The Evaluation Continues
The ability evaluation continued. Perhaps because Yujin, the first runner, had put on such an extraordinary display, the other students seemed a bit intimidated. Having seen it with their own eyes, they must have realized the vast gulf between Yujin and themselves. But it couldn't be helped. As the protagonist of Dawn Swordsman, Yujin was one of the greatest geniuses of his era. For a hero destined to save the world, it was only natural to stand out even during his student days. The other students tried their absolute best, but none could match Yujin's performance. While they easily defeated the wolf golems as expected of supernatural ability users, they struggled immensely against the subsequent golems. Few even made it to the chimera, and those who managed to defeat it were rarer still.
But did you know? In typical academy web novels where the protagonist grows stronger, the protagonist's generation is often established as a "golden generation." The reason is simple: to keep up with the power balance. If the protagonist grows at a breakneck pace while their companions fail to keep up, those companions will inevitably be left behind. Therefore, the generation the protagonist belongs to is usually packed with top-tier talents, forming a legendary golden generation.
"Haaat!"
And Dawn Swordsman was no exception. A thrilling barrage of punches, so fast they didn't even leave afterimages, struck the chimera golem. Fist prints were carved into its body in rapid succession before it finally snapped like a dry cracker.
"What's next?!"
A tall boy with tanned skin. This boy, the first since Yujin to destroy nine golems simultaneously, caught his ragged breath and slammed his fists together. I can still fight. I can take down even more. It was a gesture of sheer bravado, but Angelica wasn't buying it.
"No, Leo. That's enough."
"I can keep going!"
"No, you can't. You've already pushed your stamina to its limit, brat."
At Angelica's sharp observation, Leo flinched.
"But..."
"Your Acceleration. It's certainly a powerful ability. But the more powerful the ability, the greater the toll it takes. As the user, you should know that better than anyone, right?"
Leo pursed his lips as if to argue, but ultimately let out a sigh and slumped his shoulders. It was the truth, after all, and trying to bluff his way through would only make him look foolish. He had no choice but to concede.
Leo's Acceleration was an incredibly threatening ability. It accelerated his cognitive processing and sped up his physical body. A barrage of dozens of punches unleashed in a mere second or two would be difficult for even Yujin to dodge. However, Acceleration had a fatal flaw: stamina. The physical toll of using the ability was astronomical. Because of this, Leo could only activate his power in bursts of seconds. While he might surpass Yujin in a short, decisive battle, his stamina simply couldn't keep up in a prolonged fight.
Ultimately, Leo threw up his hands and dropped his fighting stance. As he walked back to his spot, he shot a sideways glance at Yujin. Was he already harboring a sense of rivalry? Well, in the original story, Leo did serve as Yujin's rival.
Following Leo, several other students put on remarkable performances. There was a braided-haired girl who fluidly dodged every single attack without letting a single blow land, defeating eight golems simultaneously. There was a silver-haired girl with a ponytail who created clones of herself until she outnumbered the golems, overwhelming them with sheer numbers. And there was a girl who obliterated five golems in a single shot with a terrifying energy beam. As you might have guessed from the word "girl," they were all heroines.
"Then that leaves the last one. Lucia, step forward."
My turn was the very last. Feeling a slight flutter of tension in my chest, I walked out in front of the golems.
The wolf golem growled. Ugh, I don't like this... Its teeth are so sharp... It's going to hurt if it bites me, right...? Unlike a dagger, it'll sink deep into my flesh and tear me apart.
Gulp. I swallowed hard and shook my head. Maybe it was because I was hungry, but weird thoughts kept popping up. Let's focus for now.
"Begin!"
With Angelica's booming command, the wolf golem lunged. I didn't back down; instead, I raised the weapon in my hands.
What was Lucia's fighting style? It wasn't conjuring flames like Yujin, nor was it accelerating like Leo. Her supernatural ability was Super Regeneration—the power to mend wounds. In that case, what kind of combat style should she adopt? Clutched in my right hand was a heavy, massive mace, a weapon that looked entirely out of place for a delicate girl.
Hup! Steeling myself inwardly, I swung the mace in a straight arc. The wolf golem's head shattered, kicking up a cloud of dust.
The evaluation continued. Golems materialized one after another. Lucia wasn't picky about her weapons. I used whatever was at hand. Swords, spears, maces, whips—as long as it was in my hands, it was a weapon. Ultimately, my greatest weapon was my regenerative power. Giving up flesh to take the enemy's bones was Lucia's tactic. No, actually, Lucia gave up her bones to take their flesh. After all, any bone she surrendered could easily be regenerated.
Unfortunately, however, there was no opportunity to employ Lucia's true tactic in this evaluation. Despite her fierce appearance and rough way of speaking, Angelica was an exemplary teacher who genuinely cared for her students. Even if she knew I could regenerate, there was no way she would let a student get hurt. If this had been a mock battle simulating real combat, maybe it would be different, but this was strictly an evaluation.
The way she chewed on her unlit cigarette while glaring at me with hawk-like eyes was partly to measure my combat ability, but also to prepare for any unexpected accidents. If I failed to dodge a golem's attack, she would stop it immediately. What a shame... Ah, I just mean it's a shame I can't fight properly. I don't mean anything else by it.
