Chapter 151
Chapter 151
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: Anastasia's Test
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***
Not long after our conversation at the cafe, we moved locations. It was because Anastasia had requested it.
‘She wants to test my skills, huh.’
While mulling over her words, I glanced at Anastasia walking beside me.
"..."
Her steps were elegant and smooth. And above all, they exuded a sense of ‘ease.’
An absolute state only reached by a handful of people in the empire—Trait Level 10. Just by watching her walk, I could feel what it was like to be confident in one's own power.
‘Though maybe I just think that because of who she is...’
At the same time, my impression of Anastasia was a little different.
The more we talked, the more I noticed subtle similarities between her and Glacia, even though they seemed so distinctly different.
While her appearance resembled Glacia's, there were also subtle similarities in their personalities.
'Anastasia said she was intrigued.'
Heading to the training grounds for this guidance-slash-test, I felt a peculiar mix of emotions.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
When she met my gaze, as if sensing my stare, I gave an awkward laugh.
“I'm just a little fascinated.”
“Fascinated, you say? What do you find so fascinating?”
As she asked again lightly, I voiced my thoughts exactly as I felt them.
“It's not just that you believed me so readily, but also that you want to test me... To be honest, this whole situation feels unreal. I've heard quite a bit about your accomplishments, Lady Anastasia. That you're one of the most distinguished figures in the empire...”
As I finished and met her eyes, she gave a faint smile.
For a moment, my gaze lingered on her smile, so different from Glacia's.
“I won't deny it, but you don't need to feel pressured by me. I know that you're well ahead of your peers, Cadet Han Cheon-seong. I simply want to see you with my own two eyes. Just show me who you are, as you are.”
“...I will do my best.”
“Good. That's all I ask for now.”
Smiling softly, Anastasia looked away.
...Her words put my mind at ease, yet I was also a little surprised.
Compared to the cold, composed impression I first had, the Anastasia before me now felt completely different.
‘Looking at her like this, she's definitely different from Glacia.’
Compared to Glacia, who was direct with her feelings and awkward in her relationships with others, Anastasia felt decidedly more normal.
So much so that I wondered how Glacia could have developed such a personality with an older sister like this...
***
Click.
The training ground Anastasia led me to was a place I had never entered before.
It was as spacious as the training grounds available to the other cadets, but the equipment inside was nearly identical to what I'd seen in the A-Class training ground.
“I've borrowed an instructor's training ground for a while, so you don't have to worry about anyone watching. Feel free to use it as you please.”
"Understood."
Surprised for a moment that she had borrowed it outright, I headed toward the area where various weapons were stored.
Still, I couldn't help but feel a great sense of tension.
‘A test.’
The academy's instructors were all former officers who had served on the front lines, so in truth, Anastasia shouldn't have felt much different. But my perception of her was.
Anastasia was just that important a figure in this world.
Besides, after the test was over...
'I have to talk to her again... to prevent Anastasia from going missing.'
I didn't know the exact timing, but if Anastasia was on her guard, I might be able to prevent her disappearance.
In the time I had left, I had to somehow earn her trust so she would believe my words.
Shing.
As I took a spear from the armory, an unexpected notification appeared in my vision.
*
---
Special Metal Spear
Grade: Rare.
Item Effect: When equipped, Agility increases by 1.2x and Strength by 1.1x.
*Due to the item's effect, your Agility is now 27 and your Strength is 17.
---
*
“A Rare-grade weapon...”
Unlike the training spears I'd assumed it would be, the one I held was Rare-grade. It felt heavier, and the sensation of gripping it was quite different.
Moreover, I could clearly feel the increase in my stats, the sense of having grown stronger.
With that thought, I turned around.
As I approached Anastasia, who had already taken her position, my heart felt surprisingly light.
Since no one else was in the training ground, the pressure of the test itself was less than the tension I felt.
“Shall we begin right away?”
Watching her ask so naturally, I felt a moment of doubt.
Anastasia was looking at me without any weapon in hand.
‘I'm sure she uses a sword.’
The Anastasia depicted in the story was always shown on the front lines, and the weapon she wielded was always a sword.
“Aren't you going to arm yourself?”
To my question, Anastasia lightly shook her head.
“I want to test you, Cadet Han Cheon-seong, not hurt you. So, this is more than enough for now.”
“...I see. So this is enough for the test.”
A small laugh escaped me as I replied.
