Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Noble Duty (7)
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Martin and Adel moved to the training grounds, facing each other from a distance.
"It's fine to spar, but why did you suddenly request this?"
"Because I want to overcome the wall that's blocking me."
"A wall... It's a bit awkward for me to say this, but reaching the fifth circle at your age is already impressive. Sien's a special case."
"That doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that she's reached the sixth circle. Honestly, it's really bothering me."
"Well, you've been rivals since the old days, so that makes sense. But are you sure about this? Since this spar is meant to trigger enlightenment, I won't go easy on you."
"That's exactly what I want."
Adel aimed her rapier at him.
Martin drew the holy sword Kaizen from his subspace and assumed his stance.
Kuuooo!
At the same time, intense killing intent poured from his entire body, instantly dominating the entire training grounds.
"Urk!"
Adel barely swallowed a groan, but she couldn't stop her face from turning pale.
The pressure was so overwhelming that she couldn't even maintain her breathing properly.
She managed to rally her focus to keep her wits, but that was her limit.
She couldn't even twitch a finger, let alone fight.
In the midst of that, Martin moved.
Or rather, she thought he had moved, but in an instant, he was behind her, holding his sword to her throat.
And then came his calm voice.
"With that attack, you're dead once, Adel von Wittenfeld. And remember this—I'm not going easy on you anymore."
Wuuung.
As soon as he finished speaking, Martin returned to his original position.
"Still, I'll give you one handicap. I won't use spatial movement anymore after that last one. Of course, you can use it freely."
Martin spoke leisurely, but Adel couldn't respond.
She was still suppressed by the overwhelming pressure emanating from him.
'I can't go on like this.'
Even if she was weak, she was still the head of a branch family.
She couldn't tolerate showing an even more pathetic sight than this.
With that resolve, Adel drew all her mana from the mana cores in her head and abdomen.
She enveloped not just the sword in her hand, but her limbs as well, in aura.
By pouring out all her power temporarily, she succeeded in shaking off Martin's pressure.
Then, she immediately used spatial movement, appearing behind Martin and thrusting her rapier with all her might.
Whiiik!
Martin spun around as if he'd been waiting.
The holy sword Kaizen, swung using centrifugal force, deflected Adel's rapier.
The clash of golden aura-wreathed blade and blue aura-wreathed blade exploded with a boom.
"Urk!"
A groan escaped Adel's lips.
But she wasn't given even a moment to feel the pain.
Martin's counterattack followed.
The blade of the holy sword Kaizen came slashing down from above, and she leaped back while slicing upward.
Kwaang!
Another explosion rang out, cracking the training ground floor.
But Martin extended his left hand and used Distortion of All Things to manipulate space, absorbing the shockwave rushing toward him.
As he did, he pulled his right arm back to his left side, then swung with full force.
The blade arced horizontally toward Adel's side.
'I can't dodge it.'
And she couldn't block it either.
Adel concluded that the moment she saw Kaizen, and immediately activated Phantomization.
That was when it happened.
Swish.
Martin halted his sword and stepped forward with his right foot.
He extended his left hand and grabbed the throat of Adel, who had deployed Phantomization.
It was possible because he manipulated space with Distortion of All Things.
And that wasn't the end.
Holding his opponent, he slammed her down toward the training ground floor with all his strength.
Kwaaaang!
Adel's body, smashed into the ground, bounced up from the recoil.
The force of the blow was so great that a small crater formed where cracks had already appeared.
"Kuhuk!"
Adel spat blood, feeling as if her entire body was shattering.
The pain was so intense she couldn't even scream properly.
Martin released his left hand and spoke as he looked down at the fallen Adel.
"Space-based abilities are highly rated overall, but among them, Phantomization is considered the best. Alongside Space Sword, that is."
Phantomization, which negates all physical interference, renders the user practically invincible.
It doesn't work well against seventh-circle masters and above, but there aren't many in the Alteria Empire who can use something like this in the first place.
That's why it's not wrong to call it invincible.
"But that's the problem."
"What do you...?"
"An overwhelmingly powerful ability can be seen as a weakness in itself. Because it makes the user reliant on it."
"...Please explain more, Young Master."
"Becoming strong is simple. Constantly overcome the fear of death and the crises approaching you. But you rarely feel that. You just brush it all off with Phantomization."
"Doesn't that apply to the Egret family members too? They ignore most attacks with their overwhelming physical abilities, and that's enough to make them invincible."
"Them? ...They're an exception. A whole different league, you could say. Pointless to compare."
The Egret family was a special case.
Best to exclude them.
"A sword is ultimately a tool for killing something. And it threatens our lives in turn. That's why you need to feel death more."
At Martin's words, Adel recalled her past.
She had always prioritized efficiency, relying heavily on her unique ability as a result.
"Urk."
Adel groaned as she barely stood up.
She aimed her rapier at Martin once more.
Seeing that, he grinned.
"Want to keep going?"
"I haven't gained enlightenment yet."
"You could get hurt even more."
"What's the difference if I get a bit more hurt here? I'm already in enough pain to die."
"You've gotten a little tougher."
"Who's fault is that?"
Wuuung.
Adel concentrated all the aura on her limbs into her sword.
