Chapter 13
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Episode 3 - The duel of the strongest [2]
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The King of Ten Thousand Men, as his title suggests, earned that name because, without even moving, he could kill more than ten thousand enemies in a single blink.
His name is Karnak Everbright.
And the name of his sword art is "Ten Thousand Cuts That Split the Sky."
"..."
As I watched a dozen red lines about to strike my entire body,
I raised my sword and swung it, countering the dozens of slashes.
Counting the number of lines, there were only thirty-two.
It was probably the first form of "Ten Thousand Cuts That Split the Sky"
'This is unexpected; however, since the slashes don't carry much power, she must have only recently started learning Karnak's sword art.'
That was actually a good thing, because if she had mastered the first form to the Peak Mastery level, then even with my senses, my body would not have been able to move properly to counterattack or dodge.
In any case, after the rain of slashes ended, I looked at the girl and noticed the expression of astonishment on her face.
Moreover, her emotions were disbelief, shock, and… I think that was admiration.
'Well, I was surprised to see Karnak's successor, but I wonder where the hell she obtained Karnak's sword art from; that's quite the mystery.'
And besides, in the game, there was no strange, secondary, or even main character who possessed one of the Five Swords' sword arts, with the sole exception of Lumina.
By the way, the name of Lumina's sword art is
In any case, the duel continued.
The girl named Veronica once again used the first form: Thirty-Two Earthly Realms.
But thanks to my senses, defeating her was not difficult.
"The winner, Cadet Adel."
After the referee's announcement, I turned around and walked back to my seat.
Of course, there were no cheers or applause, but I did not care about that.
Additionally, because of my last attack, Veronica was left unconscious, and they carried her to the infirmary.
'First, I need to find out who she is.'
Naturally, I was not going to ignore Karnak's successor, and besides, since I am Alice's successor, she also told me to keep an eye on Veronica.
'Mhm, but now that I think about it, she wasn't at the entrance ceremony; if she had been there, I would have seen her sword art back then.'
Perhaps the headmistress was the one who brought her to the Holy Academy.
***
Clementine watched the dark-haired girl with purple eyes being taken to the infirmary.
Even though she had no injuries, she fainted after that final strike.
Still, Clementine couldn't help but stare at her.
'She didn't even move, and yet…'
She was left bewildered, because Verónica hadn't moved her katana at all, nor had she even drawn it from its sheath.
And yet, all Clementine saw was a series of slashes reaching Adel.
If Adel hadn't counterattacked, Clementine doubted she would have been able to see the movement of Verónica's sword at all.
In the first place, from the sparks produced when Adel counterattacked, Clementine understood that Verónica had moved her katana, but to her, it looked as if the katana had never moved.
'And besides… how the hell did that guy react to something like that?'
Clementine shifted her gaze toward Adel, who was sitting far away. He was ten meters away from all the cadets.
Honestly, she didn't know what to say about it.
She had to admit that there were people stronger than her.
Especially the blind man, who had once been known as the strongest first-year, though that title was forgotten after people discovered his Dark attribute.
Gulp!
Clementine swallowed nervously and thought:
'If I fought that cadet, Verónica, I highly doubt I could defeat her. Then, how can someone defeat something impossible to see?'
Normally, when watching a sword art, it's easy to tell where the sword is moving.
But if that sword is so fast, naturally it becomes impossible to see, much less predict where it's heading.
And even worse, how can a blind man block it and even counterattack?
'What's the secret behind this…?'
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't reach any conclusion.
In any case, it was her first time witnessing something like this.
'Maybe…'
She quickly shook her head at her first thought.
Asking Adel how he reacted to those invisible attacks.
But her pride wouldn't allow it, and besides, he was a Dark attribute user.
'It doesn't matter, I'll figure it out on my own.'
However, deep down, her curiosity kept growing.
***
The first part of the duels had come to an end.
Professor Franklin's assistant passed around the box with the numbered papers for the second time.
After a while, the number I got was 4.
At the same time, Professor Franklin made an unexpected announcement.
"Normally, I would give points to the winner, however, this time I will give a special reward."
He reached into his right pocket and pulled something out.
"The first-place prize will be a Supreme-Quality elixir. As it happens, I obtained it at an auction last month, and since I'm a professor, naturally I won't be fighting somewhere every day."
"...."
The elixir Professor Franklin showed was none other than the elixir made using my blood.
