Chapter 175
Chapter 175
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 175
Chapter Title: Mirror Flower, Water Moon (2)
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***
—!
The trajectory of the rushing wind was clearly visible to Glacia.
To anyone else's eyes—no, to everyone but her—the wind's advance would appear as nothing more than a shimmer in the air. It would be impossible to see clearly.
That was why she had never faced much difficulty in her spars with other cadets.
When she imbued her sword with wind, the force moved in a straight line, so her opponents could somewhat counter it. But after receiving advice from her sister on how to handle her trait, everything changed.
With just that, she realized a way to utilize her trait that was incomparable to before.
*‘The sword is merely an extension of my power.’*
The wind was purely her own power, manifesting according to her will.
It was such a simple principle, but once her thinking expanded around it, she could create nearly infinite variations in how she wielded her trait.
When she had arranged the spar with Han Cheon-seong, she hadn't thought she could beat him.
She wasn't the type to ignore reality and overestimate herself.
Feelings like arrogance or conceit were to be avoided, and for her, who had grown up watching her sister, conceit was something she couldn't indulge in even if she wanted to.
Besides, she was no stranger to defeat.
She had learned to accept reality as it was, whether she won or lost.
*‘Yes, that was all there was to it.’*
And as a result, she felt it most keenly during her spars with Leonhardt, a cadet in the same class.
Innate genius.
The wall of traits and talent.
With each passing day, Leonhardt grew tremendously, exuding an overwhelming presence.
His level of growth was beyond comparison with the other cadets. Even though she could feel herself improving, the gap between them still seemed to widen.
At first, she felt her spirit might break, so she had even avoided sparring with him.
But after forcing herself to face him, her heart gradually grew calm. She became accustomed to losing and naturally began to find ways to counter him during their spars.
Without confronting the reality of her own weakness, it was impossible to see beyond it.
In that sense, she ironically found it in Han Cheon-seong.
*‘Looking back, it wasn't something to simply admire and move on from.’*
During his first spar with Leonhardt, Han Cheon-seong might have felt it was only natural. That facing a sword with a spear would naturally give him the upper hand.
But from her perspective, watching the situation, it didn't seem natural at all.
Considering the difference in their trait ranks and other circumstances, it was clear that Han Cheon-seong was faltering and ceding distance.
Throughout the entire spar, range. Understanding and firmly maintaining the principle of advantage was an instinctive matter. That was when I clearly understood why I couldn't comprehend Han Cheon-seong.
It was ‘genius.’
An innate genius that couldn't be rashly understood or imitated…
And I could still see it now.
His calm, dark eyes.
While continuously dodging the wind, he calmly watched for an opportunity.
Despite realizing the unfairness of the matchup, he didn't seem to mind at all.
Just as Leonhardt had calmly centered himself while parrying the spear, Han Cheon-seong was now doing the exact same thing.
He dodged the relentless barrage of wind or held his ground, and even when pushed back, he immediately closed the distance to maintain a strange, subtle gap.
He was trying to somehow maintain a distance from which he could charge at me at any moment.
That was what kept me from fully relaxing, even though I believed I had the upper hand.
*Ssk!*
He evaded the blast of wind by twisting his waist like an acrobat.
Just as he staggered from the wind's aftershock.
—!!
As another gust of wind I manifested aimed for him, this time he met it head-on with the blade of his spear.
A blue spiral bloomed on the spear's blade.
Amidst the brilliantly scattering fragments of blue light, the wind split apart and dissipated, completely neutralized.
While conscious of that, I was already swinging my sword, weaving through the air.
*Shashak!*
Following the cross-shaped path of my blade, the wind shot out once more.
The relentless two-hit combo of wind blocked all of Han Cheon-seong's possible escape routes.
Even amidst my various thoughts, I was manipulating the wind naturally.
And each time, Han Cheon-seong would flinch, get pushed back, and sometimes try to close the distance.
It felt like a situation that had repeated several times already, yet there was a strange sense that something was different.
A truly sluggish series of exchanges. A spar where neither could land a decisive blow on the other.
I maintained the offensive from start to finish, while Han Cheon-seong somehow received and deflected my attacks, creating a back-and-forth as he tried to approach me.
Therefore, I didn't feel impatient either.
*‘The advantage in this spar is definitely mine.’*
I was certain of that much.
As long as I didn't give Han Cheon-seong any distance, his spear would never reach me.
No matter how much power Han Cheon-seong held, no matter how he wielded that mysterious power called the spiral, the result wouldn't change.
In the first place, even this…
*‘…is something I learned from you.’*
I, who had replayed his spar against Leonhardt—now considered a being beyond the standard—hundreds of times, completely understood how Han Cheon-seong had managed to fight him to a draw.
A large part of it was that Han Cheon-seong had the matchup advantage and never once let his guard down.
He relentlessly continued his assault, giving no openings. That was his momentum, his offense, and the best defense to block his opponent's attacks.
I was now recreating what he had done back then, but against him. Therefore, there was no way I could lose this spar.
The fact that I, who had initially suffered defeat against Leonhardt, could now fight him on equal footing was also because I had come to understand the principle of range.
Wind, unlike other elements, lacks overwhelming power on its own, but it possessed an unparalleled advantage compared to other elemental types.
The ability to push back force.
Being able to block anything from approaching with wind held great significance. It was like having a matchup advantage against almost all close-range types. As I thought this, I gripped my sword with both hands again and swung it wide at the empty air.
