hehost,whosejudgmentwasclearlylacking,declaredthestartofthematchafterconfidentlypredictingthatafierce,evenlymatchedbattlewasabouttounfold.
henidrdidsomethingevenmoreastonishingthanthehost.
eraisedonehandandbeckonedatReisir,blatantlyprovokinghimtoattackfirst.
sawReisirletoutahollowlaugh.
veninhiseyes,idr'sbehaviormusthavelookedutterlyridiculous.
evertheless,ratherthanrespondingtothechildishprovocationinkind,Reisirerasedthesmilefromhisfaceandkickedofftheground.
Assoonasthedistanceclosedenough—
Reisirswunghisspear.
idrswunghisswordwithallhisstrength.
Clang!
Asharp,deafeningimpactechoedthroughthestadium.
hespearbladewrappedingoldentherandtheswordbladecloakedinochrethercollidedhead-on.
Andremainedlockedtogether.
Reisir'sexpressiondidn'tchangeintheslightest.
idr,however,couldn'tcompletelyhidehissurprise.
couldmoreorlessguesswhathehadintended.
ehadprobablyexpectedtoknockReisir'sspearasideandcreateanopeningforacounterattack.
nstead,thespearhadn'tbudgedatall.
AlthoughReisir'sactualphysicalstatsaremuchhigher,idrhasthelargerbuildatfirstglance.t'sunderstandablethathemistakenlyassumedhewasstronger.
Ratherthanforcingidr'sswordawaythroughsheerstrength,Reisirtiltedthespearheadbackoverhisshoulder.
herearendofthespearnaturallysweptforwardinadiagonalarc.
hud!
tslammeddirectlyintoidr'swaist.
idrstaggeredslightlyasthoughhehadabsorbedasurprisinglyheavyblow.
Butinsteadofretreating,heimmediatelyswunghissword.
Areasonabledecision.
hespearhadasignificantreachadvantageoverthesword.
Unfortunately,theattackwaslittlemorethanaprobingstrikeintendedtopreventReisirfromgainingmomentum.
Aftercasuallyevadingtheblade,Reisirthrusthisspear.
idrbarelymanagedtoavoidthespearheadaimedathisabdomen.
hesideofhisuniformrippedopenfromtoptobottom.
Still,adodgewasadodge.
histimehewasabletoregainhisfootingandlaunchaproperattack.
fcourse,itfailed.
hespearshaftinterceptedhisadvancebeforehecouldcompletehisswing.
idr'sswordcouldn'treachnearlyasfarasheintended.
venthethercoatinghisbladefailedtoshinewithitsfullintensity.
Comparedtothedazzlinggoldenthersurroundingtheoriginalprotagonist,theoriginalvillain'sochretherlookedendlesslydullandshabby.
hecolorsbelongtoasimilarfamily.hat'sprobablywhythecontrastfeelsevenstronger.
idrwithdrewhisswordandimmediatelythrustitforward.
Reisircasuallyswepttheattackasideandneutralizedit.
henhedrovetherearendofthespearstraightintoidr'ssolarplexus.
idrstaggeredbackward,clutchinghisabdomen.
hespearshaftswungagain.
histimehecouldneitherblocknordodge.
edidn'tevenhaveenoughtimetoactivate【arthControl】andraiseastonewall.
Well,aftertakingadirecthittothesolarplexus,breathingalonewouldhavebeendifficult.
nlyafterbeingstruckagaindididrfinallyerectthewall.
Judgingfromthatdescriptionalone,itmightsoundlikehewassimplyshuttingthestabledoorafterthehorsehadbolted.
Andwhilethatwasn'tentirelywrong,hispurposewasdifferent.
ewasn'ttryingtodefend.
ewastryingtocreatedistance.
hestonewallblockedReisir'sfollow-upattacksandpreventedhimfromimmediatelyclosingthegap.
Atthesametime,idrretreatedseveralsteps.
ewastryingtobreaktheunfavorableflowofthebattleandreorganizehisstance.
nsteadofmovingaroundtheobstacle,Reisirsimplysmashedthroughit.
Stonefragmentsexplodedoutward.
