Academy Entrance Exam (4) - Overwhelming Skill Gap
The phrase overwhelming skill gap perfectly summarized the current spar. Elia let out a dry chuckle. She had held high expectations simply because he was her disciple’s disciple. No matter how lacking his ability might be, she had assumed he would at least possess skills worthy of the title Hero’s Disciple.
But this…
“This is getting pretty bad, isn’t it…?”
Yohan was rolling across the floor. His condition was painful to watch. His cheek had split open, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, and bruises and cuts covered his body. He looked utterly ragged. Still, he staggered to his feet and charged at Uril once more. One could call it tenacity. A harsher judge might call it recklessness.
Thud!
Uril’s foot slammed into Yohan’s abdomen.
“Guhk!!”
Yohan vomited yellow bile and collapsed to the ground.
“How about you just forfeit?”
Uril hadn’t broken a single sweat. She even yawned, as if bored.
“N-not… yet…!”
Using his sword like a cane, Yohan forced himself upright. The spectators let out pitying sighs. He was clearly determined to land at least one solid hit. That resolve burned brightly in his blue eyes. His refusal to give up made them want to cheer for him, but Elia’s disappointment was simply too great.
Who was to blame for this? Had the master taught him wrong? Or had the disciple learned poorly? Whichever it was, Elia was thoroughly displeased.
Objectively speaking, Yohan’s skills weren’t terrible. His fundamentals were solid, his movements were quick, and he seemed to possess decent battle sense. Yet it felt as though his body and mind were operating on completely different wavelengths.
“……And he still can’t use Sword Qi, it seems.”
No, it looked like he couldn’t even control his mana properly. Under normal circumstances, that wouldn’t be strange. At his age, far more people were incapable of controlling mana than those who could. However, when one considered that he had applied to the Imperial Academy and carried the title of the Hero’s disciple, the fact that he still couldn’t handle even basic mana was simply unacceptable.
“Gahk!!”
Yohan tumbled across the floor again. The flat of a blade had struck his temple, leaving him flopping about like a fish out of water. When the supervisor moved to stop the match, Yohan planted a hand on the ground and waved him off. Even if the match were forcibly ended, he would simply stand up and charge at Uril again.
“Mid-tier… No, even lower-mid tier might be pushing it for him.”
On the other hand, Elia turned her gaze toward Uril.
“As expected of the Skolhart family…?”
The Skolhart family, known as a prestigious house of swordsmanship. Living in the harsh northern environment, they were the apex predators of the northern snowfields. From the moment children learned to speak, they were handed swords and taught survival through combat. Sometimes the training was brutally harsh—being abandoned on a snowy mountain to fend for themselves, or being thrown into a wolf den with nothing but a dagger. Those brutal training methods were precisely why the Skolhart family had survived as powerhouses not only in the northern snowfields but throughout the entire world of swordsmen.
So this girl… was she that person’s granddaughter? Or perhaps great-granddaughter?
Having once been the Sword Saint, Adrean had interacted with every prominent swordsmanship family in the empire. The Skolhart family was no exception. Adrean had been quite close with the previous head of the Skolhart family. Their personalities had been polar opposites and they never quite got along, yet on the battlefield they had been reliable comrades who could trust each other with their backs.
I wonder if he’s still alive. Given his age, he probably got scattered across the snowfields long ago.
After briefly reminiscing, Elia turned her attention back to the ongoing spar. At that moment, Yohan was once again struggling to his feet. She had no idea how long he intended to keep this up.
“How long are you going to keep getting up?”
“Until I… haah… land one hit…”
Uril let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
“I’ll give you credit for that never-give-up attitude. But sometimes, giving up is also necessary.”
Mana began to gather along Uril’s blade. Frost settled on the silver edge. White vapor slowly rose around the now-frozen sword.
“Oh…… She’s already mastered blade transformation?”
Elia couldn’t help but admire the sight of Uril’s frozen blade. Blade transformation—also known as mana release—was a technique that imbued a sword with the unique properties of one’s mana, giving it physical form.
“If you can block this next attack, I’ll consider it your win.”
White vapor flowed beneath Uril’s feet. The ground around her began to freeze.
…What a troublesome type of mana.
Adrean had faced that sword before. It was an annoying ability that could rapidly freeze everything it touched.
“…Come.”
Yohan gripped his sword tightly. To stand his ground against such power without forfeiting showed admirable spirit. But the outcome was already clear.
“They say the ignorant are brave.”
Uril’s golden eyes, now ice-cold, fixed on Yohan. He shuddered as a chill ran down his spine.
“Bravery alone won’t keep you alive.”
