Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Mirror Flower, Water Moon (3)
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This was precarious.
The spiral current imbued in the spearhead couldn't be maintained for much longer. Cheon-seong was fully aware of his condition.
That he no longer had the stamina to drag out the spar. That there was a limit to how long he could hold on like this.
*Drip.*
"...Hoo."
Even as he was pushed back by the fierce wind pressure, a ragged breath escaped him.
And yet, his heart was filled with anticipation. He'd been unilaterally pushed back, on the defensive for dozens of minutes, but it didn't feel bad.
Rather, the more he was pushed back, the greater his fighting spirit soared.
Moreover, the reason he had to continue this spar was becoming crystal clear.
The light of the blessing enveloping Glacia's entire body had been shining for a long time. The strange yearning in her blue eyes was also palpable to him.
A desire to defeat me. The most fundamental and essential mindset for a Trait to grow—that was what filled her eyes right now.
So, strangely enough, I was happy about it.
‘Glacia is more than capable of advancing.’
The feeling I had now was completely different from when I'd tried to help Karite yesterday.
Glacia knew how to grow on her own; she was already somewhat complete. I hadn't expected her to be this strong, to the point where I felt a small shock.
*Shhk.*
Nevertheless, he righted his spear and kicked off the ground again.
*Boom! Boom!*
As if chasing my swift footsteps, the aftershocks hit every spot where my feet had been moments before. Through my violently fluttering clothes and hair, I had to admit it.
‘I might actually lose.’
My confidence that I would win had long since vanished. Besides, whatever the outcome of the spar, it no longer mattered.
*Whoosh!*
Facing the wind that shot toward me as if predicting my movements, I twisted my torso sharply. The form of the wind, which narrowly grazed my waist, was invisible to the eye, perceptible only by sense.
‘Right now, I need to do more.’
The feeling that I had to push myself harder just kept growing.
Glacia is on the verge of reaching Trait Level 4. In that case, as her opponent, I had to press her even harder so she could ignite her will.
This one-sided exchange couldn't continue.
So that Glacia can draw out even greater strength. It means I, too, must try much harder.
*Shhk!*
Dodging the countless blasts of wind, I slowly closed the distance.
I had no intention of suddenly kicking off the ground to close the gap or catching her off guard like before. Right now, I had to pressure Glacia.
To make her feel a sense of crisis, of alarm.
My current approach was like a small step toward that goal.
—!!
———!!
As I closed the distance, I steadily advanced, evading the ever-intensifying wind by a hair's breadth, as if performing acrobatics, and neutralizing it with my spearhead.
And when Glacia gripped her sword with both hands in her characteristic stance, preparing to manifest an even more powerful wind, I gave a faint smile.
Though I had no leeway at all, I had to act as if I did.
‘Just a little more.’
It was really just a little longer now.
Until Glacia reached the next level of her Trait.
*BAAANG—!!*
Along with the familiar shockwave, the massive fluctuation in the atmosphere before me became distinct. The rush of wind, which I couldn't even sense at first, was now perceptible to the point I could vaguely feel how fast it was approaching.
In response, I acted naturally.
*Thud!*
Using my planted right foot as an axis, I twisted my waist powerfully, as if spinning. At the same time, I focused the mana in my spear even more, forming a larger spiral than before.
‘I'll break through the wind itself.’
The first time I faced it, I couldn't break through. Even in the dozens of minutes of sparring that followed, I had consistently failed to do so.
But now, things were different.
*Ssshwirl!*
At that moment, an overwhelmingly blue current, far greater than before, enveloped the spearhead. Without hesitation, I thrust the spear forward.
*Ssssshhkkk!!*
The current of the storm immediately crashed against it, surging back with great repulsion.
The spearhead meeting it was held precariously in place, as if it could be sent flying at any moment.
The hand holding the spear trembled, and I felt the same pressure as before, as if my entire body would be pushed back.
And yet, my gaze upon the storm did not waver. Aware that the hand gripping the spear was shaking, I continued to hold it out.
Though it felt like I might lose my grip on the shaft in the strong wind, my mind was strangely composed.
—[Pierce a single point and twist]
A concept that came to me naturally. And as if realizing that very concept, I met the storm's current with the spiral imbued in my spear.
Its power was weak.
A spiral current that even I thought was weak.
And yet, a change soon occurred.
*Ssshhhaaa—!!*
In an instant, the storm caught in the spiral current burst apart futilely, scattering in all directions as my spear cleaved through it.
Through my wildly fluttering hair, a faint laugh escaped my lips unwittingly.
‘...I haven't reached a skill yet.’
And yet, the original concept I had wished for was now manifested by my will.
It existed as a sub-concept of a much larger skill, one that I could now handle like this.
Because of that, I didn't feel the immense strain that came with manifesting a full-fledged skill.
It felt like I had merely applied it, drawing out the power of one sub-category from a larger classification.
There was certainly some strain in my hand, but it was on a completely different level from the strain I felt when manifesting my power against Leteia.
‘I can control it.’
I could feel it with my own body—that I could control the power of the skill to some extent.
“He scattered the wind…?”
Was the scene that unfolded so unexpected? Watching Glacia mutter blankly, I calmly retrieved my spear.
I didn't immediately leap toward her or thrust my spear.
...Ironically, unlike the mental I felt, my body had none to spare.
“Hah... hah...”
As I panted, my breath catching in my throat, my body was already nearing its limit.
