame Demon. A demon who came from the Demon World, yet for some strange reason harbored no hostility toward humans. The heroes of the continent found him peculiar and thus called him the Flame Demon.
Carius had gone to meet him.
“I had something to ask.”
Before Cain could inquire further, Carius spoke first.
“Ah, right. How was Adel Ifrit?”
Seeing him change the subject, Cain decided not to press further.
“He is extraordinarily talented to a suspicious degree.”
“Extraordinarily talented, you say.”
“Yes. He created his own martial art.”
Carius nodded.
“I see. So that was his talent.”
“Huh? Chairman, weren’t you already aware of everything?”
He shook his head.
“His talent was not visible to me.”
“You mean he possesses talent so outstanding that even you couldn’t see it?”
“Something like that.”
It was an absurd statement, but Cain simply accepted it and moved on. It was partly because he trusted the chairman, and partly because he didn’t feel like digging deeper.
“Then I’ll take my leave first.”
Having said what he needed to, Cain left the room first. The infirmary was now empty since the medic was away on business. Carius looked out the window in thought.
‘Well, it’s better not to say anything.’
If it became known that his Heavenly Eye was growing cloudy, it would bring crisis to the academy.
‘It’s not that it doesn’t activate at all.’
From time to time it would grow hazy, and he could see nothing. The beginning of all these events was—
‘Adel Ifrit.’
It probably started after he appeared. In a way, the reason he had gone to meet the Flame Demon was also because of Adel. The Flame Demon had spoken meaningful words, and that was what weighed on his mind.
‘I’m looking forward to it.’
At the same time, a part of his heart was afraid. Carius looked up at the sky and closed his eyes. The sky was tinged with red. It was a beautiful sunset.