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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Sword Breaker
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"Aargh!"
Thud!
The last of the four girls who'd been badmouthing me tumbled to the floor.
Unable to breach my Steel Skin and relentless shield attacks, she finally crumbled.
She rolled around on the ground before passing out cold.
It was a streak of overwhelming victories, an unstoppable force.
The four girls, utterly helpless against me, gnawed on their handkerchiefs, seething with indignation.
But the moment their eyes met mine, they recoiled in fright.
Cold sweat beaded on their foreheads.
All thanks to the thorough thrashing I'd given them.
They certainly wouldn't dare badmouth me to my face again.
'Doesn't feel bad at all.'
Refreshing, actually.
This must be what 'pure satisfaction' feels like.
Before I knew it, I was ranked 15th.
Most students were already done with their mock battles and awaiting results, but mine was far from over.
'Four more to go.'
Beat four more, and I'd definitively break into the top ranks.
'Whew, even I'm starting to feel it.'
I'd certainly grown stronger through all that physical training.
But trying to claw my way up from 46th to 15th in a single push…
My stamina was finally starting to flag.
What's more, as I pushed into the mid-ranks, the skill disparity definitely widened.
It was clear this wasn't Gerion Academy for nothing—only exceptional students made it this far.
My Steel Skin alone was beginning to reach its limits.
It was a good thing this was just a mock battle.
If it were a life-or-death struggle, I wouldn't have been able to defeat even these mid-ranked students so easily.
In a real fight, they'd use any means necessary to kill their opponent.
It would undoubtedly be a far tougher fight than this.
'Even so, Steel Skin alone won't cut it against the top ranks.'
I'd prepared a few tricks for that very purpose.
But even I wasn't sure how effective they'd truly be.
"What rank is he already?"
"He's already 15th."
"At this rate, he might even break into the top tier, huh?"
Just then, murmurs rippled through the students.
In fact, there were hardly any students in the history of mock battles who had caused such a drastic shift in rankings.
Most students' ranks only shifted by about three spots at most.
"You know, this situation… doesn't it feel a lot like before?"
"Yeah, like Lucas and…"
At that moment, the students abruptly fell silent.
Realizing their slip-up, they glanced nervously at someone.
The object of their nervous glances was Isabel.
She had been quietly observing my battles the entire time.
Isabel's current mock battle rank was 5th.
Considering she had originally been 10th, she'd climbed an impressive five spots.
Isabel's skill had clearly reached new heights.
But Isabel had a specific opponent in mind.
And that was the very person who had clawed their way up from the lower to the mid-ranks.
Me.
There was only one person who had ever caused such a radical shift in mock battle rankings.
Only Lucas, who, while initially stuck in the lower ranks, had awakened his unique trait: 'Flame of Fighting Spirit.'
Lucas, upon awakening the Flame of Fighting Spirit, had grown exponentially, his daily training synergizing powerfully with his newfound ability.
As a result, he had shot up from the bottom to the top ranks in the mock battles in an instant.
He had truly showcased the demeanor of a protagonist.
Now, I, who had openly insulted the deceased Lucas, had climbed from the lower ranks all the way up here, just like Lucas once did.
Lucas, the one who had died, resurfaced in the students' minds, and naturally, their gazes converged on Isabel.
Isabel remained silent, her lips pressed into a thin line.
In that moment, she was the one thinking of Lucas more than anyone else present.
But she said nothing.
She merely watched me in silence, contemplating how she would face me.
'Go on, rack your brain all you want.'
It won't make much difference in the end anyway.
"14th rank Van, 15th rank Hanon Airey."
Just then, my name was called out once more.
'Here we go.'
And for the first time, the easy confidence vanished from my face.
Far away.
A lanky boy was trudging slowly towards me.
His face was etched with boredom and an almost palpable sense of annoyance.
As if following his whims, letting the world flow around him.
He had the aura of someone who simply lived life as it came, without a care.
And I instinctively knew I had just met the toughest opponent of the day.
The Lazy Genius.
Van.
The lazy genius who was perpetually indifferent to everything.
Though his skill undeniably placed him among the top five.
He usually just forfeited out of sheer laziness.
Neither the assistant instructor nor the professors ever particularly chastised Van for it.
A student without motivation wouldn't gain any, no matter what you did.
His rank, after all, also reflected his mindset.
If he lacked the drive to climb, then even if he was stuck in the mid-ranks, they considered it his rightful place.
Van scratched his back idly, his gaze falling on me with a bored expression.
