Forge of the Single Fire (3)
"What...?"
He froze.
The first to notice the change in Adelia was Pokryong.
The hand he had clenched into a fist trembled slightly, his expression clearly showing that he couldn't comprehend the situation at all.
Soon after, Heukgol reacted as well.
Bewilderment washed over his face as he looked down at the arena.
And for good reason—an utterly unbelievable sight was unfolding right before our eyes.
Rumble!
The air began to vibrate. Simply by facing her opponent, Adelia's realm of power had ascended.
Growing from level 88 to 89...
As I've said many times, the higher your level, the exponentially harder it becomes to reach the next stage.
Level 88 was already a realm that could easily be called a master.
It was a height that most swordsmen in this world could never reach even if they dedicated their entire lives to it.
Taking even a single step forward from here required blood-spitting training and profound enlightenment.
And yet...
Adelia was different.
She had leveled up with ridiculous ease.
It was as if she had gained enlightenment simply by standing face-to-face with Pean's clone.
"..."
Of course, I had already anticipated that something like this would happen to some extent.
Pean's trait, and Adelia's Reflection's Water Surface.
The combination of the two made this result inevitable.
Pean was an observer.
His gaze was piercing through Adelia.
The way she stood, the direction of her toes, and even the grip strength of her hand on the sword. By observing all of these "elements," he was dissecting his opponent piece by piece.
And...
...Adelia is reacting to it.
Her unique skill, Reflection's Water Surface.
Originally, this ability was a memory-replay skill that allowed her to recall her own battles. A blessing obtained from the Sea Moon Hydra, which vividly reproduced past moments as if they were reflected on the surface of water.
But right now, Adelia wasn't just reflecting past memories; she was reflecting the "gaze" that was piercing through her.
Like looking at herself in a mirror, she could objectively observe herself through Pean's eyes.
...And from the perspective of a peak Sword Master who had lived an eternal life, no less.
Rumble!
Something inside Adelia began to shift.
She realized that a deeper layer lay hidden within Reflection's Water Surface, an ability she had thought was limited to merely replaying her own memories.
You've finally realized it.
The ability to review past battles. It wasn't just looking back at events... it was the act of reviving how she perceived the world at that time, reviving the sensations and judgments of that very moment.
In other words, what Reflection's Water Surface truly reproduced was not "what happened," but rather the impression of the world that she had felt and observed at that moment.
This ability is not a simple memory replay.
It was a unique skill that reflected the "gaze" of a specific target looking at her. Whether it was herself or another. An ability to reflect how someone looked at her.
A technique that accepted another's gaze and projected it back onto herself.
If so, then...
...what if another's gaze is directed at me right now?
At this moment, when Pean's transcendent observational power was piercing through Adelia, it was only natural that this sensation could also be reflected on the water's surface.
Whoosh!
The moment Pean "observed" Adelia, his thousands of years of insight were projected onto Reflection's Water Surface and perfectly reflected back.
Though it was only for a split second, Adelia shared Pean's vision.
Like moonlight reflecting on a lake, Adelia was able to look at herself objectively through Pean's eyes.
The moment you perfectly recognize your own shortcomings, growth inevitably follows.
This was especially true for a swordsman as exceptionally talented as Adelia.
Looking back at herself through the eyes of a Sword Master with thousands of years of experience, the gaps that were normally invisible became glaringly obvious.
Habits she had unconsciously overlooked. Postures that needed improvement. Better options. All of it appeared in an instant.
And that realization led to immediate growth.
"Whew..."
Adelia let out a breath.
Leveling up without even fighting was normally impossible. But Adelia was an exception now.
...The true ability of a genius swordsman had blossomed.
Clang!
As soon as the probing phase ended, the battle began in earnest.
The first clash.
Adelia barely managed to block Pean's attack, but the recoil threw her posture completely out of alignment.
It was only natural. Even if it was a younger version of Pean, he was still a Sword Master who had lived for over a thousand years.
However...
Tick.
...Through that single clash, Adelia recognized her shortcomings even more clearly, achieving yet another breakthrough.
"What in the...!"
Pokryong gasped, his face filled with utter disbelief.
"...Breaking through walls consecutively in such a short span of time?"
His voice was stripped of its usual arrogance, leaving only pure shock.
Rumble!
The barrier of level 90 shattered.
A wall that even highly gifted geniuses struggled to overcome... Adelia had broken through it with a single clash of swords.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence filled the spectator stands.
Heukgol, standing beside me, and Arwen were also unable to hide their shock.
Once before clashing swords. And once more after clashing.
Watching Adelia achieve such immense growth in just a few minutes, everyone was left speechless.
Clang! Clang!
The screech of metal echoed through the colosseum.
Adelia's swordplay was growing sharper by the second.
