Chapter 179
Chapter 179
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 179
Chapter Title: Mirror Flower, Water Moon - Growth (6)
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***
The immense power contained within the sword she held aloft with both hands.
Coupled with the new principle she had come to understand, it was enough to make even Glacia feel a flicker of fear.
*Can I really unleash this?*
Is it truly alright to manifest a power this immense?
A sliver of concern for Han Cheon-seong, the one who would bear the brunt of this power, unwittingly took hold of my heart.
But that hesitation did not last long.
*Swoosh…!*
Before I knew it, a single spear was raised toward me. A spiral, blooming into existence on its blade, began to shine with a dazzling light.
The blue spiral raged with such ferocity that it not only enveloped the spearhead but made the very air tremble. And when I saw the peculiar heat in Han Cheon-seong’s eyes as he held his spear and looked at me,
I felt all my previous worries completely vanish.
“...”
A small laugh escaped my lips, and my heart filled with anticipation.
*Just how will he take this?*
It was no longer a question of whether my power would be effective against him. I was now curious about how he would face it.
A silent wind now enveloped my entire body. But this calm breeze lingered only in my immediate vicinity.
Just beyond it, a massive gale billowed, threatening to dominate the surroundings.
The vast storm, centered on my raised sword, now threatened to overwhelm the entire training grounds and spread even further.
*Crackle! Whoooosh—!*
The strange, tearing sound that ripped through the air and the roar of the violent wind echoed in my ears.
At the same time, the sword in my hands felt incredibly heavy. Yet, my hesitation in wielding this power faded away.
I knew that even if I unleashed my full power, Han Cheon-seong would be able to take it. No, he might even show me something more.
*A level 5 Trait.*
I knew Han Cheon-seong was incredible, but I honestly never imagined he would have reached this level of growth.
My mind made up, I slowly lowered the hand holding my sword aloft.
The moment the sword, now containing a true tempest, was aimed forward, I softly spoke.
“Release.”
That was the moment I uttered the activation word for the power I had just awakened.
—!
The tempest that had raged like a gale, dominating a vast area, instantly subsided, as if concentrating into the sword.
And in the next instant, a powerful torrent of wind shot forth like a beam of light.
*Screeeech!!*
My feet dug into the ground as I was pushed back, and the compressed, intensified storm began to surge forward with insane speed.
*C-c-crackle—!*
A bizarre, tearing sound that seemed to shred the very air echoed without pause as the blast surged toward Han Cheon-seong.
I didn't take my eyes off him for a single moment.
And then, I saw it: the blue spiral meeting the storm that had already reached him.
The blue spiral met the storm, which burst forth uncontrollably like a collapsing dam.
As the massive spiral spun, the light erupting from each power began to dominate the entire area.
***
A grand spectacle, rarely seen in the training grounds, unfolded before them.
A rampaging storm met a halo of blue light from a spiral that sought to cancel it out.
As the two immense powers collided, a bizarre noise and relentless shockwaves engulfed the space.
"Whoa..."
“Are they really cadets… just like us?”
Most of the cadets could only stare blankly at the scene, their faces filled with awe and admiration. Only Avalanche, the training instructor, watched the clash of powers with a tense expression.
And among them was one cadet who saw it all with entirely different eyes.
—Leonhardt Rorient.
The one who was originally the protagonist of this world, destined to overcome every trial, was taking in the sight unfolding before him.
“...”
His clear blue eyes watched the training grounds, filled with an emotion distinctly different from that of the other cadets.
*Whoooooooosh—!!*
The storm, erupting from Glacia's sword, billowed as if to swallow the space, while the blue spiral manifesting from the tip of Han Cheon-seong's spear surged just as brilliantly, canceling out its power.
Han Cheon-seong was pushed back by the initial impact, his feet dragging against the ground, but only for a moment.
The sight was seared into Leonhardt’s eyes.
“...”
A faint gasp of admiration escaped his slightly parted lips.
At a glance, it might have seemed similar to the reactions of the other cadets.
But Leonhardt was feeling and realizing so much more.
Simply by watching, he was beginning to indirectly grasp the principles behind the powers they manifested.
The manifestation of a vast tempest, like the one Glacia had summoned. The principle of that power compressing into her sword before erupting in a single, violent torrent.
And the principle of Han Cheon-seong's spiral, the circulation of energy in his spearhead, repeating and building upon itself to form an even greater spiral—a principle containing infinity.
