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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Silverriver
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Time flew by, especially when I wasn’t paying attention. It was already the third day of the ranking matches.
The students gave it their all. Their rankings were a testament to their efforts. Nine out of nineteen students had been eliminated in the first test. Two more were eliminated in the second test, designed by Professor Akdin.
It was likely to prevent byes. The students knew this. The professor had made his intentions clear during class.
Yet, no one complained. Even if the test was designed to eliminate students, it ultimately came down to their own abilities.
Complaining about failing a test would only reveal their inadequacy.
Erina, Agnes, Adele, and Sophia. All four had passed the tests. Eight students remained, and the tournament was about to begin.
Lee Han would have won, but he was currently recuperating in the infirmary. Rumor had it that the nurse was desperately trying to keep him from leaving.
It seemed he had a dedicated nurse, just like me.
“Do I really have to watch this?”
And I… was here, watching the ranking matches, with the perpetually complaining princess.
“I never asked Your Highness to watch. You didn’t need to come personally.”
“I came because you said you needed to watch.”
“What does my watching have to do with Your Highness?”
Cheers erupted from the training grounds. The ranking matches at Iliad Academy were a unique tradition. It drew a large crowd. Trina, the academy’s gate, was temporarily opened to outsiders during this time.
Roar!
I winced at the simultaneous outburst. It was likely intended to intimidate the competitors. Standing before hundreds of eyes could be paralyzing.
While it wasn’t the same as facing killing intent, it was a close approximation.
“You volunteered to be my partner and now you’re trying to attend unprepared?”
“I didn’t volunteer, Your Highness. You…”
“One more word, and I’ll consider it an act of defiance.”
She glared at me. Her casual attire and flowing hair were… striking. Her ample bosom and toned waist were certainly attractive, but they couldn’t compare to her eyes.
Jewel eyes. The symbol of the Imperial Family. Eyes that seemed to have gems embedded within them, sparkling in the sunlight. If these were still uncut gems, what brilliance would the fully polished jewels possess?
“There they are.”
The cheers intensified. The princess turned her gaze, and I followed suit, looking towards the entrance of the training grounds.
Adele and Agnes were walking in from opposite sides.
‘Adele will likely lose.’
That’s what happened in the original story. After the entrance exam, Adele had concealed her true strength, finding the attention overwhelming. If she used her full power, Agnes wouldn’t even be able to land a blow, thanks to her divine power. A Saintess blessed by the gods shouldn’t be injured.
Unless facing an opponent with overwhelming power, like Morax, divine power was impenetrable. Even I wasn’t sure if I could break through it with my own strength.
Perhaps with Archxius’s mana…
“Ahem.”
A professor stepped forward. Since the ranking matches began with sparring, a professor acted as an observer.
“I’m Professor Ibelsio, filling in for Professor Akdin.”
Professor Akdin’s absence? I tilted my head inwardly, puzzled. Where would he go, skipping a student sparring match? I didn’t recall him having any other engagements.
It was still too early for the episode where he turned into a boss. Where could he have gone?
My questions remained unanswered as the match began.
“I expect both of you to spar within reasonable limits, respecting each other’s safety and honor.”
Professor Ibelsio’s words revealed a different approach from Professor Akdin. If it were Akdin, he would have encouraged them to fight all-out, injuries be damned, demanding results.
Professor Ibelsio continued with a few more words of caution, advising them to avoid injuries, then stepped back from the training grounds.
The arena was charged with the intense auras of the two competitors. The fervent cheers of the crowd and the audience’s intense scrutiny faded into the background as their eyes locked.
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Silence fell over the training grounds. The previous excitement and noise vanished.
Agnes stood with Jeolyeong in hand, her gaze fixed on her opponent.
Before her stood one of the only two first-year students who had defeated an instructor.
Adele, the priestess wielding divine power.
Agnes had indirectly experienced Adele’s power during the Morax subjugation. Amidst the chaos, Adele’s divine power had shone brightly.
She had healed the injured while simultaneously defending against the demon’s attacks. An incredible display of power.
Having witnessed it, Agnes wouldn’t underestimate her. She gathered her mana and stomped her foot.
Agnes’s unique mana spread across the training grounds, rapidly freezing and forming a layer of ice.
Agnes’s domain, the Icicle Field. What had once been a thin sheet of ice was now a solid platform, thick enough to withstand considerable force.
A chill filled the air as the temperature dropped with the expansion of the field.
‘One strike…!’
Divine power was a force of healing. The longer the match went on, the more disadvantageous it would be for Agnes.
So she had to end it quickly. That was Agnes’s plan.
She charged towards Adele, her feet gliding across the Icicle Field. Jeolyeong absorbed the surrounding chill, generating Aura. Simultaneously, ice spikes erupted from the ground around Adele.
A barrage of attacks from all sides. The best a Magic Swordsman could do. Agnes inwardly thought she had won, but…
“I’m afraid not.”
Crash!
Clang!
Agnes’s arrogance, her hasty judgment, her miscalculation.
Adele’s eyes glowed with a golden light. Divine power, the color of the sun. A golden barrier surrounded her.
The same barrier Agnes had seen during the Morax subjugation. It blocked all of her attacks.
