LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 10 - A mess from the first day. (3)
“Huff…”
-Clang
How many times has it been now?
-Clang
One more time
-Kagaga
Once again.
-Kang
In just under 5 minutes.
Within that time, Aaron deflected Aslan’s sword over 60 times.
“Flow… flow…”
He repeats the words that come to mind, or rather, the words he needs to engrave in his mind, mixing them with his breath.
“Defense is certainly…”
-Kang
Once again, the two swords clash.
One might think Aslan is merely swinging his greatsword lightly.
However, it contained the greatsword techniques of the Reinhardt family.
Aaron’s ability to perfectly block every attack couldn’t be explained by mere familiarity.
-Swoosh
The barrage of strikes that seemed indiscriminate finally stopped.
“You, what exactly are you?”
Aslan, standing in front of Aaron, is utterly perplexed.
“Why does your level keep rising?”
A clearly felt strangeness.
He, who had crossed swords, was feeling it.
Aaron’s bizarre growth.
One might think it’s just 5 minutes.
But in terms of the number of strikes, he blocked over 60 sword attacks.
It doesn’t make sense for someone who was panting after blocking just two strikes earlier to endure this much.
This is the sword of the Reinhardt family, one of the families that founded the Empire with their swordsmanship.
Aslan is also recognized as having talent that almost certainly guarantees he’ll become a Sword Master in the future.
And now, such a person is unable to overcome a single student.
‘Was there a reason Gwen spoke to him?’
-Whoosh
-Kigigi
This time, he deflects Aslan’s slash by raising his sword vertically, barely managing it.
“Try this!”
Increasing the rotation speed of his aura, Aslan swings at a different speed than before, aiming for the gap in Aaron’s mind that had grown accustomed to the previous speed, but Aaron still blocks it.
‘What exactly is this?’
In terms of strength and the amount of mana, Aslan is overwhelmingly superior.
He was even a prodigy of the Reinhardt family.
Yet he couldn’t reach Aaron.
‘Is this what they call talent?’
No.
Aslan is making one misunderstanding.
Aaron has no talent.
He’s not good at handling mana.
He can’t even use aura.
“Block… magic… flow…”
He was just imitating.
The flow of mana he had seen in the duels until now.
The flow of aura when swinging the sword.
What kind of flow is strong when blocking a downward strike.
Where to block to be most stable when countering a frontal attack.
One might think he’s just imitating the duels of those without skill.
However, that’s a mistaken thought.
The flow of mana is a kind of shortcut.
Merely accelerating the rotation speed for mana use is like meaninglessly flooring the accelerator in a muddy field.
A little faster, a little more efficient.
Mixing in the shortcuts of aura, even shortcuts that mana users can’t find.
The path becomes even shorter, and the speed skyrockets.
With each attack that came, Aaron adapted.
-Clang
How the mana inside the body should move to be efficient.
-Kagaga
At what angle to hold the sword to use less strength.
‘Next. Sword. Above.’
Even the unique pattern that Aslan himself hadn’t recognized.
“Rotation… rotation… flow…”
Looking at him, Aslan thought.
“He seems to be out of his mind already.”
-Glance
The homeroom professor doesn’t seem to intend to stop the duel despite Aaron’s near-exhaustion.
“If this continues… it’s not a good situation.”
Despite Aslan’s offensive continuing for over 5 minutes, Aaron defended against all attacks without any offense of his own.
The story of a fallen noble withstanding a ducal family’s fierce attack is never good.
For a ducal family, reputation at the academy continues even after graduation.
A tiny black dot that wouldn’t be considered a blemish becomes all the more noticeable on a pure white reputation.
“I’ll go all out.”
That’s why Aslan thought.
There’s a need to divert attention with a flashy technique even now.
-Whoosh
A red pillar of fire rises up.
If the Cabala family controlled ice,
“Aaron, I’m sorry for underestimating you until now.”
-Whoosh
The flaming greatsword strikes down.
Impossible to defend.
The rising flames will burn his arms even if he tries to block with his sword.
Impossible to evade.
His speed isn’t enough to dodge, and even if he moves to avoid it, the range of the greatsword and flames is too wide.
‘It’s over.’
A final blow that can’t be avoided by his defense or evasion anymore.
Aaron recognized this too.
That’s why he thought.
“Frost… frost…”
Water stops fire.
Then, how about ice?
Words that pass through Aaron’s fading consciousness.
‘Frost. Ice. Attack. Flow. Defense.’
Aaron saw it.
The flow of aura like frost.
A defense that nullifies another attack with only attack.
-Crack
[Trait: {Analyzer} is preparing to bloom.]
Mana gathers in the sword Aaron is holding.
-Woong… wooong…
Just 2 circles.
No matter how much mana is poured into the sword, aura couldn’t form.
But what if he imitates the flow of aura with mana?
And that, too, the flow of aura containing the characteristics of a Sword Expert.
-Pssst
The mana gathered in the sword scatters.
‘Oh no…’
It’s a problem if the trait activates just by imitating the flow.
-Wooong
But he gathers mana once again.
It’s too late to take any other action to block the flaming greatsword swung before his eyes.
