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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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Reus’s room.
Reus set down his spear and removed his armor. He was in a foul mood.
He hadn’t expected to be on the same team as Tesha and Ethan.
And he especially disliked their mentor. Messages floated in the air before him.
[The Thread of Wisdom claims that method as her own.]
The Thread of Wisdom referred to Ariadne, the princess of Crete. And the method in question was using a thread to navigate a labyrinth.
“Goddess, it seems I’m not the only one who thought of that.”
[The Thread of Wisdom insists she was the original inventor.]
[The Thread of Wisdom claims the Minotaur of Crete was twice as large.]
Reus briefly considered turning off the channel.
There were still so many unanswered questions. Why was he here? And why was Ariadne, a human, now a goddess sending him messages?
Of course, Ariadne had become a goddess after her death.
And judging by the messages, there were others who received divine guidance, just like him.
Which meant he wasn’t the only one in this world blessed by the gods.
The gods could see the other recipients of their blessings, but they couldn’t reveal their identities because of some rule.
Tethys had once tried to tell him.
But…
[The Sea Goddess says the others are ■■■■■ and ■■■■.]
Their names were censored.
And it wasn’t the only mystery. He didn’t understand why the Minotaur existed in this world.
[The God of Festivities and Revelry is amused by the current situation.]
[The Goddess of Wisdom wonders when you’ll start the dungeon raid.]
[Many gods wish for you to begin the dungeon raid immediately.]
And he had learned that there were many other gods besides the Olympians.
[The God of Thunder will sponsor you with 5000 points if you clear the dungeon.]
[The Alchemist of the Century is observing you.]
He didn’t recognize the “God of Thunder.” At first, he thought it might be Zeus, his great-grandfather, but it wasn’t.
And he had no idea who the “Alchemist of the Century” was.
Reus scratched his head and left his room, his mind still troubled.
He saw a group of students gathered outside. Ethan and Kanion were standing in the center.
They were about to fight. Reus smirked.
“Why don’t you just surrender now, Ethan?”
“Senior, are you sure about this? A real fight?”
“I think I’ll have to break your arm to teach you a lesson. Go straight to the infirmary. They can reattach it.”
Ethan didn’t answer. He drew his sword. Kanion also drew his sword.
“They’re really going to fight…”
“Isn’t this a bit much…?”
The onlookers murmured anxiously.
This was a disciplinary action. Senior students asserting their dominance over juniors wasn’t uncommon at Neydia.
There were many reasons for these disciplinary actions.
But the main reason was usually personal dislike. They wanted to put the junior in their place.
[The God of War is eager to watch this.]
[The Sea Goddess looks at you with concern.]
[The Most Beautiful Goddess has placed a wager on Ethan.]
Reus was also interested in the outcome.
He didn’t like either of them. But if he had to choose, he would root for Ethan.
If Ethan was weaker than Kanion, it meant Reus had lost to someone even weaker.
Ethan closed the distance, leaping towards Kanion.
Clang!
The sound of metal against metal echoed through the air, a shockwave rippling outwards.
Kanion spun and attacked, but Ethan calmly deflected the blow.
Sparks flew as their blades clashed.
‘He’s not bad.’
Kanion released a small amount of mana and leaped to the side, aiming for Ethan’s blind spot.
Ethan gracefully retreated, his sword flashing.
‘Linchester Swordsmanship, Fourth Form: Sword Dance.’
Mana surged around his black blade. His movements were fluid and sharp.
Kanion aimed a kick at Ethan’s legs. Ethan simultaneously thrust his elbow towards Kanion’s face.
Thwack!
Ethan’s attack landed first. Kanion stumbled back, his vision blurring. Ethan immediately retreated.
Kanion’s kick missed. He regained his balance.
[The God of War is thrilled!]
[The Most Beautiful Goddess cheers!]
[The Goddess of Wisdom calmly observes.]
Kanion wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Blood stained the fabric.
“Everyone, stand back. I’m going to get serious now.”
He had only been playing around until now, using a minimal amount of mana.
‘He’s stronger than I thought. I can’t hold back anymore.’
He could accidentally kill Ethan if he used his full power. Killing a junior in a duel would be a disgrace.
‘I’ll just say I lost control.’
Mana surged around him, distorting the air. A blizzard formed, and a high-level spirit appeared.
“He summoned his high-level spirit!”
“It’s a Water and Ice spirit, right?”
The onlookers murmured. The temperature plummeted. They stepped back, wary of being caught in the crossfire.
“Ethan, be careful! It’s a high-level spirit!”
“Don’t let your guard down!”
