Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Ren stepped back and kept his distance.

He grabbed the sword at his waist with his left hand, while wind gathered in his right hand.

Lowering his head, it looked as if he was preparing a sword-drawing technique.

‘So I know what skill he’s going to use.’

A technique that fired off three consecutive slashes of sword wind from long range.

The sword wind took the form of sharp sickles, and its speed was quite fast.

Since it flew in an offbeat rhythm, it was also difficult to avoid.

But I was confident.

‘There’s no need to make a wall to block it.’

There was no need to waste my only four costs here.

At that moment, along with the roaring sound of a storm, a distinct green light appeared from Ren’s wooden sword.

‘It’s coming.’

The sword wind was formless, and its speed was like bullets, impossible to dodge with the naked eye.

But I knew everything about Ren.

Step.

I matched the timing of his sword wind and stepped to the right as if dodging.

‘Now.’

Step, step.

I turned back left and took two more steps.

Papang! Pang!

The gust that brushed past made my hair whip violently, while sharp sounds struck my ears.

When I brushed away the strands blocking my vision, Ren’s face came into view.

“You dodg…… ed?”

Ren looked briefly startled.

But he quickly returned to his drawing stance, staring with a focused expression.

This time, he gathered wind with his left hand and held the sword with his right.

‘He’s changing sides to use that ability again.’

It was only natural, given the distance.

The sword wind was a very advantageous technique at long range, but conversely, it also had penalties.

‘The casting time and after-cast stiffness each last about three seconds.’

And during the preparation for sword wind, he couldn’t move a single step.

If the opponent was close, that would be a huge penalty.

‘I need to dodge the sword wind while closing in on Ren.’

It was about twenty meters.

If I rushed now, I might reach him just before he released the sword wind.

‘But it’s not yet the perfect time.’

I didn’t like gambling moves.

I was waiting for a moment that gave me even greater advantage.

Watching carefully as Ren’s wooden sword glowed, I walked forward in a straight line.

Whoooshhh!

At that moment when the wooden sword shone clearly.

‘Turn left now.’

Ren tightened his grip on the handle and slashed the air.

Now he was firing the sword wind.

‘Then two steps to the right again.’

Papang! Pang!

I felt the sharp gust brush past my ear.

“Again……!”

Ren’s voice carried clear frustration.

I had avoided his attack twice.

He must have realized it wasn’t by chance.

But he didn’t give up.

“Haaahhh!”

Ren once again prepared sword wind.

Now the distance was roughly ten meters.

‘It’s an awkward range where I could get hit, but he’s willing to take that risk and fire another sword wind.’

That stubborn push was a clear reflection of Ren’s personality.

‘But that decision is a mistake, Ren.’

This was exactly the moment I had been waiting for.

I charged full speed toward Ren.

‘That sword wind won’t ever be released again.’

Flames erupted on my card, and a mighty fire burst from my wand.

It took the shape of a sword.

Thanks to lowering my posture as I ran, I gained speed, and I was already set in a stance to swing.

All unnecessary movements were omitted.

Roughly two seconds had passed so far.

“Ah!”

It was the sound of him realizing his mistake.

With just a one-second difference, I swung first.

“Kuaghhh!”

Ren’s stance faltered as his left arm was struck, and the wind of his forming sword technique dispersed.

The attack landed heavily.

The surrounding air was filled with the smell of burning.

Ren’s school uniform had been scorched, exposing his burned left arm.

“Fire attribute……!”

Ren’s shock was understandable.

He might have done some prior research, but he would never have guessed I had an attribute.

‘But it’s too early to be surprised.’

Since you’ve been attacked, you’ll want to widen the distance and secure time to regroup.

‘As I know you so well, you’re within the palm of my hand.’

Thud!

Something stopped against Ren’s back as he quickly retreated.

“What?!”

His panic was understandable.

Naturally, there were no walls on the sparring stage.

He must have checked that before the match began.

But now was an exception.

Light shone from Boogie’s card.

A dirt wall two meters wide and tall blocked his way.

‘Not for blocking attacks, but for trapping the opponent.’

And Ren was positioned at the very center of that wall.

There was no way left to escape.

“Not only flame attribute……!”

He wouldn’t be able to finish that sentence.

I was already ready to deliver another strike.

“A rat in a jar, aren’t you.”

This time, I swung the sword at his right arm.

“Kuaghhh!”

Perhaps from the pain, he dropped his wooden sword.

I directed the flame from my wand at the wooden sword.

The wooden sword burned and lost its shape.

A swordsman without a weapon had very little left he could do.

“Is this all you’ve got, Duke Ren.”

