〈 Chapter 93 〉 The End of Lies (3)
*
The latter half of The End of Lies (2) has been revised.
Moving from the site to the trial.
*
Elsie and I, hidden by Night’s Shadow, were making our way to the trial.
For the record, I suggested at the start that Elsie should grab my sleeve to avoid repeating last time’s mistake.
Of course, given the current atmosphere, it felt pretty awkward.
The one to break that awkward silence was Elsie.
Even though we were moving stealthily, there weren’t really any people around, so speaking softly didn’t matter.
“An all-purpose wind ability and now a dagger with stealth effects… it’s totally item luck, isn’t it?”
I couldn’t deny it.
I was relying almost entirely on items to make up for my lack of physical stats.
Not to mention the Awakening Pill, and the Relic Gravitas Replicant that I didn’t have at the moment.
But…
“Items are still a skill, you know?”
“Well, that’s true… but it’s a bit pathetic, isn’t it?”
“Don’t worry, I won’t use those kinds of items.”
“Then are you just going to insist that you weren’t trying your best?”
No way.
“I can win just fine without those items.”
Considering the stat difference between Elsie and me, it was a bit close, though.
But as Libero said, ‘Swordsmanship’ was born to overcome that power difference.
And my swordsmanship had reached a level sufficient to bridge the gap with Elsie.
“You’re pretty confident. But I want to see you giving it your all.”
“Well, I’ll consider that after seeing what you do.”
As we bickered like that, we finally arrived at the trial.
I glanced down at the fog-covered lake with Elsie.
“Hey, Elsie. To be honest, every time I see this lake, it brings back some bad memories.”
“Oh, really? Funny, I feel the same way.”
“Did you go to Basil’s trial?”
“Yeah, it ended up with Gwen throwing me into the lake.”
Basil’s trial was the trial of the God of Regret.
It was obvious what kind of memory Elsie would recall there.
‘It was probably the sight of the kingdom crumbling that day.’
I could somewhat understand why Elsie was being so stubborn.
But just because I understood didn’t mean I would back down.
The current kingdom was beyond anything Elsie could handle, who was focused solely on vengeance.
‘The only way is to make her realize that directly.’
This was her request, not mine.
If words wouldn’t do, showing her was the only option.
I dipped my feet into the lake almost in sync with Elsie.
My consciousness faded quickly.
I prayed to the god.
‘I’ll ask for the same conditions as last time.’
At the same time, I hoped a little.
Maybe the God of Chains had returned.
But apparently, there was no news.
‘Figures.’
For now, I seemed to need to focus on the task at hand.
The trial space unfolded before my eyes.
In the midst of it stood Elsie.
“Hey, how can a student use the trial at will?”
“I made a contract with the god. This space can’t be peeked into from the outside like usual.”
The trials at the Hero Academy were remodeled through a contract with the Magic Tower, allowing outside professors and observing students to look in.
However, I could temporarily exclude that function because I had made a contract with the god.
“Wow, you really say that so casually. So is it that obnoxious god?”
She was talking about the God of Regret, wasn’t she?
“No, it’s a different god. The god here is much more reasonable compared to that one.”
Of course, I couldn’t know the depths of that reasoning.
“Then that means I can call you Allen here, right?”
Come to think of it, since Elsie figured out my identity, she had been referring to me as ‘you’ this whole time.
‘Was she being considerate in her own way?’
I nodded.
In this space, it was perfectly fine to call me that.
“Should I call you Ershiarah too?”
“No, I think Elsie is more comfortable to say.”
I felt the same.
“Then, Allen. Are you ready?”
She took out her sword, Breeze Bringer, from her inventory.
I too reluctantly drew a sword.
It wasn’t the Relic Gravitas Replicant I left with the god, but it was a decent, ordinary sword.
‘At least it won’t break under Elsie’s attacks.’
I raised my sword.
It was time to settle things.
Thinking about my plan, our unplanned reunion was bittersweet, yet I was happy to meet Elsie again.
Even the ridiculous talk we had while coming here.
No, simply being with Elsie felt reminiscent of memories from the old Basilium, making me somewhat happy.
But now was the time to return to Sung Yoo-rang.
That was for Elsie.
In the next moment.
The swords clashed.
I could definitely feel that I was at a disadvantage in strength compared to Elsie.
But it wasn’t a huge problem.
All I needed to do was deflect Elsie’s sword naturally.
“I heard from Gwen. Back then, your swordsmanship was quite good, but it seemed to hit a limit somewhere.”