The natures of two completely different powers began to seep into his mind, allowing him a subtle understanding.
It didn't take long for him to understand the principle by which these two powers of different natures clashed and canceled each other out with such a powerful aftershock.
Even the fact that the magnitude of the two clashing forces was similar, yet subtly different… Leonhardt understood it all instinctively, simply by watching the duel.
*The match is already decided.*
As the thought crossed his mind, a genuine sigh of admiration escaped him.
The moment the two intense powers clashed, he knew who would win. He couldn't help but understand. He could feel that, as he was now, he couldn't possibly stand against either of those forces.
...And yet, it didn't feel impossibly far away.
It felt like a height he would soon reach.
—Sword of the Azure Sky.
A single sword that contains the blue sky.
How could a single sword dare to contain the vast, endless blue sky?
The question he had pondered thousands of times stirred in his mind once more.
The concepts of the two powers he was witnessing began to harmonize, allowing him to grasp a more fundamental concept.
A power spread wide is condensed and converted into a stronger force.
An infinitely circulating energy forms a larger spiral, achieving an even more formidable power.
*Clench.*
As he clenched his fist, a faint smile touched his lips as he mulled over the concept.
It was by no means an easy concept to grasp. They had reached a higher plane of understanding, one that went beyond the power they had previously known.
That was why he couldn't fully accept it. He couldn't dare to comprehend the full principle of the power they had reached.
Instead, by watching the display of power and feeling its fragments, he was able to grasp a different principle, if only slightly.
“...Leonhardt.”
Hearing a curious voice beside him, he slowly turned his head to meet her gaze.
“Yeah.”
Even as Yumia stared at me blankly, I felt strangely refreshed.
For the past month, I had been praised by everyone around me, and at times, I had started to think I was ahead of the curve.
I had never lost a single duel against any cadet, and I understood everything in my classes as if it were second nature.
So, without realizing it, I had started to believe I was the one furthest ahead.
But reality, as it turned out, was different.
Right now, two cadets stronger than me were displaying their power in the training grounds.
“You can do it… I know you can.”
Though I didn't know why Yumia said those strange words, they gave me a small measure of strength.
An unparalleled sense of clarity washed over me. An unbearable competitive spirit welled up in my clenched fist.
*Crackle—!*
As a final crackle sounded and their powers reached their conclusion, I couldn't help but think it was beautiful.
The brilliantly scattering wind and the small halo of the spiral. As I stared blankly, I found myself speaking.
“...I have to catch up to them.”
I knew I could catch up to them.
The level 4 Trait that Han Cheon-seong had reached on the day of the entrance ceremony.
The impatience I felt—wondering why I couldn't reach level 4 despite feeling myself improve daily—was now completely gone.
*Ting—!*
I blinked, suddenly feeling my consciousness expand dramatically.
“...This is.”
As I numbly raised my hands, I finally noticed my own condition.
A brilliant blue radiance was enveloping my entire body.
At the same time, a vast principle flooded my mind. Within that immense truth, too great for me to fully grasp, I saw a single scene.
—A single swing parts a great lake.
An endless blue lake appeared with perfect clarity in my vision. A figure shrouded in a strange darkness swung a sword just once, and a great wave rose as the lake was instantly cleaved in two.
...The moment I saw it, I understood.
How the sword had parted the surface of the lake.
A blue energy spread out infinitely, following the tip of the sword as it smoothly cut through the water’s surface.
It meant the advancing power of the Sword of the Azure Sky had cleaved the entire surface of the lake.
As the blue lake collapsed and my vision returned to the present, the outcome of the duel was clear.
“...”
The spiral, having completely nullified and erased the storm, was still scattering a brilliant blue light.
And when Han Cheon-seong took a single step, my gaze followed his every movement perfectly.
*Swish… swish…!*
The blue spiral that had been enveloping the spearhead shifted with perfect fluidity, wrapping around Han Cheon-seong’s body and scattering a brilliant light.
With just a single leap, Han Cheon-seong had closed the distance.
Glacia belatedly summoned the wind to stop him, but I could see with perfect clarity how Han Cheon-seong vanished like an afterimage and appeared behind her.
*Tap.*
And as the tip of his raised spear came to rest against Glacia’s chest, a laugh escaped my lips.
“He’s so strong.”
The true power of Han Cheon-seong, who had reached level 5 of his Trait, was now fully visible to me.
His movements, the principle behind how he wielded the spiral.
How much growth he had achieved, and that he was already looking even further beyond…