Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Results
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Several hours had already passed since the midterms began.
The spectators, who had initially watched quietly, had now each picked their favorite cadet, and cheers accordingly echoed through the arena.
This was an important exam, but at the same time, it was also a match.
A public one-on-one duel between the 'Hero Candidates,' called the future of the kingdom! Considering that watching fights had long been a beloved form of entertainment, it was impossible not to get fired up.
Nevertheless, the stands were eerily quiet right now.
"...Is this really cadet level?"
No cheers. No shouts of support.
Everyone held their breath, with only the occasional gasp of admiration slipping out.
Clang! Claaang!
The sound of swords clashing.
Only explosive clashes filled the entire arena.
'...She's gotten even stronger in the meantime.'
Sera gritted her teeth.
Fast, heavy blows with no openings to exploit.
Just blocking Roel's relentless barrage was overwhelming.
The 'incomplete swordsmanship' she'd pointed out not long ago was now nearly perfected.
But Sera hadn't been slacking off either.
Sera's strengths.
Speed, and fundamentals.
These two elements didn't shine separately—they blazed brighter when combined.
Roel prepared a major attack.
A sweeping horizontal slash from left to right.
Sera's gaze locked fiercely on the sword tip.
Kagagagak—!
She met the heavy strike with her sword angled just slightly.
Lowering her body, she deflected it smoothly.
A rare opening appeared.
From her lowered stance, she swung her sword. She made up for the lack of power with her Blessing of Speed.
"Ugh..."
In the end, a deep gash marred Roel's arm.
Blood began dripping steadily onto the floor.
'Crazy bitch, blocking with her arm like that?'
She'd originally aimed for the shoulder tendon.
Roel had spotted her intent in that split second and avoided a fatal wound.
Sera suddenly recalled their first duel.
Back then, she couldn't react even to movements without the blessing...
It was truly absurd growth.
"You're strong...!"
"As if you didn't know."
Roel swallowed hard.
Bleeding and not bleeding made a world of difference.
The realization that she could actually be cut ramped up the tension.
Sera was dead serious, and Roel was only now grasping it.
Clang!
That recent counter had shifted momentum to Sera.
Now it was Roel's turn to defend.
The Evans sword style prioritized speed.
It might not land crushing blows, but it always pierced defenses.
Indeed, Roel's wounds were steadily multiplying.
'...She seems even faster.'
Faster than when she'd fought that wolf demon.
She must have trained alone beyond their joint sessions.
Of course, it wasn't too fast to track with her eyes.
Roel reacted properly to Sera's close-range movements.
"...!"
She drew up mana and infused it into her sword.
As the blue energy spun rapidly, a small storm formed around the blade.
It was Cleave.
"Hey, you lunatic!!"
Kwa-gagagaga!!
The arena floor cracked viciously.
A brutal Cleave smashed at point-blank range.
If Sera hadn't aborted her attack and dodged, the match would've ended instantly.
"Are you trying to kill someone?!"
"I dodged, didn't I?"
Roel readied the next Cleave right away.
Sera sighed deeply at the sight, then dropped into a serious stance.
The two in the arena.
Everyone in the stands.
They all sensed it instinctively.
The match was about to end.
Roel moved first.
A frontal Cleave. An attack that would obviously be dodged—but not a mindless one.
Even after the first Cleave, blue light still swirled around Roel's sword.
This Cleave wasn't single-use.
One, two, three, four.
Countless more Cleaves shot toward Sera afterward.
Sera maxed out her Blessing of Speed.
Dodging each Cleave step by step, she kept her eyes glued to Roel's movements until the end.
Dust obscuring her vision? No matter.
She never closed her eyes.
Finally, after evading the ninth Cleave.
Sera spotted the tiniest slowdown in Roel's movements.
'Now.'
Sera had been mulling it over lately.
Maybe she was actually slow.
Ever since that demon caught up to her.
For Sera, speed was pride itself.
No one would catch her again.
Kuguk...
She focused power in her right leg.
Pushing her muscles to the brink, squeezing out maximum force.
The Blessing of Speed boosted final speed.
If that was all...
Maybe...
It could stack.
Pung!
Something burst.
The sonic boom of surpassing sound speed.
Only a deep crater remained where Sera had stood.
Roel couldn't react.
Her eyes couldn't see sound.
It was pure instinct.
"This doesn't make any sense..."
"Haha... How about a draw?"
Sera's sword at Roel's abdomen.
Roel's sword at Sera's abdomen.
Stabbing the same spot, both collapsed simultaneously.
The midterms weren't about crowning a single winner.
All matches were jointly evaluated by the professors, so cadets with sufficient scores didn't need to go to the finals.
Roel and Sera fit that perfectly.
Their match performance was undeniably top-tier.
The only question was who took top cadet between them.
"...The exam's already over?"
Anyway.
To cut to the chase.
Their bout ended in a draw, and after three straight days unconscious, they missed every remaining exam.
The midterms were done.
"Th-then what about our scores...?"
Roel pulled a tearful face from her bed.
Sera looked anxious too.
Cigarette spoke reassuringly.
"Don't worry. You're both top cadets."
Roel and Sera both froze in surprise.
"This exam has no fixed grading rubric. It's purely the 'professors' judgment.' And we judged you two the standout cadets—too close to call."
Top cadet.
Both of them.
Roel stared blankly at Sera.
Sera stared back with the same dazed look.
"For reference, second place is Cadet Laila. Thrilled to see all three of you excel."
Cigarette smiled, looking genuinely pleased.
Who knew she could make that face.
"Then, I'll be off."
Cigarette left the hospital room with that.
The room fell quiet for a while with just the two of them.
Neither knew what to say.
Roel broke the ice.
"What was that speed at the end?"
"I figured blessings might stack. Got lucky and it worked."
"I could barely react. Felt faster than that demon."
"Only once anyway. Leg gets trashed."
Sure enough, one of Sera's legs was wrapped tight in bandages.
"You surprised me too—didn't know you could spam Cleave like that."
"Oh, just copied what I saw."
"Copied?"
"Yeah, someone showed me..."
Could you really pull that off just from watching?
Sera shoved aside the question in her head and just accepted it.
Logic had no place with this lunatic.
"...Hey."
"Yeah?"
"Uh, well."
Sera hesitated.
She had something to say, so Roel waited patiently.
"Sorry."
The word that burst out was unexpected.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"You know. At the start. What I said to you..."
A meek, un-Sera-like voice.
"The harsh stuff..."
Roel blinked.
Then she started grinning mischievously.
"What stuff? Huh? Say it straight."
"Forget it! Not doing it. Scram."
"Aw, finish what you started! Come on! Hurry!"
The hospital room grew noisy in no time.
.
.
.
A few days later, Roel and Sera were discharged around the same time.
Their bodies were fine.
Senses dulled a bit from prolonged bed rest, but no real discomfort.
Roel beelined for the training grounds.
Sera, Laila. Familiar faces greeted her.
Familiar routine resumed.
The three took lectures together, trained together.
One thing different, though...
"Demon?"
The voice that always rang in her head started going silent.
"Where'd you go...?"
A presence that appeared out of nowhere and became part of her life overnight.
Annoying at first, but now its absence felt emptier.
She even grew worried.
Did the Saint do something after all?
Pretended to be fine but wasn't?
If the Demon was really gone.
Would she have to live without it from now on?
A bitter mood settled in.
"Attention, everyone."
But no time to dwell.
Academy life was hectic, new tasks piling up fast.
"Lately, monster sightings near the village have spiked."
She'd manage somehow.
"We'll now select personnel to support the village."