—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A massive fissure carved into the center of the arena. It was a display of power unbelievable for a mere 2-star relic. But what captivated the heroes’ attention was something else entirely.
“He blocked it?”
The act of blocking itself wasn’t particularly special. There was a way to block most attacks, unless it was magic from a Saint-rank hero like Stella.
Even the attack just now could have been blocked by several support mages deploying a barrier, or by a hero with exceptional skill wielding a 4-star or higher relic.
However, Allen Blake was different. He completely absorbed the blow with just a 1-star relic, without even dispersing the impact.
“Is that even possible?”
“What did he just do?”
For most ordinary heroes, it happened in the blink of an eye. To them, it only looked as if Yuseora’s sword strike had been sucked into the hilt of Allen’s sword.
Only a few skilled individuals, including Gwen, could properly see what happened.
‘That guy…’
She was already on her feet, looking quite surprised, which was unusual for her.
‘…What was that?’
She had already grasped Allen’s swordsmanship proficiency when he competed against Wilhelm as Seo Yoo Rang. She had assessed it as being just below her own level. And she still held that opinion.
‘That exchange just now was definitely staged.’
Few people here would notice, but she could see it. He moved one beat ahead, as if he already knew, and accelerated at precisely the right speed.
But she wouldn’t have needed to do it that way.
‘There are still areas for improvement in his swordsmanship.’
As someone who had reached Swordsmanship S, that was the assessment she could give to Allen, who was at S-. However, there was one aspect she couldn’t evaluate.
‘But what is that swordsmanship?’
There was something she shouldn’t misunderstand. Just because her swordsmanship proficiency was higher than Allen’s didn’t mean she could definitely defeat him.
Even with the same proficiency level, victory or defeat depended on the type of swordsmanship.
‘But that swordsmanship…’
She could tell it was something that could easily overwhelm even swordsmanship of the next highest proficiency level.
Of course, that would be difficult for Allen due to his lacking physical abilities, but conversely, it meant he was compensating for his physical shortcomings with his swordsmanship.
In short, it was a swordsmanship that could make the impossible possible. Gwen had traveled extensively to hone her swordsmanship within a limited time.
While the Reedval family’s swordsmanship was excellent, she hadn’t settled for it. She learned other swordsmanship styles and modified the Reedval family’s swordsmanship to suit herself.
But even she had never seen Allen’s swordsmanship before.
‘If I had to find something similar…’
The tale of the Lodreim Kingdom’s last knight, now passed down as a legend.
Five hundred years ago, on the horizon of the Lodreim Kingdom consumed by chaos, a man with no holy stigmata, armed with just his body and a sword, had cut down countless chaos beasts.
The description of the swordsmanship he supposedly used was somehow similar.
She knew this because she was from the Reedval family.
When most of the knight orders left the kingdom, only the Red Knights led by her ancestors, the Reedval family, the White Knights in charge of medical care, and the Black Knights, to which that man belonged, remained in the kingdom.
Her ancestors had witnessed his feats on the front lines until he disappeared into the depths of chaos.
‘His sword cut what couldn’t be reached, and what shouldn’t be cut. But even he couldn’t cut chaos.’
Until now, she had thought it was just an exaggeration typical of legends. But now, having witnessed a swordsmanship almost identical to it, she couldn’t help but believe the legend.
‘Is Allen saying that the man he mentioned was the last knight of the Lodreim Kingdom?’
No, that couldn’t be. That man had disappeared into history five hundred years ago. But she already knew that common sense didn’t apply to Allen.
‘That’s not important.’
Even if Allen had met that man, it was unbelievable that he could learn that swordsmanship and reach this level in less than two years.
She herself thought it would take at least a hundred years to reach that level with that swordsmanship.
‘Just what have you done, Allen?’
She didn’t understand how it was possible in two years. But what was even more incomprehensible was the accumulated experience in Allen’s swordsmanship.
‘At least a few hundred years?’
The two years of physical time weren’t important. Only the effort Allen poured into swordsmanship mattered.
It was on a completely different scale from what an ordinary person could handle.
‘I thought he had no talent at all…’
She wondered if the ability to put in that much effort could be considered a talent.
‘Come to think of it, there was a similar description of that man.’
The last knight of the Lodreim Kingdom. He, too, was apparently an incredibly hard worker. It was even said that if he had enough time, he could have cut down even chaos itself.
‘Come to think of it, is that guy also going to protect the Lodreim Kingdom?’
They were so similar that she would believe it if someone said he was the reincarnation of that man.
Of course, the man back then had failed to cut down chaos, and the Lodreim Kingdom was only able to survive thanks to the sacrifice of the ‘Nameless King,’ whose existence was now lost and unknown.
But there was a difference between the man back then and Allen now. The existence of comrades.
‘Even excluding me, since I’ll be going to the Central Archipelago first.’
Elsie, and perhaps…
‘That girl must be his comrade too.’
The hero candidate who had launched a powerful attack at Allen. She showed no sign of frustration even though her attack was effortlessly neutralized by Allen.
Rather, she just looked a little bored.
‘Is that trust?’
She had already known that Allen would block her attack. No, rather, it was imperative that Allen block it. That was their respective roles as comrades.
‘As a result, the candidate showcased her power well, and Allen also showcased his skills well.’
It was a sophisticated plan. Allen, by blocking a single attack, demonstrated his level without revealing much of what he possessed.
This would likely force the Demon Lords to take him more seriously.
‘Then I need to work harder too.’
