Senior-Junior Exchange Match (Conclusion)
Hahahaha!! Hahahahahaha!!!! I've been waiting for this. I've been waiting for this!"
Hina burst into wild laughter. The tingling numbness racing up her arm. The miracle of her own technique being flicked away with a single gesture. She shuddered at a form of strength she had never even imagined.
This single exchange had made it certain. Without a doubt, that day in the auditorium, the boy had parried her attack.
That weakest of boys could now read her attacks and Parry them perfectly.
She had been absolutely convinced that not even her mentor, the Sword Saint, could parry her attacks at will. Yet a boy two years her junior had dismantled her technique on first sight. Hina felt her heart pounding so hard it might burst.
A technique that completely ignored the overwhelming gap in physical ability.
The courage to press his arm against a raw blade.
It was something only possible with absolute certainty that the parry would succeed.
On top of that, the massive stiffness she felt when the attack was deflected. There was something more than ordinary parry at work in the boy.
Of course he didn't seem to realize it himself yet, but she guessed it was probably his unique magical power. That was Hina's conclusion.
"From here on, it's three exchanges, senior."
The boy raised his right arm toward her as if to show he was still perfectly fine. Perhaps thanks to the potion he'd taken earlier and the armor faintly visible through his torn clothes. But the way his right arm trembled minutely didn't escape Hina's sharp eyes, even if he himself hadn't noticed.
It had to be at least cracked. In the worst case, fractured. She had prepared countermeasures, of course, but she still offered a brief silent prayer for the boy's suffering arm before resetting her stance.
"Right. Here I come again!"
'It's cracked. This thing.'
Hint accurately assessed the condition of his right arm.
The epic-grade Elixir of Swift Battle and the epic-grade arm guard that third-year S-class senior Kiri had made from Fenrir's fur. Even after consuming two epic-grade items and using Parry to largely close the gap in specs, this was the result.
Yet Hint actually considered it fortunate.
'Right arm is one. Left arm is two.'
At this rate, he could hold out for three exchanges. The creaking in his arm was a little unsettling, but there was no turning back now.
'At this rate... it should be worth it.'
He had given up two hidden pieces to claim the reward from this duel. Refilling Fenrir's Breath would require waiting another three months. Having invested this much, he absolutely needed to win here and secure the reward no matter what.
After one more semester he could reliably get Stelle into S-class, but if he won this bet, he could force her promotion immediately next month, right after the freshman exchange match. The sooner Stelle could build bonds with her comrades, the better. It was a way to prepare, even if only slightly, for the coming destruction.
"Right. Here I come again!"
The student council president reset her stance once more. This posture was familiar to him now too.
Left foot stepping far forward, greatsword braced behind her back. A centrifugal rotational strike hurtled toward Hint.
This time too, Hint swung his right arm.
-Kwaaaaaaaaang!!!!
Fenrir's leather, softer than spider silk yet harder than steel, absorbed most of the impact. Even so, his right arm ultimately broke. The Fenrir arm guard held the limb firmly so the bone didn't pierce through the flesh, but the horrible sensation of it being pulverized radiated from Hint's arm.
'Two exchanges left...!'
If it was purely cracking on the first hit and breaking on the second, that would be enough.
At that moment, a memory flashed through Hint's mind.
'Wait, I'm sure Lion's Claw had a follow-up—'
His body moved before his thoughts could catch up.
What made Hina Lionhart truly terrifying wasn't just her ferocious strikes and overwhelming stats. If that were all, the veterans wouldn't fear her either. No, Hina's most frightening trait was her adaptation. He didn't know how she did it, but in the game, after being parried a few times, Hina Lionhart would ignore the groggy window and immediately chain into her next attack.
"What, did you think it'd end with one hit again?!"
The deflected sword drew another massive arc, once more aiming for Hint's right arm. His body had reacted first, but forgetting Hina's trait even for an instant carried a heavy price.
From an unstable posture, he desperately thrust out his left hand to parry the right side. The parry succeeded, but a sound that should never have come from his left arm rang out.
-Creeeeeeeak!!!
"Urrrrgh!!"
