“Phew…”
Aiden let out a deep breath. After gathering himself, he straightened his posture and firmly positioned his sword.
I halted my steps. Aiden’s aura had shifted.
In fact, I could have easily overpowered him from the get-go.
The gap between us was wider than I had imagined.
I could have unleashed my strong techniques right away to knock him out. If I’d spammed magic like there’s no tomorrow, I could have eliminated him ages ago. If I’d combined that with the spirit magic I had just learned, it would have been a piece of cake.
But I didn’t do that.
Even though it was a tournament meant for competition and we were distinguishing those who would make it to the finals, there’s a certain etiquette in play.
Typically, in such sparring matches, one does not reveal their full power right from the start.
There’s the purpose of hiding one’s cards, and regardless of the gap, there’s a meaning behind sharing and growing together with your opponent.
Back then, Aiden too didn’t show his full strength right away.
Swish. I felt the sensation of a sword being drawn.
Both my sword and Aiden’s were already drawn. There was no un-sheathing it further.
Aiden held his sword straight. His mana didn’t change. His aura didn’t swell.
Instead, his spirit gradually boiled over. It was not a tangible force like mana or aura but an intangible pressure that soared.
In response, I gripped my sword tighter.
‘Swordsmanship Art.’
The unique ability “Swordsmanship Art.”
Aiden’s unique trait.
It’s quite a common unique ability in the original work.
Unique abilities are tricky to classify.
But if I had to pin down “Swordsmanship Art,” it’s a unique ability that belongs to the technical category, yet is specialized in the domain of “sword” techniques.
Technical unique abilities don’t stand out as significantly compared to other categories.
Swordsmanship Art. It’s specialized in handling swords.
Other students can handle swords too.
Though they would likely handle them better with a technical unique ability, it’s not like they can’t use swords at all.
While someone breathes fire that turns things to ashes…
While someone else manifests healing water and freezing ice…
While someone bends the very earth, a symbol of life and strength, to their will, even controlling the dead…
Handling a sword does, in many ways, come across as rather dull.
Spears, knives, fists, and legs…
Having qualifications to wield various weapons seems quite ordinary compared to other abilities.
In other words, the uniqueness is faint.
“…Phew.”
However, that doesn’t mean there are those who dismiss technical unique abilities.
Even if some might overlook them, they wouldn’t ignore the superhumans who elevate these technical skills.
Handling a sword isn’t anything extraordinary.
But.
To slice through the distant sky with a single strike is undoubtedly something special.
To pierce a mountain with a single thrust creating a canyon would be special too.
To crash the ground with a single strike would definitely stand out as something undeniably special.
Technical unique abilities, especially easier to manifest as extension abilities, presuppose such manifestations.
Aiden raised his sword. The pressure he summoned infused into the blade.
And then, he struck down.
His uniqueness expanded.
The tip of the sword hit the ground, and a deep cut followed that traversed across the floor.
*
I felt a sinking sensation. It felt like my insides were twisting.
“Gurgle…”
My stomach churned. Aiden slumped to the ground, a sparkle of light flashing by his mouth.
Extension ability, Cutting Combination.
While it was somewhat easy to achieve because of the technical category, handling it well was an entirely different story.
Aiden still wasn’t able to handle it freely; he couldn’t even cope with it.
He couldn’t even properly catch his breath. His blurry vision was clouded by swirling dust.
Not long after, the dust began to settle, and his hazy focus cleared slightly.
On the sparring arena’s floor was a mark large enough for several adults to fit side by side.
That mark even left a trace on the opposite wall… the magic barrier, right next to which stood Lee Ha-yul, unharmed.
‘Looks like he dodged it.’
To my eyes, Aiden’s speed was unfathomable, yet he let out a dispirited laugh.
Aiden had talent.
Among his peers, especially with Attila, his talent stood out significantly.
After hard work, he secured a top position at the Academy.
However, it wasn’t that there weren’t students who performed better than Aiden.