It meant they would be paying more attention to the Central Archipelago.
However, there was one thing that bothered her. It was something that not just she, but other ordinary heroes, had also noticed.
“The guy who blocked it is a monster. The candidate is also quite incredible. It’s understandable that her opponent forfeited.”
“But didn’t she just say ‘Sky Cutter’?”
“I think so. The name is quite cool.”
“Is it?”
Just from the conversations around her, the power of Yuseora’s strike was being praised.
And it was deserved; even she, with her long career as a hero, thought the power just now reached the level of a decent High-ranking Hero.
However, there was one fatal flaw.
“But where’s the sword?”
Just like Allen’s sword, which was reduced to a hilt after blocking her attack, Yuseora’s sword was also nothing but a hilt.
“Did she just destroy a Sacred Replicant? Just to launch that one attack?”
“And in front of Master Heinz, who created the sword?”
“More importantly, destroying a relic with a single attack? Isn’t that a problem?”
The dark aura that had strengthened her sword at the moment of attack. Gwen knew that ability. The Crow Merchant Guild was still thriving when she first became a hero.
‘It was called Overload.’
An ability that drastically increased an object’s power but significantly consumed its durability. The Crow Merchant Guild had once achieved tremendous growth by using this ability to strengthen consumables.
Until, for some reason, most of the clan suddenly lost their ability. And the final blow to their decline was the chaos beast attack.
‘But using Overload on swordsmanship?’
It would be one thing if it was used on consumable arrows. But using it on a sword, and not just any sword, but a relic, was an unthinkable idea.
Especially the idea of pouring all of Overload into a single strike.
‘Could it be…?’
She turned her gaze towards Allen. The man who constantly came up with unthinkable ideas stood there. This made sense.
‘But what is he thinking?’
She still couldn’t understand destroying a relic in the competition. Would there really be a hero willing to pass down their relic to her after that? It would obviously crumble to dust quickly.
‘And she even broke a Sacred Replicant.’
Of all things, a Sacred Replicant.
It was a sword created by Principal Heinz Armanus by replicating the holy sword, and he was the one who had the most influence in allocating relics if there were no inheritance candidates.
No one was more knowledgeable about relics than he was, having replicated and used countless relics.
‘What are you aiming for, Allen?’
He could have broken any other sword if it was about the relic. But why a Sacred Replicant? Why did it have to be that sword…?
‘Could it be?’
A thought suddenly crossed Gwen’s mind. It was also an idea that no ordinary person would think of. But as far as she knew, there was a clear problem with that idea.
And at that moment, Allen spoke.
“Allen Blake, ranked 100th among heroes.”
It was a self-introduction. Although everyone knew his name, this was a matter of courtesy. The person he was about to address was his superior.
‘Not just any superior.’
Allen turned his body completely. He looked up at the highest seat in the arena and addressed the person sitting there.
“I have a request for Mr. Heinz Armanus, (former) hero and principal of the Hero Academy.”
Heinz Armanus. The creator of all Replicant series relics. Thanks to him, numerous young heroes received relics, and he was the one who ushered in the current golden age.
‘Almost all the heroes here have benefited from him.’
She, too, had mainly used Gravitus Replicant, created by replicating the relic Gravitus, in her younger days.
Allen was about to make a direct request to such a person. It was an act that would have been impossible if he hadn’t defeated three Demon Lords, if he hadn’t just demonstrated his power.
And finally… Heinz spoke.
“Allen Blake. I’ve heard much about you. You defeated three Demon Lords? Impressive.”
Although amplified by magic, his voice, unlike his wrinkled, aged appearance, still sounded vigorous. Allen met his gaze confidently and expressed his gratitude.
“Thank you. But that was only possible thanks to the Gravitus Replicant you created.”
Heinz’s eyes gleamed.
“Oh? You had that? It’s quite a difficult weapon to handle, considering the original. Did you defeat all three with that?”
“Yes.”
The audience began to buzz. Heinz’s Replicant series only went up to 2-stars. That meant Allen was claiming to have defeated three Demon Lords with just a 2-star relic.
But when Heinz spoke, the arena fell silent again.
“As expected. I thought it was a weapon with quite a bit of potential… it seems it has found a good owner. Excellent.”
He nodded in satisfaction, then asked Allen, “But what is your request?”
The request. Gwen had a rough idea.
“I realized it during the match just now. The Sacred Replicant you created, Mr. Heinz. It seems to be a good fit for this candidate.”
As expected. But that wasn’t the end.
Heinz tilted his head and asked,
“Is that all? Judging by the skills she just displayed, I could consider up to a 3-star relic. Are you sure one 2-star relic is enough?”
Allen shook his head.
“I wasn’t talking about just one. I’m referring to the entire Sacred Replicant series.”
But Gwen knew there was a problem with Allen’s request.
‘Because the Sacred Replicants…’
Heinz also knew the problem and said to Allen,
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. Most of the 101 Sacred Replicants already have owners.”
Heinz was right. Most of the 101 Sacred Replicants had owners. Yuseora had just broken one, and Gwen herself had one.
“Or are you asking me to retrieve swords that already have owners? I can do that if you really want.”
Despite this, Heinz was quite favorable towards Allen.
Retrieving swords that already had owners was an unprecedented measure, but since Heinz was the creator of the swords, it wasn’t impossible.
However, Allen still shook his head.
“No.”
It was incomprehensible. What was he trying to say?
Amidst the tension filling the arena, Allen spoke.
“There aren’t just 101 Sacred Replicants, are there?”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
