Chapter 253
Chapter 253
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 253
Chapter Title: I Am Your Future (3)
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『Block it and we get a break. Fail, and it's makeup class.』
The professor's whisper echoed in his ear. Soft in tone, but no less harsh in meaning. Rak felt a chill sweat trickling down his spine.
'Block it for a break.'
Sweet words, just hearing them.
'Fail, and it's makeup class.'
A curse that sent shivers down his spine at the mere sound.
"......"
Rak silently turned his head to the side.
Belnoa's face, meeting his gaze, was pale with terror—and Rak figured his own expression wasn't much different.
A single exchanged glance.
With a nod, the two slowly rose to their feet. On the shaking ground, they had to steady themselves bit by bit.
'We have to block it.'
Their thoughts aligned.
For a shared goal, humans sometimes cooperated.
'We have to block it... no matter what!'
For that sweet rest.
To avoid hellish training.
With resolve for a last stand, they charged straight at the oncoming spell.
'...Wait, what's gotten into them all of a sudden?'
To Rox, watching from afar, it was nothing short of bewildering.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
Rox was utterly flustered right now.
The ground quaked under his military boot, spells exploding in sequence and upheaving the earth. This was the pinnacle of the shockwave spells he'd developed himself... his signature move.
A spell uniquely his, chaining Turbulences one after another.
That chain surpassed even the advanced spell Great Cataclysm in power.
Yet Belnoa and Rak showed no sign of backing down. Instead, they steadied themselves on the trembling ground, resolve burning in their eyes.
'...I toned it down, but it's still no spell you can just counter.'
In short, it was meant as a signal to surrender.
A spell even core-casting mages struggled with. No way those two, who had to dash across the ground, could dismantle it.
Rox had his pride, too.
He knew they were talented students, kids who would one day soar far beyond him. But right now, he didn't want to lose.
So surrender already.
He'd exaggerated the precursors to make his intent crystal clear...
But no.
Gripping their weapons tight, glaring right at him—they didn't seem inclined to cry uncle in the slightest. If anything, their fighting spirit burned fiercer than before.
Resolve for a desperate last stand.
A fierce will to block it even if it killed them.
Facing their determined eyes, Rox felt sweat beading on his forehead.
'No, seriously, why??'
He couldn't comprehend it.
'This is just training, isn't it...?'
A mock battle. Sparring for practice.
Even in this light skirmish, their all-out effort gave Rox an eerie chill.
Of course, it was admirable.
Admirable, but... it left a nagging unease. Rox swallowed dryly, twisting his boot against the ground.
'Fine, let's do this.'
But if they thought he'd back down, they were mistaken. As Rox twisted his foot, the spell completed. The quaking ground cracked with a crack, craaack.
Kraka-kaka-kaka!
The split earth shoved against itself, the surface surging upward. The upheaved ground became a massive wave crashing toward Belnoa and Rak.
And as if waiting for that exact moment.
Thud.
Rak kicked off the ground and leaped.
Straight into the face of the oncoming wave. In that instant, Rox's mind went blank.
'No, that crazy kid...!'
Even toned down, charging head-on would mean serious injury. Should he stop the spell? Rox hesitated.
"Uh...?"
But soon, he realized it was a needless worry. In a way he never imagined.
Rak, mid-leap, pulled both arms back behind him.
Silver-white axe gleaming in the sunlight, Rak's eyes bulged with bloodshot fury.
Crack, craaack.
His uniform sleeves tore, revealing his forearms. Veins bulging, his arms swelled in an instant, the axe handle crumpling under the grip.
Power accumulated to its limit.
A technique Rak had honed by chopping trees indiscriminately on Aphria's back mountain. It mimicked a certain superhuman's move he'd witnessed.
Rending Strike (?).
His cocked arm swung. The axe blade traced a silver arc. Two slashes battered the wave surging toward him.
Craaaaaack!
The wave halted for a moment. He'd stopped a spell surpassing advanced magic with a mere axe swing.
'What the hell...?'
Rox's eyes widened.
But it was too early for shock—the stalled wave began to twist.
Starting from where the slashes hit, it rippled. The flow reversed. Shocks burst forth from within the churning wave.
'The flow... it's distorting.'
He'd shaken the mana flow underpinning the spell with his slashes.
"Kuh!"
As Rox stomped to regain control, Belnoa lowered her stance and charged the twisting wave.
...Rox had no way of knowing, but this was a tactic Rak and Belnoa had learned facing Raniel.
Raniel's spells were on another level from typical mages'. Even her casual basic spells packed the punch of an average mage's advanced ones.
Her mainstay, Smash... far exceeded advanced spells in output.
Just once.
Just once, but they'd blocked Raniel's Smash. Here, they demonstrated the counter they'd realized then.
'Can't block it head-on.'
A spell unbeatable by raw power.
They'd found a way to counter it.
Crunch, craaunch!
Rak twisted the mana flow. It wouldn't last long. A skilled mage would seize it back quickly. Raniel could do it with a finger snap.
