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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Elsie and I were moving towards the Trial, hidden by the effect of Night’s Shadow. Learning from my past mistake, I had suggested to Elsie from the start that she hold onto my sleeve.
Of course, even that felt quite awkward in the current atmosphere. Elsie was the first to break the awkward silence.
Even though we were moving stealthily, there was no one around, so it was okay to speak quietly.
“A cure-all wind ability, and now a dagger with a stealth effect… Aren’t you completely reliant on items?”
I couldn’t deny it. I was compensating for my lacking physical stats almost entirely with items. In addition, there were the Awakening Pills and, although I didn’t have it now, the Gravitus Replica.
However…
“Items are part of one’s skill, you know?”
“Well, that’s true… but it’s a bit pathetic.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t use those items.”
“Are you planning to insist you weren’t going all out after that?”
No way.
“I can win sufficiently without items.”
Considering the stat difference between Elsie and me, it would be a bit tight.
However, as Libero had said, ‘Swordsmanship’ was born to overcome the difference in strength from birth. And my swordsmanship had reached a level sufficient to overcome the difference with Elsie.
“You’re full of confidence. But I want to see you go all out.”
“I’ll think about it after seeing what you’ve got.”
As we bickered, we finally arrived at the Trial. I looked down at the fog-covered lake with Elsie for a moment.
“You know, Elsie, whenever I see this lake, I’m reminded of unpleasant memories.”
“That’s surprising. Me too.”
“Did you go to Basil’s Trial?”
“Yes, although it was practically Gwen who threw me into the lake.”
Basil’s Trial was the Trial of the God of Regret. The memory Elsie would have seen there was obvious.
‘It must have been the sight of the kingdom falling that day.’
Then I could understand to some extent why Elsie was being so stubborn. But understanding didn’t mean I would back down.
The current kingdom was not something Elsie, who had honed her strength solely for revenge, could handle.
‘I have no choice but to make her realize that directly.’
This wasn’t my request, but hers. If words wouldn’t work, I had no choice but to show her.
I stepped into the lake almost simultaneously with Elsie.
My consciousness quickly faded. I made a request to the god.
‘I’d like the same conditions as last time, please.’
At the same time, I had a slight expectation. Perhaps the God of Chains had returned. But there seemed to be no news.
‘Figures.’
For now, I had to focus on the task at hand. The Trial space unfolded before my eyes. Elsie was standing in the middle of it.
“By the way, how can a student use the Trial freely?”
“I made a contract with a god. This space, unlike usual, can’t be observed from the outside.”
The Hero Academy’s Trial had been modified through a contract with the Magic Tower so that professors and observing students could watch.
But because I had a contract with a god, I could temporarily disable that function.
“Wow, you say that so casually. By the way, if it’s a god, is it that annoying god?”
The annoying god must have been the God of Regret.
“No, it’s a different god. The god here is much more reasonable than that god.”
Of course, I couldn’t know their true intentions.
“That means… it’s okay to call you Allen here, right?”
Come to think of it, Elsie had been calling me “you” even after realizing my identity.
‘Was that her consideration?’
I nodded. It was okay for her to call me that in this space.
“Should I call you Erciara too?”
“No, Elsie is easier to say.”
Well, it was the same for me too.
“Then, Allen. Are you ready?”
She took out her sword, Breeze Bringer, from her inventory. I also reluctantly took out a sword.
It wasn’t a substitute for the Gravitus Replica I had entrusted to the god, but it was an ordinary sword of decent make.
‘At least it won’t break from Elsie’s attacks.’
I raised my sword.
It was time to settle this. This reunion wasn’t something I had hoped for, considering my plans, but I was still happy to see Elsie again. The idle chatter we shared on the way here.
No, just being with Elsie made me feel happy, as it reminded me of my time in Basilium. But now it was time to become Seo Yoo-rang again.
It was for Elsie’s sake.
The next moment, our swords clashed. I could definitely feel that Elsie was overpowering me in strength. But it wasn’t a big problem. I just had to deflect her sword naturally.
“I heard from Gwen too. Your swordsmanship back then was decent, but you had hit a limit.”
Our exchanges weren’t fast. After clashing swords, she quickly pulled back and examined me. She was being cautious, unlike her usual self.
“But… seeing you now, it seems like that’s no longer the case.”