Pivoting on my left foot, I spun halfway to dodge the knight golem's slash and swung my mace straight into its thigh. With a loud crack, its leg shattered, and the knight golem lost its balance and fell. Before it could get back up, I split its head open with the mace, halting its movements. It dissolved into dirt and sand, losing its form and vanishing.
Wolf, gargoyle, knight... and next was the chimera. Facing it up close was on a completely different level than watching it from afar. Despite being made of stone, its mane seemed to bristle with life. Its wide-spread wings cast a massive shadow, and its snake-headed tail flicked its tongue. Although it was merely a golem created by Angelica, the sheer pressure it exuded was intense enough to make anyone believe it was a real chimera.
The lion's head growled silently. One step. Two steps. The chimera walked toward me at a leisurely pace. Then, in an instant, it suddenly leaped into the air and pounced.
Fast! I hurriedly threw myself to the side. Boom! The ground where the chimera's forepaw slammed down shattered spectacularly. Swallowing hard, I tightened my grip on the mace. How on earth did Yujin defeat a thing like this in just two blows? This is bad. I don't see any way to win. If I fight normally, I can't beat it.
To clarify, saying I couldn't win meant fighting without Lucia's actual combat style. Fighting a chimera golem with my greatest weapon sealed away—of course I couldn't win. But this was merely an ability evaluation, not a real battle or a duel. There was no way Angelica would allow any blood to be spilled.
...Wait, no. Because it was an ability evaluation, shouldn't I be using my supernatural ability even more? Right? To evaluate Lucia's combat capabilities, her regenerative power was an absolute necessity. Angelica had told us not to half-ass it, so wouldn't it be polite to give it my all here? Right?
I corrected my stance. Eu-he, I didn't want to, but I had no choice. This was an ability evaluation, and I had a duty to show off my power. Will it hurt if the chimera attacks me? Yeah, it'll hurt. But it's an exam! It's an ability evaluation, so it can't be helped!
The chimera golem leaped forward with a speed that defied its massive bulk. If I just stood still without dodging, Angelica would stop the golem. So, I took a stance as if I were about to charge right back at it. As if I could counterattack. As if I had a plan. As if I had a way out.
And in truth, it wasn't a lie. Give up bones to take flesh. Then, regenerate the bones and give them up again. If you kept repeating that, the enemy would eventually fall. Lucia's supernatural ability was specialized for long, drawn-out battles. I dodged the pouncing forepaw and raised my mace. I swung it halfway as if to attack... Eu-he, but I was just too hungry. I've been starving since yesterday, so I have no strength in my body. I thrust my shoulder straight into the chimera's gaping maw. Whoops, my bad.
Crunch!
"...!"
I could hear Angelica gasping all the way from where she stood. She must have been paying close attention, but since I had practically shoved my own body into its mouth, her reaction was a split second too late. Now then, I've given up my bones, so it's time to take its flesh. I aimed my mace at the chimera golem's lower jaw—
"—?!"
Agh?! My mind went completely blank. My vision flickered, and my hands and feet trembled as if locked in rigor mortis. The bones in my shoulder shattered, and a massive chunk of flesh was torn away. Hot, crimson blood drenched the inside of the chimera golem's mouth. It hurts. What the hell, this hurts so much. Way more than I expected—
For a split second, I lost consciousness. As my mind floated back up from the depths of darkness, an indescribable agony assaulted me. Slitting my wrists with a dagger couldn't even begin to compare to this. Skin torn apart, blood vessels severed, bones crushed, muscles ripped away. This was, truly—
It hurt. It really, incredibly, abnormally hurt! It hurt! It hurt so much! Ah, I leaked a little bit. Fortunately, it was just a tiny bit, so no one will notice. My chest pounded violently. I was terrified my heart would burst from beating so fast. My brain felt like mush. It felt as though everything inside my skull was melting and trickling down.
"...Ah, ugh..."
Just a little more. Just a little more. Do it more. Tear me apart some more. Rip me to shreds. I want to feel more pain. Dig through my flesh like this, drag out my bones, and then...
"Are you alright?!"
My train of thought was cut short. The chimera golem dissolved into dust, and Angelica was there in its place. Gently catching me as my legs gave out and I collapsed, she cried out.
"Why would you do something so reckless...!"
Only after seeing Angelica grit her teeth and mutter in distress did I finally snap out of it. Blinking my eyes at the sudden wave of disappointment, I nodded blankly.
"The wound... has it already completely regenerated?"
"Ah, yes..."
"Lucia. I know a few supernatural ability users with regeneration powers like yours. Every single one of them fights on the premise of getting hurt, relying on their healing factor. They claim it's the most efficient way. You were trying to do the same just now, weren't you?"
She was spot on. That was exactly what I had intended to do. I tried to, but... He-he.
"But regeneration is ultimately nothing more than 'healing quickly.' It doesn't take away the pain. If you freeze up because you can't handle the agony like you just did, you'll end up as nothing but an easy meal. Do you understand? It's far too dangerous for someone who has never even experienced real combat to attempt. Even seasoned veterans struggle with it..."
I didn't freeze up because of the pain, though... Or did I? Well, it definitely hurt like hell.
"...I'm sorry."
"It's fine. There's no need to apologize to me. You were simply trying your best with courage in your own way."
Angelica let out a deep sigh and helped me up. Using her supernatural ability to brush the dust off my body, she spoke in a slightly weary voice.
"That concludes the ability evaluation. Good work, Lucia."
He-he, you're so kind. If you were always like this, you'd be really popular with the students.