Uril swung her sword from a distance. An ice storm erupted. Sharp blades of Sword Qi raced toward Yohan while freezing the ground beneath them. Razor-sharp icicles sprouted in every direction along the path of the qi.
Krrrrrrack!
It sounded like a massive shark swimming through a frozen sea. Then—
Boom!
The Sword Qi swallowed Yohan whole. An explosion rang out as ice crystals scattered in all directions. The spectators marveled at the beautiful sight of crystals falling like snow.
As the white vapor cleared—
“Haa… haa… ugh…”
Amazingly, Yohan was still standing. Of course, he was far from unscathed. His right arm was half-frozen. But he had blocked it. He had unleashed his unstable mana, letting it run wild to deflect Uril’s attack. The recoil caused him to cough up blood and burst blood vessels throughout his body, yet—
“You win.”
Uril sheathed her sword and forfeited. It was an embarrassing victory. One win and ninety-nine losses out of a hundred bouts. Yet Yohan smiled brightly, overjoyed simply at having achieved victory.
“Ha, hahaha… ugh…”
Having reached his physical limit, Yohan pitched forward and lost consciousness.
“He does have spirit, at least.”
Elia smiled warmly and nodded in approval. Yes, it was fine if he lacked skill for now. As long as he possessed that unyielding tenacity, there was every possibility he could grow. Still, disappointment was disappointment. She made a mental note to give the Hero a piece of her mind the next time they met. How exactly have you been raising your disciple?
Uril glanced briefly at the fallen Yohan before turning and leaving the training ground. The result of the spar was recorded as Uril’s forfeit. Both had passed the entrance exam. Although Yohan had been completely dominated, the examiners seemed to have highly evaluated the fact that he endured until the end and managed to block that final attack.
Elia rose from her seat. There were still other matches to watch, but she wanted to meet Uril. More precisely, she felt the urge to face her in combat.
“Excuse me.”
Elia called out to her. Uril turned around. Her silver hair fluttered like a skirt in the spring breeze. Golden eyes peeked through the slender strands.
“I enjoyed watching your spar.”
Uril immediately became wary. It was only natural when a hooded stranger suddenly spoke to her. But Elia, who hadn’t considered that, simply walked closer. Uril thrust her sword forward in warning, a clear signal to stay back.
“Huh…?”
Yet the suspicious person—Elia—caught the blade with her bare hand. The flow of power was bizarre. Under normal circumstances, the edge should have sliced into her palm.
“The northern greeting is rather aggressive, but was it always this extreme?”
It was a beautiful voice. One that put the mind at ease and pleasantly tickled the ears. Uril tried to pull her sword back. It wouldn’t budge. The slender-shouldered girl possessed monstrous grip strength. To be precise, she was using mana to reinforce her body, but even so, the power was absurd.
“Who are you?”
“Just a spectator who found your spar quite entertaining.”
Elia released Uril’s sword.
“To have already mastered mana release at such a young age. It was truly impressive. I was so excited watching you that I kept bouncing in my seat.”
She didn’t seem to harbor any ill will. Uril sheathed her sword.
“I’d like to have a spar with you as well.”
“So you want to do it right now?”
Uril’s hand moved to the hilt of her sword.
“No. I’d love to, but you’re not in any condition for that, are you?”
Elia took a single step forward. That alone brought her right in front of Uril.
“Eep…!”
Elia’s hand pressed against Uril’s hip. Uril winced at the sharp pain.
“You took a hit from Yohan, didn’t you?”
She pressed firmly along the hip toward the side, and blood began to flow. Not many people would have noticed, but in that final moment, while blocking Uril’s attack, Yohan had struck one of the ice crystals with his sword and sent it flying back at her. The crystal had lodged itself in Uril’s side.
“Freezing the wound to stop the bleeding? That’s quite impressive.”
A warm heat seeped into Uril’s side.
“Hngh…! W-what are you—?!”
“If you leave a scar on such a pretty body, that would be a shame.”
Elia withdrew her hand. The moment she did, the heat vanished, along with the throbbing pain.
“If the opportunity arises, please spar with me next time. I really want to cross blades with you at least once.”
Elia waved lightly and walked away. Uril lifted her shirt to check her side. Though bloodstains remained on her clothes, the wound on her side had been cleanly healed.
“……What was that?”
It was astonishing. To heal with just a touch? Not only could she use mana, but she could wield Holy Power as well? Uril stared at Elia’s retreating figure.
“Uwaaaah!”
When a gust of wind nearly blew off her hood, Elia frantically pressed it back down, looking a little silly in the process.