Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Sword and Shield (1)
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The final location of the exam.
The heart of the forest owned by the Kreffelt family.
"......"
Belnoa remained silent.
One step away from reaching the end of the exam. Yet, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to take that step.
It had been a grueling test.
The forest air was thick and heavy. The deployed magical beasts were tricky opponents. Never knowing where the next one might spring from, he had to stay on constant alert.
'I'm exhausted.'
No physical injuries, but mentally drained. Honestly, he just wanted to wrap this up as soon as possible and head back to the dormitory for some rest.
Belnoa lifted his head.
Looking ahead, the final obstacle of the exam awaited him.
Clear that, and the test was over. No signs of anyone else reaching this point, so he was probably the first to pass.
"What are you doing?"
However.
"You coming or not?"
He didn't think he could overcome it.
Belnoa narrowed his eyes, sizing up the person standing before him.
Lania van Trias.
Belnoa didn't know the professor's abilities precisely. But he had seen her fight once before. From that memory, he could piece together fragments of her strength.
His deliberation was brief, the conclusion swift.
'No way I can win.'
Chewing on the word "no way" in his mouth, Belnoa let out a long sigh.
"Hoo......"
Normally, Belnoa didn't decide outcomes lightly. No matter how strong the opponent, everyone had openings. Strike those gaps, and even they bled. They felt pain, and sometimes met death.
But that required openings to exploit in the first place.
The professor before him showed not the slightest flaw. No matter what tactic he tried, it would all be blocked. Whether spells or hand-to-hand, he was clearly outmatched in every aspect.
Belnoa opened his mouth.
"P-Professor?"
"Yes?"
"How am I supposed to take down someone who can go toe-to-toe with the royal family's special forces, the Hounds, in close combat?"
It was the simple truth. The professor had clashed evenly with the Hounds, renowned masters of close-quarters battle. And she'd done it barehanded, without a single weapon.
'Fight someone like that?'
No chance of victory.
Reading the incredulity in Belnoa's gaze, Professor Lania shrugged.
"Well, if you fight me like this, you'd lose for sure."
She snapped her fingers with a sharp crack.
Belnoa reflexively tried to twist away. But the spell's detonation was faster than his movement.
KABOOM!
Belnoa's hair fluttered from the shockwave. He slowly lowered his gaze. The spell had struck the ground. It was embedded right at the boundary between the clearing and the forest.
Emphasizing the line, the spot where the spell hit was cratered deeply. Gulp. Belnoa swallowed dryly.
Somehow, his foot had been right on that boundary line. And that spell was a warning. Cross the line, and she'd blast him.
'......If she'd aimed that at me instead of the ground.'
The exam would be over.
He'd sensed the mana fluctuation. But there was no gap between the fluctuation and the spell's manifestation. By the time he noticed, it was already exploding at his feet.
Far away.
Someone on an utterly distant level.
Feeling the gap in their skills firsthand, Belnoa raised his head. Still in the pose with her finger extended, the professor spoke.
"Just snapping my fingers like this would end it."
"......Yeah, it would."
"And now you get it, right?"
"......"
"That I have no intention of ending the exam like that."
Belnoa nodded slowly.
"Belnoa."
She called his name softly.
Her blue eyes sank low, the playfulness gone, leaving them chillingly cold.
"What is the theme of this exam?"
Her tone suggested this was part of the test too. Belnoa paused briefly before answering.
"......Adapting and learning from battlefield conditions."
"More detail."
"Not panicking against magical beasts that could emerge from anywhere, anytime. Maintaining composure at all times...... I was told it's a knight's virtue on the battlefield."
Lania nodded at Belnoa's response.
"Correct. But there's one more thing left out?"
"......Learning from failure?"
"Exactly."
Why dying to illusions resulted in a deduction, not elimination. It meant learn from your failures.
"In that case."
The one who designed the exam, Lania, asked.
"Have you learned from your failures?"
"......"
Belnoa couldn't answer.
He hadn't failed. Not once. He'd reached the forest's heart without a single failure.
"See?"
At Belnoa's silence, Lania smiled wryly.
"Everyone else learns from failure. It'd be a shame if you left without gaining anything."
That's why I'm here.
She murmured, rising from the stump.
"Belnoa."
"Yes, Professor."
"Combat Magic is a practical discipline. The closest thing to real combat there is. You know that, right?"
"......Yes."
"Then, a question. In real combat, do enemies conveniently match your level? You'd know, growing up in the slums."
Belnoa shook his head.
Lania nodded.
"Right. Real combat is different."
She stretched her arms wide.
The skull bucket perched askew on her head brushed her forearm and swayed. Her hair fluttered in the wind.
Through the waving strands, her blue eyes half-lidded.
The air around her shifted. No longer just a professor, but like a knight. She spoke in a cool voice.
