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Chapter 30
Attacking Simultaneously (2)
I stopped midway.
From this spot, I could either charge into the Yellow Class 3 position or dash toward the Green Class 4 position.
It was also a suitable terrain for confronting both Berisrise and Gort at the same time.
“Ernas!”
Finally, a sharp voice called out.
Berisrise was approaching, her dazzling golden hair flowing.
“It’s been a while since we faced each other, Berisrise.”
“…!”
When I spoke, Berisrise scowled in anger.
“What did I say wrong? It feels like it’s been ages since we’ve faced each other and talked.”
“We spoke briefly during the entrance exam! You really are something…!”
“Oh, really?”
I hadn’t known that.
It wasn’t detailed in the novel.
“Ernas, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
“It’s a misunderstanding, Berisrise.”
“That’s laughable. I can’t believe a word you say.”
In the novel, Berisrise was a student who distrusted Ernas even more than Cerine did.
Ernas had exploited that psychology to manipulate her at will.
“Ernas!”
Boom!
Gort landed with a thud after leaping from afar.
He seemed to have maximized his leap by combining leg strength with mana.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but don’t plan on moving any further from here.”
“……”
“I’ll crush you right here.”
Gort raised his specially crafted wooden sword.
It was much larger than an ordinary wooden sword, resembling a wooden pillar.
“Berisrise, attack together.”
“Wait, Gort. I still have things to say to Ernas…”
“Is now the time for that? Focus on subduing Ernas first!”
“Ugh…”
Berisrise bit her lip and raised her sword.
Unlike Gort’s, hers was a lighter, thinner modified wooden sword.
Its tip was sharpened enough that striking a vital point could kill.
‘Something like that should’ve been confiscated. Is this also the power of one of the six great sword-fighting families?’
A massive wooden sword.
A pointed wooden sword.
They wielded wooden swords optimized for maximum attack in their own styles and surrounded me.
“Tah…!”
“Hah…!”
They moved with a slight delay between them.
Gort charged from my right, and Berisrise ran toward my left, slightly behind.
But Berisrise reached me first.
“…!”
Whoosh!
A sharp overhead strike.
It would be dangerous if it hit my face.
But I dodged it perfectly.
“You dodged?!”
Mana was already deployed in my eyes.
With my visual acuity pushed to its limit, I could anticipate Berisrise’s movements.
‘Berisrise isn’t even a Graduate yet.’
While dodging her attack, I swung my sword.
Just doing that was enough to deflect Gort’s strike in another direction.
“Hmph?!”
Gort groaned.
He probably couldn’t believe that his power had been redirected.
But I had only subtly guided Gort’s attack away.
‘Colliding head-on would be risky.’
Right now, Gort’s strength was greater.
There was nothing I could do; our physiques were different.
So I couldn’t clash directly.
I only needed to redirect the attack.
Using sword energy.
“This guy… manipulating sword energy…!”
Gort realized it too late and was shocked.
“Berisrise! He used sword energy to slip my attack!”
“What?!”
Sword energy is the flow of mana.
By controlling the flow, you can adjust the sword energy’s properties.
If managed correctly, the impact from a collision can be diverted, even redirecting Gort’s Baltfelt medium sword technique.
“That’s impossible! That’s… only possible for a lower Graduate!”
Berisrise shouted in disbelief.
I moved toward the rising-voice Berisrise.
Though flustered, she immediately launched an attack.
A dazzling series of thrusts from the Schreier Triple Sword Technique.
‘As expected of Berisrise. Even in this state of agitation, her attacks are swift.’
This technique was ingrained through years of training.
She didn’t need to think—it came reflexively.
I couldn’t do that.
I had to consciously execute each move.
‘Here, I’ll respond with Vertical Trinity.’
Papapat!
The three-strike sequence representing Bastian Knight Swordsmanship disrupted Berisrise’s attack.
Using mana as a Graduate allowed me to surpass her technique.
“Ernas!”
Gort swung his massive wooden sword, aiming for my rear.
But I lightly shifted and avoided the strike.
‘Bastian Knight Swordsmanship is sufficient here.’
I swung my sword again, restraining Gort.
A classical Eastern-style swordsmanship, not unconventional.
Just that alone was enough to make Gort hesitate.
“This guy… such refined swordsmanship…!”
“Don’t hesitate, Gort!”
Urging him to cooperate, Berisrise charged at me again.
‘Ernas handling a sword so skillfully…!’
Berisrise was confused.
She knew I had hidden my sword skills, but not to this extent.
‘And it’s refined Eastern swordsmanship… from someone who’s trained consistently over many years!’
She couldn’t comprehend it.
The Ernas she knew didn’t train diligently.
He might have held a woman’s hand at a dance more times than he had wielded a sword.
‘He trained secretly? Where no one could see?’
Why?
Why go to such lengths to hide it?
‘Truly… you’re…!’
A con artist.
A ruthless con artist, thinking only of deceiving others.
With that thought, Berisrise swung her sword.
“Ernas Lanzstein…!”
She shouted, pressing forward.
