Chapter 30
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: First Real Combat
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The surging heat showed no signs of subsiding easily.
At that moment, Jacqueline shouted loudly.
“Everyone, mount up!”
At her command, the waiting cadets swiftly climbed into their cockpits.
Abel was no exception.
Though the scorching heat still tormented him, he first climbed into the cockpit and placed his hand on the core.
Wuuuung—!
As he drew up his mana and pushed it into the core, the thick armor shifted to enclose the cockpit.
Then, reacting to the mana, Lupus opened its eyes.
It was around then that the mysterious heat suddenly subsided.
“Huuu.”
Abel exhaled a hot breath.
He had no idea why the heat had surged so suddenly, or what had caused it to fade.
‘The Gigadeus Fragment. It’s definitely connected to that Blade Tail somehow.’
He had some suspicions, but there was no time to dwell on them right now.
There were too many eyes watching, and he had work to do.
Abel gathered his scattered focus and began syncing with Lupus.
From a body of flesh and blood to a massive one forged of metal.
His mind expanded in an instant through the core.
And at one point, Abel was seeing the outside world through Lupus’s eyes.
“Lupus.”
*Master. Is today the day?*
Lupus, freshly awakened from slumber, responded to Abel’s call with a question.
Abel slowly rose to his feet as he replied.
“Yeah.”
Thud—!
Its thick legs planted firmly on the ground.
Standing straight first among them, Abel continued with a bright smile.
“Today’s finally our first real combat together.”
The mysterious heat, the gazes of the countless spectators—all were buried beneath the thrill of the impending battle.
Looking around, it felt just like standing in the underground fighting ring after a long time.
If he let himself get carried away by the excitement, he could undoubtedly put on a performance beyond compare with those days.
“Huu.”
But Abel took a short breath to calm that excitement.
It was a battle with an audience, just like before, but his position now wasn’t one where fighting well alone would earn high praise.
If that’s what he wanted, he would’ve joined a mercenary band instead of the academy.
Thud, thud—!
While Abel composed himself, the other cadets activated their Gigants one by one.
They were the cream of the crop among all the cadets, and they moved at an impressively swift pace.
As the leader, Abel called out loudly.
*Everyone, form up!*
Thud, thuud—!
At Abel’s order, they all shifted into their pre-assigned formation.
With Abel at the center, holding sword and shield, Daniel stood to the left with spear and shield, and Rian to the right with a massive shield.
Behind them were May with her dual swords, Iolin with a single sword, and Jun.
At the very rear were Hena with her mana cannon and Charlotte, unarmed but with artifacts equipped on both arms.
Abel confirmed the formation, then spoke again.
*All units ready.*
At Abel’s report, Jacqueline replied using a voice-amplifying artifact.
“Battle commences in three minutes.”
With that, Jacqueline stepped far back, and a heavy silence descended over the mock battlefield.
Everyone was tense, no doubt.
The silver lining was that, thanks to their real combat experience at the Wall of Glory, no one was frozen stiff.
‘No need for extra pep talks.’
Sensing the mood, Abel relaxed and turned his gaze forward.
No one was overly tense, so there was nothing more to do.
As long as they executed the plan properly, even if one or two slipped up, it wouldn’t be a big issue.
‘The real key is the enemy.’
Abel narrowed his eyes.
The Blade Tail trapped in their enclosure stared back, its distinctive blade-like tail raised high.
Its red glowing eyes carried an intimidating pressure that could cow anyone who met its gaze.
Abel thought to himself.
*It really is massive.*
The Blade Tail’s shoulder height fell just short of 4 meters.
Given its four-legged wolf form, if it stood upright, it would dwarf even a Miles-class Gigant around 6 meters tall.
*Is that Blade Tail Gigadeus Fragment a strong one?*
At Lupus’s sudden question, Abel gave a curt reply.
“Yeah. Pretty strong.”
Among Gigadeus Fragments, the Blade Tail ranked fairly high in power.
The fragments they’d faced at the Wall of Glory had been threatening enough, but that was more due to their sheer numbers and the harsh environment than individual strength.
They’d been ambushed without proper weapons, riding Tito-class Gigants one grade below Miles.
*That’s strange, then. Aren’t most of those standing there inexperienced warriors? And you’re pitting them against a strong foe? By your explanation, don’t they all have some status?*
Lupus fired off questions in rapid succession.
It wasn’t all that odd.
Lupus was quite the curious one.
Whenever they mounted up like this, it always unleashed an endless barrage of questions.
Normally, Abel would answer diligently, but given the circumstances, he kept it brief.
“Yeah. They won’t survive otherwise.”
*Won’t survive? You humans don’t look that weak to me.*
“It looks that way here. But the outside world isn’t so forgiving.”
……And in a few years, even the empire’s capital, ringed by high walls, would come under threat.
Abel swallowed the latter part and changed the subject.
“Looks like it’s about to start. I’ll answer your other questions later.”
*Understood.*
Lupus fell silent at Abel’s words. And about a minute later.
Wuuung—!
A surge of strong mana accompanied the vanishing of the barrier around the iron bars.
The battle had begun.
* * *
Everyone present was a cadet brimming with brilliant talent.
Even if not fully bloomed, their gifts shone through like a awl in a sack.
