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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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“Hahahahaha! To think you rely on such trivial information!”
“Why are you laughing alone? Enlighten me so we can laugh together.”
“Hahaha! Fine, I shall bestow upon you my mercy!”
Lucian pulled out a small vial from his pocket and shook it.
“This is a special elixir unique to our tribe. It makes one several times stronger for 30 minutes when they take it.”
“…Even with doping, seven is your limit?”
“Shut up!!!”
Lucian reacted violently to my jab.
It seemed like he was sensitive about his lack of natural talent.
“Damn, so you’re a clan of drug addicts. Do they hand out samples at pointy-ear nightclubs?”
“Don’t insult this sacred elixir!! It takes 30 years of daily purification of water infused with World Tree leaves to create a single vial!”
That meant it was incredibly valuable.
It wasn’t something a jobless bum like him could easily possess.
“You didn’t bring that here officially, did you? You stole it.”
“N-no! I just thought no one needed it, so I brought a few vials, just in case.”
No way, he actually stole it?
“I thought you were just trash, but you’re actually scum. You couldn’t have made it yourself, so it must be your mother’s.”
“N-no! I helped a little!”
Me losing my virginity within the next 100 chapters was more believable.
I pressed harder, knowing he was full of shit.
“You helping? Don’t bullshit me. That’s a serious delusion.”
“S-stop it!”
“It must’ve been hard for your mother to create such a precious elixir.”
“It wasn’t that difficult… probably.”
His response lacked confidence.
The more insecure he seemed, the more powerful my words became.
“Imagine her painstakingly creating these elixirs to share with her children, only for some asshole to steal them all.”
“S-stop it!!!!!!”
Groans erupted from the spectators.
Small but clear sounds of stifled sobs.
‘Show some filial piety, you bastards.’
Wait, so their tribe actually makes performance-enhancing drugs?
The Pond Leaf above the Pond wasn’t a lotus, it was a coca leaf!
“I won’t forget this humiliation, short-lived one.”
“If you’re going to Futaba Park, take those Champis with you.”
“You won’t die peacefully!!!!”
Before I could react, two vines shot out and wrapped around my ankles, pinning me in place.
I hadn’t seen them coming at all.
At that moment, the number above his head increased again.
‘Seriously, how many times is he going to regress?’
I quickly grabbed one of my remaining two axes and severed the vines.
As soon as the vines were cut, I instinctively leaped backward.
Five trees sprouted where I had been standing a moment ago, as dust and dirt billowed around me.
The red number above Lucian’s head went up.
“You’re nimbler than you look, but just die already!”
“I’ll return those exact words to you, damn it!”
I checked my remaining weapons.
Two axes, three daggers, 12 incendiary grenades.
I was saving them for later, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
This time, I threw an incendiary grenade high into the air as I charged forward.
At the same time, I hurled the last three daggers toward Lucian.
I felt a strain in my wrist, but it was bearable.
Lucian’s number increased.
Two trees sprouted diagonally in front of me, one on each side.
They looked perfectly positioned for me to grab and jump over.
But…
‘Something’s not right.’
Something felt off.
Unlike the five trees he summoned earlier, these were incredibly slow.
I quickly realized it was a trap.
Instead of jumping, I slid through the gap beneath them.
Three more trees sprouted, forming a cage around the spot I had occupied a moment ago.
If I had jumped, I would have been skewered without a doubt.
‘…I almost died there.’
I glanced at my weapon locations as I was getting back on my feet.
The only weapons within reach were the semi-automatic shotgun and the longsword.
Not bad.
Meanwhile, the red number above Lucian’s head went up.
He frowned, annoyed that his trap didn’t work.
“You short-lived creature! You cling to life like a long-lived species!!”
“Shut up! My heart’s racing!”
I stood up, grabbing the shotgun and the sword from the ground.
I held the sword in a reverse grip, shouldered the shotgun, and fired the remaining five shots in the magazine.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The tree trap he created earlier was still disappearing.
And he had summoned two more trees to block my shots.
There were now seven trees.
Suddenly, the shotgun snapped in half with a whoosh.
The wind spirit had severed it with a gust of wind.
It was a shame, but I wasn’t too concerned.
‘You’re out of trees, aren’t you, bastard?’
I switched the sword from a reverse grip to a regular grip and thrust it forward.
Towards Lucian’s neck.
But the number above his head increased, and he started laughing.
‘Please, just take one hit. I’ll even go easy on you.’
The sword’s trajectory suddenly shifted.
The spirit was interfering again.
The sword grazed his right shoulder instead of his neck.
“It’s useless!”
But I had finally managed to get close.
I couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.