The strikes didn’t connect quickly.
After she struck my sword, she quickly backed off and started looking for an opening.
She was surprisingly cautious, unlike her usual self.
“But… seeing you now, it seems that’s not the case anymore.”
At that time, my swordsmanship rank was merely B+.
But now I had reached S rank, surpassing that limit countless times.
It wasn’t just exceeding the limit; it felt like I had shattered the bounds of what was possible.
“Honestly, it’s hard to even call your swordplay the Reedval Family’s swordsmanship anymore.”
That made sense.
The swordsmanship I was using now was partly based on what was lost with Libero’s skills during the second trial – it had been complemented with some of the Reedval Family’s sword techniques.
It would definitely be hard to call this the Reedval Family’s swordsmanship.
‘Speaking of which…’
Elsie came rushing in with rapid strikes.
Different from before, she launched into her next attack immediately after the first.
‘Are we starting for real now?’
Elsie’s rapid-fire attacks commenced.
Currently, Elsie’s swordsmanship was at rank A.
At A rank, it was a level I could never reach despite the absurd environment of Libero’s guidance, my trait of precociousness, and the God of Regret’s blessing.
“You’ve really put in a lot of effort, Elsie.”
In fact, I hadn’t expected her to grow this much in such a short time when I sent her with Gwen.
But right now, Elsie could have fit right into Swordsmanship Class 1 – a definite top-tier talent in the swordsmanship group.
“Yes, because I wanted to become your teammate.”
What on earth did that guy’s ‘teammate’ mean that she was so obsessed with it?
As I continued to defend, her strikes became increasingly rapid.
‘She’s definitely fast.’
This was surely a speed that Yusera would have felt pressured by.
It was a result of combining Elsie’s already high agility stats with the Reedval Family’s sword techniques.
‘The Reedval Family’s swordplay itself is exceptional. Of course, it’s not flawless, but it cleverly highlights its own strengths.’
Those were Libero’s words about the Reedval Family’s swordsmanship.
Reedval warriors have, historically, wielded the powerful Rose Sword for only fleeting moments.
Thus, their swordplay had evolved into a style capable of delivering a greater number of attacks in a short time.
‘At this rate…’
Blocking with basic techniques seemed incredibly difficult.
Then I would need to draw out more power myself.
‘Wind’s Power.’
Wind began to swirl around my sword.
This allowed me to somewhat mimic Libero’s swordplay that transcended space and time.
From that moment, I gradually began to match Elsie’s speed.
“Is this part of that wind ability? Isn’t it a bit too much?”
I thought so too.
I had no clue how much training she put in to reach this level of mastery.
‘It’s time to wrap this up.’
As the acceleration continued, my swordsmanship finally entered the realm of time.
Elsie’s movements slowed down, while my sword moved swiftly within that time.
But I couldn’t help but be surprised by that fact.
‘Wait, is she keeping up a little?’
The fact that she could swing her sword slowly even at this speed was already impressive.
But not only that, Elsie was even managing to deflect my sword.
‘How much effort has she put in?’
Ershiarah, who was raised using Libero’s route, couldn’t achieve this kind of growth in such a short period.
That didn’t mean Gwen was better at teaching than Libero, though.
This was entirely due to Elsie’s hard work.
‘Now I understand.’
The reason Yusera fell behind Elsie wasn’t due to speed or technique.
It was because of this inexplicable aura Elsie possessed.
She had cultivated that aura and achieved a level of growth that should have been impossible in any playthrough.
‘Looks like I’m not the only one breaking impossibilities.’
It was at that moment.
With gritted teeth, Elsie knocked back my attack and thrust her sword from an angle.
No, to be precise, I recognized it as through the wind’s power.
If I didn’t know the effect of the relic Elsie had, I might have accepted that without question.
But I was well aware of the effect of her relic.
‘How treacherous.’
It was a power she could have used long before.
Even so, Elsie had been saving it until now to bait my guard.
I ignored the breeze created by Elsie’s Breeze Bringer.
And lightly parried the real attack.
No matter how much Elsie had surpassed her limits, she wasn’t quite able to beat me in swordplay yet.
Of course, maybe two years from now would be different.
While my swordsmanship had plateaued, there was still plenty of growth left in Elsie’s talent.
‘If she grows well and activates the Royal Sword…’
Reaching saint-level might not be out of reach.
But…
‘Not yet.’
Finally, time completely froze.
Elsie’s body, who had failed her ambush, came to a complete halt.
I moved alone to aim my sword at Elsie’s neck.
This would be the end.
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