*Paaaaang—!*
A massive shockwave erupted once more from the tip of my swung sword.
It was meant to push back Han Cheon-seong, who had somehow found an opening and gotten close to me.
*Shwoook!*
This time, as if intending to deflect the wind differently than before, he swung his spear in a wide diagonal arc, but a faint smile unknowingly played on my lips.
*‘If it were a gust of wind that could be deflected so easily,’*
*‘I wouldn't have bothered gripping my sword with both hands.’*
*Jureureuk—!*
As expected, unable to deflect the wind, Han Cheon-seong was pushed back, his feet dragging across the ground. I took a short breath and readied my sword.
*‘This spar can't be finished quickly.’*
Considering the near-indomitable will Han Cheon-seong had shown, I had no thought that this spar would end easily.
It would likely turn into a battle of attrition, just like with Leonhardt.
And even if it became a battle of attrition, it didn't matter.
*‘The nature of wind.’*
Among all elemental traits, it was the one that placed the least strain on its user.
Depending on how it was handled, it was even possible to recover power from the circulating wind. At the very least, the burden would be far less than the blue spiral power Han Cheon-seong wielded.
Confidence was swelling within my heart.
'I can win.'
I could definitely win this spar.
***
—!
A succession of fierce winds raged within the training grounds,
*Shwoook!*
and in response, a large cluster of blue spiral light repeatedly scattered.
The series of events evoked a strange sense of déjà vu in the onlookers.
“……”
Training instructor Avalanche and a few Class A cadets were observing the spar, but the dynamic of the current match between Glacia and Han Cheon-seong was remarkably similar to another one.
It was the pattern of the spar between Glacia and Leonhardt from a few days ago.
Leonhardt, who had never experienced defeat in a spar against anyone. The recent sluggish nature of his spar with Glacia had been just like this, so everyone couldn't help but be reminded of it.
*Jureureuk!*
As Han Cheon-seong, pushed back with his feet dragging on the ground, righted his spear and launched himself forward again, the wind relentlessly tormented him.
*Pung! Pung!*
As he dodged, deflecting the wind, the bursting gusts had a strange effect on the atmosphere. For the winds that rushed in too sharply to avoid, he neutralized them by meeting them with his spear.
*‘So, geniuses are ultimately connected.’*
The thought occurred to Avalanche unconsciously as he observed the spar.
It was the first spar he had observed this year, and its result had been so shocking that he still remembered it vividly.
—The spar between cadets Leonhardt and Han Cheon-seong.
The two cadets, whom he had considered so different back then, now revealed one similarity after another as he watched them.
The movements of Cadet Leonhardt, known to be peerless even among Class A cadets—Cadet Han Cheon-seong, a Class C cadet, was now recreating them almost perfectly.
It was uncannily similar.
Cadet Han Cheon-seong couldn't have seen Cadet Leonhardt's spar. Yet, the back-and-forth was so similar that at times, he could almost see an overlay of Cadet Leonhardt on top of him.
In the currently unfolding spar, anyone could see that the offense and defense were clearly defined.
Cadet Glacia was on the offensive, while Cadet Han Cheon-seong firmly defended, continuously trying to close the distance.
*‘Cadet Glacia certainly has the advantage.’*
Having made unrivaled progress recently, she had shown tremendous growth.
Even now, the faint light of a blessing settled on her body seemed to be indirect proof of how much she had grown.
*‘A Unique Trait at level 4…’*
In its own right, this was an incredibly fast pace of growth.
However, it was a bit disappointing that her movements seemed somewhat monotonous. Although she was finely adjusting the intervals of her wind blasts to create variation, it didn't seem to be enough.
Even if she tried to introduce variations, if time dragged on, there would eventually be a limit.
It meant there was a point where she would instinctively repeat variations. Like finding a rhythm, a pattern she felt more comfortable with would emerge.
And if she were to display a similar pattern…
*‘That in itself is an extremely dangerous act.’*
When facing a genius, there's a common saying that the same trick doesn't work twice.
It might sound strange at first, but for those who have personally experienced a genius, it was an inevitable reality.
Geniuses, by their very nature, think differently from others.
So, his gaze naturally shifted to Cadet Han Cheon-seong's movements.
“……Indeed.”
The blue spiral energy imbued in the spear was still being maintained.
The fact that he had maintained it for over 20 minutes meant he still had the capacity to concentrate his consciousness.
That fact alone was another proof of Cadet Han Cheon-seong's genius.
It showed how willpower could transform into such immense power, that his draw with Cadet Leonhardt was by no means a matter of luck or a momentary flash of wit.
*‘He makes up for a lower-ranked trait with innate talent.’*
In my view, Cadet Han Cheon-seong possessed more than enough genius for that.
*‘In that case, surely…’*
Cadet Han Cheon-seong would even show the genius to overcome this disadvantageous matchup, which currently seemed impossible to approach.
If Cadet Glacia didn't try to end the spar quickly, it would likely be an inevitable outcome.
'Hoo.'
Unconsciously, his heart was filled with a sense of pity. Cadet Glacia was standing at a major crossroads.
A crucial step toward reaching trait level 4.
But to me, the result was already visible.
A result where Cadet Glacia's defeat was inevitable…
In that case, Cadet Glacia had to realize it for herself.
She needed to consider why Cadet Han Cheon-seong was a special cadet who fought on par with Cadet Leonhardt, and that he too, in his own way distinct from Cadet Leonhardt, would prove himself.