Even though my attack was blocked, I didn’t stop. I grabbed him by the collar with my left hand.
I tried to press the blade against his neck, but…
“Didn’t I tell you it was useless!”
The spirit blocked my attack once again.
The blade wouldn’t get any closer to his neck.
Desperate to inflict some damage, I started pushing him back.
“Hahahahaha!”
“Stop laughing. You’re really making me want to split your head open.”
“Try it if you can! Pushing me back won’t get you anywhere!”
The spirit pushed me back again.
The distance between us widened.
At least I wasn’t pushed back as far as before.
‘This spirit is fucking OP.’
But my efforts weren’t completely in vain.
The incendiary grenade I threw earlier landed between us.
I quickly ran and picked it up.
At the same time, I released the safety pins on all my remaining grenades.
Trusting in the protection of the Defensive Coat, I charged towards Lucian.
“Allahu Akbar!”
“Get away from me!”
“You’re going to die with Huu here!”
FWOOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!
A blinding light, so bright it made me wonder if I was going blind, erupted in the training grounds.
I could barely see, but I heard Lucian’s voice, filled with panic,
“Stop struggling and get away from me!!!”
With a roar, he unleashed a powerful shock wave with his wind spirit.
I was sent flying back.
Further than before.
As I got up, I unbuckled the now useless incendiary grenade belt and tossed it aside.
The dust cloud from the spirit’s shock wave obscured my vision.
I prayed desperately.
‘I relied on the coat’s defense, please just die, elf.’
But as they say, prayers never come true.
Someone in the crowd shouted,
“Did he finish him off?”
“Damn it, seriously?!”
Lucian was still alive.
The flames I had hoped would engulf him had failed.
Just in time, he had grown a cluster of intertwined trees that formed a perfect shield around him.
However, he looked exhausted and pale.
He was panting heavily, likely from the strain of using his ability consecutively.
‘I’m not exactly in good shape either.’
Even though I had tons of stamina, I wasn’t willing to accept this unfair exchange any longer.
I could feel the exhaustion creeping in.
My equipment situation wasn’t great either.
My only remaining weapons were the longsword in my right hand and the two axes on my hip.
And the coat’s color had changed due to my crazy stunt earlier.
From a shiny black to a dull, faded black.
Its defensive ability was gone.
I cursed the coat’s lack of durability, but then I reconsidered.
‘It’s a miracle I’m still alive after that explosion.’
But I couldn’t see a way to win.
I felt frustrated and anxious.
Suddenly, I heard a feminine voice in my head.
A voice I had never heard before, a mysterious and enchanting voice.
[Do you desire power?]
‘?????’
[I asked if you desire power.]
I rejoiced internally.
Finally, it was happening.
*’It’s here, damn it! I’m a real protagonist too now!’ *
I tried to calm my excitement and answered calmly.
But I couldn’t hide the yearning in my voice.
*’Yes, I desire the power to overcome this situation.’ *
[Very well. Repeat after me.]
‘Of course.’
Ah, the classic protagonist awakening scene.
This is something I can’t resist.
I smiled sinisterly and stared at Lucian.
He seemed startled by my sudden change in demeanor.
He didn’t even try to attack; he just stared blankly.
Even the arena was silent, as if overwhelmed by the sudden shift in atmosphere.
[Repeat after me. I!]
“I!”
[Hereby declare!]
“Hereby declare!”
I pointed the sword at Lucian and continued,
[I shall drench these hand with blood!]
“I shall drench these hand with blood!”
[And tread upon your corpses to rise above!]
“And tread upon your corpses to rise above!”
[Heed my words and tremble in fear!]
“Heed my words and tremble in fear!”
They actually looked a bit scared.
As expected of a protagonist awakening.
[Raise your hand towards the sky and shout: Status Window!!!]
“Status Window!!!”
[System!!!]
“System!!!”
[Status!!!!!!]
“Status!!!!!!”
Silence.
Nothing happened.
Only silence reigned in the arena.
After about 20 seconds, I started feeling suspicious.
‘What’s going on? Does awakening an ability not come with any special effects?’
[…Pfft…]
‘???????’
[Pfft, hahahahahahaha!]
‘What? What the fuck! What’s happening?!’
[Hahahahaha! Look at this idiot, actually trying to awaken an ability?]
Huh?
Then, I heard Kyouko and Hye-ji’s voices.
Kyouko was clutching her stomach, and Hye-ji was holding her forehead.
“Shinwoo-chan still hasn’t grown out of his chuunibyou phase wwwwww.”
“Ha, why do I know that bastard…?”
Sister Ye-rim looked at me with pity.
As if she was looking at a patient suffering from a mental illness.
