Chapter 262
Chapter 262
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 262
Chapter Title: One Big Shot
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Darcan and Eblens.
Among all those gathered for the Raheln Academy entrance exam, the two—longtime close friends—had the smoothest coordination by far.
Standing alone against them was the assistant professor, Lightly.
Sweat beaded on the brows of Darcan and Eblens as they faced him off.
As if to prove his nickname "Empty Sword" was no empty boast, none of their synchronized attacks landed against his blade.
"Krash, that assistant professor is strong."
While watching their fight, Haring happened to speak up to Krash.
"Yeah."
Krash agreed with Haring's assessment.
Lightly was on the level of Pirate Empress Kairan—a powerhouse that these fledglings, just starting to make a name for themselves in the world, couldn't hope to match.
As proof, it was safe to say Lightly was completely overwhelming Darcan and Eblens.
'He hasn't moved much from his starting spot since the fight began.'
Even under their fierce onslaught, Lightly stood firm in his original position.
Not only did he disrupt their attack flows with the simplest of motions, but he also slipped in strikes between them that could have been fatal.
It was a clear sign of the gap between them.
'Lightly's secret art, Illusory Lantern.'
And the reason he could maintain this fighting style came from that secret art of his.
He was alone, yet not alone.
His afterimages lingered exactly where he had moved, attacking alongside him. That was why Empty Sword Lightly shone especially in multi-opponent battles.
'Darcan and Eblens definitely have the best teamwork among the third-years.'
But they couldn't surpass Lightly, who handled two roles single-handedly.
"Kuhak!"
As proof, Eblens—who failed to break through Lightly—hit the ground first.
He looked battered all over, rolling heavily enough that he couldn't get up right away.
Lightly had no intention of giving him a reprieve.
As he pressed the attack immediately, Darcan had to hurriedly cover Eblens's open spot.
"Da-Darcan, I'm fi-fine, so go on without me!"
"J-Just hold on."
Even as Eblens urged him to forget protecting him and fight solo, Darcan ignored it.
Instead, he threw everything into shielding Eblens while clashing against Lightly.
The outcome was predictable, of course.
Darcan desperately wielded his double axes against Lightly, but his body reached its limit first.
Thud!
Darcan collapsed after taking Lightly's strike, wounds covering his body as his eyes rolled back in a faint.
Eblens had managed to rally midway and launch an attack of his own.
But he too ended up collapsing beside Darcan.
Lightly caught his breath lightly and sheathed his sword at his waist.
Their momentum had been greater than expected, dragging it out a bit, but in the end, neither had left a single mark on him.
"Assistant Professor Lightly wins."
Confirming the result, Assistant Professor Kairan declared Lightly's victory.
A hint of reproach lingered in her eyes.
He had pushed himself to create an overwhelming display, crushing them perfectly.
"You'll burn out fast like that."
"It's necessary for the first match, so don't worry about it, Senior."
It was a show of dominance.
Since he said so, Kairan stopped chiding him.
As he'd said, the intimidation had worked perfectly.
Most of the examinees now wore tense expressions.
Darcan and Eblens were both names with some renown.
Seeing them smashed so thoroughly...
Of course they were on edge.
But that only applied to those who knew their own skills fell short.
One person was glaring fiercely, eyes ablaze.
"We're up next, right?"
A girl confident enough in her abilities to call herself a powerhouse.
There stood a clever young lady raising her hand.
Dalea Juno.
The daughter of the Juno family.
And Bianca Hardenharts.
The flower of the Hardenharts, widely known as Krash's fiancée.
Earlier, Dalea had declared she'd forfeit the first match.
She'd clearly factored in that Lightly wouldn't hold back in the opener, going all-out for intimidation.
What a cunning girl.
'And Bianca.'
Kairan glanced at Bianca beside her.
Bianca had removed her ring for the fight, tucking it preciously into her pocket.
From the moment Lightly's battle began, she'd been laser-focused.
Even after crushing Dalea in practice, her eyes held no complacency.
She coldly assessed the situation, absorbing only the facts—no trace of arrogance.
'Just like her fiancé.'
They acted just the same.
Back during the entrance exam.
Krash had pretended to be arrogant to fool her, but there'd been no real hubris there.
Bianca was the same—considering only how to win, never arrogance in her own strength.
Whether from her fiancé's influence or innate nature, one thing was clear:
Complacency was the furthest thing from either of them.
'If these two fiancée-candidates team up later...'
It'd make for a terrifying combo.
"Next up."
At that moment, Lightly signaled to proceed with the next match.
Kairan glanced his way.
He surely knew this would be the toughest and trickiest exam of the day.
By pushing forward, he meant to keep the post-fight adrenaline burning before it faded.
"Dalea Juno, Bianca Hardenharts team—come on up."
Taking his cue, Kairan called them to the arena.
Dalea ascended first, with a leisurely, relaxed stride.
Bianca followed suit, and the moment she stepped up, Kairan raised her hand.
"Bianca, like I said earlier—I'll take the front line."
In the meantime, Dalea addressed Bianca.
Having experienced her swordsmanship firsthand, Bianca knew she could trust her up front.
So Bianca nodded slowly.
"In return, hit 'em with your strongest one-shot."
The devastating blow that had crushed Dalea before.
At her request, a pure white aura of cold air emanated from Bianca's body.
"I won't be responsible if you get caught in it."
"Heh, that's the kind of shot I need."
To take down that monster of an assistant professor.
"Second match—begin."
With her words, Kairan's arm swept down.
