The tournament’s preliminary arena usually doesn’t have many spectators.
Half of the cadets can’t watch because they’re participating in the tournament.
The remaining half are scattered due to the overlapping preliminary matches at the same time.
With some scheduling conflicts, the atmosphere remains rather quiet, except for a few arenas.
The arena where Lee Ha-yul is competing is one of the exceptions. There aren’t many empty seats. Even without any external officials, the cadets fill the space.
“Was that an expansion ability just now?”
Thanks to that, the earlier duel was captured by many vigilant eyes.
A cadet sipping a drink carefully opened his mouth. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking.
In response to one cadet’s question, the one sitting next to him tidied his confused thoughts and answered.
“Yeah. It’s an expansion ability in the swordsmanship category. It seems to be an original technique, not from any existing school…”
In a world rife with all kinds of abilities, being skilled with regular weapons might seem plain.
Even if fighting relies on physical prowess, strong energy, and magical properties, it does have its own allure.
However, that doesn’t mean that the unique abilities from the technique category are looked down upon.
The true worth of technique-based abilities is revealed in their expansion capabilities.
It’s not just about wielding a sword; it’s the art of swordsmanship that ignores the rules.
Down below.
Like the massive slash marks carved into the floor of the sparring arena.
“Even if it is from the technique category, to have an expansion ability so early… It hasn’t even been the second semester yet! What’s his name… Aidan Reynolds? Which faction is he from? Is he in the advanced class?”
“No. I heard he’s from a lesser noble family and is in the basic class. His grades are average.”
The cadet expressing disbelief tilted his head.
The manifestation of expansion abilities in the technique category is relatively easier compared to others.
“Is he… special?”
Relatively easier, but in reality, manifesting an expansion ability isn’t trivial.
Even in the technique category, “relatively easy” does not mean it’s easy at all.
The fact that a cadet who hasn’t even completed half of his first year managed to manifest such an ability is absurd.
And it’s a shame that such a cadet got eliminated in the first match of the preliminaries.
“At least from this match, his stock will rise significantly. They said he doesn’t have an affiliation yet, so all sorts of offers will come pouring in.”
Of course, news will spread from just this match, but if he had performed well in the main event, it would have been far more impactful…
Also,
“Well…”
The cadet, trailing off his words, turned his head. His gaze swept over the marks of the slashes on the ground… and another mark next to it.
It wasn’t just a slash from one direction.
Avoiding a deadly slash that came piercing through the ground, he countered instantly from the opposite side, creating that mark.
Remembering those moments makes it hard to believe. He felt as if he was under some sort of hallucination spell, instinctively readying a counter-spell.
“Will he not get buried…?”
A first-year cadet in the basic class, manifesting a technique category expansion ability.
Honestly, it’s not exactly an impossible scenario.
It’s not unheard of for a cadet to suddenly show their potential… or a recommended student to rapidly spread their wings and soar up.
However.
Just catching a glimpse of a bird flapping its wings and…
Merely mimicking it to fly up and then shooting it down… compared to the conversations about the remarkable special entrance student, the impact is significantly weaker.
“…Let’s begin.”
After a short while, the next match was underway.
It wasn’t long. So there wasn’t much time to recover stamina.
It was the nature of the mid-evaluation tournament. With consecutive preliminaries and main events, managing and recovering stamina was essential.
Soon, Lee Ha-yul stepped back onto the stage.
Though there were two contestants on stage, the overwhelming majority of the audience’s attention was on just one.
This was partly due to him being labeled as a special entrance student since the beginning.
The positive news of his growth also contributed, as did the heroic acts he had performed that were reported from Shifnah.
Moreover, it was thanks to his unbelievable performance in the previous duel.
“Haah…”
While that could be uncomfortable in many ways, the cadet on the opposite side didn’t find him strange at all.
In fact, there was an air of acceptance from that side.
[Then, let the evaluation begin!]
“───, ───, ───…”
But the atmosphere didn’t allow for a simple defeat.
The cadet across from him calmed his gaze and brought his hands together to form a hand sign.