"Hah, don't worry about the broken bones, kid! I've got the academy's best healers on standby!"
Even though the potion should have removed the pain, that gruesome sound made it feel like agony anyway. His left arm, which should have lasted at least two exchanges, was ruined.
Even without feeling pain, his body was screaming. The accumulated strain made Hint's mind grow distant. But there was an even bigger problem.
Moreover, Hina's greatsword showed no sign of stopping after seizing the advantage. The vicious combo of Lion's Claw into Lion's Embrace—neutralizing both arms, dropping the player into groggy, then delivering the killing blow—was unfolding right before his eyes.
Both arms were fractured and couldn't be raised. Even if he could use his legs, blocking that attack now was impossible. Confirmed defeat descended toward the crown of Hint's head.
"Hint!!!!"
Stelle screamed.
Hina instinctively knew the match had reached its end.
Two unidentified items that blocked and evaded her attacks. Advanced magic pouring from a bottle rather than a scroll. A blessing of at least divine-beast grade from who-knows-where—her friend's defensive magic. An unidentified potion that let him move despite cracked and broken arms. Arm armor that, though imperfect, still blocked her strikes. And on top of it all, that unique parry of his that felt completely different from ordinary ones.
Nine exchanges total. The boy had truly endured Hina's merciless violence.
But this was the limit. With both arms broken, he could never block her next attack.
'Since he's shown me this much, I suppose I can grant a reasonable request.'
From the beginning, demanding ten exchanges had been unreasonable on her part. It would sound incredibly unfair to Hint, but Hina had originally planned to accept a moderate request if he endured just three. She had demanded ten purely out of curiosity about how far this boy could meet her expectations.
To this young junior who had responded so perfectly to her excessive demand, Hina prepared to stop her sword with the utmost respect. No matter what, completely shattering his skull would make recovery impossible.
At that exact moment, something Hina could never have imagined unfolded.
Parry is a technique that collides with the opponent's attack at the moment it reaches peak power, offsetting it with maximum impact, deflecting it, and forcing the attacker into a groggy state.
Toward the descending sword, Hint thrust his own head forward.
"You crazy bastard!"
There was no way a head could withstand a sword strike that even an armored arm couldn't block. Hina frantically tried to brake her swing. Unfortunately, she hadn't anticipated this sudden move, so the sword still made contact with his forehead.
-Taaaaaaaang!!!
The sword, which she had desperately slowed, collided with his forehead and produced a tremendous sound. Even with her power held back, the greatsword bounced away without piercing a mere human forehead.
Hina might have been stunned by that fact, but she immediately released her greatsword and checked on Hint's condition.
"Hey, you idiot! No matter how tough you are, you don't headbutt a sword!"
"Hint! Are you okay?!"
Stelle, who had already climbed onto the stage, examined him alongside Hina. Hina carefully shook the clearly unconscious boy. His head was massively swollen, but fortunately the skull didn't seem broken. Whether the brain inside was fine, however, was another matter entirely.
A little later than the two worriedly checking on him, the academy's resident healers finally climbed onto the stage. Among them was even the academy's Chief Healer and Healing Professor, Felicia Karan.
"Everyone step aside. This child who doesn't know how to value his own body needs to be examined by me personally."
The hope of the battlefield. The professor known as the Angel in White had come up to the stage herself. Hina's eyes widened at the sight.
Apparently displeased by Hina's reaction, Professor Felicia glared at her.
"Of course, that includes you, student council president, who happily shattered both his arms. I won't hold anyone responsible for what's already done, but I will not forgive anyone who recklessly uses their own body or someone else's while trusting the rear-line healers to fix it. Not in the future, either."
"I'm reflecting on my actions..."
With a guilty conscience, Hina turned her head away. Honestly, she had gotten too excited by that Parry and recognized that she had escalated the situation rather recklessly. Even though Hint had been the one to propose it first, it was Hina who had set the absurd condition of ten exchanges and ultimately broken both his arms.
"Children, lift him onto the stretcher. Be extremely careful not to jostle him."
"W-wait a moment!"
