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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Unlike usual, the graduation competition was held in the training grounds outside the trial space.
The trial space, due to its contract with the magic tower allowing external interference, wasn’t suitable for a completely fair match.
Therefore, Elsie, standing in the center of the training grounds, was completely herself.
‘Finally, the graduation competition…’
She looked around. Countless heroes sat in the audience, surrounding her. Most of them were active heroes, and it was her first time competing one-on-one in front of so many people.
‘It would be a lie to say I’m not nervous.’
She wondered what Allen would be like. He sometimes seemed like a being beyond nervousness.
She would be able to see for herself in his match later. But for now, her own match was the priority.
‘Of course I’m nervous, but…’
She found a familiar face in the crowd. A red-haired girl—no, not exactly a girl. It was her master, Gwen.
‘She still hasn’t changed.’
She had already heard about Gwen’s ‘Precociousness’ from Gwen herself, but seeing her again after a while felt strangely new.
A young, yet somehow mature, indifferent face. Despite her expressionless face, she must be quite interested in her disciple’s match.
‘Then I have to show her.’
Gwen had said it. There were limits to how much you could improve by training alone.
So you had to go to the Hero Academy, grow by clashing with promising individuals from all over the world, and build connections.
‘She was certainly right, to some extent.’
One person played a particularly large role in both the “promising individuals” and the “connections” part.
The match will begin after a count of three.
A magically amplified voice echoed throughout the training grounds. Elsie turned her head and looked at the person she had been looking for.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen you outside like this.’
Dull, faded blonde hair that might look plain, but perhaps also calm. His face, though more masculine, still retained a youthful softness.
‘Can he truly be called a hero?’
It wasn’t simply about his title as a hero. Countless people called heroes were sitting around him. But among them, only he truly deserved the title.
‘Then I should also strive to become a hero’s comrade.’
Her opponent was several ranks higher than her in the candidate rankings. Even if she gave it her all, her chances of winning weren’t that high.
But…
Three, two…
She gripped her sword. Nervousness could no longer hold her back.
‘How could anyone be stronger than Allen?’
One, begin!
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Elsie’s match began. The sound of swords clashing echoed throughout the training grounds. Gwen and Lyudmila watched with bated breath.
They weren’t the only ones. Most of the heroes in the audience momentarily focused on the match as it began. But it was only temporary; their attention soon drifted away.
“Wow, the difference in skill level is too big.”
“Did she get carried in the first semester’s team mock battles?”
The surroundings became noisy again with various chatter. It was only natural…
“Her opponent is quite strong.”
Even Gwen acknowledged Elsie’s opponent’s strength. Of course, she meant strong for the Elsie she remembered, not strong for herself.
“Indeed, it will be difficult for her to win.”
Lyudmila also remembered Elsie’s opponent.
Although she was in charge of the archery class, she was familiar with some of the promising students in the swordsmanship class. And her opponent wasn’t just difficult to defeat.
‘The Steel Clan, was it?’
A clan with an extremely rare type of mana. Not the common attributes like light, fire, or darkness, but mana that controlled steel.
Of course, due to its power, there was a limitation; to control even a small piece of steel, you had to keep it attached to your body for a long time.
But if someone who fulfilled that condition also had a talent for swordsmanship, their power was beyond imagination.
‘It’s literally surreal.’
It wasn’t simply imbuing the sword with mana, but wielding the sword with mana.
It allowed for the free manipulation of the sword with movements far beyond reality, at a level of precision as if controlling one’s own body.
Moreover, the power imbued in the sword, amplified by mana, was formidable.
‘It seems he hasn’t completely mastered the sword yet, though.’
It was hard to say he had fully mastered the sword’s power. She had learned what a fully mastered Steel Clan member could do while watching the battle of High-Ranking Hero Hugo before.
The way he wielded a greatsword as large as himself as lightly as a one-handed sword was truly surreal.
‘But the important thing is…’
Even without fully mastering the sword, he was pushing Elsie back. His unorthodox swordsmanship was like a raging storm. Elsie hadn’t shown any sign of counterattacking.
“Hmm…”
Of course, Elsie was miraculously enduring the attacks. But at this rate, the outcome seemed obvious. Then she could ask Gwen a realistic question.
“Gwen, are you really going to choose her as your successor?”
She wasn’t implying Elsie was weak. Rather, she wanted to say that the Steel Clan candidate seemed stronger.
Gwen’s swordsmanship was universally acknowledged, so he likely wouldn’t refuse the position of her successor. Allen Blake, who refused, was just crazy.
“Well.”
But Gwen’s reaction was lukewarm. It was a bit unexpected. Lyudmila had thought Gwen was also the type to be picky about choosing a disciple, like herself.
“Do you have some kind of connection with Candidate Elsie?”
Then the only possibility was that, regardless of skill, there was some kind of relationship between them. And Gwen confirmed it.
“That was the reason I took her as my disciple. She was a talent recommended to me by Allen, of all people.”
But the following words were something Lyudmila hadn’t anticipated.
“He recommended her?”
“Yes, he sent me this frail girl who knew nothing about swordsmanship.”
As she spoke, she looked at Elsie. Elsie was almost completely battered, having failed several defenses and tumbled around. Her opponent, on the other hand, was perfectly fine, without a single scratch.
“Honestly, I wasn’t impressed, but since it was Allen’s recommendation, I accepted. But…”
At that moment, Elsie succeeded in blocking an attack but was sent flying by the force.