Just look at Attila; he had better grades and stronger overall might.
There were a good dozen students above Aiden.
Even within the same academy.
At other academies, there were plenty of students stronger than Aiden, and if you expanded the scope to the world, the numbers grew exponentially.
He had talent. But there were many who surpassed him.
Yet, despite being overshadowed by stronger, more talented students, Aiden became a student of Shio-ram.
That left him puzzled.
With so many strong seemingly talented students, why was he the one chosen?
– “I saw potential in you, not in them. That’s all.”
The professor who recommended Aiden brushed it off that way.
What is talent?
Learning faster than others? Picking up what others can’t? Becoming stronger quicker and further?
Even after entering Shio-ram and receiving a higher quality education compared to the Academy, Aiden’s doubts remained.
Then he encountered the special admission student standing across from him.
They were a student said to possess unprecedented potential even amidst a crowd brimming with talent.
That puzzled him.
Everyone he met in Shio-ram shone with talent.
He could see it at a glance.
He could distinguish them.
But Aiden couldn’t recognize the special nature of the special admission student.
At first glance, they seemed very fragile.
Their frame was small, limbs skinny, and there was hardly any muscle in sight.
Were they a magician? But their mana was minuscule.
Their unique ability was said to be detection-type… and in Aiden’s view, detection-type was an auxiliary ability, not one used in combat.
Of course, he understood that was a misguided assessment. After all, they were only a month away from becoming a superhuman.
It was natural for them to be at a weak level and not yet developing their capabilities.
But he was curious.
What was so special about them? What made them earn unprecedented praise in a sea of talent?
Since childhood, Aiden had been told he acted quicker than he thought.
In a positive light, he had the initiative and the courage to follow through.
In a negative sense, he was short-sighted, foolish, and didn’t think ahead.
So he charged in.
Back then, he hadn’t thought much about it, but later, upon reflecting, it seemed like a ridiculous move.
Winning would yield nothing, and losing would only make him look like a fool.
Ultimately, he ended up getting knocked down like a dog.
It was an embarrassing black mark in his history.
– Thud
Footfalls echoed in his ears.
For a moment, Lee Ha-yul, who had been examining the marks on the ground with the tips of his toes, stepped forward.
He had lost.
His mana was drained, and his body barely moved.
“Ugh…”
However, honestly, it felt a bit embarrassing to surrender right away.
After all, it was a spar; shouldn’t he be knocked out by the opponent’s sword?
With such thoughts, he tried to rise his body.
“…Uh…”
His eyes involuntarily blinked.
Lee Ha-yul raised his sword.
It was different from Aiden. It was gripped with one hand, and his stance had to change due to his frame.
But why did he feel this way?
Why did it feel like he was looking in a mirror?
At that moment, an aura lifted from the blade of Lee Ha-yul’s sword.
Not mana, nor a built-up aura, but a colorless energy.
The rising uniqueness.
It felt like looking in a mirror…
“…Huh?”
Astonishment trickled from his lips again.
A startling hypothesis popped into Aiden’s mind.
An unbelievable hypothesis. Of course. Uniqueness is not something one could mimic simply by wanting to.
It is special. It’s unique because it’s distinguished from others. Even if the process is similar, the outcomes are different; that is uniqueness.
Thus, it’s individual and independent. They’re different concepts, and unique abilities are hard to divide.
That’s how Aiden understood it. He learned thus, and that was generally accepted wisdom.
‘Jack of All Trades.’
And.
‘Extension Ability.’
As if defying that notion, Lee Ha-yul’s sword cut through.
‘Transformative Change, Cutting Combination.’
The wind split, stirred by a gust.
Next to the existing marks on the ground, a new line was drawn in parallel.
Lee Ha-yul withdrew the sword embedded at the end of the newly inscribed mark.
Jack of All Trades.
A versatile unique ability that fits within the technical category.
Thus, he would excel in various fields.
In other words, long live the Jack of All Trades!
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