Yethespunhisspearwithawhirringmotionanddeflectedeveryshard.
henheextendedahand.
ightningerupted.
hunderfollowed.
heattackshotdirectlytowardidr.
Whyishejuststandingthereandtakingit?
Watchingidr'sbodyconvulseundertheelectricshock,couldn'thelpfeelingpuzzled.
omatterhowspecialheclaimedtobe,couldhereallyfailtodefendagainstanattackthatevenhadmanagedtoblock?
...hatwasn'tsarcasm.
fhehadraisedastonewallthemomentReisirliftedhishand,hecouldhavedefendedhimself.
ehaddoneexactlythatseveraltimesintheoriginalnovel.
Yetthistimehemadenoattemptwhatsoever.
omatterhowlookedatit,itfeltstrange.
...Whataretheytalking★𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭★about?
Whenwaselectrocuted,Reisirhadimmediatelyrushedinbeforecouldrecover.
owhesimplystoodtherewiththebuttofhisspearplantedonthegroundandsaidsomething.
idrrepliedthroughlipsstilltwitchingfromtheshock.
hengoldenlightningflashedfromReisir'sfingertipsoncemore.
hesamethinghappenedagain.
idrtookthefullblastwithoutdefendinghimself.
Don'ttellme...
DidhetrytoimitatethewayblockedReisir'slightningwithpinpointtimingandfailbecausehisreactionspeedwasn'tfastenough?
idrdidn'tknowpossessedthehoughtAccelerationSkill.
Andhehadalwaysoverestimatedhisownabilities.
hemorethoughtaboutit,themorelikelythatexplanationseemed.
fso,couldroughlyimaginetheconversationthathadjusttakenplace.
Reisirhadprobablymockedhim.
Somethingalongthelinesofaskingwhetherhecouldn'tevendefendagainstanattackofthatlevel.
idr,unabletoswallowtheinsult,haddemandedanotherchance.
"........."
sawReisir'slipsmoveagain.
heverynextmoment—
idrchargedforwardwithafacetwistedbyhumiliation.
Whatexactlydidtheprotagonistofsomeoneelse'snovelsaytoprovokethatreaction?
reallyshouldlearnlip-readingduringvacation.
twouldmakemydutiesasafirst-personnarratormucheasier.
Whilewasentertainingthatthought,sparksbegandancingalongReisir'sspear.
Untilnow,hehadmerelywrappedtheweaponincondensedther.
owheinfuseditwiththeightningAttribute.
Sinceidr'sswordwasalsocoatedinther,simplycrossingbladeswouldn'telectrocutehim.
Atmost,thecontactwouldsting.
Andyet—
idrhesitated.
nlyforaninstant.
Didgettingelectrocutedtwiceleavehiminstinctivelyafraidofthelightning?
venthebriefesthesitationinaduelcouldbefatal.
Although,consideringhisopponent,idrwouldhavelostregardless.
hehesitationmerelyacceleratedtheinevitablebyroughlytenseconds.
idrhadbeentheonetochargefirst.
ButReisirstruckfirst.
nsteadofcuttingwiththespearhead,heswungtheshaftintoidr'sside.
fcourse,sincelightning-infusedthercoveredtheentireweapon,wasn'tsurewhethertocallitmercyorcruelty.
ntheend,idrcollapsedunconsciousbeforehecouldevenscream.
Unlikeintheoriginalnovel,therewasnoopportunityforthetwoofthemtoshakehandsafterward.
hemomentthehostannouncedtheresult,Reisirleftthestagewithoutsparingsomuchasaglanceforidr,wholayconvulsingonthefloor.
hetwoofthemwereoriginallydestinedtobecomeenemies...butnowtherelationshiphasbecomecompletelyirreparable.
fanything,thingshaddeterioratedevenfurtherthanintheoriginalstory.
Acompletedisaster.
Atthispoint,honestlyhopedidrwouldleavetheacademyalongsideReisirinthefutureanddevotehimselfentirelytorevengeinsteadofacademics.
Mostimportantly—
sincerelyhopedhewouldnevercomeanywherenearmeagain.
"Wow..."
igdís'svoicedrewmyattention.
Whenturned,foundherstaringblanklytowardthearena.
ergazefollowedReisirashemadehiswaythroughtheaudienceseatingtowardus.
fnobodyelsehadbeennearby,mighthaveaskedwhethershe'dfallenforhim.