I let out a scornful laugh.

“Give up.”

“……Give up?”

Wounded all over, Ren leaned against the wall and slowly stood up.

Both his arms were burned, and he had lost his sword—what could he do?

The spectators must have already thought the sparring was over.

‘The time has come.’

I took a short, deep breath.

Ren had two conditions for awakening.

To fight with passionate resolve.

Or to be driven to the brink of defeat.

Among them, I had chosen the latter.

From now, Ren’s morale skill that turned crisis into opportunity would activate.

Crackleee!

Electric sparks surged across Ren’s entire body.

His black hair shot upward toward the sky, and golden currents crackled and slithered around him.

‘He’s finally reached it.’

Ren’s second Unique Skill, ‘Thunder God’.

Duke Ren’s identity, and the ultimate secret move he would wield until the ending.

I recalled the memory of confirming that skill back in my gamer days.

Thunder God Lv.1

Can be activated when Health is below 10%.

For 30 seconds, all attacks turn into light-attribute lightning abilities.

Speed and stats increase, with numbers amplifying even higher as the time nears expiration.

After 30 seconds, the Thunder God buff deactivates, and he enters exhaustion due to recoil.

Right before deactivation, the special skill ‘Final Strike’ can be used.

‘From now, the time given is 30 seconds.’

I had used four costs.

But ten seconds had passed, and one had recharged.

Cost 1 consumed – Borrow the armor of Young Turtle.

‘No matter what, I must endure until the Final Strike.’

Following the strategy I had laid out, I used the armor skill while keeping my eyes on Ren.

“Haaaaaahhhh!”

A sword glowing with lightning flashed in Ren’s hand.

And he swung it to unleash an onslaught on me.

‘Up close, it’s even more terrifying.’

Fortunately, the green barrier blocked all of it.

“Aaaahhhhh!”

But he swung his sword relentlessly without pause.

For one hit.

To land just one strike on me, he unleashed his fury.

‘Typical of him, a guy who doesn’t know how to give up.’

The lightning around Ren was shifting from yellow to white.

“Aaaaaahhhh!”

As he neared the peak.

The lightning color shifted to blue—the temperature of maximum heat.

That heat alone reached thirty thousand degrees.

This was the moment Ren’s ability reached its peak.

‘Now.’

Ren briefly halted his assault and gathered all his power into his sword for a single blow.

As blue flashes engulfed the surroundings, I released my defense.

Thanks to the time I had bought, three costs had gathered.

Cost 3 consumed – Borrow the fire of Young Salamander.

‘Hwayo, let’s end this.’

– Fwoooosh!

With full concentration, I pushed the wand’s firepower even higher.

‘It can’t compare to Ren’s, but this is my strongest attack.’

My maximum force.

The flame sword had grown larger than ever.

“Aaaaaaaaahhh!”

It was the moment Ren prepared to deliver his strike.

He was, literally, the Thunder God.

Before my eyes, terrifying power raged wildly.

“Come.”

I swung my sword toward Ren.

The moment our swords clashed.

For an instant, I thought I saw Ren’s face.

His eyes carried sincerity.

‘Step on me and soar higher.’

My vision was filled with blinding white light.

And with that sight, my vision blacked out.

The so-called battle of the weak, Attribute-less versus Single Attribute, had exceeded everyone’s expectations.

In particular, Ren’s display of light attribute power drew tremendous interest.

Among the first-years, only Heidel had the light attribute, but now Ren had joined that list.

It was hotter even than the duel between Heidel and Kunking.

Through the smoke, only one figure remained standing as expected.

“It’s, it’s Ren!”

“Ren won!”

Covered in wounds, Ren raised his fist high.

He looked like he could barely remain standing, but he endured.

“Ren!”

“Ren!”

The jeers aimed at Ren had completely vanished.

Everyone present chanted his name in unison.

The Princess was also watching from her seat.

She was glad, albeit briefly, that Ren’s ability had grown and that he had won splendidly.

“Hmmm……”

Next to the Princess, a slit-eyed male student stroked his chin.

Among the first-year students of Yggdrasil, only a few were truly familiar with real combat.

Naturally, only a few also understood what was truly important in actual battle.

“Flashy and powerful abilities are not everything.”

The slit-eyed student smiled faintly.

The Princess gazed quietly at the dueling ground where Villed and Ren lay collapsed, and opened her mouth.

“……True strength is knowing how to restrain one’s ability, using only the amount necessary for the situation.”

“Correct. As a teacher, I feel fulfilled, Princess.”

When hunting birds, a rifle is enough.

There’s no need to use a tank.

