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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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He clad himself in protective qi and charged, strengthening his physical body without any special techniques.
It was an honest and straightforward method, but it was also true that such a direct approach was surprisingly difficult to counter.
I could feel his determination to break through any traps.
I didn’t know why he was going so crazy in a match against an opponent weaker than him, which wouldn’t even give him many points, but one thing was certain: he was serious right now.
Then should I respond in earnest as well?
No, it would be better to maturely lose here.
He was acting like he had a reason to win, no matter what he was thinking.
I didn’t know for sure since he was just a character who died in the original story, but if he desired something so fervently, then it must be a worthwhile goal, to drive him to charge forward with such desperate determination, even to the point of suppressing his fear.
Since there wouldn’t be any lasting physical impact anyway, it seemed alright for me to lose to a character with such eyes.
“I can’t stop here… For the sake of my harem…!”
“Just die.”
Ruyi, transformed back into a staff, extended its length, and instantly sent Woo Jae-hee, along with his protective qi, flying out of bounds.
Ah, shit. I was trying to lose, but I won because he said something so absurd.
I wanted to at least make it a close win even if I did win, but I got a landslide victory instead.
I even ended up revealing Ruyi because I was so irritated.
No, shit. Honestly, come on.
He wasn’t even the protagonist. A guy like him who looks like a bear, what harem?
I didn’t like the way he was spouting nonsense with a face that looked like he could reliably support someone from behind.
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After the first match ended, I went to watch the others.
There was preparation time between matches in the ranking match. This was partly because consecutive battles would prevent participants from performing at their best, and partly because the academy wanted them to be able to cheer for their friends.
I did voice my doubts that consecutive battles were more realistic, but the answer I got was that those who fought strong opponents first would be at a disadvantage, or something like that. Anyway, that was the reason they set it up this way.
Lilac was fighting a professor as his stronger opponent, and Cheon Yoo-hak was beating up some random cadet as his weaker opponent.
Outsiders were already getting excited seeing two geniuses display their abilities that went beyond the level of cadets.
“Not bad, huh? No, they’re really amazing. That’s not something a first-year should be able to do.”
“Yeah, if we put them on the field right now, they’d do better than you.”
“Senior, you’re horrible.”
“Your skills are what’s horrible.”
The two geniuses, monopolizing the attention of the scouts, showed off their talents in their respective ways, proving themselves to them.
Then, a girl appeared from the waiting room onto the arena, as if it was her turn.
Like Lilac, a professor was waiting for her.
It was a girl holding a pure white sword while staring at the professor with a confident smile.
Kang Ha-ni slowly gripped her sword.
She, too, was skilled enough not to be significantly inferior to previous top rankers, but most people weren’t paying attention to her.
The world always focused on those ranked first, so to the public, she was only a second placer.
However, it didn’t mean that she had no way to instantly steal that attention and gaze.
Because she was kind of a dark horse.
If she delivered a shock so great that they couldn’t help but look, their gazes would naturally gather on her.
Another talent, hidden by the two boys who dramatically took the top spot together, blossomed in the arena with a pure white blade.
A swift draw, without sacrificing defense, almost beheaded the professor.
It was a blow that would have certainly been fatal if there hadn’t been any magic and safety devices installed in the arena.
Although it was a half-surprise attack, and it was only possible because the professors on stage were under restrictions, the sight of her taking down a professor in a single blow was more than enough to draw attention.
Having finished her debut in such a brilliant manner, she grinned as she descended from the arena.
…Lilac, Yoo-hak, you guys are really screwed, aren’t you?
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At the main gate of the academy that was bustling with the passion of youth.
A man was driving a truck.
The truck, adorned with large character designs of smiling carrots and radishes, had “True Love Farm Products” written in large letters.
“What’s your business? There doesn’t seem to be any vegetable transactions scheduled today.”
