Chapter 59: Heart-Pounding First Ranking Tournament (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 59: Heart-Pounding First Ranking Tournament (5)
Clad in Protective Aura, he charged, reinforcing his physical body without any fancy tricks.
It was an honest and simple method, but ironically, such a straightforward approach was often the hardest to counter. I could feel his determination to smash through any trap I might set.
I had no idea why he was going so crazy in a duel against an opponent weaker than him—one that wouldn’t even grant him many points—but one thing was certain: he was dead serious.
Should I respond in kind?
No, it would be better to be the adult here and let him win.
I didn’t know what he was thinking, but he was acting as if he had a reason he absolutely had to win. Since he was a character who simply died in the original work, I didn’t know the details, but if he desired something that fervently, it must be a plausible goal. That was likely why he was suppressing his fear and charging with such desperate resolve.
Besides, even if I got hit, the physical impact wouldn’t linger. I figured it wouldn’t be so bad to lose to a character with eyes like those.
“I can’t stop… for the sake of my harem!”
“Just die already.”
Ruyi, back in its staff form, extended in an instant, blowing Woo Jae-hee and his Protective Aura right out of the ring.
Ah, shit. I was going to let him win, but I was so dumbfounded that I won by reflex. I had intended to make it a close fight even if I did win, but it ended in an overwhelming victory.
I was so annoyed that I even ended up revealing Ruyi.
I mean, seriously. He’s not even the protagonist; what kind of harem is a guy who looks like a bear supposed to have? I didn’t like the way he was spouting nonsense with a face that looked like it belonged to a reliable background character.
* * *
After the first round ended, I went to watch the others.
In the Ranking Tournament, there was a preparation period between matches. This was partly because cadets couldn’t show their true skills if they fought back-to-back, and partly a courtesy from the Academy to allow students to cheer for their friends.
I once asked a friend if it wouldn’t be better to have consecutive matches to simulate real combat, but they said it would be unfair to those who fought strong opponents first. Anyway, that was the reasoning behind the setup.
Lilac was fighting a professor as a “stronger opponent,” while Cheon Yu-hak was beating down a random cadet as a “weaker opponent.”
The two of them were displaying skills far beyond the level of average cadets, and the outsiders were already watching with gleaming eyes.
“Not bad, right? No, it’s actually amazing. That’s not the kind of performance you’d expect from a first-year.”
“I’ll say. I bet they’d be more useful in the field right now than you are.”
“Senior, that’s really harsh.”
“What’s harsh is your skill level.”
The two geniuses, monopolizing the attention of those here to scout, flaunted their talents in their own ways, proving their worth to the observers.
Just then, a girl emerged from the waiting room onto the arena, signaling it was her turn.
Like Lilac, she was facing a professor.
Gripping a pure white blade, the girl stared at the professor with a confident smile.
Kang Ha-ni slowly took her stance.
She was also a skilled individual who didn’t fall far behind past top students, but most people weren’t paying attention to her. The world always focuses on the first place, so to the public, she was merely second best.
However, there was a way to snatch that attention and interest all at once.
She was a dark horse, after all.
If she delivered a shock so great that they couldn’t help but look, their eyes would naturally gravitate toward her.
Another talent, hidden behind the two boys who had dramatically tied for the top spot, bloomed on the arena alongside her pure white blade.
A Quick-draw strike, too fast to allow for defense, slashed across the professor’s neck.
It was a strike that would have certainly claimed a life if not for the magic and safety devices in place.
Though it was practically a surprise attack and only possible because the professors on stage were under specific restrictions, her feat of taking down a professor in a single exchange was more than enough to draw everyone’s gaze.
Having made a spectacular debut, she smirked and stepped down from the arena.
…Lilac, Yu-hak, I think you guys are seriously screwed.
* * *
At the main gate of the Academy, which was simmering with youthful energy, a man was driving a truck.