Kwaaaang—!
Even as the Blade Tail burst through the bars blocking it, the cadets held their formation steady.
They might have been tense, but not a single one shrank back in fear.
Satisfied, Abel issued calm orders.
*Hena.*
*Yeah!*
At Abel’s call, Hena immediately channeled mana into the mana cannon mounted on her shoulder.
Fuuuung—.
Kwang—!
A beam of light shot out from the mana cannon with a roar.
“Ho.”
“Indeed. The talent of Del Kior shines again this year.”
Its power and speed were unbelievable for a freshman, drawing gasps of admiration from most of the observing professors.
Tatak!
But the Blade Tail effortlessly dodged the beam, rendering the admiration hollow.
It was the obvious result of firing the mana cannon straight-on without any feint or suppression.
Of course, no one blamed Hena for it.
The one who’d given the order was Abel up front.
“Hmm. Even the finest weapon is useless if not wielded properly.”
“Skill with Gigants doesn’t always translate to tactical genius.”
Some hot-tempered professors criticized Abel based on that single move.
But those with keen insight remained calmly silent.
And Abel was the same.
The previous attack hadn’t been meant to deal damage in the first place.
Charrururuk—!
Instead of striding forward as before, the Blade Tail raised its tail high, showing clear wariness.
It was exactly the reaction Abel had wanted.
*Good.*
Everyone would have seen it.
The Blade Tail halting and going on alert after just one mana cannon shot.
If it hadn’t sensed danger, it wouldn’t have reacted that way.
The effect was clear.
It dragged the inflated image of the Blade Tail in the cadets’ minds back to reality.
Of course, this was just the beginning.
“Hoo.”
Abel exhaled hot breath.
While Hena fired and the Blade Tail reacted warily, he hadn’t been idle.
Right after issuing the order, he’d activated ‘Overflow.’
Thanks to that, his body was boiling like it might explode at any moment.
Abel held out to his limit, then shot forward without warning.
Kwaang—!
With a roar, Lupus launched ahead like a bullet.
The Blade Tail, on high alert, nimbly dodged left.
But Abel, using the Sage’s Spectacles, twisted as if he’d predicted it and swung his sword.
Kwagagagak!
A screech like tearing metal sheets echoed out.
Abel’s blade had ripped into the Blade Tail’s flank.
The Blade Tail gaped its maw in agony from the torn flesh but reflexively whipped its tail.
Kwajik!
The sharp tail pierced straight through Lupus’s shoulder.
The Blade Tail seemed pleased with its retaliation, flashing a momentary gleam of triumph—but coincidentally, so was Abel.
Grinning from the cockpit, Abel shouted.
*Now!*
Kwak!
Abel dropped his shield and gripped the tail tight.
The Blade Tail belatedly sensed something wrong and tried to pull free, but it wouldn’t budge.
Fuuuung!
And his teammates didn’t miss the opening Abel created.
First, Daniel hurled his spear with full force, discarding his shield entirely.
Kwadududuk!
The spear impaled one of the Blade Tail’s legs and drove deep into the hard ground.
Then May, leaping high into the air, came crashing down and slashed its back.
*Uuuuuwu!*
The Blade Tail howled in pain from the fluid combo.
By now, most in their Gigants were probably flushed with excitement.
Feeling the heightened mood, Abel shouted again.
*Everyone, fall back! Rian!*
Not everyone reacted swiftly to the first command.
It was expected. In the heat of pressing the attack, “fall back” didn’t click immediately.
That’s why Abel had anticipated it and called Rian.
Thud!
Rian, who’d been waiting at the rear, charged forward with his massive shield out front.
Seeing it, Abel yanked the tail hard.
It was right after that the Blade Tail, silent since its pained howl, moved.
Kwaaaang—!
A deafening roar exploded.
And the result was astonishing.
Rian, charging vigorously, was flung back, his shield half-caved in.
Abel wasn’t in great shape either.
*Left arm’s out of commission.*
The left shoulder where the tail had lodged was nearly shattered. It was barely hanging on.
The mood cooled instantly, like cold water had been dumped on them.
But the battle was only just beginning.
Charararuk—.
The Blade Tail now sported two tails swaying as it stared straight at Abel.
*Looks like a wolf, but acts like a fox.*
Maybe that’s why its name didn’t include “wolf.”
Gigadeus Fragments were inherently different from ordinary creatures anyway.
Without taking his eyes off the Blade Tail, Abel shouted.
*Rian! You good?*
*Yeah!*
Fortunately, Rian seemed fine aside from the crumpled shield.
He’d prepared a spare on his back for this exact scenario, so the only real damage was Abel’s one arm.
In the brief lull, Abel reviewed what had just happened.
When the tide turned against it, the Blade Tail had deliberately taken more hits to lure them into complacency.
That explained its lack of fatal wounds.
And Abel had seen through it from the start, blocking the ambush with minimal damage.
He could’ve warned faster to avoid any harm, but he hadn’t.
Because this wasn’t a solo fight.
*That should’ve snapped everyone to attention.*
Now, no one here would be complacent or overly hyped.
In other words, conditions were perfect to unleash their full strength.
Abel smiled.
A perfect stage lay before him.