Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: King of All Weapons (8)
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***
“This duel is over.”
Leonhardt lowered the sword aimed at Han Cheon-seong's neck, a bright smile on his face.
At this, Han Cheon-seong let out a small laugh as well.
Just as both were smiling brightly, Han Cheon-seong suddenly spoke.
“So, it's a draw in the end?”
Leonhardt's smile vanished at Han Cheon-seong's unexpected words, and he blinked.
“...A draw?”
This duel was clearly his victory.
He had cloaked his entire body in the energy of the Sword of the Azure Sky and moved at a speed beyond imagination. It ended with his sword at Han Cheon-seong's neck.
There was no need to inflict a wound. The duel was over at that moment.
He had no intention of gloating or showing off, but he found it hard to understand why Han Cheon-seong was stating something incorrect.
“Han Cheon-seong. What are you talking about?”
When he asked, unable to comprehend, Han Cheon-seong smiled slowly and looked down.
“Leonhardt. Don't you see this spear?”
Leonhardt followed his gaze, staring blankly at the spear, still not understanding.
The tip of the sharp spearhead.
It was aimed at the center of his own chest, stopped just a hand's breadth away.
“When did you...”
Seeing Leonhardt's disbelieving expression, Cheon-seong slowly withdrew the spear aimed at him.
Just as Leonhardt had calmly retrieved his sword moments before, his own movements were perfectly composed as he withdrew the spear.
*Shk.*
Having lightly withdrawn his spear, Han Cheon-seong burst into laughter at Leonhardt's stunned expression.
“Leonhardt. Do you know why snakes are scary?”
He then uttered something completely out of the blue.
“A snake?”
“Snakes... they're truly terrifying when they hide in the bushes and strike by surprise. Or when they attack when you least expect it. But if you encounter a snake on flat ground, or in an open place with no bushes, they're not really that frightening.”
As the vague analogy continued, Leonhardt furrowed his brow before it dawned on him.
He understood what Han Cheon-seong was trying to say.
*...Come to think of it.*
He vaguely recalled how Han Cheon-seong had relentlessly pushed him since the duel began. But he had overlooked it at some point.
Han Cheon-seong, who had launched his offensive as if burning himself out, had a peculiar look in his eyes throughout the duel.
A look filled with a heat that seemed to say he wouldn't hesitate to take me down with him if I forced the distance.
And now, the Han Cheon-seong looking at him gave off the same feeling.
Mutual destruction.
The strange sensation of having stopped just short of that choice made him think deeply.
That moment when I rushed forward, cloaked in the energy of the Sword of the Azure Sky.
*What if...*
What if Han Cheon-seong had been able to thrust his spear to match my speed?
Though it was a ridiculous assumption, the thought suddenly struck him.
*Then he could have stopped me.*
That's what Han Cheon-seong's words sounded like.
As if he had hidden his spear like a snake and launched a surprise attack.
But.
*That's impossible.*
It sounded absurd.
“I vaguely sensed you rushing at me.”
At that moment, the words came directly from Han Cheon-seong's mouth. Despite my blank stare, Han Cheon-seong let out a small laugh and gently shook his head.
“But I couldn't bring myself to thrust the spear.”
“Couldn't thrust it? If you had, it would have been over...”
He replied blankly, still not understanding.
It sounded as if he was saying he could have won but chose not to.
And if he had stabbed me with the spear, I probably would have been hit.
I couldn't deny that I had let my guard down at that moment.
“‘It would have been over.’ Yes, you're probably right. But it wasn't that simple.”
Seeing Han Cheon-seong continue to speak so calmly, it seemed he really could have countered... I felt like I'd been completely caught off guard.
Han Cheon-seong's performance after reaching Trait Level 4 was certainly incredible. The way he cloaked his spear in mana, his enhanced physical abilities, his deeper use of the spear.
He had improved so much it was like fighting a different person.
That's why, even though I had reached Level 3, I couldn't let my guard down for a second.
I was fighting at nearly my full strength, after all.
But. That was all it was.
I can say with certainty that I never once pictured myself losing this duel.
I acknowledged his struggle and his good fight. I didn't see him as beneath me. That's why I was even more certain I would win.
I don't think little of my own power, my own skill.
“Leonhardt, if I had thrust my spear then, you would have surely died. And I would have been struck by your sword, so it would have been the same for me. That's why I couldn't do it. Even with the instructor observing, in that split second, I wasn't confident the duel would be stopped in time.”
A hollow laugh escaped me at Cheon-seong's detailed explanation.
...Somehow. I felt empty.
It felt like everything I had thought was twisted and wrong.
I acknowledged Han Cheon-seong, but he had already surpassed my expectations.