Meeting his gaze, I stepped onto the arena platform.
"Van, if you're going to declare a forfeit again, say so early."
The assistant instructor, with a familiar weariness, addressed Van.
Van spared the assistant instructor a fleeting glance, then slowly turned his attention to me.
Then he dropped the hand that had been scratching his back.
"No."
The boredom in his eyes was undeniably still present, yet…
Within them, for the first time in a very long while, a faint flicker of interest had ignited.
"Because I want to cut you down."
What a lunatic.
First Charin, the top student in magicology, and now him… I have no idea why all geniuses seem to be like this.
"Van says he wants to cut him down."
"Is it finally over?"
"If Van's actually interested, then the transfer student must really be strong."
The students began to whisper amongst themselves again.
All second-year students were well aware of Van's skill.
Moreover, they knew that Van had never truly unleashed his full potential until now.
But Van's reason for agreeing to fight me…
It wasn't because Van held my skill in high regard.
Van had only truly showcased his skill in a mock battle once before.
"He once crossed swords with Lucas."
It was when he had faced Lucas.
After a grueling battle, Lucas had managed to defeat Van through sheer, desperate effort.
This had been a turning point in Van's growth, reigniting his interest in the blade and prompting him to wield it with renewed purpose.
But after Lucas's death.
Van had once again lost interest in the sword, regressing into the lazy genius he was before.
"He was a pretty decent guy."
Van let his scabbard drop with a thud against the floor.
Simultaneously, a palpable bloodlust began to emanate from his body.
"You've been running your mouth, haven't you?"
Van had been quite fond of Lucas.
And I had insulted Lucas, the very person who had once reignited his drive.
Isabel wasn't the only one who took offense at the insult to Lucas.
At least the top-ranked students of the Combat Class who had spent a year alongside Lucas.
Every single one of them had gotten along well with Lucas, and they viewed me, who had insulted him, with palpable displeasure.
That was why the easy confidence had vanished from my face.
14th rank, the Lazy Genius Van.
He wouldn't go easy on *me*, that was for sure.
And I'm sorry, but…
"I merely said what needed to be said."
I wouldn't be going easy either.
"Ah, I see."
Van accepted my words with an unnerving calm.
Instead, his eyes bore directly into mine.
"You, I'll have to cut you down."
"Battle start."
The moment the assistant instructor announced the start and stepped back.
Van vanished from my sight.
Fast.
Seeing Van, who had become so fast I couldn't even perceive him for a moment, my reaction was a beat too late.
Shing!
For the first time, blood splattered from my chest.
The skin on my chest, having barely pulled back a step, was cut.
Below, Van stood, having just swung his blade.
I, with my Steel Skin, had been cut for the very first time.
And this was something I had fully anticipated.
A clear blue aura shimmered around Van's blade.
A talent that only a select few could master, even in Gerion Academy, a place teeming with prodigious talents.
Sword Aura.
The ultimate secret of the sword, imbuing one's own inner world onto the blade.
With Sword Aura, even a blunt sword could cleave through rock and slice through steel.
Van was one of the rare swordsmen capable of wielding such Sword Aura.
No matter how formidable Steel Skin was…
At my current level, I couldn't block Sword Aura head-on.
This was also why I'd stated that Steel Skin alone wouldn't be enough to contend with the top ranks.
Van's blade moved once more.
Now, relying on Steel Skin and the drawn-out battles I'd employed against the mid-ranks was pointless.
The shield strapped to my arm moved swiftly.
Van glanced at the shield with an air of indifference.
"Does that even matter?"
As he spoke, Van's blade met my shield.
Shing!
Immediately, the shield was cleanly bisected and shattered into pieces.
Against Van's Sword Aura, the shield was utterly useless.
The only way to counter Sword Aura was with Sword Aura itself.
I truly understood the devastating power of Sword Aura anew.
The assistant instructor didn't intervene.
He knew Van's capabilities.
Though it appeared dangerous, he was confident Van wouldn't kill his opponent.
That was how refined Van's swordsmanship had become.
Stomping the ground, his blade danced forward.
My body narrowly evaded Van's blade.
Thanks to today's mock battles, I'd discovered one of Vikamon's advantages.
Vikamon's dynamic vision was surprisingly good.
An attack that the original me wouldn't have even been able to react to…
Vikamon's body executed ingrained footwork, evading the blow.
The repeated evasions in previous battles had proven helpful.
Experience was steadily accumulating in my body.