Back then, my swordsmanship rank was at most B+. But now, I had reached S-, surpassing that limit multiple times. It wasn’t just surpassing the limit, it was closer to breaking the impossible.
“In the first place, it would be difficult to even call your current swordsmanship the Reedval family swordsmanship.”
That’s right. The swordsmanship I was currently using was a combination of the Reedval family swordsmanship and parts of Libero’s swordsmanship, which would be lost if the memories of the second trial disappeared.
It would be difficult to call this the Reedval family swordsmanship.
‘By the way…’
Elsie clashed swords with me rapidly. And unlike before, when she would pull back, she immediately followed up with the next strike.
‘Is she finally getting serious?’
Elsie’s rapid succession of attacks. Elsie’s current swordsmanship rank was A.
A rank was something I couldn’t reach even with the fraudulent environment of Libero’s guidance, the Precocious trait, and the God of Regret’s blessing.
“You’ve worked hard, Elsie.”
Honestly, even when I sent Elsie to Gwen, I hadn’t expected her to grow this much in such a short time.
But the current Elsie wouldn’t be out of place in Swordsmanship Class 1. She had definitely become one of the top swordsmen.
“Yes, because I wanted to become your comrade no matter what.”
What was so great about being comrades that she was so obsessed with it? As I continued to block, her sword became faster and faster.
‘Certainly fast.’
It was a speed that even Yuseora would find impressive. It was the result of Elsie’s outstanding Agility stat combined with the Reedval family swordsmanship.
‘The Reedval family swordsmanship itself is excellent. Of course, it’s not a perfect swordsmanship without flaws, but it’s a decent swordsmanship that cleverly highlights its unique strengths.’
That was what Libero had said about the Reedval family swordsmanship. The Reedval family heroes could wield the powerful Rose Sword, but only for a very short time.
That’s why the swordsmanship had evolved in a direction that allowed them to unleash more attacks in a short amount of time.
‘At this rate…’
It seemed difficult to block with basic techniques. Then I needed to draw out a bit more power.
‘Power of Wind.’
Wind began to swirl around my sword. Thanks to this, I could somewhat mimic Libero’s swordsmanship, which transcended space and time with swordsmanship.
From that moment on, I gradually started to match Elsie’s speed.
“Is this also that wind ability? Isn’t it too versatile?”
I thought so too. I didn’t know how much training I had gone through to reach this level of proficiency, but…
‘It’s time to end this.’
As the acceleration continued, my swordsmanship finally entered the realm of time. Elsie’s swordsmanship gradually slowed down, and my sword moved quickly within that slowed time.
But I couldn’t help but be surprised.
‘She’s keeping up, even if just a little?’
The fact that she could still swing her sword, albeit slowly, at this speed was surprising enough.
But not only that, Elsie was even barely blocking my sword.
‘How much has she trained?’
Even Erciara, whom Seo Yoo-rang had raised using Libero’s route, hadn’t achieved this level of growth in such a short period. It didn’t mean that Gwen was superior to Libero as a teacher.
This was solely due to Elsie’s efforts.
‘Now I understand.’
The reason Yuseora was pushed back by Elsie wasn’t because of speed or swordsmanship. It was because of this unknown viciousness Elsie possessed.
She had embraced that viciousness and achieved growth that was impossible in any other playthrough.
‘Wasn’t I the only one who broke the impossible?’
It was at that moment. Elsie, gritting her teeth as she deflected my attack, thrust her sword from my blind spot.
No, to be precise, I perceived it that way through the Power of Wind.
If I hadn’t known the effect of Elsie’s holy relic, I would have taken it head-on. But I knew the effect of Elsie’s holy relic.
‘How vicious.’
It was an ability she could have used from the start. Yet, Elsie had been saving it until now to make me lower my guard.
I ignored the gentle breeze created by Elsie’s Breeze Bringer. And I easily blocked the real attack.
Even if Elsie had surpassed her limits… she wasn’t at the level to beat me in swordsmanship yet. Of course, I didn’t know about two years later.
My swordsmanship had stopped growing, but Elsie still had a lot of room to grow her talent.
‘If she grows well like this and activates the Royal Sword…’
She might even reach Saint rank.
However…
‘Not yet.’
Finally, time completely stopped. Elsie’s body, having failed her surprise attack, completely froze. I moved alone and pointed my sword at Elsie’s neck.
This was the end.
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