Chapter 205
Chapter 205
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 205
Chapter Title: The Seven Forms of the Asura Spiral
-----------------------------------------------------------------
***
The hour had passed midnight, creeping toward dawn.
While any ordinary person would be deep in slumber, Adelia's eyes were faintly open.
“……”
She found comfort in the quiet stillness, yet couldn't deny the small pang of longing that lingered in her heart.
'Still, I suppose this is fortunate.'
A quick glance. She took in the sight of the two soundly sleeping cadets.
In one bed, Cadet Leonhardt, his golden hair seeming to glow even in the dark, slept with a peaceful expression for the first time. In the other, Cadet Han Cheon-seong tossed and turned in his sleep.
As she watched Cadet Han Cheon-seong’s face, she had a realization.
'It's different.'
Just looking at him, I could feel how different my emotions were.
Even as I looked at both cadets, I couldn't deny the completely different feelings I had for each.
Slowly.
Gently resting her chin on the table, her gaze drifted to one side.
To the bed near the window. Toward Cadet Han Cheon-seong...
'Could he have noticed my feelings?'
During my meeting with Cadet Han Cheon-seong last week, I'd gotten a strange feeling. And lately, I'd noticed that the way he looked at me was different than before.
...A sign that he was a bit more conscious of me. Perhaps he had realized how I felt.
'If so.'
If he really has noticed my feelings, then Cadet Han Cheon-seong... what must he be thinking?
What emotions does he feel when he looks at me?
“……”
As she gazed at his clean-cut face, revealed between strands of messy black hair, she felt an emotion that hadn't been there before settling in her heart.
Affection, fondness, goodwill, longing...
And she had keenly felt how her attitude, colored by these emotions, had changed just a few days ago.
That moment a few days ago, when I saw Cadet Han Cheon-seong with such severe injuries. My heart felt like it had plummeted.
It was as if I were in a freefall with nothing to hold onto; it was difficult to even maintain my composure.
The way I... feel about him is so different from before.
I could feel it myself—this was more than just concern for a cadet.
'It felt as if my heart was simply collapsing as I looked at Cadet Han Cheon-seong...'
Though I'd treated his wounds and he had thankfully returned to a stable condition, simply recalling that moment made my brow furrow.
“……”
A faint breath lingered at her lips before finally escaping.
The cause was clear.
—The Apostles.
An Apostle had infiltrated the academy, causing a major incident. It was an unprecedented event in the academy's history, and all the more serious considering the target was a cadet.
Clenching her jaw.
She bit her lip as a searing heat, like endless rage, welled up in her heart.
So many instructors, myself included, had been at the academy, yet none of us had detected the slightest sign of an Apostle.
'Why must the cadets be hurt like this...'
A deep sense of powerlessness filled a corner of her heart, and recently, it had kept her from sleeping, just like tonight.
She feared something else might happen while she was asleep.
She knew the guards and instructors had heightened their security, but her heart couldn't find peace.
Lost in endless thought, a small laugh escaped her.
“I’m being so pathetic.”
Muttering to herself, she swept a hand through her hair.
Rustle.
Her emerald hair momentarily blurred her vision, but she decided to lighten her mood.
She acknowledged reality and her own attitude.
For now, I have to put my feelings aside.
The fact is, Cadet Han Cheon-seong is always at the center of these incidents. I have to worry about his safety first.
“Special supervision... might be necessary.”
As she muttered this absently, she found herself nodding.
It was worth suggesting.
These incidents had happened one after another, and Cadet Han Cheon-seong was at the heart of them.
It was as if the Apostles' target was Cadet Han Cheon-seong himself. If so, it was only right to formally request protection for him.
Someone needed to be assigned exclusively to protect him.
Simply having an instructor nearby wasn't enough. The power of the attacking Apostles was far from ordinary.
'It was an Apostle who used a unique domain... I have to assume it was targeting Cadet Han Cheon-seong.'
This meant that even an instructor would have trouble reacting if they weren't right beside him.
Apostles capable of wielding a unique domain were extremely rare. They were all classified as special-grade threats.
A soft breeze.
Then, a pleasant breeze drifted through the open window, tickling her face and drawing a small smile from her.
Gently.
His black hair fluttered gently in the wind. The face of Cadet Han Cheon-seong revealed between the strands... held a strange allure.
He furrowed his brow as if bothered by the tickling strands of hair, his lips parting slightly. She slowly calmed her heart.
'I shouldn't touch him right now.'
For now... I have to set my feelings aside.
***
Monday morning.
It was his last day in the infirmary. Cheon-seong planned to return to his dormitory today.
With Leonhardt having lost his power, Cheon-seong had resolved to overcome the coming trials in his stead. He couldn't afford to rest easy.