It had become possible to resist Martin's pressure without it.
She couldn't afford to waste power carelessly.
"Here I go."
As soon as he spoke, Martin kicked off the ground.
His movement was so fast it evoked spatial movement, but Adel didn't panic.
She had seen through the fact that he was charging in a straight line on purpose.
'I can't call it going easy.'
In her current state, she couldn't win against Martin no matter what he did.
The gap was that wide.
This was a test.
He was deliberately making his attack predictable to see what she would do.
Grip.
Adel gripped the hilt tightly.
'One step. Just one step forward.'
She had decided, but her body wouldn't obey.
The thought of feeling that pain again made her feet feel impossibly heavy.
Adel grew angry at herself.
If she didn't move forward from here, Sien would look down on her.
She couldn't allow that.
'I've shown enough pathetic sights—once is enough!'
Thud!
With her resolve hardened, she finally stepped forward with her left foot and thrust her rapier.
At the same time, the blue light coiling around the blade shone brilliantly.
But that was as far as it went.
Halt.
The rapier stopped near Martin's solar plexus.
In contrast, the blade of the holy sword Kaizen was aimed at her throat.
Even though she had matched the timing, she had been outpaced by Martin.
"...Looks like resolve alone isn't enough."
"Of course not. The skill gap is huge."
"Hoo. The more I get to know you, Young Master, the more annoying you seem."
"What can you do? Truth is bitter. Still, I'll praise you for taking that one step forward."
"That's the least sincere compliment I've ever heard."
"Hey, I was genuinely impressed. So here's one more lesson."
"Please go ahead."
"As you know, unique abilities are special powers. Compared to martial arts or magic, they let you unleash powerful attacks with less effort. But you can't become a true powerhouse with that alone."
"What's your basis for thinking that?"
"I believe the strong are made through tempering, not born. That's why you need to focus on martial arts or magic."
"You're saying to focus on the power you've built yourself, not the given one?"
"Exactly. That kind of power becomes the driving force that lets you trust in yourself."
Tremble.
The moment she heard Martin's words, Adel's eyes shook violently.
Immediately after, blue light rose from her entire body.
Martin chuckled.
"You're actually gaining enlightenment."
Would she overcome the wall?
He watched Adel with an intrigued expression.
* * *
The Adalbert family is considered the foremost swordsmanship prestigious house not just in the Alteria Empire, but across the Krasian Continent.
Adel had thought it was because of the "Space Domination" manifested by the direct line.
But the Ferdinand family, one pillar of the Three Great Prestigious Houses, pursued all kinds of martial arts including swordsmanship just the same.
Yet people ranked the Adalbert family higher.
Even though the Ferdinand family's unique ability, Wave Domination, was in no way inferior to Space Domination.
Where did that difference come from?
She hadn't known before, but now Adel had the answer.
'Complete unity of sword and unique ability.'
The Ferdinand family's martial arts focused on using Wave Domination more effectively.
That was because the ability itself was so destructive.
In contrast, the Adalbert family's swordsmanship was different.
Space Sword was a prime example.
'The sword is what's important.'
Crunch.
The moment she reached that conclusion, a change occurred in the mana core in Adel's abdomen.
The existing vessel shattered and began to expand.
A new ring was added, matching it.
Flash!
The light emanating from Adel grew more intense, all concentrating into the sword.
The bright light gathered like clay, soon forming a blade of light.
Aura Blade.
The pinnacle of pure swordsmanship, usable only upon reaching the fourth circle.
The sword of light that every knight pursued finally unfolded in Adel's hand.
"Congratulations. You're sixth circle now."
"Thanks to you, Young Master. I'll never forget this favor."
"Then I'll believe you'll repay it someday."
Adel gave him a look of disbelief at Martin's words, but only for a moment.
Right now, she wanted to surrender to the thrill and elation dominating her body.
'Life is just so unpredictable.'
Sien wielded supreme power through simple, restrained movements.
That girl had taken one step forward in the unique ability requiring delicacy.
In contrast, Adel had pursued ultimate sharpness through delicacy.
And she had taken the first step forward through swordsmanship.
Sien reached sixth circle with third-circle swordsmanship and third-circle unique ability.
Adel reached sixth circle with fourth-circle swordsmanship and second-circle unique ability.
In terms of circle count alone, they were equals.
Just intriguing that they had advanced in paths opposite to their natures.
"Now I can tease Sien. She still can't wield an Aura Blade."
"You two handle that. I don't want to get involved. Just going back to the capital gives me a headache."
"The capital... It's been a while."
The Founding Festival required not just the heads of the Three Great Prestigious Houses, but also the branch family heads to attend.
They were imperial nobles, after all.
"It's a hassle. I hope no big problems crop up this time."
"You're not really thinking that, are you?"
"Of course not."
No need to even consider the pre-regression timeline.
The empire's conflicts and contradictions had already ballooned to their limit.
'The factors that suppressed the civil war are all gone.'
The Adalbert family's internal strife, the elves' unrest, the wyvern that absorbed the World Tree's power—all the things that had postponed the civil war were resolved.
With the restraints gone, all that remained was...
'Runaway.'
The era had already begun its mad rampage.
No one could stop its flow.