Chapter: 387
[Are you really going to face Benedict?]
The night before agreeing to duel Benedict, Grandpa raised that question during our various discussions.
‘Why? Can’t we spar?’
[What’s the sudden hesitation? There's a big gap between you and Benedict, and you won't gain much from this.]
Grandpa was right. Learning through real combat is only possible when there isn’t a significant gap between the two fighters.
Thinking about the difference between Benedict and me, the only thing I would gain from our duel would be a sense of how monstrous Benedict truly is.
I knew that, yet I asked Benedict for a duel for two reasons.
One, to feel how high the beast that is Benedict truly is. The other, to show Benedict just how strong I have become.
Once I enter my second year at Soul Academy, the main story will begin again.
Currently, I’ve already taken down the Dark Evil God and shattered the Evil God of Menestel, so the Evil God faction is quiet, but they are just waiting for the right time. There’s no way they’d give up on the academy.
There’s something they need at Soul Academy.
In the process of stopping them, I would throw myself into greater dangers than now. Perhaps, no, I would definitely face death several more times.
To anyone who doesn’t understand, it would seem like I was engaging in self-destructive behavior.
Every time I throw myself into danger, Benedict is going to be fraught with worry. He will be thrashing about in countless worries, thinking of me as nothing more than a fragile daughter he needs to protect.
So I plan to change that perception with this duel. I want to show him that I’ve become strong enough to handle crises on my own, and in turn, lessen his worries, even a little.
Plus, I also want to lessen the tension whenever Benedict tries to stop me like he has a fit.
[Ah, indeed. A daughter who lacks honesty.]
After hearing my thoughts, Grandpa chuckled. His tone revealed he found me commendable.
‘If you understand, let’s stop the small talk and continue the discussions. The answer is still not clear.’
[Right. Right.]
What I asked of Benedict was merely a light duel, but since he is who he is, I didn’t slack off in my preparations.
I thought that if I didn’t fight desperately, it would only increase his worries, so I wandered around looking for any means to land at least one hit.
Recalling Benedict’s movements I saw at Menestel, I had numerous discussions with Grandpa.
I also sought advice from knights like Possell.
I trained to bring my practical sense as high as possible through repeated duels.
But the more I prepared for the duel, the more I realized just how high Benedict was.
The strongest knights of Allen, the ones who I could barely match up against, were nothing compared to the absurdity of Benedict.
‘Ultimately, the overwhelming lack of specs is the biggest problem.’
[It’s unavoidable. Your father is a monster more fitting for the Age of Myth than this era.]
At that moment, while I was worried that I wouldn’t even be able to land a single hit, a notification sound rang in my ears.
[Quest completed!]
Looks like Heyshan and the Second Queen managed to talk things out.
Well, Heyshan didn’t seem to think badly of the Second Queen, and the Second Queen clearly showed a desire to apologize.
I should ask Karia how things unfolded when she comes back.
[Rewards are being distributed!]
[Please select the stat to increase!]
As the blue window appeared in front of me, I smiled, thinking that the rewards had come at just the right moment.
This 10 stat given to me doesn’t just make my physical abilities slightly better.
Once four out of my character’s stats exceed 100, I receive a skill.
The skill named [Superhuman Body] grants various positive effects to the character.
Increased stamina. Increased damage dealt and decreased damage taken. Since there are many other benefits, getting this skill was essential, whether fast or slow. There are even quests linked to this skill in the game.
I don’t know how this will apply in reality. However, it’s clear it would greatly help against Benedict.
So, I know it’s essential to get this skill now and adapt to the changes overnight.
[Are you sure you want to increase agility?]
I couldn’t easily make a decision.
Why, you ask?
My pathetic intelligence kept creeping up on me!
If I don’t raise my intelligence this time, I’ll remain a fool for life!
Should I grab a glimmer of hope amid impossibility? Or should I seize the chance to become less of a fool? Stuck on a scale that tilted toward one side, I ultimately chose to raise agility.
Bye-bye, my foolish intelligence! One day, I will surely raise you to a decent level! One day!
The moment I chose to increase agility as my reward, a level of pain far beyond that of consuming a potion spread throughout my body.
I finally realized that this reward was no different from consuming a potion. It’s a method of forcibly raising stats and altering the body, so of course it hurts! Silly me! I didn’t even think of that!?
As I clutched the desk, desperately enduring the pain, a blue window appeared in front of me.
[Skill Superhuman Body has been granted!]
That was the last thing I remembered.
I lost consciousness right then and there.
After quite a while, I woke up in the morning, but I had no idea what changes had occurred.