Not only vegetables, but there were no food ingredient transactions today, so the guards stopped him, but he replied with a friendly smile.
“Ah, actually, I’m a graduate of this academy. I came to donate some vegetables because it’s the cadets’ ranking match today.”
They almost fell for the friendly young man’s smile, but today, only a select few outsiders were allowed entry.
They couldn’t let him in just because he was a graduate.
“We appreciate the sentiment, but due to the circumstances today, we can’t let you in. Apply formally and come back next time.”
“Ah, that’s a problem. I had already said I would come today.”
“Ah, are you a family member of a current cadet? If so, please fill out the application form, and we’ll…”
“Ah, no. I’m not a family member. If I had to say, I’m a comrade.”
“A comrade…?”
“Yes.”
He opened his email on his smartphone and checked the message he had sent.
[Shocking scenes at Reilan Academy. Is this really okay…? Reporting the reality of the spirit of the farmer and the sweat of the land being wasted.]
“There’s a student with a good head on their shoulders at the academy these days! So I’m here to help.”
He got out of the truck.
His height was over 6’5” and he had tanned skin that suited his muscular body that was honed by farm work.
“I have to get in, even by force.”
He took out his weapon.
The guards momentarily felt no threat from what he had taken out.
“Guardsmen, did you eat a biased meal yesterday? One of you left some carrots uneaten, and the other one secretly threw away his bell peppers, right?”
Carrots and bell peppers.
What kind of madman would fight with such things as weapons?
“You, who have neglected the sweat of the farmer, the spirit of the land, and the preciousness of life, have no right to protect this sacred place of learning.”
His talent exploded.
“Love nature. True Love Farm Products.”
After knocking down the guards, he calmly got back into his truck and entered the academy.
The mouths of the fallen guards were stuffed with carrots and bell peppers.
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On the stage, the two cadets, Kang Ha-ni and Lilac, were facing each other.
“Oh, Lilac~ You didn’t run away even after seeing what I could do earlier?”
“Can I call myself a hero if I run away from a strong opponent? And actually, I’ve been wanting to have a serious match with you, Han-hee.”
“Really?”
“We’re completely different types of swordsmen, but it’s hard to find someone as devoted to the sword as you. I saw your sword techniques sometimes when we trained together, and it was incredibly clean. So I wanted to face you directly and receive your pointers.”
“The top student of the entrance ceremony is greedy. You’re too good to learn from me, you know? But since the top rank is going to change today anyway, there’s no reason for me to refuse.”
“Let’s do our best.”
The moment the professor announced the start of the match, a swift draw aimed for Lilac’s neck.
It was a perfect surprise attack, but since he had seen the technique once already, there was no way he wouldn’t have prepared for it. Lilac tried to defend himself by surrounding his entire body with tangible holy sword light.
Block any attack once, then exploit the opening to counterattack.
That was his original plan, but…
The fact that he abandoned his initial plan and twisted his body to avoid the slash was purely due to his innate intuition.
“That sword is sharp.”
“Right? It’s not bad.”
The holy sword light that had been protecting his neck was cut for a brief moment by the sharp blade.
If he had relied on that defense and taken the attack head-on, his head would have flown off.
“Unlike the professor, you’re not letting your guard down, huh?”
Lilac stopped wrapping his body in holy sword light like armor.
Against an opponent with a sword that could cut through armor, such protection was nothing more than a cumbersome obstacle, so he concentrated all the light on his sword and one arm, as usual.
Sword and shield.
This was the style he was most confident in, and his foundation.
Those watching their fight were all speechless.
In the fight that everyone expected Lilac to dominate, Kang Ha-ni unexpectedly took the lead.
The surprise attack with the draw, the restrictions, and the fact that it had been her first match and that the professor might have been careless, all these factors diminished Kang Ha-ni’s achievement of overwhelming a professor in a single blow.
Most of them expected Lilac to prepare for the surprise draw in some way and overwhelm her, but that prediction was completely off.
