Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Han Cheon-seong vs. Jerad Readri
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***
After David and Jerad’s match ended, a strange silence lingered in the air.
As Cheon-seong's fighting spirit ignited, Kalli looked at Jerad and announced that, as a formality, there had to be a 10-minute grace period.
A consecutive match between students.
Even if Jerad said he was fine, the rule was clearly stated in the academy’s regulations.
At that, students who had left during the previous match, as well as those who had just finished their own, began to return one by one, their curiosity piqued.
A match held under an instructor's supervision.
Since almost no student would enter a real fight intending to inflict a fatal wound from the start, the news of Han Cheon-seong and Jerad's match was enough to pique the students' interest once again.
As most of the students who had left returned, their eyes filled with curiosity.
Kalli stood her ground, her expression complex.
‘This is not good.’
David and Jerad’s match could hardly be considered a spar in the truest sense of the word.
She was supposed to observe various factors—the compatibility of their Traits, the flow of the match, and, most importantly, whether the spar was beneficial to the students involved. But it was obvious that the burden on student David had been immense.
And yet, she couldn't stop the match.
Because the one fighting, student David, had not given up.
The look in the student's eyes hadn't changed from the start of the match.
If anything, he seemed to approach the spar with even greater resolve. Seeing that... how could I have stopped it?
Willpower was considered one of the most significant factors in a Trait's evolution. If student David's will grew stronger, that in itself could be seen as growth.
But…
‘His opponent was just too malicious.’
In an academy where all social classes, from nobles to commoners, coexisted, a subtle undercurrent was bound to flow beneath the surface.
Even if the regulations stated there was no discrimination, how could there be no friction at all between the individuals themselves?
A noble with a sense of entitlement and ill will. Furthermore, despite his clear superiority, he refused to end the match.
Jerad was one of the most vicious students she had ever encountered. It was clear he was intentionally prolonging the match to humiliate or mock his opponent.
And he added taunts to the mix.
So much so that even I grew furious just watching.
If she had seen any sign that student David was suffering from severe humiliation or self-loathing, she would have stopped the match immediately.
But…
That wasn't… the case.
The eyes of student David, as I saw them, were filled with will. He refused to give up, trying to press forward even when he knew it was impossible.
As the student’s eyes continued to burn with resolve, I couldn't bring myself to stop the match.
“……”
As she let out a soft sigh, her eyes fell on student Han Cheon-seong, who was now waiting for his match.
She knew he was student David's closest friend. She couldn't have missed it, as they were always together during her lectures last week.
And his closest friend had just suffered through such a miserable match. It would be strange if student Han Cheon-seong wasn't angry.
She knew he must be struggling to control his emotions, knew how distraught he must have been throughout the entire ordeal.
And the resentful way he looked at her… she felt it all.
‘He must hate me right now.’
Han Cheon-seong’s cold stare almost made her heart waver, but from an instructor's perspective, student David had gained something from this match.
Even if he struggled and lost, as long as he himself could ignite his own will, it was the instructor's duty to see it through.
She had been enraged for a moment by student Jerad’s attack, which seemed aimed at the head, but it was absurdly frustrating to feel that even that had been a calculated display of power.
Student Jerad was cunning and meticulous.
Had this not been an instructor-supervised match, the force he used would have warranted immediate and severe disciplinary action. But student Jerad had skillfully skirted the regulations while demonstrating his power.
It was as if he knew that I, the instructor, would prevent any truly serious injury…
…
The appointed time arrived.
*Shhk.*
Watching student Han Cheon-seong and student Jerad rise to their feet, she, too, calmed her heart.
Now, in the middle of a lecture, she had to set aside her personal feelings and view them only as an instructor and her students.
...No matter how much she disliked student Jerad's wicked attitude, and no matter how much she favored student Han Cheon-seong, she had to view the situation with a cool head.
“The two students, to your positions.”
She spoke calmly, steadying her mind.
***
*Shhk.*
As I drew the spear from my back, I wondered if the cold touch of steel had ever felt so welcome.
No. I could say with certainty that it never had.
Not even when I achieved the unbelievable evolution to Trait Level 4 during my match with Leonhardt. Even then, the joy of holding my spear had not been as great as it was now.
“A spear, huh?”
My gaze fell on Jerad as he spoke from a short distance away.
The boiling heat within me was suppressed more intensely than ever before.
—A 10-minute waiting period.
In that time, the emotions that had endlessly churned within me were forged and tempered like steel.
I hadn't erased my feelings. I had hardened them, made them colder.
I was almost grateful to Kalli for mentioning the regulation… I was now in complete control of my emotions.
And now, that felt like a relief.
‘I almost…’
I had almost ended this match with Jerad meaninglessly.
Against the trash who had hurt David so badly, I had almost let him off too easily.
I shouldn't have done that…
The pain David suffered—that trash needed to pay a price just as steep.
“A spear isn’t bad. Though it’s an unfortunate Trait, having only a Common rank, the spear itself is a fine weapon.”
“Right…”
“But what can you do? It’s a Common. A Common has its limits, doesn’t it?”
A smirk escaped my lips as I watched the trash openly gloat.
‘A Common has its limits, huh….’