In fact, the noise of the tank would scare the birds away.

Likewise, the struggle of the weak against the strong was no different.

Even a mage who could block volleys of arrows and cannon fire would still die if a dagger pierced his heart.

Combat was the difference of a single sheet of paper.

Strategy and understanding, of course, but also situational restraint were crucial.

The Princess’s secret bodyguard, slit-eyed Luga, stroked his chin with satisfaction as he spoke.

“But, Princess, did you also see ‘that’?”

The Princess started to reply but then closed her lips firmly again.

“From your expression, it seems you noticed.”

“……Are you saying everything I saw is true, Luga?”

“Bloodline cannot be deceived, it seems. Even the second son of Dedenkman is quite capable.”

The second son of the Four Noble Houses’ Dedenkman family.

He had abilities befitting such a high-ranking lineage.

“So the rumor about him being Attribute-less was completely false.”

Not only his attribute.

He displayed movements and abilities chosen precisely for the situation, based on high understanding.

Even without using maximum power, his selective actions became deadly attacks.

Without doubt, he was a formidable fighter.

“But what meaning lies behind his actions, he remains a man whose true intentions are unknown.”

“……I cannot understand it either.”

Other students focused on Ren, the victor, while ignoring Villed, the defeated.

But the Princess, slit-eyed Luga, and other skilled individuals had noticed the truth.

‘Villed deliberately lost to Ren.’

The few experts seated here all thought the same.

Nixie, too, had watched the duel closely from a nearby seat.

Since childhood, she had grown up seeing countless battlefields.

There was no way she wouldn’t notice.

‘Why did you lose, Villed.’

Clench—Nixie bit her teeth as if it were her own matter.

This duel was full of surprises.

One couldn’t help but be greatly shocked.

Honestly, it was impressive.

Ren, once the bottom-ranked, had grown beyond recognition, reaching the level of mid-tier strength.

Moreover, if the duration limit of that skill called ‘Thunder God’ was considered, even she could not compare.

A level that could easily reach the top three.

But what was even more surprising was that Villed had overwhelmed Ren.

Nixie recalled the sword wind technique from the early part of the duel.

‘It was so fast it didn’t even register in my eyes.’

What if she had been the one in that place?

She might have been able to block the sword wind, but she would not have been able to ‘dodge’ it.

The same would go for the other students.

‘But Villed avoided it easily with just three steps.’

Even seeing it with her own eyes, she could hardly believe it.

To only look at it and dodge with restrained movements?

Was it simply luck for Villed?

‘That was by no means coincidence.’

As if to prove it, he even dodged the second attack, gaining the advantage of closing in on Ren.

‘His mana detection ability is far superior.’

And that wasn’t all.

‘If he had truly been desperate to win, he wouldn’t have attacked like that.’

Villed’s attacks had been far too considerate toward Ren.

He deliberately avoided striking vital points such as the chest or head.

The intent was so obvious it could not be mistaken.

If he had not held back, the match would have ended much sooner.

‘And all he had to do was maintain his defense until the end.’

That was the decisive part.

Villed had an overwhelming earth-attribute defensive ability that could block Ren’s ‘Thunder God’.

If he had kept that defensive posture, Ren would have collapsed from exhaustion.

But Villed had released his guard as if waiting for Ren’s final strike, and met his sword head-on.

Like a moth leaping into fire.

Was it simply a mistake in judgment?

‘To falter in judgment at such a critical moment? Impossible.’

It wasn’t even a difficult decision.

All he had to do was block.

He only needed to endure and watch his opponent expend all his strength.

Considering what Villed had shown, there was no way he could have made a mistake in judgment.

How many fighters could display such ability?

Only the silver-haired noble Heidel came to mind.

‘A fighter strong enough to rival monsters.’

His skills might not have been as extravagant or flashy as those of the top three, but in terms of substance, he was their equal.

That such a man had deceived everyone by feigning incompetence until now.

‘I knew he was hiding his ability since the group exam.’

At that time, he had only used the flame attribute, but now he had revealed one more.

‘There could be even more attributes he’s concealing.’

By now, Nixie felt chills running down her spine.

For what reason was he pretending to be weak?

‘……What is his true intention?’

The Princess watched as Villed was carried off by safety personnel and Ren received applause.

‘By deliberately losing, what did he hope to gain?’

Though she had no concrete proof, Princess Arlhardt had a hunch.

It felt like she was about to grasp it, only for it to slip further away.

The unresolved mystery left her feeling frustrated.

‘What could it be.’

There must have been a clear intention.

Even long after the duel had ended, only that swirling question lingered in the Princess’s mind.