Chapter 306: 2nd Semester Ranking Tournament. But Now, More Serious Than Expected (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 306: 2nd Semester Ranking Tournament. But Now, More Serious Than Expected (1)
The Chairperson sighed as she stared at the documents she had just signed.
“…Is this really the right move?”
She had confirmed that he had no intention of harming the cadets and that his goal was simply to make them stronger so he could have a proper fight. Still, she wasn’t entirely certain if accepting him as an academy professor was the right choice.
There were two reasons why she had reached a conclusion she normally never would have.
One was the promise he made, even going so far as to place a restriction on himself.
— If the Academy is ever threatened from the outside and martial force is required, I will stake everything I have and do my absolute best to protect the cadets.
Of course, she couldn’t trust him completely. However, if a man with such an extraordinary aura became an ally, he might be able to cover areas that she and Cathy might miss in an emergency.
“…I truly hope I didn’t mishear that.”
The second reason was that during the interview, a voice had spoken to her from the ‘Branch of Yggdrasil,’ which she hadn’t been able to return to the Elf village yet due to certain circumstances.
“I am not the Elf King. Why on earth are you saying such things to me?”
— Take his hand. In the crises to come, he will protect your precious one.
“…A prophecy from the World Tree. I thought those only existed in fairy tales.”
Leilan felt a complex swirl of emotions, praying that the upcoming Ranking Tournament would pass without incident.
“…But who exactly did it mean by ‘precious one’?”
* * *
As a side note.
“So. You forgot the entire script and just went in there and told the truth? Have you lost your mind?”
“Ah, I passed, didn’t I? That’s all that matters. I do feel sorry, though…”
“No, Tae-ho. From where I’m standing, you don’t look sorry at all. If you were actually sorry, you wouldn’t be lounging like that.”
“…Is the Captain actually angry?”
“No, why would I be angry? Right, let’s not call this anger. Let’s call it a long-overdue lecture.”
“You’re definitely angry. I shall reflect on my actions.”
It was said that Kalia’s furious lecture continued until the middle of the night at the Arcadia base.
* * *
The morning of the Ranking Tournament finally arrived.
Cheon Yu-hak, who hadn’t been able to sleep until late, rose slowly and checked his condition.
He hadn’t slept much because he was busy reviewing tactics and running simulations in his head, but he didn’t feel particularly fatigued. For a superhuman of a certain level, missing a day of sleep wasn’t a major issue. While he felt tension, it wasn’t the kind of trembling that would cause mistakes.
If anything, this tension was positive.
It was the stillness before squeezing out every drop of his ability against a powerful foe—the focus that allowed him to control his body perfectly. Because of this strange tension, he felt like he could pour everything into today.
Could he win?
He couldn’t be sure.
No, he would likely lose.
Even so, he had to challenge him, knowing he would lose.
“I wonder how much I’ve caught up to you.”
The day they first met.
Unlike himself, who had been acting like a pretentious adult, he had admired the boy who truly had the eyes of an adult. When everyone else looked at him like a monster and feared him, he felt a sense of gratitude toward the one who looked at him and said he wasn’t afraid.
The first peer he had ever acknowledged, and the first person he could truly call a friend.
“I haven’t been much help to you until now.”
He had received so much, but he couldn’t remember giving much back. He hadn’t been able to stop his friend when he was breaking, nor was he dependable enough to share the burdens he carried.
If I—no, if we had been a little stronger, perhaps you wouldn’t have carried it all alone. Maybe you would have relied on us. Instead of us having to piece things together ourselves, you might have opened up and talked to us. About your relationship with the Masked Villain, what you know, and why you’re trying to shoulder it all by yourself.
As he walked slowly toward the arena, someone came to meet him.
“What is it?”
It was Ju Ri-ra. She was a girl who had been with him since childhood and harbored romantic feelings for him.
“This… it’s a talisman.”
“…I recall you weren’t particularly fond of such psychological crutches?”
“The girls got together and made them. I know making something like this doesn’t really suit me, but I still wanted to give it to you.”
Her hesitant behavior wasn’t like her usual self, but for some reason, he didn’t mind it at all.
“…I’ll accept it gratefully.”
“Yu-hak.”
“Yes?”
“I know you have a lot on your mind, but don’t forget to give it your absolute best.”
“Of course.”
“And… I’d like it if you won.”
He wanted to give a confident answer, but the words wouldn’t come out. It seemed that despite his cool exterior and composed act, he really was nervous.
“The Yu-hak I know isn’t the type to decide the outcome before the fight even starts. You always look at what you can do and fight while searching for possibilities.”
“You’re unusually talkative today.”
“Ah, if I annoyed you…”
“No, thank you.”
“Huh?”
“Thanks to you, I’ve relaxed a bit. You’re right—thinking about losing before I’ve even given my best… that’s not like me. If I go into a duel with the mindset that I’ll lose after coming this far to challenge him, he’d probably find it ridiculous.”
“Good luck.”
This time, he didn’t answer and simply walked toward the arena. Because he knew who was waiting for him ahead.
After walking for a while, he saw him waiting at the end of the tunnel.
“Oh, you’re here?”
As always, that relaxed, smiling face made it look like he didn’t even see Yu-hak as an opponent, which was a bit irritating.
It was perfect motivation.
He would make sure to etch at least a look of shock onto that smiling face.
