Chapter 259
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 259
Chapter Title: Sparring (5)
"Tell me exactly what happened."
However, Han still couldn't fully grasp what had occurred.
He understood that Jamie had used his Authority.
But he couldn't identify what kind.
The sword's position had simply shifted at some point.
And in a very threatening manner.
Because of that, Han had no choice but to use his Authority, 'Phenomenon Alteration.'
If he hadn't, he would have been the one suffering.
"In simple terms..."
Isis looked at the fallen Jamie as she spoke.
"An afterimage... or something like that?"
There were plenty of onlookers, but Isis was the only one who had clearly seen Jamie's Authority.
Even she, however, struggled to explain precisely what kind it was.
And for good reason.
"There wasn't just one Jamie Welton."
"Not just one?"
"If I have to put it into words..."
Isis pondered for a moment, silently gazing at Jamie before nodding slightly and speaking.
"It's like 'possibilities,' I suppose?"
"That makes even less sense."
"What did it look like to you?"
"Like I said, the sword's position suddenly shifted. It was touching my steel threads, then suddenly it came flying at my face."
"That's all you saw?"
"What are you getting at?"
Han couldn't fathom what Isis was trying to say.
Afterimage this, possibilities that.
Conversely, Isis was a bit surprised by Han's words.
She murmured in a voice tinged with amusement, a faint smile on her lips.
"He awakened quite an interesting Authority, didn't he?"
"Will you just explain it so I can understand?!"
"Jamie had three swords in total."
"What?"
"The one you saw lunging at your face, the one aiming to slice at the opening in your lower abdomen, and the one trying to sever the fingers gripping your staff entirely."
So naturally, Isis thought it was an afterimage, and from there, she considered possibilities.
Because all three swords' trajectories targeted Han's openings.
It was a fact only Isis, far superior to the two of them, could discern.
"...But why didn't I see the others?"
"I told you. Possibilities. I don't know why you couldn't see them, but the judgment to aim for your head was the optimal attack."
"Complicated Authority."
"I couldn't fully grasp it either. It might not be possibilities."
It could simply be an Authority related to afterimages.
The strikes targeting Han's openings might just be Jamie's skill.
So until the person himself awoke, nothing could be confirmed.
'One thing's certain—he's stepped into the Sword Master realm.'
Isis let out a hollow chuckle.
It wasn't unprecedented.
Even among dragons or high elves, 9th-class Sword Masters occasionally appeared.
But they were long-lived species who lived for eons.
Jamie Welton was...
Diablo Volpir was a sorcerer.
'A novice who's barely held a sword for a few years...'
But it was still too early to tell.
He had stepped into the Sword Master realm unconsciously.
Would he even remember his Authority once he regained consciousness?
It was an unfamiliar ceiling.
Jamie pressed down on his heavy eyelids with his hand.
His memories cut off at some point.
He had clashed with Han several times—dodging his attacks and countering.
Swinging a sword for so long was more taxing than expected.
Especially against a Sword Master wielding bizarre weapons; it fatigued him more than usual.
Still, as he grew accustomed to Han's movements, he figured out how to respond.
But his stamina had reached its limit first, it seemed.
'I didn't expect to tire out this much from just that.'
It wasn't mere sword swinging; facing a superior opponent on equal footing brought immense mental fatigue.
It was ridiculous.
He, who prided himself as a veteran among veterans, feeling mentally drained from that.
His passion and will for the sword must have been greater than he thought.
Like returning to his beginner's mindset?
He felt that thrill of first encountering magic from his previous life, after so long.
'I thought I'd forgotten all about it.'
Even after depleting his mana and nearly becoming a cripple from qi deviation, he craved magic endlessly because he loved it so much.
"But... I felt something."
Just before losing consciousness, Jamie had sensed something peculiar.
But since he blacked out right after, he couldn't pinpoint it.
The unconscious realm was literally without awareness, so it was natural he didn't know now that he was awake.
Looking out the window, the sun was already setting.
Since the spar with Han was in the morning, at least five or six hours had passed.
"Slept a long time, huh."
Then, a chemical scent stung his nose, wrinkling it.
Looking around, identical beds were lined up at intervals.
A drawer stacked with medicine bottles sat in one corner.
This seemed to be a hospital.
They must have brought his unconscious body here.
Deciding to head out, he left the room—and someone stood right by the door.
At first glance, he thought it was Ironheel; she was extremely short. But closer inspection revealed a hunched old woman with balloon-like white hair.
"You're awake, I see."
The old woman was a grandmother with deeply wrinkled, expressive features. She looked quite ancient.
She shuffled laboriously toward Jamie and suddenly began kneading his legs.
"What are you doing?"
When Jamie asked, she replied,
"Your muscle density increased while you slept. Your body has definitely awakened."
"Excuse me?"
"Call me Doctor."
The one who introduced herself as 'Doctor' climbed Jamie's body like a tree, meticulously checking his abdomen, chest, neck, and arms before hopping down.
Then she said,
"It's a precursor to awakening."
"...What does that mean?"
"Talk to Isis for details. This is a place for the sick—get out."
Doctor left those words behind, hands clasped behind her back, and vanished somewhere.
Having been bombarded with cryptic remarks, Jamie scratched his cheek and exited the hospital.