Since it is a Supreme-Quality elixir, it was only natural that it had become quite famous over the past few years, appearing in auctions and in a few high-end alchemist shops.
'I didn't expect to come across my blood here.'
Much less as the reward for first place.
In any case, this time my body did not react; strangely enough, it was suppressing itself.
"A Supreme-Quality elixir!"
"I've never seen one before. Even the imperial family says they only have a few Supreme-Quality elixirs."
"That must have cost the professor a fortune, right?"
"Who cares? With a Supreme-Quality elixir, I won't have to worry about losing a limb."
The cadets, unaware of what the elixir was made from, expressed their amazement, admiration, and greed to obtain it.
"Ha, ha, it seems everyone's fighting spirit has increased, hasn't it?"
Some cadets nodded without hesitation.
"Very well, then let us continue."
Meanwhile, I felt melancholic.
There was nothing for me to gain from having that blood return to me.
And so, the duels before the semifinals began with even greater intensity.
***
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Someone knocked on the door of Director Bernice's office.
Without looking up, she said:
"Come in."
Soon, her assistant entered, then stood firmly before the director and said:
"I have come to deliver the report that was requested a year ago."
Bernice looked up and stopped what she was doing.
"What have their movements been over the last year?"
The assistant nodded and said:
"Not long ago, one of their most important branches disappeared, and the Supreme-Quality elixir they had been producing for the past nine years, presumably extracted from someone, has stopped appearing in both legal and illegal sales."
Bernice frowned.
"The production of that elixir has disappeared? What exactly happened?"
The assistant continued with the report:
"As you know, Director, the branch responsible for creating that elixir is one of the three main branches, and six months ago, its location was discovered; however, what they found were ruins."
Director Bernice nodded and couldn't help but think:
'Someone wiped out those bastards. Even though the third branch was the weakest of the other two, it was, in particular, the most important because of the production of that elixir.'
A decade ago, an elixir made from blood suddenly appeared, but its effects were so incredible that it quickly became famous.
Furthermore, it is an extremely scarce elixir, but if one were to count from its first to its last appearance,
it would easily reach the thousands.
'The investigation at the time concluded that the blood belongs to a single individual, but that should be impossible.'
Unless it is a race other than humans whose blood characteristics are exactly the same.
Mass production of Supreme-Grade elixirs made from blood is impossible.
So the conclusion was clear.
The blood belongs to a single person.
'If it is related to blood, then it is the power of some Heart of Strength. Whoever this person is, they are either already dead or managed to escape and caused the destruction of that branch.'
If that person was alive and wandering somewhere...
'Then they should be brought here and protected. According to the investigation, their age was estimated.'
So, at this moment, they were probably a teenager like the first-year students of the Holy Academy.
Then, Director Bernice looked up and said to her assistant:
"Begin the search. If this child is still alive, then they must be protected at all costs and taken care of. Their estimated age is 18 years old. Their appearance is unknown, so investigate the blood of children who may seem suspicious."
"Understood."
The assistant nodded and left the director's office.
Soon, Bernice tapped her fingers against her desk and murmured:
"The elixir appeared a decade ago, so... blood was extracted from them for ten years, from the age of 7 or 8 until they were 17 or 18…"
Then, a sigh escaped her lips as she thought:
'If this child is alive, then… should I adopt them as my son or daughter…?'
No one knew Director Bernice's secret.
It was something simple, yet also something that had caught her attention and that she now desired.
She was over a thousand years old, and throughout all that time, she had lost almost all of her desires, feelings, and emotions.
But at some point, she saw a family, and ever since then, her wish had been to have a child, even if only an adopted one.
***
"..."
'Mhm, somehow I'm getting chills.'
Shaking my head, the opponent I was about to face was, as expected.
Princess Clana, a Light-attribute user.
Of course, I can win this fight without much difficulty. The problem will be the aftermath.
'There are bastards here who don't give a damn about the cadets' strength and only care about status.'
If a commoner defeats the princess, dark times will begin, with dozens of nobles screwing over that commoner.
So, what about me?
'Of course, it'll probably be even worse.'
I could simply surrender, but I suspect that will be impossible.
'If I say I surrender, Clana, with her pride as a princess, will force me to participate. Even if I genuinely anger her, even if she doesn't send assassins, other nobles will.'
So basically, no matter what I do...
I'm screwed.