The instant the fight started and Lightly assumed his stance, Dalea—for some reason—stood stock-still.
Seeing this, Lightly's brow twitched.
She'd seemed ready to charge any second, so why the sudden freeze?
The moment Lightly pondered this,
he noticed Bianca gathering power right from the start.
Thud!
Behind her back, her familiar dragon—the ice dragon Crima—had appeared.
The breath gathering in Crima's maw was visibly extraordinary.
The instant Lightly glanced between Bianca and Dalea, he let out a dry chuckle.
'Buying time.'
Dalea just needed to stall until Bianca was ready.
But that didn't mean charging Lightly head-on.
She only needed to buy time, nothing more.
With that single judgment—not moving when it seemed she'd fight—Dalea conserved her stamina and stalled perfectly.
"Ha."
Lightly let out an exasperated laugh and stepped forward.
If they wanted to play it smart for victory,
he'd just smash through it.
The moment Lightly kicked off the ground, Dalea did the same.
She drew her sword in a flash and instantly blocked his path.
Clang!
The fierce clash of steel rang out.
The instant Dalea's sword met Lightly's, an afterimage rose like smoke from his waist.
The flickering afterimage, like a lantern flame, held a sword just like Lightly.
Two Lightlys coexisted from one body.
Dalea's sword clashed with the real Lightly,
while his afterimage swung straight at her opening.
Just before the afterimage's blade reached her shoulder,
Dalea twisted unnaturally, wrapped in moonlight aura.
The moonlight-infused blade twisted and parried the afterimage's sword at near-lightspeed.
Clang!
The Moonlight Divine Sword ignored all magical attacks, cleaving through them.
Lightly's Illusory Lantern was a near-supernatural power.
Thus, upon contact with Dalea's Moonlight Divine Sword, the afterimage's blade crumbled without power, as if crushed.
Dalea shattered the afterimage and immediately gripped her sword anew.
Channeling aura and strength, she slashed down at Lightly.
'No intent to just buy time.'
Lightly thought this as he parried the oncoming blade.
Dalea had no plans to stall for Bianca.
Instead, she poured excessive aura into toppling Lightly right here.
Arrogant, perhaps—but backed by the skill to match.
Her onslaught was far heavier and fiercer than the previous pair's.
Moreover, her unique, erratic swordplay even flustered Lightly at times.
It bordered on acrobatics, the way she darted unpredictably.
And above all, Bianca—silently holding her breath since summoning the ice dragon—gnawed at him most.
The power flow centering on her felt deeply ominous.
'Quick finish.'
Lightly's aura surged as he resolved himself.
The instant Dalea, right before him, felt a chilling spike in his ferocity,
dozens of afterimages rose from Lightly's body simultaneously.
Illusory Lantern
Third Form: Multiple Phantom Images
Dozens of blades bore down on Dalea at once.
Dalea sensed Lightly's intent for a swift end.
Of course, she had no intention of letting it happen.
Her own surging aura made her sword scatter moonlight.
Moonlight Divine Sword
⟨ Fourth Form: Moonlight Quick Thrust ⟩
Her moonlight blade erupted like beastly claws.
Thrust at speeds too fast for the eye, it pierced every one of Lightly's afterimages in an instant.
Dalea's Moonlight Divine Sword was the natural counter to Lightly's afterimages.
Thus, the moment they were all skewered by her Moonlight Quick Thrust...
Clang!
Then, one afterimage abruptly blocked Dalea's blade trajectory.
Dalea's eyes widened in shock.
All his afterimages had been powerless before Moonlight Divine Sword.
Stunned that her sword was halted,
she quickly realized why.
'The real one!'
It was Lightly himself blocking her sword.
He'd hidden among the afterimages, catching the blade meant to pierce them all.
With her sword stalled midway,
Lightly's afterimages remained intact and thrust at her.
Dalea tried to shake him off, but Lightly's blade had no intention of relenting.
"Tch."
Caught in his trap, Dalea released her sword and instantly leaped back.
Slash!
Lightly's afterimage blades crossed where she'd stood moments ago.
A split-second slower, and it'd have been her sliced apart.
But dropping her sword to retreat came at a steep cost.
Lightly, still in his forward lunge, lashed out with a kick.
With no time to recover her stance while retreating, Dalea took it full-force.
Boom!
The impact hurled her tumbling to the arena's edge.
And that created an opening for Lightly.
He didn't finish her—instead launching forward off his extended leg.
He aimed for Bianca first.
Before the leaping Lightly,
Bianca stood with eyes closed.
Despite his approaching presence, her focus was incredible.
But that ended here.
The moment Lightly swung down at the closed-eyed Bianca...
Clang!
His descending blade clashed with something, scattering momentarily.
Lightly belatedly realized it was Dalea's sword.
In the instant she'd been blasted away by his kick,
Dalea had flicked her dropped sword with her toe,
hurling it at Lightly charging toward Bianca.
It was swordsmanship bordering on mastery, calculating his swing's path and timing perfectly.
As a result, Lightly's blade hesitated—just for a moment.
And that fleeting gap she created
was enough to turn the battle.
Drip—
Blood trickled from Bianca's nose as her blue eyes snapped open.
The chill pouring from her dwarfed what Dalea had endured before.
A single strike, pushed to her absolute limit.
Bianca—who'd somehow mastered this uncanny blow—unhesitatingly pointed at Lightly.
"Familiar Dragon Bianca-ryu" "Glacius Radius"
⟨ Glacius Radius ⟩
In that instant, an icy storm swept the arena.