TGSA 62

Chapter 62

Hunting the Big Game (4)

This was impossible.

As she watched the golden sword aura unfurling from Ernas, Theodora doubted her own eyes.

That golden aura was the trademark of the Valtfeld family.

Theodora’s own Valtfeld Crushing Swordsmanship, and her brother’s Valtfeld Diamond Swordsmanship, both employed that same golden aura.

“How could the heir of the Lanzstein family…!”

Moreover, Ernas was now taking up the basic stance of the Valtfeld Crushing Swordsmanship.

It was exactly the same posture Theodora herself had just assumed.

And with that golden aura shimmering around his blade, anyone watching might mistake Ernas for the heir of the Valtfeld family.

“Did someone from the Valtfeld family leak it? Was there a traitor?”

The Valtfeld Crushing Swordsmanship was the family’s exclusive sword art.

Not even all members of the family were permitted to learn it.

Who could have betrayed them and let it leak?

“Ernas…!”

With her mind in turmoil, Theodora pressed him.

“Who taught you the Valtfeld Crushing Swordsmanship?! Answer me at once!”

“Are you really curious who I learned it from?”

Ernas’s voice was cold.

Nothing like the polite tone he had used toward her just moments earlier.

“I learned it from the person standing right before me.”

“W–what?”

The person standing before him. He meant Theodora.

But Theodora had never taught Ernas.

“Wait… don’t tell me…”

Was he referring to that brief clash outside the Great Labyrinth?

She had suppressed him then, using the Valtfeld Crushing Swordsmanship.

“So you’re saying you’re just imitating the stance you saw then?”

If no one had leaked it, then that was a relief.

Ernas was simply copying the form without understanding the essence of the Valtfeld Crushing Swordsmanship.

“No… but his stance is far too perfect.”

The stance Ernas now assumed was flawless, without a single fault.

He had only seen Theodora’s stance once.

Was it truly possible to reproduce it with such perfection?

“Unless he’s a sword genius…”

Sword genius.

The instant the thought crossed her mind, Theodora shivered.

“Wait, the aura is an even bigger problem!”

Ernas had manifested the Valtfeld family’s golden aura.

Could he have reproduced even that after seeing hers only once?

“There’s no way such a genius exists!”

And he wasn’t just copying the color.

He had adjusted the aura in the Valtfeld family’s unique way—reinforcing it to destroy an opponent’s aura.

To replicate that after a single glance was utterly impossible.

“Besides, this aura can only be used at least at Graduate Intermediate level!”

But Ernas was just Graduate Lower.

The aura he’d shown outside the labyrinth had definitely been at Graduate Lower level.

And yet now, he was displaying a Graduate Intermediate aura.

“Was he hiding his power all this time? No… impossible!”

Considering the limited amount of elixirs he could have received at the academy, even reaching Graduate Lower was outstanding.

Even if he had absorbed 100% of the elixir’s magic, reaching Graduate Intermediate was impossible.

Then had he been stockpiling magic since before entering the academy?

“There’s no way his magic suddenly surged just from falling underground…”

She couldn’t make sense of it.

This boy Ernas standing before her—she had no idea what he truly was.

Her heart shaken, even her own aura began to waver.

“Ugh…!”

No. This wouldn’t do.

Theodora bit her lip, forcing herself to focus again.

“Fine. It doesn’t matter how Ernas is using the Valtfeld family’s power…!”

Either way, he would die here.

She could puzzle out the mysteries later.

“No matter how much power he has, I can crush him with my Graduate Upper strength!”

She resolved herself.

Without further hesitation, she launched her attack.

“Ernas…!”

Boom!

She kicked off the ground, surging forward.

The technique she now unleashed was the Valtfeld Crushing Swordsmanship’s signature attack—Grand Smash.

“Even if Ernas has Graduate Intermediate strength…!”

A duel of Valtfeld sword arts would come down to pure strength against strength.

Ernas was Intermediate. Theodora was Upper.

Her aura would inevitably be stronger.

The outcome was obvious, beyond doubt.

“Haaah…!”

A massive strike shot forward.

This level of aura should break Ernas’s sword and deal a fatal blow.

Theodora was certain of it.

“…!”

Crash!

Her strike missed.

Ernas had deflected it—no, skillfully redirected it.

Theodora’s blow sliced harmlessly through the air, without injuring him at all.

“What?!”

In that moment, she realized it.

Ernas had switched to a different sword art and redirected her Grand Smash.

“That’s… the Partizan Judgment Swordsmanship?!”