The truck, decorated with smiling carrot and radish characters, had “Chamsarang Agriculture” written on it in large letters.
“What is your business here? I believe there are no vegetable deliveries scheduled for today.”
The guards blocked his path since there were no food ingredient deliveries scheduled at all, but the man replied with a good-natured smile.
“Ah, actually, I’m an alumnus. I heard my juniors are having their Ranking Tournament today, so I came to donate some vegetables.”
The guards were almost swayed by the young man’s pleasant smile, but today, only a select few outsiders were permitted entry. They couldn’t just let him in simply because he was a graduate.
“We appreciate the sentiment, but given the circumstances today, we can’t let you in. Please apply formally next time.”
“Ah, that’s a problem. I already told them I’d be coming today.”
“Oh, are you a family member of a current cadet? If so, just fill out this application, and after verification…”
“Ah, no. We’re not family. If I had to put a label on it, we’re comrades.”
“Comrades…?”
“Yes.”
He opened an email on his smartphone and checked the sentence he had sent.
[The shocking state of Leilan Academy. Is this really allowed to happen…? I am reporting the reality of how the farmer’s essence and the earth’s sweat are being wasted.]
“I heard there’s a friend with a proper head on their shoulders at the Academy lately! So I’m here to help.”
He stepped out of the truck.
Standing nearly two meters tall with a bronzed complexion that suited him well, his body was packed with muscles forged from field work.
“I’ll have to go in, even if I have to force my way.”
He pulled out his armament.
For a moment, the guards felt no threat at all when they saw what he had produced.
“By the way, guards, you were picky with your food yesterday, weren’t you? One of you left your carrots, and the other secretly threw away your bell peppers.”
Carrots and bell peppers.
What kind of madman fought with things like that?
“The sweat of the farmer and the essence of the earth. You who disregard the preciousness of life have no right to guard a sacred place of learning.”
His Talent exploded.
“Love nature. Chamsarang Agriculture.”
After taking down the guards, he calmly got back into his truck and entered the Academy.
Carrots and bell peppers were stuffed into the mouths of the fallen guards.
* * *
On the stage, Kang Ha-ni and Lilac were facing each other.
“Oh, Lilac~ You didn’t run away even after seeing what I did earlier?”
“Can I call myself a hero if I run from a strong foe? Besides, I’ve actually wanted to fight you seriously at least once, Han-hee.”
“Really?”
“You’re a completely different type from me, but it’s hard to find someone as devoted to the sword as you are. The sword I saw whenever we trained together was incredibly clean. So, I wanted to face it directly and learn from it.”
“The top student is quite greedy. You’re too talented to be learning from me, you know? Though, since the top spot is changing as of today, I guess I could grant you that wish.”
“Let’s give it our all.”
The moment the professor declared the start of the match, a Quick-draw strike lunged toward Lilac’s neck.
It was a perfect surprise attack, but having seen the technique once already, there was no way he wouldn’t be prepared. Lilac attempted to defend by cloaking his entire body in the light of the Holy Sword.
No matter where the attack came from, he would block it once and then counterattack through the opening.
That was the original plan.
However, it was purely thanks to his innate intuition that he scrapped his initial strategy and twisted his body to dodge the slash.
“That sword is sharp.”
“Right? It’s not bad.”
The light of the Holy Sword protecting his neck had been sliced through by a sharp aura, if only for a split second. If he had trusted that defense and taken the hit, his head would have been sent flying.
“I see you’re not letting your guard down like the professor did.”
Lilac stopped wearing the light of the Holy Sword like armor. Against an opponent with a sword that could cut through armor, it was nothing more than a cumbersome obstacle. Instead, he concentrated all the light into his sword and one arm, as he usually did.
Sword and shield.
The style he was most confident in, and his very foundation.
Everyone watching their fight fell silent.
Contrary to expectations that Lilac would dominate, it was Kang Ha-ni who took the upper hand first.