But it created an opening.
Even mended, the distortion left traces.
Belnoa targeted that gap, plunging her hand into the center as Rox tried to wrest control. She seized the broken mana flow and ripped it out.
Pop!
As her hand emerged from the wave, the shaking ground stilled. The crashing wave collapsed into a pile of dirt.
"Ha, haha..."
Watching it all, Rox let out a hollow laugh.
'What did I just see?'
They'd dismantled the spell.
Charging headlong into a spell they'd never seen, complex as they come... and dismantling it.
Spell dismantling.
The best counter, but no easy feat. It demanded dynamic vision to read the flow precisely... and the guts to charge straight in.
Even frontline mages only attempted it on familiar spells after seeing them repeatedly.
'And they pulled it off on a first-timer...'
Perfectly.
He couldn't help but laugh in disbelief.
Rox rubbed his eyes and sighed.
"Well, I'll be."
He could keep fighting.
Rak and Belnoa had poured everything into the dismantling, half-exhausted now. Rox still had spells left.
Continuing might secure victory. But he had no desire to.
When you witness something truly remarkable, a glimpse of peak potential... some feel jealousy. Others pure admiration.
Rox was the latter.
"Guess I was the one who needed to learn."
With a wry smile, Rox raised both arms.
"I surrender."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 3.
The duel ended.
Amid the spectators' cheers, Rak and Belnoa exited, and the gathered students began to disperse.
『I'll take questions at the plaza shortly. Need to tidy up first.』
A crowd had swarmed Rox, but he chatted them off toward the plaza. Soon, only two remained in the now-quiet arena.
"Professor Lania?"
"Yeah."
Rox shot a glance at Lania, who'd descended into the arena. Tilting his head, Rox got his answer.
"Aren't you tidying up?"
"It's a student facility. Can't leave it a mess—gotta level the ground."
"Can't ask a guest to do that."
Lania shrugged and stepped to the arena's center.
"I'll handle it. Quick job anyway."
She lifted her foot, then stamped lightly. The glossy heel of her dress shoe met the uneven ground.
Rebuild.
The earth trembled. As the dust settled, the ground was flat as before the duel.
"Ugh, dusty."
Waving away the dust, Lania caught Rox's shaken gaze.
"You... know Rebuild too? Not something you use often..."
"Why not? Tons of uses."
Lania blinked.
Rox added,
"Sure, on the battlefield plenty. But you're a professor. Why bother with this...?"
"I know a lot of spells."
Lania chuckled softly.
A captivating smile.
"So, thoughts on sparring them?"
"Aphria's turned into a monster factory while I was away. They're on another level."
When Rox attended Aphria, talents abounded—but mere mortals compared to those two. Even himself.
"Toss 'em on the frontlines, they'd handle most Demon King's forces. Unless it's a legion commander."
"Disasters?"
"Too much for now."
But, Rox continued,
"Give 'em three years—no, two... and they'll reach it. You can already sense the wall they're hitting."
"Really?"
"Making me say it? You're pretty cruel, Professor Lania."
Rox smiled wryly.
He'd never properly faced that wall himself. Superhuman realms weren't for everyone—especially not mediocrities like him. He knew seeing the wall was a luxury.
'In the end, only those who can see it get to face it.'
Rox couldn't grasp that vague concept.
Thus, he keenly felt his limits closing in.
"Sorry if that stung."
"Nah, all insecurity. Doesn't really bother me. Battlefields are full of prodigies—you see 'em nonstop."
He'd thought himself exceptional, only to find monsters everywhere.
"No time to envy each one. Honestly, it's good news. Kids like that showing up."
He said that, but Rox hadn't always thought this way. He'd envied talents, compared himself, despaired.
「Rox, how do I look in your eyes?」
But.
「I can't match Kyle's output. Can't devise Death Tel's clever strategies.」
「When I first became Hero, the First Prince laughed at me.」
Rox knew.
「Pitiful, he said.」
「You'll never touch Kyle's shadow, doomed to be ravaged by Disasters.」
「Not wrong. It's the truth.」
Someone even less talented than him.
「But what can you do?」
「No matter who overtakes me, my path stays the same.」
Who walked it steadfastly anyway.
Who earned everyone's praise at the end.
「Keep walking, and eventually you'll find one.」
「Something only you can do.」
「Hope you find yours, Rox.」
Rox knew.
As he recalled the Hero gripping his spear from behind, Lania murmured softly.
"Cool."
"Pardon?"
Rox looked at her.
Lania smiled faintly.
"Cool. Not many think that way."
"I-Is that so?"
"Yeah. Thanks for sparring the kids. Enjoy Aphria while you're here—hit the cafes too."
Lania turned to leave.
Her ash-gray hair swayed in the breeze.
As Rox stared blankly at her back, she glanced over her shoulder.
"Tell Galahal."
Her blue eyes gleamed.
"He's looking forward to your visit."
Rox nodded dazedly.
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