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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 39
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What Are You, Exactly? Do I...?
***
As Luna's grip tightened on the Kite Shield, her expression instantly turned indifferent.
Then, her gaze meticulously fixed on the spear held by Cheonseong.
—The spear.
In the past, within her family's mansion, she had received thorough training on various weapons.
Although it was during her childhood before she was granted an ability, she believed her training was never half-hearted.
Therefore, naturally, she knew all about the compatibility relationships between different armaments.
A spear was a weapon that held an overwhelming advantage in close combat; if one couldn't overcome its range advantage, ordinary melee weapons stood no chance.
—It was correct to choose a long-range weapon or counter a spear user with long-range magic that gave them no distance at all.
She knew how to counter it. Yes, she knew it clearly with her reason.
And yet. She specifically wanted to engage that man in close combat.
Without landing a proper blow on the man named Han Cheonseong... she felt her heart simply wouldn't be at peace.
Throughout the past while, she had found herself watching Han Cheonseong and Millia, constantly thinking.
What was the reason for Millia's gaze being fixed on the man named Han Cheonseong.
And finally.
She... had come to realize it.
'Why. Why him, of all people…!'
Why this man? Having confirmed Millia's gaze multiple times, she couldn't not know.
They had been close friends for eight years, hiding nothing from each other. There hadn't been a single day she hadn't seen Millia's face.
So.
Naturally... truly, naturally, she couldn't help but know.
Why her most cherished friend looked at the man named Han Cheonseong with such eyes.
That's why she hated it.
She hated it so, so much.
That her most beloved and cherished friend would show such absurd interest in a man she disliked.
—!
The moment she leaped, her entire body was enveloped in a blue light.
She fully unleashed her vast mana, wrapping it around her entire body without a single gap.
And at that moment. She saw it.
Shhhk.
As Han Cheonseong's stance suddenly changed while holding the spear, her eyes involuntarily narrowed.
'What kind of stance is that, exactly?'
It was truly rare to see a spear user. That made them difficult to counter.
But defending against them was easy enough.
She put almost all her strength into the hand holding the Kite Shield, yet didn't let her guard down even slightly.
Because the movements Han Cheonseong had just displayed while wielding the spear had completely erased any lingering doubt in her mind.
Yes, this man had truly done it.
The top student this year. An absurd draw in a spar against a student named Leonhardt.
Therefore, she too had to engage with full power in this spar.
Whoosh!
The moment she reached the spear's range, the spear surged forward like light. It rushed in, imbued with blue mana, feeling as if a blue light had flickered.
'Fast.'
However, it wasn't a speed she couldn't react to.
She tried to deflect at least some of the power contained in the spearhead towards the edge, the fringe part of the Kite Shield, rather than its center.
CLANGG!!
But as a strange metallic sound struck her ears, her vision was sharply pushed back.
The moment she tried to receive it as if deflecting it.
…Sliiiide!
Her body was already significantly pushed back.
"Keuk!"
She involuntarily gasped as sharp pain shot through her entire left arm.
Yet, she could clearly see in her vision.
The man named Han Cheonseong, casually correcting his stance and retracting his spear. His characteristic black eyes seemed to be looking at her as if beckoning her to come again.
As if saying, 'Is this all it takes to stop you?'
So, the moment she drew a breath, she immediately pushed off the ground.
"...!"
Again, she put strength into the hand holding the Kite Shield.
This time, she poured even greater mana into the Kite Shield.
'The destructive power is strange.'
She had sensed the amount of mana imbued in the spear, and believed she could block it. She couldn't understand why she had been pushed back so much just now.
—!
But as she leaped again, she believed she wouldn't be pushed back like before.
The amount of mana contained in her shield was clearly superior.
'Just once is fine.'
She wanted to land a proper blow on this man.
Because she hated this man, who had stolen the heart of her most cherished Millia, so much.
So, with the sole intent of landing at least one solid hit, she fixed her eyes on the spear's tip.
—!
Pushing off the ground once more, this time she lowered her upper body slightly more.
She pressed the hand holding the Kite Shield more stably against her body, and also adjusted her stepping speed so her legs wouldn't be pushed back as much as before.
Noticing that he held the spear with one hand while subtly gripping the end of the shaft with the other, she charged forward head-on once more.
'I must block it.'
If attempting to deflect it half-heartedly had failed, then she would push through with the raw power of mana head-on.
She didn't know how much stronger one became when their ability reached Level 4. However, she knew that if this spar dragged on, she would definitely lose.
Therefore, she had to make her move early on.
If she could properly block the spear just once with her Kite Shield, she would have a chance at victory.
The moment she reached the spear's range again.
—!
The spear surged forward even faster than before.
A blue light filled her vision as if flickering, and she instinctively raised her hand, strongly striking out with the Kite Shield to cover her front.
Simply putting the Kite Shield in the spear's path was meaningless. She also had to apply force at the right time to strike it away…
'To be able to strike away that spear…'
CHAAANGG!!
Her thoughts were abruptly cut short by the thunderous sound that erupted once more.
For a moment, she nearly lost her grip on the Kite Shield.
