Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: What Are You?
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The moment she tightened her grip on the kite shield, Luna's expression instantly became impassive.
Then, she fixed her gaze meticulously on the spear in Cheon-seong's hand.
—A spear.
In the past, she had been thoroughly educated on various weapons within her family's estate.
Even though it was during her childhood before she had received her trait, she believed she had never been taught carelessly.
Therefore, she naturally knew all about the matchups between different armaments.
A spear was a weapon that held overwhelming superiority at close range. If one couldn't break through the advantage of its reach, it was impossible to win with an ordinary close-range weapon.
—The correct way to deal with a spearman was to choose a long-range weapon or use long-range magic that didn't allow them to close the distance at all.
I knew how to handle it. Yes, logically, I knew it clearly.
And yet, I found myself wanting to face that man in close combat.
Unless I landed a solid blow on the man named Han Cheon-seong... it felt like my heart wouldn't be at ease.
All this time, I had watched Han Cheon-seong and Millia, and I had been thinking.
Why Millia's gaze was fixed on that man, Han Cheon-seong.
And finally.
I... had figured it out.
'Why. Why him of all people...!'
Why this man? Having checked Millia's gaze several times, there was no way I couldn't know.
We had been best friends for eight years, hiding nothing from each other. There wasn't a single day I didn't see Millia's face.
So.
Naturally... it was only natural that I would know.
Why my most cherished friend was looking at the man named Han Cheon-seong with such eyes.
And that's why I hated it.
I hated it so, so much.
That my favorite, most cherished friend was giving such absurd attention to a man I despised.
—!
The moment she leaped, her entire body was bathed in a blue light.
She fully released her vast mana, enveloping her body without a single gap.
And in that instant, she saw it.
As Han Cheon-seong, holding the spear, suddenly changed his stance, her eyes narrowed unconsciously.
'What kind of stance is that?'
It was truly rare to see a spearman. That made them difficult to deal with.
However, defending should have been easy enough.
She put nearly all her strength into the hand holding the kite shield, not letting her guard down for a moment.
The movements Han Cheon-seong had displayed moments ago while wielding his spear had completely erased any lingering doubt in my mind.
Yes, this man had truly done it.
Achieved the absurd result of a draw in a duel against this year's top student, Leonhardt.
That's why, in this duel, I too had to give it my all.
*Whoosh!*
The moment she entered the spear's range, it lunged forward like a beam of light. Surging with blue mana, it felt as if a blue light had flickered.
'Fast.'
But it wasn't a speed I couldn't react to.
She tried to deflect even a fraction of the force in the spearhead by using the edge of the kite shield, not its center.
*Claaang!!*
But as a strange metallic sound struck her ears, her vision was abruptly pushed back.
The moment I tried to receive it with a deflecting motion.
...*Scraaaape!*
My body had already been sent skidding back a great distance.
"Kuh!"
She unconsciously gasped at the sharp pain that shot through her entire left arm.
And yet, her vision was clear.
She could see the man, Han Cheon-seong, leisurely correcting his stance and retrieving his spear. His distinctive black eyes seemed to be looking at her, as if telling her to come again.
As if asking if she was going to stop over something like this...
So, the moment she took a breath, she kicked off the ground again.
"...!"
Once again, she tightened her grip on the kite shield.
This time, she infused the kite shield with even more mana.
'The destructive power is strange.'
She had sensed the amount of mana in the spear and believed she could block it. She couldn't understand why she had been pushed back so far just now.
—!
But as she leaped again, she was confident she wouldn't be pushed back like before.
The amount of mana in her shield was clearly superior.
'Just once is enough.'
I want to land a solid blow on this man.
Because I hate this man who stole the heart of my dearest Millia... so much.
So, with the single-minded determination to land at least one proper hit, she fixed her eyes on the tip of the spear.
—!
Kicking off the ground again, she lowered her upper body slightly more this time.
She pressed the hand holding the kite shield closer to her body for more stability, also adjusting the speed of her steps so her feet wouldn't be pushed back as far as before.
She noticed he was gripping the spear with one hand while his other hand held the butt of the shaft in a peculiar way, and she charged head-on once more.
'I will block it, no matter what.'
If my clumsy attempt to deflect it failed, then I'll just push through head-on with the power of my mana.
I didn't know how much stronger one became when their trait reached level 4. However, I did know that if this duel dragged on, I would surely lose.
So, I had to make my move early on.
If I can just block his spear properly with my kite shield once, I'll have a chance to win.
And so, the moment she reached the spear's range again.
—!
The spear lunged forward even faster than before.
A flickering blue light filled her vision, and on pure instinct, she raised her hand, thrusting the kite shield forward as if to strike it away.
Simply putting the kite shield in the spear's path is meaningless. I have to time it right and strike back with force...
'To knock that spear away...'
*Claaaaang!!*
The roar-like sound that erupted again cut off my thoughts.
For a moment, I almost lost my grip on the kite shield.
