The Aftermath of a Single Strike
What the hell was that about?
The dust that had accumulated on the training ground floor whipped up violently beneath my feet, and Eisen’s eyes remained fixed on the exact spot where I had originally been standing.
A wizard launching a full frontal charge against a knight.
It was an irregularity that defied any knight’s common sense, something that could neither be understood nor predicted.
He must have assumed I would create distance, begin casting, and start my incantation.
As if to prove that assumption, Eisen hadn’t even taken a proper defensive stance.
Only his instincts had caused the faintest twitch across his face.
I poured every ounce of power into the speed granted by Blood Flow Acceleration and swung my staff at his abdomen like a baseball bat.
THUD—!
A deafening roar echoed throughout the First Training Ground.
“Guh…!”
A breathless scream burst from Eisen’s mouth along with a spray of blood.
His body floated helplessly into the air.
Watching that, I didn’t rashly claim victory. Instead, I pulled my staff back and prepared for his counterattack.
He was, after all, classified as a genius of martial arts. Better safe than sorry.
If he gets pissed and starts using aura, it’ll be a pain in the ass.
If he stood up, I planned to take full advantage of Moving Casting and hammer him with magic.
I hurriedly began constructing a 3-Circle spell.
Among 3-Circle spells, I chose Steed Quake, an earth-attribute magic that collapses the terrain to trap the enemy’s feet.
The manifestation of magic is the product of precise calculation and structuralization.
First, I designated the coordinates within a five-meter radius outside the training ground boundary—the predicted landing trajectory for Eisen—then recognized those spatial coordinates and set them as the spell’s activation point.
At the same time, I circulated my mana circuits to establish the activation conditions.
The moment Eisen’s toes touched the training ground boundary, mana would surge backward from the designated point, causing earthen spikes to erupt and assault his lower body.
Normally, processing such complex conditions and three-dimensional mana arrangements would require intense concentration and a lengthy incantation from any wizard.
But something was off.
All those steps.
Lock coordinates, set activation point, circulate mana circuit, trigger reverse flow the instant toes touch, deploy earthen spikes to attack lower body.
It felt like the entire paragraph had been accelerated to the point where it could be defined in a single sentence.
“…Huh?”
I unconsciously let out a bewildered sigh.
It was different. Far too different from usual.
The sensation was so elevated that simply calling it “different” felt like an understatement.
To cast magic, one must draw mana from the circles, circulate it through the mana pathways to give it form, and mentally construct the spell formula without error.
Yet for some reason, that entire process had been compressed.
Don’t tell me… using Blood Flow Acceleration also accelerates mental calculations?
I had genuinely believed it was nothing more than a pure physical enhancement ability.
But this crude act of forcibly pumping the heart to increase circulation speed also amplified blood flow to the brain, creating an additional effect that sped up cognitive processing.
…The brain is part of the body too. Why didn’t I realize that sooner?
My technique for enhancing physical abilities was actually elevating the most crucial weapon for a wizard—the brain—to an entirely new level.
The thought sent a shiver down my spine.
The electrifying goosebumps racing across my back made me unconsciously tighten my grip.
I turned my head to look at Eisen, who was still airborne.
He tumbled several times, kicking up clouds of dust, before finally crashing far beyond the training ground.
When I looked around, the First Training Ground was deathly silent.
Dozens of students and Professor Errington seemed to have forgotten how to breathe; they simply stared blankly at Eisen.
Their eyes asked the same question.
What on earth just happened?Why is Eisen sprawled out like that?
A wizard had closed in on a knight and sent him flying.
In a single strike, no less.
It was an unreal phenomenon that defied interpretation.
Everyone who had witnessed it had frozen like statues, their thoughts completely halted.
I slowly regulated my breathing and gradually released Blood Flow Acceleration. The heat in my skin subsided, and my vision returned to its normal speed.
“….”
I turned toward the referee standing in the corner of the training ground.
Just like last time, his mouth hung open. I jerked my chin at him.
Only then did he snap out of it and stammer out his declaration.
“E-Eisen Einhardt has left the arena by knockout! The winner is Eros Brioche!”
The victory announcement rang across the training ground, but there were no cheers or applause.
Only heavy silence and gazes filled with shock remained.