Tightening her jaw. She bit her lip, forcing herself to endure the pain and tried to hold her ground, but.
...Sliiiide!
As the sound of her feet dragging across the ground resounded loudly….
She was pushed back even further than before.
"...!"
She gasped, letting out a large breath from the sudden intense pain, yet couldn't understand.
'Why?'
Why, exactly... did she have to be pushed back like this?
Han Cheonseong's ability being Level 4 and the power she had just encountered seemed to have no correlation for her.
The mana she saw imbued in the spear. It clearly wasn't that much. At most, it was only half the mana she had poured into her Kite Shield.
Yet, to be pushed back so helplessly like this….
"..."
Dazedly, she raised her head and saw the man retracting his spear once more.
He still hadn't moved a single step.
He simply stood there, in the same spot.
Just as he had been, merely thrusting his spear to push her back each time she approached….
"This is impossible."
Then, he suddenly uttered a single, incomprehensible remark, and her grip on the Kite Shield instantly tightened.
"Impossible…?"
"Yes. It's surprising that it's impossible. Honestly. I was trying to make you drop the Kite Shield you were holding. I thought it would be perfectly possible."
At his next words, she let out an involuntary scoff.
"In your eyes right now. Do I look that weak? Weak enough to drop my Kite Shield…?"
"No, I don't think you're weak. If I did, I wouldn't have thrust my spear like this."
"...Han Cheonseong. What exactly do you mean by that? Speak clearly."
"That's what I'm saying. I find it strange too. I didn't know you were this strong."
She had thought he was speaking as if mocking her.
But his words were strange.
'...Strong?'
What exactly was strong about her, when she hadn't even managed to properly close the distance?
Biting her lip. She pushed off the ground again.
She adjusted her mana even further than before, imbuing the Kite Shield with such vast mana that it practically shimmered.
The mana she had wrapped around her body for defense was now completely disregarded, as if erased.
—!
As the mana imbued in her legs vanished, her speed in pushing off the ground naturally slowed.
But even so, it didn't matter.
All along, it had been like a head-on confrontation between her and that man.
Whether she would block that spear with her Kite Shield and advance, or be pushed back by that spear again. That was all there was to it.
And she could see.
The man's stance, holding the spear, had changed even more strangely, subtly gripping the very end of the shaft, its blunt part.
It was as if, the moment he thrust the spear, he would also push the shaft to launch it powerfully.
'No way…. It's going to get even faster from here?'
The amount of mana imbued in the spear was the same. The only difference was that his stance had changed again.
Gulp.
She swallowed just before entering the spear's range.
'Could she, somehow, strike away that spear?'
At the same time as she thought, she was already acting.
She didn't even watch the spear move.
If that spear surged forward faster and stronger than before, she wasn't confident she could react to it.
—So.
She moved faster. She moved strongly, as if striking out with the Kite Shield first.
The moment she entered the spear's range, she was already acting.
—!
***
"Stop the spar!"
C-Class training instructor. At Ludmina's words, the ongoing spar was immediately halted.
The students observing the spar merely watched the two individuals in the arena, as if intrigued.
—Han Cheonseong and Luna.
Ability Level 4 and Ability Level 2.
The difference in those levels was so vast that it rendered the grades of their respective abilities meaningless.
And everyone present, from Instructor Ludmina to the majority of the students, knew that.
But what exactly was this strange atmosphere that now permeated the sparring arena?
"The result of the spar. Student Han Cheonseong is victorious."
As Ludmina's calm voice announced the spar's outcome, not a single person questioned it.
After all, it was the victory everyone had expected.
But what happened afterward was strange.
Luna and Han Cheonseong stood still, gazing intently at each other.
Both of them said nothing, simply holding each other's gaze. And to the other students, that was incredibly odd.
"...Still, it was truly. A close call."
As Ludmina opened her mouth with a light laugh, Millia, who was right beside her, instantly stared at her in a daze.
"A close call?"
"Yes. I almost stepped in, but Student Han Cheonseong adjusted his power on his own."
...As Ludmina continued speaking so casually, Millia couldn't understand it in the slightest.
'Han Cheonseong adjusted his power?'
How the spear moved, honestly, she barely saw it after the very first thrust.
She only knew the result.
The result: the spear was thrust, and Luna was pushed back.
Afterward, only the lingering remnants of blue mana in the air shimmered before her eyes.
Even so, her gaze dazedly drifted to the two of them.
'Both of them are amazing.'
Honestly, she had thought Luna would lose meaninglessly. But she had fought better than expected.
It wasn't just that she blocked with the Kite Shield; the precision with which she utilized mana was clearly visible to her. For any other student, it wouldn't have been strange to be defeated by Han Cheonseong in the first exchange, but Luna had endured and received several blows.
"...Han Cheonseong."
Then, as Luna opened her mouth, Millia involuntarily took a quick step forward.
It was better for her to intervene than for Luna to say something strange and worsen her relationship with Han Cheonseong.
Click. Click.
Just as she was rapidly approaching Luna.
"What are you, exactly? Do you like me?"
Thump.
Millia's steps, which had been heading towards Luna, instantly halted.