“Um… Shinwoo, if you’re struggling, I know a good doctor I can recommend.”
Oh.
Damn it.
Everyone else was stunned into silence.
My eyes were bloodshot as I frantically searched for the bitch who had just mocked me.
And then I spotted her in the back row of the audience.
She was leaning back in her seat, her hands on her temples, laughing with her eyes closed.
‘It’s you, isn’t it, bitch?’
I didn’t hesitate.
Fury consumed me.
“Die! You bastard!!!!”
Lucian, sensing my rage, cowered and trembled as I hurled the axe.
But I had no time for him.
Get out of the way, Lucian.
If you want to live.
The axe, flying towards the girl with deadly speed, was suddenly stopped by a translucent barrier.
“Tsk, a barrier.”
“She used telepathy on me.”
A short while later, the fake Goddess of Awakening was dragged out of the training grounds.
She kept screaming until the very end.
“That bastard called supporters ‘tools’!!!!”
“This is justifiable revenge!!!!!”
The duel resumed after the brief interruption.
Of course, I couldn’t retrieve the axe I threw.
*’Damn it, I wasted a weapon.’ *
I got sent to a mental hospital for doing this kind of shit when I was 14.
My PTSD is acting up again.
I vowed to soon instil some proper manners at the academy with my axe.
Longing deeply for someone as I did so.
‘Ian Percus, I miss you more than ever today.’
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“Um… shall we… begin?”
“Yes.”
Lucian was suddenly speaking formally.
But I didn’t care. I had to focus on the fight.
I forced my trembling legs to move and charged towards him.
I threw my last axe at him with my left hand.
The spirit blocked it, as expected.
But…
*’Its defense is weaker now.’ *
The spirit was clearly tired.
Unlike before, the axe was stopped just a handspan away from Lucian.
And it even fell at his feet instead of being flung far away.
This was a good sign.
Meanwhile, four plants shot towards me, trying to stop my advance.
But there was a change this time.
They looked withered and dry, like rotten wood.
And their speed was significantly slower.
‘I can handle this.’
I dodged a branch aiming for my head and swatted it aside with my gauntleted fist.
It crumbled effortlessly.
There was no need to be afraid anymore.
I punched another branch that was aimed at my chest.
I stomped on a branch that tried to trip me.
And the last branch, which was aimed at my left side…
I twisted my body to dodge it and continued to sprint.
‘This is working!’
To stop my momentum, Lucian summoned the large tree from earlier.
And then he started chanting another spell.
‘I like EZ mode too.’
With the large tree in front of me, I threw my now useless coat to the left.
At the same time, I jumped to the right.
Lucian instinctively reached out towards the sudden appearance of the black coat.
Whoosh!
Another wind blade struck the coat.
It was a good quality coat, so it didn’t rip. It just flew away and rolled on the ground.
I thought I heard Hye-ji shout “Don’t waste it!” from afar, but winning was more important right now.
I changed direction again mid-jump.
I lunged towards Lucian, thrusting the sword with all my might.
‘This is it!’
But there were two problems.
First, my excitement clouded my judgment.
Second, the number above Lucian’s head had increased again.
The price was steep.
It wasn’t Lucian’s neck that I saw in my path.
It was two vines, whipping towards me.
‘Oh, right. Seven plants.’
You saw it in a regression, didn’t you, bastard?
I should have counted properly.
Thud!!!
“Argh!!!”
I was knocked back by the vines, crashing onto the ground and rolling.
At least I hadn’t dropped my sword.
But everything else was going wrong.
I had no other weapons left.
I was in terrible shape, getting up seemed impossible.
Five vines sprouted and started to bind me.
My arms, legs, and torso.
And Lucian approached, the axe I dropped earlier in his hand.
“How tenacious. Fighting this desperately.”
“If you know it’s disturbing, untie me. I’m not into tentacle play.”
“Let’s end this.”
He raised the axe above his head.
And then he swung it down.
As if to mark the end, everything slowed down.
I mustered my remaining strength and raised my right arm.
A slight gap appeared between the vines as they loosened, granting me a sliver of freedom.
I pointed the tip of my sword towards the axe blade.
It was a gamble.
A desperate gamble, hoping the axe would slide along the sword’s blade.
But my luck had run out.
The axe blade cleanly split the sword’s tip.
‘Damn it, I can’t lose to him.’
In a few seconds, the axe would strike me, having cleaved through my sword.
I was about to face a crushing defeat.
And then…
The world stopped.
Everyone froze.
All sounds vanished.
Only my thoughts were still moving.
And then I heard a soft, feminine voice in my head.
[Do you wish to win?]
‘?’
[I asked if you desire victory.]
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