She aimed directly for vital points.
A strike from her wooden sword could be deadly, but she didn’t hesitate.
‘This isn’t just sword skill…!’
I was enhancing my combat ability with mana.
Improving strength, agility, and reinforcing my wooden sword, Berisrise’s strikes were ineffective.
Especially, I seemed to be controlling the mana flow in my sword at each instant.
‘This isn’t a beginner Graduate!’
A newly minted Graduate couldn’t manage mana this skillfully.
It required a lower Graduate level.
But this shouldn’t be possible.
I’d only taken two red Elixirs at most. It hadn’t even been months since forming my Mana Heart.
Reaching lower Graduate level under these conditions…
‘Am I supposed to be a swordsmanship prodigy?!’
A swordsmanship prodigy.
Impossible. Something must be off.
‘Yes, there’s a trick!’
Perhaps I had been taking Elixirs even before entering the Academy.
Or maybe I took them from other students.
Could that trick have given me this power?
‘Cheating like this… deceiving people every time!’
Berisrise raised her mana.
Creating sword energy was still taxing, but enhancing her physical ability with mana was possible.
‘Faster than Ernas…!’
She activated all her muscles.
Upper and lower body began responding faster than ever before.
“Gort! Use all your strength too!”
“Ah, understood!”
She shouted at Gort and attacked.
Ernas’ swordsmanship was orthodox. If she predicted his movements and struck fast, she could win.
‘Here?!’
Berisrise found an opening in Ernas’ defense.
At that moment, she fully drew on her Mana Heart’s power.
‘Ray Spike…!’
Whoosh!
Had she used a real rapier, it would have looked like a streak of light piercing the enemy.
Her thrust, at incredible speed, penetrated Ernas’ opening.
A secret technique of the Schreier Triple Sword Technique, executed at full power.
‘I can’t block this with standard swordsmanship!’
But at that moment, Ernas’ movements changed.
The elegant Eastern swordsmanship completely collapsed.
“Huh?”
In that instant, Ernas vanished from sight.
No, he hadn’t disappeared.
“Berisrise, above!”
“…!”
Berisrise quickly raised her gaze.
Ernas was suspended in mid-air.
And Berisrise was desperately thrusting into empty space.
‘This… isn’t Eastern swordsmanship!’
At that moment, a voice flashed through Berisrise’s mind.
Professor Yols: “Trickery is part of skill.”
‘He tricked me… to lure my attack?!’
Ernas struck from mid-air.
It resembled Western swordsmanship, but the stance was unlike anything seen before.
“Ernas…!”
She screamed and raised her sword, but her posture collapsed after the Ray Spike strike.
“Ugh…!”
Kra-rung!
A sound like thunder cracked as Ernas’ attack landed.
Berisrise’s wooden sword shattered into pieces.
“…!”
Not just snapped—it was completely destroyed into dust.
Ernas’ sword energy had displayed overwhelming power.
‘Could this be… a Graduate-exclusive technique?!’
At that moment, beyond Ernas’ second attack, I noticed Gort standing quietly.
He didn’t help Berisrise, but stepped back, observing me.
‘That traitor…!’
Gort had used Berisrise as a test to gauge Ernas’ abilities.
Realizing this, Berisrise opened her mouth to criticize—but it was too late.
“Ah…!”
Ernas’ second attack struck Berisrise.
Boom!
Berisrise was knocked into a rock.
She slumped over.
Since sword energy wasn’t used in the second attack, her life was unharmed.
“Then, Gort.”
I turned my gaze.
Gort had been quietly watching me while Berisrise was struck.
“Now it’s just you left.”
“Ernas…”
Gort glared at me fearfully.
“Was that just now… a Graduate-exclusive technique?”
“Use your imagination.”
“Haha, geez.”
Gort laughed, scratching his head.
“You can tell at a glance. That sword energy couldn’t be produced using only the red Elixir provided by the Academy.”
“….”
“You must have taken Elixirs apart from what the Academy provides. Did you get them before entering? Or did you take them from other students?”
Hearing that, I spoke coldly to Gort.
“Don’t think I’m the same as you, Gort.”
“…!”
At that moment, Gort flinched.
I had struck a nerve.
“The one taking extra Elixirs must’ve been you.”
“….”
Indeed.
Gort had taken Elixirs from Yellow Class 3 students.
Of course, without sufficient understanding, just consuming Elixirs is meaningless.
Mana temporarily increases, but it fades over time.
“Increasing mana without skill is pointless. Don’t you feel guilty toward other students?”
“Shut up, Ernas…!”
At that moment, Gort’s massive wooden sword surged with mana.
When cooperating with Berisrise, he hadn’t unleashed such intense sword energy.
“This immense power is mine! With it, I’ll crush you, and defeat the ‘prodigy’ of Blue Class 2!”
“You dream big.”
I responded coldly and raised my sword.
“Then I’ll wake you from that dream.”
“Ernas…!”
Like an enraged bull, Gort charged.
Watching him squarely, I drew my mana.
I would finish this battle with the pinnacle of swordsmanship.
