Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: A Brutal Spar
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***
“Begin.”
The spar began with Kalli's voice.
Some cadets left with their partners for their own spars, but nearly half remained, watching the match between Jerad and David.
And among them, of course, was Cheon-seong.
“...”
As David and he faced each other, just as they were both raising their hands to call out a name...
When David's name was called first, a strange, deep sense of unease washed over me.
'He didn't have to step up.'
When it came to sparring, I was more confident than David. I could tell he was worried about it just from our conversation this morning.
I also felt it was my duty to crush Jerad for looking down on us.
But now, David was facing Jerad before I had the chance.
And now…
*Fwoosh—!* *Fwoosh—!*
The expression on David's face as he moved swiftly across the ground was one I had never seen before.
His face was cold and hard, his entire demeanor changed from the usual playful, easygoing David.
And even his speed was faster than I'd expected.
“...He's really fast.”
“Yeah. What's his Trait?”
As I listened to the other cadets, I saw a sky-blue light enveloping David's body as he rapidly closed the distance to Jerad. I knew it was his Trait.
'Precision Enhancement.'
When I first heard of it, I thought it was a truly excellent Trait with a lot of potential applications.
But just as he'd said, David could only enhance his own body for now. He was charging in, using his body as a weapon.
In just a few seconds, he had completely closed the distance to Jerad.
*FWOOSH—!!*
Suddenly, a fierce gust of wind erupted—a gale that burst forth from Jerad's own body.
'Blessing of the Wind.'
I remembered it was Jerad's Rare Trait.
...And how incredibly annoying it would be for David.
As David momentarily faltered in the gale before launching himself forward again as if he couldn't stop, my eyes narrowed involuntarily.
'This isn't good.'
David doesn't know the specifics of Jerad's Trait yet. The same was probably true for the other cadets here.
To me, it looked like David was rushing at Jerad too recklessly.
“Tsk.”
The moment Jerad let out a small click of his tongue.
It happened.
*Thwack!*
David, having leaped high, lost his balance as if caught in the gale and was sent tumbling to the ground by the wind.
The impact of his fall was significant, given the force of his jump.
“...”
As David clumsily rolled across the ground and pushed himself up, I knew from that single exchange... this spar would be anything but easy for him.
'A mismatch…'
David, still unable to fully utilize his Trait, could only enhance his own body. Unarmed, he had to be considered a purely close-quarters combatant.
But Jerad could manipulate the wind, creating gales as if to protect himself.
That meant it would be easy for him to make David misstep, or to use the wind to evade an attack just as it was about to land.
...The overwhelming advantage was already decided by the matchup.
“Hey, David. What are you doing, not coming at me? Took one tumble and... what, can't get up?”
As Jerad suddenly ran his mouth, taunting him, David's expression grew even colder and he kicked off the ground. Seeing that, my heart sank.
'He fell for the taunt.'
Jerad's pathetic provocation was working all too well on David.
Having little experience with sparring and admitting he was nervous... even this was unfamiliar territory for David.
And so…
The spar continued.
A brutal, tragic spar that was hard to watch...
…
The wind blowing through the area grew steadily stronger.
The gale that had centered on Jerad gradually expanded its range, and he began to control the wind with even greater precision, as if showing off how skilled he was at manipulating it.
*Whoooosh!*
The wind converged, soon enveloping David's entire body. Then, even taking a few steps became a struggle for him.
Yet David's expression remained unchanged from the beginning.
His face was set like stone, and though blood trickled from his tightly pressed lips, David was still trying to advance.
How long had it been since this spar began?
I couldn't tell, but to me, who had watched the entire thing, it felt like an eternity.
“...This is really sad to watch.”
“It looks like their Traits are a bad matchup.”
“Shouldn't David just give up?”
“I can't... I can't watch this anymore.”
Various comments came from the other cadets. The cadets watching the spar began to leave one by one, until only about a quarter of the initial number remained.
After all, the spar... had been completely one-sided from start to finish.
Every time David threw himself forward, his attacks never reached Jerad.
His fists and feet never even grazed Jerad's clothes; instead, he would lose his balance in the fierce wind or be helplessly pushed back.
And each time, Jerad would speak to David with a sneer.
“...This is why mediocre Traits are useless.”
Just like now.
"....."
I kept trying to watch this spar rationally, but I was failing.
I let out a stifled breath, trying to control the dark emotions welling up inside me.
Anger boiled within me as I watched, to the point where I wanted to jump into the spar myself.
“...”
A sense of helplessness washed over me as I continued to watch. Having to just stand by and watch David—the only person in this class I could call a friend—be tormented by that piece of human trash was a greater ordeal than I could have imagined.
And it had been going on for dozens of minutes.
At some point, the stinging pain from my nails digging into my clenched fists had faded.
*Fwoosh!*
David once again leaped through the wind, advancing as if this time would be different, but my gaze was fixed blankly on Jerad's hand.
He brought his thumb and index finger together and flicked them.
*Snap!*
A distinct sound rang out.
*Boom!*
The air that had gathered in front of David exploded, letting out a strange shockwave.
“Keuk!”