Countless repetitions of being pushed back by the wind, moving my body without rest to evade it. The intensity of my movements relative to the time spent felt even greater now than in my spar with Kalli.
*Tremble.*
My hand gripping the spear trembled faintly, so I clenched it tighter, erasing the tremor.
Then I looked at Glacia, who had stopped her assault with a dazed look in her eyes.
‘This isn't enough.’
This wasn't enough.
Not for Glacia, and not for me.
This level simply wouldn't do.
Realizing the light of the blessing on her body was rapidly fading, I immediately manifested all the remaining power in my body.
————!!
The moment my remaining mana erupted brilliantly and enveloped my body, I converted all of it into a spiral current.
Wreathed in a blue spiral current that covered my entire body for the first time since the spar began, I shouted urgently.
“Glacia. Is this all you've got?”
A very cheap taunt. I knew it didn't suit me, but right now, I had to provoke her, even if it was like this.
I'm manifesting this much power and can still do more, but is this really your limit?
“...!”
At that, her dazed expression vanished, and I saw her ready her sword.
*Grit.*
As Glacia suddenly bit her lip and her eyes grew completely calm, I kicked off the ground without hesitation.
‘It hasn't gone out yet.’
If she's come to her senses, Glacia will show the power she possesses. Whatever it was, the good thing was that the light of the blessing hadn't disappeared.
If she could just show the will to make that light of blessing bloom fully, the meaning of this spar would be fulfilled.
*Swish.*
The moment I took a step, even I was surprised.
The mana I had manifested was so scarce that I doubted I could maintain it for even a minute.
And yet, the spiral current enveloping my body felt as if it were elevating me to a higher dimension. Even taking a step felt completely weightless.
Even the hand gripping the spear was incomprehensibly light.
So light that I could physically feel what it meant to be ‘light as a feather’...
*Sh-sh-sh-sh-shk!!*
After that, as the distance rapidly closed, Glacia began to unleash the wind even more fiercely.
It wasn't the controlled, calmly spaced blasts from before, but a wind that lacked precision and varied in power.
*Whoosh! Boom!*
The winds I couldn't dodge were lightly neutralized with my spear, yet I could feel the heavy strain on my hand once again.
‘The wind has gotten weaker.’
Glacia's assault was chaotic and full of variables. Because of that, each individual blast of wind was actually weaker than before.
And yet, against the seemingly infinite barrage, my body felt like it was slowly being pushed back.
The more I faced the wind, the more I was pushed back, unable to approach.
‘But it doesn't matter.’
At some point, my goal was no longer to win this spar.
My purpose was to make Glacia manifest a greater power, to possess a stronger will.
Nevertheless, I couldn't deny the heat rising in my own body as I stepped forward.
*Boom!*
Even now, as a blast of wind narrowly missed my shoulder and made me stagger, I continued to press forward.
While moving swiftly around Glacia, I had no leeway to thrust my spear. The only time I swung my spear was to neutralize a blast I couldn't dodge.
Glacia's hands moved busily as she continued to chew her lip and glare at me.
With the distance now clearly narrowed, Glacia was desperate to push me back somehow.
At the same time, I could see she was afraid to grip her sword with both hands. It was as if she thought that if I neutralized that powerful wind again, it would be over.
‘That's her opening.’
The spiral current now cloaking my body was all I had left. I had nothing more than this.
I had even released the spiral current imbued in the spearhead. All I could do was focus on the movements accelerated by the current around my body. If she were to take another step and make a reckless move, I would have to concede defeat.
But she couldn't bring herself to make such a choice.
Instead of clashing swords, she was unconsciously trying to push me back by firing blasts of wind.
That's why I feigned even more composure.
As if I had more to spare.
‘...Just a little more from here.’
If Glacia can see what comes next, she will definitely grow.
So, to close the distance more threateningly, I took an even bolder step.
*Swish!*
…
Han Cheon-seong, moving swiftly as if darting all around Glacia.
His body, wreathed in a blue spiral current, gave off an incredibly mystical feeling to any observer.
And just when it seemed he'd stepped on the training ground floor, his form would vanish as the spiral current moved swiftly through space.
*Boom-boom-boom-boom!*
Glacia's winds, hastily fired as if chasing his traces, manifested on a massive scale, tearing through the surroundings.
But they couldn't reach Han Cheon-seong.
Even as the wind relentlessly blasted the area, chasing his afterimage, neither Cheon-seong nor the frantic Glacia realized it.
They didn't even realize what kind of scene was currently unfolding.
Normally, a wind-wielding Trait was one whose manifestations were so fast that it was nearly impossible for most to deal with at close range.
That's why the usual approach was to either overwhelm it with greater power or try to settle the match in an instant, but the two of them were ignoring all of that.
How abnormal a sight it was to face the wind by moving swiftly at close range…….
"What in the world is this...?”
Leonhardt, who had rushed to the training grounds after hearing late news of their spar, spoke blankly at the unexpected sight. Beside him, even Yumia blinked in a daze.
“Are they doing that intentionally right now?"
For everyone watching the spar, save for a select few, it was an incomprehensible sight.
The spiral current around Han Cheon-seong's body was clearly visible.
And yet, the movements he displayed couldn't be clearly tracked.
As if chasing his traces, Glacia continuously manifested the wind, and Cheon-seong repeatedly evaded it by a hair's breadth.
It felt as if the match would end the instant either of them landed a hit…….