Chapter 164: Public Ranking Match (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 164: Public Ranking Match (3)
The duel between Fernando and Roman Dmitry.
A massive crowd had gathered.
Since the high-ranking experts in the top thirty had all declined ranking matches thus far, anticipation filled the air. Everyone wondered what kind of fight Fernando, the infamous gatekeeper of the 30th rank, would put up.
"I wonder if Fernando can even last a minute."
"I doubt it. Fernando has always been extremely vulnerable against swordsmen who can manifest a 4-Star Aura or higher. If Roman Dmitry actively uses his aura, Fernando won't even last ten seconds. If not, he might put up a decent fight."
"Agreed. If nothing else, Fernando is widely recognized for his solid fundamentals and pure swordsmanship."
The crowd's expectations were bleak.
Fernando.
People called him the "limit of effort."
While reaching the 4-Star realm was undoubtedly impressive, his innate talent had stagnated for years. It was frustrating even for onlookers. His swordsmanship clearly surpassed that of higher-ranking experts, but because his aura lacked the raw power to back it up, he always had to settle for 30th place.
One year ago, his duel with Bertov had been a prime example of his limitations.
At the time, Bertov, who was ranked 99th, had succeeded in defeating Fernando despite being completely outmatched in technique and experience. An aura explosion—a single, overwhelmingly powerful blow—had completely turned the tide of the duel.
It was no different now.
Watching Fernando prepare to face Roman Dmitry, the crowd looked on with pity.
Step.
He stepped onto the stage.
Fernando took a deep breath and faced his opponent.
...The world is truly unfair.
A bitter taste filled his mouth.
Roman was incredibly young. Looking at him, one could easily believe he was in his early twenties. Yet this man was Roman Dmitry, the anomaly causing a massive upheaval in the Cairo Kingdom's ranking system. Starting from 99th and climbing all the way to 30th in just a single week, the monster standing before him was the living definition of talent that defied age.
A sense of inferiority welled up within him. He was genuinely envious.
People didn't understand. They didn't know what it felt like to work yourself to death from the moment you opened your eyes until you closed them, only to watch those behind you leap ahead year after year. Fernando had been stuck at 30th place forever. Whenever he hit the wall of talent and crumbled, he burned with inferiority toward geniuses like Roman Dmitry. Call it a pathetic emotion if they wanted. But if not for the venom born of that inferiority, Fernando would have broken down long ago.
Roman Dmitry. Make me your stepping stone. But in return, let me take at least one step forward. Show me the world you live in through this duel.
Grip.
He gripped his sword tightly.
He had no intention of letting his guard down. He was clearly the underdog. Casting aside all pride, he faced reality.
Flutter.
The flag snapped in the wind.
At that moment—
Boom!
Fernando's aura erupted with a powerful explosion.
* * *
He went all out from the very beginning.
Fernando channeled his aura, detonating it in both legs to maximize his speed.
Dash!
First, a frontal assault.
In the previous duels, he had studied Roman's patterns. Roman Dmitry was an incredibly arrogant swordsman. No matter what kind of attack his opponent launched, he never retreated more than three steps.
Whoosh.
He thrust his sword.
Wind whipped around the blade shimmering with aura, but Roman dodged Fernando's attack, his hair fluttering. It was just as expected. Roman Dmitry had only taken a single step back, and Fernando immediately launched his prepared follow-up attack.
Pop!
On one side of the blade, the aura exploded.
The trajectory of the attack was forcibly altered; the sword, which had been thrusting in a straight line, bent sideways to aim for Roman's neck.
It was an unorthodox strike. At the same time, Fernando gathered his aura, anticipating his opponent's dodge.
Whoosh.
Roman leaned back.
It was a shockingly fluid movement. Suppressing his surprise, Fernando immediately brought his sword down toward Roman's body. By all common sense, it was an inescapable situation. Roman had been forced into an extreme posture by the consecutive attacks, and dodging a downward slash while completely bent backward should have been impossible.
And yet—
Swish.
He twisted his head.
Staring straight at Fernando, Roman deflected the attack effortlessly once again. And then, he immediately sprang upward. Defying gravity like a released spring, Roman counterattacked.
Clang!
Fernando's arm was thrown back.
A clash of auras. Once again, there was a clear disparity in raw power. As Fernando grit his teeth to prepare for the next strike, Roman Dmitry, strangely, did not attempt a finishing blow.
Step, step.
He stepped back, creating distance.
While the crowd cheered at the thrilling exchange, Fernando knew his opponent had intentionally spared him.
Why?
His insides boiled.
Fernando had intended to settle the match early, boldly penetrating his opponent's range to unleash consecutive attacks. Roman's defense against them had been flawless. Had Roman attacked the moment Fernando's guard was breached, it would have been impossible to dodge. That Roman chose not to exploit that opening was undoubtedly intentional.
A mistake?
Absolutely not. Judging by his movements so far, Roman Dmitry was not someone who made such blunders.
Does he think I'm a joke?
Grit.
He clenched his teeth.
Roman's track record showed he always finished his opponents quickly. Considering even the 40th-ranked expert hadn't lasted thirty seconds, it seemed Roman was deliberately dragging out the fight against him. Why? Because he was the gatekeeper of the 30th rank? Was Roman trying to send a clear message to the higher-ranking experts as he prepared to break into the top thirty?
Whatever the reason, his pride was wounded.
He wanted to throw this match away, but there was something far more important to him.
Trample my pride all you want. Just show me a path to grow, even if it's only a sliver of hope.
Having remained at 30th place for eternity, he had discarded his pride long ago.
Fernando charged in once more.
His attacks, driven by exploding aura, were systematic and threatening. In terms of pure swordsmanship, he was the most formidable opponent Roman had faced so far, but his aura's power failed to properly support his technique.
