LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 36
“…That’s enough. Go take a break.”
“Thank you.”
Rienna’s duel ended quickly.
The result? Her disqualification.
Just like Dwenna, she didn’t land a single effective hit.
“Wow, wow…”
“This is the Saint’s power…!”
“I can’t believe she can use holy power like that.”
The content was entirely different.
“Impressive…”
Angela gasped in awe, her voice barely audible.
After all, the difference between 3rd and 2nd place was minimal.
Yet the gap between Rienna and Dwenna was truly staggering.
‘If Dwenna is the best among the ordinary, then…’
Rienna would have to be classified as a genius or a monster.
‘…More than I expected.’
It’d be a lie to say I wasn’t surprised, but I thought she might show skills outside of my assumptions.
After all, she was not just a saint but ‘a saint of prophecy.’
In fact, I would have been more shocked if she had fallen short of such expectations.
“Now it’s the last match.”
Taking a moment to catch her breath, Reyna turned her gaze towards me.
“Come forth, Ran.”
Finally, it was my turn.
I stood up without a word.
“Good luck! You got this!”
Angela lightly grabbed the hem of my clothes and cheered for me.
“Thank you.”
I replied with a faint smile.
Then, I walked towards Reyna at a moderate pace.
“Now that’s a real man.”
“It seems he can handle himself pretty well… but still, just a guy.”
“Let’s see his true colors, giggle.”
“He looks so fragile.”
Perhaps because I hadn’t recklessly charged in, the laughter from the Alpha class students grew even louder.
Well, they hadn’t taken the entrance exam with me.
In contrast, the Beta class, who knew my abilities, remained quiet.
“……”
Only a few of them had glimmers in their eyes.
‘How amusing.’
The ones who parachuted in thanks to family connections were more critical of my abilities than those who earned their spots through merit.
Corruption from connections, relationships, and bloodlines seems to transcend time and dimensions.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Let me remind you again. There won’t be any favors just because you’re a man.”
Reyna clenched her fist and took her stance.
“Then I guess I won’t have to worry about saving face.”
“…How arrogant.”
Reyna’s lower eyelid twitched.
No matter.
I smiled and raised my fist.
“I’ll learn a move or two.”
With that, the alarm signaling the start of the duel rang.
I immediately unleashed my stored energy in my legs.
「Wind Wave Technique: Ran (乱)」
My steps scattered chaotically like leaves in the wind.
Rushing directly at a powerhouse like Reyna was reckless.
Whoosh-!
I approached her from the side as if flowing and threw a punch.
“He’s not just all talk…!”
Reyna quickly grabbed my fist.
Whack!
She then tried to pull me in close to neutralize me.
If I got dragged in like this, an arm lock would quickly follow.
‘Not a chance.’
I spread my opposite hand and focused my energy in my palm.
Focused Energy (罡氣)
Palm (掌)
“What…!”
The accumulated wind pressure shot out, sending Reyna flying.
Kuhuhuuung-!
Dust billowed around us.
“…I can’t believe this.”
Reyna walked out nonchalantly from the dust.
“Are you really a student?”
“You can see for yourself.”
“Sometimes what you see isn’t all there is.”
She certainly spoke vaguely.
But it didn’t sound like a bad thing, so I’d let it slide.
“It seems the title of top student isn’t just for show.”
“Haha, thank you.”
“I’ll be a bit sincere with you.”
She pulled out gloves from her pocket.
Black leather gloves equipped with shock-absorbing cushions.
‘Pulling those out means…’
She’s going to hit me for real now.
“I hope you don’t faint, Ran student.”
“If I ‘faint,’ that is.”
“…I really don’t like you.”
Thud!
With the gloves on, she moved her legs.
The speed at which she moved couldn’t be believed without energy manipulation.
I scattered my senses to track her movements as best as I could.
“I’d recommend dodging instead of blocking.”
In an instant, Reyna closed the distance and swung her fist.
Thud! Thwump!
Her fist just barely grazed my skin.
Is this the bloodline of a noble family?
Even without energy wrapping her fist, it displayed exceptional power.
Slash!
Even having narrowly avoided it, there were cuts on my body as if I had been slashed by a blade.
‘If I took that punch head-on, it wouldn’t just be broken bones.’
Though that thought sent chills down my spine, I had no intention of merely dodging.
Whoosh!
As Reyna prepared a big attack, I wrapped my hands in deep blue energy.
「Blade of Wind Technique: Ryu (流)」
Like a flowing river, the flexible stream sent everything away.
It smoothly deflected her overwhelming force.
Swish…
The trajectory of my fist, swept by the 「Blade of Wind Technique」, changed naturally.
“…!”
An opening.
I seized this moment and drove my fist straight into her jaw.