She had expected him to counter with the Valtfeld sword art, but at some point he had shifted.

Ernas had used the Partizan Judgment Swordsmanship to redirect her attack.

“No, that’s even more absurd!”

The Judgment Swordsmanship was famous for its defensive prowess.

But it was not meant to withstand the might of a Graduate Upper’s strike.

“How did he block my attack?!”

Confused, Theodora launched another strike.

“She must be wondering how I blocked it.”

I watched Theodora’s eyes.

She was clearly shaken.

Thanks to that, I could easily read the trajectory of her next attack.

“Ugh…!”

I parried again.

Her blow had no real impact on me.

I understood her attacks and simply redirected them elsewhere.

At this point, I understood the Valtfeld Crushing Swordsmanship as well as she did.

That meant I could not only anticipate which techniques she would use, but also instantly find the right counter.

By fully grasping a style, one could devise ways to defend against it.

“I can’t win by brute force. So… I’ll win by skill.”

I had created a way to defend against the Valtfeld sword art using the Judgment Swordsmanship.

And with it, I succeeded in diverting her attacks.

“But I can’t rely on this forever.”

Given time, Theodora would adapt to my technique.

As a Graduate Upper, she had the experience to find a solution.

I needed to finish this before then.

“Time to counterattack.”

Swish!

I thrust my sword forward.

Targeting her opening.

“Ugh…!”

But it wasn’t quite enough.

She twisted her body at the last second, and my blade struck only air.

“You…!”

Still, her eyes wavered.

She was shaken by how easily I had exploited her opening.

“You don’t understand, Theodora.”

I fully understood her Valtfeld sword art now.

That let me see every opening she revealed.

“A few hours ago, I might not have been able to exploit those openings… but now…”

I had absorbed a significant amount of power from the Black Shadow Grass.

As a result, I now wielded Graduate Intermediate magic power, and my mana heart had grown.

I still wasn’t practiced enough to manifest defensive auras, but I could strengthen my blade and amplify my body freely.

“With my current self… I can do it!”

I launched into a full assault.

Striking at her openings with precision.

She swung desperately, and our auras clashed.

“…!”

Flash!

I angled my blade, avoiding a head-on clash.

Sliding into her guard, I aimed at the outside of her right arm.

She reacted instantly, our auras colliding.

Boom! A thunderous impact rang out, but little force reached me.

Her stance had been unstable.

“She’s faltering.”

I avoided direct clashes.

In a frontal contest of power, she would win.

Especially with the Valtfeld golden aura—meeting it head-on would shatter mine.

“Ernas…!”

Her attacks grew frantic.

Confused by this incomprehensible battle, she had lost the composure of a seasoned Graduate.

“What on earth are you?!”

Flash!

Her golden aura flared dangerously.

That was the moment I had prepared for. I unleashed an offensive technique from the Valahail Heavy Swordsmanship.

“…?!”

Crash!

It didn’t land.

But it rattled her further.

“How can you move so unpredictably…!”

I didn’t answer.

I kept pressing with technique after technique.

As a veteran Graduate, she must have realized that I was freely shifting between different sword arts.

And that realization only unsettled her further.

“I need to push her to the edge.”

In truth, I hadn’t dealt her even a single wound.

As a freshly Intermediate, I had little chance of overpowering a Graduate Upper like her.

I was only pressing her psychologically.

“But that’s enough.”

Crash!

Our auras collided once again.

Amid the deafening noise, Theodora’s eyes widened.

She had spotted my foot slip into the lake, momentarily disrupting my stance.

“Ernas…!”

She didn’t miss her chance.

As I tried to recover, she struck with a lethal blow.

But this was her mistake.

“Driven to the edge, she lunged at the first opening she saw.”

Her reckless move gave me my chance.

If I could break through this strike head-on, I could drive a fatal counter into her torso.

Of course, for me—only Intermediate—to break the attack of an Upper head-on was nearly impossible.

There was just one way.

“…!”

I poured everything into my blade.

The golden aura surrounding it sparked with blue lightning.

It was the fusion of the Valtfeld sword art and the Kalesius Thunder-Lance Swordsmanship.

“This is the only way to defeat Theodora.”

The Valtfeld art that could shatter even an opponent’s aura.

The Kalesius art that let one summon explosive strength to face stronger foes.

Combined together, and fueled by the immense magic I had absorbed from the Black Shadow Grass.

“…!”

I saw Theodora’s eyes widen.

But it was too late.

BOOOOOM!

With a thunderous roar, my strike blasted forward, smashing her aura to pieces.