“Han Cheon-seong. How on earth... could you react to the speed of the Sword of the Azure Sky?”
“It wasn't so much reacting. I just guessed.”
“Guessed?”
“Ah, well. This might sound... a bit strange. I just had a... feeling.”
Seeing him trail off with an awkward laugh, I didn't press him further.
Han Cheon-seong seemed sincere as he spoke, and it didn't look like he was lying.
And the Han Cheon-seong I knew was not one to lie.
So I realized.
This duel was, in effect.
—my defeat.
After receiving a Legendary Trait and dedicating myself to training, I never thought I would experience defeat so soon.
It was... more shocking than I had anticipated.
*Step.*
*Clack.*
Then, hearing footsteps, I blankly turned my head.
Through the slowly dispersing cadets.
My companions were approaching.
Glacia and Yumia. And the Avalanche training instructor.
“To see such a magnificent duel on the very first day... I didn't expect this.”
Even as the instructor spoke with a gentle smile, I could only manage a strained one.
“Not at all.”
“No need to be so modest. Although the duel ended in a draw, its content was truly remarkable. For two cadets to evolve their traits simultaneously in a duel... that's a rare sight indeed. Both Cadet Leonhardt and... Cadet Han Cheon-seong are worthy of praise.”
Despite the instructor's praise, I didn't feel any better.
...A bitter feeling, and at the same time, an empty one.
And the thought that I was still greatly lacking.
I believed I had entered the duel without arrogance, properly acknowledging my opponent.
But that wasn't the reality.
*Did I unconsciously look down on Han Cheon-seong?*
If I had truly seen him as an equal, I would have thought it through one more time.
The possibility that Han Cheon-seong might be able to react to a move from my Sword of the Azure Sky...
Then I would have chosen to clash swords more cautiously, to parry his spear to secure a definite victory.
Realizing that, all I could do was let out a laugh.
“...Good work, Han Cheon-seong.”
Then, a calm voice drew my gaze.
There, I saw Glacia approaching Han Cheon-seong.
Her long, blue hair flowed down to her waist, her appearance mystical. Unlike her usual stoic expression, her face was strangely captivating.
A look I'd never seen before. Her expression was completely different.
“Yeah. You too.”
As Han Cheon-seong replied with a small laugh, Glacia offered a faint smile.
That sight…….
Strangely captured my attention.
*Step.*
“Leonhardt...! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere!?”
As Yumia rushed over, I turned my gaze away with an awkward smile.
“I'm fine. As you can see, neither Han Cheon-seong nor I have any injuries.”
Even as I stated the fact, my heart felt strange.
...And I came to a new realization about this duel.
It wasn't a duel fought just between Han Cheon-seong and me. It was a duel that many people had watched and experienced.
The result, the process, everything.
It felt like it was hammering at my chest.
The victory or defeat of this duel, which I thought I wouldn't dwell on.
Now, belatedly, weighed on my mind.
***
The duel ended in a draw.
By some miracle, I had managed to avoid defeat.
“......”
Han Cheon-seong mulled over this fact, a strange laugh escaping him.
Now, having left the Class A training grounds and parted ways with everyone, he felt a bit dazed as he walked back to his dorm.
“I'm a real con artist.”
It was a self-deprecating laugh.
I gained so much from the duel with Leonhardt.
Trait Level 4.
That alone was enough to make me feel like I was flying, but I also proved myself to the Class A cadets and even earned the instructor's acknowledgment.
That would become an intangible asset, bolstering my reputation and power.
But the fact that I'd forced a draw kept weighing on a corner of my mind.
*It would have been cleaner if it had ended with my loss.*
The thought that I should have lost kept nagging at me.
That duel should have concluded with my defeat.
But at the very last moment, I pulled off something absurd.
Leonhardt's habit. Because I know what he will do in the future.
That's why I was able to counter it.
A move I shouldn't have been able to counter. I turned and thrust my spear as if I had foreseen it.
In the novel, the protagonist always neutralized his opponents in his own unique way.
—Getting behind them and pointing his sword.
Even when he could kill, even when he could inflict a grievous wound, Leonhardt doesn't.
Among readers, it was called infuriating or whatnot, but I didn't think that kind of protagonist was so bad.
A good protagonist. A kind protagonist. Is that really so bad?
But.
I... used that.
The moment I remembered it, I acted as if on instinct.
Even though I couldn't properly see Leonhardt's movements, I thrust my spear into the space where I predicted he would appear.
“I'm truly sorry.”
Leonhardt's downcast face suddenly came to mind.
That face, looking utterly defeated by the excuse I gave...
When that wasn't the truth at all.
“You should have won... really.”
Atop my joy, a small regret unknowingly settled in.