“I’ve been thinking, and I realized that going easy on you guys is really crossing the line.”
“Naturally. I never wanted you to hold back in the first place. It might sound arrogant since things are different from the start of the semester, but please, come at me with everything you’ve got.”
He would give his all. Even if he lost, he would realize the gap between them and strive to close it.
The moment he tied the talisman he received from Ju Ri-ra to his newly modified Thunder Dragon Spear and took his stance, the professor gave the signal to start the match.
“Right, I’m going to use my full power. And since I’m doing that, I might as well fix some of your weaknesses.”
Yu-hak coated his entire body in Mana Reinforcement and launched a thrust at maximum speed. It was his most confident strike, pouring his best effort into the very start of the match. He wouldn’t miss the chance to catch his opponent off guard.
“…Oh, so you’ve ditched the formalities?”
Of course, that didn’t mean it had worked. The dark, viscous shadows had already turned into chains to block his thrust.
He couldn’t stop. He had already anticipated that his first strike would be blocked.
Using a massive amount of mana in the Thunder Dragon Spear, the spear transformed into lightning. He combined his ultimate move, the thrust, with his final trump card, Thunder Transformation. It was a perfected thrust, trained so that he could strike from any position.
However, his friend merely watched the rapid-fire thrusts with a look of satisfaction.
“Since you’ve fixed your habit of posing, we can move straight to the second weakness.”
The thrust he thought had landed perfectly was neutralized. No, to be precise, the Thunder Transformation was undone as the lightning was sucked into the shadows.
“Cheon Yu-hak’s weakness: despite having high-level footwork and spearmanship as a base, along with excellent mana control…”
“…Is this a nightmare?”
The shadows that had devoured the lightning slowly expanded, completely swallowing the arena.
“When facing an enemy who uses spatial abilities, your combat power drops instantly if your footing becomes unstable. And because your fighting style is fundamentally based on evasion, your reactions slow down when attacks come from all directions.”
“…I’ll take that under advisement.”
The moment he tried to dodge the red lightning fired from the shadows, the shadows coiled around his legs.
“…Ugh!”
He managed to escape after blocking the lightning with his spear, but as long as the entire field was covered in shadows, it wouldn’t matter where he stepped.
“Now then, Mr. Cheon Yu-hak. What should you do to overcome this weakness?”
This was insane. He knew the gap had widened, but he couldn’t believe it had grown this much in just half a year. These shadows even devoured mana if he tried to release it. Since his movement was also restricted, this was the worst possible matchup for him.
Moreover, weapons and traps made of shadows were springing up from all directions. There was truly no time to run or think.
He didn’t know what the right answer was. But he knew exactly what he could do.
“I see. If I release mana, it gets absorbed, so I can’t use a Protective Aura. And since my footing is unstable, evasion is difficult. But you’re wrong about one thing.”
“Hmm?”
If released mana was absorbed, then he simply wouldn’t release it.
He circulated mana inside his body at maximum speed, pouring everything into pure physical reinforcement. His opponent naturally moved the shadows to collapse his footing, but this was exactly the moment Yu-hak had been waiting for.
“Someone once told me. If you prepare yourself to fire a thrust from any position, you’ll see the next realm.”
This was the thrust he had practiced desperately ever since everyone had challenged the Masked Villain and suffered a crushing defeat. It was the thrust he had refined even further after losing to the lightning-wielding villain, eventually using it to pierce a devil’s head.
“Even without footing, my thrust will not waver.”
Through pure physical reinforcement, without leaking a single point of strength, he launched a thrust containing his ideals. It tore through the shadows and stretched toward his friend’s neck.
“Hey.”
His friend was smiling, blocking the thrust with a short sword he had drawn at some point.
“That last one actually surprised me.”
“…You don’t look very surprised.”
As he drew the short sword, Jet-black Camellias began to bloom in the surroundings. The moment Yu-hak recognized the now-familiar scent of the flowers—
“I really can’t keep up with you.”
His body was already flying through the air. Even with his full-power physical reinforcement, he was being tossed aside like a child.
“…I bet I didn’t look very cool to Ju Ri-ra.”
With a final crunching sound, he could no longer maintain consciousness.
* * *
“Hmm, you’ve improved more than I thought.”
The current top student, who had created that scene, firmly etched his presence into the minds of those watching the battle. At the same time, he sent a clear message to the friends who had challenged him.
He had no intention of going easy on them. He planned to point out their weaknesses in excruciating detail, so only those who were confident should step forward.
The reactions of those who saw him were varied.
Outside the academy, not only the reporters but also the scouters were in an uproar. Inside, the professors who weren’t involved with him were left doubting their own eyes.
Lilac and Kang Ha-ni, who perfectly understood what he was trying to say, burned with fighting spirit as they waited for their turns.
“…Hic.”
Aisha was trembling in fear, regretting whatever she had done. Honestly, she had only ever seen him act gently toward his friends, so she never imagined he would be this serious!
Finally.
“Good. Very good. That brat is quite something.”
The War Demon, whose interest had almost faded after seeing the petty shadow tricks, was now staring with glowing eyes at the sword Ha-neul had shown.
“Let’s see how much you’ve improved since we last clashed…!”
After watching this duel, the War Demon’s evaluation of him had been upgraded from a ‘bud worth testing’ to an ‘opponent worth fighting properly.’
For the War Demon, there could be no better news than this.