Chapter 348
Chapter 348
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 348
Chapter Title: Divine Transcendence (5)
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‘Insolent bastard…!’
Bawier attempted a technique. He tried to entangle Rian's body with his arms to break his balance. But Rian swung his own arms to block the move.
Annoyed, Bawier shoved Rian. And then charged at him again. *Thwack.* A second headbutt landed. This time, Rian felt a wave of dizziness.
Finally seeing an opening for a tackle, Bawier wrapped his arms around Rian's waist and charged. He tripped Rian, who was staggering back, leaving his waist exposed. If he slammed him down now, it would be over.
“Ugh!”
Rian barely managed to twist his body free. His mind was still not clear. He needed time.
But Bawier gave him no time to recover, charging in again. Having been bested twice, Rian instinctively thrust his head forward for a counter. A flash went through his head, but it wasn't as bad as the first two times.
The two glared at each other, foreheads pressed together. Blood was trickling from both their noses.
Bawier couldn't contain his rage. For someone aspiring to be a heavy infantryman, physical strength was as important as swordsmanship. The fact that Rian had pushed him this far—a man who had never lost a wrestling match—would only raise Rian's stock.
‘Hmph. I can't let that happen.’
Bawier said with a smirk.
“You're holding on pretty well, huh? But are you okay? Your eyes look glazed over.”
Indeed, Rian was dazed. A contest of strength required matching your breathing to your opponent's reactions. It was like a bet to see who could hold their breath longer underwater. As oxygen depleted, his consciousness began to fade even while standing.
“Well then, shall we move on to the holds?”
Rian gritted his teeth. *He's been fighting without using any submission holds until now?* As if to prove it wasn't a bluff, immense power radiated from Bawier's body.
“Hahaha! This is too easy!”
Bawier toyed with Rian as he pleased. He lifted him, set him down, and swung him from side to side as if playing with a child. With a difference in strength of more than double, technique was useless.
‘You didn't think I'd end it just like this, did you?’
Bawier wrapped his arms around Rian's chest and lifted him. As he applied pressure, all the air was forced out of Rian's lungs.
“Huuuk!”
The feeling of air being forcibly expelled from his body was utterly unpleasant, but it was nothing compared to Bawier's next move.
Lifting Rian's arm and slipping under his armpit, he attempted a standing submission hold on his lower body.
“Th-that's…”
The cadets stared in disbelief. The Abdominal Stretch. A move also known as the Cobra Twist.
It was a real wrestling move, of course. But successfully applying it on a standing opponent was so difficult that, unless there was a huge skill gap, it was a move only practiced for fun.
And this was exactly what Bawier had been aiming for.
Rian was caught in the hold, his side bent and his arm raised. It looked ridiculous, but it was a position from which one couldn't generate any power, so once caught, you were completely stuck.
“Kuuuugh!”
A groan escaped Rian's lips. His muscles were stretched to their limit, and even if Bawier moved just one centimeter, pain shot up his spine.
Bawier turned toward the other cadets, as if parading Rian's pathetic state. It was humiliating, but he had no choice but to be dragged along.
“How about it? Should I break your back right here? Huh?”
Every time Bawier moved slightly, a creaking sound came from Rian's spine. Satisfied, he turned his head toward Tess. He saw her biting her lip, her body trembling.
‘I told you. You shouldn't have underestimated me.’
He didn't even consider going easy on Rian to look good for Tess. A woman in love is single-minded; no matter how wonderful another man is, she only has eyes for one. To change her mind, he had to completely crush him and get him out of her sight.
“Isn't it about time you surrendered? Or should we play a little longer?”
Rian didn't answer. His gaze was also fixed on what Bawier was looking at.
‘Tess…’
Tess looked as if she was about to burst into tears. She was a righteous person. That's why the most frustrated person here was probably not him, but Tess.
“Break it.”
“What?”
Bawier asked back, bewildered.
“I believe I made myself clear. I don't care if you kill me. But I will never surrender.”
“Hahaha! Hey, why are you always so serious? This is just an evaluation. No need to make it a life-or-death struggle. Besides, this won't make your humiliation disappear, you know?”
Bawier led Rian on another tour. He could feel the cadets' emotions. Some felt fear, some anger, some pity. But he knew that this was how the weak looked upon the strong.
“Huh?”
At that moment, a powerful force surged through him. Startled as if bitten by an insect, Bawier looked back at Rian.
‘He still has strength left?’
His face didn't show any particular strain. But his eyes were cold and lifeless, as if time had stopped.
‘Straighten my back. Straighten my back. Straighten my back.’
Rian's focus was turned inward.
As the command to straighten his back was given, his side, almost miraculously, began to slowly rise.
“Heh. Look at this guy.”
Bawier laughed scornfully, but he couldn't completely hide his nervousness. He was subtly using his full strength, but even so, he couldn't stop Rian from moving.
‘What is this? What the hell is happening?’
Bawier clenched his jaw and flexed every muscle in his body.
“Hnnggggh!”
The moment he felt the response, his heart sank. This wasn't a mistake or a lapse in concentration. Rian's upper body continued to rise, and he truly couldn't stop it.
His heart raced, and a shiver ran down his spine. Something other than what could be called strength was lifting Rian. A colossal movement, as if the entire world were pushing against him, stirred a fear he had never experienced before.
Watching this, Kuan's eyes forgot to blink. This was it. The incomprehensible mystery of Divine Transcendence.
‘Impossible. How is this possible? What on earth is moving him?’