Thud!
However, there was something I overlooked.
Unlike the sword, which received a talent boost, fists couldn’t maintain energy for long.
I had drained all the energy I gathered into my fist while using the 「Blade of Wind Technique」.
And…
“Not bad. No, truly excellent skill.”
Reyna seemed surprisingly sturdy.
“I’ve had many duels up to now, but you’re the first first-year to land a hit on me.”
It should have hit her jaw squarely.
‘Is she made of stone or something?’
My fist throbbed painfully.
Thud!
“Cough… Hack!”
I felt a heavy pain in my stomach.
Reyna’s knee lightly hit my abdomen.
Let me reiterate.
It was a ‘light’ hit, yet…
“Cough…!”
Even so, the impact flipped my insides.
Good thing I skipped breakfast.
If I had overeaten, I might have thrown up all my insides.
“You!”
Angela’s scream pierced my ears.
“Don’t take it too hard. It’s proof that I’ve acknowledged you.”
“Cough… That’s a bit excessive…!”
The duel wasn’t over yet.
Neither of us had our backs on the ground or exited the dueling area.
“I’ll continue.”
Reyna lifted her leg and brought it down towards me.
I kicked off the ground and dodged backwards.
Crack-!
The ground trembled.
It was shockingly powerful every time I saw it.
“Insane…”
“Shouldn’t someone stop the professor…?”
“The level is… different…”
The faces of those who had mocked me moments ago hung open in disbelief.
They probably didn’t expect Reyna to come out like that.
‘Who wouldn’t be excited seeing a shining gem?’
That applied to both Karen and Ornica as well.
The easiest way to gain recognition in this world is simply to grow stronger.
‘I lack power.’
I might have been able to set an attack on Reyna, but it simply didn’t establish anything.
Merely hitting with wrapped energy wasn’t enough.
Stronger.
Harder.
More precise.
“…If that’s the case.”
I had already seen something like it.
「Demon Fist (魔拳)」
A technique synonymous with Marco.
It maximizes power by enveloping energy more systematically; her unique combat style.
I recalled the moments fighting Marco.
The fierce, almost hellish spirit of his fist.
I felt that blind fervor I had sensed back then.
‘Exclude everything else.’
Cut out the unnecessary.
Only the intention of knocking out the opponent remains in the punch.
‘It doesn’t end with just strengthening the fist.’
Release the strong energy externally.
Make it a ‘stronger fist’!
[You have gained enlightenment thanks to 「Exceptional Talent」.]
[The blessing of growth accelerates growth based on this enlightenment.]
Thick energy seeped into my right hand.
Vwoom!
Like Marco, I formed a colossal fist made of energy.
[You have acquired 「Strong Fist (罡拳)」.]
‘「Strong Fist」…!’
Different from Marco’s 「Demon Fist」, but it would be enough.
“Looks like you pulled out something interesting.”
“Thanks to you.”
Reyna smiled as she gazed at me.
“I guess you won’t mind if I don’t wait!”
She powered off the ground and came flying at me.
‘At this rate, I can’t dodge her punch.’
So I had to approach like we’d both hit each other instead.
“Here I go!”
I extracted the chill of Reyna’s cold energy into my left arm like a shield.
Shield and spear.
An ideal combat form.
“Come!”
“Grrg!”
As the distance closed between Reyna and me,
The two fists.
Ghuuuuuung!
Collided.
*
Thud!
The end of the duel.
One person’s back hit the ground.
“……”
Ran Black.
He had poured everything into the fight and fainted.
“You! You! Get a grip!”
Angela, who had been watching the duel among the students, rushed over to check Ran’s condition.
Her watery eyes were truly beautiful.
“Professor! What on earth have you done? He’s just a boy!”
“…Don’t worry. It shouldn’t be a serious injury.”
In reality, her strike had been halved in power thanks to my ice shield.
Moreover, she had deliberately struck lightly, so it wouldn’t have been a huge shock.
“…Wow.”
“What just… happened?”
“……”
Silence settled over the surroundings.
The duel, which was just for instruction, was far too intense.
The fact that the opponent was a professor and a first-year only left them speechless.
Reyna swallowed her bitter smile and said,
“I lost.”
“…Huh?”
“I mean it. I lost. I broke the rules.”
Just before the final clash.
Reyna instinctively covered herself in icy armor.
It wasn’t a conscious action.
Her body reacted automatically, realizing that attack was genuinely dangerous.
“…Sigh.”
Even so,
Ugh!
There was a pain in my side.
Even with my protection from energy, this was the level of power she demonstrated.
‘If I had taken that punch barehanded.’
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It would be me lying passed out now instead of her.
“…As expected.”
Count Karen wasn’t wrong.
A bright smile appeared on her face.