Chapter 48 The Summit
The mana bursting forth from Mount Grace grew increasingly fierce, signaling their approach to the summit.
Sion’s magic sword was also influenced by the mountain’s mana, its blue luminescence growing ever more intense.
Plantaras, disregarding their own safety, threw themselves at her ferociously, like wild beasts.
Each time she swung her sword, groups of Plantaras were chopped down, five or six at a time.
Something caught Sion’s ankle.
It was a Plantara, its lower half severed, gripping her leg to the very end.
These creatures were like wasps stinging in a frenzy after a trespasser disturbed their nest.
She immediately cut the hand of the Plantara off with her sword and kept running.
The higher she climbed, the thinner the foliage became until only rocks and gravel lay beneath her feet.
Soon, she could see skies unhindered by branches and leaves.
She finally reached the summit ridge, formed of large boulders.
Sion shielded her eyes momentarily from the sudden burst of blinding sunlight.
When her vision adapted, the first thing to enter her sight was a magical stone slab, about a hundred paces away.
While she was sheathing her sword to catch her breath, she heard the crunch of gravel nearby.
Turning to look, she saw a man whose identity was obscure.
Sion’s pupils dilated.
She should have been alone at the summit—she was certain of her lead and had widened a considerable gap from any pursuers.
Yet, shattering Sion’s belief, there was the unidentified man standing nonchalantly before her as though he had just fallen from the sky.
And just like her, he had not brought any companions.
Sion instinctively knew that this person was not of the same ilk as those floundering below—he was of a different sort, akin to herself.
“Who are you?” she asked.
Only when Sion spoke did he turn to face her.
His hair was auburn, and he wore a mask while holding a wooden sword in one hand.
Whether he had experienced a fierce battle on his climb or not, blood dripped down to the tip of the wooden sword from his shoulder.
“…”
Sion remembered him.
He was the man she had briefly encountered at the forge in Filin.
She had overheard a rumor about a letter of recommendation and had been observing him. Letters of recommendation usually implied notable renown within the region, and yet, there were no whispers surrounding this man. She had preemptively judged that no matter how skilled he may be, he would stand below Victor or Gale.
But her speculation was utterly off the mark.
This man was the unforeseen dark horse of this exam.
The man’s eyes glowed unnaturally strong, probably an effect of some potion or magic.
A wooden sword, a mask, eyes ablaze—it was a collection of unknowns.
Nevertheless, his combat ability seemed to fall short of Sion’s.
Sion, having reached the summit without shedding a drop of blood, watched as the masked man gestured for her to pass by first. Draped in blood yet his demeanor was strangely at ease, almost gentlemanly.
A chuckle escaped her at that.
If it were any oblivious candidate, they would have rushed towards the slab without a second thought.
But the fact that he stood still meant he most likely knew.
Knew what awaited them here.
“You really are a cunning one, aren’t you?”
A ludicrous thought even crossed her mind—could he have cheated other candidates to make his way to the top?
Though he seemed like a trickster, that couldn’t be all there was to him. No matter how cunning, without genuine skill, it’s impossible to come this far on your own.
“Unfortunately for you, I’m well aware, too.”
No shallow tricks will work here.
Sion picked up a stone the size of a fist and hurled it. It flew across the expanse, landing about midway between her and the stone slab.
In response, the ground trembled and began to swell upwards where the stone struck.
Soon, a golem the size of a house emerged.
The final barrier was still ahead. This test was designed to filter out those who had relied on sheer luck or deception to ascend, selecting only the true masters of their craft.
Without destroying the golem, the magic stone slab remains inert.
Kroooom-
The golem let out a droning roar that made the gravel tremble, then stood imposingly across the slab, glaring menacingly at the challenger. Its fists seemed so massive that a single blow would surely pulverize anyone to mush.
Sion unsheathed her magic sword and said to the man.
“You suggested I go first, right? Fine, I’ll oblige you this once.”
This could very well be her last competition within Eternia. Might as well entertain the notion.
As Sion took a few steps forward, the golem’s gaze fixed on her.
Mana began to frost over the artifacts latched onto her boots.
Once ready, she propelled herself in a dash.
She surged towards the golem at a speed three times that of an ordinary human.
The golem immediately swings its arm down at Sion.
Kwaang!
The impact was so mighty it seemed the ground could crumble away completely.
Sion deftly sidestepped and leaped onto the golem’s arm.
She ascended along its arm as if crossing stepping stones and reached the shoulder, swinging her sword at it fiercely.
The entire sequence happened in a flash.
Whoosh!
The blue blade swept through the golem. The magic sword sliced off a third of the giant, rocky shoulder.
Another swing and the remaining half tumbled away, and with a final stroke as she fell, channeling her weight into it, she bisected the golem’s left shoulder completely.
Krooooom!
