Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: The Pain of Growth (2)
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***
"......"
I slowly steadied my breathing.
It was to compose my utterly exhausted body, and it was a risk worth taking.
The greatest growth I could hope for right now. It could only come from a skill.
Normally, it would be a stage someone at Trait Level 4 couldn't even dream of, but I had miraculously found a clue to the skill.
The hand holding the spear felt incredibly heavy.
My body, pushed to its limit, cried out in pain just from holding the spear. Still, I endured the agony and slowly recalled the concept.
—Pierce a single point and twist.
It wasn't a fully formed concept yet. Just an idea that felt that way to me.
Even as an incomplete concept, it displayed almost absolute power when I used it.
In my last spar with Luna, it pierced through her vast mana and twisted her kite shield, and it erased the trace of Jerad's full-power wind pressure with a single twist.
However, after just two uses, my body began to show a backlash, so I had stopped trying to learn the skill for the time being.
"I can do this."
I said it as if making a promise to myself and began to flesh out the concept further.
The catalyst for this concept. It came to me while imagining something I could never possibly counter.
‘I thought my spearhead couldn’t reach.’
That was Leonhardt in our first spar. Even though I had reached Trait Level 4 at the time, I could clearly feel my spear being slowly ensnared by him.
I was sure I could reach him, but my spearhead still fell short.
In speed, in power, it was as if our very origins were different.
That's why I desperately wanted something that could pierce his sword. If I couldn't pierce it, then something that could erase his attack by twisting the blade itself.
—!
Thinking calmly, I slowly took my stance.
*Shhhk.* I took a step back, the end of the hand gripping the spear shaft pointing behind me again. It was a stance similar to before, yet completely different.
It was a posture that seemed ready to launch the spear with great force at any moment.
—!
For a moment, a faint mana gathered at the spear's tip, imbuing it with a soft blue light.
At the same time, I pictured Leonhardt in the empty space before me.
I imagined him, even stronger and more developed than the Leonhardt I faced in our last spar.
"......"
Then, something slowly began to come into view.
The image of Leonhardt, standing his ground confidently. His sword held high.
Though it was clearly an illusion, Leonhardt's signature blue eyes looked calm and serene. And the brilliant blue aura enveloping the sword he held surged magnificently, as if ready to devour space itself.
It was all too easy to picture how much stronger he must have become, at a pace incomparable to my own.
...And I could picture what would happen next.
The moment the sword, brimming with immense power, rushed toward me.
The aura of the Sword of the Azure Sky was too powerful for me to pierce. I couldn't face it head-on with my spear.
'That's why.'
I will pierce a single point and twist that impossibly immense power.
The moment the thought formed, I had already thrust my spear.
—————!!!
In that instant, I didn't even know when I had thrust the spear, or if I had even consciously swung it.
I was simply captivated by the sight. My spearhead, glowing brilliantly as it cut through the air.
A blue aura, stronger than ever before, enveloped the tip, and the air in the spear's wake roiled and churned violently in response.
*Shhhhhhhk...!*
At the same time, the spear, spinning in a spiral, felt different from the two times I had used it before.
The moment its tip met Leonhardt's sword.
...The spear came to a dead stop.
In that instant, I felt an incomprehensible 'disconnect'.
It could twist and erase it. The spear held that much power.
But it suddenly stopped. Even the spiraling rotation of the spear halted.
Something inexplicable... but something was definitely missing.
I instinctively felt that I was still lacking something to fully attain the skill.
And I had no idea what that something was.
*Clang!*
As the spear slipped futilely from my hand and clattered violently to the ground, an immense, sharp pain shot through my entire body.
The pain was so unexpected that for a moment, I couldn't even open my mouth.
"...!"
My body crumpled, tilting over as my vision twisted violently.
The extreme dizziness made it feel as though I couldn't see a thing.
*Thud.*
As my body hit the ground, the pain that had been coursing through me intensified, and my consciousness felt like it was floating away.
Not a single word escaped my lips; it felt as if I were suffocating.
How many seconds did it last?
It felt like an eternity.
"Haa... haa..."
When I could finally breathe again, I focused solely on supplying my body with the oxygen it craved.
It felt as if I had faced death for a moment. As if I had died and come back to life, with only a vivid, lingering pain coursing through my entire being.
"Kngh... ugh..."
A groan escaped me from the unbearable pain, and I couldn't move at all.
It felt like someone was trying to stomp on my body and make it burst. An extreme agony that seemed to tear my body and mind to shreds.
Even my mind felt like my brain was burning from the pain.
