Build Injection (1)
I watched Adelia fill out the group application form and submit it to the student counseling office.
Once we returned to the club room, I turned to her and asked, "Welcome to the group, Adelia Laden. From now on we'll help you, but... what are your plans going forward?"
"First, I'll hunt the monsters rumored to be rampaging."
"Was the rampage only at Razenta Lake?"
"Razenta Lake was the most prominent case. Even before that, reports had been coming in about monsters acting strangely or growing more violent than usual. Finding the Water Sacred Beast is important, but we can't just ignore the rampaging monsters. Besides,"
"While we're subduing the rampaging monsters, we might encounter the Water Sacred Beast again, just like we did at the lake."
"Exactly."
"Hmph! Rampaging monsters are no match for me! No matter how many there are, I'll sear them all with my lightning!"
Stimulated by the word "rampage," Atsbal struck an extremely enthusiastic pose.
"Then can we depart right away? The sooner we find the Water Sacred Beast—"
I cut Adelia off before she could rush ahead.
"There's something we need to confirm first."
"Confirm?"
"Whether you like it or not, you're a member of Portis now. So I expect you to participate diligently in club activities as well."
"Of course. This group seeks strength, correct? I heard you take on requests for that purpose. Even after we resolve the Water Sacred Beast incident, I won't withdraw. I'll continue participating in group activities. Does that satisfy you?"
"That's obvious."
"Obvious?"
Of course it is. Who'd just suck the benefits and then bail?
"The thing we need to confirm is about you yourself."
"Me?"
"There will definitely be multiple rampaging monsters. That means we'll end up in a chaotic melee, and we'll need to coordinate. To do that, we first have to know exactly what your skills are and how you fight. We could test it in real combat, but these monsters are far more violent and powerful than ordinary ones. For safety's sake, I'd rather confirm your abilities here at the academy."
Adelia nodded at my words.
"Indeed. That would be wiser. My apologies. I was so hasty that I overlooked something so obvious."
She smiled with quiet confidence.
"Then let's head to the training classroom right away. I'll show you all the skills I've honed."
***
Adelia Laden walked toward the empty training classroom with confident strides, her thoughts racing.
This is my chance.
A chance to prove to her father, Forten Laden, that she was no longer a child who needed constant protection. And a chance to grasp the first thread leading to the Chaos Cult—the enemy who had taken her beloved, respected older sister.
Adelia Laden had no intention of letting this opportunity slip away.
The Portis group. Not only had they encountered the Water Sacred Beast, they had even managed to wound it. A group of remarkable skill. Composed entirely of newly enrolled students with no Laden nobles among them, which meant her actions were far less likely to reach Forten Laden's ears.
In every way, they were the ideal partners for her goals.
This skill assessment wasn't merely about receiving their cooperation. It was also her chance to prove that she could contribute to them in return. Someone with no ability who only made requests would never earn their respect. Their willingness to cooperate would naturally suffer as well.
So if she showed them her true strength, they would feel at ease and work with her wholeheartedly—that was what Adelia Laden believed.
She entered the training classroom and looked over the Portis members.
"So, who will be testing my skills?"
"I will."
Lee Si-han. Vice-leader of Portis... and the one suspected of having cut the Water Sacred Beast's body.
The Shu family used talismans, so they were out. From his earlier boasts, Atsbal Genadic clearly wielded lightning magic. Pamela's outfit alone marked her as a witch.
Judging from the evidence photo, the one who had severed the Water Sacred Beast Praton was most likely Lee Si-han.
Your power that inflicted such heavy damage on a Sacred Beast... I'll confirm it myself.
While displaying her own strength, Adelia Laden resolved to gauge Lee Si-han's abilities as well.
She stepped onto the training platform, raised a barrier, and faced Lee Si-han. Gripping the sword at her right hip with her left hand, she drew it.
"Hey, isn't that Portis?"
"And the one up there... wait, Adelia Laden? Why is the Second Princess of Laden dueling Portis's vice-leader?"
"Since when did Princess Adelia have any connection to Portis?"
Students who had been using the classroom for their own reasons began murmuring as their attention focused on the platform.
Adelia ignored the whispers and concentrated solely on Lee Si-han.
He, too, readied his spear and spoke.
"Come at me first."
"Understood. Then... hah!"
She kicked off the ground, closing the distance in an instant, and activated her skill.
"Wave-Splitting Sword!"
Her blade, wreathed in water energy, flashed from its sheath. The draw technique meant to cleave through waves in a single strike bore down on Lee Si-han.