He did prepare, but her sword cut through even that, and although he didn’t lose, Lilac was still driven into a corner.
She clearly proved to the public.
That she was by no means inferior to Lilac.
“Just because you dodged one draw doesn’t mean it’s over, you know?”
“Wow, you’re really scary. I wouldn’t have told you to do your best if I knew it would be like this~”
However, Lilac hadn’t gone all out yet either.
Strangely enough, he had rarely gone all out in his life.
Even before he awakened his talent as a child, he was the type who was good at everything he did, and after awakening his talent, he was an undeniable genius.
The first time he pushed his talent to the limit and still felt inadequate was during the terrorist attack at the entrance ceremony.
That day.
After unintentionally exceeding his limits, he kept recalling that sensation.
He hadn’t completely broken through what people called a wall, but he had glimpsed what was beyond it through a shortcut, so imitating it wasn’t that difficult.
For the first time, he began to feel like he might not be able to protect people.
If it weren’t for the help of the friend he made for the first time at the academy, he might have lost a lot.
He probably wouldn’t have been able to enjoy his life at the academy like this without him.
But his friend suffered every time he used that power.
He said he had a way to recover, but that didn’t mean he was used to the pain.
The answer was always simple.
He just had to become stronger.
The person in front of him was also his friend, and after exchanging sword strikes, he knew she was a worthy opponent against whom he had to go all out.
So he decided to showcase the results of his training for the first time.
The natural genius wrapped himself in the sensation of that day and imitated what lay beyond the wall he hadn’t fully overcome.
The somewhat faint holy sword light began to shine brighter and more brilliantly, solidifying into a more solid form.
It only took a few seconds. But it was also enough time for Kang Ha-ni’s second slash to arrive.
Facing the chilling slash, Lilac gave up on a direct counter and deflected the attack with his shield.
If it had been the faint light from before, it would have been cut through, but the solid shield faithfully performed its role, even as it was chipped away by the slash.
A brilliant light erupted from his sword as he swung it towards the swordswoman in front of him, but she perfectly dodged the holy sword light with her unique movements.
“Oh, what’s this? Phase 2?”
“Yeah, you shouldn’t underestimate me like before.”
“Good, this way, you’re more satisfying to take down.”
As the two raised their fighting spirit and stared at each other, a loud voice echoed.
“Eat your vegetables…!”
They didn’t know what that nonsense was about, but it was clear that something had happened.
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“No, what the hell is going on…?”
I was quite surprised by Ha-ni’s fight, but I was even more surprised by Lilac’s achievement.
That was definitely the form he had partially awakened in the middle of his second year in the original story to protect his friends.
At that time, he hadn’t completely broken through the wall he called his limit, but it was a temporary enhanced state he had created through desperate training to move forward.
A kind of pseudo-awakening where he compressed the holy sword light and completely replaced his physical enhancement with magical power.
Originally, he was supposed to awaken it while dealing with Choi In-ho, who was still active at the time, so why could he do it now?
Did he really get a glimpse of the next stage just from a few of my enhancements?
Actually, unlike Cheon Yoo-hak, I hadn’t helped Lilac much, so I was worried, but this crazy bastard, as expected of a talented protagonist, had become stronger on his own.
As the two were raising their fighting spirit towards each other.
“Eat your vegetables…!”
Some crazy shout came from outside the building.
It seemed like the disaster I had called upon had finally arrived at the academy.
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T/N – I am curious about this farmer’s deal. The fact that he is in the top 3 craziest people according to the MC intrigues me.
Also, lol at Jae-hee getting one-shotted. Guy really shouted he wanted a harem while he was facing the MC of this story.
Lastly, Lilac progressing with just two enhancements from the MC just goes to show that he’s one of the protagonists of the original novel for a reason. MC should really use enhancement of Yoo-hak too. I’m super curious about the next level of Peerless Warrior.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