Unfortunately,therewasnowaytomakeitclearthatsuchaquestionwouldbemotivatedbycuriosityratherthanjealousy.
Sokeptmymouthshut.
"Reisir,congratulationsonwinning."
hefirstpersontogreetthereturningchampionwashischildhoodfriend.
elga'stoneremainedcalm.
otbecauseshewaspretending.
SimplybecauseshehadneverdoubtedthatReisirwouldwin.
oher,theoutcomewasobvious.
Still,theprideandhappinessonherfaceprovedhercongratulationsweregenuine.
"Studentidrisalreadyexceptionallystrongforhisage,butyou'reonanentirelydifferentlevel!owinthatoverwhelmingly...itwasincredible!couldn'tstopadmiringyouthroughoutthewholematch!"
Unlikeelga'scomposedpraise,igdíscouldn'tconcealheradmiration.
verysentencepracticallyendedinanexclamationmark.
Sinceshehadpersonallycrossedswordswithidrbefore,Reisir'sone-sideddominationmusthavelookedevenmoreextraordinary.
"-twasamazing...!R-Really!-owareyousostrong?tfeelslikeyou'vealreadysurpassedthelevelofastudent...!"
Ríolíkinjoinedthechorusofpraiseaswell.
venstudentsdidn'trecognizefromnearbyseatsapplauded.
Clapclapclap.
therswhistled.
Fwee!Fwee!
Severalevengavehimenthusiasticthumbs-ups.
hevictorofamatchwonbysuchanoverwhelmingmarginjustwalkedovertothem.hesereactionsaren'tstrange...but...
WhydiditremindmeofChapter61?
hechapterwhererandomextrassuddenlyrediscoveredtheirconsciencesafterReisirdeliveredaspeechthatwasn'treallyaspeechandbeganbehavingunnaturally.
"Ahaha...mm...hanks,everyone."
Perhapsreceivingpraisefromsomanypeopleembarrassedhim.
Reisirscratchedhischeekandsmiledawkwardlywhileblushingfaintly.
henhequietlysatdown.
Rightbesideme.
"...Whyareyousittingnexttomeinsteadofyourchildhoodfriend?"
"Becauseitlookslikeyouhavealotyouwanttosaytome."
WasReisiralwaysthisgreedyforpraiseintheoriginalnovel?
e'dbeenembarrassedbytheattentionofcountlessstrangers.
Yetsomehowthatstillwasn'tenough.
Consideringhispersistence,remainingsilentwouldaccomplishnothing.
Ratherthanwastetimearguing,decidedtosimplytellhimwhathewantedtohear.
"Yousaidyouwouldwinthistournament.Andyoudid.So...congratulations."
"hanksforthecongratulations.Butisn'ttheresomethingelseyouwanttosay?"
"...suspecteditbefore,butyou'regenuinelystrong.oanabsurddegree."
"hankyouforthecomplimenttoo.Butthat'snotall,isit?"
hadcongratulatedhim.
hadcomplimentedhim.
Yettheprotagonistofsomeoneelse'snovelremainedunsatisfied.
venmoreirritating,theembarrassmentthathadcoloredhisfacemomentsagohadvanishedcompletely.
Aradiantgrinhadreplacedit.
Asthoughhe'dneverbeenembarrassedinthefirstplace.
Watchinghim,beganfeelingembarrassedonhisbehalf.
"...Whatexactlyareyoutryingtogetmetosay?!SincemanagedtoreachtheopSixteenthankstotrainingwithatalentedpersonlikeyou,doyouwantmetothankyoutoo?"
"Youwereactuallythinkingthat?Somehowthat'sincrediblytouching.'msoproudrightnow~ahaha!"
hemorespoke,thedeeperseemedtosinkintoaswamp.
ftherewassomethinghewantedtohear,hecouldsimplysayitdirectly.
Whydidheinsistontestingpeoplelikethis?
igdíshaddonesomethingsimilarbackinChapter109.
Wasthissomekindofnoblecultureproblem?
Didaristocratssimplyhaveanunhealthyobsessionwithspeakingincircles?
