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Chapter 31
Capturing Simultaneously (3)
Yols Kalesius.
A man who single-handedly defeated a dragon and received the title “Dragon Slayer Sword (Dorong Sword)” from the Emperor.
He was a swordsman at the “pinnacle” level, beyond even the Graduate Advanced tier.
The sword technique Yols primarily used was Gratusia Dragon Slayer Swordsmanship.
However, Gratusia Dragon Slayer Swordsmanship was a technique for Graduate Advanced level and above.
With my mere Graduate Lower-level strength, there was no way I could wield it.
“So, I had to acquire another sword technique.”
A few days ago, I met with Yols and attempted Yusrecht’s “Ability Reproduction.”
The penalty had been lifted 12 days after copying Lester’s Lancaster Short Sword Technique.
Most of Yols’ main abilities could only be used after reaching an extremely high level.
But… among them, there was a sword technique I could use.
“Kuaaah…!”
Gort charged straight at me.
His eyes were bloodshot, veins bulging across his face.
The excessive magic coursing through him was pushing his entire body to its limits.
“Magic is about to go berserk.”
Still, he was the heir to one of the Six Great Swordsmanship Houses.
Even at the brink, he controlled his magic just enough to maximize his power.
“……!”
Boom!
With a deafening crash, Gort’s greatsword swung forward.
It was a wooden sword, but with that much magic unleashed, it could easily crush a person.
“Not a sword… more like a wooden pillar… no, now it feels like an iron pillar.”
It wasn’t sharp.
Instead, the destructive power was maximized.
If hit without deploying protective magic, my bones would shatter and my insides rupture.
“But the balance is off.”
Naturally.
A bigger, sturdier weapon isn’t automatically better; otherwise, people would carry iron pillars instead of swords.
Even Gort, trained in Baltfeld Medium Swordsmanship, wasn’t accustomed to such a weapon.
That’s why… I could counter it.
“Haaap!”
Thud!
Gort’s attack smashed nearby rocks, but it didn’t touch a single hair on me.
He continued his onslaught, but I dodged every strike.
I didn’t even need to clash swords.
“This brat…!”
“Gort, your movements are too big,” I said coldly as I evaded him.
“And far too crude.”
“Shut up…!”
Kwang!
This time Gort’s sword struck the ground.
Dirt splashed onto his face.
“Ugh!”
He grimaced.
At that instant, his focus slipped, and I could see magic dispersing from his wooden sword.
“You can’t control that much magic with your skill. It’s leaking away. Soon, only magic suitable for a Graduate Lower level will remain.”
“Don’t act all high and mighty, Ernas!”
Gort shouted.
“If magic leaks, I’ll just drink an elixir and refill it!”
“Hopeless.”
Stealing elixirs from other students is against the rules.
Even if it’s kept secret now, repeated offenses would eventually be discovered.
“Kaaak!”
At that moment, Gort’s whole body expanded.
He drew all remaining magic to enhance his physical strength.
“How’s that, now…!”
“He even drained the minimum magic reserved in the Mana Heart.”
Normally, one doesn’t use all the magic from the Mana Heart, keeping some in reserve.
Forcing magic like Gort did was unwise.
“You shouldn’t do that with your skill. We learned this in class.”
“Don’t lecture me, Ernas!”
There was no helping it.
After all, this guy was a character I had created.
I could see from an omniscient perspective what mistakes he was making.
“You coward avoiding a frontal fight… I could crush you with a single strike!”
Kwoong!
Gort charged, kicking off the ground.
Much faster and more threatening than before.
“Haaaap!”
He swung his sword with a battle cry.
The shockwave alone could harm a person—a destructive attack.
But… to me, it was completely obvious.
“……!”
After slicing through the air, Gort struck the ground.
I had already leapt into the air.
Just like when I subdued Verisrizé earlier.
“This guy…!”
Gort tried to react, but it was too late.
My technique was already in motion.
‘Falling Thunder (Nakrai).’
A strike descended like a flash of lightning, hitting Gort.
Kalesius Azure Thunder Swordsmanship.
A Graduate-exclusive sword technique developed by Yols Kalesius for his students.
Based on his combat experience in the Western Wasteland, it focused on exploiting openings for decisive attacks.
Its defining feature was the momentary concentration of magic to maximize attack power.
A sudden blue flash piercing an opponent’s vital point resembled a lightning strike.
“But, at this point, it’s still incomplete.”
The Kalesius Azure Thunder Swordsmanship I obtained from Yols was still C-Rank.
Yols himself hadn’t perfected it.
In the original story, Yols dies before completing it.
“And the protagonist, Akandel, completes it instead.”
Kalesius Azure Thunder Swordsmanship had tremendous potential.