As David was sent tumbling across the ground from the direct hit, I blankly clenched and unclenched my numb hands, trying to calm my breathing.
...This is hard to watch.
It was so difficult that... just controlling my emotions felt like I was reaching my limit.
'That bastard…'
The mismatch, the difference in power. I could understand all of that.
And I knew the outcome of this spar was already set.
This was different from the helplessness I felt watching Leonhardt instantly reach Level 3 in our last spar.
No matter what he did, David couldn't beat Jerad.
David's situation was even bleaker than mine had been. A structure where he could never win was already in place, as long as Jerad didn't let his guard down.
“Tsk. Seems you still don't get the difference in our levels, even after rolling around so much.”
Jerad's sarcastic voice kept fueling my anger, but... even that, I could endure.
*Srrk.*
“Haa... haa...”
As David, panting heavily, prepared to leap at Jerad again, I was overcome with the urge to stop him.
And seeing the contempt in Jerad's eyes as he looked at David, my emotions continued to boil.
What angered me more than anything else right now was that Jerad could end this spar, but he wasn't.
Because of that, David kept throwing himself at Jerad as if challenging him, only to be sent rolling pathetically across the ground, falling over and over again.
“...”
Why wouldn't Jerad end the spar when he could easily finish David?
It didn't take much thought to figure it out.
The gazes of the cadets watching, the instructor Kalli, and even me.
Jerad was trying to show everyone.
His own superiority.
And that the gap between him and David was this vast. And more than that, to keep humiliating David…
“...”
Suddenly, I tasted the metallic tang of blood.
Had I been biting my lip so hard it broke without realizing it? A belated pain shot through my tightly clenched fists.
A sharp, stinging pain. The ache I thought had disappeared was now back.
...Sighing at the sensation, my gaze inadvertently shifted elsewhere.
To Kalli, the instructor overseeing this spar.
Jerad wasn't ending it. And David wasn't giving up either.
That meant she was the only one who could stop it.
*Whoooosh!*
Through her hair scattering in another massive gust of wind... I could see Kalli's state.
"..."
...The moment I saw her, I felt my body freeze.
Kalli's gaze was utterly cold.
Her tightly pressed lips seemed to betray just how angry she was.
'...Then why.'
Why isn't she ending this spar?
To anyone watching, the outcome was decided, and the right thing to do was to stop it.
This spar wasn't helping David in any way. It was just a cruel process of utterly crushing his self-esteem.
'So please…'
I wanted Kalli to end this spar.
I wanted her to declare it over so David could finally rest.
...But seeing no sign of her stopping the spar, I lowered my head again.
And once more, I watched the match.
*Boom!*
The swirling wind converged on a single point and exploded, sending David's body flying through the air.
*Thud!*
He fell from a great height, and the sight of him rolling across the ground was truly tragic.
Not a single part of him seemed uninjured; his entire body was covered in wounds.
And the time it took for David to get back up... had also increased significantly compared to the beginning.
He struggled to place a hand on his knee, trying to raise his upper body. I felt a great sense of pity.
“You can... stop now.”
The words escaped me before I knew it.
Right. He didn't have to force himself to stand up like that. He could stop this meaningless spar.
Just then.
I unconsciously recalled what I had said this morning.
—*You grow by sparring and getting broken.*
Words I'd said so lightly. Words I'd said based on my own standards…
But David's response to my words also came to mind.
—*Yeah. Like you said, I guess I need to get thoroughly broken today and grow.*
And only then could I understand David.
Why he was so recklessly forcing his body up, trying to continue this spar…
"..."
I drew a shaky breath. The weight of my own words hit me belatedly.
*Srrk.*
Just as David painstakingly managed to get fully to his feet.
*Snap!*
...At the sound of fingers snapping, I blinked blankly.
*Boom!*
Without fail, the wind gathered before David's eyes and exploded, sending his head snapping back from the impact.
In that instant.
My body moved before I could think.
*FWOOSH—!!*
My vision was engulfed in blue light as I launched myself forward.
At the same time, I could see it.
■■■■■■!
A deluge of red light filled my vision.
And through it, Kalli lightly catching David.
“...”
Seeing Kalli catch the now completely unconscious David... I had to stop blankly in front of her.
“Enough.”
At Kalli's cold words that rang out…
I found myself asking blankly.
"Why... did you only stop the spar now?”
I couldn't not say it.
She could have ended it long ago. From my perspective, it didn't look like a spar that was helping David at all.
And just a moment ago, David had been in extreme danger.
A critical situation where he almost smashed his head directly into the ground.
“That's because... I knew Jerad was controlling his power.”
At Kalli's cold reply to my question... a hollow laugh escaped me.
'Controlling his power…'
And my head turned blankly.
I saw the piece of trash standing there leisurely.
"Yeah. I was controlling my power for him~ You should be grateful. It was all out of consideration, you know."
At those words, I didn't look at the trash.
I looked at Kalli.
"...Can I request a spar right now."
I couldn't hold back any longer.
If I didn't do something about that trash in my sight...
The endless emotion filling my heart... felt like it was about to explode.