He had to prepare for the crises to come.
As he thought, his gaze shifted forward.
“……”
Leonhardt was leaning against the window, gazing up at the sky. Still, I didn't offer any words of comfort or encouragement.
A spark had returned to his eyes.
And I vaguely sensed there was some meaning to the act of looking at the sky itself.
Considering Leonhardt's trait, there might be something to it.
'I can't interrupt him.'
I reviewed what I needed to do first.
I would rest until this morning to be in perfect condition, and in the afternoon, I planned to meet Glacia.
It wasn't just a simple meeting; we needed to talk properly and coordinate.
The academy was closed until Wednesday.
If classes resumed as normal on Thursday... I would need to act a little boldly.
The second episode.
—The Madness of the Demonic Beasts.
Today marked the start of the eighth week at the academy.
An episode marking the end of the second month was scheduled in the original story. It was supposed to be the episode where Leonhardt faced his first crisis and shone, but... things had changed a lot.
'I need to ask Glacia to nominate me during the lecture.'
On Friday, when the first joint lecture between Class A and Class C would take place. There, I would act alongside her... and deal with the Demonic Beast Apostle that would appear.
And I was quite confident.
I had keenly felt how strong the Apostles were through the last few crises. But my current growth was by no means slower than Leonhardt's in the original story.
In fact, it was so fast that it felt like I had skipped several stages.
—A level 5 trait and a completed skill.
Even if I faced the Demonic Beast Apostle... considering the power of my skill, dealing with it wouldn't be difficult.
The power of the Demonic Beast Apostle would be different from the ones I'd faced before...
As I was thinking, I wanted to confirm the specifics of how my skill had been completed.
'Status.'
Ding!
*
---
Name: Han Cheon-seong
Gender: Male (20)
Title: The One Who Advances.
Height · Weight: 178cm, 68kg
Current Continental Influence: 1457
*[The status window will now display additional information!]
*Path to Tread [Currently progressing: ‘First Apostle Execution’]
-[First Apostle Execution!]
—Expand detailed conditions.
*Stats.
[Strength 28]
[Agility 42]
[Stamina 39]
[Mana 26]
[Luck 5]
*Traits [1]
[Spearmanship Lv.5 Growth Rate - 5%]
(Keyword to reach trait level 6: Indomitable Spirit has not yet been met.)
*Skills [1]
[The Seven Forms of the Asura Spiral lv.1 Growth Rate - 3%]
-First Form. Asura Spiral Spear Proficiency - 1%.
-Second Form. Unlocks when The Seven Forms of the Asura Spiral reaches level 2.
-Third Form. Unlocks when The Seven Forms of the Asura Spiral reaches level 3.
…
-Seventh Form. Unlocks upon ‘completing’ all achievements of The Seven Forms of the Asura Spiral.
---
*
As I slowly examined the transparent status window decorating my vision, my eyes shot wide open.
“…!”
There were definitely other changes, but they didn't register in my eyes right now.
My gaze seemed to be fixed on the skill entry at the very bottom.
Until now, the skill in my status window had the simple name 'Spiral Spear,' so I naturally assumed... the completed skill's name would be the same.
But that wasn't the case.
The completed skill had a completely different name, one that far surpassed my expectations.
“The Seven Forms of the Asura Spiral...”
I muttered blankly, feeling as if I were floating.
The skill's name was more than just flashy; it was a type of skill I had never seen in the original story.
'It feels like a martial arts technique.'
That thought came to me naturally. It was the kind of name you'd see in a martial arts novel. That was exactly the type of name attached to my skill.
I knew skills had levels, but... they usually just increased the skill's power or broadened its applications.
Take, for example, the skill Kalli manifested and showed me in the past.
She had scaled down its immense destructive power and range, showing me only a fragment of its strength. It was a skill that could exhibit overwhelming destructive force and lethal power if she chose to...
But my skill was completely different.
A skill was supposed to enhance a single power, but the power I would manifest was not singular.
'Seven forms means...'
It seemed to contain the principles of several different powers that I could manifest.
I could feel it just by looking at the first form.
—Asura Spiral Spear .
Simply thinking of the first form, I naturally understood.
The moment I completed the skill and manifested that powerful spiral—it was the power to contain the storm-like spiral current entirely within the spear's blade, making it strike with even greater intensity.
'That was the first form.'
As my thoughts slowly organized, astonishment filled my heart.
Its... potential was limitless.
Awakening a skill by focusing on the principles of the spiral might have been a stroke of incredible luck.
Clenching my fist.
As I clenched my hand, a shiver ran through my body.
'I can surpass my trait.'
As I came to understand the skill, I could feel its overwhelming potential.
The power of the skill I manifested before.
That was merely unleashing 'just one form' out of seven.