*Grit.* I bit my lip, forcing myself to endure the pain and hold on, but.
...*Scraaaaaape!*
The sound of my feet dragging across the ground echoed loudly, and...
I had been pushed back even farther than before.
"...!"
Exhaling sharply from the sudden, intense pain, I still couldn't understand.
'Why?'
Why on earth... am I being pushed back like this?
The fact that Han Cheon-seong's trait was level 4 seemed to have nothing to do with the force I was facing.
The mana I saw imbued in the spear. It definitely wasn't that large. At most, it was only half the mana I had put into my kite shield.
And yet, to be pushed back so helplessly...
"..."
As I blankly raised my head, I saw the man retrieving his spear again.
He still hadn't moved a single step.
He just stood there, in the same spot.
Unchanged, simply thrusting his spear to push me back every time I approached...
"So it's impossible."
Then he suddenly uttered a single, incomprehensible phrase, and I instantly tightened my grip on the kite shield.
"Impossible...?"
"Yeah. It's amazing that it is. Honestly, I was trying to make you drop that kite shield. I thought it would be more than possible."
His following words made me let out an involuntary, bitter laugh.
"In your eyes, right now. Do I look that weak? Weak enough to lose my grip on a kite shield...?"
"No, I don't think you're weak. If I did, I wouldn't have thrust my spear like this."
"...Han Cheon-seong. What in the world are you talking about? Speak clearly."
"That's what I'm saying. It's strange to me, too. I never knew you were this strong."
I thought he was mocking me.
But his words were strange.
'...Strong?'
How could I be strong when I haven't even managed to close the distance properly?
Biting my lip, I kicked off the ground again.
I adjusted my mana even more than before, pouring so much into the kite shield that it became blindingly bright.
I completely disregarded the mana protecting my body, letting it dissipate.
—!
With the mana in my legs gone, my speed as I kicked off the ground naturally slowed.
But it didn't matter.
This had been a head-on contest between me and that man from the start.
Would I advance by blocking his spear with my kite shield, or would I be pushed back by that spear again? That was all there was to it.
And I could see.
The man's stance with the spear changed, becoming even more bizarre. He was now gripping the very butt of the shaft, that blunt end, in a peculiar way.
It was a stance that looked as if, the moment he thrust the spear, he would also push the shaft to launch it with great force.
'No way... It's going to get even faster?'
The amount of mana in the spear was the same. The only thing that had changed was his stance.
*Gulp.*
Just before entering the spear's range, I swallowed hard.
'Can I really knock that spear away?'
The moment I thought it, I was already moving.
I didn't even watch the spear's movement.
If that spear came at me faster and stronger than before, I had no confidence I could react to it.
—So.
I had to be faster. I moved first, swinging the kite shield with force.
The moment I entered the spear's range, I was already in motion.
—!
***
"The duel is stopped!"
At the words of the Class C training instructor, Ludmina, the duel came to a halt.
The students watching the duel simply stared at the two people in the training arena, looking intrigued.
—Han Cheon-seong and Luna.
A level 4 trait versus a level 2 trait.
The difference in levels was so vast that it rendered the grades of their respective traits meaningless.
And everyone here, from Instructor Ludmina to the majority of the students, knew that.
But what was this strange atmosphere hanging over the training arena now?
"The result of the duel. Student Han Cheon-seong is the victor."
When Ludmina's calm voice announced the outcome of the duel, not a single person questioned it.
It was, after all, the victory everyone had expected.
But what happened afterward was strange.
Luna and Han Cheon-seong stood still, gazing intently at each other.
Neither of them said a word, just holding each other's gaze. To the other students, it looked incredibly odd.
"...Still, that was really close."
As Ludmina opened her mouth with a light smile, Millia, who was right beside her, stared at her blankly for a moment.
"Close?"
"Yes. I was wondering if I should step in, but Student Han Cheon-seong adjusted his power on his own."
...As Ludmina continued speaking so calmly, Millia couldn't understand it at all.
'Han Cheon-seong adjusted his power?'
Honestly, aside from the first time, she could barely even see how the spear moved.
She only knew the result.
The spear was launched, and Luna was pushed back.
Afterward, only the remnants of blue mana lingering in the air shimmered in her vision.
Even so, her gaze drifted blankly toward the two of them.
'They're both amazing.'
Honestly, I thought Luna would lose anticlimactically. But she put up a better fight than I expected.
It wasn't just that she blocked with her kite shield; the precision with which she used her mana was clearly visible to me. Any other student would have likely crumbled against Han Cheon-seong in the first exchange, but Luna took the hits and endured several times.
"...Han Cheon-seong."
Then, as Luna's lips parted, I unconsciously quickened my pace.
It was better for me to mediate than to let Luna say something strange and worsen her relationship with Han Cheon-seong.
*Click. Clack.*
Just as she was quickly approaching Luna.
"What the hell are you? Do you like me?"
Millia's steps, heading toward Luna, came to an abrupt halt.