"This is real combat, Belnoa."
Lania van Trias.
"But even in real combat, you need at least a minimal fight to learn something."
She raised her arm.
"One restriction."
She spread her hand wide.
"I won't attack 'first.' As long as you don't cross this line."
She folded one finger and drew a line on the ground with her toe. About three steps from the stump. She continued.
"Restriction two. I won't target you directly with spells. Mine will only be used to intercept your spells."
She folded a second finger as she spoke.
"There are three more restrictions besides these."
"......"
"Exploit all five restrictions I've imposed on myself to leave a mark on me......"
She pointed to the stump she'd been sitting on.
"Or touch that stump anywhere on your body. That's the passing condition."
"......What are the remaining restrictions?"
"That's the exam question. Figure it out yourself."
She folded her remaining three fingers.
Then lowered her arm and smiled.
"Look carefully."
Lania tapped the skull bucket on her head.
"No matter how impossible the opponent seems, if you look closely, you'll find one or two gaps."
It sounded just like advice from experience.
Belnoa steadied his breathing and organized his thoughts.
'Five restrictions.'
Of the two victory conditions, one was out of the question. Inflicting a wound was impossible. No need to waste time on the impossible.
Belnoa set his goal clearly.
'Touch the stump.'
That was the objective.
What did he need to do? Rolling his mind, Belnoa took one step forward.
He crossed the boundary line.
No incoming spells. No attacks. The no-first-strike condition held. Belnoa gripped his dagger tighter.
'......Difficult.'
Difficult, but.
'Not impossible.'
Belnoa of the slums' nightmares.
The boy who survived the slums by tearing into the necks of strong foes gripped his dagger anew.
To hunt the beast that had revealed its gap.
2.
Splat.
Swinging the axe ripped off a chunk of flesh. The illusionary flesh melted away like snow upon hitting the axe blade.
"Hm."
Rak tilted his head at the pristine axe blade. Because it was an illusion? It lacked the satisfying heft.
'Should feel heavier.'
When the axe bit in, there was no vibrating hum along the blade. No tactile feedback of slicing muscle and severing bone. Rak smacked his lips and lowered the axe.
"About time to end, huh."
The forest air was clearing bit by bit.
Rak, who had run the snowy mountains since childhood, was sensitive to air currents. The wind's flow felt different.
Rak sensed the exam's end approaching.
He quickened his pace. Soon, an open clearing came into view. And with it, the figure already there.
'Belnoa?'
Belnoa stood in the clearing.
Arms dangling limply, breathing ragged. Wiping his mouth revealed blood on his lips.
'......Injured.'
So, who was the opponent?
Suppressing his presence, Rak stepped sideways. The bushes parted, revealing the full clearing.
One more person stood there.
Rak frowned upon identifying them.
"......?"
At a glance, it was a standoff between that person and Belnoa. But the situation itself baffled Rak.
'Why is Professor Lania here?'
Rak blinked.
In that instant, Belnoa, still heaving, raised his arm. Dagger poised sharply.
His eyes remained sharp.
Belnoa kicked off the ground. Darting nimbly toward Professor Lania.
Whoosh.
He hurled a shadow dagger. Seeing the incoming blade, Professor Lania flicked her left index finger.
Crunch!
The descending Spell-Smite bent the dagger. While she was distracted by it, Belnoa closed in and swung his dagger.
Slash!
She caught the blade barehanded. Astonishing, but as if anticipated, Belnoa released the dagger. As he did, he curled his fingers.
The shadows cloaking the dagger exploded.
Boom!
The erupting shadows engulfed her. Seizing the moment, Belnoa snapped his finger. Crack. The broken finger became an Offering.
The stars reward the sacrifice.
The moment the completed ritual sought to empower the shadows.
"I did warn you."
Boom. An arm burst through the shadows. The emerging hand seized the glowing circuit on the back of Belnoa's hand.
"Drawing new circuits isn't easy."
She ripped it out.
Snap, snap snap snap!
The circuit tore away. The balanced scales shattered. The Offering failed. The sacrifice reverted, phenomena scattering into the air.
Shatter.
Through the dispersing shadows, she drove a kick into Belnoa's abdomen. His body launched into the air. His eyes widened.
"Guhk!"
Kicked flying, Belnoa tumbled across the ground several times.
After rolling, he staggered to his feet, gasping roughly.
Snap.
Emerging from the shadows, Professor Lania tugged her gloves taut. Then shook her hand lightly.
"Want to go again?"
She asked.
Belnoa shook his head.
"......"
Watching, Rak swallowed dryly. He grasped the rough outline of the situation.
'The final hurdle is Professor Lania.'
Rak swallowed again. Sweat beaded naturally on his axe-gripping hands. Though he'd grown somewhat accustomed over recent months, Professor Lania still terrified him.