Outwardly, nothing seemed to have changed, and there was nothing I could feel like when my physical ranking changed either.
When I asked Grandpa and the Sloppy Fox what had happened while I was unconscious, all I got was that I was just out cold.
Given the situation, to test the skill’s performance, I had to move my body, but by the time I woke up, it was already nearly time for my duel with Benedict, so I couldn’t do anything.
In the end, I finished my basic warm-up and stood directly across from Benedict.
“Are you both ready?”
I nodded confidently at Possell’s question in the middle of the training ground, while Benedict cautiously tilted his head, watching me.
“Then, let the duel begin.”
[First, we will carry out a reconnaissance. It’s priority to assess what changes have occurred in your body...]
As soon as Possell stepped back, I charged forward.
Ignoring the advice, Grandpa began nagging me, but I disregarded it.
Benedict’s hesitance during the duel was too irritating for me to carry on calmly.
It’s true I’m weaker than Benedict, but that only means I’m weak compared to THAT monster! I shouldn’t be so hesitant to extend a hand!
Even as he watched my charge, Benedict didn’t react. He merely observed keenly what I was doing.
Pushed closest to the edge of irritation due to his near disdainful attitude, I poured all my strength into my first attack.
My Divine essence gathered at the tip of my mace, shining like a sun.
The culmination of reinforcing through the Divine. The Deadly Blow taught to me by Grandpa, who created the Divine Technique.
Launching the attack I practiced countless times with Grandpa in my dreams, I understood how the skill called Superhuman Body would function in reality.
The function of this skill is simple. It just helps you use your body better.
It erases the inefficiencies that were originally in your body and guides you to efficient movements, something I was already familiar with.
The shout of the Iron Wall that had helped me until now was similar.
So, I was able to apply the help from the skill instantly.
“Die already!♡”
As my attack shot forth with maximum power, Benedict, who had been staring blankly, only began to smile when my mace approached his head.
Then he slowly pulled back his shoulder and launched a punch at my mace.
Though it looked like a lazy fist, the power behind it was anything but.
The punch of a monster transcending humanity matched my Deadly Blow in power.
BOOM!
The shockwave created when Benedict’s fist met my blow scattered the snow in the surroundings.
“You’ve gotten stronger. Lucy.”
Amidst the flying snow, I saw blood flowing from Benedict’s fist.
I watched as he was pushed back, unable to withstand the shock.
I saw that my grown strength had reached Benedict.
“You are also an Allen, huh?”
Yet my joy was not meant to last. The smile faded from Benedict’s face, and his aura shifted dramatically.
“Indeed. Lucy. I acknowledge it. I have not faced you properly before.”
“…Uh. Papa? Do you realize your eyes look like a complete beast? I’m totally scared that you might pounce on me?!”
“However, that ends now. I’ve learned from you and your friends, so I must change.”
Seeing Benedict raise his magical power, I strengthened my body with the Divine to survive.
‘Grandpa! Help me! Tell me how to stop that monster!’
[No.]
‘Why not!’
[You won't listen, no matter what I say. Bear it alone.]
‘Grandpa, you’re really being petty!!!’
“I’m coming, Lucy.”
*
“That’s a genuine monster.”
As Arthur snickered while watching the duel between Benedict and Lucy from outside the training ground, Joy casually asked him.
“Which side do you mean?”
“Both.”
Whether it’s Benedict overwhelming his opponent with sheer physical prowess, or Lucy who keeps standing up despite crumbling in explosive punches, from Arthur’s perspective, both could certainly be considered monsters.
“Is Young Lady that amazing? I’m having a hard time keeping up just watching with my own eyes.”
“I can say without a doubt, Joy. If you were in Lucy Allen’s place, you wouldn’t last even a second.”
“And what about you, Prince?”
“Me…”
Arthur couldn’t finish his sentence. How could he express confidence when he was watching the scene of the stronghold that was Lucy Allen, which he had never once managed to break, collapse with each of her punches?
“…About 2 seconds.”
“Not much different, then.”
After Joy decisively crushed Arthur’s confidence with just a single sentence, she turned to Frey, who was leaning forward as if eager to rush into the duel.
“What about Young Lady Kent? How long do you think you could last?”
“…”
“Lady Kent?”
“…I don’t know. But I’d like to try once.”
“Me too. I want to stand there even if I get utterly crushed.”
“Do you think asking Lucy would work?”
“Hmmm. That seems possible. The Allen clan can never ignore the words of Lucy Allen.”
While Arthur and Frey discussed how to persuade Lucy, Joy looked at them in disbelief.
How could they even think of wanting to battle after witnessing such a spectacle with their own eyes?
I simply cannot understand.
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