Chapter 141

The training arena began to fill with cheers.

Since the situation defied expectations, those who bet on the underdog were shouting in excitement.

The first-year students from Adele Hall opened their eyes wide in surprise, marveling at Erucel’s completely different demeanor.

“I’ve never seen anything like that in a duel before.”

“Yeah, seriously. That was always his weak spot….”

I, too, felt a bit puzzled as I observed the scene.

His movements were much smoother than when he dodged my attack during the last phase of our training.

‘Wasn’t this guy originally not that good?’

‘It’s because he’s mentally at ease. He’s observing the enemy’s movements and reacting instantly.’

It seemed that was what Donatan meant.

‘So, because I threatened to hit him harder if he ran, his body learned to dodge to get hit less painfully.’

‘Exactly, Hersel. I kept hitting him lightly to break his habit, unless he deliberately backed off.’

Backing away meant a hard strike.

Backing off less meant a lighter one.

If he tried to dodge with minimal movement, I’d hit him softly to correct his behavior.

Since the idea of running had been erased from his mind, he must have had room to think calmly, considering how to dodge more effectively.

Still, it wasn’t an easy phenomenon to accept.

‘No matter how much you train, can a person really change that much in just one day?’

When I asked, slightly incredulous, Donatan replied.

‘That guy had already been refined by the old man Coulo. All we did was lift the lid off the finished dish.’

That explanation made sense.

After all, his teacher was once called the Sword King of the South.

‘…Hmm, Sir Coulo must’ve had a rough time.’

That old man had probably done everything he could.

Even so, the reason that guy had remained the way he was until now was because there were parts of him that even Coulo couldn’t fix.

Overcoming his fear of Hersel was something only he could solve himself.

“Damn, if I’d known this would happen, I would’ve placed a bet…”

Once again, Erucel lightly dodged Meldon’s attack.

***

Erucel, with indifferent eyes, moved to dodge the barrage of attacks.

Meldon, unable to contain his frustration, lashed out with his wooden sword.

“All you’re going to do is dodge!?”

Meldon’s words didn’t reach Erucel’s ears.

Only Coulo’s teachings echoed in his mind.

—Hey, I told you not to run! My swordsmanship is designed to press the opponent relentlessly. How many times do I have to tell you for it to sink in?

The old man’s swordsmanship was based on standing firm and defending with minimal movement.

Like an immovable rock, slowly press into the opponent’s territory and overwhelm them.

To do that, you had to block the enemy’s attack with your sword, not dodge.

—Block it so you can hear the “clack”! Let the sword in your hand resonate with the impact. While you’re doing that, let your aura flow through. Imagine the aura absorbing the shock.

The swordsmanship of absorbing the opponent’s strength into your own was the essence of the Amrek Sword.

Erucel raised his sword and got into position.

Clack!

The swords clashed as Meldon’s strike aimed at his head was effectively blocked.

Erucel stepped in closer.

Meldon hurriedly wiped the sweat off his face and swung a horizontal slash.

Erucel, gripping his wooden sword with a wide hand spacing like he was holding a spear, blocked Meldon’s attack with a vertical lift.

Clack!

The attack bounced off Erucel’s sword.

As Meldon’s pupils shook and he took a step back, Erucel spoke in a calm voice.

“I hope that wasn’t your best effort.”

Meldon flared up in anger.

He was not patient enough to overlook the arrogant remark of a mere first-year.

‘Has this brat lost his fear just because it’s a spar?’

Originally, he’d only intended to break a few limbs.

If he pushed hard enough to kill, the professor acting as the referee would surely step in to stop it.

But at that moment, Professor Gomon stood in a position where only Erucel’s back was visible to him.

Even if Meldon unleashed a full-force killing blow, there was no way the professor would react in time.

‘I’ll show him that even with a wooden sword, you can kill someone.’

Meldon concentrated all his aura into his sword.

A sharp aura flared up from the wooden blade.

With all his might, he swung his sword at Erucel’s side.

At the moment Meldon lifted his head to savor the look on Erucel’s face just before his demise,

Ping!