Her words—that she might hurt me if she held a sword—struck me as incredibly strange.
I understood immediately.
‘Because she has that much power.’
Perhaps even Kalli, who sparred with me regularly, could face me without a sword. Maybe she only wielded one as a formality, out of consideration for me.
But it made perfect sense that Anastasia, who wasn't even an instructor, would find it odd to draw a sword against a mere cadet.
“Then I'm coming.”
As I spoke, aiming my spear, Anastasia simply nodded without a word.
"..."
Calming my breath, I manifested my mana in an instant.
Shwaaa...!
A faint spiral of air enveloped the spear shaft, glowing blue, and I focused a little more.
I didn't pour in enough energy to strain my body, but I concentrated on controlling the spiraling mana, refining it.
While imbuing the spear shaft with spiral mana, I also circulated a faint amount of it throughout my own body.
If I couldn't use more spiral mana, I would just have to move faster.
And my mana responded to my will.
Fwoosh!
As a faint spiral of air swirled around my entire body, I felt a strange vitality coursing through me.
"...The nature of mana."
Noticing a flicker of interest in Anastasia's eyes, I immediately kicked off the ground.
‘There's no way my spear will reach Anastasia.’
I knew the vast gulf that existed between us.
That's why I kicked off the ground without the slightest hesitation.
FWOOSH!!
Leaping forward, my vision expanded rapidly, and I thrust my spear straight ahead without delay.
As I lunged, I wondered how Anastasia would block my spear—or perhaps, deflect it.
Clang!!
A heavy impact traveled up the spear into my hands, forcing me to a halt.
"...!"
Faint ice particles materialized in the air before me, and I saw that my spear was stuck fast.
Literally ‘stuck.’
“...!”
With a sharp intake of breath, I wrenched the spear free from the wall of ice and simultaneously retreated.
I hadn't even reached her immediate vicinity.
And yet, the Anastasia I saw looked exactly as she had when I'd first leaped.
She simply stood in place, unmoved.
This... felt completely different from the wall I'd sensed during my first spar with Kalli.
It was on an entirely different level.
“For a first-year cadet, you are truly far ahead of the curve, Cadet Han Cheon-seong.”
Despite her casual praise, my heart felt as if it were freezing over.
Sssk. Sssssk!
The ice wall, which had only been slightly cracked, was now repairing itself as if it had a will of its own.
Then it turned transparent, vanishing as if it had never been there.
“......”
...To me, it was an incredibly eerie sight.
The difference between simply knowing about a Trait and facing it directly was like night and day. A description of Anastasia from the story came to mind.
[Unless you are an Apostle, no one can even approach her.]
Anastasia's Trait was Ice Flower.
Although the Trait's name meant ‘ice flower,’ Anastasia herself rarely ever created one.
The ice flowers only manifested when she unleashed her true power, which was a rare occurrence.
Most of the time, she made her mark on the front lines by simply manipulating simple ice crystals like that.
A Trait perfect for both offense and defense, and the reason she was called the strongest on the western front.
Anastasia was living proof of just how ridiculously overpowered an elemental Trait could be when pushed to its absolute limit.
‘This is the power of a Legendary Trait.'
I bit my lip at the thought.
The difference in Trait grades, in Trait types...
The gap felt painfully real once again, but I forced myself to pull it together.
“I'm coming again.”
I kicked off the ground, my words like a vow to myself.
I was aware of the distance at which she had created the ice wall before. And since she called it a test, that likely wouldn't change much.
Thump!
Taking a few bounding steps, I kicked off the ground with all my might and launched myself into the air.
This time, I didn't thrust my spear straight ahead.
I launched myself higher than I thought possible. As I hung in the air, I thrust my spear down with all my strength.
'The result... will be the same.'
Still, I needed to show her my worth, and with more power.
I needed to show her.
As I plunged downward from the air, spear tip aimed below,
I focused my will even more intensely into the spearhead.
’Stronger.‘
Hoping for greater spiral power, I increased the amount of mana I was controlling.
The spiral of air around the spear shaft began to glow even more dazzlingly.
And I didn't push for anything more than that.
Just as I felt I'd reached the limit of the power I could exert.
“...!”
At that moment, I felt a strange sensation.
Anastasia, still standing in the same spot, looking up at me as I hung in the air.
The sight of the corners of her lips curling up ever so slightly...
felt unnervingly sinister.