Elsie tried to regain her balance in mid-air, but the wall of the training grounds was already too close. She collided with the wall with a painful thud.
“Do you think she can get up again?”
That attack must have caused significant damage. Of course, if she could stand up again, the match could resume.
As long as she didn’t die, there were highly skilled support mages waiting to heal her.
However…
“Normally, she wouldn’t be able to.”
She had already experienced the bitter difference in skill level. Moreover, standing up would be painful due to her injuries.
Normally, in that situation, people wouldn’t even think about fighting again.
“But she gets up.”
Despite everything, Elsie stood up. And she raised her sword again. Even in a situation where her will could easily be broken, the fierceness in her eyes was stronger than ever.
“Then I’ll have to see how much she’s grown.”
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Pfft…
It wasn’t laughter. She simply spat out the blood clot that had been obstructing her throat. She could finally breathe.
‘Reaching my limit, huh.’
It hurt. It felt like her whole body was splitting apart. But this pain wasn’t unfamiliar.
‘I’ve faced death countless times.’
While escaping the Lodreim Kingdom, she had almost died. If Allen hadn’t saved her then, she would surely be dead. But she was alive now.
‘But it’s true that even if I lose here, it won’t be a big problem.’
She had already heard it from Allen. The only important thing in this graduation competition was Yuseora’s relic, and since she was already designated as Gwen’s successor, she didn’t have to feel pressured.
In other words, it was okay to lose.
‘No, he might have even said I should lose.’
If she used her Optical Modulation ability, she might have a chance of winning. But that was a strategic weapon she needed to save for future operations.
So she had to refrain from using it in front of so many people.
‘However…’
Losing and giving up were different things. Even if she couldn’t use Optical Modulation, it didn’t mean she had to give up.
And her heart was far from giving up.
‘I don’t really want to give up.’
Giving up here would be incredibly embarrassing. To Gwen, to Allen. And… to herself.
‘Someone who’s trying to reclaim her kingdom can’t kneel here.’
Allen had a habit of saying a certain word.
‘Proof.’
Proving yourself by not giving up had value in itself. So she wanted to borrow those words now, in this moment.
‘I’ll prove that your choice, my goal… wasn’t in vain.’
She stood up and raised her sword. Standing up wasn’t difficult; she was used to it. But what she had to do now was a little difficult.
‘This is quite a difficult proof.’
As soon as she stood up, her opponent charged. He was already in position to swing his sword.
‘No, even that stance is a feint.’
His sword moved freely. He could swing it without assuming such a stance.
‘Then…’
The timing would be slightly earlier than that. Even knowing that, the power contained in his sword was too much for her to block.
Even so… there was a weakness. It wasn’t so much his weakness as it was her advantage.
‘I’ve experienced plenty of freely moving swords.’
Allen’s Wind Authority. His movements resembled her opponent’s at first glance. But…
‘It’s different.’
Subtly different. Because of that difference, Elsie had only been on the receiving end of his unpredictable attacks.
But now, she seemed to understand the nature of that difference.
‘It’s…’
She turned her body and angled her sword. Her opponent’s sword slid off hers.
‘Compared to Allen’s swordsmanship, this is still clumsy.’
At first, she had confused it with a feint. Perhaps because she was used to sparring with Allen. But now, she could distinguish between a “feint” and “clumsy.”
‘Now, all that remains is…’
To use it.
“Tsk…”
Her opponent, having missed his attack, tried to retrieve his sword using mana. Normally, the match would be over after a missed attack, but not for him.
He could easily retrieve his sword and counterattack.
‘But I’ve already experienced that plenty of times.’
When she learned to anticipate that and it stopped working, Allen started adding all sorts of variations.
So her opponent’s movements, without any variations, were predictable. But being able to predict them didn’t mean she could win.
‘Trying to obstruct his sword retrieval with my sword would only waste an opportunity for a counterattack.’
After wasting the opportunity, he would regroup, and even though he was clumsier than Allen, he would become even more solid.
It would be difficult for her in her current state to withstand that.
‘I have to end this now.’
Her sword was only for counterattacks. She couldn’t use the sword. Then…
Crunch
So she chose her teeth instead of her sword. She literally bit her opponent’s arm.
“You crazy…”
And to her bewildered opponent, she thrust her sword.
‘I won.’
The taste of blood, particularly strong with the metallic tang of iron, filled her mouth.
‘I wonder if this is enough proof?’
She turned her head and looked at the audience.
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‘I knew she wouldn’t give up, considering her personality…’
That’s why I had told her it was okay to lose, not to give up.
‘But I didn’t think she would actually win.’
She was someone who survived on the brink of death after her family was massacred by the knights she had trusted.
He knew her tenacity, but he had forgotten about it because their relationship had recently improved.
‘I should thank the God of Connections later.’
He couldn’t imagine what would have happened if I hadn’t come to my senses. I was truly grateful.
‘Anyway…’
Although I was already attracting a lot of attention, I started to feel a different kind of gaze. I turned my eyes towards its source. There, I saw a familiar face.
‘Gwen?’
No. The gaze was coming from next to her.
‘Lyudmila.’
I already knew Lyudmila was suspicious of me. But it didn’t matter. I was about to deceive everyone, including Lyudmila.
‘Shall we begin?’
Watching Elsie, fully recovered after receiving treatment from the support mage, stand up energetically, I rose from my seat. It was time to start what I had prepared.
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