I stared blankly down at my own two hands.
The sensation of impact still lingered at my fingertips, along with the euphoric thrill of that astonishing calculation speed that had flashed through my mind.
…I wonder if I could chant while moving at that speed.
The moment the thought crossed my mind, goosebumps erupted across my entire body once more.
If it really worked the way I imagined…
I might actually be a genius.
That was when I heard Eisen groaning in pain.
Even as he frowned, he looked up at me with eyes full of confusion, as if he still had no idea what had just happened to him.
I slowly walked over and stopped in front of Eisen, who was clutching his stomach.
I leaned my upper body slightly toward him, brought my face close, and whispered quietly.
“Not much to you after all, Einhardt.”
Eisen’s pupils trembled wildly.
Savoring the mixture of humiliation, shame, and bewilderment on his face, I curled the corner of my mouth upward.
“You said it yourself. That I was a genius.”
“….”
“This much is what it takes to be called a genius, wouldn’t you say?”
“….”
“We agreed that if I won, you’d do whatever I asked, right? I’ll think about what I want and tell you tomorrow, so come find me then.”
To be honest, I was trying to provoke him even more.
If he were an ordinary noble heir drunk on his own talent, he should have flown into a rage here, cried foul, or at least cursed me out.
But Eisen didn’t.
Instead of making pathetic excuses, he simply nodded.
“…Understood. I will honor the promise.”
There was resignation in Eisen’s voice.
Maybe it was because of his handsome face, but for a moment I thought light was shining from it.
…This isn’t what I wanted.
I had expected him to at least complain that a wizard had cowardly used physical techniques.
Instead, he accepted the result without a single excuse.
The strange sense of discomfort left me feeling flustered.
…So you really were just an upright person.
Now I finally understood why he had come looking for me and deliberately picked a fight.
…Tch.
Even though I had won, the taste in my mouth felt bitter.
This must be what they mean by a bad aftertaste.
With that thought, I stood up, turned around without hesitation, and began to leave the training ground.
With every step I took, the crowd parted as if Moses’ miracle were unfolding.
Feeling their gazes filled with both reverence and the look one gives a monster, I clicked my tongue—only for a familiar set of footsteps to approach my side.
A sidelong glance confirmed it was Lise.
She followed behind me, her ash-gray hair still fluttering.
From the look on her face, she seemed just as confused as everyone else.
That was when a flash of blue hair suddenly blocked my path.
Elteumia, who had approached at some point, kept her head lowered as if conscious of the surrounding stares and drew close to my side.
Then, as she naturally brushed past me, she whispered in a small voice.
“I’ll come to your room tonight.”
Her cool gaze swept across the back of my neck.
“We need to talk.”
The chilly night wind seemed to blow in from outside the window, followed by a rattling sound as the window swung open.
A familiar silhouette slipped into the room, blue hair fluttering behind her.
“There’s a perfectly good door. Why do you always come through the window?”
I sat crookedly on the bed and grumbled bluntly.
But Elteumia didn’t snap back like usual.
She simply stared at me intently.
The gaze was so sticky that I realized this was no time for jokes.
“You.”
“….”
“You’re a vampire… aren’t you?”
“…What?”
The completely out-of-left-field choice of words made me doubt my ears.
A vampire?
“What the hell are you…”
I frowned, utterly dumbfounded.
But Elteumia took a bold step closer with an expression full of conviction.
Then she pressed me again.
“You are, aren’t you? A vampire.”
“…No, what are you even talking about?”
“If you really are a vampire, how are you walking around the academy so freely in broad daylight? For that to be possible, you’d have to be of high-ranking bloodline among vampires.”
“I’m asking why you think I’m a vampire.”
I asked in genuine bewilderment, but Elteumia clicked her tongue as if she were the one who found it absurd.
She took another step closer and whispered in a chilling voice.
“Don’t even think about deceiving me. That technique you used in the training ground during the day…”
…Hm?
Don’t tell me she figured out the secret behind my rubber abilities…
“That was Blood Magic used by high-ranking vampires, wasn’t it?”
Excuse me? Blood Magic?
“…Tell me. Why is a vampire attending the academy?”
It seemed that…
Elteumia had seen my Blood Flow Acceleration and mistaken me for some otherworldly being.