Simultaneously, he whispered a spell. The spell imbued with intent and magic spread around him.
The garments fluttered. A small gust of wind was generated as the released magic began forming a spell in the air.
Whoosh! A series of fireballs were created one after another.
With the unification of spells and rapid casting for quick attacks,
About a dozen fireballs were shot off at once. The red trajectory traced across the arena.
Amidst the focus shifting towards where Lee Ha-yul stood…
He spread his hands.
Just like in the previous duel, he wasn’t holding his sword. The sword was merely resting quietly at his waist.
He had no hands to form the same hand sign as the opposite cadet, nor did he possess a voice to chant a spell.
Thus, he could not form a hand sign. Intent-laden words didn’t resonate.
However.
Whoosh! Behind him, dozens of flames rose and shot out.
The trajectories of flames manifested from both sides eventually intertwined.
Boom! The colliding flames erupted in sequence. A deafening explosion struck the ear drums, and thick, dark smoke rose from the center of the stage.
And then.
– Whoosh!
Without delay, a multitude of fireballs surged through the smoke, startling one cadet.
– Boom!
A series of explosions occurred on one side of the stage.
“……”
Magic being manifested without chants or hand signs.
Most magicians can do it. It’s difficult during the initial period of learning magic, but later on, for most, it’s an achievable skill.
But few magicians actively handle it.
There’s no reason not to use hands and a voice if they have them.
The advantages of no chant casting? One chant, one hand sign, and the manifestation is much faster and more rewarding.
The barrage of spells was decorating the sparring arena.
Various trajectories crossing through the air, spells blasting the ground, and counter-spell formations merging into the air.
It was one-sided.
One side’s magic completely overwhelmed the other. The numbers were plenty, and the power far surpassed.
The control of the stage was slowly being consumed by one side. The spell that should have been countered was realized by the opponent and countered back.
It was like a magic arrangement that could peer thoroughly into this area.
Just as he had dominated the opponent with a sword before.
Now he was overwhelming the opponent with magic.
“…Detection type.”
As she blankly stared at this scene, Choi Ji-yeon mumbled.
Her green eyes watched the increasingly intricate spells filling the air.
Exceptionally clear and efficient spells. They couldn’t be rigid but were prepared to be molded at any moment.
“Hmm?”
The friend next to her reacted to her mumble, but Ji-yeon had no time to pay him any attention.
‘…Detection type?’
During enrollment, it was stated that he had detection-type unique abilities.
The earlier duel… he had overwhelmingly pressured a cadet with swordsmanship capabilities and flawlessly replicated the opponent’s expansion ability.
Now, he was suppressing a magic-wielding cadet, who likely possessed either magical talents or ability to manipulate magic.
Moreover, recently, there had also been reports of him showing affinity for spirits of all five elements.
Physical abilities, magical manipulation, unique abilities, swordsmanship, magic, spirits…
It was as if all those dazzling talents had gravitated towards one person.
The talent was shining. The potential was dazzlingly radiant.
Capturing everyone’s gaze, eventually leading them to respect and cheer for that brilliant light.
Ji-yeon recognized such light.
Those who had been close friends since childhood represented that.
The vibrant shine that Hong Yeon-hwa had when she merrily dashed around.
The kind of light that Baek Ahrin possessed while pretending to be innocent but filled with mischief.
The light she lacked, standing amidst them.
That light… or perhaps a light even brighter, was currently dazzling as it shone on the stage.
– Crack!
“……..”
Emotions surged. It was an unfortunately pathetic and sticky feeling, even by her own thinking.
*
Suddenly, a shocking tingle surged up from her toes. It felt as if electricity was coursing through her, and her legs began to falter.
‘This is hard…’
Her body swayed. Trying to hold on for a moment, she feared she would fall and supported herself against the wall.
Her breath was labored. She took a moment to catch her breath.
Three preliminary matches had taken place.
In the first match, she faced Aidan, in the second, a magic major cadet, and in the third, a combat major cadet focusing on unique abilities.
There was little break between those matches. Perhaps that was why the three matches didn’t take long.