Even if it fails, swinging with mana is more likely to block than just swinging the sword.
-Swish
At that moment, a warm sensation felt in his hand.
It felt as soft as a gentle woman’s hand.
Along with the feeling of that hand, something changed.
Although very faint, a chill is felt.
-Rustle
How should he put it?
That hand felt like the hand of a long-time lover.
-Crack
A sword strike that could be described as a crescent moon.
Unlike Gwen’s sword, which showed a half-moon shape with a slash full of aura, the faint mana at the tip of the sword shone like a crescent moon.
But that was enough.
The flames split.
-Swish
Very slightly, Aslan’s cheek was cut.
Enough for a little blood to flow.
-Drip
But what fell from his cheek was red frost.
Although very shallow, what it signifies is only one thing.
The blood froze.
“This is… the Cabala family’s…?”
The characteristic of aura is that it’s connected by blood.
It’s not something that can be passed down.
Moreover, Aaron is a mana user, not an aura user.
Everything was shown, but the puzzle pieces were strange.
None of it fits together.
“You, perhaps…”
Aslan called out to Aaron, wanting to solve this incomprehensible answer sheet.
Aaron’s mind has somewhat returned after they both used big techniques and are now panting.
But for some reason, Aaron stares at empty space with blurry eyes.
“Haha… I’m screwed.”
I think I’ve always had a problem with focusing too much.
Seeing that I didn’t notice even with the penalty window giving warnings.
[The fatigue forcibly confined in your body has exceeded its limit.]
[You’ve crossed a wall that shouldn’t be crossed with 2 circles.]
[You’ve opened a path that mana shouldn’t enter.]
[You’ve reached the limit of your mind.]
[The wave of fatigue is overflowing.]
“Ah… aah… cough!”
-Drip
By constantly applying body reinforcement, Aaron had been avoiding backlash for a long time.
Here, Aaron made one misconception.
‘Backlash doesn’t come when body reinforcement is applied.’
That is only half correct.
Fatigue accumulates.
Body reinforcement is just like tape wrapping around a cracking glass countless times.
If the contents inside keep rising endlessly, the weight can’t be sustained by tape.
As a result.
“Cough.. urgh!”
Nonstop coughing and vomiting blood.
“A… Aaron! What’s wrong with you!”
Aslan, standing in front of him, was flustered by his sudden condition.
-Thud
Aaron finally fainted on the dueling ground after continuously coughing up blood.
-Drip
Aaron is spitting out blood to such an extent that one might think even death wouldn’t be this miserable.
The blood gradually began to pool, dark enough to be perceived as black.
“What… what is this…”
“Is this… raising a sword against a ducal family…”
Meanwhile, the nobles think Aslan created this miserable situation.
The atmosphere in the dueling ground is gradually filled with the confused voices of students.
-Clap
At that moment, a thunderous applause resounds in the hall.
“Everyone, be quiet! I’ll take Aaron to the infirmary. Aslan, you take charge of the students for now.”
“Yes, yes!”
The homeroom teacher quickly focused the students’ attention to prevent the dark mood from spreading. Then, swiftly carrying Aaron on his back, he headed to the infirmary.
—–
-Tadadada
“Cough…”
The homeroom professor Hector runs quickly.
“Hmm… blood, is it.”
However, for some reason, the urgent atmosphere from earlier has disappeared, and he wears a blank expression.
He looks at the blood splattered on his own shoulder with dull eyes as if it’s nothing.
“I didn’t know when to stop a duel because I’ve never officiated one before.”
-Wobble
For a very brief moment, his body wavered like clay.
“Being a professor is indeed hard to act.”
-Tadadada
With those words, he changed his expression again.
-Screech
The infirmary door opens forcefully.
“It’s Professor Hector! It’s an emergency!”
—–
[Hidden Passive ‘Terminal Illness’ absorbs most of the fatigue]
[Due to the effect of Hidden Passive’ Terminal Illness’, the subject’s body cannot be damaged beyond terminal illness]
[Damage has been absorbed.]
[Trait: {????} is activated.]
—–
“Hmm…”
Grasping my hazy consciousness, I opened my eyes with difficulty.
A familiar ceiling… no, what am I talking about.
“Where is this?”
Looking around, all I see is a space covered with white cloth.
I was lying on a bed with my clothes changed.
-Clank
“Oh?”
When I tried to move my arm, it’s caught on something and won’t move.
-Clank clank
“Why am I tied up?”
And with chains that look like they’re for prisoners.
-Swoosh
Before I could grasp the situation, the cloth surrounding me was removed.
As I lifted my head, I saw white hair.
White hair that reaches down to the waist, but each strand of hair feels more transparent than any white color.
Amethyst eyes shone through that white hair.
“Hello?”
A villainess who deems even humans as unworthy of interest, living only in response to her own interests.
“Is this… our first meeting?”
The figure closest to pure evil among villainesses.
The disciple of the Magic Tower Lord, Vivian Karula.
Translator’s Corner
I’ll be uploading the release to daily. If I catch up to the raws, I’ll keep the last 5 locked.
-Ruminas