Ethan, despite Sepia and Tesha’s warnings, calmly observed the situation. Kanion summoning his high-level spirit meant he was going all out.
“Ethan, you’re not bad, but the game is over.”
Sharp ice shards formed around Kanion, as though he were at the center of a blizzard.
A chilling aura enveloped his blade.
A wave of icy energy shot towards Ethan, the force of the mana exploding outwards. It was a freezing blast that could encase the entire world in ice.
Crash!
The ground shook, and a cloud of dust and debris billowed into the air. It was an attack powerful enough to freeze a Rank 4 Sea Serpent solid.
He felt a twinge of shame for using a high-level spirit against a mere first-year student. But it didn’t matter.
‘I’ll just say I lost control.’
Kanion’s blond hair fluttered in the wind. The area affected by the freezing blast was dozens of meters wide.
It was as though winter had descended upon the training grounds.
Sharp icicles protruded from the ground. A blizzard raged.
The power to change the very weather.
That was the power of a high-level spirit.
‘It’s over.’
Kanion lowered his sword and looked at the onlookers. Sepia and Tesha were biting their lips anxiously.
But Tia was smiling.
‘She’s… smiling…?’
The dust settled, revealing the frozen figure of his opponent. His heart and brain would be frozen solid, necrotic.
That’s what should have happened.
But a wave of intense heat washed over him.
Kanion countered with his own icy mana, protecting himself from the heat. Ethan stood at the center of the heat wave, his black blade wreathed in flames.
He was unharmed. And a high-level fire spirit hovered behind him.
‘A fire spirit? And it’s a high-level spirit?’
Kanion frowned. His high-level ice spirit’s attack was powerful enough to permanently freeze the ground.
It would take an equally powerful attack to melt the ice.
“You went too far, Senior.”
But the ice was melting, droplets of water falling to the ground. A thick cloud of steam obscured his vision.
“A high-level fire spirit!”
“Good heavens! A first-year student controlling a high-level spirit?!”
Crimson flames swirled around Ethan. Kanion’s heart pounded.
“A fire spirit? You’re a Spirit Summoner?”
Spirit Summoners were even rarer than mages. It was a rare gift to be chosen by a spirit.
Ethan’s voice was cold.
“Don’t blame me if you lose an arm, Senior.”
“What…?”
“You were trying to kill me, weren’t you?”
He had been lenient.
He had planned to fight to a draw and then reconcile with Kanion, praising his skills.
That had been the plan.
But Kanion had used a lethal amount of mana. He had been trying to kill him.
If Ethan had been an ordinary first-year student, he would be dead.
He had to retaliate.
“Pft, hahaha! Even if we both have high-level spirits, there’s a huge difference in our mana control.”
Kanion’s mana control was level 6. And his mana circuits, enhanced by his heroic bloodline, were incredibly efficient.
He could unleash a barrage of attacks like that without tiring.
[The God of War is cheering for Ethan!]
[The Most Beautiful Goddess wants to sponsor Ethan!]
[The Goddess of Wisdom smiles at Ethan’s fighting spirit.]
Blue mana surged around Ethan, each stream pulsing with power.
‘Linchester Swordsmanship, Sixth Form: Shattering Sword.’
It was the first time he had used the Sixth Form in a real battle.
Shattering Sword, as the name suggested, was a technique designed to destroy the opponent’s weapon. It could shatter steel like a twig and dispel any mana or demonic energy imbued in the weapon.
His black blade, wreathed in flames and blue mana, flashed.
Ethan leaped forward, leaving trails of fire in his wake.
Clang!
Their blades collided. Kanion stumbled back, a searing pain shooting through his wrist and up his arm.
Crack!
A sharp sound. A crack appeared on his silver blade. Then it snapped in two.
But Kanion didn’t retreat. He lunged forward, the broken blade aimed at Ethan’s chest.
He was aiming for the heart.
‘I’ve got you, you bastard…!’
He could always buy a new sword. But a wound to the heart would disrupt his mana circuits.
Even if Ethan survived, he would be crippled, unable to use mana.
Suddenly, the black blade shifted trajectory, flames erupting around it. Blue mana surged around Ethan’s wrist.
‘Linchester Swordsmanship, Third Form: Swift Sword.’
Whoosh!
Kanion couldn’t believe what happened next. Something floated slowly through the air.
He realized what it was only after it landed on the ground with a thud. A searing pain shot through his shoulder. Kanion screamed.
The onlookers gasped.
His left arm was gone. There was no blood, just a cauterized wound.
Then he saw it. His severed arm, still clutching the broken sword, lay on the ground, engulfed in flames.
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