She, who had barely managed to block Pean's strikes at first, was now responding with composure.
No, it went beyond that...
Clang!
"...!"
...She forced Pean's clone to take a step back for the first time.
Adelia's counterattack pierced through his defense. Though it only left a shallow scratch, the significance of it was by no means small.
I smirked inwardly.
The more complex Pean's swordplay became, the more "observation" occurred.
And all of that observation was reflected back to Adelia, allowing her to refine her own swordsmanship to an even higher degree.
A vicious cycle.
Yes. From Pean's perspective as he faced Adelia, it was a vicious cycle indeed.
"Whew..."
Screech!
Pean let out a sigh in the arena.
A flicker of irritation crossed his otherwise expressionless face.
He's realized it.
Pean had clearly figured out that the more he observed Adelia, the more she grew.
Shring!
In the very next instant, Pean's stance changed.
"What...?"
Pokryong gasped.
"That bastard... is taking a stance like that...?"
It was a posture completely uncharacteristic of Pean.
He was someone who observed, analyzed, and fully understood his opponent's traits before pressing them. A calculated, meticulous, and flawless style of combat.
But now...
Boom!
...A barrage of wild strikes began to rain down on Adelia.
There was no observation, no analysis. It was a primal assault relying solely on instinct and experience.
"This is driving me crazy."
Ha.
Pokryong let out a dry laugh. His voice carried a mix of shock and strange excitement.
"That boring bastard could actually fight like that?"
The Blind Sword Master.
A transcendent being who had already lived for over a thousand years at the time this clone was created.
Such a man had completely abandoned his style to fight like a beast.
And that... was proof of just how threatening Adelia was.
"...!"
Clang! Clang!
The clashing of swords grew increasingly violent.
Adelia's eyes widened. She was taken aback by Pean's sudden shift in combat style.
For her, who had been growing through observation, a battle left entirely to instinct was a new challenge.
However...
Claaaaang!
...In the end, the gap in experience and realm was not something that could be easily overcome.
"Ah."
Adelia let out a soft sigh.
Pean's strike had sent her sword flying.
Shring!
The cold tip of a blade touched her neck.
Slowly lowering her hands, Adelia conceded defeat.
Yet, there was no despair on her face. Instead, it was filled with a sense of satisfaction, as if she had gained something invaluable.
And she had every reason to be. In a single trial, Adelia had grown enough to surpass level 90.
Dissolve.
Pean's figure slowly began to scatter. His body, made of molten metal, seeped back into the floor.
Yet, just before he vanished completely, a mysterious smile played on his lips.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
It was then that a rather creepy sound echoed.
Looking back, I saw Heukgol clapping with an impressed expression.
Since his hands were nothing but bone, it only produced a dry, clacking noise.
"Impressive! She lost the match, but that was an incredible fight!"
Nod.
Pokryong and Arwen nodded in agreement.
Adelia wore a bittersweet smile.
While she was satisfied with the enlightenment she had gained, she couldn't entirely shake off the regret of defeat.
"Thank you for the generous praise, Sir Heukgol. However, the fact that I failed to complete the trial is still regret—"
"...?"
Whoosh!
Everyone looked up at the sudden voice.
The guardian deity floating in the air looked down at Adelia with a smile.
"...!"
Shock filled the arena.
The first to react was Heukgol.
"What...?"
The guy, who had been sitting on the ground, sprang to his feet.
"Wait, what does that mean? She lost, but she passed the trial?"
"Then what about me?! What about my case? I completely suppressed my opponent, yet I failed! What on earth is the passing criteria?!"
The guardian deity replied with a gentle smile.
"Stop speaking in riddles and tell me clearly! Why did I fail while she succeeded?!"
...There it is again, that hot-tempered personality of his.
Heukgol threw a fit, but the guardian deity made no reply. He merely wore a meaningful smile.
Watching this, Pokryong suddenly burst into a sneer.
"Tsk, hundreds of years have passed, and you still haven't realized why?"
"...What?"
"Did you think the Forge of the Single Fire was simply a place to decide victory or defeat against an opponent? If it were that simple, they wouldn't have called it a 'trial' in the first place."
"...!"
Heukgol gnashed his teeth. He wanted to refute it, but he couldn't bring himself to. Because Pokryong wasn't wrong.
"Grr, grrr...!"
Whoosh.
As the guardian deity slowly raised his hand, everyone fell silent.
His crimson eyes began to sweep over the entire group.
And finally, his gaze locked onto me.
A heavy silence fell.
The guardian deity's gaze, burning like a furnace, stared intently at me. In his eyes lay anticipation, curiosity, and various other unfathomable emotions.
After a long silence, the guardian deity called out to me in a deep, resonant voice.
"Gaon, the Thirteenth Sword Master."
"..."