He knew it himself.
He knew the crowd was mocking him as the duel dragged on. Fernando blocked out the noise, focusing solely on doing his absolute best to defeat Roman Dmitry.
Crash!
Once again, his attack was blocked.
His timing had been perfect. By all accounts, the strike should have landed, but his lack of aura power prevented him from breaking through Roman's defense.
Frustration welled up. He felt irritated and angry.
But then—
[Circulate your mana exactly as I tell you from now on. It will make things much easier.]
A voice echoed directly in his mind.
Realizing the voice belonged to Roman Dmitry, Fernando widened his eyes and stared at the man before him.
* * *
His mind was in disarray.
What kind of trick was this?
His brain told him to ignore such nonsense, but Fernando unconsciously halted his relentless assault.
[Fernando, the 4-Star Aura Swordsman. The reason you are weak compared to your actual skill is because your aura emission is not smooth. Aura is a power that unleashes destructive force through powerful emission. If you persist with the same method despite knowing your physical limitations, you will never improve for the rest of your life.]
His eyes trembled.
Roman pressed forward. Fernando couldn't understand how Roman was speaking to him without moving his lips even a fraction.
Clang!
Clash! Clang!
They exchanged blows. While being pushed back one-sidedly, Fernando listened intently to Roman's voice.
[Standard aura emission refers to exploding mana through the pathways you have used to absorb and emit it. However, there is more than just one mana pathway. The swordsmen of the Salamander Continent all follow a standardized system and use the exact same mana pathways, but that is not the only way. If the mana pathway you were born with was narrow from the start, why did you never think to open a different one?]
The Mana Cultivation Method.
The technique he had honed since childhood had, over the years, formed pathways suitable for aura emission. The mana dispersed throughout the body moved along set routes. Thus, high-ranking swordsmen could unleash powerful aura and explosive force thanks to their sturdy, wide pathways. Fernando was no different from the rest. Having formed his pathways through the commonly known system, he had simply assumed he lacked talent when he saw his weak aura emission.
But that was not the case.
The system dictated by the world had suppressed Fernando's creativity.
[It is difficult to forge a new pathway after so many years have passed. However, it is worth a try.]
They were sweet, tempting words.
He was completely captivated.
The eyes of the crowd? His own honor? None of that mattered. Fernando focused entirely on Roman's words, not caring in the least that he appeared to be toyed with one-sidedly. He was ready to embrace a new change. Despite having worked relentlessly for decades under the established system, he crumbled like a sandcastle at a single word from Roman, a man he barely knew.
That was how desperate he was.
He had no guarantee he could trust Roman, but his instincts screamed at him to follow the instructions.
It was from that moment the sparring lesson began.
Roman pressed Fernando while explaining the method via Voice Transmission, and Fernando circulated his mana accordingly.
A one-sided match.
The duel, which seemed destined to end within a minute, had somehow stretched to ten.
Just as the crowd was beginning to grow bored—
Whoosh.
His mana surged.
Feeling the mana gradually shifting toward a new pathway, Fernando's eyes went wide.
...It was actually possible?
It was only a tiny change. He had not yet reached the stage of proper aura emission, but he knew how incredibly difficult it was just to initiate a change.
Roman smirked.
At that moment—
[Let's wrap this up.]
Flash!
A sword filled his vision.
Fernando raised his weapon to block, but a powerful impact rattled his brain.
Thud!
* * *
How long had he been unconscious?
When Fernando regained his senses, he stared blankly up at the sky.
Why did I never think to forge a new pathway?
He had been so foolish. Even though there was room for growth, he had failed to see it and repeated the same mistake for decades.
In truth, it was a natural outcome.
Deviating from common sense was difficult, and mishandling mana carried the risk of Qi Deviation, which could demand a terrible price. It was a dangerous gamble. That was why people had no choice but to follow the established system, and Fernando had naturally assumed his birth was the problem rather than the method itself. When everyone else achieved great results using the exact same method, one couldn't easily think to blame the method when they were the only one failing.
Besides, wasn't the existing system itself born from countless trials and errors in the first place?
"Tsk, tsk. He got utterly destroyed."
"And he calls himself the gatekeeper of the 30th rank. He only ended up proving how amazing Roman is."
"Roman Dmitry is definitely a monster. Fernando is still a 30th-ranked expert, yet how could Roman toy with him for ten whole minutes? Fernando was completely pushed back like a child. I've seen him get overpowered by explosive aura before, but I've never seen him look this helpless."
"Well, that's just the difference in class."
The crowd whispered.
Around Fernando, there were still spectators who hadn't left yet. Hearing their words, Fernando suddenly snapped out of his daze.
Roman Dmitry...!
The crowd's mockery didn't matter.
The man who had shown him a new path. To somehow keep this new possibility alive, he had to follow Roman Dmitry at all costs.
He shot to his feet.
Roman hadn't gone far. Surrounded by the crowd, Roman Dmitry was walking away. The people watched in confusion as Fernando pushed his way through them.
"Lord Roman!"
Thud.
He threw himself flat on the ground.
Feeling Roman's gaze looking down at him, Fernando shouted, the veins in his neck bulging.
"Thank you so much for your guidance! I, Fernando, will never forget your grace, Lord Roman Dmitry!"
Murmur, murmur.
"What's going on?"
"Guidance?"
The crowd was bewildered.
The duel between Roman and Fernando had been a completely one-sided match. They thought Fernando had put on a pathetic display, so what on earth was this?
Roman stopped walking.
Turning his head, he saw Fernando prostrated on the ground.
The gatekeeper of the 30th rank.
He was not surprised.
This situation—Fernando coming to find him.
Roman Dmitry had been waiting for this from the very beginning.