The golem, seemingly startled, began to flail its remaining limbs in a frenzy.
With each swing, a thunderous crash followed, as dust and fragments of rock scattered all around.
Sion, maintaining her composure amidst the onslaught, evaded the golem’s attacks and swiftly moved out of its striking range.
Having returned to her original position, Sion caught her breath and then addressed the man.
“Now, it’s your turn.”
“…”
The man, after a brief observation of Sion’s sword, contemplatively gazed at his own wooden sword as if making comparisons.
Then, he tucked the wooden sword into his belt.
And then he stretched out an empty hand into the air.
Sion, watching with a questioning gaze, saw her eyes widen.
Accompanied by an overwhelming magical pressure, a shining sword materialized in the man’s hand.
‘A magic sword?’
It was extremely rare for someone young to own and wield a magic sword.
Even more astonishing, though it was a magic sword like her own, the magical pressure it emitted was incomparably greater than that of her magic sword. It was so powerful that ordinary people might lose consciousness just from coming into contact with it.
‘What is that?’
The material of the sword was also remarkably odd. No matter how special a magic sword might be, they didn’t normally materialize out of thin air; they were drawn from a scabbard. In all her travels across the continent, Sion had never encountered a sword like this.
With a grand sweep, the man cut through the air. A blinding light flashed, and immediately, a pure white arc of light soared towards the golem’s right shoulder.
Kwaang!
The strike caused a monstrous explosion and blew the golem’s right arm clean off.
It was a power that could leave one dumbstruck.
After assessing the damage to the golem, the man let the sword disappear.
Sion, witnessing this, asked:
“What’s your name?”
“…”
“Can’t you speak?”
The man nodded his head.
Sion crossed her arms in apparent dissatisfaction and narrowed her eyes.
Following a silent standoff where they simply glared at one another, she declared:
“…Then I won’t speak either.”
And amidst them, silence reigned.
Finally losing her patience, Sion attempted to communicate through gestures.
She pointed at the man and then towards the golem.
‘You go first.’
He shook his head.
Once Sion saw the man’s refusal, she promptly drew her magic sword.
Since he had rejected the chance she offered, she could now destroy the golem and be the first to imprint on the stone slab with no grounds for complaint.
Kroooom-
The golem roared, gathering its power.
Rocks nearby clung to the golem like a magnet, and soon the damaged arm was restored.
The golem had the capacity for infinite regeneration as long as its core was intact. It was fruitless to chip away at it bit by bit.
A decisive, powerful blow was needed.
Sion lunged towards the golem once more.
The now fully aggressive golem lifted both of its arms and aimed an even sturdier and faster strike towards Sion.
Kwaang!
Sion dodged to the left just as before. But, this time, the golem swept its arm to the side with a broom-like motion, capitalizing on the brief halt caused by her sharp change in direction.
Sion raised her sword as if it were a shield, blocking the strike, but the force sent her flying.
Tumbling to the ground, she rose swiftly, without a moment’s hesitation.
Rushing towards the golem yet again, she now baited and sidestepped its attacks, circling wide. When the golem swung wide, missing her, Sion closed in on its body in the opening that followed.
She swung her magic sword mightily at the core concealed within the golem’s torso.
The afterglow of the blue sword left a lengthy gash in the golem’s body.
However, because the torso was gargantuan, the gash fell short of reaching the core.
An immediate counterattack followed. The golem could twist and weave its rock-formed arms at will, as every stone served as a joint.
It prohibited Sion from staying close to the core, launching relentless attacks to prevent her from concentrating on slicing open its core.
Rock splinters scattered in all directions.
Sion struck the torso with all her power multiple times, but the deep gouges left only scars without dealing significant damage.
After several failed attempts, the golem finally landed a direct hit on Sion with its fist.
She was sent flying high and once again crashed heavily to the ground.
Coughing up blood, Sion grumbled to herself.
“That hurts.”
Having properly faced the golem, it was clear to her. This was not a battle meant for one to fight alone.
As she tried to stand, a sharp pain assaulted her ankle.
“Argh!”
Seems it had twisted badly upon her fall, as the swelling made it difficult to walk.
Moreover, the golem’s onslaught was not yet finished.
It grabbed a rock and hurled it forcefully, aiming directly at Sion.
Realizing she couldn’t dodge, Sion barely propped herself up, positioning her sword as a shield in preparation for the impact.
There appeared to be no other option but to slash through it.
The rock surged straight toward her and, as it neared collision, a brilliant blade slash from the side shattered the rock entirely.
“…!”
Sion turned her head.
There stood the masked man, wielding his magic sword.
Sion bit her lip. She had wanted to avoid accepting help at all costs.
The man gave Sion a brief look, then stepped forward towards the golem.
It was as if he was indicating that now it was his turn.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