There, he spotted the massive Join, Hawks, standing like a boulder out front.
Nearby, Isis sat on a bench with her legs crossed.
"Why's this guy here?"
Jamie pointed at Hawks and asked, to which Isis grinned.
"The circuit sparring isn't over yet."
They'd only done two matches.
That hardly qualified as circuit sparring.
At least three rounds to call it that, right?
Isis asked Jamie just in case.
"Jamie. Do you remember how the spar with Han ended?"
"No."
"Then you don't know what you did either?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Never mind. Explaining it myself would just confuse you. It's manifested once already, so to fully comprehend it, you'll have to pick up the sword again eventually."
At Isis's enigmatic words, Hawks stepped forward.
"I'm here for revenge from last time."
"...But how are you even standing here?"
Jamie was dumbfounded.
It had been just a day since he handed Hawks defeat.
The fully awakened holy light's power shouldn't have been something even a Join could recover from easily, yet Hawks stood there with arms crossed, nonchalant.
"He's not normal either. Just bluffing."
"I'm perfectly fine."
Bluff or not, Jamie was impressed by Hawks's toughness.
A light poke would probably send him rolling in pain.
Yet here he was. Was the defeat really that humiliating?
Jamie doubted it.
No evidence, but Hawks's eyes lacked their former malice.
Hawks said,
"Draw your sword."
The third circuit spar began right after leaving the hospital.
Opponent: Hawks.
Excluding Isis and another Lan tribesman, Clark, he was Frontier's strongest.
He too had sustained severe injuries from last night's bloody clash with Jamie.
Even in that state, facing him with only a sword would be quite challenging.
Jamie slowly drew his longsword.
Hawks, meanwhile, stood empty-handed, unarmed—no spear or crossbow.
Isis stepped between them to explain the rules.
"This one's a bit different."
"How so?"
"As you see, Hawks will fight barehanded. If he uses a weapon, it wouldn't be a proper spar like with Han."
Because he was on a whole other level.
Having clashed directly, she knew Hawks's strength better than anyone.
"Instead."
Isis pointed at Jamie with a grin, raising her index finger.
"Hawks will use his Authority."
"Why only him?"
"Hmm. Needed to push you a bit?"
Isis's words remained incomprehensible.
He didn't argue.
Someone of her caliber surely had a reason.
Besides, Hawks's Authority controlled body hardness, which he could handle.
"Everything else is the same. Get ready, then."
Isis raised her hand high and shouted heartily.
"Fight!"
Hawks kicked off the ground simultaneously.
Tremendous speed.
In that instant, Jamie experienced something bizarre.
Space overlapping in multiple layers—a phenomenon he'd never seen before. He couldn't collect his thoughts.
"Daydreaming in front of me."
Crack!!
"Guh!"
Jamie spat blood seeing a massive fist pierce his upper body.
The sensation of ribs and organs shattering inside dizzied him.
Hawks showed no mercy.
He immediately kneed upward to his chin, then relentlessly whipped with wide-spread wings.
"Gahhh!"
Jamie bounced across the ground several times before sprawling out.
Hawks closed in without pause, raising his foot to stomp Jamie's back.
Boom!!
Just before impact, Jamie rolled aside, wiping blood from his mouth as he created distance.
The successive shocks made it hard to focus, but the illusion of layered spaces persisted.
'...What is this?'
Jamie gritted his teeth.
In the overlapping spaces, Hawks moved in multiple directions.
Countless versions of himself fought those Hawks.
Most knelt before Hawks's power or stubbornly charged despite beatings.
But no victories.
In every layered scene, no one felled Hawks—they all despaired.
'What is this? What the hell is it?'
His head throbbed.
Amid the sudden mental distortion, Jamie clutched his forehead and staggered.
Hawks didn't wait.
He approached swiftly, erecting sharp claws to stab Jamie's chest.
"Hup!"
He barely grabbed the ankle to halt it, but nearly a third of the 10cm claws had already pierced.
"Stay like that and you'll die."
Hawks's murderous voice rang out.
Gripping Jamie's leg tightly with his foot, he hoisted him high and slammed him down.
"Cough, cough!"
Inhaling dirt while rolling, Jamie coughed violently, trying to rise.
Staying down meant another attack.
"With such meager skill..."
A fist flew.
As Jamie swung his sword to block, multiple blades overlapped on similar trajectories.
The first arrivals shattered against Hawks's fist.
Then, one blade dyed purple.
'Darkness Single Strike Sword.'
The family's secret technique, enhancing the blade with black mana.
Hawks's fist clashed with the longsword bearing Darkness Single Strike Sword.
For the first time, blood spurted from Hawks's fist.
And it became reality.
'How did this...'
Blood streamed from Hawks's fist.
Jamie stared at his sword.
The purple blade, empowered by Single Strike Sword, had sliced space along with part of Hawks's fist.
Jamie was bewildered.
'When did I generate black mana?'
And when had he executed Darkness Single Strike Sword?
He'd only seen the one scene among many where he damaged Hawks.
Yet his hand had recreated it.
Was he dreaming?
As Jamie panicked, Hawks spoke.
"Congratulations on becoming a Sword Master."
Jamie looked up at Hawks in shock.
Blood dripping from his fist, he wore an incongruous smile.