Rian was in no position to exert force. And yet, he was straightening up, completely ignoring the principles of leverage. Therefore, it wasn't strength that was moving him. Some rule of the world was raising him to his feet.
“H-hey! Wait!”
Finally, an urgent cry burst from Bawier's lips. No matter how much strength he used, he was being pushed back relentlessly. As Rian's posture returned to normal, Bawier's body twisted into a grotesque shape. Finally, the Cobra Twist was reversed, and his own muscles were stretched to their limit.
“Aaaaaargh!”
The cadets were stunned at the sight of the attacker screaming. Rian didn't vent his anger, nor did he mock Bawier. His only thought was to move his own body.
“I surrender! I lost! Please stop! Not my back!”
Rian didn't stop. He hadn't been angry at all when Bawier had put on his mocking performance. He had long since cast aside feelings like shame in the face of his own lack of talent.
But for that very reason, to break him, his opponent also had to risk everything. And even if it was all just the bravado of a talentless man, he could never forgive him for angering Tess.
‘Yes. This is enough.’
Rian finally made his decision. And he pressed down on Bawier's face, which was stuck under his armpit. A crunching sound, like something twisting, was heard.
“Aaaaaaaaargh!”
Bawier screamed as if his jaw was dislocating. Their bodies were so entangled that he couldn't even fall. His abdominal muscles tore, draining all the strength from his body, and he hung limply like a puppet with its strings cut, his jaw hanging open. Drool trickled out.
Rian grabbed Bawier's head, still stuck under his arm, and pushed it away. Bawier, now on the floor, writhed from the secondary impact. Tears streamed down his face from the intense pain.
In the lengthening silence, the look in the cadets' eyes began to change. In the crying figure of Bawier, there was no trace of the aura of an absolute powerhouse they had felt just moments before.
‘Poor bastard. His leave starts today, but it looks like he'll be spending three months recovering.’
Bawier pushed himself up with his hands. But he screamed and collapsed again from the renewed pain. Barely managing to lift his head, he let out a venomous shout.
“Don't think this changes anything! It just means I'm weak! Not that you're strong!”
Bawier's malice was palpable as he spewed curses, even at his own expense.
But Rian heard none of it.
The backlash from Divine Transcendence, which had forcibly moved his body, felt like every muscle was tearing apart.
‘Damn it. I overdid it.’
Rian counted to ten in his head. As he counted, the pain began to subside little by little. It was a formidable healing ability gained from pushing past his limits every single day.
‘I can move now.’
His hearing returned, and he could hear Bawier's voice.
“You think that'll work forever? I'll get stronger! But that's your limit. You'll live your whole life as a loser!”
“That bastard…!”
Tess clenched her fists. If it weren't an evaluation, she would have run over and punched him right in his torn abdomen.
Rian, on the other hand, had a calm expression. He returned to his spot and slung his training uniform over his shoulder. Then, without a word, he turned and walked toward the training ground's exit.
“R-Rian?”
Tess, as well as the other cadets, stared at Rian in disbelief. Kuan's cold voice hit his back.
“Rian. Sit down. Leaving without permission is a failing grade.”
“Then fail me.”
Rian saw no difference between last place and failing. No matter what he accomplished, the academy wouldn't give points to a swordsman who couldn't use Schema.
The atmosphere grew cold as Rian left the training ground. No cadet had ever dared to defy Instructor Kuan before, so some were already praying for Rian's soul.
‘So this is his limit, after all?’
Kuan wasn't displeased, nor was he worried about Rian. As long as they took responsibility for their actions, he couldn't care less if the cadets ruined their lives.
But today, he didn't feel so detached. Divine Transcendence was a real power, and Rian could wield it.
How long could he endure? The day would come when his body could no longer withstand the power of his will and would break.
Kuan wrote "Fail" on Rian's evaluation sheet and put it in parentheses. Then he added the words "Left without permission."
As soon as the wrestling evaluation ended, Tess went looking for Rian without even taking the time to wash up. Just then, Rian opened his door and came out of his dorm room. While she was worried sick, he looked clean and fresh, as if he'd even taken a shower.
“Rian! What's going on? Do you really want to fail?”
Rian walked past Tess with long strides. He looked as if he had steeled his resolve. And that was what made her anxious. Once a fire was lit in him, it was in Rian's nature to let it spread uncontrollably.
“Please, say something. Walking out in the middle of an evaluation is serious. This isn't about getting last place. You know what happens when you get on the instructors' bad side, right?”
“I don't care. Whether they hate me or not.”
She could understand how Rian felt, not being rewarded for his efforts, but this time, the situation was really bad. Insubordination toward a superior was unacceptable under any circumstances.
“Rian. Think about it. You've endured so well until now.”
“I'm not doing this because I can't endure it anymore. I'm sick of it.”
The moment Tess saw Rian's contorted face, she realized he was serious. But what good would this do? Everything was happening too fast.
Rian arrived at the instructors' office. When he opened the door and went inside, Kuan was sorting evaluation sheets. He glanced at the saluting Rian before turning his gaze back to his desk, feigning disinterest.
“What is it? After storming out like that.”
“I came because I have something to say.”
“Go back. You failed. A cadet who acts on his own whims isn't even worth evaluating.”
Rian placed an envelope on the desk. After reading the words on the envelope, Kuan frowned and looked up. But Rian, his resolve already set, spoke with a calm expression.
“It's a letter of withdrawal. I'm leaving the sword academy.”
(End of Volume 14)