But not everything could be solved by evasion alone.
My opponent was a true master of the blade.
Van's swordsmanship slowly but surely drove me into a corner.
Van's blade began to position itself even faster in the direction I was trying to evade.
Before I knew it, the space I had to evade was rapidly shrinking.
Van wielded numerous styles of swordsmanship simultaneously.
This swordsmanship, which encroached upon and narrowed the opponent's territory, was clearly a form of heavy sword technique.
To that, the principles of quicksword were added, driving the opponent back at high speed.
Slish!
The areas being cut into grew wider and wider.
Flesh, struck by Sword Aura, was shorn away, and blood stained my clothes.
My space was swiftly seized by Van.
Van's eyes glinted.
I could feel how many years he had dedicated himself to mastering the blade.
Before I knew it, I was cornered into a defensive stance, unable to move a single step.
My body was a canvas of crimson, from dodging his blade.
My breath came in ragged gasps.
My stamina was struggling to keep up with the repeated, razor-thin evasions.
"Van, defeat him!"
"Teach that guy a lesson!"
Perhaps because I had mercilessly felled the other students earlier…
Before I knew it, I had become an enemy of the Combat Class students themselves.
Admittedly, even I thought I'd tormented the students in a rather unsportsmanlike manner.
After enduring with endless evasion and Steel Skin, I'd crushed them once their stamina had completely drained.
From the students' perspective, it probably didn't feel like a fair fight.
Some even grumbled that if it weren't for the mock battle rules, they wouldn't have let it drag on like that.
However, this *was* a mock battle.
I had to thoroughly exploit the nature of a mock battle.
Furthermore, the role of a villain was, for me, quite welcome.
The more of a villain I became, the more motivation it would give Isabel to defeat me.
Even amidst the students' shouts, Van's eyes remained serene.
As if to demonstrate the very essence of a genius, his concentration was terrifying.
My space had already been completely dominated by Van.
Van's blade stretched out towards me, intending to finish this.
Like a viper striking for the nape of its prey.
Van's blade surged towards me.
An unavoidable, ultra-close-range attack.
My eyes clearly registered the blade, but there was no discernible way to evade it.
And so.
'This is what I've been waiting for.'
Van's blade bore down on me.
The moment the Sword Aura-infused blade cleaved through my skin and dug into my chest…
Crrrunch!
Van's eyes widened for the very first time.
Steel Skin.
It held a secret that no one else knew.
Steel Skin wasn't necessarily limited to just my skin.
I could imbue any weapon or even my clothes with Steel Skin.
And why am I bringing this up now?
The reason was unfolding right before their eyes.
Van's blade, which was supposed to cleave me.
That blade stopped dead, embedded in my chest.
Van's blade was fixed, unmoving.
That was because his blade was now firmly fused with my Steel Skin.
Of course, an agonizing pain of my chest being cleaved open assailed me, but…
That was a pain I had long since braced myself for.
Van's eyes snapped wide open.
His eyes held a clear, 'Are you insane?' expression.
"You."
He belatedly realized the unique trait imbued within my body.
I wasn't merely tough.
I was a body shrouded in the mystery of the Steel Empress.
But it was too soon for him to be flustered.
The moment Van's blade was swung, my hands had already moved.
My two hands, fingers splayed, moved towards Van's blade, still embedded in my chest.
Van noticed my movement, but it was already too late.
Crrunch!
My fingers burst through the flat of Van's blade.
Using the mystery of Steel Skin, I had interfered directly with the sword itself, forcing the point of contact to burst open.
"Heh, let me tell you something while I'm at it."
Though it felt like my fingers were tearing themselves apart.
I paid it no mind, instead revealing a malicious grin.
Amidst the sweat on my face, my crimson eyes glistened as they caught the light.
Van's eyes, meeting mine, widened dramatically.
It was as if he had come face to face with a madman.
Van, who had lived his entire life as a genius, must have only ever been surrounded by mediocrity.
So I decided to firmly engrave one truth into him.
Van, the lazy genius who should have one day become Lucas's most steadfast comrade and friend.
The one who now stood before him was…
A madman unlike any he had ever encountered.
"From now on, don't ever use a sword in front of me."
And then, I simultaneously clenched both hands and pulled.
CRACK! SHATTER!
The twisted blade shattered, scattering fragments in every direction.
Van stared blankly at the scattering fragments of his blade.
Sword Breaker.
My trump card, one that would even fluster Aisha.
A secret move designed to shatter the sword genius himself.