And the Trait of Jerad, who said such things, was merely Rare. Not even Unique.
Even Leonhardt, with his Legendary Trait, had never looked down on me like that. Yet this guy with a Rare Trait was mocking me, seeing me as beneath him…
For someone who belittled Spearmanship and tried to define its limits by its Common rank, his own Trait wasn't all that impressive.
And yet, the condescending way he looked down on me was so genuine that I actually felt a sliver of gratitude toward him.
It allowed me to see him as pure, unadulterated trash. That way, I wouldn't feel the slightest bit of guilt for what I was about to do.
A genuine laugh escaped my lips.
“…Laughing? What’s so funny that you’re laughing?”
“Oh, nothing. I’m just really looking forward to our match…”
I had no desire to outwardly express the emotions seething deep in my heart.
Just as that trash conducted his match against David, I would simply make him pay the price.
To do that, I needed to make it clear that I wasn't being emotional.
I needed to show that I was approaching this match rationally, that whatever I did to this piece of trash, I was doing it with a clear mind.
“Begin the match.”
At the sound of Kalli's voice, I did not immediately leap forward and thrust my spear.
Instead, I activated the mana throughout my body.
A faint blue light enveloped my arms, my legs, even my eyes, suffusing my entire being.
Feeling my senses instantly expand, I slowly took in the sight of Jerad.
He stood there leisurely, watching me, just as he had with David.
“You should come at me, just like David did, right?”
As he openly provoked me, another laugh escaped my lips.
‘Really…’
In a completely different sense, the guy seemed almost pure.
Malice. How could someone possess such unadorned malice and try to trample on another?
I inadvertently recalled the moment David had first leaped forward.
The humiliation he suffered because he couldn't reach his target—I wanted to use that very same move to show this trash how it was truly done.
*!*
The moment the thought crossed my mind, I reenacted David’s movement.
I kicked off the ground with all my might, leaping swiftly toward Jerad.
The only difference between David and me was the spear in my hands.
As our eyes met, Jerad’s hand moved slightly, and a fierce gale erupted.
*!*
My hair whipped wildly in the wind. Just as David had, I faltered for a moment… but then I leaped again.
I anticipated the momentary blast of wind pressure that would follow.
*—!*
I instantly felt the wind wrap around me, pressing down hard on my airborne body.
But it didn't matter.
The fierce wind prevented me from moving my spear as I pleased. Even so, it was more than enough.
*Shwooo!*
As if to rip apart the gale rushing toward me, the hand holding my spear spun furiously, creating another vortex of wind. The force of the wind restraining me weakened significantly.
“What the hell are you doing…?”
Unlike David, who had been pushed back by Jerad’s surprised voice, I managed to close a considerable distance between us.
Without hesitation, I swung the shaft of my spear.
*—!*
A massive gust of wind instantly formed in the path of the shaft, trying to suppress its power, and I couldn't help but smile.
*Thwack!*
Despite the resistance, the spear broke through the wind.
Although the gale had weakened the force of my swing, my spear still struck Jerad squarely in the side.
“Keuk!”
Watching Jerad tumble wretchedly across the ground from the direct hit, I unconsciously tightened and then relaxed my grip on the spear.
Landing a solid blow on the guy who had toyed with David was strangely exhilarating.
But at the same time, not yet.
It wasn't enough. This was far from enough.
That was just a simple strike. The damage would be nothing more than a light bruise.
As Jerad quickly scrambled to his feet, my anticipation grew.
“You piece of trash, how dare you…!”
Spitting a rough curse, Jerad pushed off the ground again without giving himself a moment to recover.
I changed my stance, widening my grip on the spear shaft.
Not the blade, but the shaft. To beat this trash with the shaft. In this match, the blade of my spear would never touch him.
As another massive gale rushed toward me, I braced against the wind and came to a realization.
“…”
For David, who had yet to fully awaken his Trait…
How much of an insurmountable wall must Jerad's wind have felt like?
The intensity of the wind would feel completely different to me, who could withstand it, compared to David, who could not.
And yet… David had not lost his will.
Until he lost consciousness, he had tried to right himself and continue the match, however difficult it was.
…In that, I could feel it again.
Why Kalli hadn't stopped the match with Jerad. How emotionally I had been viewing everything.
Perhaps seeing my friend get hurt had blinded me to reality.
Blinded me to the sheer strength of will with which David had faced this trash.
*Shhk….*
The hand swinging the spear moved naturally, no longer fighting against the wind.
Instead, I rode the wind, spinning the spear even more fiercely to deflect the downpour of gales.
*Step.*
*Step.*
The distance between us closed with every moment.
As I watched Jerad’s face gradually harden, my heart did not soften in the slightest.
The intense desire to avenge David remained.
Wanting to toy with an opponent in a match, even when you could win, was a clear sign of a malicious mind.
Just like that piece of trash, Jerad.
‘I’ll pay you back in kind.’
I was not a good person, like Leonhardt.
And so, right now, I felt no hesitation in my desire to repay what was done to my friend.
*Fwoosh!*
As I watched my spear shaft cut through the air, tearing the wind apart, I had no intention of ending this match easily.