Erucel’s eyes gleamed as he unleashed an attack aimed directly at Meldon’s sword, as if he had been waiting for this very moment.

Crack!

The wooden sword shattered.

It was Meldon’s sword that broke.

‘What?’

Meldon’s mind spun in confusion.

‘Breaking a sword filled with aura? That means… he has more aura and greater control than I do.’

But there was no time left to think.

Erucel’s strike did not end but continued smoothly.

‘Im… Impossible!’

Meldon hastily activated his protective aura, but even so, his right arm broke.

The impact transferred to his torso, and even his energy center was thrown into disarray.

“Ugh…!”

Blood spurted from his mouth.

Meldon’s vision was filled with a crimson mist before he lost consciousness.

Thud.

Erucel looked down at the unconscious Meldon and spoke quietly.

“If the professor hadn’t stopped my sword, you would have died.”

The Amrek Sword absorbs the opponent’s power, adds one’s own strength, and releases it in one deadly strike.

Had that not been the case, Meldon’s spine would have been shattered.

Erucel averted his gaze from Meldon and looked at Professor Gomon.

The professor, still in a daze, lowered the staff he had pointed and shouted.

“The winner is Erucel Ben Tenest! The Seventh Seat title is his!”

Cheers erupted at the announcement of a new Seventh Seat champion.

“I won five times my bet!”

“Haha, that Meldon guy! He’s always been so arrogant; serves him right!”

The voices mostly came from people who had won money from gambling or held grudges against Meldon…

In the meantime, Professor Gomon approached and whispered in Erucel’s ear.

“Hey, you almost caused a murder out there. No matter how hard that guy tried to kill you, you shouldn’t have gone that far.”

“…I apologize. I’m still not used to this technique.”

“Just be careful next time, ahem. Still, well done. Those brats needed to be taught a lesson for once.”

“Huh?”

Erucel found Professor Gomon’s reaction surprising.

He was used to seeing the professors dote on those students.

Since Gomon was also a professor, Erucel assumed he would favor them as well.

“I’m a Ten Elite graduate myself, so I know. These kids get pampered in the academy, but once they’re outside, their arrogance will get them killed. I hope this wakes them up.”

Despite his words, Professor Gomon didn’t seem to completely dislike them.

Strict on the outside, but perhaps secretly wishing for their success.

Erucel raised his right hand high, led by Gomon.

As the cheers intensified, questions began pouring in.

“Are you guys really going to take over the Ten Elite?”

“Are you serious about driving them out?”

Indeed, they intended to take over the Ten Elite system.

The absurd rules had to be rewritten.

Erucel swallowed hard and was about to answer loudly.

At that moment, attention shifted to a figure with shining blonde hair.

As Erucel focused on the person, others turned their heads as well.

‘That guy? What’s he up to now…?’

Hersel pushed through the crowd and climbed the steps of the arena, with Mircel following behind him.

“What… what are you guys doing here?”

Ignoring Erucel’s words, Hersel patted him on the shoulder.

“For the first time in my life, I’m proud of you, little brother.”

“Proud of you, third brother,” Mircel mimicked Hersel’s tone and tapped his own thigh.

Erucel felt a surge of anger.

These people, who usually looked at him like he was dirt, were suddenly offering praise.

And they weren’t just anyone—they were the demons who had beaten him relentlessly for two days straight.

“Tch.”

Erucel clicked his tongue briefly, while Hersel scanned the crowd.

Everyone fell silent under his sharp gaze.

Satisfied with the quiet, Hersel nodded and spoke in his deep voice.

“Did someone ask earlier if we were planning to take over the Ten Elite? Yes, we are going to take their power.”

Someone raised their hand and asked,

“Th-then, when’s the next match?”

Everyone swallowed nervously, their eyes glued to Hersel’s mouth.

The corners of his lips twisted into a smirk.

“Everything’s already set. Don’t trouble the professors, okay?”

The crowd began to murmur.

One by one, their eyes widened as if they had realized something.

“The arrangements are already made… Could it be… now?”

“…That has to be it, right?” n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Hersel took a deep breath and pointed toward the fortress.