But the attack never reached him.
With the smallest possible movement, Lee Si-han kicked off the ground and retreated, slipping completely outside the range of both the sword and the water that extended the slash.
As expected, he's formidable. But this isn't over!
Without hesitation, Adelia immediately chained into her next skill to deny him any opening for a counter.
"Dance of Water Blossoms!"
Despite its beautiful name, the skill unleashed a dazzling storm of continuous slashes—like flowers blooming from the blade—and surged toward Lee Si-han.
This one he can't dodge—
And then—
Clang!
Lee Si-han's spear swept out and deflected her strike.
What!?
Adelia was shocked that he had parried even the opening phase of Dance of Water Blossoms.
But she couldn't stop here.
She pressed on, continuing the skill even as her blade was deflected.
Yet—
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Lee Si-han deflected every single slash of Dance of Water Blossoms.
Impossible...!
Adelia couldn't believe it.
Dance of Water Blossoms. She had poured blood, sweat, and tears into obtaining this skill. Countless hours of training to ensure not a single link in the chain would break, and even after acquiring it she had continued refining it day after day without fail.
For Adelia Laden, Dance of Water Blossoms was the very symbol of her effort.
And Lee Si-han was parrying it all.
Such a feat was only possible if the gap in their abilities was vast.
So this is how strong you are, Lee Si-han!
She had already known he possessed the power to wound the Water Sacred Beast, so the mental shock was somewhat lessened. Still, having her signature skill completely dismantled rattled her.
Get ahold of yourself. The duel has only just begun. I can't back down like this!
Tightening her grip on the sword, Adelia steadied her mind.
Continuing to use skills will only waste my mana if he keeps dismantling them. In that case... I'll rely on pure technique to read his movements!
***
Ah, my hands are numb.
When Adelia had unleashed Dance of Water Blossoms, I had tried to parry every strike in style, just like I had against Tou Jin. But the moment I first made contact with her blade, I realized it was impossible.
More precisely, I could do it—but my hands would hurt like hell afterward. So instead of trying to parry, I deflected the attacks.
Even so, the impacts left a lingering numbness in my palms.
When I had deflected Tou Jin's blade, I'd only needed a bit of extra strength. Adelia's sword was on an entirely different level.
Yeah, the specs of a 5-star character really are something else.
My current Strength stat was 10. I hadn't felt much strain when flipping or moving monster corpses, so I'd figured I could just raise it slowly. But after deflecting Adelia's skill, I realized I needed to invest more into Strength sooner rather than later.
What's she going to use next? Surging Torrent? Or will she buff herself with her ultimate and then attack?
If she buffed with her ultimate and reused Dance of Water Blossoms, I really didn't want to deflect everything again. My wrists would take a serious beating.
While I was preparing for her next move, Adelia did something I hadn't expected.
"Hah!"
She suddenly stopped chaining skills and simply swung her sword normally.
I dodged and deflected the strikes following their trajectories. They didn't leave the same sharp numbness as the blossoms, but each deflection sent a heavy impact through my hands.
My hands are still numb. I should create some distance.
Clang!
After deflecting one more of her strikes, I spun and drove a kick into her abdomen.
"Kuh!"
Her sword had been knocked aside, so she couldn't block. Adelia was sent flying backward.
But she immediately rolled once, executed a proper breakfall, and sprang back to her feet.
"Kh... hah, hah."
Breathing hard, she stared at me with tension-filled eyes.
She must have been shaken after seeing her skill completely dismantled. She probably thought I had deflected her attacks without any effort at all.
If this had been Tou Jin picking a fight with us, I would've provoked her further with something like "Is that all you've got?" But the person standing before me was a future comrade who would stay with the group until the final boss.
There was no need to deliberately intimidate or provoke her.
Looking at Adelia, who was still tense and trying to figure out my next move, I spoke.
"As expected of Laden's Second Princess."
"...?"
I passed the spear from my right hand to my left and shook out my right hand.
"That was a sharp, powerful sword. I almost dropped my spear."
I deliberately made it sound like her attacks had been genuinely threatening.
"What?"
Adelia looked genuinely surprised, as if she didn't understand.
Just as I thought—she'd believed none of her attacks had landed at all.
I ignored her reaction, switched the spear back to my right hand, and settled into a stance.
"Now it's my turn."
[Penetration]
"...! Come at me!"
Seeing the tension in Adelia's eyes visibly lessen, I kicked off the ground.