'Like a beast.'
Yet, this was different from usual. Less frightening. The beast's fangs were missing. Claws dulled. It evoked a chained predator.
That felt off. Rak sensed something unnatural in the professor's and Belnoa's fight.
'One thing.'
One thing, but an unnatural movement stood out. No matter how he looked, it was awkward. Unnecessary there.
'The professor's every move is efficient. Honed. She wouldn't show anything unnatural.'
Inefficient, unnatural movements.
And deliberately, repeatedly so, as if begging to be noticed. Rak frowned.
'I see.'
......Rak had dueled northern warriors far superior to him countless times. In those duels, they imposed restrictions on themselves.
They held back.
-Watch closely, young master.
-Doesn't something seem off?
And separately, they intentionally exposed weaknesses.
-Practice spotting weaknesses, young master.
-Every foe has one or two. We just emphasize ours.
Rak saw it.
The weaknesses Professor Lania deliberately exposed.
Seeing them, Rak judged.
'A test fought under restrictions.'
This duel under constraints. Exploit them, and he could reach the beast.
"......"
But his feet wouldn't move easily.
Even knowing the restrictions, they weren't ones Rak could exploit. The gaps they created were narrow and thin.
'Not my style.'
Tactics to target weaknesses came to mind, but they didn't fit Rak's fighting style.
"Hm."
He needed a weapon to pierce that gap.
And he didn't need to look far for it.
"Belnoa."
Rak named the weapon he'd found.
3.
Five challenges attempted.
Five failures accrued.
'Hunting, my ass......'
Belnoa let out a hollow laugh as he backpedaled. Nausea surged. His vision spun.
"Kuh......"
Suppressing the urge to vomit, Belnoa retreated across the boundary on his own feet. Charging in this state would just get him flattened again.
"Sixth time."
A voice called out.
Belnoa looked toward it. There stood Professor Lania, unchanged from the start of the exam.
Her shirt remained spotlessly white.
Not a single stain. Compared to his own clothes? Belnoa glanced down.
Kicked, rolled on the ground.
Caked in dirt. Looking at himself, a bitter laugh escaped through his teeth.
'Even with all those restrictions......'
Still no match.
Someone impossibly far away.
'But it's not all failure.'
Five—no, six including this—challenges weren't wasted. Through repeated attempts, he'd uncovered one more restriction.
A fatal one.
Exploit it, and victory seemed within reach.
'......Not enough.'
But not easy to use.
Something crucial was missing. And Belnoa knew what it was.
'Toughness to break through.'
Numerous strategies surfaced, all premised on enduring one hit. But Belnoa lacked that durability.
'Mind shakes the instant I take a hit.'
By the time he recovered, he was already outside the line. He needed a countermeasure.
'But how?'
Spell shields were useless. Shadows as substitutes failed too. Nothing but tanking with his body.
But durability doesn't grow on demand.
'How to......'
As Belnoa racked his brain.
"Belnoa."
A voice came from somewhere.
Belnoa turned. A familiar figure stood there. White hair, red eyes. Symbolic hand axes in both hands.
Rak van Grace.
A sparring partner many times over. A barbarian warrior with solid toughness......
"Ah."
The thought hit him there.
Inspired, Belnoa spoke.
"Professor Lania."
Not to Rak. Turning to the professor seated in the clearing, Belnoa asked.
"......Is the exam strictly 1-on-1?"
"No such condition."
The answer came.
Belnoa turned to Rak. The solution to his persistent puzzle stood before him.
'A shield to take one hit and hold.'
Belnoa murmured unwittingly.
"Found it."
"Hm? Found what?"
Rak tilted his head.
Belnoa swallowed the rest. Then extended a hand to Rak.
"Rak."
"What is it."
"Up for teaming up?"
"Funny coincidence. I was about to suggest the same."
Rak grasped Belnoa's outstretched hand.
With a pull, he hauled Belnoa up. No further words between them. They gripped their weapons and stepped forward.
After all, they'd been sparring since the semester's start.
They knew each other's styles. What they lacked, what the other had. No need for practice runs.
Step.
They stood side by side at the boundary. Weapons ready, glaring at the figure in the clearing. Their gazes converged on one target.
'Lania van Trias.'
Aphria's nightmare, the disaster incarnate.
......Humans sometimes cooperate.
To face disasters too great for one alone.
🖋️ Author's Note Aphria's disaster simulation experience. *Took a break yesterday, so I brought 8,500 characters—about 1.7x the usual—but lately sticking to 7k, it doesn't feel like much... Sorry for the hiatus ㅠㅠ The scene I wanted just wouldn't come out, so I pondered forever. Leaving Lania unchecked, all I could imagine was Belnoa's neck snapping no matter what...