“Kerndel from the First Seat. Rimlan from the third seat. I know you’re watching from over there.”

It was the terrace of Adele Hall.

The two figures flinched from their spots.

Hersel smirked mischievously and egged on the crowd.

“What’s the matter with them? Did they not hear? Or are they scared? No reaction at all.”

A few people started stomping on the ground, making thudding noises.

They were people from the Schlaphe Hall.

Erucel, sweating nervously, looked back and forth between Hersel and the crowd.

‘Seeing that they’ve even recruited these people, they must have planned this from the beginning.’

The sound of footsteps soon created a rhythm, and everyone began calling out the two names in unison.

Thud, thud.

“Kerndel.”

Thud, thud.

“Rimlan.”

The professors inside the fortress poked their heads out of the windows, perhaps thinking an earthquake had hit the training ground.

Erucel looked at the fortress and thought.

‘With this much pressure, they have to come out now. If they don’t…? They’ll be bombarded with all kinds of jeers. For the top students of Frost Heart, that would be a great humiliation. In this atmosphere, trying to claim a formal challenge would be useless. It would just look like a cheap attempt to buy time.’

Even without seeing them, Erucel could tell that the faces of the two being targeted were contorted with distress.

Thud, thud.

“Kerndel.”

Thud, thud.

“Rimlan.”

The cheers of the entire student body were so loud, they could probably be heard by the monsters underground.

Listening to the cheers, Erucel looked up at the terrace of Adele Hall.

He had planned for this moment ever since winning.

The reason was simple.

If they had formally issued a challenge on paper, a betting ring would have opened.

People would place their bets, and most of them would probably put all their coins on him.

In that case, Kerndel would surely find the situation suspicious.

Moreover, giving him time to think would leave room for him to scheme, so this also had the effect of cutting that off in advance.

‘Every time I see it, your strategy amazes me, Hersel.’

‘Right. He’s probably reeling right about now.’

The two figures on the terrace disappeared.

There was no doubt that they were coming down to face them.

***

The light from the glass dome ceiling began to fade.

The sun was setting, and the chandelier hanging from the ceiling lit itself up.

This room, lined with bookshelves and wooden furniture, was the Emperor’s library.

Aol sipped his tea.

Across from him, an old man picked up a grape, eating it as he struggled to lift one of his heavy eyelids.

“Did you hear about the dungeon tower being discovered in Orbella’s territory?”

The old man before him was the Emperor of the Empire, Idhras Dean Lungaard.

Aol nodded in response to his question.

“I have.”

It was just the two of them, so the conversation could be casual.

After 40 years of meeting the king with his grandfather from a young age, it was enough time to feel a sense of familiarity.

“Honestly, it’s outrageous. They’ve probably known about it for a while, and now they decide to announce it, tsk tsk.”

“Isn’t it a good thing? It means they’ll be paying more attention to the tribute.”

“Do you think I care about wealth and glory? They could have at least given me a heads-up. I doted on that boy so much when he was young. It hurts my heart.”

Idhras let out a deep sigh.

“Anyway, lately all these mysterious things keep happening, and it’s driving me crazy. Why do all these events have to pile up right when I’m close to death?”

The old king must have had no shortage of worries.

There were many strange occurrences beyond just the sudden appearance of the tower.

From previously unheard-of sea monsters attacking the coast to floods sweeping away villages, odd phenomena were happening one after another.

‘Things that happen once in decades are now happening all at once in less than two years. It’s definitely strange.’

It wasn’t just the Empire—these events were occurring all over the world.

And every time such things happened, the greatest beneficiaries were the religious orders.

It was human nature to turn to the gods when faced with the incomprehensible.

“The church will surely gain more influence again.”

At Aol’s comment, Idhras gave a bitter smile.

“Ha, ha. You’re right. At this rate, the palace might be consumed by them.”

The relationship between the Church of the Sun and the king was not good.

The church often showed suspicious behavior, as if they had some secret agenda.

They weren’t plotting a rebellion or directly challenging royal authority, but there was one thing that was incomprehensible—how abnormally interested they were in the relics from the Demonic Realm.

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