Amidst the horrific pain, something kept surfacing and then disappearing.
...I couldn't tell what it was. Just enduring this pain was already pushing me far beyond my limits.
Just as I felt I was about to lose consciousness, I somehow clung to the thread of my awareness through the pain.
'No!'
I couldn't pass out here.
That unprecedented sensation I felt just moments ago seemed like it would vanish like a fleeting dream.
"Kngh..."
Through a stifled groan... my vision continued to blur.
But I absolutely could not let go of my will.
***
Millia slipped out of the dormitory late at night.
For the first time in a while, she was walking alone.
*Tap.*
*Tap...*
As she walked aimlessly, accompanied only by the soft sound of her footsteps, Millia's heart felt heavy.
Having always been by Luna's side, walking alone like this should have felt strange. Yet right now, it was actually more comfortable.
"Haa..."
She let out a short sigh and gazed blankly at the moon.
The moon, brightly illuminating the earth, was so luminous.
And yet, despite looking at such a bright moon, my heart felt anything but bright... creating a sense of dissonance.
......
As she wandered without a destination, various thoughts filled her mind.
It felt like just yesterday that she had entered the academy, imagining bright and hopeful days, but now it all felt like a dream.
It felt like she was the only one not improving, like she was falling behind the other cadets.
Was it because her mind had become more complicated recently? Her Trait showed no signs of improving.
Sesi was just a cute spirit by her side. There was no hint of it evolving.
"On top of that, lately, things with Luna... they feel like they're getting more and more awkward."
Thinking of Luna, a bitter smile played on her lips.
Lately, she could clearly feel Luna trying to treat her better. There was nothing wrong with Luna.
It was just that the way she treated Luna wasn't the same as before...
These days, I found myself keeping a distance from Luna. I was trying to change things by treating her a little coldly, as if pushing her away.
A thought had occurred to her recently.
'Is it right for me to be by Luna's side...?'
Could it be that Luna's presence was holding me back?
Unknowingly, I had been living in Luna's shadow.
Just as other cadets would naturally look at me when they looked at Luna. I was benefiting from her presence without even realizing it.
But I didn't want that anymore. I didn't want to live like that.
It felt like living as a worthless star right next to the brilliantly shining star that was Luna.
That feeling had grown stronger lately.
And if I kept living like that, what meaning would my life have?
"I'm... just me."
Luna's friend, the Millia that Luna likes—that wasn't my essence. I exist simply as myself.
*Tap.*
Lost in thought, she found herself having entered the park.
*Sshk.* She sank onto an empty bench, a deep sigh escaping her.
As her thoughts of Luna subsided, the image of a certain man suddenly came to mind.
His characteristic black hair and black eyes. And that confident smile he wore.
She didn't know how many times she had thought of him. It happened dozens of times a day. He would appear in her mind, then fade away. And naturally, she became more conscious of him.
And then... she realized.
"I..."
Maybe I'm just making excuses.
There was only one fundamental reason for why I was acting and thinking this way.
The reason I was trying to distance myself from Luna, treating her so coldly lately.
It was the same with making Luna apologize in the first place.
Normally, the matter would have been swept under the rug thanks to the influence of Luna's family, the Vermont County. But I persisted and convinced Luna to apologize to Han Cheon-seong.
Why had I done that? I already knew the answer.
"I... liked Han Cheon-seong."
And it must have been love at first sight.
That's why all my actions had changed. And it was also crystal clear why I had started to dislike Luna.
Because even Han Cheon-seong would now be interested in Luna.
If I stayed by Luna's side, I would just remain Luna's friend.
That's why I was trying to distance myself from her, trying to change.
"..."
Once I fully realized and acknowledged my feelings, a hollow laugh escaped me.
I felt so childish. Treating my best friend of so many years coldly just because I'd developed a crush on a boy.
And because that boy showed a strange interest in my friend, I treated her harshly.
...It was truly ugly jealousy.
Acting like this would only make me lose the friend I'd been close to for so long, and it wasn't like the boy I liked would choose me anyway.
"...Ugh."
Then, a sound made her flinch in surprise.
At first, it was a faint sound, like static from somewhere, but now it was clear.
She carefully stood up and looked toward where the sound was coming from.
"...Is someone there?"
*Tap.*
As she spoke and approached the bushes in the park, her eyes widened involuntarily.
There...
was a man who shouldn't have been there.
And he was a complete and utter mess.
"Han Cheon-seong!?"
She cried out urgently, approaching him without even realizing what she was doing.