Chapter 155
Chapter 155
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: His and Her Midterm Evaluation
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***
—!
A watery aura enveloped the spear's shaft.
A new and mystical sensation traveled through the spear to my fingertips.
It was a completely different kind of power, but one I could feel was granting me new strength, enough to be called formidable.
"I'll trust you."
With Millia's soft voice, her hand, which had been resting on mine, gently pulled away. I gave her a quick glance before kicking off the ground without hesitation.
*‘The highest score...!’*
I replayed her words of trust in my mind, strengthening my resolve.
This midterm wasn't just my own. It was a test I was taking with Millia, who had willingly partnered with me. That's why I wanted to work even harder and achieve a high score.
I wanted to repay Millia, even if just a little, for all the help she'd given me.
—! ———!
The mana that erupted as I kicked off the ground soon exploded around my entire body.
In my blue-tinted vision, the only places untouched by my mana were the spearhead and shaft imbued with Sesi's energy, and the two arms that held it.
Without consciously focusing on the spiraling mana, so as not to divide my attention, I leaped toward Kalli.
Rather than a straight line, I moved erratically, kicking off the surrounding space to emphasize speed.
“Spirit reinforcement, as expected. Not bad.”
As if accustomed to such a sight, Kalli stood her ground aloofly. In my mind, I had already decided on the best course of attack.
*‘A near-infinite chain of strikes.’*
Putting immense power into a single blow would be good, but I believed the essence of Sesi's power, which was aiding me now, lay in a natural ‘flow’.
I had felt it yesterday during our practice; her power would grow stronger when my attacks formed a chain, like the flow of water.
Therefore, I had no hesitation in my thrusts.
*Fwoosh!*
As the spearhead cut lightly through the air, a spray of water followed, surging forward as if pushing the spear to even greater speeds.
*Whoosh!*
Watching Kalli dodge the spearhead with a slight tilt of her head, I retrieved my spear, concentrating hard to move my hands even faster.
With each thrust, I was already thinking of the next.
And I believed it was now possible for me.
*Fwoosh-fwoosh-fwoosh-fwoosh-fwoosh!*
In an instant, splashes of water filled the air, obscuring the view. Through that myriad of sprays, the spearhead endlessly surged and advanced.
It felt as though the countless splashes were creating even more currents, forging a path for the spear.
The refreshing, crisp sensation and the power Sesi lent me... this moment felt absolutely incredible.
“Good.”
With that single word, Kalli began to deflect my surging spearhead.
...It was a sight the other students had witnessed several times during their exams, but it was truly shocking.
*Voom—! Viiing—!*
A series of strange, space-shaking sounds rang out, easily neutralizing the spearhead imbued with Sesi's power.
No, it was more accurate to say she was deflecting it and pushing me back.
Kalli wasn't even lifting a finger; she was manifesting her trait with her gaze alone.
The unbelievable reality was that she was repelling all my attacks with simple vibrations.
Having faced Anastasia these past few days, I had come to think of her as the strongest, the most powerful being I had ever met. But Kalli, standing before me now, was also an absolute existence, recognized as a pillar of the Empire for her strength.
“...Hk!”
Not even a few minutes had passed, but after being exposed to dozens of vibrations erupting in the air, the recoil hit my arms.
While I was accelerating my movements with the mana cloaking my body, my arms themselves were not imbued with it.
Relying on the power of the spirit Sesi, I was simply pushing forward with swift, technique-focused spear strikes.
My arms had no mana protecting them at all.
*‘Still, I have to face her like this.’*
The main objective of this midterm was to test our ability to synchronize with each other.
In that case, it was more meaningful to proceed with the evaluation as if I were synchronizing with Sesi, the spirit Millia had provided, rather than focusing solely on my own power.
Achieving a better result with my own strength wasn't the point.
*Thud!*
Kicking hard off the ground, I began to add variables to my thrusts as I moved.
I figured this would put less strain on my arms than a frontal attack relying on speed and flow.
*‘The flow is endless anyway.’*
The continuous flow of water isn't created by staying in one place.
Following that thought, I kicked off the ground and thrust my spear.
*FWOOSH!*
The spearhead, which had been creating a storm of water from one spot, now transformed into a brush, painting splashes across the air.
*Viiing—! Viiing—!*
Even as I thrust from her blind spots, Kalli deflected every attack with vibrations generated in the air, as if she could read my every move.
The visible result hadn't changed much, but the strain on my arms had decreased significantly.
Facing dozens of vibrations while stationary was far worse than thrusting while on the move.
And in that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.
“...!”
As I was creating a flow of water, circling Kalli as usual, I suddenly stopped in my tracks.
*Shhk!*
Using my planted foot as a pivot, I spun my body once, and unlike before, I pulled the spear shaft sharply toward me.
In that instant, a scene from the past seemed to overlap with my vision.
—!
The decisive blow from my first duel with Leonhardt, the one I had unleashed like a flash of light as I retracted my spear.
And Leonhardt had neutralized it by blocking it with the flat of his sword.