However, the preliminaries had started in the afternoon, and now outside, dusk was slowly beginning to fall.
‘Did I use my expansion ability unnecessarily…?’
Jack of All Trades expansion ability.
Ever-changing.
A name implying endless transformation, which she had manifested while being mentored by her master.
The effect? Mimicking techniques and actions. Specifically, it was to imitate actions in fields where her mastery as a Jack of All Trades was well-established.
It could indeed be deemed an ability fitting for a jack-of-all-trades.
‘Similar to Homogenization.’
Homogenization mimics special, attribute-based unique abilities and magical properties.
Ever-changing mimics techniques and actions from the technique category.
The commonality lies in imitating something that’s not hers.
Clearly, utilizing both simultaneously could bring immense synergy, although that depends on her competence…
And right now, that competence was not matching up, hence her current state.
‘Ugh…’
Her legs gave way. She just leaned against the wall and plopped down.
‘Was it unnecessary…?’
Technique category expansion abilities generally consume mental strength.
While other unique abilities rely on magical power for manifestation, technique categories, as the name implies, rely heavily on one’s skill.
Of course, magical power is consumed too, but even more so, vast amounts of mental strength.
Phew… She exhaled deeply, shaking her head.
She felt like she had overestimated her mental strength.
Homogenization wasn’t something she planned to use from the beginning.
There was no desperate situation that warranted it, and she didn’t want to deal with the aftereffects.
The mimicry of unique abilities wasn’t unprecedented. However, such mimics were always subject to strict conditions and limited in scope.
Additionally, replicating high-level unique abilities like Gop-hwa and Cheongha was inherently impossible.
The level of which was simply different. As long as her proficiency allowed, she could mimic special and attribute abilities reasonably well.
The resources involved were solely her mental and magical strength.
It was bound to summon storms surpassing Shifnah. If the association hadn’t controlled the information, she would have been swamped…
But Ever-changing was a little different.
Manifesting expansion abilities in the technique category is generally easier than in other categories.
There are various reasons for this, but as far as she knows, it’s because establishing uniqueness is relatively simple.
Taking swordsmanship as a prime example… while specific characteristics might differ, fundamentally, they all deal with ‘handling a sword.’
That means the expansion abilities of swordsmanship categories are fundamentally similar.
They cut and slash. They pierce and penetrate. They smash down with swords.
With a single swing, they slash thrice. They launch a slash aimed at a distant enemy.
A thrust twisting through the air ignores defenses and pierces through. Or a downward strike breaks through defense.
Since the pathways are similar, the outcomes are often alike.
Thus, those possessing unique abilities in the technique category often band together to foster their uniqueness.
Those are commonly referred to as factions.
A representative faction includes Katsuki Yusei’s Sanjaegum.
A coalition of three swordsmanship factions, recognized as one of the major powers even in Japan.
The Sanjaegum is tied to Katsuki Yusei based on mutual fondness.
Nevertheless, due to that reason, the hurdle for mimicking technique category expansion abilities is lower. It can be deemed to be at an acceptable level.
She had already discussed this with her master. In the end, it was concluded that there was no necessity to hide Ever-changing.
So, she tried using it… but perhaps she overestimated her mental strength.
– Fwish!
‘Ah.’
Just then, her nose began to itch, and blood spurted out.
Wiping the dripping nosebleed, she felt a bit miffed.
– Clack!
Footsteps echoed from across the corridor. Startled, I flinched while wiping away the nosebleed.
Due to a headache from the power of perception, I kept my gaze narrowed. Because of that, I couldn’t see the entity beyond the corridor.
But it was familiar.
The footsteps, breathing… and even the nature of the magical power.
This was someone she didn’t want to show this appearance to.
In a hurry, she attempted to get up.
– Thud!
‘Ouch.’
Then her weak legs faltered, causing her to crash down with a loud thud in the quiet corridor. The soft thud attracted a quick response from the person nearby.
“Ha, Ha-yul?!”
The person she didn’t want to see…
Hong Yeon-hwa shrieked as she rushed towards her.
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