Akandel would finish it and unleash its true power, allowing even powerful beings to be felled with a single, maximized strike.
Knowing this, I deliberately learned it among many Graduate-exclusive techniques.
I would need to perfect it myself to advance the story.
“Kruuuk…!”
Gort staggered after being struck by the first move, Falling Thunder.
His massive wooden sword had already shattered.
Shards were embedded across his body.
“How… how could this….”
Worst of all, his wrists were destroyed.
He had gripped the sword tightly to resist Nakrai.
If he had relaxed his grip, he would have been fine, but his enhanced strength made his wrists break.
“Ugh…!”
Even in that state, Gort didn’t give up.
He tried to charge at me with the remaining fragments of his sword.
But he staggered and fell to his knees.
“Kheuk…!”
The magic enhancing his body drained away.
His magic for creating the sword strikes had already dispersed.
Now, he would lose almost all his magic.
Pursuing power beyond his real skill had backfired.
“No… my carefully gathered magic… my magic…!”
“That’s not your magic, Gort.”
I looked down at him coldly.
“It was stolen from other students and destined to be lost eventually.”
“Ugh…!”
“Gort, start over from the beginning.”
I raised my wooden sword toward him.
“This time, the right way.”
“……!”
Thud!
Gort collapsed to the ground.
Having subdued both Verisrizé and Gort, I thought:
‘Yellow Class 3 will be in chaos for a while.’
Gort lost his magic and injured his wrists.
I wondered how the students who had been exploited by Gort would respond.
‘They’ll manage.’
I turned to look at Verisrizé.
She was still unconscious.
But the damage she suffered was less than Gort’s.
‘She hadn’t even reached Graduate level yet.’
Had she been closer to Graduate, she would have lost her magic like Gort or Lester did.
‘From this perspective… the academy’s current hierarchy, aside from me, is 1 strong, 2 average, 1 weak.’
-
Strong: That guy from Blue Class 2.
-
Average: Rufus and Verisrizé, retaining their magic.
-
Weak: Gort, who lost his magic.
Serine would rank slightly above Rufus and Verisrizé.
I walked along the mountain path.
Having taken down Gort and Verisrizé, it was time to strike Yellow Class 3 and Green Class 4’s fortifications.
Even if Black Class 6 was under attack, Serine was guarding it.
‘First, the weakest, Yellow Class 3.’
I used Lichtenauer Body Transformation Technique to propel myself.
With my Graduate Lower-level body, the speed was astonishing.
I approached Yellow Class 3’s position, meeting students with lazy expressions on guard.
“Excuse me.”
I lightly swept them aside with my sword and entered the gate.
I immediately destroyed the yellow flag at the entrance.
‘One of four down… three left.’
The remaining three would be further inside.
I would destroy them all and move to Green Class 4’s position.
With few defenders, it wouldn’t take long.
‘Neglecting defense was your mistake, Gort, Verisrizé.’
For the victory of Black Class 6, I entered the fortification without hesitation.
Meanwhile, at the southern zone of the battlefield:
On a high mountain, Red Class 1’s position, Rufus Ignias was fighting his final battle.
“Ugh…!”
Red Class 1 had already lost three flags.
If Rufus fell, the last flag would be taken, resulting in a complete defeat against Blue Class 2.
‘Such disgrace…!’
Red Class 1 had originally aimed to attack the weakest, White Class 5’s position.
But Blue Class 2, moving quickly, annihilated White Class 5’s position first.
Then they turned on Red Class 1, leaving it ravaged.
‘Blue Class 2 isn’t inherently stronger than Red Class 1!’
Most students were similar in skill.
The difference was Blue Class 2’s representative.
‘This time, Blue Class 2 entrusted everything to that one person!’
The swordsman standing before Rufus, with long blue hair to his waist, was Blue Class 2’s representative.
“……?”
At that moment, he turned his head.
He seemed to be looking at the northern sky.
‘A gap…?’
An opportunity to attack.
But Rufus couldn’t move.
Charging would likely lead to a counterattack and defeat.
The skill gap was that great.
“What… is he looking at?”
Rufus asked tensely.
A calm voice replied:
“The positions to the north.”
“The positions…?”
“Yellow Class 3 and Green Class 4’s positions have fallen. Black Class 6 has achieved a complete victory.”
“……!”
Rufus swallowed hard.
How could he know that from such a distance?
“Who was the representative of Black Class 6 again?”
“E-Ernas Lanzstein…”
“I see.”
The blue-haired swordsman turned his gaze back to Rufus.
He muttered while delivering an unavoidable strike:
“That must be him.”
The “prodigy” of Blue Class 2.
The strongest of Lichtenauer Swordsmanship Academy had taken an interest in Ernas.