*‘That won't be enough.’*
In a flash, as I thrust the spear I'd pulled in, just like I had back then, my thoughts continued.
That is not enough.
There was no way an attack that was blocked even by Leonhardt would work on Kalli, a being of far superior strength.
Therefore, I needed a stronger, faster, more overwhelming attack.
“.......”
In my seemingly slow-moving thoughts, I naturally twisted the thrusting spear and put strength into my wrist.
It created the illusion that the spearhead's trajectory was rotating widely.
Amidst the sensation of my thoughts twisting, Sesi's synchronized senses seemed to follow my own, just a little.
At the same time, the water spray began to wrap around the spearhead, spinning bizarrely.
*FWOOOSH-SH-SH-SH-SH!!*
In that moment, a massive vortex of water raged, and the spearhead shot forward with virtually no resistance.
...The speed at which the spearhead advanced was unbelievable, even to me.
It was such a marvelous situation that I momentarily forgot reality and simply entrusted myself to the flow.
*VIIIIING—!!*
As a powerful vibration inevitably erupted from the air, my breath caught in my throat.
*Shudder!*
The swirling water and the advancing spearhead came to a complete stop.
As I stared blankly, Kalli's fine eyes curved into a smile, and she nodded.
“Really... the more I see of you, Student Han Cheon-seong, the more I'm left speechless.”
“...Huh?”
My thoughts stuttered, and I let out a foolish reply.
Slowly, Kalli reached her hand toward the spearhead, which was frozen in mid-air.
...At her gesture, the trembling spearhead stopped completely, as if fixed in place, and I could do nothing but watch.
*Grip.*
Grabbing the spearhead, Kalli slowly lowered the spear.
“The midterm evaluation ends here. You don't need to exert any more power, Student Han Cheon-seong. I saw everything I needed to in that last strike. And... it seems Millia is struggling a bit.”
At her calm words, my gaze unwittingly shifted behind me.
“Cough!”
There, Millia stood with a pale complexion, letting out a deep cough.
*Whip!*
In that instant, I hurriedly released my grip on the spear and broke my concentration.
The energy of Sesi enveloping the spearhead dissipated at once, and I lunged toward Millia.
“Millia! Are you okay!?”
As I reached her in a flash, a wave of self-reproach washed over me.
The spiral power I had inadvertently wished for had caused the synchronized Sesi to harbor that same power.
As a result, Sesi had miraculously synchronized with the spiral power I desired, but the corresponding strain had all gone to Millia.
“...Yeah. I'm okay. And I'm sorry. I guess I... can't handle it yet.”
Looking at Millia, who was watching me with a weak smile, I gently placed my hands on her shoulders.
“I got selfish... and wished for too much. Sesi's synchronization must have put a huge burden on you.”
A faint sigh escaped my lips as I spoke.
...Amidst the sense of crisis and alarm, my heart still seemed to sink.
I had caused an unthinkable situation. I never imagined, even during yesterday's practice, that I could unleash such power.
A spear enhanced by Sesi. I thought being able to wield the power of water was enough. But I had unconsciously wished for more.
“I'm really okay... More importantly, that was amazing. To think you could display such incredible power with Sesi... I was just in awe watching you, you know?”
Millia, having composed herself a bit, gave me a bright, reassuring smile. I felt relieved, but still sorry.
“...I'm sorry. I should have discussed it with you properly before trying.”
“I'm really fine. You don't have to be so sorry.”
As Millia smiled softly, I was finally able to release the tension in the hands holding her shoulders.
A small sigh of relief escaped me.
“I'll be more careful from now on.”
***
*Flick, flick.*
Brushing off her slightly damp hand after grabbing the spearhead, Kalli casually turned her head.
Her gaze fell upon Han Cheon-seong and Millia.
“...I'm sorry. I should have discussed it with you properly before trying.”
“I'm really fine. You don't have to be so sorry.”
The sight of the two of them exchanging a series of words….
“......”
It stirred a very strange feeling in Kalli. And it wasn't just Kalli who felt that way.
"..."
"...Wow."
Enough for most of the surrounding students to stare, there was a peculiar atmosphere between the two.
Han Cheon-seong, genuinely worried about Millia, and Millia, facing him with a gentle smile.
The sight of the two of them, which seemed to convey their feelings for each other... was enough to make most people think they looked good together.
“I'll be more careful from now on.”
Then, as Cheon-seong let go of her shoulders and spoke, Millia flinched slightly before nodding.
Seeing her face flushed red, Kalli unconsciously hesitated.
"..."
It was truly a nice sight.
Since the purpose of the midterm was to have students cooperate and bring out their best, this situation could be called the most ideal outcome she could have hoped for, but….
*‘Why... do I feel so strange?’*
Letting out a faint sigh, Kalli tried to compose her strangely wavering heart.
She shook her head firmly and slowly opened her reluctant lips.
“Then the final pair, Student Luna and Student Jerad, come forward.”
After conducting the test for the final pair... Kalli just wanted to rest.
Her mood had soured... a little.
No, it had soured a lot.