Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: To the Academy (2)
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Not just the scarecrow had been sliced clean in a straight line.
"H-Haavens…!?"
The instructor stared up at the sky, his eyes wide round.
Because he'd swung his wooden sword with such utter seriousness, the sky itself had been split open.
The clouds that had dotted the blue sky just moments ago were all gone, and through the cleaved heavens peeked a deep, dense blue.
A portion of the sky from the material world had been severed, leaving only the mana that rightfully belonged there behind.
It felt just like Moses's miracle recreated in the heavens.
"So, is this enough?"
Yuri calmly lowered his wooden sword and turned his gaze to the instructor.
His eyes held no malice—pure and innocent.
Slicing the sky had been unexpected, but what mattered more was the evaluation.
"…An impressive Phantom Sword."
The instructor praised Yuri's single stroke.
But for a moment, Yuri doubted his own ears.
"Phantom Sword? It's not a Phantom Sword."
What he'd performed was a simple vertical slash—nothing like a Phantom Sword.
Sure, his intent to cleave the scarecrow had been intense enough to infuse it with the sword intent of Heaven Cleaver, but that didn't turn a casual swing into some illusionary technique.
The instructor scoffed at Yuri's confident retort.
"Then you're saying you actually cleaved the sky?"
"Well, yeah."
"…Haha. No lie like that will fool this instructor."
The instructor's attitude refused to acknowledge it.
But in a way, that was only natural.
Cleaving the sky with a single sword stroke was transcendent territory.
Even if the academy dean—who had only just stepped into transcendence—came, it wasn't certain she could do it.
And yet, a freshman barely into his twenties had done it?
It didn't make sense to begin with, and even if it did, wouldn't it be bizarre?
Why would someone capable of cleaving the sky bother coming to the academy to learn swordsmanship, of all things?
By any normal reasoning, the only conclusion was that Yuri had shown a Phantom Sword.
Because what he'd demonstrated was in a realm too untouchable.
"No, really, it's not a Phantom Sword."
"Hey now. Don't argue with your instructor."
"No, at my age…"
As Yuri and the instructor's debate over whether it was a Phantom Sword or not heated up…
A beautiful woman in white robes approached from afar, her heels clicking elegantly with each step.
Her grace and nobility radiated even in her stride.
The other freshmen and instructors began to murmur at her presence.
"Oh… Karishichi. Enough with the arguing. What kind of example are you setting as an instructor?"
Her voice froze the area in an instant—chilling to the bone.
The instructor clamped his mouth shut just from hearing it.
"So, what's the problem?"
Freya let out a deep sigh and addressed Yuri.
"I… er, I cleaved the scarecrow and the sky, but he keeps calling it a Phantom Sword."
Yuri awkwardly forced out polite speech while venting his grievance.
The more she heard, the more Freya felt her sanity crumbling.
"What… what did you do?"
"I cleaved the scarecrow."
"No, not that. You said you cleaved something else too."
"The sky."
Freya looked up at the heavens.
The sky, sliced clean as if by some colossal blade.
It was clear repairs would take quite some time.
'Ah, I told him to hold back…!!'
How many times had she advised him to go easy?
Freya's stomach already ached at the thought of reporting this to the Emperor.
"…Karishichi."
"Yes! Instructor Karishichi!"
"I'll evaluate this student myself. You handle the others."
Freya endured a dizzying headache with no fever behind it and sent Karishichi away.
Only once they were alone did she revert to her usual tone.
"…Senior!!! I told you to hold back!!!"
"I thought I did."
Yuri felt utterly wronged in his own way.
He hadn't even used proper swordsmanship, nor poured much qi into it.
He'd just swung vertically with a bit of extra care to score high.
Of course, he'd added a touch of Heaven Cleaver's sword intent for flair.
Other than that, he'd done nothing special.
"And someone who thinks that's 'holding back' cleaves the sky!? How am I supposed to fix that…"
"Eh, just patch it with some casual magic."
"…Do you think I'm Senior Bergil? All I can do is fill in small gaps."
Freya was one of the current Seven Stars—an outlier—but she was only just dipping her toes into transcendence.
The gap with Bergil, who had achieved it long ago, was like heaven and earth.
"Well, if we leave it, it'll sort itself out eventually."
Yuri recalled the war, when he'd shredded the sky trying to kill a dragon.
It had been torn in multiple gashes back then, yet now it was fine—so time would heal it, no doubt.
He just didn't know how long it'd take.
"Anyway, aren't there more tests?"
Yuri had just finished two evaluations, leaving one more.
"…The growth potential measurement?"
"Yeah, that."
Growth potential measurement.
As the name implied, it gauged how much further one could grow.
A highly weighted test, as it assessed one's potential.
"But… doing it with you would probably come out low, Senior?"
"Really?"
"Well, people like us have already finished growing. Right?"
Not just the Seven Stars—even the empire's average knights had mostly peaked.
The Seven Stars had already stepped into transcendence, making further growth questionable.
"Yeah, maybe you're right."
Yuri knew his own growth had stalled.
It hadn't advanced in decades.
Plus, technically, he'd perfected Extreme Guidance after decades of training—nothing left to pursue.
Perfecting it meant reaching the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
"Still, let's give it a shot."
"How's it done?"
"Just stand in the center of that measurement magic circle."
Freya pointed to the massive magic circle nearby.
Yuri stepped into its center.
Soon, as the circle activated, his measurement began.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ When he opened his eyes, he was in an unfamiliar space shrouded entirely in black.
It felt profoundly strange, like the Room of Time and Spirit.
"…Is this what measurements are like?"
The moment he muttered to himself…
—Whoosh!!
Several torches ignited in the pitch-black void, brightening it somewhat.
It had been total darkness before; now it was dim enough to make out shapes.
'Anyway, is this a path?'
With visibility secured, he grasped his surroundings.
A dark space with a path stretching straight ahead, lined by torches.
He stood upon it.
'Guess I should walk.'
Staying put wouldn't accomplish anything, so he moved forward.
One step, two steps, three…
He counted at first, but past a thousand, he'd lost track.
'Why's it so long?'
No end in sight, no matter how far he went.
Yet he pressed on stubbornly—and finally reached a massive door at the path's end.
Ornate decorations gave it a terrifying aura.
Ignoring the vibe, he shoved it open.
—Grrrr rumble…!
In that instant, a grotesque cry echoed from some creature, and a red flash blinded him.
"Ah, shit…!!"
Even reacting in time, his eyes stung.
As he endured the sharp pain and tried reopening them…
His vision returned to the magic circle where he'd stood.
"Senior? You okay?"
His hearing cleared, bringing Freya's worried voice.
Her concern snapped him back to reality.
"Is it supposed to be like this?"
"Huh? Like what?"
"Like, sent to some weird space?"
"No? You just stand still, close your eyes, and it's done."
Freya looked puzzled at his words, making him wonder if age had brought hallucinations.
But no matter how he thought about it, what he'd seen was real.
'…Maybe some hidden backstory or easter egg not in the game?'
There could be undisclosed lore or secrets.
Whether it affected the story, who knew.
"Anyway, what's the result?"
That was what mattered most.
If there was growth potential, he could take down the final boss.
"Uh… well, it's surprising, but…"
"Yeah? How so?"
"Incredibly, your potential for further growth is 0%. Seems you've hit your limit."
The death sentence of no more growth drained the strength from his body.
Fuck this.