Following Professor Felicia's instructions, the assistants and healers loaded Hint onto the stretcher. Stelle held his hand until the very end. Both arms were discolored from fractures, the left one bent at a grotesque angle. On top of that, his head was swollen like a balloon. Telling her not to worry would have been impossible. With tears in her eyes, Stelle asked the professor.
"Professor! Is Hint going to be alright?!"
"Whether he's alright or not isn't particularly important, Stelle student."
A healer must always remain calm and composed. Almost coldly, Felicia answered with firm resolve. Of course, that didn't mean she was abandoning the patient.
"Making him alright is our job. Rest easy. Even if the Grim Reaper himself comes to claim him, I have no intention of handing him over so easily."
Her mind was cool, but her heart burned hot. Perhaps it was the flame Stelle saw burning in Professor Felicia's eyes. She nodded and finally released the hand she had been holding.
"Please take good care of him...!"
"I will. Come to the first floor of the faculty building later. That's where the healers stay."
With those final words, Professor Felicia lifted Hint with telekinesis magic and left the stage. All that remained were Hina, scratching her head as she watched them go, and Stelle, staring blankly into space.
She had sensed it a little when they ate together in the city last time, but the bond between these two seemed far deeper than what you'd expect from people who'd only known each other for a month. Honestly, since she had gone too far, an apology was in order.
Hina opened her mouth.
"Hey. Um... sorry. Honestly, I didn't mean to take it that far, but the kid kept handling everything so well that I got carried away..."
"...Student council president."
Stelle cut her off and quietly rose to her feet. Her eyes had lost their usual sparkle. The quiet glare directed at Hina carried open hostility. Hina's eyes widened in surprise.
It was shocking enough that the girl harbored hostility toward her, but Hina's intuition was screaming even louder.
This junior—she's stronger than she looks.
The boy who had been nothing special just a week ago. What kind of incredible opportunity had he seized for her intuition to ring this loudly?
Stelle drew the one-handed sword at her waist and pointed it at Hina.
"The exchange match. May I request it?"
"...Ha. Gladly."
Hina drew her sword. As expected, this year's F-class was packed with far more interesting characters than usual.
And a short while later, the howl of a wolf echoed throughout Audetium.
"For some reason, it feels like I'm waking up to unfamiliar ceilings quite often these days."
Hint opened his eyes and looked around. It was definitely his first time in this place, yet the feeling was somehow familiar. The faintly bitter yet benevolent scent of medicine in the air and the pure white surroundings let him identify it immediately.
"The academy's infirmary."
It was probably thanks to senior Hina. The academy originally didn't provide free treatment to F-class students. The fact that he was lying here, and even in a private room, had to be the result of the student council president's influence.
In the game, you normally revived in the infirmary after fainting, but F-class students would suddenly wake up in the forest with almost no health, which had been quite the shock. In any case, this academy showed neither blood nor tears to those without talent.
Looking out the window, the sun had already set. A pure white full moon hung in the sky, illuminating the world.
'My last memory is pretty vague...'
His consciousness had been half-gone ever since his left arm shattered. The moment he saw senior Hina's final attack, everything had started to fade. At the very end there had been a loud impact to his head and he seemed to have used Parry... but the whole situation felt hazy.
It was nighttime, but since this was a medical facility there should be staff on duty. Hint decided to call for someone. Fortunately there was a small bell right beside him. He rang it.
-Tinkle. Tinkle.
A cute tone that somehow tickled the ears rang out.
Before long, a woman entered the room. When Hint confirmed her identity, his eyes widened.
"My, the reckless fool who doesn't know how to value his own body has already woken up."
Her voluptuous figure wasn't fully hidden even by the pure white coat. The professor's coat casually worn over her nurse uniform made her identity obvious.
Professor Felicia Karan. At her appearance, Hint's eyes shook violently.
'That Professor Felicia who won't even treat you unless you're S-class... why is she here...?'
No matter how much influence the student council president had, even a professor wouldn't move so casually. The appearance of a completely unexpected person. Catching the patient's trembling gaze, Professor Felicia pulled up a chair and sat beside him.
"Well, you look like you have a lot of questions. Shall we start with the story?"