The fact that her previous victory over the professor was a surprise attack, involved restrictions, and benefited from the professor’s potential carelessness had somewhat diminished her feat in the eyes of the crowd. Most of them expected that once Lilac saw the Quick-draw strike, he would prepare for it and overwhelm her.
That expectation was completely wrong.
He had prepared, but her sword cut through even that. While he hadn’t lost, Lilac was being pushed back.
She was proving to the public beyond a shadow of a doubt: she was in no way inferior to Lilac.
“You know it’s not over just because you dodged one draw, right?”
“Wow, you’re really ruthless. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have told you to give it your all~”
However, Lilac hadn’t gone all out yet either.
It sounded strange, but he could count on one hand the number of times in his life he had truly given his all. Even before awakening as a child, he was the type who was proficient at everything he did, and after awakening his talent, he was an undeniable genius.
The first time he had squeezed his talent to its limit and still felt it was insufficient was during the terrorist attack on the entrance ceremony.
That day.
After unintentionally surpassing his limits, he had constantly recalled that sensation. He hadn’t quite crossed what people called ‘the wall,’ but since he had seen what lay beyond it—even if through a shortcut—mimicking it wasn’t that difficult.
Recently, for the first time, he felt like there might be something he couldn’t protect. If it hadn’t been for the help of the first friend he made after entering the Academy, he likely would have lost a great deal. He probably wouldn’t be enjoying such a pleasant life at the Academy either.
But his friend suffered every time he used that power.
He said there was a way to recover, but that didn’t mean he was used to the pain.
The answer was always simple.
I just need to get stronger.
The person in front of him was also his friend, and after clashing swords, he realized she was a worthy rival who required his full strength.
Therefore, he decided to debut the results of his recent practice for the first time.
The natural genius donned the sensation of that day, mimicking what lay beyond the wall he hadn’t fully crossed.
The somewhat hazy light of the Holy Sword began to glow brighter and more brilliantly, solidifying into a sturdy form.
The time it took to reach this point was only a few seconds. However, it was enough time before Kang Ha-ni’s second slash arrived.
Facing the chilling strike, Lilac gave up on meeting it head-on and parried the slash with his shield.
If it had been the hazy light from moments ago, it would have been sliced clean through, but the sturdy shield faithfully fulfilled its role even as it was chipped away by the strike.
Brilliant light erupted from his sword as he swung it toward the swordsman before him, but she also perfectly evaded the Holy Sword’s light with her unique movements.
“Oh, what’s this? Phase two?”
“Yeah. You shouldn’t think of it like before.”
“Nice. That’ll make it more satisfying to take you down.”
Just as the two of them ramped up their fighting spirit and stared each other down, a loud shout rang out.
“Eat your vegetables…!”
I didn’t know what kind of nonsense that was, but it was clear that an incident had occurred.
* * *
“No, shit, what the hell is going on…?”
I was already quite surprised by Ha-ni’s fight, but Lilac’s achievement was even more startling.
That form was undoubtedly the pseudo-awakening he was supposed to achieve midway through the second year of the original story to protect his friends.
He hadn’t completely surpassed his limits—the wall—but it was a temporary reinforced state he had desperately trained to create in order to move forward. It was a kind of pseudo-awakening where he compressed the Holy Sword’s light and completely replaced physical reinforcement with mana.
Originally, he was supposed to awaken this while dealing with Choi In-ho, who would have been active until then. Why on earth can he do it already?
Don’t tell me he saw the next stage just because I reinforced him a few times?
To be honest, unlike Cheon Yu-hak, I was worried because I hadn’t helped him much, but this crazy guy is getting stronger on his own, proving he’s the natural genius protagonist.
While the two of them were ramping up their fighting spirit toward each other…
“Eat your vegetables…!”
Some insane shout drifted in from outside the building.
It seemed the disaster I had summoned had finally arrived at the Academy.