Adele stomped her foot. A resounding thud. Divine power enveloped her.
Divine power, a force of healing. But Adele used it differently.
“I have people watching too. I can’t afford to lose.”
-Crack
Cracks appeared on the Icicle Field, divine power seeping through. Agnes’s eyes widened, and she leaped back.
-Sizzle
The Icicle Field shattered the moment she retreated. Adele’s barrier eradicated the ice, as if unwilling to allow any magic near her.
Agnes gritted her teeth as the Icicle Field melted away like snow under a scorching sun.
‘The field is useless.’
Her signature move, her field-based attacks, were meaningless against this overwhelming divine power. Agnes withdrew the mana she had spread across the training grounds.
“A wise decision.”
Adele closed the distance instantly and threw a punch. A fist befitting a warrior, not a priestess.
“Gasp”
Agnes held her breath and blocked the punch with Jeolyeong. The force of the blow sent her stumbling backward.
“But you have no way of breaking through my divine power.”
“….”
“There’s probably only one person among the first-years who can.”
Adele’s gaze shifted towards the audience. Agnes knew who she was looking at.
Deron Philasia. A swordsman, a mage, a potential Magic Swordsman.
Adele, in her arrogance, claimed that no one but him could penetrate her barrier. But Agnes couldn’t call her arrogant.
It was true. She doubted there was a way to break through this impenetrable divine power.
-Clang! Clang!
Despite blocking the punches with her sword, the sounds of metal clashing against metal echoed through the arena. Adele’s fist sliced through the air, shattering Agnes’s guard.
“Ugh!”
Agnes twisted her body, avoiding a direct hit, but the blow still landed, sending a searing pain through her abdomen. She gasped but remained standing.
Adele sighed, looking at her.
“Give up.”
“….”
“You know you can’t break through my divine power.”
Agnes looked down at her trembling hand, still gripping Jeolyeong. The fear induced by overwhelming power. The same helplessness she had felt during the Morax subjugation.
A feeling she never wanted to experience again washed over her. She couldn’t win. She had already accepted that fact logically.
Yet…
“I won’t give up.”
Agnes raised Jeolyeong, the tip of the blade trembling. Adele watched her, then raised her fist.
“Impressive. To be honest, I almost want to let you win. I can’t even imagine the effort you’ve put into walking the path of the Magic Swordsman.”
Adele’s fist glowed with divine power, far more intense than before. The tips of her brown hair shimmered with a faint golden light.
“While I… I was blessed by the gods. Talent, not effort.”
Adele’s posture shifted, her expression filled with genuine shame. This was why she hadn’t used her full power against the others.
Divine power was a matter of talent, not effort. Using this unearned power to crush the efforts of others…
…was something she couldn’t bring herself to do.
“If I didn’t have to win… I would have lost to you. No, I feel like I’ve already lost.”
But Agnes, as if not understanding Adele’s words, muttered through gritted teeth,
“Nonsense.”
“What?”
“There’s nothing more shameful than throwing a match.”
Agnes’s trembling ceased. Silence fell over the training grounds. Jeolyeong hummed. Mana converged on the tip of the blade.
“Give it your all. No matter what. That’s how you show respect. Not by deliberately losing.”
“I’ve never thought of it that way.”
Adele’s eyes glinted. Her divine power flared, brighter than before.
“If you can break through my barrier, I’ll consider it.”
“I’ll break through it regardless.”
Agnes adjusted her grip, assuming the middle guard stance, the foundation of swordsmanship. She took a deep breath, visualizing the Icicle Field, that massive expanse of ice, compressed into a single strike.
-Hum…
Lenox’s beloved sword, Jeolyeong, pulsed with Agnes’s Aura, her mana intensifying.
Adele’s fist flew towards Agnes’s face. Agnes turned her head, dodging the blow, and simultaneously swung her sword downwards.
-Clang!
The blade struck the barrier. Adele’s kick followed. Agnes instantly created a wall of ice to block it.
“You can’t break through by just blocking.”
Adele taunted, but Agnes remained silent, a kaleidoscope of colors flashing through her mind.
Blue? Red? Black? Violet?
No. The color she needed wasn’t any of those.
Pure, absolute…
White.
Her Aura was white. Agnes swung Jeolyeong, her blade infused with white Aura.
The golden barrier was engulfed in white snow, slowly, inexorably…
-Crack!
A sharp, piercing sound. The absolute limit of coldness. Absolute Zero. The sword strike, infused with absolute cold, shattered the divine blessing and grazed Adele’s skin.
-Whoosh!
“I… broke through.”
Agnes collapsed, a satisfied smile on her face. Adele looked down at her and gently touched her cheek. The blood on her fingers was proof that Jeolyeong had connected.
“Adele wins.”
Professor Ibelsio’s declaration was met with a roar of applause. But Adele didn’t hear it.
The stinging sensation on her cheek was somehow more painful than any wound she’d ever received.
She had won, yet she felt… defeated.
“You really did break through.”
I have to keep my promise. Adele muttered, then knelt beside Agnes, channeling her healing magic.
A single drop of blood trickled down the tip of Jeolyeong, the sword Agnes still clutched in her hand.
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Yup I definitely couldn’t survive a medieval monarchy